Lulus.com Fashion Blog » Holidays

Holiday Baking: Tips from a Fruitcake Snob!

Sienna — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

This is not a joke; I like fruitcake.

That being said, I am a fruitcake snob.

If it came with a package and a label, I won’t eat it, and if it looks anything like this. . .

. . .or this, it’s probably going in the compost.

Here’s how to do fruitcake with some very tasty results!

1. Make your Own! – Homemade is infinitely better, unless you know some magical bakery that knows right from wrong.

2. Find the Right Recipe – Choose based on ingredients, and substitute a little to your taste. Do you like figs and walnuts? Go for that! Do you like candied citron, but no green cherries; switch it out!

3. Mellow Your Fruitcake – While no harder than a regular cake to bake, your homemade cake need 2 to 8 weeks to “mellow”. After the cake is fully cool, wrap it in food grade cheesecloth and douse it in brandy (or juice). Repeat this once a week, and you will have a rich cake ready to eat in little slivers by the fire!

Somebody has soaked these suckers in brandy in preparation for the Holiday Season!

If you’re still not convinced. . .

4. Try making a Panforte! – These traditional Italian cakes are loaded with dried fruits, nuts and sometimes even cocoa! Above is a traditional Panforte di Siena. Years ago, I tried this recipe because of my namesake. My recipe yielded a chewy, caramel-like cake that went perfectly with a little cup of coffee!

Well, I hope I’ve convinced you that fruitcake is not the devil’s work after all. Seriously, try out a good recipe and have fun dousing that puppy until it’s time to serve!

P.S. Let me know how it goes!!

The post Holiday Baking: Tips from a Fruitcake Snob! appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Get Crafty: Homemade Valentine’s Gifts

LuLu*s ! — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Love is in the air, and with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I have found myself yet again gift-less. Normally I would run to the store and find whatever chocolate goodies and cute cards were left, but this year I was determined to make my own Valentine’s gifts.

I have found some simple homemade gifts that are perfect for friends, family or that special someone in your life. They are both inexpensive, easy, and quick to make. Believe me, if I can cut, staple and paste, so can you!

Below is a link to a video from The Early Show on CBS that gives instructions on how to make these gifts as well as a few other Valentine’s Day favorites!

For That Special Someone: Message in a Bottle

Materials you’ll need:

-1 cleaned empty glass bottle

-popsicle sticks

-colored pen

For friends and family: Stuffed Hearts

Materials you’ll need:

- 2 paper hearts cut out

- a stapler

- Whatever type of candy you wish (should be small candy so it can fit inside)

- small piece of paper for note

The post Get Crafty: Homemade Valentine’s Gifts appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Happy New Year from Lulu*s!

LuLu*s ! — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

We hope all of you have a wonderful year in 2010!

The post Happy New Year from Lulu*s! appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

New Year’s Eve Plans!

LuLu*s ! — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:02:00 +0000

The countdown to 2010 is fast approaching, and we can’t wait to sip some bubbly, kiss our loved ones and ring in the New Year! Here’s what some of us at Lulus.com have planned:

Wase

(we asked her while being styled for our photo shoot!)

“I’m going to a party with my friends!!!”

Amy

“I will be celebrating the New Year in the Bahamas, with tropical refreshments, where I won’t have to wear any jackets or scarves!”

Cara

“I’m going to head down to San Francisco for a cocktail party. Then I’m going to Shotwell’s — this awesome beer and wine bar in the Mission District.”

Kathleen

“This New Year’s Eve is going to be special, because it’s my first year anniversary with my boyfriend. We’re going to dress really fancy and celebrate at the same party where we met last year.”

Lindsey

“I’m going to a cute 1950s style house in Squaw Valley to ski and celebrate with family and friends!”

Matt, Lindsey and KB can’t wait to.. “Go to Lake Tahoe!!!”

The post New Year’s Eve Plans! appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

New Year Hot Spot Style: Manuel Antonio National Park

Valerie Murphy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Beach. That is all you need to know about this New Year’s adventure.

But not just any beach. If I were to have my New Year’s way, I would head to the Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica located south of Quepos on the Pacific Coast, 132 km from San José. Tours through the park are available, including a rain forest walk where you might be so lucky as to spy a sloth!

Coastal Manuel Antonio at night is pitch black, being lit only by the moon — perfect for some stargazing. Instead of the big count-down at midnight, I would suggest quietly bringing in the New Year with a few good friends or your sweetie on the sands.

With spring coming, this would be a perfect place to try out next season’s trends: the Pocket Change Necklace in Gold [sold out!], the Silk Arboretum Maxi Dress, and the Bamboo Poetic 04 Gray and Silver WhipStitched T Thong

The post New Year Hot Spot Style: Manuel Antonio National Park appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

New Year Hot Spot Style: Venice

Valerie Murphy — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Ahh, Venezia! Que bella!

Every year, this city of bridges and islands gathers in the Palazzo di San Marco for one of the biggest gatherings of New Year’s kissers! The Palazzo di San Marco, being the biggest and most culturally relevant square in the city, is a great place to gather with your sweetie and snuggle up until the Campanile di San Marco, or bell tower, strikes midnight.

I would suggest making the effort to stay up to see the sun rise over the Adriatic Sea from the beach island of Lido, where the Auguri di Capodanno sulla spiaggia del Lido di Venezia takes place … aka jump into the freezing cold water a la Polar Bear Swim.

