Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week:

I.  Confession: I’m a blonderexic.  This goes back to my girlhood obsession with the most iconic of all the blondes - Miss Monroe.  After years searching every salon in San Francisco, I finally found my blonde guru Dwight at Stephen Saiz Salon.  Darling Dwight often makes fun of my fixation, particularly when I figured out how to add extra time to the heat lamps to keep the bleach in longer…  Which brings me to my second confession - my hair is so chemically damaged that it breaks off (I haven’t had a haircut since April 2010).  Luckily, I recently discovered the antidote conditioning treatment, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.  Whether you’re blonde or brunette, fried or verging on Blake Lively, trust me - this conditioner will change your life. 

II.  Over the weekend, I gathered friends for a Sunday night “family dinner” during the Grammys. Craving comfort food, we put together caramelized onion and goat cheese flatbread (recipe coming this week!), Neiman Marcus Chili Blanco, and a healthy shaved radish salad, with Kara’s cupcakes for dessert.  One of the guests is vegetarian, so I swapped the chicken stock for vegetable stock, and added the shredded chicken to individual bowls after plating the chili.  The result tasted exactly the same, and everyone was stuffed just in time to watch Beyonce make us all wish that we were Vegan…

III.  Lately, I’ve become bored with my go-to uniform of skinny jeans and a blazer.  In search of something to up my aesthetic-ante,  I found this adorable a-line faux leather skirt by Topshop. The sweet yet edgy bottom will serve me well through the next few months, dressed up with a cropped Alice + Olivia lace tank or toned down with my plaid washed-silk Equipment blouse.

IV.  If you love a warm gooey chocolate chip cookie as much as I do, you must check-out this Ted-Ed about the chemistry of cookies!  You’ll be shocked by how little you knew about the science behind the classic dessert staple.

V.  I hope that you will join me at the Winter Membership Party for the SF Symphony’s Symphonix League on February 11th!  Taking place at the chic new mixology bar, Bergerac, one of my favorite people, Gabi Holzwarth, will be playing contemporary hits on her violin (sneak preview of her “Heartless” mashup here).

Have a wonderful week!  xx tt