Today we are featuring two breakfasts ideas – one that’s incredibly healthy, and one that’s not so healthy – but both are necessary to having a great day!
As we have heard time and time again…. breakfast is the most important meal and sets the tone for the day. So there is no better way to start the day than with Eggs…. that little oval sphere that get’s such a bad rap, but is actually one of the best things we can consume! So before we get started… let’s get enlightened on the benefits of this magical little white bundle of health! Let’s get started….
Eggs contain Choline! Eggs are an excellent source of choline which is grouped with the B Vitamins. Choline helps build cell membranes and has a roll in signally molecules in the brain along with other various functions. Most people are choline deficient…. so eggs are a great choice to help raise our choline levels.
Eating cooked eggs with raw vegetables increase our bodies’ absorption of nutrients… especially cancer fighting carotenoids. With all this said…. Let’s start with our healthy Egg Breakfast…..
Egg in an Avocado
This breakfast could not be any easier to make!
Stuffed French Toast Rolls
This breakfast is just a tiny bit more complicated…. yet pretty easy and so stinking yummy!
Yumbo-lish-ous!!
There you go! Two great breakfasts… and two great ways to start your day!
Forever21 sent me this great quality, pair of pink culottes (or gaucho pants) about a month ago, we shot and scheduled it, but we should have scheduled sooner as these are as sold out as it gets!!
The good news? You can get the exact pair in black and we have found a few other stores that carry culottes that compare in looks… sadly, none in price. These were a serious lot of look for the serious little price tag of $21.00.
After Jennifer Lopez wore them on the red carpet… they were history. These are a great summer trouser that were originally a 1960’s staple… have made a 2015 come back! Easy to wear and easy to accessorize… They are perfect for summer and transitioning into Fall of 2015.
I have just returned home from a week in London…. one of the most beautiful and culturally rich cities in the world! I tagged along with my daughter Beau and her fiancé James Fay to James’ sister’s 30th Birthday Party, held at the world famous Serpentine Galleries. I am so thrilled I joined on this adventure… and so thrilled to spend an evening at the Serpentine Galleries. In Part One today, I have a few photos to share… a few “Must-Sees” and a “Must-Eat,” and a “Must-Stay” on our list …. Let’s get started!
The Beaumont Hotel
Let’s start with my favorite brand new boutique hotel…. The Beaumont. Located in the heart of Mayfair, it allows guests walking distance to some of the best shops, galleries and restaurants in London. Boasting exceptional style reminiscent of the 1920s….it’s intimate, luxurious and service oriented. When I say service-oriented… I mean coffee delivered within 7 minutes to my door at 6am! The restaurant had some of the best and freshest food in London. With a true intimate neighborhood feeling…. accommodations include state-of-the-art technology, beautiful antiques and art, fabulous amenities and – best of all – the most reasonable pricing on rooms for a hotel of this caliber.
THE BEAUMONT HOTEL
MAYFAIR, LONDON W1K 6TF
44-20-7499-1001
OUR LOCATION
The Beaumont, Brown Hart Gardens,
Hampton Court Palace
Beau and I took a little day trip (45 minutes outside London) to Hampton Court Palace. Talk about history! Renovated for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1515, this stunningly haunted castle was used by King Henry VIII for all of his major celebrations… and, after Wolsey fell out of favour, the King enlarged the palace for himself. I am not a fan on any level of tourist attractions… but Hampton Court called to me… and I am so glad that it did. The gardens are some of the most beautiful in England with a celebrated maze. The patio hosts a beautiful little restaurant overlooking the fountain lawn where you can dine on high tea and lunch. For those Tudor fans… this is a must see.
