What I wore today: 03/14/2015 (Rhymes with Orange)

Last week, I got a small section of my hair buzzed off. I've wanted to do it for so long, I had to finally take the plunge, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. It makes me feel like a total badass. Plus it's subtle enough that it's really easy to hide for those more conservative days (like Monday to Friday). Props to my amazing stylist Ivette for suggesting to make the section not too high so I wouldn't hose volume and could wear it in a variety of ways. 

I guess something about my new haircut and the warm weather we've been having made me wear orange and mix prints. Sometimes you feel quiet and sometimes you feel loud. 

Ankle boots – Target
Pencil skirt – Anthropologie
Silk blouse – Anthropologie
Cardigan – Anthropologie
Necklace – DIY

What I wore today: 09/12/2013 (Not Over Neon)

I wore this last night to work our store's fashion show. We were instructed to wear our best Anthro, so I chose this superstar skirt from last summer. Though it's a bold color, I've found this skirt to be surprisingly versatile. I've worn in with chambray and black and white in the past, but decided to pair it with a simple white peplum top this time, accessorizing with a poppy neon necklace I painted with neon nail polish (tutorial here).

I don't know about you, but I'm not over neon yet. It feels especially appropriate in these last hot death-rattle days of summer, since I know all brights with give way to deep fall colors soon. 

Neon lace skirt - Anthropologie

White peplum top - Anthropologie

Vintage jellies - thrifted

Neon satchel - Target

Neon necklace - DIY
Dinosaur bone rib-cage cuff bracelet - nOir Jewelry

IFB Asks: What's Your Signature Color?

The latest IFB Project asks, "what's your signature color?" and, while I don't think I could ever actually use the phrase "signature color" without feeling pretentious, it's an easy question for me to answer. Navy is the foundation on which my wardrobe rests.

This didn't happen intentionally. I never chose navy so much as it chose me. All I know is that one day I looked around I noticed that navy was my color.

When it came time to choose what stones would compliment the diamond in my engagement ring, I knew I wanted sapphires, not just to honor my mother (they're her birthstone) but also because navy seemed like a color I wouldn't tire of wearing every day for the rest of my life.

Navy is forever.

Once, when friend told me she had no time for navy -- why did it need to exist, other than to trick her into accidentally wearing one navy sock and one black sock? -- I suddenly felt overcome with incredulous defensiveness. Why did black need to exist? What made it so great anyway, huh?

While navy is a good and practical neutral that can, despite frequent arguments to the contrary, be worn with black (ask Yve Saint Laurent if you don't believe me), my love for it extends beyond the practical and into fantasy. Two years ago, I wrote in an installment of my retired feature "Color Theory," that navy is "a bit prep school, it's a bit sailor. It's so French and yet so all American."

There's the practicality of navy, of course. There's the denim and the chambray and the perfect wool peacoat. But the fantasy of Navy is what makes me come back to it over and over again.

What I Wore Today: 04/14/2013 (Bradford)

In the springtime, I find myself wanting to wear more colors, wanting to mix colors to form unexpected combinations, and wanting to parade out all my favorite patterns like stripes and dots.

I cherish this time in fashion, this short period we get in spring and again in fall where weather isn't such a dictator of what we can wear. I relish the freedom of light layers.

Without the cardigan, this outfit would be perfect for the Fourth of July, but it's still a bit cold out, so I added a layer and found I really liked the new direction that mint took the color story.

By the way, only looking at the photos now do I realize that I happened to have on mint and red nail polish to match my outfit perfectly. A complete lucky coincidence! 

Polkadot jeans - AG, Anthropologie

Candy-stripe flats - Modcloth

Eyelet button-down - thrifted

Mint green "Jackie" cardigan - J.Crew
Pavé link bracelet - J.Crew
Nail-polish-spriped iPhone case - DIY

What I wore today: 03/17/2013 (Peppermint Patty)

I don't always wear so, so much green on St. Patrick's Day. But, the day before I went to a party where everyone but me was wearing green, so I felt the need to prove my spirit. Naturally, by the actually day, everyone was over it and I was the only one wearing a lot of green.

