A Girl's Got Needs: Flask Bangles

I don't need much in life.  But I need one of these bad boys.

Yep, I need a flask bangle.  To wear with everything. 

Get yours here:  Cynthia Rowley

xxemma

McQueen's Rainbow Dress, in Gummies

For those special events when the usual silk frock just wont cut it:

A dress made entirely of gummy bears (50,000 gummy bears, to be exact).

The dress, which was inspired by Alexander McQueen's Rainbow Dress, was created by the team over at TWELV Magazine for their debut issue.  The dress weighed 220 pounds, and took three weeks to construct.  The dress required three people to move and manipulate it, which is disappointing, mostly because we would love to wear this bad boy to our next gala.  Who needs couture when you're wearing dessert?

50,000 Gummies

To create the masterpiece, steel wire was twisted into the shape of the dress and covered with a sheet of vinyl. Then 50,000 gummy bears were painstakingly glued on by hand in a colorful pattern reminiscent of a Chevron rainbow.

McQueen's Rainbow Dress - Not as Tasty, Unfortunately

via Racked

A Taste of Fashion Week - Buddakan & Imitation of Christ

This week we were invited to attend the Imitation of Christ preview of their F/W 2012 collection at the ever-epic Buddakan.  The show was dramatic and romantic - highlighted with a magician who made birds appear, women disappear, and awed the audience with flames.  We were impressed.

We've always loved Buddakan - a spectacular space that juxtaposes light and dark, compressed bar spaces with grand double-height dining rooms, taxidermy birds with wax covered bird candle holders.  The lighting is always fantastic (a mark of a well designed restaurant if you ask this girl) for everyone wants to look amazing while dining out.

As one could expect, there was much excitement in the air - models stood (with much strength and perseverance) for 2 hours as bloggers snapped photos, editors meticulously noted, interns tweeted, and yet the magician continued to entertain.  We were seduced by the romantic dresses (specifically that stunning red number), big, messy-yet-lady-like hair, and dramatic eyes all under the massive chandeliers of the main dining room.  Ah, how we crave.  

As we lusted for silk frocks we sipped on champagne spiked with fruit, nibbled on dumplings filled with Edamame, and ate bites of charred beef to name a few of the delicious appetizers that were passed around the crowd.

We continue to be so obsessed by the Edamame dumplings that we did some google research to turn up the recipe!  It sounds rather simple, and we will be making them tonight for our Valentines Day Feast.

Recipe: Edamame Dumplings
Michael Schulson, Previous Executive Chef, Buddakan
Brian Ray & Yang Huang, Current Executive Chefs

Edamame Filling:
3 cups edamame
1/2 pound butter
1/2 cup cream

25 store-bought wonton wrappers

Preparation

In water, cook the edamame until tender. Strain and puree with the other ingredients. Refrigerate the filling overnight until firm.

Put a teaspoon of the filling on a wonton skin; brush with water and fold in half to seal. Steam 5 pieces of the dumplings until tender, approximately 5 minutes.
Serving Size

Makes 25 pieces

**We could taste some Truffle when at Buddakan, so we will be adding a very light touch of Truffle Oil for some extra oomph.

The Library

Recipe via MSNBC

Foodie Film Favorite - Marie Antoinette

We were recently asked what our favorite food scenes from movies are - and somehow, this hostess drew a blank.  Of course, the next day we were reminded of so many scenes that make our mouths water - not only from the delicious food styling, but also the amazing costumes and cinematography.

Our research on Poufs a la Jardiniere reminded us of one of our favorite movies - Marie Antoinette directed by Sophia Coppola.  A delicious film indeed - a story about a girl, a queen, who likes to play cards with her friends, shop, and eat petit fours - what girl doesn't?

The Life.

  

We were obsessed with this film when it came out - the gowns of satin and silk, tall coiffures, the saturated colors, and of course - the gorgeous food.  We adore the banquet scenes with carefully arranged asparagus, lush cakes and jellies, candied orange peels, mini bites of cream topped with berries and pistachios, all served on gilded and hand painted china.  Swoon.  

Without further ado:

Ah yes, sweet decadence.  Too bad all this extravagance ended in the beheadding of Ms Antoinette.  None the less, this hostess sure wishes she was there in Versailles to drink champagne, eat delicious cakes, and gamble with the girls.  


One last lust worthy video that is sure to make your mouth water! After all, who doesn't want candy?

Coiffures & Carrot Sticks

No longer an industry secret, wigs of the rich and famous are becoming more and more ostentatious than ever.  Wigs are all the rage these days - superstars wearing a different color and a different style each day.  We've been watching our favorite ladies wearing all the shades of the rainbow: Natalie Portman in pink, Rihanna in red, Katy Perry in blue, yellow, purple, and one of our favorites - Gaga in gray.  But just recently, Ms. Manaj took it up a notch at the launch of Versace's line for H&M.  Her coiffures of palm fronds reminded us of the grandiose hairstyles of the 18th century.

