Azure Chocolat

Dear Readers,
To make up for my absence, I am finally making this my second Culinary post! First was my affection for french macarons. This, is only getting better. Ive found the most wonderful shop in Greenlawn, Long Island, not too far from my parents home and am in love with their rich, exotic flavors that can only be cherished by a real Chocolate lover. Godiva is so passé.

                                        Mexican Rose 

     

Dark chocolate, coffee, rose water, Kahlua, rolled in dark 

chocolate topped with a rose petal and cinnamon       

                                           

                            Hot Monkey Love

Dark chocolate, banana, whiskey, cayenne, rolled in dark 

chocolate, topped with cayenne and crushed banana chips

                                

              

                       Tangerine Macadamia

White chocolate, fresh tangerine, Macadamia nuts, liqueur, rolled in white chocolate, topped with Tangerine zest

                         

                        Honey Date

Dark chocolate, Medjool dates, honey, liqueur, 

rolled in dark chocolate, topped with minced dates

                                             

  

                                     Pear & Sage

       Dark chocolate, fresh sage, pear, white chocolate caramel, 

       liqueur, rolled in dark chocolate, topped with almonds, 

       brown sugar & sage

              Peanut Butter Banana

Milk and white chocolate, organic peanut butter, bananas, 

rolled in milk chocolate, topped with white chocolate

  

                                                                            

                                                

                             Nipples of Venus

                                                                   

         Dark chocolate, chestnuts, honey, liqueur, rolled in 

         white chocolate, topped with dark chocolate

       

                         Walnut Lavender Honey

Milk chocolate, Provencal lavender, honey, fresh walnuts, 

rolled in milk chocolate, topped with walnuts & lavender buds

                                                                                                                           

                                  Beauty Bark

70% Belgian chocolate, fresh walnuts, wild blueberries, cocoa nibs, goldex flax & sea salt; high in Omega 3's & antioxidants; completely healthy & decadent, and its Vegan and Dairy free too! 

With flavors and quirky names to go along with them, how can anyone resist? Out of all the chocolates Ive tried so far, Mexican Rose and the Beauty Bark are my favorites. I have no words to describe them without getting excited and grinning because I simply refuse to share any of these sinful little heaven sent treats. The ladies of the shop were so wonderful, they have allowed me to take pictures. Alas, I intend to put up a "Part Deux" post for Azure Chocolat especially with Valentines day coming up. Heres a few fun facts to end this post in hopes that you will leave your computer for a little while and head over the chocolate shop to sample not only the truffles, but the best chocolate covered Graham cracker cookie you've ever had in your life!! 


-Everything, and I mean everything in the shop is GLUTEN-FREE
-The chocolat ladies make Vegan Cupcakes to order.
-It is set in a very quaint village like town that resembles Huntington Village. (only much cuter!)
-Everything is handmade on premises
-Ever tried one of those fancy truffles from Whole Foods markets? Azure Chocolat is the supplier. SWEET!
-They ship orders from the shop
-They have a Facebook page. Click HERE to "Like" them and stay up to date


Enough drooling over your comp screen and visit Azure Chocolat or place an order! 
AZURECHOCOLATE.COM


All pictures via Azure Chocolates Facebook page. 

Design Inspiration: Bedroom

Since the new year resolutions list is piling up, I may as well add new bedroom decor to it! For the last 5 years, my bedroom has a buttery-peach color with Indian bedding complete with a ruby red canopy. I even named my room as the love shack. Nowadays, my taste in bedding and decorations have been leaning more towards the Shabby Chic or European side or a more modern city with a glamorous high fashion touch. I want tons of inspiration and found a few pictures to share, and will post up more for everyone else who wants to change up their rooms!

My dream bedroom. sighhh



My modern inspiration. Love the dark walls with bright accents and the large chaise at the foot of the bed



All photos courtesy of House Beautiful Magazine

New Year, New Heels!

2011 brings on a new bevy of jewel encrusted, silk draped and breathtaking heels we all dream of floating down the street in. Here are a few of my new favorites that are truly eyecandy. YSL is becoming my favorite when it comes to shoes, with more daring and wearable shoes that stand out!




