Smoochtastic Ensemble

Sometimes in life it's the dress that finds you...and this is exactly what happened today when I ran across this amazing and literally "Smoochtastic" dress on modcloth!!! I mean it has seriously Made My Day--I must own it, I mean all of those different colored fabulous smooches on dress--I agree with my plus one Jenny, it should be renamed "the Leigh-Ann"...ha, let' start the campaign now!

And as if things could not get better the sassy Miss Mandy comes along and suggests these equally smoochtastic earrings to "complete the look"...can I get a an "Amen" people!!

And who can have an outfit without shoes...I think these red hot numbers would be the icing on the smoochtastic cake!

All I need to do is apply some red hot lipstick and be out the door with this fierce ensemble--caution Men things WILL get REALLY steamy as I strutt by... :)

Mucho Smooches!

Madame K

Being Liptastic

Apparently I am not the only one who is crazy about the usage of pouty red lips, they seem to be popping up all around me, shoes, cosmetics and not to mention clothing galore! I love the signature red lips because they are bold and were a statement back in the 20s and 30s when women were fighting for some independence and R-E-S-P-E-C-T, amen to that!

"Red is just an empowering color," said Meg Cohen Ragas, co- author of "Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick." "It really makes a statement and can really change your mood. If you're not wanting to be noticed, I wouldn't recommend putting on red lipstick. Someone said it's like the exclamation mark at the end of a sentence."

"Red lipstick requires the wearer to feel comfortable in her skin, said Sandy Chandler, owner of Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy in Colorado Springs. It requires a foundation of confidence and may reward the wearer with a certain something. A mystique, maybe, or a subconscious attitude boost."

So on my journey out and about I actually happened to run into a shoe company called Two Lips shoes, how crazy in that? Granted they were only at DSW but I felt they were a sign, like the red lips had found me, LOL! I liked the shoebox more than the shoes I tried on truth be told :)

I also came across a product line called Soap & Glory at Target of all places that has a great liptastic product line. Get this they sell lipstick called "Sexy Mother Pucker"--ummm can we saying amazing name? I have both heard and used this product before back in January and it sure does plump up your lips, and quick frankly it stung too much. I much prefer the Victory Secret's lip venom. Both you should use after a martini or 3 to take away the sting. Beauty hurts ladies, pucker up!

Also for a tutorial on how to wear red lips check out this blog posting from Super Kawaii Mama because a lady should never leave the house without her lips!

Smooches!

Madame K!

How To Be a "Heavenly Hostess"

I think I am one of those people who was a "natural born hostess" from day one, I mean I really love meeting new people, introducing them to others and of course cooking for people...I can credit some of this to being half Italian and following in the footsteps of my amazing Grandmother, but the rest I guess just sprung up in me :) Needless to day I am ELATED right now that I finally have a dinning room table to host dinner parties, (its like Christmas and my birthday all wrapped in one), and to boot I put the table and chairs together myself, granted it was just tightening screws here and then but I did it all by my non-mechanical self, HOORAY! The days of dating men to ask them to put something together for you are SOO long gone not gonna lie.

So you ask what does one need to be heavenly hostess? Well this question has been swimming in my head since I moved into my new apartment so here is what I think the main ingredients are...

1. Stylish Apron-I know some of you might think this is should be last on the list but if you don't dress the part you won't wow your guests and nothing says amazing hostess like a fabulous apron...case in point this website I found called Heavenly Hostess (which I subsequently stole the name from for this post). I mean these aprons are so fancy smancy I thought they were dresses at first, I want to prance around town with one of this girls on--it just gives new meaning to sexxy housewife...I have picked out two aprons are I am currently drooling over....

Ok for obvious reasons of me loving animal print this apron works for me, I also like the sheer fabric and copper colored fabric underneath it just has whimsical yet flirty feel to it..and did you check out the awesomely HUGE bow in the back, its stunning! I would feel like a present every time I put it and I honestly think this would make my cooking better, LOL!

2. Signature Cocktail-When guests come in you want to first greet them and then hand them a drink in my opinion, so why not make it your own? I mean you are the one hosting the party so your personality should be inter weaved with the look and feel of the party to make it a smash hit...bringing me to the signature cocktail. Now at my last apartment I created a signature drink called "The Delano" named after the apartment that was martini with equal parts stoli vanilla and white cranberry juice, a splash of Chambord, shaken up and topped with some champagne..and I would occasionally throw in a cherry for a fun garnish too. It was a smash hit by all patrons who were lucky enough t to try it, which is why I am bringing back another fabulous drink..."Popicilous Punch"...this will be a fusion of X-Rated Liquor, white and red cranberry juice, Passion fruit rum, pineapple juice and splash of OJ and soda water to make it POP! I might even throw in champagne as the night goes on...its going to have its debut on Saturday April 10th at my housewarming party so I will post up comments later.

