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December 30, 2010

Time for those New Years resolutions...

Hi lovelies,


2010 is out and 2011 is in. Time really does fly by. Nevertheless, I'm still excited for the New Year to come. I've never been one to make New Years resolutions, but I feel like as the older I get, I should have something to hold myself mentally accountable for the things I want to accomplish. So here's what I intend to do to improve my life in 2011...

1. Stop and smell the roses...In the everyday blitz of handling a home, work and family, sometimes you just don't take time to appreciate the little moments. I want to spend more precious time with my kids because before I realize it, they'll be all grown up. I don't want to complain about my husband always working and just enjoy the time that we have together...it's not quantity but quality!

2. Spend less and save money...I've stopped spending so much money on clothing but cosmetics is one area that I just can't help myself when it comes to shelling out money. I want to spend less on skincare and makeup products and try to make use of what I already have. There are a lot of BIG things I want to accomplish in the next few years and for that I need to keep track of every penny. Saving is a big resolution for 2011.
3. Eat healthy...I don't really eat junk food but that definitely doesn't mean I'm a healthy eater. I'm determined to eat more healthful, wholesome foods like vegetables and whole grains as well as drink lots more water.
4. Read and write more...reading and writing are things I love to do but haven't had time for in the past few years. I resolve to read a new book AT LEAST once a month and to take some time out each day to write even a few sentences.


5. Try new things...whether it be a yoga class, a different type of food or a change in hairstyle!










December 23, 2010

Kitchen Conundrum? Just Make It Work!

I'm sorry to say it but at our house...fruits just aren't a fave. My husband and daughter will eat bananas and grapes but that's just about as far as their experimentation with produce will go. Ironically, fruit baskets are probably one of the most popular gift around the holidays...after fruit cakes, of course. A few days ago we received a basket filled with yummy cookies, nuts, chocolate covered popcorn and PEARS. Instead of just letting these beautiful fruits go to waste, I decided turn them into something my family would readily dig into-a sweet, flaky, home-made PIE! The hardest part was the crustand even that wasn't so complicated...just a little tedious trying to keep all the ingredients cold (I'll explain why later).

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks COLD butter (cubed)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
6-8 tbsp. ice water
4 Forelle or Bartlett pears (peeled and sliced)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup flour
1/2 lemon zested & juiced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit. Add salt and sugar to flour. Cut in cold cubed butter until the doug resembles a crumbly texture. Slowly add water until it forms a soft, maleable ball of dough and refridgerate it for 15 minutes. Roll out half of the dough and place in pie dish. Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edges. For the filling, combine pear slices, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, lemon zest and juice. Pour onto pie crust. Flatten second half of dough and cut into strips. Create a lattice top by weaving the strips of dough. Pinch edges together with the bottom crust. Flute the edges with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

December 20, 2010

Rockin' n' Rollin'

Hi lovelies,

I wanted to share some photos from a test shoot I did with photographer Tamiz Rezvi and model/actress Maria Papathanasiou. The look we were going for was grunge chic with a feminine twist, so I went with a smokey grey eye and defined, thick eyebrows along with sparkly pink lips to match the sparkly pink guitar! The rest was pretty simple, some light contouring and a flush of pink color on the apples of the cheeks. We shot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. It was so cold but I think Maria rocked it and the pictures came out pretty good.