Coachella 2012 Street Style

Because I lived vicariously through everyone else at Coachella via the awesome Youtube live stream the weekend before last, I decided to also pretend as if I were a street style blogger there. So, I’ve compiled my favorite looks from Coachella, courtesy of real street style bloggers :).

I love music festival/concert style. It’s the only time you’re able to go completely hippie/wild child/bohemian and not look like you’re behind the times because you’re constantly surrounded by a cloud of purple haze. Whenever I go to concerts, I just put the wildest outfit together that I can imagine and I know no one will judge me for it. That’s what concerts are for! And, you know, great music.

One day I’m going to make it out to California for Coachella and these are exactly the types of outfits I plan to run around and be freeeee in.

via becauseimaddicted.net

Open back shirts/dresses are definitely a smart way to stay cool in the middle of the desert.

via becauseimaddicted.net

Flower crowns and milkmaid braids. Enough said.

via blog.stylesight.com

Horizontal and vertical stripes in black and blue are really unexpected.

via blog.stylesight.com

Leather and pattern.

via nymag.com

This outfit is everything. Leopard print is everything.

via nymag.com

So feminine and sexy. Polka dots and lace are two of my favorite patterns.

via nymag.com

Red hair, red lips, and red fringe.

via nymag.com

For the record, I hate rompers. This photo is ALL about the hat. I love hats.

What would you wear to Coachella?

City and Colour

My friend shared this song with me over the weekend, and I’ve become obsessed. I had never heard of Canadian artist City and Colour before, but he is quite talented. He plays acoustic and folk music, which is kind of my favorite style of music.

Interestingly enough, he was the guitarist and vocalist for Alexisonfire, which is a band I used to listen to in high school and is quite different from his solo act. Also, how cool is the name City and Colour? It just rolls off the tongue.

I’m sharing the same song she showed me, “The Girl.” It’s really a very sweet love song from 2008. But you should definitely check out some of his other songs and fall in love.

Francesca Woodman Photography

Last week, I mentioned seeing an exhibit featuring Francesca Woodman’s photography at the Guggenheim in New York. Since then, I’ve researched her and her work more and I really love it. Francesca committed suicide in 1981, when she was only 22 years old so these are photographs taken largely while she was a student at RISD.

via http://www.berk-edu.com

via http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com

via http://www.heenan.net

via http://www.studio-international.co.uk

via http://www.studio-international.co.uk

via http://www.heenan.net

via http://www.heenan.net

via http://www.berk-edu.com

via http://www.berk-edu.com

via http://www.heenan.net

I don’t consider myself an art critic, I just know what I like and each of these photographs says something different to me. How do you like them?

Friday Favorite: Tacos

Lately, I’ve been ridiculously obsessed with tacos. Last weekend, I ate tacos all three days. I’m not talking about Americanized tacos, I mean Mexican tacos with corn tortillas. Tacos from Agua Linda, in particular. I get the Traditional Mexican Taco trio with carnitas (pork). Oh. My. God. They are so delicious. Unfortunately, they’re photographed in a styrofoam container because I ordered them to-go for lunch while I was at work.

Shredded pork, onions, cilantro, and lime on a corn tortilla.

If you live in Athens, GA or ever visit Athens, you have to eat there. They pride themselves on being the most authentic Mexican food in the city, and from my research (I love mexican food, so I’ve tested just about every restaurant) it is the closest to authentic but it’s still suited to the American palate.

Happy Friday! Eat a taco :)

Ladies Who Lunch Between Classes

Aside from the fact that one of downtown Athens’ most popular restaurants has an 84 health rating (eww), I really enjoyed my food. I didn’t see the health rating until I was leaving so my opinion of my food wasn’t affected by it.

My good friend Taylor at The Misadventures of a 20-Something Cook invited me to lunch at Trapeze and of course I agreed. I never turn down a chance to eat good food. The interiors were fine enough, not very decorated, it has more of a tavern feel.

