On today’s agenda is the dressy stylings. Make that dressy stylings x3! Enjoy!

 

You guys, this pie is good. For real.

If the picture doesn’t do it for you, let me try describing it…on the botom, there’s a chocolate cookie crust followed by real pure cookie dough (eggless!), and then a topping of creamy vanilla custardy goodness. Top all of that with homemade whipped cream and some perfectly tiny cookies to garnish, and how could this not by a dreamy pie?!

I recommend you make this soon…really soon. Once you make it, it’s sure to become a regular in your household!

Dreamy Cookie Dough Cream Pie

from Love & Olive Oil

For pie crust:
7 ounces chocolate wafer cookies (not the wafer cookies with the frosting)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

For cookie dough:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/8 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoons whole milk

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

For cream filling:
3/4 cups light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For whipped cream topping:
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahreneheit. In a food processor, make the cookies into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and combine (still in the food processor). Firmly press the mixture into a 9″ pie pan (cover the sides and bottom of pan). Bake for 8 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside and allow to cool completely. Don’t turn the oven off.

For the cookie dough: beat butter and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Mix in chocolate chips (try not to overmix, but make sure everything is efficiently combined). Using some of the dough, make 8-10 small, 1/2″ in diameter, balls (make however many cookies as you want servings of pie). Place on a non-stick baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. These will be used to top the pie. Reserve remaining dough.

In a large saucepan, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in 1 cup of the milk, mixing until smooth, and then bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Beat the egg yolks with the remaining cup of milk. Add a teeny-tiny amount of this mixture to the mixture you heated previously. Mix to combine. Again, add a teeny-tiny amount of the egg mixture to the thickened mixture. Mix to combine. Repeat this a few more times, and then add the remaining egg mixture, mixing well to combine. The purpose of doing all of this is to make sure the cold egg mixture doesn’t “cook” upon touching the hot, thickened mixture. Be patient with this!

Return the saucepan to the heat and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until mixture is the consistency of thick pudding (if it doesn’t seem to be reaching this consistency, but you’ve had it on the heat for awhile, you may still remove it from the heat…it should firm up more in the fridge later). Remove from the heat and quickly stir in butter and vanilla. Set aside.

While filling is cooling, break off pieces of cookie dough and press them into the cooled pie crust. You want an even layer of dough approximately 1/2″ thick (if you want the cookie dough to really be tasted in the finished pie, go for this full 1/2”, or maybe even thicker). You may have left over dough…eat it! It’s eggless, after all!

Pour in the cooled filling on top of the dough layer, leveling the top with a rubber spatula. Filling should come up about 1/2″ from the top of the crust. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

Whip cream until it begins to form soft peaks. Add sugar and vanilla, and beat until cream holds stiff peaks. Gently spread over the cooled pie, smoothing top into a slight dome. Garnish with the mini cookies, made earlier, setting them evenly around the circumference. One cookie per piece of pie is a great way to go!

Enjoy this heavenly, divine, dreamy pie!

We take for granted that we’ll wake up tomorrow. For Thanksgiving. For Christmas. For our 60th birthday, 40 years down the line.

But living is not a guarantee.

—————————-

Today, two girls whom I know died in a car crash. I’m sure they believed they would be waking up this Thanksgiving, let alone tomorrow.

But they won’t.

—————————-

Life is so incredibly precious, and it’s all too easy to lose sight of this fact.

Please, please, please…although it can be difficult, try not to take your life – or anyone else’s - for granted. I’m not imploring you to live a life of fear – no, in fact, do not do that either – but please remember to live your life daily joyfully and gratefully. After all, you never know how long you have.

And while you’re at it, make sure you tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. Try not to wait, either.

Anyway, I believe a new season premiered this past Sunday, as I was pleasantly surprised to see an episode being recorded on by DVR! During the episode, when David takes the bride to look at three possible wedding favors, the shop owner is wearing Anthro’s Sunny Soiree Dress!

as the bride and David enter the shop, you get your first glimpse of the dress, which the woman has styled with a navy cardigan

see?! it really is the Sunny Soiree Dress!

a closer peak at the dress

Intrigued? You can watch the full episode online on We’s website – that’s how I took the screenshots shown above. Here’s the exact link to watch the episode (it was an unusual episode in that the bride’s son, only 17, is in remission from cancer and for his wish through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, he wished for David Tutera to give his mom her dream wedding….amazing!!!).

