The Perfect Black Handbag

I love handbags.Seriously? I quite love them. I have a nice collection of bags, but it is the black handbags that are the most versatile. Every woman needs a great black handbag in her wardrobe. My Michael Kors Hamilton is such a versatile bag, that I wear it for work, play and everything in between. 

 

So often I have gotten requests from lots of you to see my handbag collection and my jewelry collection, so I thought this post on the versatility of a classic black handbag was timely. Michael Kors has become very trendy in recent years, but the shape and structure of the Hamilton bag is classic and I prefer classic and timeless over trendy any day of the week. Stay tuned for a fun post on the beautiful, unusual eyecatching statement jewelry in my collection, but for now lets take a look at how versatile a great black handbag can be.

This bag can be seen in multiple posts like this one with vibrant orange and my signature statement jewelry. you can see more of this post by clicking here

 

Great for work like this classic stripe on stripe ensemble. See more of this post by clicking here

 

Perfect any time of year. See more of this look by clicking here

 

 

Perfect with leopard. See more here

 

Fun, playful, classic, timeless. See more of this fun look here  

Don't you just love a great handbag? I know I do:-)

 

Late summer inspiration

With scorching temperatures it is hard to even think about winter clothes. Late summer is that time of year where summer is on the way out, but it is to warm to wear winter clothes. This is the time of year to wear transitional looks. You can easily winterize your summer dress, by pairing it with a sweater or cardigan and swapping out your sandals for cute boots.

 

 In Southern California, we have warm weather most days of the year and it rarely gets cold, so in this climate wearing layers work well or picking clothing that you can wear in any season.

I pulled together some looks that work perfect for late summer and are great transitions into fall. The look above features mint green, which most people associate with spring and summer, but paired with gray it is a great late summer or fall look.

This burst of yellow adds a nice hint of color to the neutral palette of gray and black. It is bold, but completely professional enough to wear to work.

This classic black and white ensemble can be worn anytime of year. The scarf and cardigan are the perfect pieces to take this into fall and winter. A nice statement coat is perfect to layer over this outfit in cold weather.

This look has a beautiful color palette of warm browns, cream and burnt orange. Perfect for late summer and

What are your favorite looks?

Banana Nice Cream

Sweets seem to get me in a whole lot of trouble. Do sweets whisper your name too? Are you guilty of gorging on chocolate, red velvet cake, cookies, and all manner of sweet stuff that tastes great going down, but forces you to run 4 miles to undo the damage. 

 

Oh? is it just me? LOL .Have you ever wanted a delicious dessert that wouldn't have you reaching in your closet for your fat pants the next morning? Do I have your attention?  What if I told you this sweet goodness only requires 1 ingredient and a good blender or food processor? Actually for me, it requires 3 ingredients because I'm funny like that, but all you need is some bananas, or nanners as I call them:-) Healthy and guilt free eating.  Dessert you can enjoy without having to unbutton your pants when you're done. This sweet treat is called...

Wait for it

"Nice Cream"

 

 You will need some fresh bananas. The riper they are the better. Brown and spotty is the best for making nice cream. 

I like to add a little almond butter just for a bit of extra flavor and texture. Peanut Butter also works very well if you don't have almond butter

I also add a hint of vanilla extract

 

Peel your bananas and slice into chunks. Freeze them and then you are ready to make a batch of nice cream. Even if you didn't add anything extra and just used very ripe bananas, you will have a healthy guilt free dessert. Finally a treat that is tasty and niiiiiiiiiiice to us.

 

 Hello Nice Cream

Ingredients 

3 large ripe bananas
3 Tablespoons almond butter (peanut butter works very well also)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions
Peel your bananas and cut into small chunks. Freeze bananas for a few hours until they are frozen solid. Take frozen bananas, add almond butter and vanilla and put in a blender, food processor, or nutri bullet. Pulse the blender or whatever you are using until the frozen bananas start to look smooth and creamy like soft serve ice cream.

Bon Appetit!

 

The Successful Womans Credo

It takes a lot to build a solid foundation in the midst of naysayers, scorners and mockers, but a woman with the sky above her, fire in her and the earth beneath her can do amazing feats through the power of God. It is God that guides the footsteps of those that follow him and puts the fire in a woman to build something amazing with the bricks others have thrown at her.

She Can.

She Will.

Watch her.

Build

Yellow Inspiration

Hey loves!  I was just thinking about the color yellow and how vibrant and eye catching it can be. Through the history of this blog I have worn yellow more than a few times. Yellow is such a happy color and what better color to brighten up your summer days:-)

Here are some inspiration photos of all the different ways I have incorporated yellow into my wardrobe and be sure to check out the Limoncello Tiramisu recipe, which appeared in an earlier post and is included in this post since it is such a perfect summer recipe. I hope you have been enjoying your summer and the beautiful weather.

This post is from my birthday a few years back

Yellow and a little pattern mixing with zebra and stripes

Yellow pairs well with dark colors, neutrals and hints of other bold colors used sparingly like I have done with my shoes and jewelry

I think this just might be the perfect summer dessert. This Limoncello Tiramisu is full of bright citrus flavor. Don't worry about the alcohol content in the Limoncello Liqueur because when you cook with alcohol the alcoholic content cooks out of it and leaves only the great flavor. You can find the recipe here 

and read about my hilarious experience of tasting Limoncello Liqueur for the first time.

Did you ever think yellow was such a versatile color?

 

 Yellow with stripes and leopard

 

Yellow and black always makes me think of bumblebees:-)

I hope my different interpretations of yellow encourage to experiment more with it in your wardrobe. The look above is a very recent look from this summer and I think the animal print pumps add a little pizazz to a very classic, yet stylish look. 

 Have an amazing day!