My Top All Time Oscar Looks

Hello Fashionistas,
 If your like one of the millions of people who are going to tune into the Oscars on Sunday whether it be to see who won or to see what the celebrities are wearing, I thought I would share my own insights on some of the gowns that continue to inspire me. Each year there are dozens of gowns that wow the crowds and inspire designers worldwide, but there are those few gowns that seem to withstand time. Although there are more than just twelve dresses that I still consider to be my favorites like Catherine Zeta Jones red Versace gown, or Michelle Williams Peach Vera Wang gown, here are some of the gowns you always see gracing magazines and blogs alike as the all time best Oscar gowns. Until then, I cannot wait until Sunday to see what the red carpet shall bring!

This gown will have to possibly be one of my favorite gowns of all time. Julia Roberts not only won for her role in " Erin Brockevich", but looked like a winner as well in this vintage Valentino. The gown not only fit her body like a glove, but the intricate detail accompanied with a train, was only fitting for a winner.  Valentino knew how to dress their winner.

Nicole Kidman certainly made a comeback on the red carpet for the 1997 Oscars in this Christian Dior gown after being scathed by fashion reports for the Prada choose to wear the previous year. Then husband,  Tom Cruise was nominated for his role in " Jerry McGuire", and although he did not win, Nicole certainly looked like a winner!

Renee Zellweger was also one of those people who had something to prove when fashion reporters claimed she had no sense of style the previous year for her choice dress. And so, for the 2001 Oscars in which she was nominated for " Bridget Jones Diary", she made a splash in this yellow Vintage Jean Dress. It's still one of my favorites for its sleek silhouette. 

Angelina Jolie is one of those people who I believe struggled to find her place on the red carpet. Do we all not remember her black Morticia Adams dress she wore to accept her Oscar for " Girl Interrupted"? In 2004, she wowed everyone as a presenter in this Marc Bouwer gown.  Also, a favorite of mine since her look is both chic and effortless.

A gown fit for a princess is what they called it when Gwyneth Paltrow wore this Ralph Lauren gown to the 1999 Oscars. She even took home the Oscar for her role in " Shakespeare in Love." Ralph Lauren applauded her for reintroducing them to the red carpet.

Cate Blanchett may have lost to Gwyneth Paltrow that night, but her real win was her  John Galliano for Christian Dior gown. So many woman felt it was a wearable gown and loved the embroidery on the back. Still one of my all time favorites until this day.

Halle Berry not only won the Best Actress Oscar that night, but looked like a winner in this custom Elie Saab. Then, an unknown, Halle Berry introduced the Lebanese designer to the red carpet in this beautiful ensemble that has yet to be replicated.

Can Grace Kelley ever go wrong? She looked like a winner in her silk sea foam green 1955 Edith Head dress paired with white gloved. The look is only fitting for a princess, which is why she still is a style icon. 

Charlize Theron, is one of those women, I feel can hardly ever go wrong on the red carpet. She knows how to dress for her body, and knows which designers to choose. And so, it is no surprise that when she took home the Best Actress Oscar that night, she also took home the vote for best dressed in this Gucci gown. It not only sparkled, but the train and cross body open back were simply to die for.

Sharon Stone makes it on my list twice, because she proves to every woman that you do not need to spend thousands of dollars to look great on the red carpet. Not only are both of her looks both chic and effortless, she still looks quite classy. For her 1995 look she paired a Gap turtleneck she boasted to have found in her closet the night before with a Valentino Trumpet Skirt. It's still an iconic look today.

For the 1999 Oscars, Sharon Stone once again looked to her closet for her red carpet inspiration and paired a lilac Vera Wang skirt with a white button down collared shirt she found in her then husband, Phil Bronstein's closet. It not only looks gorgeous, but effortless as well. Again, still one of my favorite looks on the red carpet.

This is a woman we will all continue to look for inspiration even decades after her death. Does this gown remind you of anyone's? Reese Witherspoon claims to have looked to his gown for inspiration when she choose her dress in which she won the Best Actress Oscar nod.  For the 1954 Oscars, Audrey wore this white  lace Givenchy gown that still has fashion designers drawing inspiration from. Again, another woman who can do no wrong! 

Golden Globes Recap

Hello Fashionistas!

