Designer of the week: Caterina Gatta

This is my latest designer crush 

Definitely check her out, she's gonna be big-

Caterina Gatta and this is part of her amazing Spring/Summer16 collection

Music of the day

new one from the last shadow puppets-bad habits//
they are back after almost 8 years/album out in April---
love,

Something old, something new

new favorites: vintage-style patent leather slingbacks from here and high rise cropped jeans by these guys trend line, to pair perfectly with this cropped top by Zara studio from a few years back-

The starman

I was really shocked when I heard the tragic news on David Bowie a few days back. I really couldn't believe it and my thoughts were immediately gone almost twenty years back when I was lucky enough to see him perform live in Athens, Greece. He was leading a festival whose rest of the cast were Lou Reed (!) and Elvis Costello and I will literally never ever ever ever forget the moment he appeared on stage. Honestly, and probably due to the young of my age at that time-so don't you blame me- I didn't have great expectations of the line-up of that day. Now, and every time I have a discussion on Mr. D, I cannot but admit how completely taken I was that day by his whole "god-like" appearance/performance, a memory that's permanently stuck with me and will never fade as the years go by.. 

Longchamp

Wonderful mod-y collection from Longchamp for spring16, face of the campaign: Alexa Chung-

Wanna

1/ spend a night (or more ;b) at the new Ace hotel in New Orleans
2/ taste cocktails and dishes here
3/ enjoy the illustrations of this one
4/ listen to Brolin's debut album The Delta
5/ decorate with more plants of different shapes and sizes
6/ put this flag in the car as a tribute to the kids who always ask...

Lemon lime pound cake

This cake is what you need to keep you company with your everyday morning coffee. One of its ingredients is 7up (what????) and its base is coming from an old classic recipe for cakes used in the 70s. It is moist and so flavorful with the right amount of citrus into it. The lemon and lime zest and juices create a cake so balanced and its glaze is one of the most delicious ones, not too sweet with a hint of tartness enough as to not overpowering the sweetness of it all. Make it in a bundt pan for a fancier look ;) 

Lemon lime pound cake (adapted from the Pioneer Woman)

for the cake: 

3 sticks Butter 

3 cups Sugar 

5 whole Eggs

3 cups All-purpose Flour 

1/2 teaspoon Salt 

1 cup 7-up 

1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest 

1 Tablespoon Lime Zest

for the glaze: 

2 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted 

1/4 teaspoon Salt 

1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest, Dried For At Least 30 Minutes

1 Tablespoon Lime Zest, Dried For At Least 30 Minutes

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon Lime Juice

1 Tablespoon Water + More As Needed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Combine flour and salt, then add it 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. With the mixer on low, slowly add the 7-Up until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of both lemon and lime zest and mix. Scrape the bowl and mix again.

Thoroughly spray a bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Add large spoonfuls of batter until the pan is filled, then even out the surface. Bake for 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully turn it out onto a cake plate and let it cool.

Combine all the glaze ingredients in a bowl and gently whisk until thick but pourable. Use a large spoon to drizzle it all over the cake. Let the glaze set, then slice and serve!

Optional: Sprinkle with a little extra lemon and lime zest.

Bon appetit!

Hunting for style

Have you heard about HIPHUNTERS? Well, the other day I was browsing through the web searching for some gifts I wanted to purchase for some friends and family (you guys! of course I'm not done with the gifting part: I always leave out some for when the chaotic holiday period ends and that way I'm rolling into January without any post-vacation blues marks ;) you must try that!). Somehow and while I was trying to decide on what to gift among 20+ brands' tabs, I stumbled upon this genius online boutique which guess what: every single label I wanted to shop from was there! Crazy, right? I know..I loved it!

Everything from the most eponymous to the most sophisticated and independent is right there. My forever and always crushes such as DELPOZO, CARVEN, SIMONE ROCHA, ERDEM, CEDRIC CHARLIER, CA&LOU, SPORTMAX, ISA ARFEN, DANNIJO, LULU FROST, J.W. ANDERSON, ROBERT CLERGERIE, JACQUEMUS, ROCHAS, to name just a few, are also there.

The selections are endless, you can shop literally for everyone and it ranges from the most exceptional and unique dresses (take a look at this "love-at-first-sight" ERDEM silk-organza dress that Alexa Chung wore in a gala or at one of my favorite DELPOZO dresses, which are both available!), to the most perfectly made bags and fine accessories, to the wonderfully curated men and kidswear collections. 

What I loved most about HIPHUNTERS right from the first moment is that aside from all the beautiful selection of designer brands gathered all in one place (yes! that's a plus factor for me), there is a really exceptional selection of items from some of the most emerging designers right now, uniquely curated and tastefully picked by the team behind Hiphunters, all of which you can find in the boutique market.

A bit of a browsing there made me already a fan of NOELLE ET FILLES, BY SUN, LAUTEM, WENDEE OU, SUPREME BON TON, HELENA ROHNER, IDAMARI, ATELIER BARTAVELLE..you are making the list for just a few of my new favorites!

Below are some of my favorite pieces around the HIPHUNTERS boutique right now..