So…anyone else watch My Fair Wedding? Do tell!

P.S. (!) Amanda was kind enough to let me know of an Anthro spotting she had…apparently, Chelsea Handler wore the Two Harbors Pullover on her show Monday. Yay for spottings! Thanks again, Amanda!

photo property of The Sartorialist

There’s something just so unconventional and captivating about wearing an oversized sweater the “wrong” way. Immediately, I couldn’t help but think if I own anything in my closet that would work for recreating this aspect of the look. The more I thought about it though, the real question became, “What would people think?!” I’m all for taking risks with what you wear and wearing what you love with confidence, but when you live in a pretty non fashion-forward place, you can’t help but ask yourselves these types of questions. Anyone have thoughts? I just thought this was an interesting question in this case, and I’d love to hear your answers!

But back to the post from The Sartorialist…

Scott pointed out perfectly the seeming contradictions in the two photos he posted, saying, “I love the idea of mixing the lightness of your favorite summer dress with a chunky cardigan sweater…or with your boyfriend’s tweedy jacket.” I have to admit – there really is something so compelling about this juxtaposition of an outfit. When I read this line, I also promptly thought of a chunky sweater used in the styling request I recently did, and how wonderfully that sweater would work for this outfit idea proposed by Scott.

See?

Campana Sweater – $98

Naturally, I compiled a styling, using this sweater as the starting point…

Campana Sweater

ASOS Dahlia Chiffon Tiered Dress in Spot Print – $93.44

Tassle-Tied Ankle Boots (brown) – $168

Cuzco Clutch – $228

I love the proportions of a look like this…the flowy dress just barely exceeding the chunky, oversized sweater in length…it all feels just a touch naughty, but it’s totally chic, not to mention gorgeous. To add to the unlikely pairing of the sweater and dress, I pushed the envelope a bit further by adding a sparkly clutch. And yes, I completely and fully envision this outfit being a wearable day look – the no-sparkles-allowed-in-the-day rule is a rule meant to be broken!

What do you think of outfits such as this styling and the ones featured on The Sartorialist today? A fan? Not a fan! Spill!

Isn’t it exquisite?! The detailing is beautiful and the silhouette is classic; surely this will be a dress which can be worn year after year after year.

Although Alli bought the dress for the purpose of wearing it to a rehearsal dinner, naturally, she’d love to get more mileage out of it. She fears it may be a one trick pony, so it is my mission with this request to prove it can be “casualized” (yay for made up words! ! Therefore, I will be focused on the more dressed-down ways to wear this dress, as opposed to the dressed-up ways. If by chance there is anyone out there who would like some ideas for dressing it up, let me know, and I’ll do a post!

Anyway, in regards to the general “casualizing” of this dress or any garment in general, let me say one thing first: Wear your looks with confidence (obviously this advice transcends the said pretense, but hear me out…). What I mean to say is, oftentimes when people have an item that appears more dressy, they disregard it as having the potential to be worn casually. Many fear they will look overdressed and out of place. Let me tell you something…in my opinion, being “overdressed”, if that’s what you want to call it, is perfectly fine! As Oscar Wilde once said, “You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” Audrey Hepburn once even also said, “I believe in overdressing.” Moral of the story? Be confident! Don’t worry about overdressing! (Bonus points: I know I’ve heard other great quotes before like the two aforementioned…can anyone think of any?!)

And onto the styling…

Right off the bat, I immediately thought of pairing a pullover with the dress. This technique allows the dress to function as a skirt, and let’s also be honest…it makes for a super comfy yet totally stylish ensemble! Following are a few examples using this technique:

*please note: throughout any of these stylings, adding tights would be great…dress for the weather!

Two Harbors Pullover (black motif) – $98

Veiled Alder Dress

Contrast Cuff Booties (navy) – $168

I like how this pullover has an unexpected pattern on the back…it makes the piece interesting and unique! The booties add a bit more edge and balance out the femininity of the lace of the “skirt” with the floral pattern on the back of the pullover. Of course, you could also add a belt to cinch in the waist if you wanted.

Notice, too, how pairing this cream colored pullover brings out more of the ivory tones of the dress.

