look book: faux or friend

I slept in my hair after the Mad Men party..probably not the best idea because it got so knotted..but the next day I took out the french twist and curled it. It was fun to have a little more height to my hair than normal. Hair is so not my specialty..I wish I knew how to do cooler things with it..or that I had time to do it! So long story short I decided to have some fun with it...

faux fur coat and jeans Urban Outfitters, shoes Steve Madden, blouse c/o Style by Marina, belt vintage, purse Coach via ebay

Yesterday was such a nice day! My dad and I had our yearly December lunch and then we went to William Sonoma and looked around at the holiday products and ate some chocolate bark! Then I made my favorite tomato soup recipe which I just realized I never posted. {I will tomorrow, I promise!} Matthew came over and we had soup, salad and had a yummy cheese course. I really think cheese is the best thing ever. There is always a new and amazing one to try. I used to hate the stinky ones and now I loove them, weird right?! Then we watched old episodes of C.S.I. I think I mentioned this on twitter but I am seriously obsessed with this show. I love mysteries and all the cool scientific stuff they do. If I wasn't such a scardy cat  I probably would have considered this for a career. It fascinates me beyond belief!

Make sure to enter the giveaway for the Orient Automatic Watch!

xox

happy birthday dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday!! I love being home to celebrate these kinds of celebrations. My Dad is an incredible man and an amazing father! I seriously lucked out. Not only do I get to enjoy his cooking every night {which I've mentioned before here, here, and here} but I also get to talk with him and learn from him. He's the smartest man I know and I've learned so much from him. He's always been an inspiration to me. I strive to be as avid a reader, as dedicated a partner, as loving a father, and as skilled a cook!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

photo 1. about a year old 

photo 2. 8 years old 

photo 3. 17 years old visiting Seattle

look book: paper bagged

I love the look of this paper bag skirt! I want to get a pair of pants that look like this, too. My mom thought it looked too big and maybe it does, but I think that might be the point. It's a nice little change, though, to my more simple skirts. And plus I love anything with a bow!

shirt and skirt Urban Outfitters, shoes Jeffrey Campbell, necklace J. Crew, purse Coach via ebay

This necklace from J. Crew is one my new favorite things. I think it's so pretty when paired with other necklaces, but with this outfit I liked it by itself.

Tonight I went to see the opening of my Dad's play. He's an amazing director and got a grant to put it on in LA. It's a really cool thing to be able to see something my Dad has worked so hard on. I'm sure it's a similar feeling to parents watching their kids in a recital, or playing a sport. To be able to reverse that is pretty awesome. I'm really really proud of him!

recipe: father's day cinnamon rolls

How was your Father's Day? I made cinnamon rolls for my dad and they were absolutely amazingg! I'm definitely going to make this recipe again {and again and again}. They're sweet, doughy and have a delicious cream cheese glaze that's not too overpowering. You all have to try this recipe from Bon Appétit.

Father's Day Brunch

My dad loves his little grandpuppy!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

dinner with dad

So I know I've mentioned it before but my Dad is seriously an amazing chef! He knows so much about food and can just put things together and have them turn out perfectly. When I was little we didn't go out to dinner that often because my Dad could just make whatever it was {and usually do it better!}. I always want to take pictures of my Dad's food because they look so good {but taste better, I promise!}.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Salad with Blue Cheese and Pecans

Homemade bread too!

So while I'm temporarily living at home it's not that bad with dinners like this! My family and I always tell my Dad that he should write a cookbook or open a restaurant but he says he does this for fun, as a release, and for us. We're lucky!

Behind the Scenes: Elizabeth + James

Seriously love this dress! It's so pretty and girly and has a really interesting one strap {not sure if it's totally obvious in the pictures}. I wasn't going to add a belt but it really doesn't have much shape and my mom insisted..yeah never thought she'd be the one giving me fashion advice! But I think it looks good with this gold vintage one. And I wore these black/gold Betsy Johnson's. My Dad took these pictures with Matthew's camera and I think he's quite the photographer. Just ignore the shadows and clutter!

Hanna and I planned to make coconut macaroons last night {Thanks Kim!} but didn't because my Dad made the most amazing dinner. Here's what I'm talking about when I said he's so gourmet: He made a baked herb ricotta for an appetizer, followed by fettuccine with wild mushrooms, asparagus, and Parmesan. Then we had a cheese course with four cheeses from France and for dessert..chocolate panettone bread pudding with vanilla anglaise. I'm telling you.. AHHMAZING!

Oh yeah and my brother just got home last night from UC Santa Cruz! We have a full house now..love the holidays!!!

Happy Friday!

xox

Top Chef's Top Chef

One of the things my Dad and I love to do is watch food shows- we love the Food Network and, of course, Bravo’s Top Chef. My dad is crazy in the kitchen. I swear to you he would beat out every contestant. He got his first set of professional knives when he was 8 years old and I've grown up having the most amazing gourmet meals! So it’s always so fun to watch these shows with him because it's his favorite thing.

Last night Michael Voltaggio won the title of Top Chef and it was so exciting. Not only because he was going head-to-head against his older brother but because I met him on the first day of my internship with the magazine. We went to his restaurant and had a photo shoot, while my boss, the editor, interviewed him. I think the season was already a couple episodes in so I already knew who he was and it was so fun to spend the afternoon with him and even try some of his desserts made with liquid nitrogen {amazing by the way}.  He’s very creative and makes some of the most interesting flavor and texture combinations. He's a really funny guy and yet is so passionate about cooking.  I was excited for him when he won! Did any of you watch it? Were you glad he won or did you prefer his older brother Bryan or the Kevin from Georgia?

{photo of Michael from the Langham}

Tonight Hanna is coming over for dinner and then we're making dessert! I'm still trying to figure out what would be relatively easy and not too time consuming. Any suggestions?

fire it up

Pictures from Tuesday night's show.

I had the day off today because my boss left to go out of town. Lucky girl has an all expenses paid trip to Cabo.

And of course I had a ton of stuff to do but I haven't really gotten anything done.

I did go to lunch with my Dad though. We went to Firenze, a new restaurant by Fabio {Top Chef season 5}. It was pretty good food, very basic Italian. My dad thought they were playing it a little too safe but that might be smart since so many restaurants are closing. We split the Insalata di Pere with baby lettuces, crumbled blue cheese, caramelized walnuts, pecorino cheese and poached pears in a wine and balsamic dressing. And we also got Ravioli d'Aragosta, ravioli filled with lobster and braised vegetables in a white wine lobster sauce with cherry tomato and shrimp. Pretty tasty! Oh and we got a cannoli which was super traditional but very good! Now I am in the mood to make a special fall dessert for tonight! Stay tuned for pictures..I have a feeling it's going to be pretty!