Neiman Marcus Cookies

Weird name isn't it? This cookie recipe comes from an urban myth, it's quite an interesting story actually, it's quite lengthy, but you can read about it here. These cookies are stuffed with two kinds of chocolate, nuts and blended oatmeal which make it quite extraordinary! Make sure to under bake them so they stay nice and moist and pair them with a cold glass of milk. Perfection!

Milk & Cookies. A classic combination.

All dressed up!

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Yields: about 30

Original recipe can be found here.

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups oatmeal, blended

6 oz. chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 2 oz. Hershey's bar, grated

1 egg

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cups chopped nuts, of your choice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and both sugars. Add egg and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add chocolate chips, grated Hershey's and nuts. Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and flatten slightly with fingertips. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 F.

Attack of the cookies!

Tailored Tuesdays

It's FINALLY getting colder. Yay for coats and scarves!

1. Theory "Shalin suede trench coat"

2. Richard Nicoll "Layered silk t-shirt"

3. 7 for all Mankind "Roxanne corduroy skinny jeans"

4. Alexander McQueen "God save the queen pashmina"

5. Jerome C. Rousseau "Serpentine patent leather sandals"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com

Cheesy Bacon Baked Tortilla Chips

It's football season, but it's not like I care, I don't even watch football! I just happen to think that this recipe would be perfect for a tailgating party, or pre-football watching party or any kind of party actually. It's filled with bacon, onions and cheese with a kick of jalapenos. How could this not be good?!?

Yummm, I think that's a 9:1 bacon ratio there, that's a gooooood ratio:

Now for the addition of the cheddar; cheese always makes things better:

First, spreading on the salsa, then topping with the cheddar-bacon mixture:

Cheesy Bacon Baked Tortilla Chips

Yields: Enough as an appetizer for about 10 people

Slighty adapted from here.

Printable Recipe

2 jalapenos, minced (you can discard the seeds if you prefer)

1 small onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 package bacon, chopped into small pieces

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 jar salsa (choose your favorite)

1 large bag of tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place tortilla chips on a large baking sheet in a single layer, set aside. In a large pan brown the bacon until fully cooked and crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel, allow to cool. Remove all of the bacon grease from the pan except 1 tablespoon. Add onions, jalapenos and garlic. Cook for 3 - 5 minutes until translucent and cooked through. Add to bacon and allow to cool. Once cool, add the cheddar to the mixture and mix well. Spoon a teaspoonful of salsa on each tortilla chip and top with the cheese mixture. Place in oven for 5 - 8 minutes or until the cheese turns a nice golden brown. Serve straight away and enjoy!

Pioneer Woman's Asian Noodle Salad

Wow honestly, this woman never fails to please me. Nuh uh, no way. She calls this her "most favorite salad ever." Who am I to disagree, hell it's now one of my favorites too! It's uncomplicated, un-fussy, delicious and healthy. And the flavor? Let's see... crunchy, chewy, salty, sweet and sour. Yep it's a keeper folks!

It's like a fiesta on a plate!

The uber yummy dressing:

Pioneer Woman's Asian Noodle Salad

Yields: A LOT!, probably enough to feed 15 - 20 as a side

Original recipe from The Pioneer Woman, which can be found here.

Printable Recipe

For the salad:

1 package linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed and cooled

1/2 - 1 head of napa cabbage, sliced

1/2 - 1 head of purple cabbage, sliced

1/2 - 1 bag baby spinach (I forgot to add this, but it was still delicious)

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

3 scallions, sliced

3 cucumbers, peeled and julienned

lots of chopped cilantro, up to 1 bunch

1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in a skilled

For the dressing:

Juice of 1 lime

8 tbsn. olive oil

2 - 3 tbsn. sesame oil

8 tbsn. soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tbsn. fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 hot peppers or jalapenos, minced

chopped cilantro, lots

Mix together the salad ingredients. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs and serve on a platter. Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, without cilantro.

Deeeee-liicous!

Tailored Tuesdays

Burberry ftw.

1. Burberry "Rosebank cotton trench coat"

2. Burberry "Round neck a-line dress"

3. Burberry "Westcott shoulder bag"

4. Burberry Prorsum "Canvas t-bar sandal"

5. Burberry "Large link bracelet"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com

Crispy Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies are incredible. I can't. stop. eating. them. oh. my. gosh!

I'm really bad at making cookies for some reason. They are so finicky and I never seem to get them out in time before they burn to a crisp. But these... so easy!

This recipe is the simplest thing ever but they are so amazing. Soft, slightly chewy, crispy from the rice krispies and sweet. Yummmm can't stop thinking about them.

I've made them before, you can find the recipe here. Except this time I used raspberry jam, but you could use whatever you'd like!

Cookies & soy milk... what else does a girl need?

Bil Donovan

"The age of elegance is gone, there was a time when a woman wouldn't dare leave the house without makeup and the right gloves."