Ms. Manaj - Foliage and All

Ladies of French courts would adorn themselves with extravagant themed wigs decorated with flowers, model birds, butterflies, ships, and even food.  These wigs were extremely expensive, equivalent to 5-6 acres of land, and women were known to bankrupt their husbands trying to keep up with the fashion trends.

The Green Stall - Matthew Darly - 1777

It was common for women to wear vegetables in their hair - a pouf a la jardiniere - including such tasty morsels as cabbage, radishes, herbs, turnips, carrots, and artichokes.

"I shall never again wear anything but vegetables! It looks so simple, and is so much more natural than even flowers." - Overheard in Court

Marie Antoinette - La Belle Poule 

Fruit Stall - Matthew Darly - 1777

Another Satirical etching represents a woman putting Carmen Miranda to shame - balancing melons, full fruit baskets, pineapples, pears, and a bushel of peaches on top of her head.

But a lady is not limited to wearing perishables on their head, how about a wig made of a protective product, such as Saran Wrap?  We're completely smitten with these wigs by Kate Cusack - they too capture the spirit of the grandiose, the extravagant, and the glamour of the 18th century versions.  We would just die to wear one of these to a grand ball!

Want more wigs?  Waiter, There's a Hair in my Satire on BibliOdyssey

Picnic Heaven

As far as Hollywood royalty goes, Grace Kelly is tough to beat. An Academy award-winner, an actual princess, and also, according to co-star Jimmy Stewart, just about the nicest lady he ever met. Plus, just look at how elegantly she picnics!

In honor of her Grace - as well as of picnicking! - Hermes is celebrating the launch of their Kelly Picnic bag by creating the iconic totes out of picnic essentials.

The actual Kelly Picnic bag

I don't know whether I want them on my arm or in my mouth. Why not both? With Grace Kelly as our icon, who's to say we can't have it all?

Delicious on your Lips and Hips: Apollinas x Stella McCartney

Sometimes a dress comes along that's nearly good enough to eat.

via StellaMcCartney.com

Apollina, a DC attorney by day who moonlights as a talented baker, is clearly a girl after our own hearts.

Inspired by the zesty lemon prints featured in Stella McCartney's Spring 2011 RTW collection, Apollina crafted a summery citrus cake that's almost too pretty to eat.

Almost.

There may be some sort of fashion edict that eschews matching your dress to your dessert, but we don't want to hear it. We would be thrilled to channel a deranged lemon tree at our next tea party, chic in a citrus shift, serving up slices of sumptuous Stella Cake.

Tasty.

xxGG

via

How 'Bout Them Loubou's?

Let us talk for a minute or so about the still life.  We have always been lovers of the still life, there's something so magical about how a painting can make an inanimate object, well, animate.  Although the genre is often considered the lowest in the hierarchy, we nonetheless find ourselves transported with the lush focus and detail spent on hours of layering paint upon paint in the shape of say, a strawberry.  Such patience.  Such focus.  We envy.

We've not been shy to share our love for food in art - if it be ladies rolling around in cotton candy, portraits of handsome steaks, or the contemporary Dutch portraits of cheese.  But, dear readers, it's about time that our love of the 18th century still life went contemporary.

Today we share with you Peter Lippmann's still life studies of fruit, wine, honey, and Louboutin. 

Swoon.


But wait, there's more..

 

Yes please.  Want more?  Check out Peter Lippmann's website for more mouth watering inducing work.  We can't decide what to put on lock-down, the refrigerator or our credit card.  Probably the latter, a girl's gotta eat, after all...

via Wicked Halo

Brown Baggin' It

Back in grade school, the hours leading up to lunchtime were fraught with delicious anticipation.

What secrets were hidden in our brown paper bags that day? Bologna and Kraft singles on Wonder bread? Or peanut butter and honey on whole wheat? Would we be able to trade our Oreos for a Nutter Butter? Or - god forbid - did Mom pack fruit for dessert? That crinkly brown bag signified a world of culinary excitement and possibility, and for a young Gastronomista, plundering its treasures at noon was a thrill rivaled only by the monkey bars at recess.

So when we caught sight of this trompe-l'oeil clutch by Marie Turnor, our sentimental little hearts swooned.

The crinkly tote is constructed of buttery Italian leather and comes in two sizes - Picnic, which will fit your keys, phone, wallet, and an empanada, and Dinner, which can accommodate, say, a checkbook, a brush, a ginger beer, and a loaded bahn mi (thank goodness our palates have matured a bit.)

We'll have that nostalgia to-go, please.

xxGG

via