When I was little I loved the ritual of Saturday morning pancakes.  The buttery smell wafted through the entire house and was a guarantee that the rest of the morning would be spent indulgently lazy and satisfied.  I still feel the same way about pancakes and now appreciate slightly more refined recipes like these lemon ricotta pancakes with lemon curd and raspberries (recipe here).  Instead of waiting until the weekend to try them, I decided to make them for dinner and they were full of flavor and a fun change from our normal routine.

For the third installment of my favorite picks for fall (click here for parts 1 and 2), I chose classic items with unexpected details.  I’ve been wearing sparkly nail polish for years (namely here) and carrying structured bags since college (here), but I love the slightly androgynous feel of preppy oxfords and edgy leather shorts.  Plus, since it’s officially September, I don’t feel as bad for not embracing the last days of summer and looking forward to the approaching season.

1. Topshop Leather Buckle Shorts, $135
2. Theory Leather Shorts, $315
3. Topshop Leather Zip Shorts, $135
4. Madewell The Aberdeen Two-tone Oxford, $178
5. Marc Jacobs Glitter-embellished Leather Brogues, $775
6. Topshop Boxy Lady Leather Bag, $100
7. Mulberry Camel Bayswater Glossy Buffalo Bag, $1,140
8. OPI for Sephora Only Gold For Me, $9
9. Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday Nail Color, $18
10. Topshop Daredevil, $10

After I started working from home, I realized that I needed to transform my desk into a fully functioning office space.  I made drastic improvements last year (see my original desk here), but since the area is so small, I needed to relocate any unnecessary items (namely my vintage globe and phone).   Here are the simple steps I took to ensure that my work space is clean, pretty and most importantly, inspiring.

{These file folders are aesthetically pleasing and functional}

{I now have room for current magazines, a paper weight and my notepad}

{For a fun, rustic touch I made bows out of raffia}

{I treat myself to bright flowers and keep plenty of pictures nearby}

{I spray painted an old chalkboard white and added ribbon to my lamp}

{There’s something so nostalgic about classic, #2 pencils}

Queen’s Wardrobe Blouse, Forever 21 Shorts, Foley + Corinna Bag, Vintage Jewelry, Jeffrey Campbell Wedges

Up until recently, I was pretty skeptical about wearing leather.  Sure, it was fine on my feet (here and here) and worn on my arm (this bag will always be my favorite), but it seemed a bit too rocker chick for my decidedly girly style.  After I added this to my closet though, my feelings shifted almost instantly.  As long as I add some frilly, feminine details, it feels completely natural and the juxtaposition is definitely something I’m going to be experimenting with this fall.

This weekend my boyfriend’s climbing Mt. Whitney while little Luna and I will be holding down the fort in L.A.  I never like spending weekends apart, but sometimes I think missing each other is also kind of nice.   Luckily nearly every minute is booked full of fun little activities with my girlfriends, including a brunch that I’m hosting (I plan on using up my cherry tomatoes that are bursting with flavor), a gin tasting party (my three favorites below) and a trip to a nearby park to lie out and nap in the sun (with hats, plenty of glasses and some good music).

The first time I applied liquid eyeliner, it looked like I had been in some sort of brawl.  My cheeks were smeared black, my eyes were flooded with inky fluid and my eyelashes were fused together in one giant clump.  It was not pretty.  With just a bit of practice though, I now can get a romantic, winged eye in a few simple steps:

Products:
Eyelash Curler: Shiseido
Mascara: Maybelline
Eyeliner: Loreal
Lipstick: M.A.C. (Snob)

I can’t think of another dessert that’s quite as adorable as a macaron.  There’s just something about the little cookies sandwiched together that creates a bit of magic with each bite. They’re perfect for an afternoon snack (as seen here) and though I’ve made similar cookies (here), I had never attempted to bake up a batch on my own.   I’ll preface by saying they weren’t easy and in fact, I think temperamental would be a more accurate description.  Regardless, one and a half of my three batches of my fleur de sel caramel macarons (recipe here) turned out flawlessly and I’ll be trying out new variations very soon.