Mom's gift is always the BEST!

Some quick snapshots for a couple of necklaces gift from Mom. 

Golden Glow

I had some new additions to my jewelry collections during this past Christmas: A rose gold watch from Folli Follie, and golden earrings from the boyfriend.  A golden girl is always eye-catching!

 

Rosegold Watch: Folli Follie

Necklace: Golden Refection necklace Folli Follie

Cake for Valentine's Day!

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away, I decided to design a chocolate cake to make that day special.  The best part is, I finished and revealed it today to my boyfriend (who loves chocolate) rather than doing it on the 14^th so it would be a nice surprise…He loved it, of course…

If you fancy the recipe, here it is:

1 6-inch Chocolate cake (Black forest cake recipe):

100g cake flour

25g cocoa powder

65g butter

50g powdered sugar

70g egg yolks

135g egg whites

95g granulated sugar

Butter and flour the cake pan and sift dry ingredients and set aside.  Cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, add the yolks slowly.

Prepare a French meringue with granulated sugar and egg whites; whip to soft-peak. Combine with egg yolk mixture.

Fold the sifted dry ingredients into mixture and pour the batter into the pan.

Bake at 350F until the cake spring back and skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Filling: vanilla buttercream. I did add some liquor to give it a kick! :)

All you need is, SMILE...

On a grey day like today, all you can do and need to do is, SMILE...

I thought I'd share some quotes about "smile". Maybe some of them could make your day a joyful and smiling one...

The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.  ~Author Unknown Start every day with a smile and get it over with.  ~W.C. Fields Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.  ~Jim Beggs A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.  ~Charles Gordy Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.  ~Mark Twain, Following the Equator The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.  ~William Shakespeare, Othello A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home.  ~Author Unknown If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.  ~Andy Rooney Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.  ~Author Unknown   Always remember to be happy because you never know who's falling in love with your smile.  ~Author Unknown Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile.  ~Paul Simon, "Only Living Boy in New York" Everyone smiles in the same language.  ~Author Unknown I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.  ~Author Unknown Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles.  ~George Eliot She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.  ~Raymond Chandler Smiling is infectious, You can catch it like the flu. Someone smiled at me today, And I started smiling too. ~Author Unknown A smile appeared upon her face as if she'd taken it directly from her handbag and pinned it there.  ~Loma Chandler The shortest distance between two people is a smile.  ~Author unknown, modification of Victor Borge's "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." Is a smile a question?  Or is it the answer?  ~Lee Smith Smiling is my favorite exercise.  ~Author Unknown Wear a smile - one size fits all.  ~Author Unknown People are not perfect (except when they smile).  ~Author Unknown No matter how grouchy you're feeling, You'll find the smile more or less healing. It grows in a wreath All around the front teeth - Thus preserving the face from congealing. ~Anthony Euwer Every day you spend without a smile, is a lost day.  ~Author Unknown Sometimes it's just enough to smile sincerely.  ~Mike Dolan, www.hawaiianlife.com Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.  ~Mother Teresa   A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life's worthwhile.  ~Author Unknown A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.  ~Washington Irving Beauty is power; a smile is its sword.  ~Charles Reade A smile is the universal welcome.  ~Max Eastman Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you've been up to.  ~Author Unknown You're never fully dressed without a smile.  ~Martin Charnin A smile can brighten the darkest day.  ~Author Unknown Smile, it lets your teeth breathe.  ~Author Unknown It takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown.  ~Author Unknown Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.  ~Janet Lane The teeth are smiling, but is the heart? ~African Proverb All the statistics in the world can't measure the warmth of a smile.  ~Chris Hart Smile!  It increases your face value.  ~Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias Peace begins with a smile.  ~Mother Teresa A smile is a powerful weapon; you can even break ice with it.  ~Author Unknown Most smiles are started by another smile.  ~Author Unknown A smile is something you can't give away; it always comes back to you.  ~Author Unknown

Source: Quote Garden

Sweet Surprise- MOR Cosmetics

I discovered this beautiful brand from Australia, MOR Cosmetics this past Christmas. Gift set of soap and handcream in Lychee Flower fragrance. I need to mention that my bathroom smells wonderful! :)

Dot dot dot...

I bought this pretty top from Forever 21 12by12 a couple of years ago, it survived many rounds of closet clean-up.  The polka dots paired with the fresh green makes it trendy again in this season! LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Sun Glasses...

I'd love to have this pair of sun glasses from American Apparel. 

A pair of red shoes is a girl's best friend

Fancy a nice pair of red shoes? Saw this beautiful pair at BCBGMAXAZRIA on 5th Avenue. I can imagine myself doing some gardening work with them.

Cupcakes and Chocolate

This is a beautiful way of displaying cupcakes.  Lily O'Brien's Chocolate Cafe.

 

Si! Taqueria!

Once again, nice food experience at Taqueria in Lower East Side... I loved my pork taco it was spicy and delicioso!

Cinematic City under Rain

This past weekend was wet and gloomy. I was walking through midtown in the night, and the city under the rain was indifferently charming.

Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Window

I have always loved the Christmas windows at Bergdorf Goodman.  A "true New York holiday spectacle", the display takes you into a fantasy land, where you surrender your being completely to the unknown and the magic!

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