Springtime Trends.

So as a follower of trends, fashion is one of my favorite trends to follow. I scope out the fashions for each season and pick the ones are, in my opinion, the most fashion forward, ready to wear, and fun! I enjoy sharing my picks to my followers, as I have done for last summer and fall, and now I'm going to share my Spring 2014 picks.

This time, I'm going to do this a little differently. So I'll give a general statement about a fashion trend that is hot this spring and in then the picture below will show an example of the particular trend and how to include it in your wardrobe/lifestyle. So here goes!

1.  Pastel Blazers

Blazers are classic for a wardrobe, and this spring, adding a pastel colored blazer can add depth and variety into your outfit. This Straight Cut Jacket is available at H&M. 

2. Wedge Sandals

Up your shoe game with a chic heel or wedge sandal. An intricate design makes for an interesting pair of shoes that isn't so basic and one dimensional. Go for something these Leather Sandalettes from H&M.

3. Two Toned Manicure

Sticking to one nail color for your mani is SO 5 years ago. Try mixing it up by including two tones of the same color into your look. I find that its cute to use these two Essie colors: "Hide and Go Chic" and "Butler Please" to create a French Manicure look. I use Hide and Go Chic for the the base and Butler Please for the tips. These colors are available at any beauty or drug store such as Ulta or Target. 

4. Gold Plated Accents

If you know me, you know my favorite color is gold...and purple...but mostly gold. So this trend sparked my interest real quick. Adding a piece with a gold plated accent is really eye catching and chic. I've seen it done on belts, jewelry, and even on clothes. I personally love it on handbags and clutches like this The Duchess Crossbody Bag.

5. Vibrant Makeup

I love everything Marc Jacobs, so when I found out he has a new makeup line at Sephora, I was on it like white on rice! I love vibrant makeup colors for spring and I think it's a great way to include the prominent colors of the season into your look. This Lovemarc Matte Lipstick in Gossip-Matte Hot Fuchsia is a great color to do this.

6. Turban Headbands

I really love the turban look. I feel like it may be overplayed at festivals like Coachella, but in every day life, I think it brings a really nice frame to the face and adds some dimension to your look. I'm not a fan of the ones that cover your entire head, but I like the ones that are like headbands. Much like this Floral Head Wrap from Nordstrom. 

What do you guys think?! 

Grilled Cheese Invitational.

This weekend, my boyfriend and I attended "The Last" Grilled Cheese Invitational in downtown LA. I say "Last" because I really think its a publicity stunt. But anyway, I had never been, so I was really excited to try out the different types of grilled cheese sandwiches. When we entered, there was a sponsored tent that was serving free grilled cheese sandwiches. The bread was sponsored by La Brea Bakery and the cheese from Cabot. I chose a rustic white bread with pepper jack, gruyere, and cheddar cheese, which was great...but it definitely wasn't enough to satisfy our cheesy appetites!

So we went on to the trucks. The Grilled Cheese Truck was there and had a special, which my boyfriend had...

Grilled Cheese Truck Special: cheddar cheese, black forest ham, arugula, and blueberry bacon jam.

I went for the Cheesy Mac Melt, which had cheddar cheese and macaroni and cheese in between the bread. SO good!

Cheesy Mac Melt. 

Even though we were pretty full at this point, I couldn't help myself but to get a sweet grilled cheese sandwich as a dessert. I spotted a tent run by the Cheesy Amigos, which had this amazing sandwich...

Strawberry Grilled Cheese: cheddar cheese, Nutella, strawberries, and bananas.
photo from thrillist.com

Mother Dough.

Who isn't a fan of pizza? Not many, I bet! I absolutely love it...the marriage of different kinds of cheeses and tomatoes on fluffy dough is a taste to die for. I've found that finding the perfect pizza joint with the best combination of these ingredients and more is hard. For years, my favorite pizza was from the Round Table Pizza near my house, but since it closed down, I haven't been able to find a place that makes me LOVE their pizza. Even other Round Table chains have been sub par.

My friend and I heard about this place, Mother Dough, in LA and wanted to try it out. Let me tell you guys, it was so delicious! I really enjoyed the pizza there and they also had other dishes that complimented the pizza so well.I have to say, the Burrata salad was one of the best salads I've ever had. The Burrata was made in house and sat atop arugula and heirloom tomatoes.

Burrata Salad.

 We ordered the prosciutto and arugula pizza and it was great. A lot of places skimp on the prosciutto, but not here!

The pizza was cooked in a wood oven, bringing out all the flavors of the ingredients, especially the dough.

Wood burning oven.
photo courtesy of yelp.com

To finish, we ordered a chocolate flourless cake with fleur de sel caramel...simply amazing.

Apple Pan.

