Here in New York we've been enjoying an Indian Summer with temperatures just shy of 80 in mid October. So if you haven't packed your summer clothes away yet....DON'T!. The temperatures will inevitably get colder, especially in the NY area, but here are 4 ways you can still wear your favorite summer pieces in the Fall.

Wear your favorite tunic over a pair of skinny jean with a leather jacket or bomber jacket. Its perfect because if they already have the heat on in your office, you can just ditch the jacket and play it cool.

I love this look because its a little bit tomboy and a little bit feminine. Most of the time when you see this trend its a black camisole over a white t-shirt. We are making this trend our own by throwing some print in there. This is the great thing about fashion you can always take a style and re-create it or style it in a completely new way. Check it out in our Camo Floral Print below.

Any long shirt or tunic works great under a cropped sweater or a sweater with side slits. Bring some fun prints and color into Fall season. And since this top, our Sophia Silk Tunic, has no sleeves you won't get overly hot. Its a great looks and keeps you nice and comfy too. 

LOW FAT MUFFINS THAT ARE CLEAN-EATING APPROVED

I was definitely dreading the end of summer, my favorite season, but I'm ready to embrace Fall in all of its sepia toned glory. Right now the weather is perfect and the eating is good too, when all goes right in the test kitchen. I love to make up healthy recipes that don't use processed sugar or animal fat. This one came out truly delicious with all the flavors of the season. 

These Pumpkin Pie-Ginger Muffins are a Grab-N-Go treat and can be a simi-healthy breakfast enjoyed with your favorite cup of coffee. 

Ingredients

1/3 Cup Lucuma Powder
1/3 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Powdered Ginger
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
1/8 Cup Coconut Oil
2 1/2 Tbsp Nature's Promis Butter Spread (Has no Palm Oil!!)
2 Eggs
3 Tbsp Almond Milk
1 Tsp Freshly Grated Ginder
1/2 Cup + 2Tbsp Honey
10-20 Pitted Medjool Dates
3/4 Cup Walnuts
3/4 of a 15oz Can of Solid Pack Pumpkin

Directions

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
In a food processor fitted with a metal "S" blade, process the dates and walnuts until in tiny pieces. Then add the Honey, Butter spread, and fresh ginger and process for 30 sec more. Add the eggs and pumpkin. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the food processor. Once incorporated add the almond milk and process until smooth.

Poor batter into non-stick muffin molds and bake in the preheated over for 10mins. Lower the heat to 300 and bake for 12-14mins more.  Take muffins out and sprinkle with a mixture of almond meal and coconut sugar. Then get your pumpkin on!! Hope you enjoy!!

Makes about 15 Muffins

Pumpkin ginger goodness 

​<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/18233543/?claim=ppn3xx9vhff">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Its that time of year again. The time when the city declares the beaches closed and kids go back to school, but does that mean that Summer is over? Nope! It will be in the 90's this week and will probably stay warm until October. The beaches may not be staffed with lifeguards but there is no one stopping you from heading out for a swim or surf session. In fact many locals love this time of year because we get the beach all to ourselves!! We love all the visitors in the Summer. (the ones who clean-up after themselves) but its nice to go out to quite peaceful beach this time of year.

September also means awesome red hot sunsets and dogs are allowed back on the beach!! One of my dog Presley's absolute favorite things!! The surf video above is from the big waves that the would be hurricane Gaston brought in last week. Local Rockaway surfers put on a good show and had a field day with the forever peeling waves.

As we all head into Labor Day Weekend happy for the extra day off, a lot of us have the Tropical Storm/ Hurricane Gaston on our minds. The start of September alway brings bright red sunsets and crisp cool air but it also marks the start of Hurricane season. This is something those all over the New York and New Jersey area are all too familiar with.

Rockaway Beach, NY is where I'll be focusing this flash back of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, because thats where I was when the storm hit. We chose to stay put even though a mandatory evacuation had been issued. This was because my boyfriend was born and raised on the Peninsula and had assured me it would be ok. Lots of people stayed all siting that they had left in previous years and were inconvenienced for no reason. I was told by many that the media just hypes thing up and that the mandatory evacuations were just a precaution to cover themselves. And being that this was my first experience with Hurricanes I didn't know any better.

I remember in the late afternoon the water slamming into the boardwalk. At this point it was all excitement and a chance to get some good pictures of the waves. Keep in mind that I had been told and believed that this is as bad as it would get. And then, all at once, it got worse. We walked around outside to feel the power of the wind and document its force on the trees, flags, street lights, and water. We were headed back across the street from the boardwalk when we saw a fast-moving stream coming down beach 102 and Shore Front Parkway. The Boardwalk had been breached!! It only got worse from there.

