My New Love

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you my newest love: Giambattista Valli shoes.  How can you not look fabulous walking around with a bouquet on your feet?  The flowers are dainty and lovely. And, it's double the fun because they come in both a heel and a flat.  Perfect for tea parties, polo matches, or just pure fabulousness.  Now, I just need to find someone to invite me to a polo match....working on that.   

Mom and Dad :)

Happy Early Valentine's Day 

Keep Entering to Win

Eight days left to enter the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway.  Hop to it people.

Pretty Rings

These Kiel Mead rings are so delicate and pretty.  And perfect for Valentine's day.

Chocolate Indulgences

Daily Candy posted a selection of  Chocolate Indulgences So Decadent They Might Be NSFW.  My mouth is literally watering when I look at the pictures.   My favorite are the chocolate peanut butter macaroons.  They look out of this world. I seriously think I might need to order some when I get back to the US.  The Lilibits candy bars come in a close second.  They have flavors like pecan pie, s’mores, and PB&J.  Yum. Yum. Yum.  I'm also intrguied by the Salzon chocolate bars.  They are vegan dark chocolate bars with a sprinkling of sea salt. You can even get one with cracked black pepper.


I was thinking of spending the weekend in Paris, and now that I have chocolate and macarons on my mind , I think I'll definitely need to go if only for a trip to La Duree.  They probably won't have a chocolate peanut-butter flavor, but I'll take what I can get.

Sucre 7 Chocolate Peanut Butter Maracons

Liddabit Sweets

Salazon Chocolate Co.

Chocolate Liquor Cake

Nook in Color

I love, love, love my Amazon Kindle.  But I can't lie, I got a little jealous when I saw the new color Nook from Barnes and Noble.  Amazon is supposedly launching their color Kindle in August so they're way behind the band-wagon.  I haven't seen the new Nook up close and personal, but it looks pretty snazzy in this photo.  I will say that I'm a little suspect of how good the colors will actually look.   The best thing about the Kindle is the matte screen so you can read without glare.  I'm curious whether the color Nook really maintains the matte screen.  Since it's a touch screen, I'm thinking its functionality might be closer to the iPad than to the Kindle.  I tried reading on my boyfriend's iPad, and the reflection drove me nuts.  It was even worse than reading on a computer.  If the color Nook solves this issue, then it could be a nifty little gadget.  

Cheese Sampler for Beer

Daily Candy posted a list of Valentine's Day Gifts to Melt Hearts.  One of the suggested gifts for guys is a cheese sampler for beer.   Looks like quite a tasty alternative to the classic cheese and wine pairing.  For $65, you pick the type of beer you plan to serve (lager, belgian ale, Indian pale ale, wheat beer, etc) and Formaggio Kitchen creates a sample of tasty pairings.  

As an alternative, you could probably also google "chesses that go well with beer" and then stop by Whole Foods to pick up a selection of choices.  Either way, the idea is cute.

Bad Candle Ideas

I saw these candles in the grocery store last week.  Really?  Apparently, housewives/grandmas actually buy these, because there was only one Almond Joy candle left in stock.  The best part is sprinkle of "chocolate pieces"  on the top of the Almond Joy candle.

Grape Juice?

Yesterday, I discovered my new favorite drink in the Iberia lounge:  alcohol -free wine.  I've definitely heard of alcohol-free beer, but this is the first time I'd ever seen alcohol free wine.  Isn't this just called grape juice?  You can choose either red or rose wine.  It has 0.5% alcohol, and, comes in a can decorated with grape leaves...keeping it classy.   Do you think they produce alcohol free champagne too?

Layover in Madrid

My flight from the US landed 90 minutes late this morning (Iberia has no idea how to depart on time), and I missed my 8:45 AM connection to Zurich.  Turns out that the next flight to Zurich is at 4:10 PM.  Eeek!  

At first I was horrified, but this has actually turned into a good day and, suprisingly, a super productive work day.  The lounge is huge, and there's even a little fountain next to me.  I'm in a comfy chair, and I have unlimited access to olives and drinking cafe con leche.  Not a bad layover after all.