Now I hope I am not implying that I am some kind of glamarama. I don't have the time nor the energy nor the means to dress to the nines everyday but I do enjoy fashion and those who are well dressed and DO have the time and energy to do so. Bil Donovan work simply tugs at my heartstrings:

"Travel for site"

"P Picnic 4 site Ant"

"Set Glam Grlbending"

"Garden Party for site"

"Dog show for site"

"Audrey layout B"

You can find the rest of his works here.

Mascarpone Brownies

I've heard many, many raves about this recipe. Mascarpone in brownies?!? Unheard of (or at least for me)! As you know I'm not much of a brownie fan, but when I do happen to eat brownies I like 'em chewy rather than cake-y. These brownies were super moist and light.

The chocolate flavor was definitely present but not overwhelmingly so. Though these weren't chewy and thick they were unique because they were so moist, almost as if it had been soaked in some kind of syrup like a tres leches cake. If you are a brownie lover, this recipe is a must try. It's unique and probably like any other brownie you've ever tried.

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies

Printable Recipe

For the brownies:

1 cup unsalted butter

3 oz. semisweet chocolate

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened

3 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

For the ganache:

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

6 tbsn. whipping cream

3 tbsn. unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a 8-inch square cake pan and set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and bring it to just below a boil. In a mixing bowl, add the chopped chocolate, then pour the melted butter on top and let stand for 30 seconds, stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Sift in the sugar and cocoa powder, then with a wooden spoon beat in the mascarpone, eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Gently fold the flour and salt into the batter. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place on cooling rack and let cool completely. For the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan bring the cream and butter to just below boiling over medium heat. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds then stir until smooth. Pour over the brownies and spread evenly but do not cut into the brownies until the ganache has firmed up. Enjoy!

Man On The Moon

I love this song. Kid Cudi is proving to be a great talent and though Kanye might be an asshole, he is a a damn good rapper. The sampling of 'Poker Face' in this song is ridiculously good. Oh and wait...? Common too? Wow what a great collaboration.

Buy Man on the Moon now.

Oh and this man has a pretty awesome sense of style too:

Anna Sui for Target

Loving this collection by Anna Sui! It was inspired by Gossip Girl, so you can see hints of Serena, Blair, Jenny and Vanessa in it. Just perfect!

Easy Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie ya'll.

Ya heard?!

This pie was B-A-N-A-N-A-S, as Gwen Stefani would say. This pie is simple, easy as hell and delicious. I used my all time favorite go-to custard recipe, which I have also used here and here. I'm not usually one for shortcuts, but this custard is so good and so easy that I don't see the point in attempting to make real pastry cream. One day maybe, but not today. Anyways... bananas, custard, cinnamon whipped cream and pie crust? Yeah I think that definitely qualifies as a winner.

Brown-flecked bananas are perfect for this dessert; perfectly sweet:

Time to arrange your bananas:

YUM, easiest and most delicious pie ever!

Easy Banana Cream Pie

Yields: 1 9-inch pie, serves about 6 - 8

Printable Recipe

1 9-inch pie crust, fully baked and cooled (I used store bought dough, but you could use this recipe)

1 large box of french vanilla pudding

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1 3/4 cup heavy cream, split

3 ripe but firm, large bananas, sliced

2 tbsn. powdered sugar, sifted

2 tsp. vanilla extract, split

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

To make the custard, combine the pudding mix, milk, 1 tsp. vanilla and 3/4 cup heavy cream and beat for 5 - 10 minutes until thickened and well combined. Set aside in the refrigerator. To make the whipped cream topping, combine the 1 cup of heavy cream, powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and whip until peaks form. To assemble, grab your cooled pie shell and fill with the custard about halfway (there might be some left over but just grab a spoon and shove it in your mouth!), then arrange the bananas in any way, top with the whipped cream and chill for about an hour or more. Enjoy!

If you're feeling on the decadent side, cover the entire thing in whipped cream!

Humminah, humminah, humminah:

Tailored Tuesdays

Yummy casual, comfy clothes offset by fierce heels and lush silk.

1. Day Birger et Mikkelsen "New kaya silk top"

2. Citizens of Humanity "Avedon legging style jeans"

3. Lanvin "Metallic leather sandals"

4. Emilio Pucci "Python shoulder bag"

5. Majorica "8mm pearl stud earrings"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com

Say Hello to my New Friend!

I've given birth to a new blog!

It's a photoblog to be exact. Congrats to me!

Check it out here!

Some of my favorites are below:

In the beautifully graffiti ridden streets of Valparaiso, Chile:

A bird's eye view of San Francisco at night:

Happier hour: happy drinks + happy friends:

Getting ready to white water raft in Pucon, Chile:

The sweetest little girl who wouldn't let go of our futbol:

A stray cat with the friendliest eyes:

Beautiful Celiana enjoying her apples:

In Valparaiso, one of Chile's largest port cities:

At the Aquarium of the Pacific, wondrous aren't they?

Exploring the nooks and crannies of Crystal Cove, Newport Beach:

A gorgeously inviting pomegranate:

Catching snow flakes in the Andes Mountains:

Enjoying the beautiful California coastline on the way to San Francisco:

The best thing about summer? 21 choices yogurt!

Sea dragons at the Aquarium of the Pacific: