Happy New Year!

Today I dream about 2012 being the best year of all of our lives!

I wish that 2012 will be creative, fulfilling and successful for all of you, my dear readers! :)

Have a great time tonight whatever you decide to do and enjoy the last hours of 2011. x

Photo from Pinterest.com

Out with the old and in with the new! :)

Personal Style - Laurel Pantin

Today I dream about borrowing Laurel Pantin's amazing personal style :)

I'm back after my little Christmas break, hope you had a great holiday and that Santa was generous to you this year :)

Laurel is an assistant beauty editor at Teen Vogue and I really adore her style as well as her looks, she's so beautiful!

Her style is very clean, a bit retro combined with a hint of a tomboy. She always looks cool, modest and effortlessly stylish but even more importantly she always looks appropriate do the weather conditions :)

Photos from Refinery29.com, Vanessajackman.blogspot.com, Gqcom.blogspot.com

Jake Davis Test Shots: Laurel Pantin from Jake Davis on Vimeo.

Pantin' with anticipation ;)

Merry Christmas!

Today I dream about Christmas and for once my dream is coming true! ;)

I'm sorry for the lack of posts recently but I'm on a trip in my hometown for the holidays :)

I want to wish you all a merry Christmas and to say thank you for reading the blog and for all your comments and support.

I hope that whatever you dream of comes to you this Christmas x

 

Ho ho ho! :)

Thakoon Pre-Fall 2012 Collection

Today about about the dreamy pre-fall 2012 by Thakoon.

Thakoon Panichgul showed his first collection in 2004. His designs are known for their innovative construction combined with femininity. His clothes are worn by many celebrities and top fashion bloggers (think Rumi Neely).

Thakoon's Spring 2012 collection was very bold with eye catching colours even on the models hair. The pre-fall 2012 collection is totally different. Soft, pastel colours combined with very feminine silhouettes give a really dreamy effect. You may think it sounds boring but it's far from that. The secret lays in texture - my favourite cable knit mixed with furry details or leather and amazing printed knits mixed with pleats.

It's really sweet and feminine but also very wearable. Check out some of my favourite looks!

 Photos from Vogue.com

Thakoon-a matata :D

Saturday Recipes - Christmas Around the World!

Today I dream about trying all these traditional Christmas dessert from all over Europe. I was really interested about Christmas traditions in Europe, mostly in terms of food. I did a little research and here it is: Christmas dessert from around Europe, enjoy :)

France - Bûche de Noël

Bûche de Noël - Yule Log is a traditional type of cake served for Christmas in France. The way of preparation and presentation is to make it look like a log ready for the fire. It's a sponge cake rolled in a cylinder shape filled with chocolate buttercream. Get the recipe here!

Photo from Marthastewart.com

Photo from Saveur.com

Germany - Stollen

Stollen - a loaf-shaped cake containing dried fruit is covered with sugar or powdered sugar. It's made of yeast, water and flour. Then you add candied orange peel and citrus, raisins, almonds and winter spices. The most famous Stollen is still the Dresdner Stollen sold at the local Christmas markets, Striezelmarkt. Find the recipe here!

Photo from Wikipedia.org

Spain - Turrón

Turrón, or Nougat is the essential Christmas sweet in Spain. There are many varieties but the most popular ones are Jijona - the softer variety and Alicante - hard nougat. It's made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts and shaped into a rectangular tablet. Find the recipe here!

Photo from Trissalicious.com

Italy - Panettone

Panettone is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan and has its origins in Milan around the 15th century. It's usually 2-15 cm high and weighs up to 1 kg. When I tried it for the first time, my mum served it with a mascarpone cheese filling - it was amazing! Get the recipe here!

Photo from Artisanbreadinfive.com

Photo from Johnlewis.com

Sweden - Lussekatter

Lussekatter or Lussebullar - saffron buns are made of yeast dough, flavoured with saffron and cinnamon with added raisins or currants. They are traditional fare on Santa Lucia day on 13th of December. Traditionally the buns are in a reversed S-shape. Find the recipe here!

Photo from Caputmundicibus.com

England - Trifle

Trifle is a traditional English Christmas dessert. It's made with layers of custard, fruit and sponge cake topped with whipped cream. It had its days of glory in the 70s but still it's on every table in England on the 25th of December. It's light and fresh - not very Christmassy but at least it's really easy to make :) Get the recipe here!

Photo from Make-it-do.com

Poland - Makowiec

Makowiec - poppy seed cake is a roll of sweet yeast bread with a filling of poppy seeds mixed with honey, raisins, nuts and orange zest. Find the recipe here!

Photos from Butterbaking.wordpress.com

Sweet dreams this Christmas :)

Hanna Müller's Fashion Illustrations

Today I dream about Hanna Müller's amazing fashion illustrations.

Recently, I showed you Sabine Pieper's work and today it's time for another talented lady - Swedish illustrator, Hanna.

I'm completely in love with her drawings and watercolour paintings! Hanna's works are mostly inspired by models and fashion editorials - she's not only able to transform a picture into a drawing or a painting but also she perfectly captures special moments and especially facial expressions. She gives the models a look of vitality behind their eyes and captures their personalities which is a pretty rare talent.

Have a look at Hanna's blog to see all her amazing work!

  Photos from Loudmajor.com

The eyes have it :)

Beach House in South Africa

Today I dream about this charming beach house located near Cape Town, South Africa.

I have to say I love everything about this house. Not only that it's located just by the beach which was always my dream house location but also the interior charmed me completely.

I love the mixture of colours, textures and influences inside. The all-white background makes a great canvas to present the colourful vintage furniture pieces. It seems like the interior is a mixture of a modern Scandinavian style (lots of natural wood as well as wood painted in white and an animal hide rug) with traditional Hamptons-style comfort and elegance (the bedroom and sofas). Plus that lovely giant terrace and an outside shower - beach house perfection!

I hope you won't hate me for posting these pictures while the weather outside is far from beachy :)

Photos by Adriano Brusaferri for BravaCasa via Mandarineditalie.blogspot.com

Life's a beach! :)

Lucas Nascimento Spring/Summer 2012 Collection

Today I dream about the amazing Spring/Summer 2012 collection by Lucas Nascimento.

Lucas Nascimento is a London-based designer who graduated from the London College of Fashion in 2008. Before he launched his own label he collaborated with Giles Deacon, Luella Bartley and Jonathan Saunders.

Lucas has been fascinated with the art of knitting since his mother taught him to knit when he was a boy. Since then he gained a lot of experience and developed really interesting and innovative knitting techniques.


His new Spring/Summer 2012 collection is inspired by painter Agnes Martin. Lucas used a special cord weaving technique that makes his knitted pieces look sleek and super stylish. I love the fitted jackets, peplum skirts and dresses, tailored trousers but the mullet-style dress is my favourite part of the collection.

I think it's really hard to make knitwear look exciting and light but Lucas definitely managed to achieve that! A great new name to keep an eye on! By the way, am I the only way who doesn't get the model's weird posing!?

 Photos from Lucasnascimento.com

The knit-wear before Christmas :)

Saturday Recipes - Christmas Pudding!

Today I dream about a big bowl full of Christmas pudding with loads of cream and custard! :)

To all of you who don't like raisins and other dried fruits I recommend you close this tab now and try to forget about this post :)

To me, the smell and flavour of dried fruit is the ultimate Christmas flavour and this is probably why I really like Christmas pudding. Oh, and there's a lot of sugar in it so that's another reason :)

At first, I wasn't really keen on the traditional English Christmas pudding. I didn't like the look of it as it kind of looks like a flipped upside down bowl of really dark dog food. I had no idea about how to eat it and what with. Last year, I tried it the proper way - warm, drizzled with cream or custard and it was a revelation! It was really delicious and very Christmassy!

There must be something special about it as its history goes back to the medieval times and since then it's been on English tables every 25th of December. Thanks to the mighty M&S you don't have to spend around three hours boiling it and letting it hang for weeks before Christmas. You can just buy it and enjoy it straightaway!

If you insist on making your own though, here's a few recipes for the traditional version as well as some other creative ideas... enjoy! :)

Boiled Christmas Pudding

A classic, perfect recipe! The pudding is full of sweet, dried fruits with a generous dash of brandy :) It will take you ages to make but then you can refrigerate it for up to 3 months or freeze for up to 1 year before using. Find the recipe here!

Photo from Gourmettraveller.com.au

7 Cup Christmas Pudding

Another classic recipe served with delicious butterscotch sauce this time and the recipe is really easy to remember thanks to the 7 cup rule! Get the recipe here!

Photo from Bbcgoodfood.com

Christmas Pudding Cake Pops

These are so cute and simple to make! Brilliant and fun idea :) Find the recipe here!

Photo from Blog.maisoncupcake.com

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream

It looks gorgeous and it's full of winter spices and brandy - my new favourite! Get the recipe here!

Photo from Bbcgoodfood.com

Winter Pudding Bombe
 
It may look like a regular Christmas Pudding but then - surprise! It's like a delicious mixture of Panettone with ice cream and fruit -yummy! Find the recipe here!

Photo from Jamieoliver.com

Christmas Pudding Cupcakes

How cute are these!? I'm sure that the look and taste equally delicious!

Photo from Sweetpaulmag-digital.com

Remember to hide the sixpence :)