Eat Me, Drink Me

1 & 2.  The Regency Cafe Almond Iced Latte and Almond Cupcake with Cherry Frosting

3 & 4. El Rinconcito Veggie Burrito and Horchata 

Because I enjoy procrastinating, reminding myself how I need to stop eating incredibly delicious and fattening foods so I can fit into my new pants,  reminiscing, and because my Mac is finally free of technical difficulties (trying saying all of that in on breath) I am posting these photos of this week's culinary conquests.  Tuesday a friend and I visited my favorite cafe, the Regency, and I had the most delicious cupcake. The icing on these cupcakes is always so good and I often have to convince my self not to buy one of these since they are so big.  But, since I won't be back for a while I let myself get one.  And of course, the Regency makes the best lattes I've ever tasted and this one was no exception.  The next day one of my friends took me to her favorite Mexican restaurant, El Rinconcito, where we both had veggie burritos.  They were huge (just like my stomach).   For those of you who might not have been to sure about drink what was in the photo, I would never wash down my burrito with milk!  The horchata that I did have was very refreshing.  Well, I best be going back to work.  I hope I didn't make you too hungry! 

The View from Here

Center City, Philadelphia 8/14/10

A Week in the Life

1. Jean Jacket: Hydraulic, Shirt: Blue Camel, Shorts: Loomstate for Target, Sandals: Sam Edelman, Bag: Hype, Earrings: A shop in Toledo Spain

2. Vibrant flowers in Rittenhouse Square Farmer's Market

3. Baguettes in Rittenhouse Square Farmer's Market

4. Ring: A New Creation

5. Steaz and A New Creation Ring from Lansdowne Farmer's Market

It's been a while since I've shown you anything I have been wearing lately because to be honest with you if I did post a photo of me in ripped short shorts and a tank top you really wouldn't care would you?  Yes, I must admit that I have dropped the ball style-wise this summer and I really don't like any of my attempts to pick it up (this attempt included).   But hey, that's what yesterday, a couple days in the last 2 weeks, and possibly another this next week are for.  Hopefully by the time I reach the Big Apple and fall starts rearing its impeccably good looking head I will be back to my usual self style wise.  Until then you can amuse yourself by looking at these memories of a day of shopping in Philly.  After a successful stop at Zara I took a stroll to the farmer's market in Rittenhouse Square where vibrant fresh flowers and flour of fresh baguettes caught my eye.  Last week I scored a lovely freshwater pearl cluster ring by Liz Steele-Coats's A New Creation and a delicious Steaz drink at the Lansdowne farmer's market.  Nothing beats a sunny Saturday to shop when the temp's just right.

Heavens, waiting

Left: American Eagle Outfitters, Right: Steve Madden

Answer me this simple question, which shoe do you think would be more comfortable: Exhibit A, the American Eagle rope wedge with a low platform heel, leather ankle strap and fabric peep toe, or the Exhibit B, the Steve Madden cork wedge with a high heel and a suede T-strap?  If you chose Exhibit B you are correct!  Looks can be deceiving; I kind of wanted to make that the title of this post but it lacked the mystery of a Temper Trap lyric so I refrained from doing so.   Fashion is a funny thing, many things are not always what they seem.  In what I believe to be the [paraphrased] words of a shoe designer (Guiseppe Zanotti?), "a shoe should always be more comfortable than it looks."  I wore these Steve Maddens for the first time yesterday for about 7 hours.  I wore the other shoes for the umpteenth time last Saturday and I think I might have almost broke them in except they began to cut into my ankles.  I received the AEs from my mom before my 16th birthday and have worn them every summer since then.  Although they are leather which doesn't take too long for me to break in, I have experienced pain in these shoes if I walk in them for even a short period of time.  I made the mistake of wearing them on a shopping trip to Saks 5th Ave in NYC a short time after they were given to me.  At first they weren't giving me any trouble, but when I made it to the shoe salon I was feeling the pain.  As I entered the room I noticed a small, white piece of cardboard-like material toward the right corner of the room.  As my eyes took in the beauty of the words, "Sale in progress" I let out a sigh of joy.  I let my eyes wander over the myriad of shoes, all on sale and all waiting to adorn my aching feet.  I bet now you're thinking, "this story has a happy ending because Caroline bought an amazing pair of dangerous looking yet comfy designer shoes for a steal!"  Unfortunately for me, the only benefit of Gucci booties being 30% off was that I could go from staring at an ad for those unaffordable shoes in my copy of Vogue while drooling all over the page, to staring at an actual, slightly less unaffordable shoe and even touching it (while attempting to stop the spit from creeping out of my mouth).  Instead of switching my common, mass produced espadrilles for finely crafted Italian stilettos, I left Saks and made the painful journey back to my hotel room to change into my silver gladiator sandals (much more practical).  These silver gladiators had the misfortune of encountering the slivery slickness that is (more than 5) New York puddles during a downpour last summer but that's another story. Yesterday I walked all over my house, up and down stairs, on grass, hardwood, and linoleum in my new wedges and all I had to show for it were some small red marks that faded 10 minutes after I changed into flip flops.  Sometimes, what seems practical can't be perfect and what seems deceptively perfect is. 

Dairy of a Foodie

As many of you know I love to eat, especially healthy, well balanced meals (and ice cream, and cupcakes like the blueberry lemon one I eat today, and muffins but disregard that).  One of my favorite breakfasts is greek yogurt parfaits with fruit and honey. The low cal, low fat peanut butter banana yogurt recipe from Fitness Magazine is especially delicious.  I used Chobani 0% vanilla greek yogurt, Smuckers peanut butter, and Kretschmer wheat germ.  I also made parfaits using that yogurt, blueberries, sugar-free canned peaches, and crushed Vanilla Almond Shredded Wheat.  For lunch last Friday I enjoyed a tasty Marinated Portabella wrap with roasted red peppers, mozzarella, and baby spinach and a side of greens from the Regency Cafe.        

Summer, Summer, Summer Time

1. St. Augustine FL, 2. Chanel Resort 2011, 3. Pucci Resort 2011, 3. Lanvin Resort 2011, 4. St. Augustine FL.

Despite the new onslaught of Back to School promotions, it is still summer and it is hot!  In honor of the prevailing season, a compilation of Resort 2011 swimwear and images from Florida.