Robert Palmer said it best-- "You might as well face it, I'm addicted to shoes." That's what he said, right?
If you've been paying any attention to NY Fashion Week, you know that the 1980s are back in a major way. I'm not talking about the Madonna lace leggings 80s -- that's been back for a while now. I'm talking about the over-sized blazers with shoulder pads 80s.
The unlikely fabulous face mask you can easily find in your kitchen: honey and eggs.
Eggs are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals that can nourish, while honey tightens pores and moisturizes the skin.
For OILY skin, use egg white only. This draws out the oil. For DRY skin, use egg yolk only. This acts as a great moisturizer. For COMBO skin, use both!
Scramble the egg and honey mixture together and apply to your recently washed face.
Once the mask hardens, rinse thoroughly with warm water.
WARNING: Please DO NOT use the leftovers for an egg sandwich!
Finger through to the Restaurant section in your local Yellow Pages. Find a lovely place to eat. Pick up the phone and dial the given number. Use your “phone voice” to speak with the host or hostess, leaving your name, dining time, and party size.
Get into your vehicle, and head to the restaurant.
Order whatever you want.
Remember, it’s OK to be a bit of a yenta… it’s in your blood.
Kick some ass, take some names, and look SEXY while doing it!
1. Rock & Republic's Rebecca Peep Heel $449.00 (courtesy of Zappos.com) 2. Baker's Danaka $69.95 (courtesy of Bakersshoes.com) 3. Sirgerson Morrison Studded Wedge $795.00 (courtesy of Barneys New York) 4. Manolo Blahnik's Creon $865.00 (courtesy of Barneys New York)
Lanvin's Metallic Woven Slingback Sandals (courtesy of Barneys New York)
All this LA rain is making me daydream about a tropical paradise vacation. And these fantastic shoes I would take anywhere. Although, I don't know if I could get through airport security with those metal heels.
I just woke up from a horrible dream—I was in Loehmann’s and all they had were one-size-too-small deliciously fabulous Marc Jacobs pants.
Miserable.
When I really need something that will take me literally 5 minutes to make, is hearty and healthy, and will make any child, adult, or alta cocker happy.
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1 Cup of Oatmeal
Raisins (handful)
Cinnamon (2-3 dashes)
Nutmeg (2-3 dashes)
Banana (half cut into little slices)
Hot Water (on stovetop or in microwave)
Add your oats and handful of raisins into a dry bowl. Make sure the water is hot and add it in. Live on the edge and wing it if you don’t know if you like your oatmeal on the “wet” or “dry” side.
Give it a minute to really soak into the oats AND raisins. This plumps up the raisins and makes them extra juicy. Add your dashes of spice to the bowl while mixing it up thoroughly.
How to Plate:To top it all off, add some slices of banana to get a delicious and hearty start to your day!
Treif: Add a dash of milk to your rolled oats. Eat turkey immediately after!
There is something magical about using just one pot to make a whole meal. Clean up is a breeze.
Seems easy, right?
What doesn't seem easy is heading over to your closest Jerry's Famous Deli and spending ten to fifteen bucks on a salty salty soup that tastes nothin like what your grandma used to make.
Here is an alternative to getting in your car (or worse-- spending the extra charge for delivery) and spending your shoe money on something that is truly a ONE POT WONDER.
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Bouillon cubes, broth, or my favorite "Better Than Bouillon" in the market-- I buy the vegetarian chicken broth (low sodium)
1 lb of Chicken or cutlets OR buy an already cooked rotisserie one at the grocery store
Bag of Instant Whole Wheat Rice (the one that come in little bags) or about 1 cup cooked
Teaspoon of chopped Garlic
Handful of Carrots
Handful of Arugula
Boil 2 cups of broth or 4 cups of water. Add the appropriate amount of bouillon to the water to make it broth. Once boiling, throw in your raw chicken for about 10-15 minutes until it's done. If you are using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, skip this step. Time to shred the chicken. You do this by using two forks and shredding while pulling apart the meat.
Toss out the broth already in the pot (or you can skim the fat that has risen to the top -- I prefer a fresh start) and boil 6 cups of new broth (or water and bouillon) in that same pot.
Throw in some chopped carrots, arugula, garlic and your instant rice. If it's in the bag, cut the bag open and let the rice swim free. Last, but not least, put the shredded chicken back in.
Let the pot simmer until the carrots are soft and the rice cooked. Serve and indulge.
The following recipe is fresh delicious, and relatively stress-free. So, break out the cheese, pasta (and the other fixings) and enjoy!
