Happy Halloween

Unfortunately the East Coast got hit with a ton of (dare I say it) SNOW this weekend. Crazy. Insane. Not okay. All of the above. #Snowtober pretty much put a damper on my weekend, and my Kelly Kapowski costume has been put away for another year...so sad. In any case, it's Halloween, so eat lots of candy like you did when you were 10. Happy Halloweenie everyone!

Friday Happiness

taken from here

This week has been crazy busy, and for the first time in a while, I'm wondering what happened to the week. Usually I find myself pining for the weekend (don't get me wrong, I'm totally psyched for this weekend), but this week I found myself asking where the time went. I crammed so much in (market appointments at work, a Figure 4 class at PureYoga-totally kicked my butt by the way-, a mani/pedi with my mom, baking and frosting a million mummy cupcakes for the Muhlenberg Ice Hockey team, and of course tons of things happening at work) that I can't believe it is Friday already. Woohoo for that though! Tonight will be spent at home with my puppy baking MORE halloween cupcakes-this time for my boyfriend- and eating some takeout...from where I am not sure. Tomorrow I have a full day of things planned to do at home and a few errands, and then Hoboken for the night for some Halloween festivities. What are you all being?? I posted a sneak-peek of my costume in last week's Friday Happiness post...

Happiness...

-mummy cupcakes!!-

-obsessed with my new gifted lemlem scarf-

-instagram fun with my new mani...opi's my private jet-

-candy sushi...so freaking cute (and yummy)-

-pretty sure i love this-

Leather Up

I love leather (and fur, and tweed, and linen), but I really do love leather a lot. It's edgy, glam and sophisticated, and can be worn in so many ways. I bought a brown fitted leather moto-inspired jacket last summer when I was in Italy (take me back now!), and it is one of my favorite pieces that I own. 

Since leather is so huge this season (it should ALWAYS be huge), I am totally living in a leather fantasy world. I've been dying to get my hands on a pair of these (but in black)...can't seem to find them in my size anywhere!! Is a 4 too much to ask for?! Here's a little wish-list of leather loves <3

From left: L'Agence Leather Track Pants, Michael Kors Leather Cuff, Madewell Leather Skinny Belt, Alexander Wang Leather Tote, TopShop Quilted Leather Jacket,  Ninewest Leather Boots, Kate Spade Leather Gloves, Mango Leather Skirt, Converse Leather High Tops

A Little 20's Lovin'

Free People recently shot and released the 20's set of their "Through the Decades" lookbooks. I am so excited for this because my favorite time period is the 20's...so glam, so fun, and so flashy. I love all of the drop-waist dresses and the beading is incredible. The look of the photos is so true to the 1920's...smokey, mysterious, and sexy. Free People did an amazing job with this...I'm in love.

all photos taken from fashion gone rogue

Coached

Before heading home from work last night, I stopped by the Coach SS 2012 preview to see what the classic and chic company has in store for us. Structured cross-body bags, python print, neutral colors, and top handles were all in the mix. I always love how Coach stays true to it's original style, but they manage to mix in fun trendy fabrics or styles. I always know I can rely on Coach to have something that I'm swooning over...like that python bag...gorg!

Friday Happiness

taken from here

Dear weekend, thanks for coming. It's been a long week. I'm not quite sure how the weeks drag on and the weekends fly by. Not okay by me. I think we should work 2 days and rest for 5. Good deal? I think so.

I'm looking forward to all the fun plans I have this weekend. Saturday will be spent out on Long Island touring wineries with some friends. I can't wait to taste test everything...yum! Sunday seems to be shaping up pretty well too. The afternoon will be spent drinking beer and watching football, and then me and my boyfriend and two of our friends are heading over to Gramercy Theater to see a live taping of Doug Benson's podcast, Doug Loves Movies. Pretty excited. What are your plans?

