Something for the Weekend

One of my favorite Youtube stars and bloggers, Fleur De Force, has a new cooking channel with her 

husband Mike. And one of the first things they made happens to be an all time favorite of mine: Eton Mess! Seriously there's nothing better on a hot summers day.

I know what you're thinking, a recipe for a dish that was supposedly created when a dog crushed a meringue dessert seems a little redundant - since well all you have to do is make a mess. But sometimes the easiest recipes are the most fun to make, and this video is the best proof for that: 

What's your favorite summer treat?

Check out Food with Fleur and Mike on Sainsbury's Food.

New recipes every Wednesday!

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
Laura

Tennis Whites

Wimbledon starts today, which means it is time to break out the tennis whites. One essential? A thin white sweater for those colder evenings on the court (or in front of the TV): 

The classic from Lacoste:

Lacoste

A cool retro look from J.Crew:

J.Crew

And my favorite from Zara, I love the mesh details on sleeves:

Zara

…just be careful with the strawberries ;)

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
Laura

Summer Tunes

Music has always played a big role on this blog, but I've never posted a playlist. The main reason for this is my schizophrenic eclectic  taste in music. If I put my iPod on shuffle there's a 95% chance that it'll play the most obscure 80s punk band, the High School Musical soundtrack, and Mumford & Sons within 10 minutes.  So, I figured that a playlist put together by me wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea…

But then again, that's all the more reason to post one.  Sure, you might not enjoy the playlist as a whole, but you might find a new favorite song (or two), no matter if you're into punk, disney, or folk rock.

So here it is, my summer playlist. It has everything from new hits to old favorites. Enjoy! 

Listen to it on Spotify

What's on top of your summer playlist? 

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
Laura

Still not a bag person (maybe…)

I am not a bag person. I'm happy with my simple Longchamp totes, don't dream of a Chanel bag, and once used an IKEA laundry sack as a weekender - true story. But after seeing Burberry's newest travel collection I don't feel all that indifferent about bags anymore…

 pictures: Burberry

How cool is the writer bag?  The hand painted satchels come in many amazing colors and designs, and every single one is spectacular. I really hope this Explorer/Writer theme will finds it's way into the woman's collection…

You can see the bags in action on the runway here.

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
Laura

Beach Ready

The things I would do for a week at the beach… 

But since I'm starting a full time internship right after finals It's not likely that that's going to happen this summer. Still, that didn't stop me from putting together my beach essentials. If I can't go to the beach, then the beach will have to come to me, and ridiculous amounts of salt water spray go a long way…

J.Crew Chambray Shirt  / Sperry Top Sider Shorts / Sperry Top Sider Crochet Bikini / Tkees Shoes / Wildfox Couture Beach Bag/ Ray-Ban Sunglasses / Salt Water Spray / Floppy Beach Hat / Rites Of Spring Break 

…and don't forget your sunscreen!

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
Laura

Keep Cool

Is anyone else experiencing a heat wave? If the answer is yes, take a clue from Miss Moretz and protect your head with cute straw hat. 

source

Long gone are the days when straw hats were reserved for little boys and gardening grandpas, just pick one in a cool color or design and you're good to play outside (or sit by the pool) all day long.

...ASOS has a fabulous selection, by the way…

Catarzi straw hat / Seafolly floppy hat / Pull&Bear fedora hat

Oysho hat / ASOS fedora

Enjoy the sun! 

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
Laura

Picture Perfect

First of all, Thanks so much for all the lovely Birthday messages! 

I had a great day, and received some amazing gifts. One of these gifts was a new camera.   

A few years ago my dad gave me his old Canon EOS,  but I was never really happy with it. It was too heavy, to bulky, and truth be told too complicated. So it usually stayed at home while I kept using my Sony Cybershot.  And yes, that one's good for snapshots, but so's my phone.... 

So I figured the logical conclusion was to get a system camera, and the Olympus Pen Lite  seemed like a perfect fit (I swear the lovely design had almost nothing to do with it):

It is only a little bigger than my Sony, and can do all the serious photography things the Canon can do. Here are some pics I took right after taking it out of the box:

Can you tell I'm a big fan of the art effects?  

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes,

Laura 

Simply Emma

I love Emma Stone, her flawless style is the perfect mix of preppy, edgy, and casual. Basically,  if I could trade closets with a celebrity it would be Emma.  

What I love most about her style is that she always looks polished - even when she's in washed out skinny jeans and a white tee:

source

What makes this work (besides her accessorizing skills), is the unexpected coat/sandals combo.  Just imagine the outfit with boots, not as glamorous right? 

The best though? It's super easy (and not expensive!) to recreate Emma's look:

Gap T-Shirt / Topshop blazer / H&M Jeans / Zara Sandals / ASOS sunglasses / ASOS fedora 

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes (I know I'm repeating myself, but it's my birthday month!)
Laura