Colorful Kate

I'm super lucky to have a Kate Spade outlet mere minutes away from my parent's house. I love dropping by whenever I'm home and checking out all the fun handbags, jewelry, and accessories. The store is so colorful and bright, and all dressed up for the holidays! My sister and mom took a trip over on Black Friday and I recruited my sis to snap a few photos.

Love that houndstooth scarf! Also pretty fond of 40% off. 

Disco balls!

 

Stuffed with goodies!

 

How pretty would this baby look with a simple black shift and colorful heels?

 

Love this gift bow ring my sister tried on!

all pics by ms. allison clair

Truffles

I've been wanting to make cookie dough truffles ever since I saw Anne Thornton make them on her Dessert First episode "Chocolate Chip Comfort." Unfortunately, her version was made with raw egg-Food Network put a little caveat on the bottom saying it's okay as long as you use Grade A eggs or something, but I was too nervous so I went looking for an egg-free version (see Mom, all your warnings about salmonella in raw egg seeped into my brain! Aren't you proud?). Anyway, it was easy enough to find an egg-free version-I used this one from loveandoliveoil.com, a great husband-wife foodie blog. I did use some of Anne Thornton's suggestions for toppings though-such as chopped nuts and cinnamon. The great thing about egg-free cookie dough is that you don't have to feel bad licking the bowl! Unless eating raw butter, flour and sugar makes you feel guilty. In that case you're on your own.

I melted some of this milk chocolate in the microwave and dipped a few truffles in it.

The chocolate dipped rolled in chopped almonds were my favorite-I felt they deserved their own close-up!

Health food-mmm.

One tip I learned in case you want to make them yourself: Make the dough balls realllly small, because when you dip them in the melted chocolate, they get a whole lot bigger! Use a teaspoon measure to scoop them out, as suggested in the Anne Thornton recipe. Then don't eat too many in one sitting, or you may end up with a stomachache. Not that I would know or anything...

All photos by me



Macarons on Madison

I finally made my way over to Laduree, on Madison between 70 and 71st. I feel so lucky to have this little Parisian gem just a few blocks away from my apartment! The shop itself is absolutely gorgeous, and sells beautiful candles and perfumes in addition to the delicious macarons. I brought a box home for my Mom's birthday and we were all highly impressed with the light, yet incredibly flavorful little pastries. My sister said the pistachio was the BEST pistachio she's ever had-and she is VERY particular about her pistachio. They come in charming colors and flavors like orange blossom, rose, and blackcurrant violet, and they are imported every day from France! The boxes they come in are like little keepsakes too- so pretty. These would make a great gift for the holidays-a little taste of Paris right here in New York!

DYING over these houndstooth boxes!

This shop is going to be a problem for my wallet...and possibly my waistline!

all photos by me

Mocs on a Budget

J. Crew Lodge Moccasins

Old Navy faux suede moccasins

These look rather similar, and they're perfect for cozying up as the weather gets chilly. The J. Crews aren't crazy expensive at $39.50, but the Old Navy's are still half that, at $19.94.

Minnie Mortimer

Books are the absolute best decor, don't you think? In addition to looking eclectic and colorful, they tell you something about the person who chose them. Two people may have the same lamp, or vase or something, but NO two people are ever going to have the exact same collection of books.

Minnie Mortimer's bookshelves have been numero uno in my inspiration file ever since I first laid eyes on them. They just kill me. It is my single biggest interior design goal to one day have a home library very similar to this. Whenever I buy another new book that I do NOT need because I already have roughly a million waiting to be read, I think in the back of my mind of these bookshelves, and of how someday I MUST have them, and when that day comes how I better be prepared with books to fill them! And then I am justified in spending more money and accruing more books. Because one day I will have wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookshelves, crammed with books.

And those chairs with the pink cushions would NOT be unwelcome in my library. Just sayin'.

Photos: Matchbook Mag & APT with LSD via Pinterest

Online Shopping Pays!

Happy Black Friday! And almost Cyber Monday, so if you're an online shopping fiend (such as myself) you have to check out the website Ebates, which is amazing. It GIVES YOU MONEY BACK for shopping online! How cool is that?

Ebates pays you back a percentage of the total you spend on an online shopping site. You just go to Ebates.com, click on the site you want to buy from, and Ebates redirects you to the site. As they say "there's nothing more for you to do." You're on the site and you buy directly from the site's checkout as you usually would. However, Ebates calculates a percentage of the total you spent and puts that money into your account, and periodically you get a check from Ebates with all that money added up. It's so simple and easy to use! And you even get a $10.00 gift card to a retailer like Barnes & Noble just for signing up with the site.

MANY online retailers are listed on the site (not every single one, but there's really only been a handful that I shop at that aren't listed). Victorias Secret is there, J. Crew, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Sephora...it goes on and on. The percentages you get back are often pretty low, but it ADDS UP (especially if you shop online a lot). And often retailers do deals where they double the cash back for a week or two, like right now you can get 8% back at J. Crew! Pretty awesome, especially if you're spending a lot or buying a lot of holiday gifts. You can also earn money back by referring friends if they sign up and make purchases.

Pretty sure Gucci is not on Ebates, unfortunately.

I just recently got a $50.00 check from them, just for buying stuff online that I was going to buy anyway! It's the best. Since I started using it in 2008, I've made almost 500.00 back!  The only unfortunate part is when I get each check it reminds me of how much money I'm spending on shopping online! But pretty sure I can live with that :-) They also post coupons, so instead of searching online for "Gap coupon code" like you might do, you just go through Ebates and they have all the coupon codes running on the site (free shipping, percentages off, etc.) listed for you to be aware of, PLUS the percent back you get for using Ebates. I just think that to shop online and NOT go through Ebates is craziness.

*Full disclosure: If you click the link above and sign up through that, I will get $5.00 back when you make your first purchase through Ebates, like I am referring you. However, this is not a sponsored post, I just think this is a great secret that few know about so please excuse my perhaps over the top Ebates enthusiasm!

Images via Ebates facebook page and Pinterest

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of family fun and yummy food! I feel so lucky to get to be home on this holiday, and hope everyone has a great start to the holiday season! 
Sources: HGTV, sevenspoons, always with butter sweet paul via pinterest

Sparkly Sweater-off

Since it's almost Black Friday, let's talk some shopping!

I love, LOVE this sweater from asos. First of all, sequins. Second of all, argyle. Do I really need a third of all?

However, I'm being strong and not buying it. I mean, I love and ADORE sequins, but this is like "HI I'm a giant sequin!" I mean, look at the back:

That's a whole lot of glitter.

Instead, I went for this pretty (and decidedly more low-key) option from J. Crew:



The white sequined stripes are subtle but still have a lovely shimmer, and the rugby stripes keep it all grounded with a slightly sporty vibe. I still have a secret crush on the first sweater though-definitely keeping my eye open for subtly sequined argyle!

Sources: asos.com, jcrew.com