denim heaven with Bambi & Manson

This past spring Erin sent me a picture of jean shorts. I asked her to send me the link because I could not resist owning a pair. The jeans came from a London based label, Bambi & Manson, ran and created by Polly O'Connell and her boyfriend, Jim Cubitt. They use vintage Levi jeans for all the shorts and jackets they make, and are known for the two sides of the label: Bambi, the sweet lacy, floral side and Manson, the studded, frayed, ripped side. As I looked through the collection I was in denim heaven. Each pair of shorts were so unique and fabulous I was having a difficult time deciding which I should get for myself. Erin bought herself Millie Mackintosh's custom pair. I liked those a lot, but I wanted to add my own twist on them, so I ordered through the "custom" option. 

My description of shorts inspired me to have a custom crop top made to match. I ordered my shorts with a cross on the right back pocket and had the cross put in the center of the crop top.  I think Polly liked my idea for a shirt a lot because she made this propaganda promoting my shirt, which she named "The Britney Tee." 

About a month after ordering my fist pair of Bambi shorts and tee I entered one of their many contests on Facebook promoting their new line of denim jackets. They wanted contestants to "Like" and "Share" pictures of the jacket and "Comment" on a post asking why you thought you needed the jacket. I did all of the following and amazingly I won! I was so excited to get my much needed denim jacket (because I didn't have one!) especially from the creative collection that Polly made. The jacket I won is called The Doll. There are many chances to win their clothing by liking them on their Facebook page and keeping up with their updates. 

I L.A.L.A.LOVE Bambi & Manson apparel! Can't wait to get more!
xx
-M

winner winner chicken dinner

Between all my classes and doing homework it becomes hard for me to make a decent meal each night. After countless days of eating panini's and Annie's I decided it was time to get serious and make myself a real meal! I went to the store not really with any recipe in mind and I left with a meal plan for that night's dinner. 

For my dinner I made chicken and a side dish of veggies.
For the side dish you will need:
one corn on the cob,
 a small green zucchini,
one tomato,
about 1/8 of a large red onion, and
2 cloves of garlic.
Cut the corn off the cob, and chop the rest of the veggies into nice squares. Then, put just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a wok, turn the stove on and wait a minute for the olive oil to get hot. Once it gets hot, pour in the veggies and add some salt, pepper, and juice from 1 lemon. Stir it together and let all the juices flow and get aquatinted with each other. While that cooks, begin to cook the chicken so that they are done at around the same time. Be sure to make the marinade for the chicken before beginning with the veggies, and let it sit while cutting and cooking them. I used a boneless skinless chicken breast, but you can use which ever kind of chicken you prefer.
For the marinade you will need:
a little over 1/4 tsp of garlic salt,
about 1/4 tsp of pepper,
 1 tbsp of mesquite seasoning,
juice from 1 lemon,
olive oil, and
dried parsley.
Put all this in a container and shake the chicken and seasonings until the chicken looks fully marinaded. Let it sit while working on the veggies. When finished with the veggies, grill the chicken (I cooked the chicken breast on my panini grill). Then let the chicken sit on the grill for about 5/6 minutes so that it cooks fully, but each grill is different so be sure to check your chicken every 3 minutes. When it's finished put a little bit of chevre goat cheese on top of the chicken for a great extra flavor.   

I couldn't make my dinner without making my favorite chocolate chip cookies for dessert with my recipe based off of William Sonoma's The Kid's Cookbook. They always turn out so yummy, especially because I add my own twist to them! The recipe calls for shortening/vegetable oil, but I have never made it with that ingredient. Also instead of using unsalted butter I use salted, and instead of using baking salt I use kosher salt. This makes the cookies chewy, and they always turn out so yummy that they always disappear that same day!

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4  teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well blended.
3. In a larger mixing bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the mixture until it is smooth. Turn off the mixer a few times so you can scrape down the sides of the bowl with the rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture. Using the rubber spatula, stir until the flour is almost mixed in. Pour in the chips and stir until completely blended.
4. Using a table spoon form the batter into small balls and place about 1 1/2 inches apart.
5. Place cookies in oven and wait about 12-14 minutes until they reach a golden brown color, let cool for 10 minutes.

I usually double the recipe and save it in the fridge (it will stay good for up to 1 week) and make it throughout the week so that the cookies are fresh each time I make them.


enjoy!!

-M

scent of a woman

For years my signature scent was Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle, but recently I started wearing Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir. My new-found scent is fresh and light, making it a perfume I can wear from day to night. 

My other favorite perfumes are Marc Jacobs' Daisy, Dior's Miss Dior, and Chanel's Chance. 

"A woman's perfume tells more about her than her handwriting."
Christian Dior

-E

lasagna & peach tart

My mum asked me to make dinner for the family earlier this week. I came up with a yummy light calorie main course and dessert! 

 Here are the cristinies I made for appetizers. I eyed the measurements and used my sisters recipe, which included:

Sourdough baguette (Acme goes well with this combination)

Salted Butter

Olive Oil 

Koser Salt

Parsley 

Garlic 

*I use this for large and small batches, it's fairly easy to know how much to use by the amount of bread you have. 

Cut the baguette into thin slices and place on cookie sheet. The butter, olive oil, salt, parsley and garlic should be placed in a mini Cuisinart. Chop until spreadable state. Next use a cooking brush to paint the baguette slices thoroughly. Then place the crisitines in the oven at 250 and watch until they turn a light golden after after a few minutes. 

I used this No-Bake Summer Lasagna recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Light Food cook book. It was simple and quick to make, and was very satisfying on a relaxing summer day. It included zucchini, tomatoes, ricotta, parmesan, basil, and lasagna noodles.  Serves 4.

From the same cookbook I made another simple & delicious summer meal. This Rustic Nectarine Tart went perfectly with the lasagna as a dessert. It was light, yet very satisfying. I used store bought puff pastry, nectarines, red currant jam, and the lemon sugar my mum made! 

bon appetit!

-M

the poached egg mutual

Sacramento artist Elias Kuhlmann 

Elias had his first exhibit titled, "The Poached Egg Mutual" at the Fe Gallery, Sacramento. 

The art above is not by any means short of talent. It's very clear that Elias' inherent ability to create such beautiful pieces of art is due to his creative genius. I asked Elias a few questions about his art...

M: Where do you get your inspiration from?

E: I don't know, I find my inspiration from people. People are the most interesting subject matter, so I try and draw them with weird and different perspective. Kinda show the world how I see it. 

M: How did you start getting interested in art? 

E: Ever since I was a kid I was drawing. Senior year of high school I kinda realized I could draw pretty well, so I decided to start taking it seriously and just, I don't know started drawing all the time.

M: What kind of art is your favorite to create?

E: Pen and ink pieces, but also film and writing.

-M