A couple of years ago, my friend Michelle turned me onto Simple Things in West Hollywood and it’s been really hard to stay away ever since.  They have these delicious little bite-size pies and the location is really convenient for a mid-day lunch when I am out prepping, but my real addiction is with their pretzel roll.  They serve a pulled chicken sandwich with chipotle barbecue sauce on the softest, most perfectly salty pretzel.  On Monday, we shot a picnic … +more

This weekend I was expressing my love for Cinco de Mayo to Aaron when we both discovered a pattern.  Apparently I have a soft spot for holidays celebrating independence and named for the date they fall on.  My affinity for Cinco de Mayo is second only to my love for the 4th of July.  They’re both easy, low-maintenance holidays characterized by yummy food, delicious beverages, and warm weather– three things that I strongly believe in!

Lately it seems you can’t … +more

My favorite thing about tarts, quiche, and other egg based dishes (omelettes, too!) is that they lend themselves to a little bit of experimentation and creativity.  You can simply open up your refrigerator door and pull out all of the leftover veggies, herbs, and cheeses from the week’s previous meals, and then come up with your own unique combination!  I have been wanting to expand my repertoire of quick and delicious appetizers for mid-week shindigs that arise on the fly, … +more

Happy Friday!  How were all of your weeks?  The jet lag is finally starting to wear off, so I am back to feeling like my same-old self who can bounce out of bed stumble to the coffee maker at 7am.  Thank goodness!  While the jet lag was not so endearing, there were so many things I adored about Australia.  The people were warm, the architecture and street are were inimitable, and I had some of the best meals of … +more

Last Friday, I mentioned that I was hosting a girl’s brunch at my place to celebrate some exciting new developments over here at The Effortless Chic.  For the last 18 months, I have been balancing the act of creating fresh, fun content for this site along with all of my styling projects.  I knew I wasn’t taking full advantage of the opportunities in either because, let’s face it, there are still only 24 hours in a day!  In an effort … +more

Happy Friday!  We are ending this week over here with a girl’s brunch at my place to celebrate lots of exciting developments over here at The Effortless Chic– I can’t wait to share them with you!  The menu includes grapefruit and grated ginger salad ala Emily, sliced blueberry bundt cake, baked eggs with spinach, ham, & gruyere, and blood orange mimosas.  I’m not sure how productive we’ll be the rest of the afternoon, but I am really looking forward to … +more

Happy Monday and welcome to Spring Break Week here at The Effortless Chic!  There are few things in this world that I love more than exploring new cities, trying new foods, and wearing resort wear, so it seemed perfectly acceptable to spend a week celebrating just that!  Since we can’t always be on vacation, I love having a neighborhood spot that makes us feel like we are on vacation.  Bow & Truss was one of the first local dinner … +more

Happy Monday, friends!  How were your weekends?  I’ve been wanting to bring back our Cocktail Hour ever series since it took a hiatus a few months ago.  When the weather started to cool off in the fall and we were no longer spending so much time outdoors enjoying drinks with friends, I sort of lost my cocktail creating mojo.  (Gasp!)  Then Valentine’s Day began to approach.  There’s nothing like a fun, girly holiday to make you want to mix up … +more