Somedays, I just can't keep up with the crowd.

Crochet applique military jacket "Itinerant Anorak" - Anthropologie

Watercolor-print dress - H&M

Gray tights - Pure and Good

Gray ankle boots - Target

Leather bag - Ralph Lauren

Valentine's Day recipe: cotton-candy champagne cocktail

What could be more playfully romantic than dissolving a puff of pretty, pink cotton candy in a bubbling stream of chilled champagne?

When I saw this idea on the back page of Her Magazine's wedding issue, I knew I had to try it and share the results with you readers.

For me, ideal Valentine's Day foods are either romantic (fondue), punny (artichoke hearts), or visual on point (anything hear-shaped, red, pink, etc.) This easy and delightful cocktail ticks both the first and third box. And if you can think of a punny name for it, you can tick the second box as well. 

And since making it is so fun -- watching the bubbling champagne dissolve the puffs of candy before your eyes -- it makes a great signature cocktail for a party. I suggest creating a make-your-own cocktail bar with puffs of candy artfully displayed alongside individually sized bottles of champagne. Galentine's Day, anyone?

 

To see a quick video I made of the process, click here. Oh, and follow me on Vine!

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Summer recipe (for a winter's night): pink lemonade layer cake

Something colorful and fruity can really brighten up a dreary winter day. So, when I decided to make a cake for my friend Monica's birthday (and she told me her favorite was lemon - mine too!), I decided to frost a lemon cake with classic vanilla buttercream dyed pink, and call it pink lemonade cake. 

I made the cake from a mix and the frosting from scratch. It might occur to a lot of people to do just the opposite, but I find that cake from a mix is pretty good, while store-bought frosting doesn't hold a candle to homemade. 

I have fun weighing the pros and cons of what things to buy and what to make. This book is a great reference for that sort of thing. 

Ingredients:

Lemon cake mix

Eggs, oil, and water called for by mix

2 sticks butter at room temperature (microwaving it soft won't work; it needs to sit out)

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (never vanilla flavoring)

3 drops red food coloring

Zest of one lemon

 

Step 01. Prepare cake according to directions on mix, baking in two circular pans. Let cool completely.

Step 02. Start the frosting while the cake is in the oven. With an electric mixer, whip the butter at a high speed for about two minutes. 

Step 03. Add sugar slowly, whipping until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and food coloring, and whip at a high speed for two more minutes. The frosting should be light and fluffy but able to hold its shape.

Step 04. Once the cake has cooled, carefully slice off the rounded tops of both cakes with a sharp serrated knife so that they are flat across the top. This step is optional, but gives the cake a better shape and makes the layers easier to stack.

Step 05. Flip both cakes over so that their browned bottoms and up and there cut edges are down. Place on a cookie sheet. Frost each cake's top and sides with a thin, transparent layer of frosting. This is just to create a "crumb coat," a barrier between the cake's crumbs and the clean, thick layer of frosting that's going to show. Once the cakes are frosted with the thin layer, refrigerate them for 30 minutes to harden the crumb coat.

Step 06. Place the first cake layer on a cake stand or pretty plate (I made a cake stand by placing a plate on an upturned bowl - but be careful as this isn't very stable) and slip a few strips of wax paper under it to protect the stand from the frosting. Spread a thick layer of frosting on top of the first layer, and set the second layer of top of that.

Step 07. With the remainder of the frosting, cover the top and sides of the cake with a thick, even layer of frosting. An offset spatula is best for this but, as I haven't bought one yet, I used a flat rubber spatula. A butter knife would work fairly well also.
Step 08. Sprinkle the lemon zest over the top of the cake for decoration (and flavor, yum yum!)

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