Thankful.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. – Epicurus

At this moment, I'm realizing how blessed I am and feeling thankful. I'm learning to enjoy the present rather than anxiously awaiting the future. Reflection is important. Take a minute -- look around.... realize how far you have come from years and even months past. Crazy. Right?

A Dash of Inspiration.

Cupcake Cuteness.

Honestly, how tasty do these cute cupcakes look? They are EGGNOG LATTE flavored! Perfectly appropriate for the upcoming holiday season.

Here's a recipe I got from this site:

Cupcake batter

* 4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 4 large eggs
* 1 3/4 cups eggnog
* 1/4 cup dark rum


Preheat oven to 350°F. and line twenty-four 1/2-cup muffin cups with paper liners.
Into a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and with mixer on low speed beat in eggnog and rum until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, beating until just combined after each addition.

The Latte Frosting

* 1 cup chilled whipping cream
* 8 oz mascarpone
* 2 teaspoon coffee extract
* 1/4 cup ground coffee
* 2 to 3 cups confectioner's sugar (depending upon how thick you prefer frosting)

Whip up whipping cream in mixer until soft peaks begin to form. Fold in mascarpone, coffee extract, and coffee grinds. Then while mixing over low speed, slowly add the confectioner's sugar one cup at a time, being careful not to over whip frosting.

Add your own sprinkles -- and of course a candy cane inside each one!

YSL Pink

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For those who have some money to spare -- and who adore fashion, YSL has created a new version of the famous Tribute sandal -- called the Pink Party Tribute Heel.

The superb shoe was made exclusively for Elyse Walker's clothing boutique in the Pacific Palisades.

The fab pumps retail for $995, but $100 of each pair sold will be donated to Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute.

I was fortunate enough to cover the PINK carpet at Elyse Walker's 6th annual Pink Party this year. To watch the video and to learn more, click here.

Major Music Gems.

Artists & songs you NEED to be listening to...


1. Meg & Dia - Fighting For Nothing

2. Neon Trees - In The Next Room

3. The Pretty Reckless - Make Me Wanna Die

4. The Maine - Give It To Me

5. Mike Posner - Gone In September

6. MuteMath - Spotlight

7. Paper Route - Carousel

8. Barcelona - It's About Time

9. Tonight Alive - Ten Times Better

10. Robyn - Hang With Me

Quotable Quotations

Loving this.

"To succeed you need to find something to hold on to. Something to motivate you. Something to inspire you.” - Tony Dorsett

SXSW Sounds

Stereo Skyline

The Downtown Fiction