 As a "Domestic Goddess" and fashion addict, the Golden Globes is one of the most anticipated nights in fashion behind the Oscars. With all the award shows that dominate this season, The People's Choice Awards, The SAG Awards, The Golden Globes and the Oscars, I feel the Golden Globes helps to set the trend of what to expect this season as far as dresses, glitz and glamour are concerned. And I must say,  most of the ladies did not disappoint. There were a few, who temporarily forgot their age, and decided to still dress as though they were in their 20's despite their fabulous bodies i.e. J. Lo, Halle Berry and Eva Longoria. Do not get me wrong, I hope to look hot and fabulous as they do when I reach their age, but they just failed to impress. Nicole Kidman, on the other hand, wore a simple black Alexander McQueen ( very age appropriate), which made both her skin and body look flawless. Then there were those which left me with the puzzling question, " Do I love it or hate it?" Regardless, it was a fabulous night of fashion, and my best dressed pick of the night would have to be a toss up between Kate Hudson in Alexander Mcqueen and/or Nicole Richie in Naeem Khan. Best runner up goes to Jessica Alba in Oscar De La Renta.

Worst Dressed: Eva Longoria usually looks gorgeous, last night she was channeling her inner  Goth

Although I love to hate her Taylor Swift looked gorgeous in Donna Karan

Worst Dressed: Halle Berry may look great, but this Versace number is intended for someone younger.

Not sure what to think of Rachel Wiesz' Louis Vuitton. I admire that it's Couture but not sure if it's Golden Globe appropriate.

Nicole Kidman in Alexander McQueen looked flawless.

Kate Hudson in Alexander McQueen, best dressed for the night

Nicole Richie in Naaem Khan looked gorgeous

Jessica Alba in Oscar De Renta was another best dressed of the night

J. Lo looked great, but let's face it she's not in her 30's anymore

Worst Dressed: Sienna Miller ( She wanted to go with an authentic British Designer, but it looks like as though she took a curtain/table cloth and cut it in half)

Christmas at Michaels

Hello Everyone,
 With the holidays fast approaching, Layth ( the little lion) and I choose to take advantage by conducting a love affair with Michaels. This includes several trips to Michaels to make gingerbread cookies, a gingerbread house, a foam puzzle gingerbread house and homemade cards to distribute to his   " friends" ( the new age term for classmates) at school. Each day Layth is not school implies a new project for us to tackle. My poor dinning room table has seen its fair share of fondant and homemade icing this year, since that's the only space large enough to accommodate our elaborate endeavours. Quite personally, I have sworn off Michaels until the New Year is over. No more projects for the rest of the season, my kitchen floor has seen enough! With one more gingerbread cookie kit left ( our first attempt was such a success, Layth insisted this kit was different), I see an end in sight!

The cookie kit, I made the mistake of buying twice

Apparently, Layth is still stuck in Halloween mood and insisted he make ghosts out of his cookies 

More cookies 

Our gingerbread house

Views of our gingerbread house made with leftover unwanted Halloween candy

Our do it yourself foam gingerbread house 

Let Color Shine!

Hello Fashionistas!
 With Fall upon us and Winter fast approaching, it is time to break out the coats, boots, and all the accessories that make dressing up for the cold so much fun. And with all the use of color this season, we can say goodbye to dressing up in the traditional black, brown and navy blue colors: I know I certainly have. If anything, I have fallen victim to the latest fashion trend of colored jeans, and seem to be rocking them everywhere from trips to Disneyland trips to quick shopping trips to Tory Burch. While I still love my go to color, black, a color I know will never abandon, I am having fun with the latest trend ( even if the hubby hates them!) trying to find sweaters, tops and jackets to pair with them. But one color I have been desperately searching for is red:, a color that seems almost impossible to find, so if anyone sees a pair let me know, I'm on the prowl for a pair!

Celebrities in colored denim

More color

James Jeans w/ Alexander McQueen top to tackle a Michigan Ave Shopping trip w/Layth

Esley Top w/James Jeans for Disneyland 

Aldo Flats w/Joes Jeans inside Tory Burch

Burberry Jacket paired with Romeo & Juliet Couture Sweater w/J Brand Jeans

Easy Oreo Truffles

 Hello Everyone,

    After a short hiatus from blogging, I am back with a delicious recipe everyone is sure to love: OREO truffles. Well, I am not sure everyone will love it, but who doesn't love OREOs?? And this recipe combines two of my favorite things, OREO's and chocolate. As a self proclaimed chocolate lover, I was intrigued to try this recipe for myself after first being introduced to it by my sister in law. However, she went organic and substituted Oreo's for  Trader Joe's organic version for them. Nonetheless, they still had the same taste: delicious! Layth, too, was a fan, intriguing me more to try them out for myself. Although I have only tried them once, they were a success with both Chafeek and Layth indicating to me my version was both edible and worth trying again! And so, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Things You'll Need

• Food processor
• Blender
• One package of Oreos
• One package ( 8 oz) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese
• 16 oz BAKER's Semi Sweet Chocolate
• Wax paper

Directions:

 First, you'll need to place all the OREOs in the food processor until their crushed and reduced to nothing but crumbs. Layth, of course, kept taking the cookies out of the food processor insisting he had to save them before they were crushed. Thankfully, he did so before they were actually being mixed in the food processor. The last thing we needed was a tragedy as we were making truffles. 