I ordered the Beer and Cheddar soup and it was so delicious. I was afraid it might be too rich and I would get tired of it, but I definitely didn’t. It’s garnished with bits of bacon that add a smoky flavor, too.

And then, the universe was smiling down on us because we kept seeing people with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cones and realized it was Free Cone Day. So, being us, we immediately jumped in line. I decided to try something new, since I wasn’t paying for it, and got the Americone Dream, which was good (I mean, it’s ice cream, come on). It’s vanilla ice cream with caramel and chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces. It still doesn’t beat out Cherry Garcia though.

All in all, it was a pretty successful afternoon :)

New York, New York

Wow, it’s been awhile. I blame school. I guess I’ll update about my trip to New York over spring break with my bestie Amanda at Ice on the Gold. The only problem is that I’m an idiot and I left my camera charger at home, so I only have a couple of iPhone pics. Sigh.

My view from the hotel. The illuminated building on the left is the Empire State Building.

Van Gogh's "Starry Night" at the MoMA.

Andy Warhol, "Gold Marilyn Monroe" at the MoMA. So fitting because we watched "My Week with Marilyn" one night at the hotel.

Sarah Lucas, "Smoking (Self Protraits 1990-1998)."

Theodor Kaufmann, "On to Liberty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

These are just a couple of my favorites and as you can see I didn’t really take pictures of the actual city. I wish I could have taken pictures at the Guggenheim because they had this really cool exhibit, John Chamberlain: Choices, which consists of three dimensional abstractions using car metal to make colorful, complex sculptures. Also, a Francesca Woodman exhibit that blew my mind. She pretty much became one of my new favorite photographers.

Aside from museum hopping, I shopped, I ate (really well), and I visited with my cousins. It was a good couple of days.

84th Academy Awards

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t super jazzed about the Oscars this year, which is unusual for me. As a film lover, the Academy Awards is usually my number one awards show night of the year, followed by the Tonys. This year, none of the nominees intrigued me enough to do what I call my Oscar Catchup, where I spend a ton of money to see all of the films nominated in the month between the announcement and the the actual event that I hadn’t already seen.

I honestly meant to, but I never got around to it. This means, I don’t feel as if I can judge whether the winners deserved their awards or not, so I won’t. I’ll just talk about the fashion.

Best Dressed

via Hollywood Reporter

Choosing between Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad and Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford was probably the toughest decision I made all week (I know, I know, first world problems). J. Lo was sexy and classic, yet Gwyneth was minimal and modern. Ultimately, I decided on Gwyneth because that cape just took the entire look over the edge. She looked so chic and timeless.

Honorable Mentions

via Hollywood Reporter

Of course J. Lo is first on the Honorable Mentions. She was so close. Maybe next year.

via Hollywood reporter

Giuliana Rancic looked dazzling in Basil Soda. It’s almost like what a Vegas showgirl wears when she gets dressed up.

via Hollywood Reporter

Angelina Jolie (and her right leg that now has its own Twitter account: @angiesrightleg) stunned as always in Atelier Versace. She’s just a best dressed staple at this point.

via Hollywood Reporter

Octavia Spencer stayed faithful to the designer who best knows her curves, Tadashi Shoji; obviously with good reason seeing as she won an Oscar last night for Best Supporting Actress.

via Hollywood Reporter

Milla Jovovich wowed in Elie Saab Couture. I love the detailing and the sleeved one shoulder look.

Clearly, neutral tones were a huge trend on the red carpet and, as someone who always wears neutrals, I greatly appreciated it.

What do you think of the Oscars red carpet? Who was your favorite?

P.S. I’m still not over Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress. Sigh.

