Thursday, February 28, 2013

Chocolate Cake & Fudge

With February officially over, I can start posting delicious chocolate recipes, since you've probably had time to detox from all the chocolate from V-day. In my family we have a tradition of having chocolate cake with chocolate fudge for any occasion that requires a cake. The recipe I used for this cake makes a very moist and rich cake, the fudge is super easy to make and really delicious. Fresh flowers work perfectly for decorating cakes, it gives it a really elegant but natural look and it just looks so pretty. I chose these white flowers since it was all chocolate, but for example if you have a yellow frosting you could use pink or purple flowers. I think that sometimes using chocolate can intimidate people, but if you have a good recipe you'll most likely get it right, and once you see you can do it you can bake anything! Let me know what you think!

Xo
Flor








Basic Chocolate Butter Cake
(Makes 2 9" layers)

2 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened to room temp
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted or 3 ( 1 ounce) envelopes no melt unsweetened chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift flour with baking soda and salt and set aside. Combine buttermilk and vanilla. Cream butter until light, add sugar gradually, beating until fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix in chocolate. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the dry and adding about 1/3 of the total at a time. 
Beat just until smooth. Spoon into 2 greased and floured 9" layer cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes until cakes shrink slightly from sides of pans and are springy to the touch.
Cool upright in pans on wire racks 5-7 minutes, then invert on racks. Turn cakes right side up and cool thoroughly. 


Fudge Frosting

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cups water or milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, coarsely grated, or 2 (1 ounce) envelopes no-melt unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Place all ingredients except vanilla in a heavy saucepan with a candy thermometer, set over moderate heat, and stir once or twice as chocolate melts.
Boil without stirring until thermometer reaches 234 degrees F or until a little mixture dropped into cold water forms a very soft ball. Remove from heat at once and cool without stirring to 120 degrees F; mix in vanilla and beat until thick and of good spreading consistency
Note: If frosting seems thick, add a little milk or light cream; if too thin, beat in a little sifted confectioners' sugar

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Jeans for a Casual look


Jeans... the most useful, wonderful and perfect member of the fashion world. Some fashionistas may think that jeans are anything but fashionable, while others might swear by them. Personally, I like jeans,  you can dress them up or down, you can wear them skinny or baggy and they can be colored or washed. Today, I went for a casual laid back look and decided on one of my favorite looks, skinny jeans with an oversized shirt, and I really like how layering looks so decided to add this scarf. Let me know what you think about the look, and your favorite way to style your jeans!

Xo
Flor







JeansL Levis, Blouse: Day Dreamer LA , Bag: Louis Vuitton, Shades: Tom Ford, Scarf: Dimri Mantra


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Color Combination

Striped sweaters are any closet's must have, they look timeless and depending how you style them they can look preppy, nautical or casual day chic. Usually when I choose a loose top, I go with tight or form fitting bottom and vice versa; for this look I decided on this form fitting striped sweater and loose orange bottom's. I love how the color combination came out, really refreshing and the look is perfect for going to lunch or for a day at work. The turquoise string necklace was a nice change to my gold tone jewelry, obsession I've been having lately.  I think that with the busy life we all lead, having versatile options in our closet are super important. Let me know what you think about the look!

Xo
Flor









Pants: Calvin Klein, Sweater: Banana Republic, Sandals: Calvin Klein, Bag: Louis Vuitton 

Monday, February 25, 2013

More on Culebra

Today I'm sharing with you some more pictures of last weekend's getaway to Culebra. Like I've mentioned before, preparing to go to the beach or a weekend at any beach requires a few simple things, not that they actually need to be simple. For this look I took another oversized blouse as a cover up, but this time decided to wear one with a bold color, electric pink. For this look I added some navy shorts and my trusty Tory Burch ballerinas because we we're going to do other things after the beach, something that's really important when packing for any trip is taking things you know you're comfortable in and feel good in them. Colors are always a great addition to any look; this electric pink blouse matched perfectly with my leopard print bikini and my new tan! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Xo
Flor








Flamenco Beach

Sunny Beach
Blouse:Dalia Collection, Shorts: DKNY, Shoes: Tory Burch, Shades: Tom Ford, Bag: Marc Jacobs

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Weekend Getaway to Culebra

Last minute trips are always the best, I don't know if it's because you actually don't plan anything, don't have any expectations or just the fact of spontaneous makes it that more special... My weekend was exactly that... at last minute my boyfriend and I decided to take up the offer of going Culebra with his sister and her husband, and thank god we did. Culebra is an arid municipality of Puerto Rico and has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Flamenco. Needless to say,we stayed at an amazing house with amazing views. For an entire weekend of Island living at its best you just need swimsuits, cover ups, sandals, great shades, some key accessories and great company. 

For this post I chose an oversized creme blouse and added this leather Michael Kors belt to add some color and texture, not just have a flowy cover up. These sandals have gone with me to so many trips that I had to bring them; they're perfect for casual day's because they add color to any look.  I really hope you enjoy the pictures! Let me know what you think about this amazing scenery and the look!

Xo
Flor

















Blouse: Spense, Belt: Michael Kors, Sandals: Nine West, Shades: Tom Ford, Lovely dogs: Carmelo & Joaco

Thursday, February 21, 2013

A Bohemian Touch


There are few things that look as sophisticated and chic as the black & white combination. For today's look I decided on a look that would be really chic but with a slight bohemian touch. In terms of jewelry I went light on bracelets and earrings because of the headdress and necklace, but rings I always keep. When I used the black & white I almost always keep the white on the top, black is super slimming so it works perfect for the pants. I always try to add some color when I go black & white, I decided on the clutch and the necklace to add color and texture to the look. Let me know what you think about the look!

Xo
Flor 






Pants: Vince Camuto, Blouse: BCBG, Bag: Tory Burch, Shades: Tom Ford