Victoria Beckham

My love of the Spice Girls & Victoria Beckham's style is no secret.  From the day I heard Wannabe the 90's child in me has been complete.  Thankfully my style has grown & so has theirs.  They have certainly come a long way from the glitter knee boots (which I would have died for in 1997).

Anyway, the who's who of British Fashion gathered in London Last night for the British Fashion Awards & Victoria won Designer Brand of the Year.  In my opinion a well deserved honor years in the making.  Posh & her gorgeous husband have been building their immensely successful brand "Beckham" for years.

In the fashion world her designs have been a huge success & she is rarely seen in other designers gowns. 

Beckham understands the importance of believing in your pieces. Consumers today see through sales pitches & need to know the celebrity/designer would wear their pieces not just plaster their name on them.

Above left is my favorite piece from her 2009 collection.  The silhouette is perfection & the subtle sequin waist adds some glam without being over baring.  I also am loving the halter gown Posh wore to the awards ceremony, the slim pleats are on trend for this winter.

What do you think of Victoria's designs?

A big contgrats to Sarah Burton for winning Designer of the Year.  Another well deserved honor after becoming the head of McQueen & the gorgeous Royal Wedding pieces how could she not win.

Happy Thanksgiving

When we first moved to America I was so excited for Thanksgiving. I get to enjoy my Mums holiday cooking & the time off school was a exciting too.  Tomorrows no different, except school is traded for a day off work, kind of.

I work part time at a retail store so I will up early the next day to enjoy another crazy Black Friday :)

I picked out a fun outfit that I would love to be rocking tomorrow.  Dressy but not as festive as a Christmas outfit. Those Louboutin booties are so lovely and with the warm weather around here this week the perfect fall shoe.

In reality ill probably wake up & put on my Va Tech Hoodie & jeans then watch movies all day or NCIS...i hope theres a marathon!!

Do you dress up for thanksgiving or go for comfort?

Fleur de Sel Caramels

I researched a few of the recipes found all over Pinterest & the adapted them to work for me & what I had on hand.   

2 Cups of Granulated Sugar

1 Cup of Light Corn Syrup

2 Cups of Heavy Cream (I used Ultra Pasteurized some recommend not to use this)

5 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

½ Teaspoon of Salt

1 tablespoon of Sea Salt

Make sure you have a candy thermometer on hand and parchment paper.

One: Have Patience this takes about an hour but sooooo worth it J

Two: Combine One cup of Heavy Cream, the Sugar, Corn Syrup & Salt in a sauce pan (make sure it’s rather deep as the caramel will bubble) at medium heat.

Three:  Stir the mixture constantly at medium heat bringing it to boil.

Four: As the mixture boils add the second cup of cream.  Do this very slow, as the addition of the cream may cool the caramel too quickly.

Five: Lower the temperature to low/medium & allow the mixture to boil for approximately 6 minutes.  No stirring.

~ During this time I lined a pan with the parchment paper lightly butter ~

Six: Add the butter one tablespoon at a time stirring after each spoonful melts.

Seven: Add the candy thermometer; allow the mixture to boil until its hits 250 degrees* while stirring occasionally.  This takes about 35 minutes, the mixture will begin to become more golden & a little thicker. 

Eight: Once you reach 250 degrees remove quickly & add your vanilla extract.

Nine: Pour your caramel into the pan.  Do not scrape as you pour as this will cause the caramel to crystallize before it settles.

Ten: Allow the caramel to cool at room temperature.  Once cooled sprinkle with Sea Salt & cut.  To wrap individually use pieces of wax paper.

*(If your temperature is not climbing steadily you may need to adjust the heat, it will vary on each stove

Pinterest & Caramels

Lets talk about Pinterest! Seriously I am obsessed & now want to become

A DIY Blogger with an amazing home

A Style Blogger with amazing outfits each day

An amazing cook

A perfect hostess with impeccable taste

A more thoughtful gift giver

A wedding planner (seriously the gorgeous wedding ideas are everywhere)

I really could go on; basically I now want to be amazing at everything & to be able to able to pin the pictures as proof lol

To make my pinning time turn productive I am planning on post my favorite finds of the week on my blog & the outcomes of projects and recipes I complete.  Maybe a few of you will join me J

First Up Fleur de Sel Caramels inspired by this picture.

 I mean how yummy does that look?

Caramel is by far one of my favorite treats.  In England I was in love with Thortons Toffee which was perfectly chewy yet soft.  It was oh so creamy with the perfect hint of vanilla.  My goal was to make my caramels have a smooth texture & that creamy flavor.  Adding the salt provided a little change making them perfectly salty & sweet.

I researched a few of the recipes found all over Pinterest & the adapted them to work for me & what I had on hand.   For my first try I am beyond impressed at how easy they were to make & that I was able to recreate one of my favorite candies.  They were a huge hit for my parents & co-workers.  My only regret is I didn’t take enough pictures, they were gone too quick.

   

Perfect homemade gift for the holidays.

Mix it up ~ Friday Fancies

I am linking up with the adorable {av} again for Friday Fancies.  This week was all about mixing patterns, something that I do not do & frankly I never wear bright colors either. However, I want to be more creative with my wardrobe so this posed as a perfect opportunity to look outside my box.

I love the overall look with the polka dots & the statement necklace, which is so not normally me. Against my normal style rules I went with the lace flats (normally I would opt for boring black leather), what do you think?

Be honest a do or a don't? :)

Anyway I am off to see some vampire's and werewolve's tonight! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

P.S. looking for some Thanksgiving Table decor ideas pop over here? My Mum gave her two cents, im loving the clean whites and greens!

All I want...

No this isn't a post about what I want for Christmas, however it is about what I want in life. 

Right now the world seems so depressing to me, there is so much, hate, anger and resentment and it makes me sad.  People always want more money, more things .  Don't get me wrong more money would make life way easier and of course I crave gorgeous things however, if you aren't happy with your life in general things don't mean anything.

I want to purge all the unnecessary items from my life and truly only participate in things that make me happy and that can bring happiness to other people I love.

Being 30

So i've been 30 for a little over two weeks and honestly don't feel any different.   However, I have spent a lot of time thinking wow my life isn't anywhere near what I thought it would be, but that's ok!  I am the only one who can change that and I learnt from 20's to stop waiting for life to happen.  

I also could not have asked for a better birthday my friends spoilt me!

   The motto I am planning to live my life by now is:

"We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets." — Marilyn Monroe

Post Halloween

So the peacock costume was kind of a bust!  It took so long to feather one part of the dress I gave up and went as Snooki!!!! Kind of ridiculous but made for a fun night. 

I kind of wish I a little more orange oh and I did add a leopard print belt later on to look a little more jersey!!

How was everyones Halloween weekend??

P.S. I'm not gonna lie, i have a love for the Kardashians and am sad for them! I'm not sad shes getting divorced, I saw that coming but at all the hate spread all over the internet.  I can't believe how mean people are being.  I really don't think she would go as far as fake a wedding for TV.  I think she wanted a wedding and be happy ever after she didnt see he wasn't the right person until it was to late!!