Happy Birthday to Me!

Taking a break from blogging for the day to

celebrate my birthday!

xox

I've Got All This Time on My Hands...

Considering that my winter break from college was abnormally long, I had quite a bit of free time on my hands. Having the free time forced me to find ways to not waste my time, and here are some things I came up with. Enjoy!

Bake Cheesecake Cupcakes

I got the recipe out of "500 Cupcakes" by Fergal Connolly.

Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

5 tbsp. sweet butter, melted

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 cups cream cheese, softened

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (or strawberries, or blackberries)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit. Place 24 paper baking cups into cupcake pan.

Put the cracker crumbs into a medium bowl and stir in the butter. Spoon tablespoons of the mixture into the cups, pressing firmly into the bottom. Chill until set.

In a large bowl, beat the ricotta until smooth. Add the cream cheese, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar, blending until smooth. Slowly add the eggs, blending well.

Spoon the mixture into cups.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and place on a cooling rack. Chill until time to serve. Top with fruit.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Here's the final product!

They were a huge hit. I thoroughly suggest hopping on a treadmill before eating them, though, because it's so easy to eat two or three in one sitting.

Okay, so the next activity? Pick up "Bloodsucking Fiends" by Christopher Moore. A love story about a vampire and a mortal, I was constantly cracking up reading this. It's a quick read and so enjoyable. If you hated Twilight, you'll love it. If you liked Twilight, you'll still love it.

Check out the full synopsis here.

So if you don't have time to make cupcakes or read an entire book, but you're still bored one night, check out the movie "The Soloist" starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., an inspiring film that challenges viewers to be passionate about their endeavors.

Check out "The Soloist" trailer here.

Have fun not being bored, guys!

xox

LBB

Rebirth of Knee Socks

Yesterday's combination of God sobbing (aka torrential downpour) and my recent fascination with DIY-projects inspired one of my favorite projects yet: decorated socks. I know it sounds riveting (please sense my sarcasm), but the finished result actually looks great. This knee sock DIY is perfect for Catholic School alums, considering they're sure to have a plethora of knee socks in their top drawers (unless they've already burned them).

ANYWAY, here's what you'll need to get started:

*Note: Click on the images to enlarge.*

A pair of neutral colored knee socks, buttons, a needle, and some thread.

I sifted through a canister of buttons my beautiful mother's had since before I can remember, and I found this old mini-manilla envelope for extra buttons and was a little more inspired.

I chose buttons all within the same color palette as the socks, but you can obviously choose whichever colors tickle your fancy.

After about an hour and a half or so of sewing, here's how the socks came out!

Front view

Back view

Fun view!

Here are some tips if you're going to decorate your own socks:

1. Try to choose buttons (or beads, or crystals, etc.) that only have one or two holes to sew through. The four-hole buttons were a little more aggravating because you have to sew through the fairly small opening at the top of the socks; multiple stitches are annoying.

2. Choose a pair of socks with scrunch lines towards the top so you can accurately place the buttons in the same places on both socks without making markings.

3. Neutral color socks are best so that the socks make a statement, not a statement on the "Worst Dressed" page in People Mag.

What to wear these tootsie warmers with?

1. High-waisted a-line skirts and simple, clean-lined tops.

2. Shoes of the same color as the socks so the line of your leg continues through your foot; you won't cut yourself stumpy.

3. Layer them over leggings of the same color, a flowing or jersey knit dress, and a blazer.

Enjoy making the knee socks!

xox

Bubble Wrap Couture

Flat Stanley had the envy-producing ability to travel the world by being mailed in letters, and now with this Bubble Wrap Couture dress, you, too, can be United States Postal Service-friendly!

I'm slightly kidding, of course, but only slightly.

Last night, after work, two of my uber-creative coworkers and I wanted to have an arts and crafts project. We were going to go to Michael's to buy beads and crystals to make decorative knee-socks (which will be seen in an upcoming post!), but, alas, Sunday nights suck for retail.

We settled for Target, which was somehow open, but there were no beads. After scouring the aisles for about 20 minutes, we passed some bubble wrap, and someone came up with the brilliant idea to make a Bubble Wrap Couture dress!

