Friend Friday: Summertime is for Strawberries!

For today’s Friend Friday, we are sharing our favorite seasonal dish.  My favorite is one that is best made whenever strawberries are in season, which is really anytime of the year.  One of my signature dishes is making cheesecake.  But I feel like for the summer, it’s a bit too hot to use the oven.  I searched the world-wide web and found this fresh and light alternative, and I have been making this dish for around 4 years now (original recipe found here).  I’ll do a step-by-step demo of this sometime soon.  Have a great weekend!

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

  • Prep Time: 20 min.
  • Cook Time: None
  • Serves: 14

Ingredients

  • 2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 3 cups whipping cream, whipped (or 1 tub of Cool Whip)
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) loaf frozen pound cake, thawed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, grated
  • Chocolate curls (optional)
  • Additional strawberries (optional)

Cooking Directions

  1. In a bowl, toss strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, orange juice and remaining sugar until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream; set aside.
  3. Drain strawberries, reserving juice; set the berries aside. Gently toss cake cubes with reserved juice. Place half of the cake in a 4-qt. trifle dish or serving bowl. Top with a third of the cream cheese mixture, half of the strawberries and half of the grated chocolate. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cream cheese mixture. Garnish with chocolate curls and strawberries if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Note:  Instead of using a 4 qt trifle dish or serving bowl, you can also use a 2 inch deep serving dish/pan and put the layer of pound cake cubes on the bottom, spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the cake, and add the strawberries to the top.

(Image courtesy of Taste of Home)

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is a Google group for bloggers to converse on a given topic each week. Katy from ModlyChic sends the questions, bloggers post their responses and then add their post to the list of people sharing their thoughts on the subject matter. To get started, check out this great tutorial on Grit & Glamour here.

So Fresh

I had taken pictures of another outfit earlier this week, but I just couldn’t figure out why they all seemed a bit off.  I realized that I wasn’t looking or feeling confident, no matter what I did.  There is something about a new haircut.  It makes outfits feel more complete.  It makes you walk with confidence.  It just makes you feel good all over.

Outfit – Love 21 top; Rampage pants (from ages ago); Rebecca Minkoff bag; Manolo Blahnik shoes; Coach sunglasses; Michael Kors watch

Pieces From A Working Mom’s Wardrobe

I know that as mothers, we need to find balance with what’s important.  Taking care of family is definitely on the top of my list, but it’s important to remember to take care of yourself, too.  To me, looking good and feeling good are also on the same list.  As a working mother of a rambunctious 2-year-old, I struggle all the time with functional style.  How can I look and feel effortless?  Here are some things that I do to make it easy for myself to stay stylish.

1.  Easy, low maintenance fabrics – I would love for most of my weekend or casual wardrobe to be items that I can just grab and go with very little to no fuss.  This is why I have started to select pieces in my wardrobe that require no ironing, or what my husband calls “ironing by dryer” (throwing an item in the dryer for 10 minutes on high, then smooth out the wrinkles).  Some of these pieces are not always work clothes or clothes for an evening out, but are functional yet stylish pieces that I can literally throw on when I need to run to the store with Dominic in tow.  An example is the dress pictured above from Lulus.com.  It is 100% sheer polyester with a built-in lining.  I can wear it with a little cardigan or denim jacket, boots or sandals, grab my purse and his baby bag, then I’m ready to go.  I’m still completely comfortable, but I feel quite stylish.

2.  Versatile mid-heel and flat-heel shoes – I am a very big shoe fanatic, so it’s hard to believe that I would wear anything but knock-out-show-stopping heels.  Although I definitely do own those types of shoes, they aren’t practical for my everyday life.  Many of my casual shoes are like the boots pictured above, or the shoes pictured below.  The Jeffrey Campbell “Kelley” shoes look like any other Oxford in styling, but are like sandals due to the cut-outs on either side.  I’ve worn them with skirts, shorts, jeans and work pants (see my “40 for 40 for Lent” category for the many ways I remixed them).  The versatility makes them invaluable for my wardrobe.  But if you really want to know what my ultimate “go to” extreme casual flat is, look no further than the classic canvas Toms shoe, which are pictured in the header of my blog.

