Archive | January, 2010

Georgetown Cupcake

31 Jan


The lines are generally around the block and the wait can be up to an hour, but as silly as it is to say, the cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake are so worth it.

I was surprised today to see not a single person standing outside their store at 2pm on a Sunday. Turns out — as I’m belatedly learning — that they moved just around the corner to M Street, and the owners — Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne — are opening up a second store in Bethesda. This is all within a year and a half of opening!
The amazing part about their success is just how unexpected it seems. Neither woman had trained as a baker or had a career in the food business. In fact, Kallinis was an event planner for Gucci and LaMontagne worked in private equity before giving up their careers to start Georgetown Cupcake.
While they have a lot of competition from stores such as Hello Cupcake and Red Velvet, Georgetown really is the best.
My husband had his first two today and couldn’t stop raving about them. The “ooohhhhing” and “ahhhing” actually didn’t start until after several minutes of silence in which he devoured the cupcakes in a few bites, sat back, closed his eyes and smiled.
Now, THAT’S a testament to how good they are.

The side braid trend

31 Jan



They’ve been popping up all over fashion magazines and the runways these days. I adore them. Seems like the kind of thing you could pull off at any age, whether you’re 22 or 62.

I asked my hairdresser whether he’d had any requests from his clients for a braid. He hasn’t, but he did tell me how to go about achieving the look myself. And yes, this involves purchasing some fake hair.
Now, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone a trip to buy fake hair to complete a look, but I just don’t think you’ll see me driving to Arlington so that I can finally have a braid (famous last words, right?). I’ll admire others’ longingly and urge friends who DO have long hair to try it out themselves.

A hell of a renovation

29 Jan




I love this 1920′s Nantucket cottage in Architectural Digest. Some of the decor is too “matchy, matchy” to me, even a little too clean. That being said, the designer, Jeffrey Bilhuber, deserves a lot of credit for the dramatic turn-around on this one. Just take one look at the bottom two pictures — a fantastic “before” and “after” look.

(Via Olivet)

Take me to the ball

29 Jan


Oh.my.gosh.

Can someone please rip a little snag in this Vera Wang dress and mark it down substantially!?
I am floored by the beautiful architecture of this dress. Stunned, in fact.

Sara loves owls

29 Jan


She really does. Sara loves owls in a way that most people love their dogs. If she lived in the country, I’m certain she’d buy one as a pet. So as soon as I spotted these cards, I thought “How perfect!”

On a lighter note….

28 Jan


Quinoa is fascinating to me.

Le Pain Quotidien has this salad with quinoa, mushrooms, alfafa sprouts and basil pesto that is my new obsession. This is a high-protein seed that seems capable of absorbing whichever flavor you want to give it.
So I’m open to giving breakfast quinoa with blueberries and brown sugar a try this weekend.
I’ll let you know how it turns out.

The myth of "unattainable beauty"

26 Jan


I just flipped through this alarming photo gallery of the worst photoshopped images of the past year. I wish I could say that I’m astonished at the lengths to which fashion magazines go to make their cover models skinny and young; these women are, by the way, generally slimmer than the average woman.

Unfortunately, it’s fair to say that when I glance at the cover of a fashion magazine, or flip through a spread in Bazaar, for example, I don’t believe that what I see is an accurate representation of the way that particular model or celebrity appears in real life. Everyone has unique features (or flaws, as the media would like to call them). When you can’t recognize any, something’s up.
If I were 13 years old today, and had an interest in fashion, or maybe my friends read a lot of the tabloid crap that’s out there, I’m not sure that I’d be level-headed about this unattainable beauty standard perpetuated in the media. At least I start from the premise that the cover of W Magazine is a farce. It’s tough to do that when you’re a teenage girl, in the midst of raging hormones, body changes and peer pressure.

Blackberry-topped lemon muffins

25 Jan


I had every intention of making the buttermilk-cinnamon coffeecake this weekend, but I neglected to buy corn oil, and olive oil just wouldn’t suffice – it changes the flavor far too much to get away with.

But thanks to Smitten Kitchen, I was in good hands with a more than suitable substitute — blackberry-topped lemon muffins.
You’ll notice that the original recipe actually calls for raspberries, but feel free to interpret as I did with whatever berries you have on hand. They turned out light and surprise, surprise – lemony!

Raspberry-Topped Lemon Muffins
Adapted from Susan Elizabeth Fallon via Bon Appetit, July 2006

Yield: 14 large or 56 miniature muffins

1 1/8 cups sugar, divided
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel (from two large lemons)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 1/2-pint containers (about) fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 14 standard muffin cups (or 56 minis) with paper liners. Mash 1/8 cup sugar and lemon peel in small bowl until sugar is slightly moist. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg. Beat in buttermilk, then vanilla and lemon sugar. Beat in flour mixture.

Divide batter among muffin cups (the 2/3-3/4 level worked well for minis). Top each large muffin with 4 raspberries (or mini muffins with one each). Bake muffins until lightly browned on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes (baking time was on the shy side of 20 minutes for mini muffins).

Carolina Herrera takes the cake

23 Jan





It’s not difficult to see how Carolina Herrera’s Spring 2010 show was inspired by the intricate forms woven in Japanese baskets. Just look at the amazing textures she incorporated in this collection.

Herrera usually can’t ever do wrong, in my opinion. She, like Oscar de la Renta, is a steadfast believer in sophistication and beauty.

In an age in which so many designers create gowns with the red carpet in mind, Herrera designs for real women, albeit those with an interest in “pretty.”

(Via Style.com)

The genius of bakers & artists

21 Jan




Shortbread button cookies.

Looks so simple.
“Why didn’t I think of this?”you might wonder.
Either way, I’m glad Nikole did.
If I had little ones, I’d make this our weekend baking project.
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