X-Rate Liquor is "distilled seven times in small batches from delicate French wheat and roseberry grain, which is grown on Reunion Island off the coast of Madagascar. The 100-percent organic vodka is then micro-oxygenated and charcoal filtered. The final 80-proof product has an alcoholic aroma, but no alcoholic bite. The spirit has a silky smooth texture, which causes a band of warmth to trend down from mouth to stomach. There is a slight hint of vanilla to the flavor, and no harsh finish. "

3. Anti pasta Bar-for those they aren't good cooks or just those that want just an all around "crowd pleaser" when it doubt go with an anti pasta bar. I talking about putting out bowls of all sorts of marinated olives, a plate of roasted red peppers, marinated artichokes and some pickled Italian veggies (one of my favs), crusty bread, and of course heapings of rolled up meat and cheese (fresh mozz and smoked)--you CANNOT go wrong with this spread trust me. And please remember you cannot never have too much prosciutto, its the nocturne of the Gods people.

This picture says it ALL, Deliciouso!! Just look at all of the colors and textures on the plate, its a piece of edible artwork...

4. Place cards-Now I know what you are thinking using place cards sounds a bit on the cheesy side but the way I am using them is not to assign people seats but instead to announce the food or drink that they will be tasting and also to add my personality into the mix. I have already named the punch in the bar as the "Popolicious Punch" and will also be serving the following:

1. "Italian Stallone Spread" (this is my anti pasta platter)


2. "Panache Purses" (phyllo dough stuffed with a nutella and mascarpone cheese with roasted hazelnuts and bananas, taken from femme fatale Giada


3. "Unleash the Meat" (sausages wrapped in puff pastry)


4. "Sinful Spinach Dip"-classic Knorr's recipe spinach dip that gets inhaled whenever I make it, it must be the water chestnut secret ingredient :)

I was racking my brain thinking where in the world am I going to find place cards, but then my friend, the fabulous Miss Bare, came to the rescue and told me she had a slew leftover from hosting company events--Yeah! I am going to display in front of the food and beverages using wine corks, how funky and fun right?

5. Contest/Theme-lastly a party simply isn't a party without some kind of fun theme or contest to partake in..this serves two purses 1) Gets people in an automatic party mindset when they have to dress up for something specific and 2) narrows down the wardrobe choices or in my case gives you "an excuse" to buy something totally outrageous and frivolous, like some wild and fun PUMPS....since this is my house party I went with this "fabulous shoes" theme and yes it was only for the ladies so next time I must include the men in the contest unless I want to get labeled a feminist (yikers), but I figured the men would totally profit from seeing hot women prance around in sexxy high heels, and I will choose one lucky guy to "be the judge" so everyone wins!

These fushcia PUMPS are dreamy!

Glossy and saucy!

Smooches,

Madame K!

The Look for Less

OK so you all know I use to be a huge fan of the "Look for Less" on the Style network a few years back and although its sadly gone off-the-air, I figured I would share some of my favorite online "looks for less" with you all for the Spring!

Dresses
Swell is great for the perfect lil sun dress..they feature surfy Cali brands like Billabong, O'Neill, and BB DaKota. I am also a fan of LuLus to find the perfect sassy frock to go from office chic to totally martini-licious! Spoiler Alert, although Modcloth is by far my fav and staple for fresh and fabulous frocks I recently discovered that they hike up the prices a bit on LuLus items, I mean not that much, just a few bucks or so but still why pay extra, ya know?

I call this dress "the Spring Fling" if you can't get a man with this on you better move to another planet :) This dress can be found at LuLus...Don't you just love the dreamy "man-catcher" hair here too (*credit goes to Miss Bare for coining this phrase)?

Icing
Most people agree that icing is the best part of the cake, very much like accessories are the BEST of an outfit in my opinion...if you have a sparse belt, necklace, earrings and scarf collection stock up ladies, little accents can either Make or Break an outfit! One great Internet sensation that is hotter than hot is Etsy, specifically their spotlight blog. They have really great and unique homemade and one-of-kind pieces which add a nice touch to make you stand out in a crowd.