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1/2 a pound of Whole Wheat Pasta -- I prefer angel hair: quick to cook, hard to mess up.
3 handfuls of either Cherry or Grape Tomatoes. (This is a type of tomato, not some special "grape" flavor.)
1 and a half cups of Arugula (or just one heaping handful)
1 heaping teaspoon of crushed Garlic (or less)
1/4 to a half a cup of Olive Oil
2oz of Goat Cheese
two pinches of Salt
five pinches of Pepper
two pinches of Dried Basil
In a pot, boil water and throw in the pasta.
In a small bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and basil. Mix. Halve the tomatoes or leave them as is. Add the arugula and tomatoes to the bowl and coat with the oil mix. Put half of the mixture into a larger bowl.
When the pasta is ready, strain. Add to this larger bowl.
Toss in the rest of the olive oil, tomato and arugula mixture. Crumble up and drop in the two ounces of goat cheese and mix all together.
Get over your fear of rejection at the dining table. If you want to make a nice dinner, make something that is tried and true! Chicken and veggies.
Nowadays, you can steam them, wok them, microwave them, grill them. Perhaps the most overlooked easy and elegant way of making vegetables is giving them the old "roast."
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Bag of Baby Zucchini
Bag of Baby Carrots
Package of Chicken (cutlets or tenders)
Salt and Pepper
Chopped, Crushed or Minced Garlic
Canola oil (spray like Pam)
Cut your baby veggies in halves. Spray your Pam on a tin-foiled baking tray and lay out the carrots and zucchini face up. Salt and pepper with a heavy hand. Set the oven at 410 and put them in before the oven is preheated.
In a hot pan, spray with Pam and toss in your chicken. I prefer tenders (easier to make sure they fully cook) but you can use cutlets. While cooking in the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and a teaspoon of crushed garlic. The easiest way to "make" this is buying it in a jar from the grocery store. Smear the garlic over the chicken as it browns on both sides. Spray some oil in a pyrex dish and throw in the browned chicken. If they are almost done, cover with tine foil. Put that in the oven on the unused rack.
By this time, the veggies have been in the oven for about 15 minutes. Pump up the oven to 430 and keep everything in there for another 15 minutes.
How to Plate: The veggies are that unexpected, beautiful element in the dish. Alternate the carrots and zucchini (see my pic above) and stack. You can either plate the chicken and veggies apart or place the chicken above the roasted delights.
If you are having a dinner party and are serving the vegetables on their own platter, stack them as high as they can go!
You have friends coming over for some wine and cheese. How fancy of you!
Here are some tips for creating the perfect cheese plate.
Types: I like to do one hard, one semi-soft, and one soft. . Hard: Parmesan Reggiano, Gouda, Cheddar Semi-soft: Blue Cheese, Stilton Soft: Brie, Goat cheese
Sweet Element: I always like to accompany the cheese with: Grapes, Apples, or Pear, And a "spreadable": Honey -- this is best drizzled over Stilton cheese, Black Raspberry Jam-- for ANY cheese
Carb Options: Grilled bread -- Brush some french bread of whole wheat baguette with garlic infused olive oil and grill Crackers-- Easy to buy, easy to serve, easy to eat!
As a proper Jewish Princess, I have spent much time in upscale restaurants. There is something about 4 star dining that can make any messy meal suddenly become "couture."
The answer is plating.
And with plating, less is always more.Get some nice rectangular crisp white plates and follow these two simple options in lieu of SLOPPING IT ON THE PLATE:
OPTION ONE: Stack your items. Start with the veggies on the bottom and protein on top.Layer the dish in the center of the plate. If it's in the dish, dribble some sauce all over!
OPTION TWO: Salads and some sides can be quite messy. It's not very easy to make them look schmaltzy. If you put less on the plate, it will always look more exquisite.You can do this with a small dish on TOP of the plate.
AND REMEMBER...
Plating requires portion control—which means you will eat less… and ultimately look even more fabulous!Be creative and have fun with it!
Many say the key to a long relationship is being lady-like in public... and a slut in the bedroom.
And this recipe is the yang to that yin.
Here is a chicken dish that starts out sweet but packs in the heat.
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Honey
Chicken cutlets or tenders
Red Pepper flakes
Pre-heat the oven to 395. In a heated pan, brown the chicken on both sides. Lightly salt.
Spray a deep pyrex with some Pam or olive oil. Arrange the chicken. Generously pour honey over the chicken and sprinkle the red pepper flakes to the heat level you enjoy.
