Ruben Toledo

Before I even knew who he was, I was obsessed with the artwork of Ruben Toledo. The obsession began with the arrival of the Nordstrom catalog to my house, for which Mr.Toledo would do the cover art and drawings inside. I would thumb through the catalog twice: once to look at the clothing, a second to look at Mr.Toledo's sketches. When I would go to the doctors with my parents, I would look through fashion magazines such as InStyle, looking solely for a Ruben Toledo illustration wether in an advert or to accompany an article:

I always enjoyed looking at the sketches of these glamorous creatures. These women were who I aspired to be. I was going to be one of the well dressed, uber fabulous women in the Toledo sketches.

(True story: As a child, I lived vicariously through my Barbies, and was obsessed with the Fashion Avenue collections , because they looked most like the clothing in the Toledo sketches.)

To this day, any time I get a catalog or mailer from Nordies,  I save them. And besides being on my to read list, one of the reasons I bought all of the Nina Garcia books in the Borders sale was because Ruben Toledo did all the illustrations for the books. They are simply amazing.

Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff is one of the few celebrities I get actual outfit inspiration from. I love that her outfits are simple, yet sophisticated, and she maximizes by accessorizing, especially with one of my favorite accessories: scarves! Here are a few of my favorite looks from Hilary:

Beef Patties

Last week was spring break aka no better time to get in the kitchen and try some new recipes.

I am not one whose very much into fast food. My only exceptions are Chipotle and Five Guys every now and then.While convenient, especially on long days at school, not knowing the ingredients in things freaks me the hell out. (And after checking out the Board of Health grading of restaurants near my school, it may be awhile till that happens again.)

The other day, my dad was thinking of buying some beef patties for lunch. But after checking the estimate amount of calories, I politely declined, and offered instead to make some. He was on his way to butcher anyway, so it worked out perfectly. My fear of fast food and insane calorie amounts is how I usually end up getting ideas for trying out new recipes.

Here is the recipe I used. I made a few tweaks and used all beef for the filling without breadcrumbs (no fillers here!) and margarine. The thing about the patties is that they are easily adaptable. The dough is basic, and the meat can be made with whatever seasonings you like. Don't eat meat? Use chicken, soy chorizo, or veggies! Whatever you use, homemade patties only come out one way and that's delicious.

Help for Japan

This isn't a post to get super preachy or be arrogant and shove donating down any ones throat. Donating is a personal choice and I just wanted to post ways to help, for those that want to:

Text "JAPAN" to 80888 to donate $10 to the Salvation Army or donate online at www.salvationarmy.org.

TEXT “Redcross” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Salvation Army or donate online at www.redcross.org
* Oxfam America - www.oxfamamerica.org

* World Vision - www.worldvision.org

* Catholic Relief Services - http://crs.org

**All organizations are approved by the Better Business Bureau. There are many organizations out there that one can donate to besides the ones listed. Make sure that whoever you donate money to, supplies etc. to, that they are registered under the BBB to prevent fraud.

And never underestimate the power of prayer/positive thoughts/well wishes.. Its effects can be immense.