3.  When wearing higher heels, make sure they are strong & comfortable, preferably a wedged heel – I always worry about getting any kind of heel for casual day-to-day dressing because I don’t feel very secure in my footing when carrying Dominic, additional bags, or groceries.  I also worry about comfort during any kind of long trip or outing.  But I can attest to the fact that a wedge heel in a practical height will remedy any of those worries, as long as you “test drive” them first.  I just bought the shoes pictured below from DSW by Envy.  They are a medium wedged heel with a 1 inch platform.  I was happy to know when I received these shoes in the mail how well they fit and just how comfortable they are (which means no returns).  They can be worn with shorts and jeans, but I think the best partner for these cute, comfortable and practical shoes are my maxi-dresses and skirts.  Flats never seem to work for me when wearing anything long, so these are the perfect solution.

4.  A versatile grab & go purse – I want a purse that can carry all and should be easy to handle if I need to carry (or chase) my son.  I have two recently purchased bags that I have been interchanging on a daily basis, depending on what I need.  The first is the Moto Hobo bag by Foley + Corinna.  When you join their email list,  not only will you get great deals, but you also receive a $50 gift voucher for any purchase over $200 during the month of your birthday.  I was able to snag this great purse on sale, then added my coupon so I only paid $175 for a purse that was originally $450!  It’s roomy, slouchy and has a great strap drop.  I know I can carry it on my shoulder, but I could carry it cross-body if I have to.  It is in a wonderful supple leather and believe it or not, it’s still available (see the link at the bottom of the page to their website).  My next purchase from them will definitely be either a City or Mid-City tote because of the size and the detachable strap.

My newest obsession is the Morning After Clutch by Rebecca Minkoff.  Since my trip to their recent sample sale, I now own three!  What I like about the MAC is that it is a sleek 11″W x 7.5″H x 3″D with a 14″ strap drop.  This is actually larger than it appears in an online description, once the bag is up close and personal.  The strap is convertible and can either be worn cross-body, shortened to be hand carried or worn on the shoulder, or the strap can be removed to be a clutch.  Inside, there are several pockets and compartments for all of my “little things” that would otherwise get lost at the bottom of a larger purse.  What really has me excited about this purse is the quality.  The leather of two of the MACs I purchased are also soft and supple, like the Foley + Corinna bag.  The hardware is thick and durable.  But overall, it’s just a beautiful purse because everything about it is classic.

 That was just a little sneak-peek into what I think about when putting together an outfit or shopping for wardrobe pieces, which is basically practical and functional style that should and be as effortless as it appears.  How do you find your wardrobe/life balance?

Outfit – Audrey 3+1 dress; Aldo boots; Calvin Klein denim jacket; Vintage brooch; Rebecca Minkoff bag; Juicy Couture ring & necklace; H&M earrings; Michael Kors watch; Converse glasses

Jeffrey Campbell “Kelley” Oxford image courtesy of  Polyvore (from Norstrom here); Envy Tween Ankle Wrap Wedge Sandal image courtesy of DSW here; Moto Hobo bag images courtesy of Foley + Corinna here

Deal of the Day: Rebecca Minkoff Online Sale!

If you haven’t noticed already, my latest designer obsession is Rebecca Minkoff.  I attended the sample sale in LA a couple of weekends ago and was able to get some great deals.  For those of you who couldn’t make it, there is an online sale that starts today and runs until June 17.  Click on the picture below to take you to the Rebecca Minkoff site.  Happy shopping!

