The Perfects

So, in an attempt to do a reflection on the 2008 year, I thought I'd come up with a "The Perfect ________" list. Here are some items on my personal "Perfect" list:

The Perfect Bag: The Vineyard Vines Classic Tote
This bag is huge, but not overwhelming. A step up from an LL Bean Boat' n' Tote Bag, this is a preppy must-have. I've used this bag at school, shopping, as a carry-all, at the beach, when I go out, you name it! I have a classic blue whale on pink pattern on mine, and I can't wait to monogram the top middle section above the front pocket.

The Perfect Sandal: Jack Rogers Navajo Sandal in Platinum
I have worn these shoes time and time again. Beware that the first few days of wearing them, they ARE NOT comfortable. Upon breaking them in, however, I could live in these shoes. Not kidding, either, this color is the one I always tell people to buy in the store. They can be dressed up (as I did wear them to both prom and the debutante ball) or dressed down (as I've worn them with a simple LP skirt and polo for a work day). This color is also a fusion between gold and silver and is still shiny, but much less attention-drawing than metallic.

The Perfect Trendy Accessory: Pashmina Scarves in Plain Colors
I have recently gotten one of these scarves (from Target nonetheless) for Christmas. Don't buy an expensive one because you can pick them up easily for $10-$20 and really, the quality is not that much different. I have a raspberry colored one that goes well with black, white, brown, navy, cream, jeans, dresses (as a shawl). Usually I'm not into very trendy things considering my wardrobe is cable knits, polos and jeans, but I do like these scarves very much. Head up though, if you don't like ironing, look for a different material for these scarves. If you want it to look neat 24/7 you'll have to iron these, I don't mind a wrinkle so I let it go.

The Perfect Book (it's a tie): The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao OR In Cold Blood
I read both of these books this year and loved them both. TBWLoOW won the Pulitzer Prize for literature earlier in the year and my English teacher in 11th grade wanted us to read it. Although not the most uplifting of stories, it takes a look into the life of Oscar Wao. It is very readable and is about real life. A funny running commentary by Junot Diaz on the history of the Dominican Republic is conveyed in the footnotes. ICB, on the other hand, is not a happy story at all. It follows the story of 2 murders and the family that they kill with the climax of the story at the murder scene. Besides Harry Potter, I have never read real literature SO fast in my entire life. It took me probably less than 48 hours over the summer to read this book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

The Perfect Scent: Lilly Pulitzer "Wink"
Cleverly put in a pink bottle, this steals it for me. I own this as well, from Christmas, and again, I tell everyone in the store to buy this one of all the LP scents. In the words of Lilly herself: "Wear pink and make the boys wink!" It is the one on the bottom!

The Perfect Nail Polish: Sephora Brand Nail Color in L19 "tagada"
Talk about the perfect pink, this is it. Barbie Pink, Princess Pink, "Tagada", "L19", call it what you want, it is true pink, $4 to boot, and I love it. Cover it with a good clear topcoat and you're all set! As I look at my bottle, I have to remember to get more!

The Perfect Coat: H&M 6 Button Pea Coat
This is a great dressy, light coat. I have it in a charcoal color that is functional for everything. I love the way this looks with my uniform at school, over an outfit, and with a black turtleneck underneath. The only problem is that it is lined with polyester or something like that, and if any wind gets up there, it chills the fabric and your arms get cold!

The Perfect Running Shoes: Any Shoe From The Brand "Asics"
Now, I know there are some runners out there who will disagree, but I've run for 4 years of cross country with Asics. Some people argue that the toe box is too big or that Mizuno or New Balance make the best running shoes, but I love these shoes. I have had 2 pairs of the exact same model and changed recently for my past running season. Now, I am in no way a serious runner, but I did it for fun and to keep in shape. These shoes were so comfortable, held up beautifully, and I will be an Asics girl for the rest of my life.

The Perfect Gift: A Handmade Gift Basket
I have fallen in love with doing this. I think that for people that you really care about, this is the best gift that you can give. With a color scheme or theme in mind, you can't go wrong with putting one of these together. Bonus: it's a crafty project and you get to go shopping in a few different places!

Perfect Earrings: Silver Pearls
A twist on the traditional pearls, silver pearls are easy to find, stylish, and come in a variety of sizes. You can go with real silver or silver plated. I love wearing silver pearls because they go with everything, minus like gold stuff, and you can find coordinating bracelets and necklaces to go with them!

Perfect Treat: Funfetti Cupcakes!
Boy oh boy, am I a fan of these bad boys. I have become known as the cupcake queen at my school for making funfetti cupcakes. They are SO easy to make and are always good. It's tough to mess up cupcakes from a box. Tip: don't overmix the batter. If you overmix, you lose that melt in your mouth taste (as corny as that sounds...). Although, I have had a friend tell me that she's bitten into a little rock of batter from me not mixing enough!!

Any other additions? Leave a comment with some of your Perfects!

xxKatie

Christmas Baking

Hey everyone! First and foremost, Merry Christmas Eve!! My family and I are all in for the night and we've already been to Christmas Mass and Christmas Dinner! I'm ready to get in my Lilly jammies and hit the hay!