Photos from the Miami ING Half Marathon

Last Sunday, I ran the ING Half Marathon. During the race, they had tons of photographers around the course taking photos.  Then they sent me a link to all my photos.  Incredible how they can pick out my number even in a crowd!

http://www.asiorders.com/go.asp?93443600

 

Don't Forget the Giveaway!

Don't forget to enter the HGTV dream home giveaway.  It doesn't end until Feb 18th!

Food Truck Saturdays

On Saturday night, we went to such a fun event:  a food truck meetup.   Food trucks have taken Miami by storm, and the craze has led to a food truck party on Saturday nights.  The trucks meet in vacant lot in Wynwood Arts District.  Dinners sit at picnic tables or on collapable chairs, bring their own booze, and dine al fresco on food truck fair.  And let me tell you, the food is pretty fantastic.  


There was a crepe truck, Jefe's fish tacos, Cheese-Me (mini sliders and grilled cheese), Latin Burger (apparently amazing burgers), Dim Ssäm à gogo by Sakaya Kitchen (asian fare), Kona Shaved Iced, Churros, and more.


First, we munched on crepes.  Then, we tried a grilled cheese from Mz. Cheezious.  It had multigran bread, gilled apples, and havarti cheese.  They also featured had a bacon and blue combination that proved extra-popular.  I wanted to sample pork buns, but was too full at that point to keep going.


To end the night, we stopped by the Sugar Rush truck for cupcakes.  Sadly, by the time we got there, they were sold out of normal cupcakes and only had deep fried cupcakes left.  After the grilled cheese, I decided to save the deep fried cupcake for the next trip.


You can track food trucks in your own city using MobileCravings.

Royal Jewelers on Rue La La

Royal Jewelers in Andover is featured on Rue La La.  How random is that?  


It's starts at 8 AM today on Monday, Feb 7th.  I tried to preview the boutique to find out what sort of deals they are offering, but no luck.  I'll let you know soon enough!

Gien Porcelin

A few days ago Rue La La featured Gien dishware as one of it's sales.  I don't know much about tableware or Limoges porcelain, so until I saw the sale, I hadn't even heard of the French company.  Now I'm in love.  Their china is incredible. 


According to the website, the history of Gien dinnerware dates back 180 years ago to 1821 when Thomas Hall wanted to introduce fine English earthenware manufacturing techniques to France.  Gien dinnerware it is fired at lower temperatures than porcelain, so its colors are richer and warmer than other brands. And get this-it's dishwasher safe.


You can browse their pieces in the Gien online boutique or at Michael C Fina

Milly is Desiging for Girls

Fashion brand Milly is debuting a Milly Mini collection for girls.  The collection was inspired by designer Michelle Smith's daughter, and is available for purchase online.  The clothes and fabrics are too cute.  They make me wish I were four years old again.

SAG Awards

I spent some time this morning perusing the dresses from the SAG awards.  Lace is clearly in fashion this season judging by it's abundance on the red carpet.  I was also a fan of all the bright colors.  Below are some of my favorites.  My favorite standout was, by far, little Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit

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Hailee Steinfeld looks adorable in Prada.  Props to her stylist for finding something so age appropriate and bold

Most style bogs hated on Angie Harmon's pink Monique Lhuillier, but frankly, it fits her like a glove and she looks pretty darn good.  I can't fault her for wanting to be a princess for a night. 

I think January Jones nearly always looks stunning.  Her black and gold lace Carolina Herrera earned her mixed reviews, but I thought the design was a demur and lovely.  I can't say the same about the hair though.  She may need to start thinking about a new hair stylist.

Big props to Tina Fey for pulling off this elegant red number from Oscar de la Renta

Natalie Portman looks pretty darn good in Azzaro especially considering how pregnant she is.  From my hours spent watching Rachel Zoe on Bravo, I understand that it's a nightmare to dress a pregnant women.  I'm also totally love with her Rogier Vivier clutch.  P.S. When did she get so pregnant?  Her belly looks like it grew overnight.

Glee's Dianna Agron looks sophisticated in a tea length Chanel.

HGTV Dream Home

Enter to win an HGTV dream home in Stowe, Vermont!  You can enter twice per day.


Thanks to Eliza for posting this!


The house even has a laundry room with not one, but two washers and dryers.   Amazing. And it comes equipped with an SUV to transport all your ski gear.  .

Front View

Gathering Area

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Backyard