Bonica Cashmere Sweater – $148

Veiled Alder Dress

Paean Flats (blue) – $228

This time, notice how pairing the dress with this pink pullover brings out the blush tones of the dress. Interesting, how color works, right?!

I love pairing this look with the vibrant blue shoes, as I think the blue and pink make for a very interesting pairing – not one you see repeatedly daily. The complete look has a nice ladylike yet young and slightly funky feel to it.

Double-Clasped Belt – $58

Bonica Cashmere Sweater – $148

Veiled Alder Dress

Contrast Cuff Booties (navy) – $168

Yes, this look is a combination of the previous two looks! Just thought I’d give you an idea of how some of these items could be remixed! In this case, I like how the girly pink top and “skirt” are juxtaposed with the rougher belt and booties.

*sorry for wonky picture sizes!

Gradated Stripes Pullover - $88

Veiled Alder Dress

Urban Outfitters BDG Basic Suede Skimmer (black) – $34

Urban Outfitters Deena & Ozzy Snap Clutch (black) – $39

This is a great effortless look that is very high on style. The pairing of the stripes of the sweater with the detailing of the skirt is probably unexpected for most, which is exactly what makes the look so interesting and intriguing.

My next tip for styling the dress is to pair it with a great cardigan/sweater/jacket. While this might seem predictable, it’s a tried-and-true method because it almost always looks great. To evoke a more casual feeling, look for cardigans/sweaters/jackets that have a large knit or an unexpected print. Going oversized is always a great option too!

Veiled Alder Dress

Herringbone Tights – $22

J. Crew Miller Motorcycle Boots (chocolate) – $325

This chunky sweater automatically adds a cozy feeling. Add the patterned tights and the boots, and this is the perfect outfit for a cold day. The textures of the pattern of the dress, the knit of the sweater, the pattern of the tights, and the leather material of the boots make for a dynamic outfit.

As always, you could add a belt over the sweater if you so choose!

J. Crew Wide Calf Hair Belt - $79.50

 Banana Republic Heritage Linen Jacket – $150

 

ASOS Levi’s Classic Denim Jacket – $152.75

Twice Rung Skinny Belt - $78

Veiled Alder Dress

J. Crew Talitha Blouse (wreath) – $110

J. Crew Cece Suede Ballet Flats (aged driftwood) - $128

And don’t forget – if you have a styling request, don’t hesitate to email me at thestyleconnoisseur@gmail.com!

Lately though, I’ve been feeling the need to cut back a bit on my consumption of sweets. It’s not that I’m in a dash to lose weight, but rather, I just think my body would appreciate a tad less sugar. And when I say that, I do and also don’t mean it…you see, my stomach/heart/mind all want more sweets, but the logical part of my brain knows my body could appreciate a tad less fat and sweets. Make sense?

Now trust me…I am all for living a balanced life without depriving yourself…and this usually, to me, would mean eating sweets everyday.

I challenged myself yesterday to go two days without any sweets. Why? 1) It’s a challenge! 2) I don’t know the last time I went this long without sweets.

(Yes, I know…for some of you this probably seems pretty (beyond!) pathetic!)

The goal? Train myself to realize I don’t need to indulge quite as much as I’ve grown accustomed to lately. This means, sure, I can have dessert everyday, but rather than three cookies at a time, why not stick with one (okay…maybe one and a half! . I think my body will thank me in the long haul.

Anyways, all of that was purely an introduction to what I really want to discuss today! You see, I decided to peruse Tastespotting, a site which is terribly addicting in the best way possible (I would tell myself to look at just one more page, then ten pages later I’d say just one more page, then ten pages later I’d say just one more page…get the picture?!). This visit, however, I told myself to do my best to ignore the decadent desserts I usually swoon over. Instead, I would focus on the main dishes…the main courses as opposed to the sweets.

And my goodness! I made tons of yummy looking discoveries! Seriously!

(*For the record, I did look at a few desserts, but only because they looked insanely unique. I had to!)

Want to see some of what I found? Yes? Yay! Now just to be clear, I have not (yet!) made any of these recipes, so I cannot tell you for sure that they taste just as good as they seem. In other words, if you make one and hate it, I’m sorry! But hopefully it would instead be a reaction of pure bliss!