(Image courtesy of Minkette.com)

Randomness: Music for the Masses

I see that I have a few new followers, so firstly I would like to say “Welcome to my blog!”  Although this blog is heavier on personal style and fashion, I definitely have a keen interest in music.  Be forewarned that my musical interests are mainly tied to 80’s alternative, especially Depeche Mode, Recoil, Joy Division, OMD, Duran Duran and bands in the same genre.  This means that most of the music news that I report on will be centered around these groups and this type of music.  If you want to get to know more on my musical taste and interest, the “Musically Inclined” category is a great start.  In the meantime, here are some musical tidbits that I’ve either received an email about, found on Facebook or have received a Tweet about.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Independence (Record Store) Day – With the release of Depeche Mode’s Remixes: 81-11 on June 7th came several exclusives.  One I nearly had in my hands, had I gotten myself together earlier in the day.  On Depeche Mode’s official site, they posted several independent record stores that would have a very rare and exclusive 12″ single as a gift when purchasing the 3 CD or 6 LP Remixes release.  Pictured on the left, it was a four song, promo only 12″ single of “Personal Jesus”.  This is how I discovered “Record Store Day“.

The gist of what I understand this to be is that artists create special and exclusive products for their new record/album releases, and distribute these items to only independently owned record stores.  These stores cannot be corporate chain stores and truly celebrates the indie record business.

I think this is a great endeavor because I have almost exclusively patronized independent record stores my entire life and I only go to the bigger chains when I have no alternative.  Since I was a teen, I have gone to local stores like Licorice Pizza before they were sold to a large chain, and Blue Meannie before they became exclusively a store for the metal genre.  The only “large chain” music store I frequented before their demise in 2006 was Tower Records because of the music they stocked and the awesome people that worked there.  Music stores that I shop at now include CSL, Lou’s Records, M-Theory and Amoeba (they all participate in Record Store Day).   I firmly believe that all music enthusiasts should do their part and support independently owned music stores and I’m excited to know that artists feel the same way by driving sales towards these types of stores.

(Image courtesy of Record Store Day)

Alan Wilder Auctions His Goods – I’m now on Twitter more and more, and I discovered that this is also a great place to get news as it happens.  Through Recoil (@recoilofficial and @Recoilboss), it has been announced that Alan Wilder has decided to sell some of his beloved equipment, vinyl and memorabilia that he has collected over the years.  The items range from Depeche Mode rarities, instruments that he’s held on to, and even clothing he has worn to pictorials and videos (although I find it odd to purchase his pants).  You can browse through the items at  The Alan Wilder/Depeche Mode Collection website.  One of my friends stated that he spent 2 hours looking through everything and reading Alan’s comments because it’s like a history lesson Depeche Mode and Recoil.  The actual auction takes place on September 3, 2011 in Manchester, England and online.  If you are a die-hard fan, you will not want to miss this fantastic opportunity.

(Image courtesy of Shunt)

“Girl Panic” Video Shoot – I follow John Taylor of Duran Duran on Twitter (@ThisIsTheRealJT and @duranduran), and there was Tweets galore regarding the new video for the song “Girl Panic” from their album “All You Need is Now”, filmed earlier this week.  Yasmin Le Bon was reunited with her model friends Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Eva Herzigova, and Helena Christensen for this video.  I’m excited to see the new video, but still worried about Simon Le Bon, who is recovering from a throat ailment that has sidelined their tour in the UK and Europe.   In the meantime, here are some shots from the video shoot on Fashionologie here.

(Image courtesy of Record Store Day)

It’s Time to DANCE with DJ Lance Rock!  If you have kids, you definitely know about the phenomenon that is Yo Gabba Gabba!  It’s a show about four crazy characters (Brobee, Toodee, Foofa, Muno and Plex) and their adventures with their ringleader, DJ Lance Rock aka Lance Robinson.  What I love about the show is that they feature so many good sing-a-long songs that teach lessons in an incredible fun and catchy way.  But the best part of the show are their musical and celebrity guests.  Past performers and guests include The Faint, The Shins, Jimmy Eat World, Chromeo, The Ting Tings, The Roots, Jack Black, and Elijah Wood.

