DIY Guy Fawkes Day Celebration

 This day is celebrated in England as the day Gay Fawkes attempted to replace the Protestant monarch with a Catholic one, he failed. Now England has a Thanksgiving and 4^th of July style fireworks, celebrating this plot gone wrong. Casa W decided to participate this year in the strange event. We were motivated by food, fire and spirits.

photo Shaun Killy W

I guess the poor man had it coming but I can’t help but wonder what a Catholic monarch would look like in this day and age.

SW

Rustic Apple Oat Cake- Parkin for Guy Fawkes Day

Parkin for Guy Fawkes Day

November 5^th

Another likely consequence of James being assassinated is that Shakespeare would never have produced Macbeth, which was written to curry favour with James and probably first performed in 1606, in the wake of the Gunpowder Plot.

by Max Davidson Nov 2011

photo Beauty by SW

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup organic oats
• 3 teaspoons ground ginger powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons molasses
• 4 tablespoons of honey
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt mortared
• 3 oz organic milk
• 2 in piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 medium apple, peeled and diced

How To

1. Oven should be set to 350f. Use an 8x8 cake pan and line with parchment
2. Mix together the oats, flour, baking powder, ground ginger and salt. I used a large wooden spoon to cover the oats well.
3. Add in the fresh ginger and the diced apple
4. In a small sauce pan add the stick of butter, molasses, and brown sugar. Cook at low heat until the mixture is blended together. Do not boil.
5. Stir the mixture into the dry mix and blend thoroughly with your spoon and then add the 3 oz of milk stir till you see a batter quality
6. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and bake for 60 minutes.
7. I cool mine on a wire rack up where the dog can’t get to it! He eats sweets.
8. Once it’s cooled to a warm temp we use either custard (if I’m ambitious enough to make it) or whipped cream for the easy of it.

We like ours on the ginger side feel free to use less if you’re not partial to ginger.

Enjoy

SW

Where to stay during NYFW spring

The Hudson Hotel during Fashion Week is the center of the universe for me.

I love this space. The library is a favorite spot, not just because of its comfort but because I imagine I’m the Duchess in the Gossip Girl episode with Nate Archibald, remember that one! (Here’s the link with caution). The Hudson seems to be a fashion insider favorite for NYFW. I see that two of my favorite fashion bloggers are staying here, peaceloveshea.com and kayture.com. My personal love affair with the Hudson and the Columbus Circle area started when I first attended the WWD CEO Summit. While exploring one evening  I came across Shun Lee Café, by far the best Chinese food in NY and its super close to the fashion action. 

Yellow, Fendi, Italy and Lemoncello

Fun video for Giuliana and Bill Rancic in Villa Massa it's fun!

Happy Birthday to Me!

DIY: Matte Chanel Black and Gold Wishes

It's not Zac Posen's Baby!

Definitely not the beginning of the story but it's a start.

I'm a 3rd generation award winning hairstylist. I basically had no choice in my profession, it's in the DNA. I've owned my own Salon/Boutique- Blu Globefusion which was featured in Lucky magazine. My expert advise has been quoted in Real Simple, my work was published in WWD. Then this happened ! No it's not Zac's baby 

I will say this, he's so sweet and he's definitely a family man. He reminisced about his sisters pregnancy and I told him about the time his mother was the Key Note Speaker at the WWD CEO Summit and what an inspiration she was for me. The summit is like a major Power lunch. Industry leaders from around the globe participate. Marc Jacobs and Vera Wang where also in attendance that same year. 

Anyway I went from Bi coastal stylist to Bed rest mama. What a shocker for me. I was not ready for the serious slow down! I has been a blessing for me "the slowdown". It's been a time of reflection and redirection. The past few years I've been a stay at home mom, who  attentions have been focused on my little one. Fast forward to now and this is my reward and the reason I've re-entered the world of beauty

It's a girl! Now I have a little person who's interest in art, make up, hair and clothing rival mine. 

So it's all started flooding back to me, the rush you get when the new collections are being shown, the hours of tearing out looks for your look book so you can start your shopping (and girls & boys I LOVE to shop) I have a storage room, a closet and a guest room to prove it. It's great to be a girl! I've got so much I want to tell her but there is only so much a kid can take sooo- a blog was the next best thing to get it all out and you, yes, you the Fashion Community I've loved through the years and has never let me down, now I have a place to chat about it ALL.

I can't wait to talk to you.

XX   SW