On to the discoveries…

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Hazelnut Browned Butter - pumpkin? gnocchi? hazelnuts? browned butter? <- all of that, combined? *faints*

Butternut Squash and Lentil Pot Pie - I love me a good pot pie…and butternut squash with lentils? I’m intrigued! I’m guessing the butternut squash would add a creaminess similar to a more traditional chicken pot pie.

Chickpea & Cardamom Rice with Carrots and Za’atar Oil - Chickpeas….cardamom…carrots…rice…topped with Greek yogurt? Sounds like a not too heavy, scrumptious dish!

Pasta with Sage-Walnut Pesto, Winter Squash and Brussels Sprouts - Pasta, sage pesto, squash, and brussels sprouts (yes, I like them!)? Seems like a delicious fall/winter combination!

Chicken Sandwich with Mango Curry - Let’s be honest…chicken sandwiches can either be pretty mediocre…it’s rare you find an extremely outstanding one. But a chicken sandwich with mango curry?! Now that sounds promising!

Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese - I find this one quite intriguing…I mean, you doesn’t like macaroni and cheese?! Add in the butternut squash, which I’m a fan of?! Could be to-die-for!

Cannellini Bean Vegetarian “Meatballs” with Tomato Sauce - I, myself, don’t eat a ton of meat, but my sister is a complete vegetarian. When I saw this recipe, I thought, “I must show this to my sister!” We have a fabulous spaghetti family recipe that’s been passed down, and while I can still enjoy the meatballs, being a meat-eater and all, my sister cannot. Perhaps she could try these ”meatballs” with our sauce recipe?!

Pumpkin Lasagna with Roasted Butternut Squash - Pumpkin lasagna?! With butternut squash, ricotta, and mozzarella? Yum! I’m not a huge lover of a traditional lasagna, but I love variations like this one!

Guacamole Tostadas - Avocados are my favorite food. Naturally, I adore guacamole. And naturally, I love the fact that this recipe gives me the excuse to pretty much make guacamole a main dish, as opposed to as side dish! Hooray!

Spicy Pumpkin Hummus - Hummus is a fabulous snack…so pumpkin hummus? I’m sure even more fabulous!

Butternut Squash, Balsamic Onions, & Ricotta Galette - Butternut squash, onions, and ricotta…as a galette! Yum, yum!

Sweet Potato Kale Pizza with Rosemary and Red Onion - I love kale. I love rosemary. Sweet potatoes are pretty darn sweet. And red onion is quite yummy too. So all of this, on a pizza? Yes, please!

And now, a couple of desserts that sneaked their way into the mix (trust me…had I not restrained myself, this list would be miles long!)…

Ginger Coconut Macadamia Nut Dark Chocolate Bark - When I saw this recipe out of the corner of my eye, I knew it screamed my mom’s name. She adores dark chocolate, and she adores ginger. Why not make this as is, but instead of the macadamia nuts, substitute in hazelnuts (a nut she prefers)?! Sounds like a plan for the future!

Matcha Green Tea Castella Cake - This cake has such a striking, unique, pretty appearance, with its soft green color. Truth be told, I’ve never had something like this before, but I’d absolutely love to try it!

Tell me…which of these dishes stand out to you the most?! I’d love to hear!(And by the way, I know there was quite a lot of butternut squash and pumpkin…I think the two most definitely are popular ingredients right now given the season!)  And of course, if you decide to make any of the recipes, tell me how they turn out!

And tonight I went to see a movie with a friend I haven’t seen in a while. It’s been a good Saturday.

It may be hard to exactly pinpoint as to the reason why, but I’m just happy today – more so than I’ve felt in a little while. I feel alive. I feel like conquering the world and making my dreams a reality. And it’s a good feeling!

You see, I’m having a friendly little competition with a friend to see who can come up with the best red velvet cake (there are even judges involved!). As far as I know at this point, appearance/decorating does not matter; it’s purely based on taste.

Now normally, I wouldn’t hesitate one bit if someone asked me to make them a red velvet cake…I do have an old standby that is quite good. But, this is a competition! I need the best of the best, the creme de la creme of red velvet cakes!

Here’s where you come in…would you mind sharing with me your absolute favorite red velvet cake recipes? I will be doing trials…so chances are, if you suggest it, I’ll try it.

I know, I know…I’m quite intense with my so-called “friendly competition!” But can you blame me? I want to win! Is that so wrong?

Thanks a bunch!