Orange you glad I wore this: Get it online!

Orange October by nsaich featuring hammered jewelry

           You saw me wearing something very similar in a post from earlier today. I tried to replicate the look on a shopping site called Polyvore.com where you can create your own "sets." Click the link below the photo and shop the look for yourself!




Yours,
Nico


PS: I added that tiger ring into the mix because I think it's simply fabulous and so affordable!

Orange you glad I wore this?

      October is upon us, leaves are turning, we want hot chocolate (insert generic description of the fall season here please). Anyway, it was raining like crazy here in Santa Cruz (I wish it was raining like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs), so I stayed in and played dress up. You know when you are home alone and you put on your favorite shoes and just....walk around? Well that's how this outfit got started.... and luckily ended with being taken out on the town for dinner!

Found this orange dress at a vintage 

store in Santa Cruz called Twist:

I love the hem line.

The belt I'm wearing is from Target and my nail polish can be found in this post:

The back detailing is unexpected, there is 

a lot of good design in this dress:

Satin peep toe pumps are by Kate Spade 

purchased via Crossroads Trading Co:

From left to right: vintage Givenchy, 

vintage treasure, Michael Kors:

Orange you glad I played dress up? Man that was corny but at near 2AM everything seems a bit more funny and silly. Hope you guys are all having a great day! Also, I have an additional post up later today where you can shop the look online! Check back with me : ) <3

Yours,

Nico  

The best way to say thank you is with a cake!

      This earl grey tea cake is one that I make on a regular basis. Essentially it is a white cake that has been perfumed with dried tea leaves. Sounds pretty impressive right? Well, its pretty simple to make and uses ingredients I always seem to have on hand in my kitchen. Plus I truly believe that the test of a good cake is how it tastes without all the frosting and garnishes and this one is fantastic even without icing! Give it a try at home! Here's how:

Magic Ingredients:

-1/2 cup salted butter at room temperature

-1 cup granulated sugar

-2 eggs

-Vanilla extract (just a couple drops, you don't want it to over power the taste of the earl grey tea)

-1 1/2 cups flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

-3 bags of earl grey tea (leaves removed from the bags)

-1/2 cup of milk

1: In either a standard or hand held mixer blend together butter and sugar:

2: Add in eggs and vanilla, combine:

3: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together dry ingredients:

4: Alternately add milk and dry ingredients into the mixer until blended:

5: Line a cake pan (shape and size are your choice. As you can see from the full post I have made several different sizes of this cake) with either parchment paper or non-stick cooking spray and fill with the batter:

6: Bake at 375 degrees until the top of the cake has turned a golden brown and a toothpick is removed from the center clean. 

7: After the cake cooled off I frosted it with my own frosting recipe (Should I do a post on this recipe? You guys let me know!). Finally, garnish with whatever you like! I've used sprinkles, pecans, and even fresh strawberries or raspberries for this cake:

      I recently made this cake for my friend Marie! She is always creating delicious meals for me and also serves up a side of her best cooking secrets every time I see her! I've always thought that the best way to say thank you to someone (for all the kind things they do!) is with cake, don't you agree?

Yours,

Nico

PS, Just so you guys know, the measurements listed with the ingredients makes one cake or 6 cupcakes!

The $3,695.00 shoe.....NOT.

      I think that most women would just love to have these crystal covered peep toe pumps on their feet. However, with a price tag of almost $4,000.00 that just isn't in the cards for most of us!!!

Do not worry! I have another (much less expensive) option! Check these babies out:

      The crystals you crave at a much better value! These were made by my friend Christi and I personally think she did a fantastic job of capturing the stunning quality of the original Christian Louboutin pair. She purchased a pair of Pour La Victoria nude pumps as well as crystals from an ebay seller to create these amazing shoes at a fraction of the cost! Here are some other shoe options for this spectacular DIY project:

(click here for more info)

(click here for more info)

(click here for more info)



If any of you were lusting after the swarovski crystal embellished shoes but intimidated by the price tag try this project instead!

Yours,

Nico

PS, all photos of the DIY shoes were taken by B. Dalke, you can view her work and contact her by clicking here.

      

Bacon and egg spicy breakfast pizza!

      You may be able to recall a similar recipe here where I used naan as the base for my breakfast pizza. To be honest... I only used naan because my favorite pie crust was not available at my local grocery store! So here is a slightly updated take on the breakfast naan pizza previously featured on this blog. The flaky buttery pie crust makes this dish irresistable. I made this pizza pie for dinner last night and ate half of it all by myself!

Magic Ingredients:

-1 frozen pie crust

-1 cup of grated gruyere cheese

-1/4 of a cup thinly sliced red onion

-1 tablespoon hot sauce

-6 slices of bacon sliced into one inch pieces and pan fried until crisp

-1 green serano pepper diced (seeds removed)

-4 eggs

-salt and pepper to taste

Let's get started!

1: Lay thawed pie crust on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a knife cut a half inch border around the crust and puncture holes within the border (but do NOT cut the pie crust all the way thru). 

2: Prebake the crust at 400 degrees for ten minutes.If the crust starts to rise in the middle of baking, just poke it with a fork a few times! Crust should end up looking something like this:

3: Layer gruyere on the crust leaving pockets for the raw eggs, season with salt and pepper to taste as shown below:

4: Add additional toppings: bacon, peppers, onion, and drizzle with hot sauce.

5: Continue baking in the oven for an additional ten mintues or until the egg whites turn opaque:

      ...Now honestly this pizza was so delectable it almost made me want to put on sweatpants and eat the entire thing myself while sitting (or laying like a cat in the sun) on the couch watching a horror flick. Afterwards I would make another one : )

Yours,

Nico