Knit, Skulls and Studs

I have heard so much hype about the Valentino rockstud but I didn't understand why anyone would pay over $1,000 for them...until I owned my own. To start off, they are one of the MOST comfortable pair of heels I have, the design goes with everything and I just love the little studs that make the shoes look so young and fun. I am a proud advocate of the Valentino Rockstud pumps now!

 

Is there a piece you are lusting over or you regret not buying? Please share in the comment box below.

 

Club Monaco two-sided cashmere sweater (similar) // Rock and Republic jeans (similar dark wash jeans here) // Alexander McQueen skulls scarf // Celine bicolour Mini Luggage in forest and black // Valentino Noir phython rockstud pumps (love the 3 straps shorter version & the crystal embellished version)



Biker Chic





Maison Scotch silk top (similar) // Drole de Copine jacket from my fall 2012 Paris trip // Current Elliott dizzying leopard print jeans (love this print) // Chanel AW2013 flap bag (want this next) // Balenciaga booties (love these)

Celine Fall and Winter 2013 Bags

Have you seen the Fall 2013 and Winter 2013 Celine bags? What do you think about the collection? For Celine Winter 2013, they have added a few new styles including the newest tote bag dubbed the "Tie" bag. To me, it looks like the offspring of Celine Phantom and Hermes Birkin. Thoughts? Other new additions include the Berlingot Twisted Clutch, the Fortune Cookie shoulder bag and the new Hobo bag. Which is your all-time favorite Celine bag (past or present)?

Below are some of my favorites, carefully selected from both the Celine Fall 2013 and Celine Winter 2013 collection. Head over to Celine to see the rest.
Happy Friday eve! :)

Celine Fall 2013

 

Celine Box Bag in medium, emerald crocodile leather...drools...could be "to die for" in black croc.

 

I was never a big fan of the Celine Edge bag but the navy croc makes it a little desirable

 

Celine Blade bag. The perfect shopping bag - large enough to carry your wallet, phone, keys, etc without taking up too much arm space. So you could have room to hold all your shopping bags.

Celine Winter 2013

The Tie Bag in black croc. I am un-sure about this until I see it in person.

 

The timeless Celine Mini Luggage in tri-colour. I love these neutral colours together. I want a slice of chocolate-coffee cake after looking at it.

 

Can't get enough Celine? Read all about Celine bags and get pricing info here.

 





Croque Madame Muffin Recipe

After having my first real French croque-monsieur at Angelina in Paris last year, I desperately wanted to recreate the memory at home. On the way home, I saw a TV program on Air France about making the perfect bechamel sauce, which I later found was the key in making a croque-monsieur. After googling endlessly for the prefect recipe, I think I've found it! I have modified the recipe slightly to my liking so I hope you'll like it as much as I have. My bf likes to have eggs for breakfast, so this recipe is for the croque-madame version (eliminate the egg if you want the croque-monsieur version). 

Croque-monsieur from Angelina Paris.

Croque-monsieur first appeared on Parisian cafe menu in 1910 so it's been around this long for good reasons. There are two versions: a croque-monsieur which is basically an adult ham & cheese sandwich or a croque-madame, a ham & cheese sandwich with an egg. The croque-madame is also known as a croque-a-cheval in Normandy, France.
 
Here's what you'll need to make 6 croque-madame muffins:

 

• 1 muffin tin/tray that holds 6
• 6 large slices of white bread (or brown if you want to 'pretend' to be healthy)
• couple tablespoons of butter, melted
• 3 slices of ham, cut in halves (I personally like the honey ham)
• 6 small eggs (I prefer organic range free if you could find them)

      For the bechamel sauce:

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour, sifted
• 200 ml of full cream milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
• 15 g of gruyere cheese, grated
• 15 g of emmmental cheese, grated

To make the bechamel sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
2. Add flour.
3. Mix butter and flour mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a paste.
4. Slowly whisk in the milk, Dijon mustard and nutmeg.
5. Continue stirring until the mixture over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
6. Lower temperature to low, stir in the cheese (reserve some for the topping later).

Prepping the muffin tin and final cooking process:

1. Preheat oven to 180° C or 350° F.
2. Remove crusts from the bread and with the use of a rolling pin, flatten each slice.
3. Brush melted butter on the muffin tin, place one slice of flattened bread into each and carefully tucking in the corners as you do (if you have holes, just flatten an extra slice of bread and patch as required).
4. After you have created your bread cup inside each holder, place half a slice of ham inside each.
5. Crack an egg into the centre of each, be careful not to break the yolk.
6. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of bechamel sauce over each and sprinkle with the remaing grated cheese.
7. Sprinkle salt and pepper as you like.
8. Bake for 15 minutes if you like your eggs runny or up to 20 minutes if you prefer your eggs throughly cooked.
9. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

I served mine with a garnish of gherkin/cornichon and fresh seasonal fruits.

Have fun cooking and hope you will try this recipe with your loved ones this weekend.

Paint the field red + H&M Isabel Marant News

I havn't done an outfit post in awhile. Now that the rain spell in Vancouver has temporarily ended, I took advantage of the sunshine and snapped some photos. I've been on vacation the past few weeks so will be posting photos from London and Paris along with some shopping and tourist tips soon. To see and read about my visit to Marrakech, click here.

I wear a lot of colours. My closet is a colour schizophrenic mess but red remains my all time favourite colour of choice. What's your favourite colour?



Zara peplum silk top with back cut-out (similar) // vintage belt from Anthropologie // 3/4 length lace blazer from Nordstrom (lusting over this one) // JBrand jeans in black (similar) // Celine Trapeze bag from Spring 2013 // Christian Louboutin pumps (similar) // red Ferragamo leather bracelet (new from the duty free shop) // Marc Jacobs sunnies

 

If you have been following my blog from the past, you will know that I wrote a long winded post about Celine bags and which one I would get next. Well, here she is, my newish Celine Trapeze in tricolour white and tan leather with red suede flap. To read my post about Celine bags, click here.

 

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I also want to share with you that James Perse is having a 50% off sale.

I wore one of my favorite in Marrakech.

 

I am also thrilled that H&M is partnering up with Isabel Marant - the collecting comes out on November 14th. I will be in line that day at Pacific Centre. Hope to see some of you there. :)