Twinkle By Wenlan

We all know the flowers and trees are at least thinking of blooming… or we hope they are! But while there may still be snow on the ground and a nip in the air, we can escape into something deliciously tropical with this easy as cake Pineapple Crisp!

Ingredients:

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 (20 oz) can pineapple tidbits
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350*.
2. Drain both cans of pineapple and spread them evenly on the bottom of a 9×9 pan.
3. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and egg until smooth. Use your hand to evenly sprinkle the mixture over the pineapple.
4. Pour the melted butter or margarine on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Serve it hot or cold.
6. Enjoy!

Who’s the lucky one?

There’s nothing wrong with a conventional Valentine’s Day gift. No, really! Different from birthdays and anniversaries, which are personal milestones, Valentine’s Day is a national celebration of your love. But how do you personalize the serenade of your heart strings and not just make Valentine’s another date night?? Pull out a pen and paper – old fashioned: yes; romantic: definitely! –, reach into the crevices of your heart for some poetic inspiration and let the love flow! Here is a list of poetry styles that may help you get the creative process in motion:

Acrostic – reminiscent of grade school art projects, who says you out-grow acrostic poems? Write your sweetheart’s name vertically and begin each horizontal line with each consecutive letter from his name.

Haiku – minimal in form and words, but deep in meaning, haikus are constructed of three lines: the first line contains five syllables, the second contains seven syllables and the third ends with also five syllables.

Lantern – based on the shape of a traditional Chinese lantern, you can choose whichever shape has meaning for you. Write a poem with the words laid out in a way that creates a specific shape.

Shakespearian Sonnet – don’t let the name intimidate you! A Shakespearian sonnet contains three verses and one couplet; the rhyme scheme is abab/ cdcd/ efef/ gg. No need to be lofty – love is a simple message!

Free Verse – choose your own rhythm, don’t get caught up on rhymes and let your pen be a messenger of all that’s in your heart!

Madeleine.

There is no better way to express your feelings to someone than a homemade dish. Don’t know how to cook? It’s ok! Try this easy Guacamole recipe for a delicious and colorful Valentine!

Ingredients
•    3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
•    1 lime, juiced
•    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•    1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
•    1/2 teaspoon cayenne
•    1/2 medium onion, diced
•    2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
•    1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
•    1 clove garlic, minced
Directions
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Lastly, put the tomato dices on top of the mix and make it a hear shape then serve.
Original Recipe by Alton Brown @www.foodnetwork.com

We’ve been hard at work for weeks prepping the Fall 2010 Fashion Show. I read a statistic yesterday (tweeted by one of our dear followers on Twitter) that the average New York Fashion Week runway show takes 6 months to plan, 18 hours to prep and only 10-15 minutes on the actual runway. It seems like months and months of blood, sweat and tears go into these shows and it’s over in the blink of an eye.

You’d think this would be off-putting fact to hear as we’re in the midst of our prep, but it actually had the opposite effect. We’ve been model casting all week, which is alternately fun and draining. After awhile, the girls all start to blend together and you can’t even remember who’s who! There are after parties to plan, giftbags to brainstorm and execute, music to choose, models to cast and basically all the tiny details you don’t even think of while you’re at the shows. I’m fairly certain that 18 hours isn’t nearly an accurate timeframe to estimate prep work.  But it’s all worth it.

The fact of the matter is, it’s not really over in 10-15 minutes. The truth is, you have 10-15 minutes to prove yourself to the fashion world. For that time, all eyes are on you and those impressions last an entire season. It’s your moment to showcase the hard work you’ve put in for the last six months; all that’s gone in to create a line you love.

In those 15 minutes, trends are born, styles are revamped and the history of fashion is written. After those 10-15 minutes, the gauntlet is thrown. If the fashion community loves your show, you have it made for the next six months. If they hate your show, you have six months to go at it again and prove them wrong next season.

By Stephanie

The Entrance at Bryant Park

Laura

It is just one week before Twinkle’s Fall 2010 collection is to be shown at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week, and things are in full swing at the studio. For the last week, we have been casting models, which is a very tedious, and time consuming process. I have learned so much about all of the elements that fall into designing a collection, and even more about the details that are going on behind the scenes to produce a fashion show. We, as interns, have worked together to assure a smooth casting, as it can get a bit hectic when five models walk in together and we must sort all their information accurately and timely. After seeing twenty girls, I can’t help but know it’s time for a coffee-break, to rejuvenate and prepare for more! It is amazing being able to watch the garments come to life, as they mold into one beautiful, innovative collection.

Organizing Model Cards

My journey at Twinkle started with the pop-up shop.  There were many things to do to prepare for this event, which included tagging and taking inventory of all the merchandise to be sold in the shop.  Working at the pop up shop was the next step of the journey.  It was a 3 day event and on the first night there was a star studded launch party that I got to work at.  I also got to work in the store on the last night.  When the store closed that night it was time to break down the store.  The pop- up shop was a success.

Interning at Twinkle has been a great experience.  Pulling clothes, tracking samples, and maintaining the press binder are just some of the tasks that I do on a daily basis.  There are also other tasks that I get to work on.  For the holidays I packaged hand made yarn ball ornaments to be sent out to editors and buyers.  Then I got to attend my first Twinkle holiday party.  After that it was back to St. Louis, MO. It was great being back home and spending time with my family.

Me with Stephanie P at twinkle’s pop op shop

By:  Tara Kalinich

Ingredients
•    10 Foil Baking Cups
•    16 oz frozen strawberries
•    8 oz can crushed pineapple (drained)
•    8 oz strawberry yogurt
•    1 large banana
•    2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
1.    Line 10 muffin-tin cups with foil baking cups
2.    Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend
3.    Spoon into muffin-tin cups and freeze for three hours

Served warm or room temp, this Blueberry Crumble is cozily sweet while awakening the taste buds to the flavors of springtime.  Enjoy the heavenly smell while it bakes and feel free to experiment with your favorite fruits!
Ingredients:
•    ½ cup white sugar
•    ½ cup light brown sugar
•    1 teaspoon baking powder
•    1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
•    1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
•    1 cup butter (slightly softened, not melted)
•    1 egg
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•    1/4 teaspoon salt
•    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•    4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
•    1/2 cup white sugar
•    3 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2.    In a medium bowl, stir together ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix in salt and cinnamon. Use a fork to blend in the butter, egg and vanilla extract. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3.    In another bowl, stir together ½ cup white sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries.
4.    When the oven has reached 375, bake just the crust for five minutes.
5.    Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Use your hands to crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer.
6.    Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Using frozen blueberries may take longer to bake. Cool completely before cutting into squares.