Venice is high fashion, and the Palazzo di San Marco has no heaters outside. When I was there last year, the stone ground was iced over, so make sure to watch your step and have some cute walking boots like the Bamboo Follie 04 Black Mid Calf Riding Boot in Vegan Leather [sold out!] (great for going over jeans!).

Add a little bit of sparkle with the Kismet Karma Dress so you don’t have to wear any metal on your neck. Again, it will be cold, so the Emma Pillsbury Coat in Soft Pink is a great piece to keep toasty in, and attract the eye of any cute Italians walking by!

Pucker up, New Year’s is almost here!

The post New Year Hot Spot Style: Venice appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

New Year Hot Spot Style: Ginza

Valerie Murphy — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Not sure about the rest of you fashionistas out there, but right after, “What did you get for Christmas?” the question I’m getting is, “What are you doing for New Years?”.

With only four days left, I still have no idea what I will be doing … but I know what I would like to do! Barring money, travel, and time, here is the first of four awesome New Year’s Eve destinations I would love to visit (and the outfits I would love to wear!)

Ginza is an upscale part of Tokyo with luxurious shopping and high fashion everywhere. The flagship stores of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci are always lit up, creating one of the most beautiful city nights I have ever seen. Having been to both, I dare say Ginza is brighter, even, than Times Square.

Class would be the name of my game — including a midnight toast at the Icebar Tokyo, a bar made entirely of, you guessed it, ice. Everything from walls, the bar, tables, and even glasses are made of ice. A jacket is provided in the Icebar Tokyo, but I would walk in wearing the Little Time Dress and Nekhbey Necklace in Gold [sold out!]. Simple, sophisticated, stylish … kind of like Ginza itself.

But let’s not be square bears — a splash of color is needed! Jeffrey Campbell Pacific Teal Leather Double Ruffle Heels it is!

Check back tomorrow for my next New Year’s hotspot!

The post New Year Hot Spot Style: Ginza appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Lulus.com Holiday Party!!

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

This year the Lulus.com holiday party was held at a local (and divine) family-run Italian restaurant! The event’s guests included all of the LuLu*s team members from our warehouse and the employees from LuLu*s boyfriend store, Trucker Deluxe.

Above (from left to right) is Katie in a head-to-toe Lulus.com outfit, and Lindsay in the Back to the Fuchsia Jumpsuit [sold out!] with one of our models, Serine!

Above, the lady in red is our customer service guru, Brittany!

And here let me introduce (above and below) our employee of the year, KELLEN!

More LuLu*s ladies and their gents!

And from everyone at Lulus.com, we would like to wish all of our amazing customers a HAPPY HOLIDAY!!

The post Lulus.com Holiday Party!! appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Holiday Parties and Jeffrey Campbell Shoes OH MY!!

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:30:00 +0000

What better to wear out and about to holiday parties than Jeffrey Campbell shoes? Well, I can’t think of anything else that will make a better fashion statement! Check out these pics of LuLu*s gals in some of our favorite JC creations!

Above are the lovely stems of our ultimate Jeffrey Campbell fan, Brittany, at our holiday party!

Here we have the ripped tights, the patterned tights, the leather bracelets, the chains, and the Jeffrey Campbell shoes that are hot this season! And all in ONE picture!

All photos taken by Cara, our stylist and event photographer!

The post Holiday Parties and Jeffrey Campbell Shoes OH MY!! appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.

Creative Holiday Party Ideas

Kathleen McHatton — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:00:00 +0000

We all have certain expectations of what will happen at your typical holiday party: sipping eggnog and nibbling on sugar cookies in the shape of Christmas trees, exchanging presents in Secret Santa swaps, enduring annoying questions about your boyfriend from your aunt and grandma. (Well, maybe that’s just me.)

Whatever your typical party looks like, I think it’s high time we shook up the holiday season with a bit of creativity. A major fan of dressing up, I’m always looking for that next big event to get clever with your look. Why not the holidays?

IDEA #1: A Mad Men Themed Party

I just love this idea featured on Basket of Kisses, a blog devoted to all things Mad Men. As a work party idea, the Arkansas Advertising Agency, Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods all dressed up as characters from the hit drama. Everyone looks just like their Mad Men counterpart, down to a tee.

I think this party would translate perfectly into a holiday theme. What could be more glamorous than a 60′s updo and a high class cocktail? Dibs on Joan! If you love this pic, check out the Mad Men Holiday Card idea on vintage hair and makeup guru, Lauren Rennells’s Bobby Pin Blog.

IDEA #2: Ugly Christmas Sweater Party with Family Portraits

The ugly Christmas sweater party idea has been growing in popularity during the holiday season, and believe it or not, I have yet to attend one (hint, hint). It’s fairly easy to do if you think about it.

Visit your local thrift store and find the ugliest, cheesiest, most hideous Christmas sweater you can. Some may have smiling reindeer and snowman. Some even have twinkling Christmas lights and tinsel. The more outrageous, the better!

And to top it all off, why not take a fun group photo to send out to all your relatives? I can’t help but smile when I look at these two portraits by Seattle-based photographer, John Keatley. Visit his blog to read the funny stories behind them!

Overall, the idea is not classy by a long shot, but hey, we’re always dressing up to look better, so why not make yourself look as awkward and dorky as possible. There’s definitely some charm to that.

Happy Holidays Lulu*s fans! What cool holiday party ideas do you have?

The post Creative Holiday Party Ideas appeared first on Lulus.com Fashion Blog.