Friday Favorite: DVF and Current/Elliott Skinny Jeans

Diane Von Furstenberg teamed up with denim line Current/Elliott to create a capsule collection with colorful, floral, springtime prints including my new favorite skinnies ever:

via http://www.dvf.com

Typically, I find tropical prints such as this to be tacky, but of course DVF finds a way to make it chic and sophisticated. This pair comes in two other bright colors but there’s something about chocolate that spoke to me. If my favorite from the collection isn’t enough to make you drool, browse through what’s already available from the collection here and find your own. As for me, these are going on my wish list (otherwise known as my “things-I-will-buy-when-I-have-a-real-person-salary” list). Happy Friday!

Homemade Spicy Chicken Empanadas

Awhile back, I made empanadas. Homemade empanadas. The entire process took around four hours but they were worth it. My three taste testers (i.e. my roommates) loved them. I used this recipe for the dough but I made my own filling, which I’ll write out down here. The green chimichurri sauce is from her site as well.

*Note* Because I used a whisk instead of a food processor, I added an extra cup of flour because the dough was still quite soupy and sticky. I only got about 10 empanadas out of the batch and I used the rim of a wide coffee mug to cut out the circles. The dough stretches out a lot when you fold over the empanada. Now, onto the filling…

Ingredients:

1LB Chicken Breast, cubed

1 Onion, diced

1 Tomato, diced

1 Green Pepper, diced

1 Bunch of Green Onions, chopped

A couple of ounces of goat cheese, crumbled

3 Tbs Chipotle Powder (or any spicy, hot red pepper)

1 Tbs Fresh Oregano, chopped (if you make the sauce, you won’t let any oregano go to waste)

2 Tbs Ground Cumin

Salt and Pepper

1 Egg, divided (for those who don’t cook, this means separate the egg white from the yolk)

*The instructions for cooking my filling is basically the same as Laylita’s but with different ingredients so I just revised hers and I take no credit for them.

1. Prepare the empanada dough and sit them on a plate in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet, add the onions and salt, cook until the onions are tender. While the onions are cooking, mix chicken, chipotle pepper, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl chill until ready to use.

3. Add the meat mixture to the onions and cook on medium heat until the meat is done, stir frequently. Let the meat mixture cool down, and then mix in the chopped green onions and chopped oregano.

4. To assemble the empanadas add a spoonful of the meat mixture on the center of each empanada disc, add a fingertipful of tomato and goat cheese.

5. Brush the edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, you can also use water but the egg white is a good natural “glue” that helps seal the empanada. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges gently with your fingers, twist and fold the edges of the empanadas with your fingers, as a final step use a fork to press down and finish sealing the empanadas.

6. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when they bake. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for about 25 minutes. Serve with chimichurri sauce.

Finished result:

I don't have a fancy camera or fancy photography skills but trust me, they're golden, delicious beauties.

I highly recommend trying these out on a Saturday or Sunday. If you do, be sure to tell me how they turn out for you!

Rihanna’s Birthday Cake

I’ve never been a huge fan of Rihanna, sure her style is amazing and her songs are catchy, but I have never connected with her enough to buy any of her albums. But, I was a big fan of Chris Brown in high school and I even went to his “Fan Appreciation” (read: good publicity) tour post-Rihanna (and I caught some flack for it from a couple of people), but lately he really has not put out anything I want to listen to either.

What I’m trying to say is that I’m not ride or die for either of them but I’m also not against them. I know everyone has their opinions on them remixing each other’s songs and possibly dating again and I wanted to put my two-cents in. I believe in second chances and if Rihanna is willing to give him a second chance then that’s her business, not ours. I think they are a ridiculously good-looking couple and if they are still in love all these years later (and Chris has gotten his anger issues under control) then I wish them the best. Chris made a mistake, I think he has more than repented for it, so I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to continue throwing it in his face. Everyone makes mistakes and you grow from them and move the eff on.

With that said, I’m kind of obsessed with “Birthday Cake,” because it’s so freaking catchy. It’s been on a constant loop in my mind since it came out yesterday. Give it a listen if you haven’t already!