Style File: Charlotte Russe accessories

I wandered into Charlotte Russe at the mall and found cute, trendy accessories for a steal.  This is going to be my new go-to place for trendy pieces that prob will only last a season or so.  Of course, this isn't going to replace Stella & Dot, Banana Republic, J Crew or Sophie's for my fav jewelry pieces, but they're pretty awseome.  Check out the pieces below I found on their site www.charlotterusse.com that are all under $13 and most for $5-$7...

Book I loved: Girl in Translation

I started this book last Thursday and finished it Friday...so you can tell I really enjoyed it.  Heather read this book and posted about it on her blog The One Thing I Regret and I had been interested in it so I had to buy it and read it. I got really sucked into this book- the story of Kimberly "Ah-Kim" and her mother is so foreign to the life I lead, which perhaps make it even more compelling. 

Kimberly and her mother emigrate to New York from Hong Kong.  Their life here is made more difficult by the debt that they owe to Kimberly's aunt and uncle for Kimberly's Mom's tuberculosis treatment and their travel here.  In order to pay off the debt and make a pittance of a living they slave away in the sweatshop under the watchful eye of Aunt Paula.  It is here that Kimberly learns to view life in terms of skirts, as that is what she and her mother do in the sweatshop, they finish the clothing items for shipment.---riding the subway is 100 skirts.   

Kimberly is different from the other children who help their parents in the sweatshop.  She is determined to succeed outside of Chinatown and she is smart enough to make it happen.  She works hard to learn English and do well in school with the small bit of time she has available away from work.  She endures a cockroach infested apartment with no heat and works very hard.  She gets a full scholarshop to an elite prep school, amazes her teachers and endures the jealousy of her Aunt Paula.  She earns a scholarhsip spot at Yale and all the while she teeters between the American way of life and the Chinese. Her choice in the end between escape with her mother from a life of poverty and love seems to be an easy choice as we read it, but in the end I think we see some regret.

I highly recommend this book.  When I read a book like this I am reminded that any hardship that I have endured is not truly a hardship.  I have been given so much and have taken things for granted.  Have I really worked hard? What should I be doing?

The author is telling a tale that must be close to her heart, as she too immigrated from Hong Kong, and this allows her to write a beautiful story.

Style My House: House Beautiful Inspiration

I have been flipping back through House Beautiful magazines and loved a house in the May issue.  I think I want to live here.  I've actually never wanted a lot of white in my house, but the way the colors in the few colorful furniture pieces and art work in the room are amazing!

And I'm totally stealing this idea--I think it would make me quite me happy to have pretty little black and white photographs in my closet. 

View from Liz's Couch: Recipe of the Week: Cheddar Rosemary Scones

View from Liz's Couch: Recipe of the Week: Cheddar Rosemary Scones

Recipe of the Week: Cheddar Rosemary Scones

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I made scones for the first time this week.  I made my own variation of a Barefoot Contessa recipe for savory scones.  This recipe is so easy and the texture of the scone was perfect.  This recipe makes 16 large scones so it's perfect for bringing to the office

Cheddar Rosemary Scones
Ingredients


•4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
•2 tablespoons baking powder
•2 teaspoons salt
•3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
•5 large eggs, beaten lightly
•1 cup cold heavy cream
• 80z bag shredded extra-sharp yellow Cheddar or more if you like
•1/2 Cup rosemary chopped finely
•1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash


Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Mix the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss together the Cheddar, rosemary, and 1 tablespoon of flour and add them to the dough. Mix until they are almost incorporated.


Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it for 1 minute, until the Cheddar and dill are well distributed. Roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 4-inch squares and then in half diagonally to make triangles. Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.

Next Book Club Choice- Eat Pray Love

We had a great night last Friday discussing The Awakening by Kate Chopin and I'm really excited about our next book choice Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

The book takes us on the author's post-divorce search for herself--gastronomic adventures in Italy, spiritual pursuit in India and newfound love in Bali. 

A friend gave me this book not long after I got divorced and I think that now I might have a different perpesctive 3 years later.  I am excited to share this book with the girls and then we're going to see the movie that's coming out soon. 

I'm wondering how different the movie will be from the book.  In my humble opinion books are generally better than the movie.  So, let's hope it's not disappointing. 

Style My House: Bar Tray Table

I have been toying with the idea of putting a bar tray table in my living room.  I love the look of it, but ya know I'm not really a liquor drinker.  I have the perfect table for it and a great little spot picked out.  I saw this great pic in Lonny Magazine and got some inspiration.

Mathilda Savitch...little girl not quite lost

I enjoyed reading Mathilda Savitch and yet I didn't.  We find Mathilda in the midst of a very broken family stuck in their grief over the death of their older daughter Helene.  Mathilda is dealing with her grief in her own way and desperately wants her parents to acknowledge her and Helene.  The story is told as we listen in on Mathilda's thoughts and rationale for her sometimes bizarre behavior.  She seems like such a little girl sometimes ...afraid of terrorists that might harm her or her friends and then at other times she makes profound conclusions that seem beyond her age.  As the story unfolds Mathilda goes to great lengths to discover the truth of her sister's death and to get her parent's attention. 

I loved reading Mathilda's thoughts written by Lodato.  You just wanted to keep reading- she was funny. Lodato really tapped into what an adolsescent might think- what they might fear, what would make sense to them. At the same time, the story was a sad one and the ending was bittersweet.  Mathilda seemed lost and searching throughout most of the book and at the end she wasn't quite so lost, but not quite found yet either.