Fascinating Fascinators

While I'm not generally interested in anything Royal, Kate Middleton is really doing her damnedest to BRING IT. It's getting hard to ignore, especially when she starts rocking one of fashion's long-forgotten accessories, the fascinator.

Oh sure, Damon Wayons tried to bring it back in the early '90s, but for some reason his portrayal of a gay film critic for In Living Color's "Men on Film" just didn't do the trick:

{This is a Thanksgiving fascinator, obvi}

But now that the fascinator has finally gotten a little validity from Kate and even fashion daredevil SJP, they're popping up in all shapes, sizes and prices! Most of the really good, unique ones are still in the UK, but no doubt we'll see a lot of knock-offs showing up in the likes of Forever21 over the next few months. And that's how you'll know to stop wearing them.

These are the ones that have caught my eye:

{It'd be fair to say I have a thing for feathers}

1. Mayfair Sapphire Fascinator, £85

2. Mae Feather Fascinator, £75

3. Philip Treacy Warhol mouths Fascinator

4. Lucie Fascinator, £99.00

5. Etsy, Ring Leader Top Hat, $249

Stick-to-itiveness

Ever since I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the one with Gene Wilder, mind you, not that craptastic veneered-Johnny Depp one), I've had a mild obsession with anything gold. Coupled with my lifelong obsession with the Wizard of Oz and ruby slippers (as evident in the video below), it's no surprise these gold glitter nail polish stickers by Sally Hansen piqued my interest.

I've been rocking my own combination of gold glittery nail polish for the last couple of months using this very tough to remove top coat. Tired of blowtorching specs of glitter off my nails, I shelled out the $9.99 for the "real nail polish stips" in hopes of achieving the same look with a better wear and easier removal.

 

{Yep, those are my feet. You're welcome}

The kit includes instructions, an orange stick, a mini nail file, and of course the nail polish strips.

Pretty sure the strips are designed for fingernails, but I figured my toes could use a little attention. 

It looks pretty sick at first, kinda like you're going for the world record of Longest Toenail, but it's just until you get it situated on there just right. Then you file away the excess.

In the end, they turned out pretty well. They were easy to apply, albeit a bit time-consuming at first. Plus, there's no nail polish smell and because they're stickers, no dry time! So that's, in the words of Miley Cyrus, "pretty cool."

Ten bucks might seem a bit steep, but they say it lasts up to 10 days, and with 20 strips, you can get two manicures out of it (unless you're some kind of 11-fingered weirdo). I like the glittery shades, but the display at my drug store had a couple dozen colors to choose from, including a black lace situation. I think I'll try that one next.

{Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips}

Short Ribs and Cruciferous Vegetables for the Sickly, Gassy

My boyfriend had hip surgery last week.

No, I'm not dating a 70-year-old.

He has a fairly uncommon hip bone situation that I'm not educated enough about to give you more information. I can barely pronounce the condition, okay?? Let's just say, the "Winter of Kyle" is quickly turning into the "Enslavement of Melissa", complete with doing all the grocery shopping and cooking.

{Mmmm, barely roasted short ribs covered in freshly ground pepper--yes, FRESHLY ground by me!}

Kyle's mom came in town last week for the first few days following his surgery. When she left on Friday night, I felt inspired to do something special and comforting for the guy who bought me this, so I made Ina Garten's short ribs (minus the leek, fennel, and rosemary, since I didn't have any and wasn't venturing out in the freezing cold to get any!) and served it atop mashed cauliflower.

{Any recipe that calls for a bottle of wine is probably a good one.}

You could easily do this with mashed potatoes, or even egg noodles, but Kyle and I are doing another Paleo challenge to kick of the new year. It really warrants its own post, but the Paleo diet is basically the best thing you can do for yourself. I would say "and others around you", but considering the amount of cruciferous vegetables you're likely to consume on said diet, it's really more cruel than anything else. I'll profile it in more detail for you another time, but just know that this short rib recipe is pretty Paleo, minus the wine, which by the way, you could omit.

{These pictures were taken with my new Canon Rebel XTi!! Can you tell I'm excited??}

Whether you're doing Paleo or not, mashed cauliflower is a great way to introduce more vegetables into your diet. You can do the same thing with parsnips too. Just stay away from people you care about 30 minutes after you eat them. What I'm trying to say is, you'll be farting...a lot.

Recipe below.

Mashed Cauliflower

Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 Tbsp butter (optional)

1-2 Tbsp milk or cream

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.

2. While you wait for the water to come to a boil, chop cauliflower into 1/2" chunks. It doesn't matter how you chop them--you're going to dump them in a food processor anyway!