I revisited one of my top burger spots recently and thought that since I hadn't shared it with you all, I would write a post about it...Apple Pan in Los Angeles. As mentioned in a previous post, my friend Natalie and I have been on the hunt for the best burger in LA and this place was on our list. The Huffington Post named it the best burger spot in LA. I wouldn't say its the best, but it's pretty damn good! It's a cute 50's inspired diner, serving classic meals, but best known for their steak burgers. It's totally worth checking out. Don't make the mistake of asking for no relish, because that's their secret.

Steak Burger with the works.

Seriously, so delicious.

I loved the way they served their drinks!

Pumpkin pie to finish.

For other hotspots from my adventures in burgers, check out my previous post!

Oscars 2014: Winners and Fashion.

Who was blown away by the Oscars tonight? I was pleasantly surprised with how fun it was to watch...it didn't even feel like it lasted 3.5 hours! Ellen was so great, and props for her shout out to my local Big Mama's and Papa's Pizza!!

I'll start off with my best dressed ladies tonight...

Olivia Wilde in Valentino.
Portia De Rossi in Naeem Khan.
Lupita Nyong'o in Prada.
Charlize Theron in Dior.

And now the best dressed men...

Kevin Spacey in Burberry.
Jared Leto in unknown.
Leonardo Di Caprio in Giorgio Armani.

This year, I promised myself that I would watch all the nominated movies for Best Picture so I could judge objectively rather than just rooting for my favorite actor or favorite movie like I have been doing for years and years. They were all so great and I finished watching them quickly and went on to even watch some films that had other nominations like August Osage County, Blue Jasmine, and Frozen. Therefore, objectively, here are my thoughts on tonight's winners...

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave...so deserved! I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey was truly amazing in DBC and his award was deserved...I just oh so wish my Leo could finally be awarded!

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett...honestly, she played her role in Blue Jasmine really well, but (not to be cliche) Meryl Streep was jaw droppingly superb in AOC and I strongly feel she should have won this.

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto...all other nominees were so great in their respective roles, but please call me when you play a transgender AIDS victim who so aptly immersed himself in his character and made us believe in Rayon. Fantastic!

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o...honestly, I'm blown away. Her first role out of school and she performs beautifully and really captures the range of emotions and the struggle of her character, Patsey.

Best Animated Feature: Frozen...I thought Frozen was cute and I laughed a few times during the movie, but I was a little disappointed that it took the cake over Despicable Me 2. I thought DM2 should have won this one, but maybe I am partial to minions :)

What are your thoughts??

Perfectly Sweet.

I took a break for an afternoon treat today at this spot my friend, Fadia, had told me about. I love sweets, but not so much when they are overly sweet, and this place had the perfect marriage of sugar and deliciousness in their pastries and desserts. It's even in the name...Perfectly Sweet! It's a small drive to Alhambra, but totally worth it. This sight is something to make your eyes widen 0_0

Dulce de Leche cake, fruit tart, and Tiramisu custard cup.

Valentine Mocha Cupcakes.

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays out of the year. Most people associate Valentine's Day with romantic relationships, boyfriends, girlfriends, but I like to associate it with a day to express love to people you love most...not solely restricted to a romantic interest or spouse. For that reason, I wanted to do something special for not only my boyfriend, but for a few loved ones, so I made some delicious Valentine's cupcakes!

I tried something new and added some coffee to my cakemix to create a mocha cupcake. I also took a crack at making chocolate buttercream frosting from scratch and it turned out great. Recipe follows...

It is imperative to sift all the dry ingredients to insure there are no lumps in the mix.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of instant espresso granules to 1 cup of brewed coffee to get a mocha flavor.

The finished cupcakes decorated with candy heart and chocolate chip X's and O's.

I bought some pretty pastry packaging from Michael's and gave a box each to my boyfriend, my best friend, Natalie, and my mom.

MOCHA CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups of flour
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cups of cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of instant espresso granules 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and mix until combined with a spoon, a hand mixer, or electric mixer.
3. In another bowl, mix buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
4. With a mixer on low speed, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
5. Add the 1 1/2 teaspoons of espresso granules to a cup of hot coffee and stir to combine. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee mixture to the batter and stir to combine.
6. Distribute the batter into prepared cupcake tins.
7. Bake for 18-22 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes then remove from the tin and let cool completely on a cooling rack. 

*Note that the batter will be a bit runny, but this is perfectly fine.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a pound of bittersweet chocolate
• 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate
• 2-3 egg whites, at room temperature 
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 pound of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 teaspoon of water

Directions:

1. Chop the chocolates and place in a heat proof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
2. Place the bowl of egg whites over the pan of simmering water and heat until warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture holds a stiff peak. 
4. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating on medium speed.
5. Scrape down the bowl and add the melted chocolate, vanilla, and espresso and mix for 1 minute until the chocolate in completely blended in. If the buttercream seems very soft, allow it to cool and beat again.

Voila!