​Soon things began to be picked up by the wind and thrown through the air. We could barley hear each other even while screaming because the wind was so fast and loud. My boyfriend yelled at me to run back inside and as I turned a 4'x8' sheet of plywood that was pried from the scaffolding one screw at a time flew off just ahead of us. "Run. Run" He said. And I tried will all my might but the wind was so strong I had to lean into it until it felt as if I was almost parallel with the sidewalk. And even at that I wasn't making much progress. He helped pull me and we finally got back inside. 

Now I was beginning to worry. It hadn't even started raining yet and the flooding had started. The transit had been shut down the bridges were closed and we were stuck. There was nothing to do now but wait out the storm. We hadn't even stocked up on supplies or food. We sat switching our gaze from the TV tuned to the News, to the window. It was getting all too real. 

When the water level started to rise above a curbs height my boyfriend ran outside to move his car up on a curb. (still thinking that the water wouldn't get much higher) Looking back now that was a laughable and futile effort. We watched as the waters rose. We walked several floor down to the lobby several times to check.....and sure enough the ocean was now inside the building. The next time we checked it was coming up the first floor stairs. I grew more and more afraid. I tried to watch from the balcony as the ocean surrounded the building and things floated around us. Soon it grew dark but the lights on boardwalk provided enough light to see the chaos. Then the boardwalk broke free at Beach 103 and I thought it was a boat at first and then realized what had happened. I have it on video as the large section of the boardwalk came crashing toward our building and the power lines connecting the lights on the boardwalk sparked flickered and then went out.
** All videos and pictures were taken by myself.

We stayed in the hallway inside the unit as the wind made horrible noises and seemed to bind the windows. When we could see nothing else and grew tired we would doze off.  We woke up with the sun and then hurried down stairs to survey the damage. It was crazy. I felt like we were on the set of a Sifi movie. Large pieces of the boardwalk were all over the parking lot in a tangled mess of cars and debris. We found my boyfriends car. It was totaled but we were the lucky ones. Thats that was lost was his car and a few items in it. We can't even begin to imagine the pain that those felt who's whole houses flooded. We are so sorry for those who lost everything.

​We walked down several block and saw the cement piling where the boardwalk used to be. It was gone all gone. Sand and debris coverd the streets. Street lights and signs were bent and flattened. The National Gard was posted up with tanks and guns, but were merrily a presence. They didn't talk to us or do anything. All the power was out so we couldn't charge our phones. We took as many pictures as we could and then realizing that there wasn't anything we could do at this point and that the apartment wasn't livable, we headed back to formulate a plane. We decided to pack a bag and both get on my boyfriends bike and start the 14mile trek to Woodside, Queens when I had a studio apartment at the the time. We went over the Cross Bay Bridge (on the pedestrian side) since it was technically still closed and guarded. In Howard Beach we saw boats in the road and had to ride around fallen trees. We must have looked so funny....the two of us on that bike with a duffle bag. It took all day but we managed to get both of us through the rubble all the way to my place.
We were safe and grateful. I hope and pray that the destruction never happens again. I hope that Jetties will be built and that the dunes, sea walls, and cement boardwalk are enough protection. Seems this may be tested by Tropical Storm/ Hurricane Gaston.

<div id="MjE0MTI2ODE="><a href="https://activate.bloglovin.com/profile/21412681"><img src="https://activate.bloglovin.com/common/images/badge1.png" width="200" height="92"/></a></div>

http://getinspiredeveryday.com
The #5 spot goes to GI 365 because the couple Kari and Tyler are so open and candid in their posts. The food looks beautiful, is healthy, and is not what you'll see on every other health food site. Check out the low fat alternative to guacamole that she calls Avocado Zucchini Hummus. And She even posts non-food recipes for lotions and scrubs!
​

​http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com
​This got the #2 spot because it posts alternatively healthy substitutes for even the greasiest of food. These Baked Blueberry Zucchini Donuts (pictured above) are just one example. Blogger Monique Volz shares all kinds of healthy recipes from sweet baked goods to savory dinner plates.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/?m=1
Skinny Taste is the #2 pick because of the great variety. You can search for great meals will all your needs in mind....Paleo, Low Carb, Vegetarian, etc. There are so many amazing dishes that look so fancy but aren't really hard to make. If you find yourself in a food funk and need to change it up a bit, you will find some refreshing new recipes here.