3. Boil cauliflower for about 25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft enough to cut with a wooden spoon.

4. Drain cauliflower very well. I usually let it sit in the strainer for about 5 minutes, then take the back of a wooden spoon and press the cauliflower to get as much water out as possible. Watery mashed cauliflower is not what you're going for.

5. After drained well, dump the cauliflower into a food processor. Add the other ingredients* (butter is optional, but you really need the milk/cream to get the mixture moving) and pulse until you've reached your desired consistency. The smoother the better.

This stores well in the refrigerator for no more than 2 days.

*Try experimenting with other ingredients like green onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese, etc., but keep in mind, they'll add calories/might not be paleo. I'm pretty sure it will be incredibly delicious though!

ShoesOMG!

In an effort to prove to you that indeed, this blog will start encompassing non-cupcake things, let's talk about footwear, shall we? This is a tricky time of year because you want your feet to stay warm, but you also want to look good (at least, you should want to). I've compiled a few shoes I'm currently obsessed with. Whether they'll keep you warm isn't my problem, but they are great for the transition from winter to spring.

If shoes could be snorted, I'd probably have leather bits on my nostrils right this moment. Here's why:

1. Iris Van Herpen X United Nude, $1,295.95: Only 100 of these made, the crab claw shape means noone else will have them, but at the price of a month's rent, you could be the woman who literally lived in a shoe.

2. Sam Edelman Nivan T-Strap Platform, $98: I'm a HUGE fan of Sam Edelman becuase not only are his shoes adorable and unique, but they're actually really comfortable. "A 5-inch heel, comfortable? Shenanningans!" you say, but it's true! And with just a teeny peep toe and a metallic pewter shade, these are a great shoe to transition from winter to spring.

3. J.Crew Paulina ankle-tie Ballet flats, $188: I rarely wear flats, it's true, but after seeing Black Swan, I'm determined to turn my spring wardrobe into a prima ballerina's dream come true. These will help me do so.

4. The Haus of Price Multi-Gem Shoe, $250: Does this or does this not just make you smile? 'Nuff said.

5. Jeffrey Campbell Lita Multi-Glitter, $159.95: I'm pretty sure his initials are JC for a reason--he IS a God. Again, I bet this shoe is comfortable because of the high platform. A higher platform displaces the height of the heel. It's practically like walking on a cloud when you think of it that way. A cloud made of glitter.

O. is Me, Too!

I love cupcakes. Really, I do. But lately, I've been cultivating other interests. 

The face of someone who really loves cupcakes

"WHAT? She has OTHER interests?? How DARE she?", you say? Look, I'm as outraged as you! It was pretty easy being exclusively obsessed with cupcakes for the last few years. And of course, "things I'm interested in" are almost entirely dictated by how much effort I have to put into them, but I just can't help it. There's so much more I want to share with you, like pictures of me wearing cute clothes, pictures of me teaching you how to do make-up, pictures of me making non-cupcake things, and much, much more (pictures of me)!

What I'm trying to say is, CupcakesOMG! is growing up. While I'll still keep you updated on all things cupcake, I'll also share the other things in life that make me say "OMG!" But I know I couldn't possibly refocus my blog without a redesign to further iterate the point.

Cue Meg Owen of O. is Me. Meg was a friend of mine in junior high. To say we were both highly active in our drama department would be an understatement. Thanks to modern-day stalking devices, Meg and I have reconnected. She started her blog about a year ago as a way to document her wedding for folks who couldn't make it. But like so many blogs (ahem), the theme evolved into her musings about everything from teaching drama at her old high school to her cat, Dexter.  

Image via O. is Me

Sometimes, she even writes about cupcakes!

Meg's blog is realllllllllllll cute, so I reached out to her to inquire about the design, and wouldn't ya know it? SHE did the design herself. Seeing as she would have two weeks off for the holidays (perks of being a teacher), she said she would happily redesign my blog!

There's something y'all should know about me: if you offer me something, be it a bite of your sandwich, an invite to your party, a blog redesign, I WILL take you up on it. And I won't feel bad about it either. Luckily, Meg was more than happy to do it--or so she said. The whole process was pretty quick and done mostly over e-mail. Meg came up with a basis for the header and I suggested gold sequins (obvi). I realize this probably isn't an ongoing hobby of Meg's, but the truth is, she did a fantastic job and was really quick!! If I were her, I'd start a side business doing this. I would also charge an exorbitant amount to do it, but hey, that's me. 

So there you have it: CupcakesOMG! is growing up, and thanks to the help of an old friend, I get to be as superficial as ever. Thanks, Meg!