Escale à fragrance heaven.

When it comes to perfume, I think we all have our "go to" scent. We get comfortable in our fragrance and rarely venture out into the unknown....

For about a hundred years mine was Lolita Lempicka. It smelled like cotton candy, strong, delightful. And it came in a bottle that looked like a forbidden apple. As I grew older I then moved on to the other usual suspects, Chanel (in my case, Chanel Chance). And then finally last year, I stepped into the unknown, Viktor and Rolf's Eau Mega. This was a fantastic scent, fresh, floral, green. Although expensive, about $100 for 1.7 ounces, it was well worth the price, because it lasts......................................................................

Next up, my mom just recently came back from Italy and brought me the new Dior fragrance I've been after, Escale à Portofino. This is downright awesome. The same fresh, light green floral scents I like, but feminine, not unisex smelling (like some can be). Davidoff Cool Water anyone? Anyone? Just kidding. So anyway, this Dior features bergamot, citron, orange blossom and almond notes. If you're into fresh floral scents like me, head up to your favorite Nordstrom counter and grab a sample. The only downfall is that it doesn't last long on you, so I feel like I might go through this bottle rather quickly. But oh well, the smell is worth it.

Bananas in a box

Oh behold China Grill....the one place that does Miami Spice well. For those of you readers who don't know, Miami Spice is the season during August and September when some of Miami's best restaurants offer a price fixe menu for lunch ($24) and for dinner ($36) for three courses. And that's where China Grill comes in....

So many restaurants skimp you on small portions, bad menu options, and poor service when you want to order of the miami spice menu, but not China Grill. I usually hit up the place for lunch once a year, but this year they decided not to offer the lunch menu, and only offer dinner instead. So three of my friends, Angela, Emily and Stefanie decided to go for dinner this rainy Thursday evening.

The menu is served family style, large portions, great flavors, lots of choices. For four people, we got to pick three appetizers, three entrees, and a dessert. The skirt steak and spicey beef dumplings are always a favorite when we go there. Angela also loves the calamari salad with the miso dressing. But a standard is always Bananas in a Box, our dessert. It arrives in a tower of carmelized confection, filled with whipped cream, chopped bananas, and a custard of sorts. What you do is take your forks, and whomp the tower over, crunch up all the carmelized candy shell and mix 'er all up. Yum, it's bananas.....and it's our favorite part of the evening. Don't leave China without it.

Oh and did I mention we left looking like bag ladies because we each had a monster sized doggie bag to take home our leftover man portions????? This miami spice is good. Don't miss out.

Sweet Succulence

Monique Lhuillier

I wanted to share some more fashion photos from Monique Lhuillier's ready to wear Spring 2011 show. Something about the models' makeup and the splash of colors just made everything pop. It looks like such a happy, colorful show.

And for any of us who have gotten married, we all know that Monique makes the most exquisite wedding dresses....this is actually where she began. Her ready to wear collection only began recently, in the past few years I think. Monique Lhuillier's wedding dresses are known for their "pick-ups" in the skirt and her beautiful lace and other detailing. Nevertheless, she knows what looks good on a woman and her fit looks perfect. I would like to have one of everything in this collection! Yes please!

I need this. We'll call it "lacy mermaid"

I love everything, I almost put up a pic of every look from the show.