I received a Tweet from @amoebamusic that you can see DJ Lance Rock up close and personal because he performs a DJ set on June 25, 2011 at Hollywood Amoeba location (details here).  Maybe he’ll do a little “Dancey-Dance” with his Gabbaland pals!

(Photo of Dominic dressed as DJ Lance Rock for Halloween last year)

Foodie Fever Feature: Frosted Robin Cupcakes

How do I love cupcakes?  Let me count the ways.  However, I have not perfected the cupcake baked from scratch.  Enter Frosted Robin Cupcakes, whom I had the pleasure of visiting a couple of weekends ago.  They are located in Seaport Village, right on the San Diego Bay.   My son already found the decor enticing with the cow bench outside.  But inside, I found lovely decorated cupcakes that I hoped were just as good as they were beautiful.

Rather than try to figure out what would suit my tastes that day, I asked what would be a good choice for a first timer.  The house specialty was the Cayman Spice Cupcake, described as “coconut milk infused, cinnamon and nutmeg cake, coconut buttercream icing and cinnamon sugar sprinkle.”  Oh my!  I absolutely love spiced baked goods such as pumpkin pies and the Eggnog cookies I baked last Christmas (recipe found here).  I can say with certainty that the Cayman Spice Cupcake did not disappoint.  The cupcake itself was moist, while the spice added the extra kick.  The coconut buttercream icing was light, fluffy and not too rich.  But I’m most anxious to try the other exotic sounding flavors such as Caribbean Carrot, Lychee Rose, Mango, Sweet Potato and Pineapple.

Owner and manager, Sheree Harrison graciously took the time to answer a few of my questions on how she got started, why cupcakes, and what makes Frosted Robin Cupcakes a unique cafe experience!

What made you decide to start your own business?

Having progressed to the role of Global Director of Marketing for a major international law firm, I had been very successful in my corporate career and I was ready for a new challenge. My first love has always been art and I also love food, so the cupcake industry offered me an opportunity to create delicious treats that I could also design to be little works of art.

Why cupcakes?

[Sorry, got ahead of myself. See response above.]

What made you move to San Diego?

I had been travelling to San Diego over a course of about three years to attend a Marketing Partners Forum in Carlsbad and I fell in love with the city. It has everything my family and I love; the ocean, cool and sunny weather, mountains… I guess, all the things that everyone loves about this beautiful city.

Is it easy maintaining a business here and in the Cayman islands?

The cafe in Cayman is actually owned by one of my best friends. We’ve licensed the trademark to her, so we provide her with marketing support and any other support she may need.

What do you like best about what you do?

I love seeing people’s faces light up when they walk in the door and see our display case full of little, delicious, works of cupcake art. We all have fun, childhood memories of cupcakes at birthday parties and family celebrations. I love being able to take our customers back to those times when you could just enjoy the simple pleasure of sinking your teeth in to a cupcake. We do tea parties now as well and providing the big tea party hats, boas and costume jewelry has that same beautiful effect of transporting people back in time. Grown women become silly little girls again, it’s great!

Asian Inspired: FTF Blog Event for 6/8/2011

The Full Time Fabulous blog event for June is to create a visual post using one or more of the Spring/Summer 2011 trends as inspiration. Two of my favorite sites, ASOS and Topshop, both have Asian inspired outfits as part of their lookbooks, which is fitting as May was Asian-Pacific month. But what really inspired me was Keiko Lynn’s outfit from a couple of weeks ago called “Puppy Paradise“, where she wore a self-designed floral bed jacket. Each of those looks inspired my visual presentation and outfit, which is themed around the Kimono.

Outfit – Nolita kimono top; Forever 21 tank; Old Navy jeans; Envy wedges

(Bonus picture of Dominic walking into my shot, wearing sunnies!)

Seeing Stars

I love wearing black with indigo/navy blue.  It makes for a clean look, but creates just enough contrast when the light hits the combination the right way.  This duo of colors also made anything white just pop and almost shimmer, like the stars in the dress and the lines of this fantastic Trompe L’oeil version of the Morning After Clutch.