East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU, United Kingdom
+44 844 482 7777
Sketch London
My all time favorite dining spot in London! With several different restaurants in one… this beyond hip dining spot is an absolute must see when in London. The gallery dining room hosts an amazing art collection that changes yearly and Chef Gagnaire’s culinary genius has inspired the menus throughout sketch. His eponymous Michelin three-starred Paris restaurant has a distinctive menu style, which Gagnaire had adapted for Sketch. Executed by his acolytes, the food is imaginative, bold, ground-breaking and delicious. My favorite part of Sketch besides the food… are the restrooms. Yes!!! You heard me right… the restrooms are pods. Single pods make up each toilet and there are 5 per side… mens and womens. This brilliant dining spot is a must see for anyone visiting London this summer!
9 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XG, England
+44 20 7659 4500
Lavender Sleep Patches
The jet-lag going to London is pretty rough due to the 8 hour time difference. For those sleepless nights… I found a solution in a local pharmacy – Lavendar Sleep Patches by BodyTox. Pop an all natural lavender filled patch on each foot before bed… and drift off like a baby! They really do work… and help with the jet-lag!
17.00 Box of 6
www.amazon.co.uk
The London Outfit
We celebrated summer in London with our 4th of July inspired outfit with fabulous photos taken by Beau Dunn. Jeans are by Flying Monkey… Star denim button down by Rails and crazy red glitter boots by Comme Des Garcons purchased at Selfridges. Our backdrop is an old English power station directly across the street from The Beaumont. Stunning!
Happy 4th of July Weekend…. and no matter where you travel to this holiday weekend…. Please be safe and have an Amazing 4th of July!!
Pip Pip, Cheerio…. God Save the Queen!!
Laura Dunn
P.S. If you wish you borrow my red glitter boots… Size 9!
This edition of Pennies & Posh bring us to Ralph Lauren and Forever 21. Ralph on top…. Forever on the bottom. The amazing gold loafers we are featuring today on “Pennies & Posh” are some of the best quality shoes in this price range to ever grace my feet….Full price at $29.00! I am seriously not sure how they were able to make such a well built shoe for this price! The quality rivals a beautiful Prada loafer.
Add in our sparkling Ralph Lauren top at around $5000.00… and it’s Posh at it’s finest. This crystal encrusted silk top is just about as elegant as it gets. Mixed together you would never in a million years know how inexpensive the loafers were. That’s the beauty of mixing your expensive pieces with your inexpensive pieces. Your Posh makes your Pennies look like you broke the bank putting the outfit together.
As always, check out our boutique page for some golden ideas!
So many parties…. so little time. I am all about a great homemade dessert, but this time of year, with so much going on, I just don’t always have the time to make something fabulous for the party I’m throwing or going to throw. So I’ve come up with a few classic ideas on how to take that store bought cake, pie, cookie or rice crispy treat and make it look homemade by just adding some fresh red & blue organic berries. So simple even a baby could do it! Let’s get started!!
When buying your store-bought cake, look for the desserts with plain tops… or the tops with decorations that will accent the berries that you will be piling high. My go to “glue” would be the strawberry glaze and just pour it generously as your base and just add berries… to anything!
A great way to present your cutlery for your 4th of July Bash…. Simply line a glass or Mason jar with a red linen napkin and place knife,spoon and fork in the middle. Looks great lined up on any buffet table!!
At my last years 4th of July Bash, we had amazing desserts…. but the most popular (by far) was my daughter Beau’s Rice Krispy Treats. All she did was make the traditional Rice Krispy Treat recipe below and add red food coloring. The minute we cut them they were gone! I have made my own individual treats into American flags with blueberries and strawberry glaze.
There you go…. easy, breezy 4th of July desserts that are beautiful, look homemade…. without serious time or effort!
Today we are stepping into my closet to view a few of my own personal classic collections. These include purses, jewelry, and some clothing items that were purchased over the span of many, many years. I have always tried to go for the classic collectables – items that I know I will be able to use forever – hence the story below….
