Monday, September 24, 2012

New suede shoes

I've been looking for the right pair of neutral colored oxford shoes for awhile now and finally bit the bullet and purchased this pair from Steve Madden off Zappos. I can't wait to get them and start wearing them with all of my fall outfits. 

My Next Purchase: 

Denim Shirt
<div style="position:relative;"><div style="width:600px;margin:0 auto"><a href="http://www.polyvore.com/denim_shirt_with_roll-up_sleeves/thing.outbound?.embedder=0&amp;.svc=copypaste&amp;id=33136025"><img width="600" alt="Denim Shirt With Roll-Up Sleeves" src="http://embed.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-thing/size/y/tid/33136025.jpg" title="Denim Shirt With Roll-Up Sleeves" height="600" border="0" /></a></div></div><br/><small><div style="text-align:center"><div><a href="http://www.polyvore.com/denim_shirt_with_roll-up_sleeves/thing.outbound?.embedder=0&amp;.svc=copypaste&amp;id=33136025">Denim Shirt With Roll-Up Sleeves</a>   (clipped to <a href="http://www.polyvore.com/">polyvore.com</a>)</div></div></small>

Comfy Cardigans
<div style='padding-bottom: 2px; line-height: 0px'><a href='http://pinterest.com/pin/169940585910445302/' target='_blank'><img src='http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/upload/162059286562160577_J5ms0uvm_c.jpg' border='0' width='300' height ='500'/></a></div><div style='float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;'><p style='font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;'>Source: <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://www.shopconversationpieces.com/polka-dot-polka-dot-cardigan/'>shopconversationpieces.com</a> via <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com/cfeggoudakis/' target='_blank'>Christina</a> on <a style='text-decoration: underline; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com' target='_blank'>Pinterest</a></p></div> 

Jewel Tone Jeans
<div style='padding-bottom: 2px; line-height: 0px'><a href='http://pinterest.com/pin/169940585910445248/' target='_blank'><img src='http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/169940585910445248_2UofhRah_c.jpg' border='0' width='311' height ='468'/></a></div><div style='float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;'><p style='font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;'>Source: <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://www.tobi.com/product/46938-tobi-color-skinny-jeans?color_id=61687'>tobi.com</a> via <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com/cfeggoudakis/' target='_blank'>Christina</a> on <a style='text-decoration: underline; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com' target='_blank'>Pinterest</a></p></div>

Loose T-Shirts
<div style='padding-bottom: 2px; line-height: 0px'><a href='http://pinterest.com/pin/169940585910445264/' target='_blank'><img src='http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/73324300153402704_50on37Ml_c.jpg' border='0' width='300' height ='500'/></a></div><div style='float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;'><p style='font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;'>Source: <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://www.shopconversationpieces.com/perfect-shirt-charcoal/'>shopconversationpieces.com</a> via <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com/cfeggoudakis/' target='_blank'>Christina</a> on <a style='text-decoration: underline; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com' target='_blank'>Pinterest</a></p></div>

Something Tribal!


 

















Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Pinspiration




I've been browsing Pinterest the past few weeks for a little "pinspiration" to redecorate our living room. My roommates and I were thinking of moving to a new apartment, but through the search it made us realize how much we love our place! Sometimes you don't know how good you have it! After living in our apartment for two years, It's finally time to graduate to a big girl apartment with things that were not from our college days. 

See right, we did paint an accent wall behind our couch a deep red/maroon an ad a white forest wall decal. (Similar to the one in the picture)
However, we have yet to decorate the rest of the room. The look we are going for is sort of an "urban forest". 



Coffee table without the coffee table 

Love the colorful pillows 


Pinned Image
Rustic


Antlers + branches












Julie_01_rect640 

A colorful rug is a must

Thursday, July 12, 2012

A lovely day in East Hampton.




 \\


Last Saturday I spent the day in East Hampton at Wolffer Estate Vineyard for my friend Shannon's birthday. (See girl in gorgeous blue dress in the center) We had the most amazing day touring the property, learning all about how wine is made in the cellar and enjoying our delicious lunch in a private room overlooking the vineyard. I had never done anything like this before so it really was a treat. I've never felt so fancy before in my life! Drinking wine on the gazebo and then hopping into a limo afterwards, who am I!?! It really was the ultimate girls day and I highly recommend it for a special celebration!


Friday, June 8, 2012

Recent events

Summer is here! :)

So where have I been lately?