Outfit – Forever 21 dress; Nordstrom cardigan; Gunmetal shoes (posted about here from Gilt); Rebecca Minkoff purse; Simply Vera Wang tights; Michael Kors watch; Juicy Couture ring; Coach sunglasses; Tiffany & Co necklace

Weekend in Pictures: Eat, Pray, SHOP!

This past Saturday, I spent the day in Los Angeles.  I’m it sure it seems like it’s not that far from San Diego.  But driving in what should be two hours makes for a three to four-hour drive with traffic if you don’t start early.  I decided to leave at 7am, which turned into 830am once I finished getting gas, coffee and breakfast.  I finally made it up to Hollywood by about 1030am, which was fantastic timing.

I first went to the Rebecca Minkoff sample sale at a store called Confederacy on Hollywood Boulevard.  There was quite a large selection, so it took me about an hour to decide exactly what I wanted.  I always have to remind myself that many sample sales will not have the popular colors (like black), so I really have to think about what I want out of the colors they do have.  Additionally, I have to remind myself that I need to pick up everything that I think is cute, then pare down to what I will actually buy.  I lost out on a black MAC that had a gold sort of wash over it because I picked it up to look at it, then put it down to look at other purses.  When I went back to get it, of course it was gone.  I was still able to buy a different MAC in a light grey leather with gunmetal hardware, along with a couple of wrap-around belts and a bracelet.

I later walked down the block a bit and found a crowd at a vintage/costume shop called Ozzie Dots.  Once a month they have a $1 sale, and just my luck that Saturday was the day!  I have always been able to get through a vintage store without any incident, but not this time.  After placing my previous purchases back in my car, I went back and began to sift through the rack of dollar treasures.  I grabbed a couple of dresses and headed towards the other racks.  A woman approached me and said “I will gladly take that dress off your hands if you decide that you don’t want it.” I politely said I was still deciding when she said, “You’re too tiny for that dress anyway”.  I then politely said that I could alter it and she said in shock “Why would you do THAT?”  After discovering a small hole in the front, I showed it to her because I was about to put it back, but she still wanted it so I gave it to her.

I found another very cute dress that looked like it came straight out of “Gidget”, so I snapped it up in a hurry.  The same lady came up behind me again and said, “That looks like another dress that may be too big for you.  I will gladly take that dress, too if you don’t like it.”  I was still polite and said, “I’m actually considering taking this dress, so I’m going to hang on to it for now”.  I went inside  Ozzie Dots and took my finds to the back to try things on.  That lady came behind me again and said “You know, if you put your things on the counter like that, it means that you don’t want them,” to which I corrected her by saying the sales associate cleared this counter space for me to try the items on.  When I queued in the long line to make my final purchases, she brought a dress in a similar color and said “I think this dress would fit you better, what do you think?”  I made my last polite remark and said, “As you can see, I am going to buy the dress.  Have a nice day.”  She never approached me again.  I have never been stalked in a store before like that!  I guess the dress was that cute, so here is a teaser of a few of the things I bought for future outfit posts (after alterations).  The dress I was stalked for is the green one with the white and pink flowers.

I decided to then satisfy my inner deejay and headed to Amoeba Records.  One of my favorite pastimes is going to record stores because music is like religion to me.  It helps me concentrate, I must have it every where I go, and I can’t seem to live without it.  I featured a local vinyl store in a previous post (seen here), but Amoeba Records is a completely different experience.  There are three locations in California: two in the Bay Area and one in Los Angeles.  The location on Sunset Boulevard is the largest of the three and would literally take me hours to get through.  Since I really had only an hour to kill before meeting up with my friend Sara, I headed for my mainstays: Depeche Mode, Recoil, OMD, Joy Division and Duran Duran.