Today I baked over 40 cupcakes for a family Christmas party tomorrow that my godmother--my Aunt Patricia--and her family are hosting. We all will hop over (or in our case, drive 5 hours through the treacherous Belt Parkway and NJ Turnpike to get to Lawng-I-land.) to her house to see each other and have some fun catching up and playing open trading--to many people that's the White Elephant trading game!

In order to pass some time and have something other than a ham to bring to the party, my mom suggested that I bake some cupcakes! I got all the different decorating things I needed yesterday and enjoyed my 4.5 hours of baking today! I absolutely love cupcakes and these were some of the goodies I came up with:

I was MOST proud of those wreaths! Using a star tip and the kind of decorating frosting you can buy that comes with the 4 different tips, I piped the wreaths myself! I loved loved loved how they came out!

Here's a close up of the wreaths!

I also dyed some of the frosting pink--what a shocker! Then I made other designs like the santa hat and some more artsy ones like the one next to the hat. I also added first name initials of all my cousins to cupcakes so everyone had their own!

My mom also found the most darling sprinkles in the grocery store that we added as well!

These were the few that we're keeping at home for ourselves!

As you can see with this red bow, sometimes the frosting came out WAY too fast and thick if you applied too much pressure to the nozzle. Clearly, this was not going to make the trip with us!!

As you're all baking at this time of the year, keep the wreath design in mind! It is super festive and easy to do!

Merry Christmas!

xxKatie

Handmade Gifts

So obviously Christmas is fast approaching in only 4 days! I can't believe it myself! All of my friend's debutante stuff has kept me from really thinking about Christmas. One of my other friends, Maeve, just had an 18th birthday though too! It was a really fun night because it was just girls, and I couldn't remember the last time that I went to a party like that. I was a little overdressed because I thought it was a little dressier than it was in actuality. The gift I gave her, however, I had left up to the last minute, which is not something that I typically do. She held her party on the night of the day of our last exam (if the prepositional phrases in that sentence weren't confusing enough) so I barely had time to shop.

I was blog surfing and came across a site that had an entry on gift baskets for the holidays. I kept looking through it and then it came to me: MAKE YOUR OWN GIFT BASKET! Boy, did I run with this idea. I headed off to Target without a real idea other than what my friend really likes: cooking, baking, pastels, dark chocolate, etc. I knew that there were a few things that I would need: a basket of some sort, clear cellophane to wrap it all in, bows and ribbons to secure the top, and then the plethora of gifts to go inside.

I began browsing through Target and the first thing that I came upon was their "1$" steals section. It's a fabulous area of racks of one dollar items like festive/seasonal items, dog collars, cookie cutters, plates, plastic utensils, coloring books, no-name brand art supplies and everything like that. I found these GREAT pink sparkly plastic plates and bought 4 as a set in that $1 section. I tied them up with a square knot of pink raffia and decided that they would be my first part of the basket. I then decided that I'd have a pink theme of baking and snacks, a combo many girl's would like! Then I proceeded to the baking section because I knew that I would be successful there. I found a fabulous silicone baking mold for flower cupcakes and then a shape that when arranged next to its mirror piece would form a basket. There were about 8 flower molds, probably 2 or 3 different models of flowers, and then the 2 basket shapes (pictured). This was my second basket purchase. I continued throughout the store and ended up buying Funfetti Cake mix, pink Funfetti frosting, sparkling pink lemonade, a princess crown, a princess wand (both from the "circo" children's line at Target), some great Bliss dark chocolate that has a pink foil wrapping, sprinkles, and pink nail polishes and then a pink basket. It was a great basket.

My next OOB (order of business) was to find that cellophane wrapping. I didn't find any in Target, so I headed down to the party supply store by my house. I still had a hard time finding it there on my own until I hit THE LAST AISLE in the entire store. I found this great clear wrapping with white polka dots on it that I had to have. With all my purchases, I headed back home to put my basket together. Our kitchen table became a tornado of pink metallic "grass", white paper Easter grass, pink ribbon and clear very static cling-y cellophane wrap.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the basket itself, but thanks to a friend who enjoys taking pictures and Facebook, I got a hold of a few pictures. The top picture at the beginning of today's entry, although not the most flattering, shows the backside of the basket and you can see the great cellophane wrap! Here is the birthday girl herself in her crown and with her wand:P.S. Deb Ball Night #1 was SERIOUSLY the most fun I've had in a really long time. We had a ton of fun, stayed up too late, and I can't wait until the presentation on Tuesday! I'll keep you updated!

P.S.S. I got deferred :( but it was about 99% to be expected, the early action is a little weird for the Nursing College. That 1% was like exactly what my mom said, "Just a little part of me thought 'What if you did get it? How cool would that be?'" So, I'm fine now, moved on, and shall be hearing in a few months! Future: Wildcat, Stag, Duke, Fighting Blue Hen, Gamecock, or Tiger writing for you right now!!!!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone! Happy big 1-8 Maeve!

xxKatie