Happy weekend! Enjoy the short time while you can :)

My happiness this week:

-a gift certificate to the nail spa at equinox...i <3 my job-

-halloween cake pop courtesy of my friend anna at work :)-

-current nail color: essie ador-a-ball and butter gold glitter-

-my pup ready to play ball-

-sneak peak at my halloween costume-

Gifted: Elliott Luca

I've been lucky enough to receive one of the most gorgeous Elliott Luca bags as an editor gift from a press preview I went to for The Sak/Elliott Luca, back in May. I had totally forgotten that I had picked this bag as my gift until it arrived at my desk on Monday. Honestly, best Monday cheer up ever! It is from the EL travel collection, and I actually decided to use it today to schlep my stuff around today (I had a super early morning workout at Equinox this morning). The black leather is so soft and sturdy. I love the gold hardware....it kind of adds an edgy look to the bag. Its a perfect tote (okay, quite larger than a tote, but not large enough to be a weekender), and I'm excited to get some more use out of it! A big thank you to the ladies over at The Sak/Elliott Luca!!

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

During the cooler months I love lounging around the house on Sundays, and baking. I particularly love making cookies and cupcakes, and this weekend, I put my culinary skills to the test with this new recipe for Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies. If you like spice cookies you'll love this recipe. My boyfriend tried them and said they taste like a candle smells, but I think they're the perfect fall treat! See if he ever gets any of my yummy snacks ever again!!

You definitely have to be patient while make these though, because the dough gets super sticky and gooey. And I made mine a litttttllleee too large, so keep them on the smaller side!

Ingredients:
1 cup softened butter (2 sticks!)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 oz of instant apple cider or spice mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups all purpose flour
14 oz of wrapped caramels

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (totally necessary!).

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, mix butter, sugar, salt and apple cider mix with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, and mix well.

Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Refrigerate for about an hour (you definitely want to do this to make the dough easier to work with!)

When you are ready to start baking again, unwrap your caramels and take the dough out of the fridge.

Scoop out about a tablespoon worth of dough, roll in a ball and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of the dough and seal the dough around it. Place the ball on the cookie sheet, keeping the cookies about 2 inches apart (make sure you leave enough room!).

Bake for 12-14 min or lightly browned. Once the cookies are done, slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet, right onto your counter, and allow cookies to partially cool. When the cookies are cool enough (firm, but still slightly warm), carefully remove from the parchment paper and place upside down on a cooling rack.

Share and enjoy...best when warm ;)

Golden Girls

Sorry for my lack of blogging...last week was a little crazy, and then I got sick, and then it was the weekend which was filled with purchasing an iphone (woo woo!), meeting one of my best friends from college for lunch (so happy to see you Taylor!), more sickness, cleaning, and baking. This week should be full of blog posts though! With that, here's a Monday Funday post:

I have a confession to make. I've never purchased anything from Zara. Gasp, I know. A fashion chick who's never bought anything from Zara?? Unreal. It's not that I don't like anything, because believe me, I DO! I've just always admired their amazing things online and rarely go into the actual store. This needs to change. And I think I've found the perfect reason to actually make this happen. Gold bottoms.

Seriously, if you asked me a year ago if I'd ever walk around in anything gold on my lower half, I'd probably laugh at you. But I've changed my mind and I decided that I NEED to have these gold trousers in my wardrobe. Or that sequin skirt, or the jeans. Basically, I'm obsessed with anything gold from Zara. Cha-ching...I can hear the registers ringing already.

Inside Kelly Framel's Closet

Kelly Framel, writer of the blog The Glamourai, is incredibly inspirational and talented. So it makes sense that The Coveteur would want to raid her closet and her home. She's worked with Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Coach, and Ralph Lauren, has her own jewelry line, and does tons of side projects and collaborations. Honestly, there's nothing that this girl doesn't do, all the while, looking super fab as she does it all. I'm slightly jealous.Kelly has an obsession with insect broaches and pins (kind of weird? maybe a little), as well as a keen eye for styling both her home and her wardrobe. Take a look at some of my fav pics from her time spent with The Coveteur...