My final purchases ended up being the album “Cookin’ on the Roof” by 80’s rockabilly group Roman Holiday, and a Depeche Mode release from 2006 called “Live at Crocs Night Club June 27, 1981”, both on vinyl.  The live Depeche Mode album is a transfer of a live recording of one of their earliest concerts.  The reason this is such an important recording is that it includes two songs that were never released on any type of format: “Television Set” and “Price of Love”.  I’m excited to add this to my collection and will now have to ask one of my deejay friends (or my husband) to transfer this to MP3

For lunch, Sara took me to Umami Burger.  It was within walking distance from Amoeba Records in a cool retail setting called Space 15 Twenty on Cahuenga Boulevard.  I had the Umami Burger and sweet potato fries, while Sara had the Port & Stilton burger with thin fries.  They call themselves “The Fifth Taste”, which is explained on one of the links on their site here.  Whatever the reasons, this was one tasty burger!  During our lunch, we also saw Rick Fox walk in.  He is a very tall guy, but I guess you would have to be to play basketball.  At a different outting, Sara and I saw Stephen Dorf.  I think she attracts celebrities.

We chatted the day away and did a bit of shopping.  When I have more time, I will go back and take better pictures because that space is quite architecturally unique.  Just take a look at the Umami Burger sign.  It’s so minimalist cool that they look like lips.  There are a couple of major chain stores, like Free People and Urban Outfitters.  But some of the stores are “revolving” boutiques, so I know when I return that the space will be different again.

Lastly, I must direct your attention to Sara’s fantastic outfit.  She said that she had to look cute because she was going to be hanging out with a fashion blogger, but she definitely had me beat.  What I thought was a vintage shirt, was hand-made by Sara herself!  She paired the shirt with shorts, a belt and cute brown sandals and matching purse (not shown in the picture).  I mentioned her skills in a previous post (seen here), and she has made good on her sewing classes by making her own clothes.  Isn’t she lovely?  Hope you all had a great weekend!

Friend Friday: Vacation, All I Ever Wanted!

Ah, summer always remind of vacations, which reminds me of The Go-Go’s.  But vacations also mean lots of hurry, scurry and of course, packing!  This week’s Friend Friday asks us to think about how we mentally and physically prepare for that quick get away.

When it comes to packing for vacation what’s your mantra?

I don’t really have one, because I’m always contradicting them in some way.  My tendancy is to overpack, which is ironic because I always go shopping no matter where I go.  One thing that really has helped me in a few situations was something my mom taught me:  make sure to have an extra outfit, underwear, socks, and toothbrush in your carry-on.  In times where my luggage was either lost or delayed, this has been a lifesaver!

What are your must packs?

Other than the essentials (underwear, socks and toiletries), I must always have a casual outfit which includes jeans, a t-shirt and pair of shorts, a swimsuit, a business casual outfit, an outfit for an evening out and a very light cardigan or jacket and blazer.  I must also have at least 4 pairs of shoes to match these corresponding outfits.

What are you happy to leave behind?

Heavy jackets or coats, unless I’m knowingly traveling to a place with inclement weather.  I did pack a coat when I went to London because I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like.  Then ended up buying a coat there and we had to buy another piece of luggage to accommodate our purchases, mainly the coat.   We were smarter when we went to New York last year and packed lighter because we knew we would shop.

Any packing secrets that help you get everything into one suitcase?

Put things in shoes and purses and roll stuff around things like hair straighteners.  Generally, try to pack essentials or things that can be mixed and matched because you know can always going shopping at some point (well, that’s my excuse anyway).

Beach reading…what are you taking with you to read in the sand?

I don’t have an iPad, Kindle or any other reading device, so I’ll be hauling the latest hard or soft cover of Sophie Kinsella’s latest “Mini Shopaholic”.

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is a Google group for bloggers to converse on a given topic each week. Katy from ModlyChic sends the questions, bloggers post their responses and then add their post to the list of people sharing their thoughts on the subject matter. To get started, check out this great tutorial on Grit & Glamour here.

(Image courtesy of Chartstat)