Enjoy the visuals, kids.

Sketching plans for the dress.

The corset back!

Up-close front view

And the finished product! Eat your heart out, Lady Gaga.

Love the matching cuff we made!

I'm in absolute shock at how wonderfully this Bubble Wrap dress finished up.

The night felt a bit like Project Runway, the challenge being to make a dress out of three materials: bubble wrap, duct tape, and ribbon.

Tim Gunn would be proud.

Hope you guys love the BWC dress!

xox

LBB

Before They're Famous

Every once in a while, we meet people that inspire us, people that drive us, people that make us want to be better. In other words, the future world-shakers. Well, in the case of the Garcia family, there happen to be two world-shakers, Frank and Alex. Today, we'll focus on Frank (simply because of chronology). For those of you that don't know Frank, you should be upset that your paths haven't crossed yet. An NYU student studying Music Composition for Film and Media, Frank is in the heart of the creative entertainment industry, not to mention the fashion capital of the world, New York City. My three favorite things about Frank? His fearlessness to test limits, his uniquely creative sense of style, and his ability to give me an ab workout with how damn funny he is.

I know you're all curious to get to know Frank, so enjoy our interview:

Little Black Blog: Tell me a little bit about your internship.

Frank Garcia: I'm working at Paramount Pictures in New York doing publicity. It's been an incredible year. The office is right in Times Square in the MTV building and the people I work for are awesome. I'm the only intern in the national department so I feel like I'm really getting to know everyone and do more than just stapling and filing. I get to do research and find press contacts and work at film screenings and even meet the occasional celeb! It's a dream internship.

LBB: What does your daily life consist of?

FG: Hm, well, I have work and class 5 days a week so that keeps me pretty busy, but as long as I feel like I've done something even remotely productive that day on my own, I'm pretty happy. Usually, that means practicing piano - but more often than not, it's finding the shoes I've been looking for for three months.

LBB: Describe your personal style.

FG: Here's my philosophy on style: I don't care what anyone says, you are judged based on the way you dress on a daily basis, so it's important that you're aware of the image you convey, so take it seriously. That being said, it should be fun too! Otherwise we'd all be drab and severe looking. Personally, I love a sleek NYC/Parisian look. My go-to store is Club Monaco or Dior Homme. Their clothing is classic and yet anything but stale. I hate to blend into the blah-clothing-monotony but I also don't want to look like I'm trying way too hard and look ridiculous. I find the best way to avoid both extremes is to buy well cut, high quality pieces that speak for themselves. Add a little hipster flare (a symptom of being an NYU student living in the East Village) and I think that about sums me up!

LBB: Who do you consider the most influential person in your life?

FG: The most influencial person in my life, besides you, would have to be my sister. She's my best friend and I like to think we've grown up together, not just in the same house as a lot of siblings do, but actually learned from each other along the way.

LBB: Where do you find the wonderful pieces your closet consists of?

FG: My latest additions to my closet: a pair of suede desert boots from Saks, a few plaid buttondowns from Uniqlo (so cheap, so good), a long oversized cardigan from Top Man that I'm a little obsessed with, a new pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers, and more cashmere sweaters than anyone should own.

My staples: I always wear a few pieces of jewlery that are meaningful to me. I don't care about matching gold to gold or silver to silver really. I think of them more like tattoos than accessories because I wear them not to complete an outfit, but as a part of me. Clothing wise I have a collection of things I bought while traveling that I always try to wear. I'm absolutely addicted to traveling so whenever I go somewhere new I buy a piece of art that I can always keep as a momento, and some kind of clothing that I can wear to remind me of the place. The last thing I bought was a pair of custom strappy leather sandals from a shoemaker in Athens Greece.

By now, I'm sure you're dying to see Frank's style. Your wish is granted:

For anyone interested, Frank will be modelling in the Fusion Fashion Show in New York City the first weekend of March. Tickets are $10, and I'll be selling tickets shortly.

(More on Fusion in another post!)

Thanks for interviewing, Frank! Love, love, love!

xox

LBB