Secondly, place the OREO crumbs along with the cream cheese in the blender and mix them until their perfectly blended. Meanwhile, you can melt the semi sweet chocolate, since you are going to dip the truffles in them. Layth took it upon himself to dip his little fingers in the chocolate as we were waiting for the OREOs to finish mixing. And since nobody else was going to eat them except for the two of us,  it was fine to see him enjoying himself.
Once you're done mixing the OREO crumbs with the cream cheese shape them into balls, dip in the melted chocolate, and place them on the wax paper. And should you have remaining cookie crumbs, you can sprinkle them on top of each truffle for garnish...we did not!

Lastly, refrigerate for one hour, and serve!

In case you opt to mixing it by hand versus the blender

Without the chocolate drizzled upon them ( the healthy version)

New Favorite Piece from Layth's Closet: Gap Gray Acid Wash Skinny Jeans

Hello My Lovely Readers,

 Just last week I decided to add a new addition to my blog chronicling Layth's outfits as he is my fashion muse. My first post was so well received, I decided to try yet another post dedicated to that subject. If you guys recall, I mentioned about how Layth adamantly choose to wear his Gap Gray Acid Wash Skinny Jeans over the outfit I had originally laid out for him...well, a few weeks later, and those jeans have now become the primary accessory for many of his outfits. My husband hates them insisting their a patronage to the 1980's and a desperate call to follow the newest fashion trend: skinny jeans. Or as he calls them, tapered jeans from the early 80's, reminding him of his school days. Call it what you will, I love skinny jeans; particularly, on Layth (I think they fit his body frame well since he is built with a short torso and long legs). And so, for a day out in Half Moon Bay where we spent the afternoon fighting the wind as we built sandcastles and fed seagulls, Layth, once again, flocked to his gray skinny jeans. Another thing you all need to know about Layth, his daily uniform usually consists of jeans and a polo shirt, so it was not surprising he choose a longer, thicker Polo shirt to tackle the beach winds with his jeans. Since he was old enough to take off jackets, Layth is always finding ways out of them hence why he always accessorizes sweater vests when it comes to Winter time! With his outrageously loud orange polo shirt and grey skinny jeans, Layth looked more ready to tackle the mall or a fashion competition at school versus a day at the beach!

Layth: My Mini Muse

Hello Everyone,
   If you have not already figured it out, but my life pretty much centers around being Layth's personal assistant, chef, playmate, stylist, chauffeur and the list goes with all the other duties that go along with being a mommy. And so, I decided to add a new addition to my blog: Layth's Daily Outifts. I do not know how well you're going to perceive it as readers, but it's a chance I'm willing to take in an effort to add a little spice to my blog. I want my blog to appeal to a large range of readers, and figured this would be one element to my blog, I can actually perfect. For all domestic goddesses everywhere, I do possess one of your skills: being able to dress my son well. Not necessarily, the best skill to be proud of, but one that definitely appeases my interests. So for all of you out there judging, go ahead! And to begin this new segment, I will start with introducing Layth's "First Day of School" outfit. The night before I headed to Marshall's to get Layth some sneakers, since his preschool prefers that children not attend in crocs ( Layth lives in them) since they do not properly secure the foot. Apparently, his shoe size, 10.5 is a very popular size this school year, since neither Marshalls nor Ross had any pair of shoes in that size! Thankfully, he still fit into his Converse sneakers. However, my trips did not go unwarranted since I walked out with this adorable " hipster" inspired two piece Kenneth Cole set.  But since, it did not consist of " blue pants" ie jeans, I knew it was next to impossible to get Layth to willingly agree to wear it without putting a fit.  Of course, my suspicions were right and immediately refused to wear it upon one sight of the outfit. Before I knew it, he was making his way to his room and choosing a pair of grey jeans from Baby Gap, " I want to wear these" as he put it. I figured, "why not?" I just needed to find a top that would match with the jeans. Normally, I pair it will a yellow polo shirt, but that was no where in sight and time was not on my side. Frantically, I searched in his closet to find a shirt that would both match and Layth would willingly aware when I found this NWT " Indigo Star" purchased from Zulily.com. Upon seeing it, Layth put it on without hesitating. Before I realizing it, Layth was rocking the " hipster" looked, and with that he was ready to tackle his first day of school.

Layth's Would Be Outfit

Rockin his outfit

Enjoying his first day of school