I really enjoyed this particular blog entry with drawings that spotlighting the pieces, it made the whole look come alive!

If you are like me too you don't want to pay an arm and leg for a colorful or trendy piece of cocktail jewelry that you are Jonesing for,I suggest turning to Sam Moon Trading. Honestly the prices are crazy cheap, necklace and earring sets as low as $7, and they have alot of trendy pieces on this site to choose from.

I liked this sliver set below, the mingling of the of delicate sliver chains with the large circles in the middle gave it this simple but "fluid" feel to it.

If you have time and feel like taking a local field trip I am a huge fan of Eastern Market! Its set up like an outdoor flea market and there are wonderful vendors there with all kinds of antique and vintage jewelry to dig through--especially if you like to barter :)

Just the other week I found the most amazing vintage dress doll to display my jewelry on-in one word INCREDIBLE! Its amazing too that I am now able to display all my accessories, even the bracelets at the bottom. I can also clip almost anything on her since she has a wired frame not to mention and how unique and fun this piece is-Welcome to my Boutique!

Currently in love with the throw back vintage look of the 30s and 40s I found my cravings fulfilled at Unique Vintage...I was even able to find a pair of long elbow length black stain gloves that I have been searching high and low to find, I feel so Madmen when I wear these with a little black dress and pearls!

So the moral of the story is that you don't have to pay more to look amazing, doing your style research and investing time in searching for bargain websites (or going on field trips) will do wonders both on your wardrobe and budget....not a sermon just the facts!

Smooches,

Madame K

Style File Picks March...

Like most fun, fearless, and fabulous women out there I have what Stacy and Clinton from "What Not To Wear" would 100% approve of, a larger that life style file. My file is chalked full of amazing outfits, jewerly, shoes, etc. that I find in magazines, hear about on tv or just experience live while out and about. I figured I would take time here on my blog to post up some of my fabulous finds since I seemed to have become a point person for finding the perfect look for friends and family.

On one my adventures home to PA I found this amazing modern yet vampy wedding dress at Prisilla of Boston that I went ga-ga for...everything about this look enticed me, the cinched waist, dramatic ruffling and also the simplicity of the cut at the bottom. I also liked how they made it a bit throw-back with the three stringed pearls and jeweled necklace..it was so vintagy it whisked you off the land of the Great Gatsby--take me away (a girl can wish can't she?)


Next up on the fab list are these AMAZING flower endorned shoes that cough, cough I get to wear as a bridesmaid to a wedding--and YES Jenny might be the MOST AMAZING and fashion forward bride I know, but seriously people these shoes are a dream come true! I want them in every color, particulary the fuschia ones (so va-va-voom), and to boot they are comfy. Granted I have only strutted around in my apt with them and they have been dance tested but so far so good..Also to plug Zappos here I ordered them and literally got them in 24 hours, it was amazing service, that is hands-down my favorite on-line shoe store!



Lately I have been letting my locks grow and have been at amiss on how to wear my hair...that is when my super stylish and long and curly haired lil sis comes to the resue. While home a month ago she suggested that I try a trendy loose braid in the front of my head as to frame my face and just overall "soften" my look. Apparently I am "too DC or corporate" with the super straight bob look, ha, but I didn't want to go my sister's route of entire Brooklyn fashionista so this braid worked for me. Cheryl twisted it up in two seconds and secured it with a few bobby pins (I don't think that girl leaves home without them) and then also just blended into my hair. I haven't been able to recreate it exactly the way she did but then again I am not use to braiding my own hair...I never masted doing a French braid to my hair in Girl Scout's so I am blaming in on that..needless to say those in need of new long locks idea I would say give this one a whirl..















I lastly though it neccessary to end this post on a hot note...which is exactly what I got when I discovered this "Jump Up and Kiss Me" hot sauce. Not a surprise I was attracted to this particular hot sauce becuase of its smoochtastic label display, but I got to be honest that make a great passion fruit hot sauce flavor that is incredible on fish tacos! I am usually totally intimidated by all of the hot sauce choices at California Tortilla but this is now going to be my staple...






















Until next month's style file keep your pumps HIGH and your pout GLOSSY ladies :)

Smooches,
Madame K

Decal-La-Pollooza!

