Today is a perfect day to make something special.
Good ANNOUNCEMENT: Because my beloved blog has expanded, I’ve upgraded to show you much higher resolution images and a better layout. YAY!
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-Jenna DeAngeles
Chanel inspires, Ann Taylor follows! I put this collage together today after I threw on a knit dress and grabbed my favorite black blazer – realizing how many miles I’d gotten out of this great, old Armani blazer. Sadly, it’s too long for the fashions now and I need to update.
I browsed a billion sites and, of course, Chanel delivers stunning design. The cream suit says it all. The peplum accents a woman’s curves and the v-neck elongates. Delicious! Ann Taylor, a place I haven’t shopped in years caught my eye. They’ve been revamping their look lately and, as seen in the upper right photo, they’ve done a good job: I love the belted cardigan under the short jacket (note to self – try more layers!).
The lower right suit is to die for (from Chanel, too). Just look at the neck and how your eye immediately goes to the neck, then the cuffs, then the covered slit in the front of the skirt – with your keen attention resting, finally, on the pretty little turquoise heart-shaped pocket watch embellishment at the waist. Ahhhhh…..
So, good friend, be a trail blazer and wear them belted, tied, bowed or ruffled.
Suits by Chanel and Ann Taylor.
When I was in High School, I dated Sean – the most adorable Mormon boy with an infectious sense of humor. We went to dances at the Church; he knew every word to all the songs and would share his 1980′s form of karaoke proudly as we all sat around and he regaled us with Debby Harry and Queen. One of the best things his family shared every Monday night was Family Home Night. It was something the Church members practiced – nothing religious – just a night when the TV doesn’t get turned on and the family does something together. Sean’s family played board games; Scrabble, Uno, Monopoly – all the basics. And did we ever have fun! It was the best way to start the week, laughing, cheering, plodding to buy hotels and take your opponents down!
You don’t have to be Mormon to take their lead. Bored? Play. Restless? Play Uno. Craving a giggle? Play Pictionary. Want to have fun with kids? Try Cadoo. Want to exercise your brain? Give Rummikub a whirl. Maybe you’ll even try karaoke one night to, say, Bohemian Rhapsody. …. Sean…? Oh, Sean….!
All the best board games available at Amazon.com.
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Wouldn’t it be cool to be this cool… to do something so extravagant and anomalous that people write about your umbrellas? Take this paragraph written about famed photographer Nick Knight (NY Times): “…Hanging beside the door of Nick Knight’s London home are a half-dozen umbrellas, all identical, except for the color: differing shades of blue and black, all made by his tailor on Savile Row. Whenever Knight orders a suit, he picks out an umbrella to match…”
You have to be pretty clever to think of having umbrellas made to match all your suits, but that’s just SO Nick Knight! You can read all about him, and more impressive, take all the time you want to study, admire, absorb his eponymous career in a new book titled, Nick Knight. List price $75, but I found it on Amazon.com for $50.
Here are some more of his great shots:
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Etsy, if you didn’t already know, is THE spot to buy handmade goodies. From vintage to modern, they have great stuff (and some not-so great stuff) to browse through. Reminds me of digging through the sewing room at my grandmother’s house – it smelled of moth balls and lipstick. The chest of drawers was packed with old buttons, cold cream jars and pencil drawings I had done when I was little. Etsy is a little bit like that; just stuff to discover while looking for that safety pin you need.
I picked some goodies today from Etsy. Clockwise from top, left. Apron, $29 from Boojiboo. Earrings, $22 from Suzy Rocks Designs. Handmade business cards, $10 for 40 from Naomi Lynn. Wall art, $90 from Lost Creek Bird Factory.
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There’s something about a bay window, geraniums out front and a couple of chairs in the sun that says, “Stop on by,” like no other vision.
Plum gorgeous shoes – mix them with gray’s, black, navy, golds, rusts … well… you get my point: Plum goes with darn near everything you have hanging in your closet. Great style, good prices and one opulent pair to dream of for when you score on the lottery ticket. (What’s wrong with dreaming, huh?)