Giuseppe Zanotti- Flower Sandal $750

 

Miu Miu- Glitter Oxford $595



Manolo Blahnik- Poznansa $1,295

 

Giuseppe Zanotti- Stone T-Strap Sandal $750

 

Christian Louboutin- Brandaplato $1,125



Yves Saint Laurent- Cork Wedge $695

 

Yves Saint Laurent- Tweed Platform Wedge $695



Yves Saint Laurent- Espadrille Sandal $795

 Which shoe do you like the most?

2011

Happy New Year!! Who else thought this year flew by? For me, 2010 was full of laughter, obstacles, dramatic situations, shed tears for the unworthy, crazy fun people, psychotic people, lots of partying, fun and cringe worthy dates, epic makeout sessions and a bitchfight(s). What is the one thing I learned out of the last 12 months?

DONT WASTE TIME. LIFE IS TOO SHORT
-Don't waste your time with people in your life who do not return the same love you have for them.
-Don't waste your time sitting on your ass doing nothing, because at the end of the day, all you will do is complain. Pathetic.

What are your new years resolutions? I think I'll share a few. = )


1. Start AND maintain a healthier lifestyle, do yoga more often instead of once a month.

2. Focus on Balance! School + Work + Social life = Happiness (all this in nyc of course! )

3. Be a little more selective when it comes to dating, instead of just being curious or being too nice or even double-booking. I've had my fair share of Carrie Bradshaw moments last year!

4. Sketch and design and sew a WHOLE lot more during my free time. Practice really does make perfect and nothing in life every comes easy especially when your working towards a long term career goal. How gorgeous is this Hermes sketch by this awesome FIT graduate below? Jennifer Lilya, <3!!

http://www.jenniferlilya.com/index.php

5. Drink more champagne, but never alone! Before my best friend Mal moved out to her sleek pad in BK (right over the water!) we drank Korbel two nights in a row which is a bit much for us, but we did it just because we felt like it was worth celebrating!

Holiday Art

I hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and is enjoying the blizzard like I am! So sorry for my absence, my laptop has been under costruction and I'll hopefully get it back soon! It's below freezing and apparently NY will be hit with about 16 inches of snow, especially on Long Island! I'll be in pj's watching my favorite musicals and experimenting in the kitchen. Open faced baguette sandwiches anyone? I'll be in the kitchen making this and this from the last episode called the "the holiday show" on Martha Stewart. YUM! Happy Holidays!

ps- I had to share some wonderful holiday cards from Papyrus by none other then Bella Pilar. Here are a few of my holiday favorites.

LOVE the ice skates and whimsical design!

My favorite, nothing like a deep red gown with sparkles and ornaments



Love the Peppermint Martini here...  ; )



Christmas Trees... or Branches?

I love the idea of having your own decorated tree at home for Christmas, and I also loveeee the designer trees at some wonderful department stores for their window displays such as Barneys, Bloomingdales and of course Macy's. For those of you who in the city, or in your studio apartments...I imagine you'd look for an alternative to a tree for festive decor, so I'm glad to share this wonderful idea that I came across a great French design site called Maison et Demeure . This is the perfect cheaper and chic way to to make your living space more holiday friendly and wont cost you a fortune for excess lighting or ornaments and will not be a hassle to clean up afterwards (since there is no trimming involved). My advice, hang up a few classic ornaments in holiday shades such as red, green, silver or gold sparingly. For some extra fun, hang one or two extra ornaments related to YOU.

If your a baker, hang a little cupcake ornament. If your a fashion designer, a little shoe/purse/dress ornament. For sports nuts, little basketballs or footballs...you get the point! When you make it personal, its fun. Just remember, don't overload...they're leafless and empty branches not a green tree. Have fun decorating!

GQ: Amir Khan

UK has delivered yet another Desi gem of the male species to the world, and no I don't meant Jay Sean.(yes hes a hottie with a great voice) I mean the light welter-weight champion boxer Amir Khan. I didn't know about him until my good friend Sajjid (Ballymena stand up! lol) was preaching on about him and how his next fight was against Pauli Malignaggi at MSG in New York in May (he won). I became so curious about this guy, that I (like the rest of the world) googled him and realized he is a pretty big deal. He's not just another desi guy who is into boxing, it's his passion and his career and he's good at it too. Really good, an impressive record of wins 23-1. Amir is Pakistani-British... so yes ladies, he has that sexy British accent we all love. ANYWAY, getting back to the main point of my post today is that he looks incredibly handsome when he's in a suit and he knows how to put himself together and he does it oh so well. Its nice to know that Amir looks great fully clothed as he does during the other half of his time either fighting or training.

Well, I hope you all are having a great weekend, I know I am! I'm heading off to Brooklyn with my sister and best friend to stay the weekend at a friends place and attend a fabulous housewarming right by the water with the perfect view of NYC. Hopefully I'll catch the Amir VS Maidana fight tonight as well! Very excited for him to be in Vegas for this fight.

PS- The guy is only 24. = )  

Good luck Amir! <3

With Jay Sean and Imran Khan! LoveLoveLove

My only question......What do you think his jacket in this outfit?

All pictures courtesy of Facebook/AmirKhanTheOfficialPage

Check out his official site as well! http://www.amirsfans.co.uk/

Pomp & Circumstance

Yours truly, is now an online fashion blogger for the amazing NY based lifestyle magazine Pomp & Circumstance. Ive had this wonderful opportunity presented to me by my childhood friend Kastoory. I can't thank you enough for opening up a new door for me to expand in the blogging world, which I'm coming to love! Id say the month of December has a rather positive outlook after going through some tough times! 2010 looks to end with a bang! My first post is up today on the website, and so far so good, but fear not.... I plan on continuing La Vie en Rose and updating it on a regular basis. This is where it started! I still have yet to post anything on the Culinary subject! (which will be Coming Soon!)  ; )

Here is the link for Pomponline.com , my post is titled Fashion Debut : Diamond in the Rough
..and here is their Facebook page, "Like" it! Facebook/Pomp&CircumstanceMagazine


Hope you all like it, please do share your thoughts and leave a comment on my post on the Pomp site.

Marie Antoinette Sugar Rush

You may have noticed that I, like many others have a strong liking (that being the friendlier version of the word obsession) to anything related to Marie Antoinette's lavish lifestyle. I came across this wedding cake courtesy of Cake Coquette in San Fransisco. I may have just found the woman who will do my wedding cake in the future (my top choice was Ron Ben Isreal). This cake is....perfection. Sighhh

Holiday 2010

I hope that all of you are enjoying your holiday season with great company, great food and in the most chic winter coat on your back! What accessories do you prefer during the cold and snow? Ear muffs to a fur hat? Mittens to  finger-less gloves? Here's 10 things I love about the month of December.

1. Perfect excuse to update your winter wardrobe
2. The lit christmas tree at Rockefeller Center
3. Anything in NYC!
4. Wearing velvet without ending up on fashion police
5. New pair of boots
6. Holiday movies like A Christmas Carol, Elf and How the Grinch stole Christmas
7. Using the holiday season as an excuse to have cake, eggnog and more yummeries! = )
8. More glamorous outfits worn with lipstick
9. Christmas music, my favorite is Christmas Time is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas
10. SNOW IN NEW YORK! Its magical everywhere.

Blog Crush

Happy December everyone! I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite fashion illustrations by this amazing artist, Brooke Hagel. She has been one of my blog crush's for a long time now. I love that she can re-create anyone onto paper and with the right techniques and color, she brings them life! I'm always inspired by other illustrators when I sit and sketch designs but Brooke's work is always my top choice. Her blog is amazing and even has tips and step-by-step pointers for you artists out there who want a little inspiration! I love her Etsy shop as well, I want to buy everything!! Here are some of my favorite sketches, Holiday girls, MARIE ANTOINETTES (yay costume design), a cute little hostess with dishes (so perfect for me) and the last girl is my absolute favorite. She is simple yet elegant, the perfect fashionista in a LBD. = )

Here is her blog http://fabulousdoodles.blogspot.com/
...and her etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/brooklit?ref=top_trail

Etsy - Marie loves Fashion

Etsy - Marie II

Etsy - Hostess

Etsy - Allie