sweet potato pie and i shut my mouth

i thought i had christmas all planned out this year...however i am behind as usual.  and as i write all these last minute posts, i realize that this has been a whirlwind of a week!  so if you are like me and need something to take into the office tomorrow, or to grannys house this weekend try this: sweet potato bread.  easy as pie and pretty delish.  i used this recipe, (just kidding, i used this one, but that is the best song ever) it calls for like 2 things, the only thing youll probably need to go to the store for is the sweet potatoes or yams.  also to give it something extra. i used about 2 teaspoons of the juice from a clementine and mixed it with about 2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar to make a pretty thin glaze.  once the bread comes out of the oven immediately pour the glaze over the bread and let harded. yum! (you could use an orange, orange juice or even water for the liquid in the glaze). one more thing, the bread may need an extra 15-20 minutes, i baked mine for an hour and ten minutes and it could have used an extra ten.  

best christmas song ever :)

LAST minute gifts!

with all the hype over pinterest and diy projects this year, i thought it was about time i made one.  this lemon scrub is the EASIEST thing to make--in terms of time and ingredients.  the recipe i used called for sea salt but i decided to use mostly kosher salt.  kosher salt is a much larger grain of salt than sea salt so the one i made is probs best for feet or elbows.  using sea salt would make a better scrub for legs.  i used about a 3 to 1 ratio of kosher to sea salt in this recipe. to make the scrub all you need is:

kosher or sea salt (or both)

a few lemons

olive oil

rosemary, optional

in a large bowl put 5 tablespoons of kosher salt. coat with a tablespoon of olive oil. once well combined squeeze half of the lemon over the mixture, and stir together.  i made probably about 7 times this much.  its best if you figure out how much you are going to need to make first that way you can mix all the salt and oil together first.  the recipe i followed said mixing the oil and salt first keeps the salt from dissolving.  a point about mixing the salts: i did about 25 tablespoons of kosher to about 15 tablespoons of sea salt (using a big box of kosher and a tall canister of sea salt) if that makes sense.  just test out the recipe as you go along, so that you get the consistency you want.  and there you go: a very last minute, but very cute, christmas gift.

oh, and if you want to: as i filled my containers (use any size you like, mine are from ikea) when they were filled half way i added a piece of rosemary and then continued filling.  i would say these will last a couple weeks, when refrigerated. 

Merry Christmas! 

apple goat cheese quiche

my mom made the craziest quiche this weekend---goat cheese, apple, bacon, onion quiche!  so weird.  but it turned out to be absolutely delicious.  who would have thought apple could go in quiche?  but its awesome with the goat cheese and BACON. yum.  it lasts a few days, so its great to have for lunch or breakfast the next day.  the combination of all the ingredients are great for fall.

recipe after jump:

blog about blogs

when im bored as hell, or want to read something a little lighter than all the news headlines that are out there right now, there are a couple blogs that my fingers type almost as quickly as facebook.com.    

1. the sartorialist has unreal pics of people in their everyday lives looking like staight up models. 

2. smitten kitchen is always a go to as well.  she doesnt post that often, however, the "surprise me" link will refresh the page with new recipies each time you click it, she has hundreds of recipies, so you will never get bored.  im usually completely starving after looking at it for 5 minutes.

3. i have to give credit where credit is due.  although i think the cupcakes and cashmere girl can be irritating and overrated, she is the inspiration behind most lifestyle blogs of the 20-something blogger.  as much as i would like to say i dont look at her blog all the time from time to time, i do. she posts almost everyday and has nice taste in clothing (even though i dont always approve of the way she styles her outfits--im hyper-critical, i know). 

PUMPKIN cupcakes! with cream cheese frosting

since the beginning of october, ive been obsessed with pumpkin stuff but i could never get around to making anything because ive been so lazy busy.  howeverrrr, it was my roommates bday last week, so i finally had a reason to make something.  and i will admit upfront that i took the easy convenient route.  i bought a box mix of yellow cake as the base, and literally just added some pumpkin puree and pumpkin spices-and surprisingly it turned out better than expected.  so, if you are in the mood to bake some pumpkin-y things but want to take the easy way out, no one will ever know the difference :)

recipe follows:

urban fall

some nice little throw-on-whenever dresses from urban. 

    

love mason jars

how amazing are these lights!  these vintag-ie looking mason jar chandeliers and lights are made by someone called bootsNgus etsy. they cant be that hard to make, right?

 

chicken salad remixxxxxxxxx

2 things: pinterest is amazinggggggg.  great way to see a billion things on the internet at one time.  and great way to organize all your interests.  caution: very addicting, and you will feel like youre being overly productive when really youre just browsing the internet as usual.

and two, i found this great recipe through pinterest for a mexican-style chicken salad. if you like chicken salad, this is a great alternative to the regular preparation.   

(sorry chicken salad never looks that

appealing but i swear its great)

  recipe follows:

e.l.f. !!!

years ago, a friend introduced me to e.l.f. im sure many of you know it already-but its ridiculously inexpensive makeup, that gives great results.  ive recently rediscovered it, and im back to being obsessed.  livingsocial is running a deal today $15 for $30 worth of makeup.  you can basically get like 30 new pieces of makeup for $15, thats hard to beat-plus its exciting to get packages in the mail. 

here is the link to the living social deal: http://tracking.livingsocial.com/SH1I3 . and listed below are some of my favorite pieces. happy shopping!

on the pricier side ($5) .... so worth it

great color

i almost bought a super expensive version from another company,

 so glad i got this one instead....$1 and its a great shimmer

$2 for nail polish? cannot beat that

total face brush



hank azaria?

so its weird to be jealous of actor hank azaria right?  like of all the actors in the world to be jealous of?  really?  him?

well, i just saw pics of his bel air home, and let me tell you, i think i might like it even better than rachel zoes.  while rachels, is on the more pristine, borderline ocd side, hanks is actually livable, looks very inviting, and i could probably nap on that outdoor couch all day...

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/2011/08/hank-azaria-bel-air-home-article 

fall-time thangs!

its unbelievable to me that i never had a pumpkin spiced latte until today--but it has totally changed my life, and in particular my outlook on fall.  now all i want to do is wear spiced-colored blazers and cozy sweaters. (weird that its going to be 70 tomorrow?? and ill still be wearing a huge sweater and drinking a pumpkin pie).  

sweaters, H&M; booties and blazers, topshop. 

I wish i lived with Rachel Zoe.......

on second thought, i could never live with her...just watching her stress out on TV stresses me out but i am in love with her house.  rachel zoe's newly decorated L.A. home was put on display last night on her show. and it truly is "bananas"/"AMAZing."  i cant imagine putting that together in 10 days but her nebbie jeremiah did just that.  the stripped lamps are so perfect, i cant get over them. jeremiah brent was interviewed, here. 



Photos courtesy of Stephen Busken

Aritzia

aritzia opened in soho in june and is AMAZing.  im sure i was so annoying as we walked around the store, saying repeatedly how incredible the clothes were--but they really were unreal.  in one word, the clothes are (sooo) soft.  i mean literally everything i touched was amazingly soft, the blouses, pants, even the jackets.  wearing these clothes would be like wearing your pajamas in public--which of course is like my dream come true. sadly, their clothes arent for sale online, but definitely worth a visit when in nyc.