Vegan Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies and the Oscar Goes to...

Me, myself and I in the baking category....

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! YOU'RE FAR TOO KIND! :-) 

I used to bake a lot when I was a little girl and we are talking chocolate pound cake, banana bread, pizza dough from scratch, cookies, tarts you name it ladies and gentlemen and they used to turn out delicious as in so delicious that oh-my-god-I-want-to-inhale-this-whole-cake-in-under-5-seconds kind of delicious...

Then something happened and I stopped baking for some 10+ years or so and the next time I attempted to bake again was a DISASTER ( I tend to get distracted by shiny objects :-) ) so much so that the fire alarm went off and I ended up with burnt cookies in the oven and Fire Department at my door ( albeit those firefighters were super hot - I always welcome eye candy - but that's not my point today :-) )

So anyway, I am here today to give a shout out to a healthy  living / eating blog Oh She Glows that I have stumbled upon through a former FIT classmate & uber cool lady Mia's Blog Aesthetic Lounge. Thanks to Mia, I am now following Oh She Glows and yesterday I tried one her amazing recipes Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies.

Take a look: no disaster this time :-) (phewww ) Simply delicious, light, vegan goodness MMMMMMM sooo good!

Ok, I am now off to brunch with friends then to the Oscars Party I go!

You can see the offical ballot on the photo above - I desperately need help filling it out!

So far I have Natalie Portman for leading actress, King's Speech for Best Picture and Inception for Cinematography!

I hope everyone has a GREAT Sunday!

Remember Now by Karl Lagerfeld

Art Gallery much?

Yantra , 2010
mixed fabrics and sequins on canvas
64 x 63 in.

Trolling the streets of Chelsea on a cold, slushy, icy, rainy ( insert correct weather condition here ) on a Thursday night may not seem the ideal way to begin the evening, but I soon learned that wet, cold and open to anything is actually the optimal state for attending gallery openings.

Installation View
"Karma Cash & Carry" exhibition at Tyler Rollins Fine Art

Chelsea in the 20′s around 11th Avenue is packed with gallery spaces, and it’s remarkably easy to find openings on weekend nights usually on Thursdays between 6 and 9 p.m. Warm and cheerfully lit, these openings present the perfect escape-the-cold atmosphere, complete with free wine and the opportunity to culture yourself.

A long-time favorite of mine is Tyler Rollins Fine Art Gallery on 529 W 20th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.

Installation View 2
"Karma Cash & Carry" exhibition at Tyler Rollins Fine Art

Their upcoming exhibit is Agus Suwage’s The End is Just Beginning is The End opening on March 3rd, opening reception on March 10th @ 6pm on, you guessed right, a Thursday of course.

I am looking forward to it since I have lately found myself very much attracted to contemporary art from emergent areas in the Southeast and Southwest Asia and I have a thing for skulls :-)

Beautiful Dead #2, 2010
oil, acrylic, and gold leaf on zinc
27 1/2 x 36 in. (70 x 92 cm)

So go ahead and do some gallery hopping for the sake of art if not for free wine, lively conversation and the satisfied feeling of having done something worth snobbishly slipping into conversation at the party you continue to when the galleries close at 9 :-)

Let’s face it, “wine at gallery openings” sounds so much better than “shots at Whiskey Tavern,” right?

Cookies and Surprises

I know of a super cool woman who lives thousands of miles away.

(DRUMROLL)

 Meet Ildem ladies and gentlemen! She's kind-hearted, beautiful and very talented.

 I was lucky enough to meet her through work though not in person (yet) and she has already touched our lives (mine and my family's ) with her wonderful baking skills.

 

I wanted to take a moment and thank her whole-heartedly on my blog for the fun, delicious and beautiful cookies she has baked with love, decorated with creativity, put together and shipped over to mommy dearest whom I miss dearly.

Mom, Dad and our beloved puppy Cookie enjoyed them very much!!!

Mission Accomplished Ildemcim :-) I was able to surprise Mom and and put a BIG smile on her face thanks to you...

Happy Mom = Happy Daughter

Ildem bakes cookies and cakes for weddings, birthdays, baby and bridal showers, holidays and for those just because moments when you want to surprise a loved one just because...

Please check out her blog and exquisite work here: http://sihirlipastadukkani.blogspot.com/

What I'm LOVING right now - Home Edition

Blame it on the long, frigid winter we have here in New York ( well, I do ), but I have been feeling like nesting lately.

And I mean business!!!

Long gone are the cruel 2 hr- long spin classes after work and cruising downtown with the gang till the early morning lights only to wake up in an hour or two and do it all over again :)

We are talking coming home after work and curling up with a steaming hot cup of Mariage-Freres Teas and watching How I Met Your Mother, reading on Kindle 3, online shopping for candles, pillows, dinner parties, Friday nights in with DVDs, popcorn and wine in our private movie room :)

Guests bring food and dessert unless we cook together and I provide blankets, popcorn, hot cocoa and wine.

And really, who wants to go out when the temperature is below freezing anyway ???

Speaking of Mariage-Freres, my favorites are Eros - puts a smile on my face everytime I smell it - HEAVENLY - and The Vert Marco Polo.

You can buy them in France, order them online or simply go to your local Dean & Deluca where they carry the most popular selections if you live in New York City. 

I take them to work as well and brew them in my new favorite Starbucks Mug by who else but Jonathan Adler :-)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jonathan Adler's eye for design and his fun, colorful pillows. I want them ALL!!!

If you are a fellow home fragrance/candle lover, I highly recommend the Voluspa Japonica 3 wick candles I posted below.

You cannot go wrong with Makassar Ebony Peach and French Cade & Lavender. They both smell lovely, very subtle yet very distinctive.

I get compliments from my guests every time I light them, never fails :-) You can find them at Anthropologie and Bloomingdale's not to mention online candle stores.

And this Kate Moss painting by Rene Gracia Jr. would go above the couch in the living room, if only I could get my hands on one of his artwork  *sigh*