On the Dotted Line

Rhyme Los AngelesDotted Chambray Dress/Piperlime (tailored)

BC Footwear Prepare for Landing Shoes/Zappos 

Decked Out Necklace/Mark. (seen here)

Summer in the City

Sorry for the overload of photos, but with all these cool backdrops, I just couldn't resist!

Dress/Original Penguin Clothing

Hat/TJ Maxx

Linen Clutch/Old Navy

Retro Woven Flats/Forever 21

Wedding Wants

At this rate, I am going to have to have a lot of weddings to squeeze in all my wants. That poses the question, how many costume changes is too many costume changes? Sigh.

Coast Savita Dress with Feather Skirt/ASOS

Sala Heels/Kate Spade New York

Picturesque Parasol/BHLDN

Eyelash Lace Jumpsuit/J.Crew

Birdcage Veil/Etsy

Nelson V-Neck Dress/Alice + Olivia

Flambe Flats/Kate Spade New York

Queen Anne Dress/BHLDN

Kate Spade New York Lilo Pump/Nordstrom

Fancy Things: Pistachio Cardamom Cake

This year's cake for B's birthday totally de-throned last year's. According to him, by a long shot. I thought about the combo for weeks and scoured the internet, but there just wasn't much out there. In the end, I combined a couple of recipes and winged the rest. The results were magnificent.

Vanilla Bean & Cardamom Cake

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 1/2 c. sugar 

1/2 vanilla bean

2 c. cake flour 

1 1/2 t. cardamom

1 t. baking powder 

1/2 t. baking soda

pinch of kosher salt

1 c. buttermilk

3 egg whites, beaten stiff

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat the insides of 2 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper . In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and the beans scraped from half of a vanilla bean together until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add half of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and mix just until it starts to combine. Add half of the buttermilk and mix just until it starts to combine. Add half of the remaining dry ingredients and lightly mix. Add the remaining buttermilk and lightly mix. Add the remaining dry ingredients and lightly mix. With a spatula, fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Divide the batter evenly among the two pans.  Bake a cake for 25 - 30 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test as well.  Cool completely.

Pistachio Marscapone Filling

8 ounces marscapone cheese, softened

2-3 tbsp pistachio paste

3 tbsp (or to taste) powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Depending on how sweet you like your filling add more or less powdered sugar.

Vanilla Pistachio Buttercream

4 oz. unsalted butter, softened
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp lowfat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup pistachios, chopped

Cream the butter & salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the lemon juice and beat until combined. Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy. Add 2/3 cup chopped pistachios.

To assemble: Top first layer with pistachio marscapone filling. Place second layer on top. Frost the cake evenly, add the remaining 1/3 cup chopped pistachios on top of the frosting.

Turn up the Sun

Stripe Franny Coat with Back Bow/Kate Spade

Mint Dress/H&M (seen here)

Cut to the Chase Necklace/Kate Spade (seen here)

Juliet Tortoise Heels/J.Crew (seen here)

Bag/H&M
Small Round Sunglasses/Loft

From the Fitting Room: H&M Conscious Exclusive 2014

Last week I had a little time to kill so I popped into H&M to see if they still had anything left from their conscious exclusive collection. Last year, they had tons of lovely dresses that I was dying to try on, but this year there was only one. The long jacquard-weave dress didn't disappoint. The fit was just right and it was just so glamorous. Plus it had pockets! If I had even one place to wear it, I definitely would have bought it, but for $299, I just couldn't justify the purchase. But if you had an event to wear it to, it would definitely be worth it. The quality seemed great and on me at least, I wouldn't have needed any alterations. As for fit, the size 2 fit perfectly, but I did need help with the zipper, so I would say it definitely runs slightly more snug than normal H&M size 2 dresses.

H&M Conscious Exclusive Long Jacquard-Weave Dress in size 2

Spring Into Stripes

Tracy Reese Plum Paisley Coat/Anthropologie

Striped Moto Jacket/Forever 21 (last seen here)

Striped Dress/Marshalls (last seen here)

Juliet Tortoise Heels/J.Crew (last seen here)

Bracelets/Forever 21 | Italy Street Vendor