Something always washes up in Rockaway that's worthy of display.

​Rockaway is a beautiful place with a beautiful beach. Gorgeous treasures are brought in by the tides and found by beach combers like yours truly. Why not display natures tchotchkes so you can enjoy them all the time.  They are so much better than prefab mass market decor.


Also a rare find are the fish jaws. It's so cool to see the teeth intact and all!! 

Vintage perfume bottles, or any smaller glass articles, look so much richer filled with tiny shell. Its amazing how intricate these micro-mini Nutmeg shells are. Most of them are 1/3 the size of a dime or smaller. The long pointed shells out in front of the glass are Auger Shells or as we call them Unicorn Shells. The colors and shapes are so inspiring. 

WE ARE HAPPY TO BE AT RIIS PARK THIS SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JULY 16TH & 17TH. 
COME ON OUT AND ENJOY SOME SUN, WAVES, AWESOME BANDS, FOOD, AND OF COURSE SOME GREAT SHOPS. WE HAD A LOT OF FUN VENDING 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND AS WELL!!

OUR FULL LINE OF PRODUCTS WILL BE ON DISPLAY AS WELL AS A FEW SPECIAL PIECES NOT SOLD ONLINE SUCH AS DIP-DYED TOTE BAGS, TIE-DYE TEE'S, AND MORE.

For infö on the band line up and more visit riisparkbeachbazaar.com.
​

Betabrand.com is a apparel and accessories sites that lets the public vote on which items get made and sold on their site. It's a pretty awesome concept that empowers independent designers and promotes American Made goods. It also helps greatly reduce waste by knowing in advance about how many garments to make based on how many customers have already voted for and pre-ordered. Talk about giving the consumer the power.

Two designs that I have created are featured on the site. My Get To The Point Top &  Crepe and Mesh Illusion Top. I'm  currently working with Betabrand on fitting the Get To The Point Top and sourcing the fabrics to get it ready for Crowdfunding. Since the interesting part of both these styles are there novelty mesh contrast fabrics, I feel these materials can't be compromised. They make for an interesting top but they can be tricky to source for production. I feel the fabrics and design have to be something unique to justify putting it out there to buy.

As a consumer I don't think we realize all the work that goes into each garment and how it came to be. Design concepts that seem amazingly perfect just might not be feasible to be sold in production.
I'm learning to source fabrics in advance and having novelty fabrics developed also.

Who doesn't Love Chocolate Chip Cookies? They are my favorite cookie and this is my new favorite recipe! I love to bake and I love to find and modify recipes even more. So this " healthy" Paleo treat I modified from the site Clean Eating With a Dirty Mind. The link is below.
http://cleaneatingwithadirtymind.com/2014/01/26/paleo-chocolate-chip-dipped-crunch-cookies-c4-cookies/

I actually started out in search of a crispy cookie but my modified version came out oh so chewy and I love it! I took her recipe and took out theunsweetened cocoa powder and the coconut flour because I find it very dense and I wanted a lighter cookie. This is probably why these came out so soft and chewy and not crunchy.
I also just processed the cashews instead of making "butter". And I used maple syrup instead of the maple sugar. Here what I did:

Ingredients:2 cups raw unsalted cashews (processed in a food processor with 2 tsps coconut oil until dough forms)
1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter Flavor, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup raw honey
1 teaspoon REAL vanilla extract
1/8 cup Lucuma Powder
1/8 cup organic Maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Make cashew butter using recipe below.
2. Put the Earth Balance butter in a microwave safe dish and microwave until melted, about 30 seconds. Watch closely to make sure it doesn’t get too hot. When most of it has melted, stir to melt any remaining butter.
3. In a medium sized bowl add the melted butter, egg, honey, and vanilla. Make sure the butter isn’t too hot so it doesn’t cook the egg. Mix the ingredients together using a whisk or hand mixer. Set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl add the proceeded cashew mixture , Lucuma powder, maple syrup, baking soda, and salt. Pour the melted butter mixture on top and stir the ingredients together with a whisk or spoon until completely combined. Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Add more if desired. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or until dough firms up.
5. Take a handful of dough and roll into a ball about the size of a golf ball. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat the process until you have 12 on the tray. Use your palm to slightly press and flatten the balls down into a cookie shape. They will spread some during baking.
6. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat process with remaining dough. Let cool on the baking sheet.