Monthly Archives: November 2015

Frames for Fall

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My daughter recently mentioned that her eyeglasses (which she only uses for emergencies as she’s a daily contact wearer) are old, too small for her face, in need of an updated prescription and asked if she could possibly get a new pair. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that almost all of the girls in her school are wearing these very “cool” eyeglasses, even the ones that have perfect vision. In her defense, we have not updated her glasses in over 2 years (gasp). So when Warby Parker asked me to help announce their newest Fall collection, I thought it would be a great time to explore these new eyeglass trends that I am constantly hearing about and possibly help my daughter select a new frame. In case you are not familiar with the brand, here’s a little background on them, as stated on their website:

Warby Parker was founded with a rebellious spirit and a lofty objective: to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. They believe that buying glasses should be easy and fun. It should leave you happy and good-looking, with money in your pocket.

To celebrate Fall (my daughter’s favorite season), Warby Parker has introduced a new selection of glasses that are rich in color and unique in design to reflect the gorgeous colors of Fall. Living in Miami, we unfortunately do not get to enjoy a lot of the Fall activities such as, apple picking, or hayrides, so I figured she could at least enjoy some Fall fashion accessories, and why not a new pair of glasses?  Take a look at a few of the frames from the Fall collection:

Warby Parker Fall 2015 Collection

Warby Parker Fall 2015 Collection

As many of us know (and have encountered), finding the right frame for your face shape is not always an easy task. That’s why one of the things I really liked about Warby Parker is their amazing Home Try-On Program where you can select 5 styles to try, over a 5 day period absolutely free, to help you find your perfect pair. As you can imagine, my daughter was super excited with the idea of having 5 pairs of glasses delivered right to our door for her to try on, so this is something that we will definitely be taking advantage of.

Home Try-On Program. Photo Courtesy of Warby Parker

Home Try-On Program.

Oh and if you’re still not convinced, Warby Parker eyeglasses start at $95, with free shipping and free returns. Additionally, they partner with non-profits like VisionSpring to ensure that for every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need (you’ve gotta like that). So, after browsing through their website, these were my daughter’s top 3 picks:

Welty frame in the Whiskey Tortoise color, these are her favorite!

Welty frame in the Whiskey Tortoise color, these are her favorite!

Barnett frame in the Quail Egg Grey color.

Barnett frame in the Quail Egg Grey color.

Jennings frame in the Whiskey Tortoise color.

Jennings frame in the Whiskey Tortoise color.

What do you think of this amazing selection of frames?  Do you own any Warby Parker glasses?  If you do, I’d love to know which ones you chose?My Signature

Fall Fashions

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Once again, my beautiful daughter decided to jump on the blog bandwagon and helped me out with this post.  We both love the Fall season and she particularly loves fall fashions (boots, cozy sweaters, etc.)  But since we live in Miami, we rarely get a chance to wear any of these items (although may folks here break out their coats when the temperature hits 70)! Browsing through Pinterest and several fashion blogs we follow, she came up with this great list of Fall must-haves, take a look:

Outfit

  1. Ray-Ban Erika Sunglasses, $115; www.jcrew.com Loving these sunglasses, the perfect accessory for this outfit.
  2. Anthropologie Split Shade Purse, $388; www.anthropologie.com Not sure this awesome bag is still available, but browse their website for many other beautiful Fall bags.
  3. Turtle Neck Openwork Solid Color Sweater, $20; www.zaful.com This great cozy turtleneck is perfect for a walk through the city, not too heavy, just right for Fall.
  4. UGG Bailey Button Suede Boots in Chestnut, $165; www.uggaustralia.com Does it get any cozier than UGGs???  My daughter and I love them!
  5. J Brand Mulberry Mid-Rise Jeans, $188; www.jbrandjeans.com Great looking pair of jeans, available in other colors too.
  6. Go On Today Drape Cardigan, $27; www.cupshe.com I absolutely love the look of this draped cardigan, and also the color.
  7. Stila Eternal Love Liquid Lipstick Set, $20; www.stilacosmetics.com I am a huge fan of Stila cosmetics and have a lot of their lipstick, blush and eye shadow sets.  I really love this set with the gorgeous Fall colors.
  8. Starbucks Toasted Graham Latte, available during the Fall at all Starbucks!  Not a fashion item, but who doesn’t love the Starbucks Fall drinks?  My new favorite is perfect for this time of year, graham and sweet cream, combined with steamed milk and espresso, finished with a sprinkling of cinnamon graham crumbles. Absolutely yummy, and of course in the Fall themed cup!