Clockwise from top, left. Tall Boots from Norstrom, $115. Plum satin tennis shoes from Boden, $58. Embellished flats from Boden, $118. Strappy heels from Bloomingdale’s, $165. Stacked platform heels from Anthropologie, $418 (the lottery shoes…).
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Baking not your thing? My friend, Nadine, admits just that. So I gave her my tricks to embellishing a boxed cake mix to make it heavenly (recipe below). She tried it and said it was gooey. Turns out she didn’t cook it long enough – you have to preheat the oven – oops. And then there’s my almost famous frosting, which, according to her husband, was terrific (recipe below, too), which they ate solo and ditched the unbaked cake.
So if you want to fake it and bake it, go for it. If you preheat the oven and follow the directions you will be blissfully satisfied.
Jenna’s Almost Famous Frosting: (with disclaimer)*
*Disclaimer: This frosting is meant for the outside of a cake or to top a cupcake. It’s not dense enough to sit between the layers of a cake. In between layers of a cake, I suggest using pudding, chocolate mousse or a layer of, say, vanilla pudding topped with thinly sliced strawberries. You can even use a nice layer of jam with sliced fruit over it. Some bakers use ice cream but it’s not a good idea – it soaks in the cake.
My husband likes this frosting because he says it’s light – the kind they used when he was a kid. Whatever makes him happy.
Ingredients:
Heavy Whipping Cream (one pint covers a small cake or 18 cupcakes).
½ cup Powdered Sugar
To start: Is the kitchen cool? If it’s warm out, you’ll want to put the bowl on a bed of ice to keep the cream cool. I suggest you use a Pyrex pan with ice cubes in the bottom. Then, place the ceramic mixing bowl for the whipping cream on the ice and hold it so it doesn’t tip. NOTE! If you get any water in the whipping cream, it won’t fluff. Be careful.
If the kitchen is cool, you don’t need to put the bowl on ice. Instead, in a ceramic bowl, and just pour in the whipping cream and grab the mixer.
Using an electric beater, whip the cream on half speed for a minute or two and sprinkle in ½ cup of powdered sugar. When mixed in, turn the beater up to full blast and whip until you have stiff peaks. It takes a few minutes, be patient. You’ll know it’s done when the beater makes really pretty designs in the frosting like ripples of ribbon.
Refrigerate when done. Never frost a warm cake. The frosting will last about 4 days in the refrigerator. Enjoy!!!
Jenna’s Embellished Cake Mix:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a box of Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge cake mix. Use large or jumbo eggs for the recipe. And if it asks for 1 1/3 cups of water (or whatever) substitute 1/3 cup of the water with Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Bake EXACTLY the number of minutes the recipe calls for. Frost when cool.
If cooking is your nemesis, Godiva has an alternative. Lordy. Look at the death by chocolate cake they have online. For $45 you can slip into an insulin coma without even turning on the oven. Godiva.com.
Photo credits from Big Leo.
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Photographs from top: 1) Jenna DeAngeles, fauna. 2) Lady in Rain. 3) Jenna DeAngeles, Blue Hibiscus. 4) Two Girls.
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Mom loves to draw, Missy likes bright vases, Vicki needs a basket to take to the Farmer’s Market, and everyone needs a card with kisses all over it. Here’s a collage meant to spur the colorful part of your generous personality for Valentine’s Day.
Clockwise from top left: Pencils, $39. Vases from Crate & Barrel, $11 up. Dress from J.Crew. Straw bag, $49, tasseled cloth, $68, cards and more from Brook Farm General Store Online.
A big storm is about to hit the Atlantic Coast later today. It’s raining here in Los Angeles. It’s 45 degrees in Portland, Oregon. Perfect: Just the day to post some quilted ideas for the cold! I looked all over for some great looks with good prices. Pottery Barn and Bed Bath & Beyond came out on top, followed behind by a sale at Horchow. And then, of course, I had to throw in one opulent piece for the daydreamer. Of course!
As shown, from top: Pottery Barn, Bed Bath & Beyond, Horchow, Horchow (opulent bed).
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