I bought the black satin Chanel purse in the photo above for $600.00 back in the 90’s. I distinctly remember the price because it was a quite a splurge back then. But somehow I knew that it would be a total classic and one that I would use forever…. it is…. and I most definitely have. Fast forward to 2015 – while I was perusing “The Real Real” (a vintage and pre-owned site) seeking a smaller version of a classic Chanel tote that I own already…. I stumbled upon the patent leather version of my first classic Chanel evening bag!! The price? $1000.00. So not only did the person that originally bought this purse get to use it for over two decades (wow!) …. but they also made some money after the fact.
The moral of the story is this, when spending serious money on the big designers – Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes, Cartier, just to name a few – always go for the classics and the ones that you know you will be able to use for years to come… and then sell for a profit one day (if you can part with them!). I adore my collections and would never in a million years sell them… but it’s good to know that if I did want to one day…. it’s money in the bank!
Big Classic Kisses,
Laura Dunn
P.S. Please be very very careful when purchasing the classics online. You MUST purchase from a reliable source, as there are way too many counterfeits on the internet. If possible…. please purchase in person… it’s always your best bet. Also make sure you can verify authenticity.
Demin…. Can we get enough? Not this summer of 2015! Today’s post brings us to a triple blue jean look. Jeans, denim shirt and a blue jean, hooded jacket.
A solid denim look is what’s on trend this summer… with some serious mixing, matching and layering going on.
Laura Dunn in Blue Jeans
We started off with our look with the old standard Flying Monkey washed jeans, a Current Elliot denim shirt with epaulettes on the shoulders and a BDG hooded jacket from Urban Outfitters.
The beauty of the denim rules this year is… there are no rules. Just pile it on…. and wear it with confidence…. knowing that denim in any form….. rules this summer!!
This edition of “Art & Fashion” brings us to an iconic name in the art world – Jean-Michael Basquiat – and an iconic name in the world of trendy affordable clothing – Forever 21.
Imagine my surprise when I was on a Pennies & Posh buying spree at Forever 21 and I saw a Jean-Michael Basquiat image on a tee-shirt! Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Could a Basquiat image (one of my all time favorite artists) seriously be on an tee-shirt at Forever 21?
Upon further inspection… there were actually 2 different images… on tees and a sweatshirt. What? Forever21 and art?
Not just any art… art by one of the most iconic artists in art history? Yes! WOW! Forever 21 has gone uptown with an Art Series…. Another WOW moment! Starting in May of 2014 as a capsule collection… with Keith Haring leading the charge…. and Jean-Michael finishing the series.
I caught the tale end as it’s sold out in most stores…. but do yourself a serious favor (even if this is not your look) purchase if you can and hold onto it as they will end up being collector pieces with some serious Ebay value!
Father’s Day is just a few days away and we have several amazing last minute gift ideas for dad! We went high-end this year…. because dad’s are worth their weight in gold and why would you not honor the man that helped bring you onto this earth with something that would knock his socks off?! So here is our fabulous gift guide!
~ Just always remember – a Father is neither an anchor to hold us back… nor a sail to take us there…. but a guiding light whose love shows us the way ~
I would love to dedicate this post to my Father-in-Law, Mr. David J. Dunn for always being my anchor… and for always being the guiding light to show me the way. My father passed away when I was 20 years old and David (Grampie) stepped into my father’s shoes… always being there for me and my family. Thank you Grampie for your unending love & guidance….
Love Always,
Laura
Please go to the comment section and tell us all about your Father!
P.S…. Opppsssss…. Steve Dunn!! I stole your look! hahahaha
Monday brings the team Fabulous365 into the kitchen… where we are making kale chips. One of the easiest, healthiest and crunchiest snacks you can make!
But before we get into making our chips… I would like to go over the amazing benefits of one of the healthiest greens on this beautiful planet of ours.
Today we are working with 3 different types of this leafy green… but did you know that there are actually 57 different varieties? Not all are edible… but hey…. there enough that are that everyone one of us should be consuming one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet at the very least a few times per week!
So “HAIL THE KALE” and grab the healthiest, crunchy chip today!!