Memorial Day Weekend I took a mini road trip with my boyfriend up to Boston. The city was absolutely beautiful and historic. Day 1 we walked all of Boston along the freedom trail, strolled through the Public Gardens which is Boston's "Central Park" and made it all the way to the Bunker Hill Monument. Day 2 was spent at Fenway Park which was such an amazing baseball-watching experience, so glad we were able to catch a game at that epic park! Random picture below of the Chipotle was once the first bookstore in the U.S.!







Last weekend was my best friend Tracy's birthday and we celebrated by a big boozy brunch with all the girls at Cuba on the Lower East Side. Highly recommend this place for its delicious food (I suggest the chicken wrap) and all-you-can drink with an unbeatable selection that offered any drink on the menu - not just mimosas! I had  the Mango Sunrise which was delicious. Caution: the rum drinks are STRONG! We also were very lucky to have our friend Leyna's boyfriend, who is a professional photographer  there snapping pictures!








 Tracy, Amanda and I (the three roomies)


- Nina

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

cinco de maYO





I will celebrate any holiday involving margaritas and tacos. Although the weather was not looking promising, my friend Tracy and I still made it down to South Street Seaport for the MexFest Food Truck Festival on Saturday. The lines were epically long and especially for tacos so that was out of the question. We then saw the Gorilla Cheese truck, which my friend has seen around the city. The cinco special was so worth the 1/2 hr wait online...chipotle chicken, mozzarella and jalapenos on toasted french bread = YUM! After I inhaled the sandwich, I needed to find a margarita stat so we walked down to Beekman Beach Bar which is right on the river and has a breathtaking view of the Brooklyn bridge. (Definitely worth a visit in spring and summer) Its a huge outdoor bar with foosball, ping pong AND arm wrestling tables! Next time I'll bring my a-game and challenge some people to a duel. 

xo, Nina

Monday, April 23, 2012

Sunday Dinna

I spent all day yesterday snuggled up on the couch various watching Lifetime movies and only left to do my laundry downstairs. NYC was fah-reezing cold and wet and was the complete opposite of Saturday's picture perfect weather. I welcomed the rain with open arms because it forced me to stay in and recharge. And with that always comes experimenting in the kitchen. This was the easiest chicken to make, just slice a sliver or I called it a "flap" on top, stuff with your favorite goat cheese (I used feta), and chopped peppers, a bit of garlic and parsley then drizzle with olive oil and put in a baking dish with oil and bake in the oven for about an hour. Squeeze a bit of lemon on the chicken when it comes out of the oven, and serve with jasmine rice. Voila!






Saturday, April 21, 2012

Gray Skies





It was a gray day in NYC when I took these photos at Central Park, but I felt compelled to share. My photography class "homework" assignment was to take pictures of my neighborhood, and while I wish I lived in the first brownstone bordering the park in the first image, I stretched the neighborhood boundary for these photos. I consider Central Park to be everyone's "neighborhood" park in NYC. I think they actually came out to be a really great portrayal of the park on a lazy Sunday. Tomorrow, I plan to hit the streets and get some sunny day photos (praying for no rain!)

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter Weekend: Part 1



This past weekend I decided to try baking cupcakes from scratch since I had a suburban sized kitchen at my disposal.  I thought vanilla cupcakes would be a guaranteed crowd pleaser for Easter Sunday. The vanilla cake recipe is from allrecipes (below) and the buttercream frosting was thanks to Martha Stewart. I slightly overcooked the cupcakes by putting them in for 20 minutes, so I would suggest setting the timer for 15 and checking with a toothpick. I must say her frosting exceeded my expectations and I don't think I will ever buy frosting from a jar again. I added two drops of color to a cup of frosting to get the pastel effect. They were almost too pretty to eat!




Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 5 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  •  1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
  2. Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter has melted. Beat the sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla with an electric mixer in a large bowl until it has thickened slightly and is lighter in color. Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed until just incorporated. Slowly pour in the hot milk, beating until just combined. 
  3.  Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan for 10 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Cook's Note If you want to double this recipe just use 5 whole eggs instead of 4 eggs plus 2 egg yolks to make your life easier.







Basic Buttercream
  • Yield Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
  2. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 5 minutes. (After every 2 additions, increase speed to high, and beat for 10 seconds, then reduce speed to medium-high). Add vanilla, and beat until buttercream is smooth. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)