1/ WENDEE OU florence clutch bag tan and turquoise fur, 2/ HELENA ROHNER goldplated brass bracelet, 3/ BY SUN peacock green S shape flares dress, 4/ BY SUN black heavy wool coat with faux fur collar, 5/ WENDEE OU pompom key ring, 6/ WENDEE OU chaplin tablet mini case, 7/ BY SUN sheer slip irregular top, 8/ SUPREME BON TON asphalte silk scarf, 9/ THISISNON V-neck dress, 10/ YDE sculptured gold blouse, 11/ LAUTEM my funny valentine white

1/ INES FIGADERO small girl face nappa leather bag, 2/ MAX MARA crocodile effect alpaca and wool jacket, 3/ ROBERT CLERGERIE pandy embossed leather shoes, 4/ SIMONE ROCHA gloves with crocheted trim, 5/ CARVEN double breasted blazer, 6/ J.W. ANDERSON checked wide-leg culottes, 7/ SIMONE ROCHA flower embroidered tulle top, 8/ GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI DESIGN metallic sling back pumps, 9/ CEDRIC CHARLIER fur collar, 10/ MIU MIU cat eye sunglasses, 11/ AANDRA NEEN pyramid choker

Such an exquisite collection of stylish, fashion-now items..Sale is now on so you have more than one reason to do your shopping* :) I am definitely going for a shopper bag from Xenab Lone, a timeless ring from Idamari, the cutest pink dress from By Sun and these crazy shoes from my all-time favorite Robert Clergerie..

*Plus, worldwide shipping and free returns-> :) check it out my friends..love,

Music of the day

Such a great tune from a few years back, wanna listen to it everyday now-
Lauryn Hill/Ex Factor

West coast

Happy new year everyone!!!!! I hope you all had a great holiday time, full of good rest and a load of  fulfilling, mouthwatering tastes ;) 

We decided to visit LA this time of year for a few days and we really had a blast! We stayed at the Line which was more than anyone can ask (and a wish come true), we rented a car and went ahead to absorb everything we could :) 

We knew however we wanted to keep it relatively low with the activities and kind of laid back (after all it is the holidays my friends), although it’s kind of impossible to do in a city like this, and added some kid friendly things on the “menu" so the kids can enjoy it as much as we would. The truth is they had such a great time they didn’t want to take the flight back to the East coast..

Here are some photos of the trip if you’d like to see and those make it probably the longest post I've written..:b

Venice beach: loooooots of palm trees along with some of the best sunsets are happening here(and I'm sure these basketball courts on the last photo remind you of some movie scenes)

souvlaki (!) in Venice beach, yeah baby.

The wheel in Santa Monica and our pacific park rides consisting of a party of: a 4 year old afraid of NOTHING, a 7 year old "barely beginning" to have some fears, a dad who's trying not to have fears and a mom who's afraid of almost EVERYTHING has to do with roller coasting stuff (you should have seen me at the rollercoaster itself) -> so much fun! 

I had so much fun in these and actually tried to figure out when was the last time I had similar rides..really doesn't get any better if you want to bring out your inner child (A, we should make it a regular). That day, we had a burger here which was delish and then we headed for a milkshake and ice cream

part of the Walt Disney concert hall which I loved and..

part of the Broad museum where I wasn't lucky enough to visit

coffee and brunch at Ledlow, such a nice place 

the sun sets above the city 

Compartes chocolates and other stuff, at Poketo

getting stamped at the Melrose flea market and having baked donuts at Fonuts

getting the most unbelievable shrimps and crawfish -to go (hence they had sold out of the rest!) at the Boiling crab---

 trying out the pastrami sandwich at Canter's deli

taking the road to Malibu, leaving our marks on the sand and seeing one of the most breathtaking sunsets melting in the Pacific ocean

the Christmas tree at the Grove and train rides for the four of us (also trying to get a decent photo of all the four of us will never happen)

pizza from Pizzeria Mozza and

..just the best sushi from Sugarfish

breakfast at the Commissary, really beautiful space, I loved all the tableware and table settings, nice atmosphere-food a bit overpriced

went to Grand central market which I loved and had a waffle..

I chose to take a photo with the star of Donna Summer (!) among others..

messy, delicious & spicy dinner at the Pot

paid a visit at the best pastry shop in LA, according to many of the Angelenos

bought some comics and hung out in one of my favorite LA places 

..sat outside and tasted some brilliant tapas kind of plates at Baco Mercat, so good, so well cooked- some plates were the definition of comfort food, at least for my kinds of comfort fooding/slourp

photobombed by the youngest gal of the family..and yes, we managed to enter Amoeba music (!), the temple of music as I call, can you imagine that there was an actual line of cars waiting to get into Amoeba's parking while the second one was already full? Even in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that in 2015 there would still be so many crazy people eager to visit a record store! You know what? I wrote record store (it sells lots of other music things though), is this a sign that records are coming strong again? Nah..

last but not least: noone will ever be hurt by the awesomeness of these burgers, can't get -and I won't get- the taste out of my mouth- We already miss you LA..till next time.

I can't help but wondering my dear readers: what part of the world have you visited for the holidays?