What are some of your favorite Fall fashion must-haves?  I’d love to hear….

My Signature

National Vanilla Cupcake Day

Posted in Food & Recipes by

So today is National Vanilla Cupcake Day…celebrated each year on November 10.  Now, if you follow my blog, (and I hope you do), you know that I love cupcakes and have featured a few other cupcake shops before.  However, in honor of this “holiday”, today I would like to introduce you to  The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery, Raleigh’s first and finest cupcake boutique and bakery.  I had the pleasure of living in Raleigh for 5 years and can I say, there are many great cupcake shops in this city, but no one makes a yummier vanilla cupcake than this place.  We always pop in and get some cupcakes on all our visits back to Raleigh.  When you first walk in, you are usually greeted by 12-15 different cupcake varieties with fun names like “What’s Up Doc?” (carrot cake with cinnamon cream cheese icing), “Mint Condition” (chocolate cake with mint buttercream), and “Cookie Monster” (vanilla cake with Oreo buttercream).  They also feature flavors of the week.  My favorite was always “Pretty in Pink” (fresh strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream), but my entire family’s favorite was always the “Plain Jane” (simple vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream).

The Plain Jane...so yummy!

The Plain Jane…so yummy!

The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery believes in small batch baking and providing top quality sweets with no shortcuts. Oh and their open kitchen concept allows visitors to watch the staff at work (my daughter always got a kick out of that). Whether piping away on a tray of freshly baked cupcakes, or mixing up a homemade batch of cookies, the shop is both a delight for the young and old.

Oh and if cupcakes are not your thing, you can also feast on their homemade brownies, truffles, cookies, breakfast muffins, and marshmallows. And I should mention that they also make the prettiest custom cakes and cupcakes around, for all types of occasions, look at these beauties:

Jersey-CC Minnie-Cake whale-cake

So when you visit Raleigh, make sure you stop by this adorable little cupcake shop. I guarantee you will be back for more!

The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery in Raleigh , NC

The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery in Raleigh , NC

The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery
104 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh
 919.821.4223
http://www.thecupcakeshopperaleigh.com

Have you been to The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery?  If so, I’d love to hear what you liked most.

My Signature

The Cookie Dough Cafe

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I don’t know about all of you (although I can take a guess), but my family loves raw cookie dough so much that when we buy the package at our local super market, half the product does not make it on to the cookie sheet.  And yes, we’ve all heard of the dangers of getting salmonella by eating raw cookie dough, but does anyone ever really listen to that?  Well, luckily for us cookie dough lovers, there’s a new product in town that will let us enjoy all the raw cookie dough we desire, without the worries.IMG_3496

The Cookie Dough Café has created a delicious cookie dough product that can be eaten like ice cream but contains no raw eggs, it is actually meant to be eaten raw right out of the cookie jar, not cooked.  What??? Yes, sister entrepreneurs Joan Pacetti and Julia Schmid have created what we’ve all been dreaming of since childhood…edible cookie dough. The product was featured on Shark Tank (hubby loves watching this show) and its success led the products to be sold through many dining locations, select grocery stores, and online. Oh yeah, and it comes in 4 different flavors.  Chocolate Chip, Cookies & Cream, Monster (natural peanut butter and oats loaded with chocolate chips and M&Ms) and last but certainly not last, Naked Dough, for the non-chocolate lovers (I’ve never met one but OK).  They also offer 3 gluten-free flavors, Peanut Butter, Creamy Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip.

Four different flavors available.

Four different flavors available.

You can purchase it in pint size and keep it refrigerated or you can also buy the single serve cookie dough cups, that come in a pack of 4 (these are great for a lunchbox treat on special days).

Pack of 4 cups.

Pack of 4 single serving cups.

To find other product locations, or to check out other cookie dough flavors, visit the Cookie Dough Cafe website at www.thecookiedoughcafe.com.

Do you love raw cookie dough?  Have you tried The Cookie Dough Cafe? I’d love to hear your thoughts…My Signature