Dreaming of the UK

I have really been missing England, Scotland and Wales lately (sorry Ireland, but I have yet to visit you).  I miss the green and the dark skies and of course the fashion.  

But mostly I miss this little polka-dot, 

Missoni-clad wee one.  

 There are a lot of reasons to love it over there, 

but this one is the most important.  

Dream Birthday and Time of Year

I love that my Birthday falls around/or on Thanksgiving for many reasons.

1. I love spending my birthday surrounded by friends and family.

2. I love dressing up as a pilgrim and having my little sister dress as a Native American.

3. I love ending a day of eating turkey with either a pink birthday cake or flan.

4. I love being about to see a Twilight movie to distract me from the fact that I'm old.

(Yes, I'm one of those.)

This year was no different. In fact, it might be the best one yet.

Mitch and her family threw me a lovely party with all the pizza and desserts and Raspberry decor she could find. Do you know one of the reasons I love Mitch so much? If you hand her something, like say a Mexican dress from Deseret Industries, she will put it on right then and there - even if it doesn't really match. Bless.

I had 3 cakes, but I think the one Erhan brought from The Coffee Garden was the clear favorite. There was nothing left of it at the end of the night.

And yes, that is the Missoni for Target sweater I bought the day it came out, paired with another birthday gift from my Sister.

She happened upon a Missioni for Target mini-skirt in my size. I tell you, that lady is a master visualizer.

P.S. I thought my brother looked extra sharp, with his yellow shirt, thick glasses and herringbone jacket.

This year was also special because we had several finance experts in attendance who talked about the world's economy, excel and working with models.

And babies talking about baby things.

And at the end of the night, Mitch let me brush her hair while she read book 2 of The Hunger Games out loud (if it's not one young adult series, then it's another).

Dreamiest Party of the Week

I thought I was planning a surprise party

for my 3 dear friends last night

but my family/friends turned it around

and surprised me with a party.

One of my gifts was a handsome man in uniform.

Don't worry, his gorgeous girlfriend was close by.

Remember these Beautiful Ones?

My mom was out of town but she sent

her famous Chocolate Cake as one of my presents.

My night would have been complete just

being surrounded by these people:

But there was more.

Another surprise that I would have never guessed.

Until I did.

And it blew my mind.

The one item from the Missoni for Target collection I coveted but didn't dare think I would ever own.

Now I might be able to start creating

My Dream Bike fantasy after all.

Thank you dear friends for the perfect taco party surprise birthday fiesta one could ever hope for.

Car of my Dreams

Every Halloween there is something called 'Trunk or Treat' where parents park their cars in the church parking lot and decorate their trunks and then kids go from car to car asking for candy. Some people try to make their cars look spooky but not my sister.

She had one thing on her mind:

She turned her car into a Missoni for Target display.

I'm glad to see Nephew got good use out of the Christmas gift I gave him last year. I was worried he'd only wear it during our traditional English bobby Christmas dinner.

Dream Cake - Chocolate Edition

One of my aunties had a birthday and we got to celebrate it in the ultimate Halloween house.

(Here my Missoni-addicted sister and I got into a spooky mood, with Auntie Shotz enjoying her birthday cake.)

Our friend Barbara goes all out for every holiday but her Halloween decor is beyond genius.

Barbara also introduced us to the most insane chocolate cake recipe you will ever encounter.

I don't want to be a tease so I'm sharing the recipe (it's actually from Ina Garten's book Barefoot Contessa at Home):

Beatty’s Chocolate Cake

Ingredients (Note: Barbara insists on special brands for some of these ingredients and the cake is so perfect I am not going to argue against her suggestions.)

Butter, for greasing the pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose 'King Arthur' flour - plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups 'Droste' cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon Madagascar Vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (also works great with decaf)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting:

6 ounces Scharffen Berger semisweet chocolate

1 teaspoon Madagascar Vanilla extract

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 tablespoon instant coffee powder (again, Barbara uses decaf)

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

* In case I haven't made it clear how phenomenal this cake it I'll tell you this: there are very few cakes that I like and I cannot stop thinking about this one. Plus it is so rich - all you need is a tiny slice and you're good for the day.*

What I Wore . . .

I was in a Russian-figure-skater kind of mood on Sunday.

Which means there was only one outfit for me.

My Nehru collar, flared skirt, vintage dress bought at the Annex Flea Market (now located in Hell's Kitchen):

With my golden LaROK swing coat (so sparkly):

Paired with these wonderfully-tall-but-

so-comfortable Steve Madden wedge boots:

And where did I wear this Slavic ensemble?

Oh just to The Beauty Social. And what pray tell is that? It's an 'event bringing together beauty and online social media,' sponsored by Beautylish.

I went with my Missoni-clad niece and sister.

We all sat in one of the upstairs ballrooms

at the Loews hotel in Santa Monica

and listened to some brilliant speakers.

My favorite was Claire Wineland, an exceptional girl who set up a charity for families who are affected by cystic fibrosis. She spoke (sans notes) about inner beauty and appreciating our bodies and in the end received a standing ovation.

Fresh set up a booth and I wanted to buy everything there. Sadly nothing was for sale but, I did get to try the new Sugar Passion Tinted Lip Treatment.

I use these lip balms every night before I go to bed and when I want to look like I'm not wearing any make-up (but I secretly am). My next trip to Sephora I am buying a Mini Sugar Kissing Trio. Did I mention these taste delicious as well? Not that anyone should substitute lip gloss for a meal.

Of course I had to take advantage of

every beauty-related service offered.

I had my brows 'done' at benefit, which was a first for me since they are so overwhelming to begin with. Not the most practical choice but I'm a sucker for someone applying make-up on me.

Then I had my face sprayed with foundation at Temptu.

It felt like gusts of air on my face

and I didn't want it to stop.

Notice a difference? Trust me, there is one.

I finished it off with a visit to the Goody booth.

She did a good job, right?

Isn't the lobby at Loews, great?

Too many questions?

Before I left I had to do an 'After' shot

by the step-and-repeat.

Look, I didn't go just for the gift bag, but it did warm my heart to walk away with so many goodies. Especially one with Kate Somerville's ExfoliKate (jackpot!).