Throw in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Enjoy!
Sometimes dessert needs to be, well… saucy.And this recipe does the trick!
Just be aware of how much alcohol you are actually ingesting.
I have had one too many experiences getting wasted at dinner / dessert parties and started acting like a fool. REMEMBER: this is NOT the best drink to have when you are at a party with: the guy you are really digging but the future of the relationship is up in the air, a boyfriend you are having a small tiff with, or your Ex just showed up with a hot bitch and you are trying to drown your sorrows.
Big mistake.
Otherwise, this recipe is perfect! Drink up!
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½ to ¾ cup of Whiskey
2 - 3 scoops of Vanilla ice cream
¼ cup of Milk
A Blender
Put all ingredients in and blend until it creates thick malt consistency.
I guess it helps when you have a live-in who does all of that for you.
But when her live-in gets a Sunday off, Vikki steps up to the plate and reminds her family that she is capable of making a delicious meal… and can load up the dishwasher.
Believe me, if this dish was too difficult, Vikki wouldn’t be making it.
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Ginger (sliced or minced)
Chopped scallions
Salmon (large cut - deboned)
Peanut oil
Wash and dry the salmon. Place scallions and ginger right on top of the salmon. Wrap in tin foil and place in oven for about 20 minutes at 350, until salmon is cooked through. If you are cutting it into portioned sizes, a bit less time in the oven… unless you like your salmon well done.
Often the luxuries in life have to be cut out to make room for necessities. Like food, water, electricity... and shoes.
But if you have to cut out your "spa day" or have no money to go get that massage you really really need, I have a cheap alternative.
No, I don't mean going to that Thai place down the street.The following drink is the one thing that can always keep me close to a state of relaxation-- a refreshing and fancy take on H2O.
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Water
1 Lemon, sliced
1 Lime, sliced
½ Orange, sliced
½ Cucumber, sliced
Ice cubes (optional)
Add all together, and stir only once.
How to Serve: In a pitcher, pour in water and enjoy. You can jazz up your glasses with a wedge of lemon or cucumber!
Had a great time last night with some friends, but had one or two too many margaritas.
As it always goes, I woke up with a HORRIBLE hangover. And what better way to cure a hangover than with a great breakfast?
So, I got up, stumbled to the kitchen... and demanded my boyfriend make me this! After all, I AM hungover and can't even think about cooking.
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3-4 Eggs
Cheese of preference (I love American in my eggs... don't ask me why)
Veggies of preference (personal favorites: tomato, onion, spinach)
Overmele is the Roman ancestor of our present-day omelet. It just sounds really fancy.
Warm your griddle or pan while you crack and whisk your eggs. Oil, butter or Pam the pan. Add the whisked eggs to the griddle and let them cook. When the edges start to rise, add in your veggies and cheese. Fold the circular egg formation over. Cook and flip over until it’s done!
How to Plate: If you do a good job folding over the egg, there is really no need to add anything else to the plate… although, fresh fruit ALWAYS adds some color and sweetness to breakfast!
Treif: Go all the way—add some bacon or deli turkey to your omelet to get as far away from being kosher as humanly possible.
I know, I know. I post these "Daily" Heel Watches multiple times throughout the day. I just can't help myself. I guess I have no self control when it comes to great shoes.
You can't be beautiful, fabulous and gorgeous all the time.
Some days, you feel like shit-- and no offense, you probably look like shit too.
Every so often (at least once a month when Aunt Flo is in town) you need a meal of comfort. Something you can chow down on with your hair in a bun and your face dotted with pimple medicine.
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Can of Campbell's Tomato Soup
Garlic infused Olive Oil
Basil (dried or fresh)
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Gouda cheese ( I prefer the double creme)
Goat cheese
Blue cheese
Parmesean cheese -- freshly shredded
Whole wheat French baguette or wheat bread of choice
In a pot, follow Campbell's directions in making the soup. I like to add a dash of red pepper flakes, garlic-infused olive oil and dried basil to spice it up!
On the stove top, heat a pan with a dash of the olive oil. Place two slices of toast in the pan and place a mixture of both cheeses in the middle. Wait until they begin to melt and bring the slices together to make a sandwich. This also works well on a George foreman or similar grill, adding grill markings on the sandwich.
How to Plate: If you are having an appetizer party, the above dish can be a fabulous chic twist on comfort food. Fill the tomato soup in a over-sized shot glass and cut the grilled cheese sandwiches into bite-size bits! Or pair the shooter with some crackers. (See picture I took for guidance)