I recently moved into this amazing one bedroom apartment that has spured my creativity full on! I wanted to spruce up the walls but did not want to paint them so I found myself doing some decorating research online with different blogs for ideas...everything seemed pretty normal with the wall hangings, shelf displays, yada yada but then I came across an article in Lucky magazine that talked about how the French use of decals for their interior decorating was "all the rage." I figured if the tres chic are French are down I have to give this ganger, resulting in me finding this amazing website Dezign with a Z.

Peach Cherry Blossoms

The Peach Cherry blossoms was an easy pick for my living room...I have a whole jungle theme going on there and I liked how I could customize both the color of the flowers and the branch to my liking. It was also easy to put on the wall even for a larger decal, you simple press down the decal like a sticker on the space you want to stick it, go over the entire decal with a credit card so there are no air pockets and then pull off the clear pastic sheet--Ta Da, you have a fabulous wall display! I must say this one in particular looks like I painted it on the wall.

I also decided to put up a spray of bamboo leaves close to the entrance way of my apartment, it sets the scene for "entering into the jungle" and of course the vibrant pop of color is nice to room that decorated with a chocolate brown accent rug and a large mocha colored selectional.

Then came the item that really sparked this entire endeavor the HUGE RED LIPS or my signature SMOOCHE! I seriously could NOT resist buying this it just SCREAMED Me, Love it when you find things like this in life :) It also goes with my whole martini girl theme in the dining room...I have the smooche placed as an after thought below my martini girl (soon to be girls when I order the other two) and I must say it looks devine :)

The final or I should say first decal that I put up was this one in my bedroom of a jeweled baroque style chandelier..believe-it-or-not I found this at Target randomly, or perhaps it found me! I think the attached jewels could have gone glam or tacky and I am thankful to say they got the "glam" vote from me...I have showed this picture to sooo many people and they think its a really chandelier, how funny!

Not sure if I can attest that I started a fade here or that "decals" are the new "Andy Warhool" must have art, but what I can say is that I love my decals and I am glad I got to try something new out to add that certain "je ne sais quai" that the Diva Den needed..

Smooches,

Madame K

No Sparks Email

So many of you know that my infamous "no sparks" email template has become quite popular these past of couple of years. Like most multi-tasking women I thought it was appropriate to conjure up an email template to write to a guy who you just didn't feel "the spark" with after the first date or two. Its just a considerate way to let them down and be honest with yourself. In this day in age of online dating and technology let's be real, we need something like the "no sparks" email, its like our own personal "cheat sheet" for dating! I feel like this should be one of those "modern girls guides to living rules"...# 131 When it doubt type the "no sparks" email out...So I have decided to post my latest and great version of this email for you

Version 1: After a First Date (or could be used after 2-3 dates)
Hey (insert name),
so first and foremost I have to say that I really think honesty is a virtue and I want to be honest with you moving forward because I think its the right thing to do. Although I have had a really great time hanging out with and getting to know you, I would be lying if I didn't say that I feel like there is something amiss, you know "the sparks". I don't believe in playing games or wasting anyones' time so I wanted to come clean with you about this before this progressed any further. Simply put, you deserve the best and all of the sparks this world has to give and so do I....

I am sorry if I led you on in anyway as this was never my intention. I truly wish their was an easier way to put this but I don't think hallmark has made a card for it yet ;P Regardless, I wish you the best in the pursuit of your plus one.

-Insert your Name

Version 2: Dating after 4-5 weeks...

Hey (Insert Guy's Name)
Thanks again for last night you are truly a great guy, and although I did have a good time with you I wanted to come clean and just say that I don't think the spark is there like I thought. I truly apologize if I led you on in any way but know that this was never my intention. At the end of the day I just feel that we are in different places in our lives and want different things. Its neither good nor bad just the reality of the situation. What I can say undeniably is that you're going to make some girl very, very happy someday but I think that day is too far away for me.
I hope we can still be cool if we run into one another - I've definitely had fun with you!

-(Insert Your Name)

Verison 3: After dating for a month or 2....

(Insert Guy's Name)
I wanted to write you this email to clear the air about a few things.....listen our relationship was what it was- a fun, carefree, unexpected series of events, nothing more and nothing less. I am sorry if I have hurt in any way that was never my intention, and honestly I thought things slowly died and all was well.

We are just worlds apart and need to go our separate ways. I wish you all the luck in the world finding your plus one..you deserve the best.
-(Insert Your Name)

Smooches,

Madame K!