It is better to go against the grain when it comes home designs. The same way that people create a work of art with their living room couches, you can use throw pillows to decorate bookshelves, as illustrated in the two photos above.
The Zig-Zag throw pillows in brown, crimson, and navy, and Lego throw pillows in brown, crimson and, navy, bring symmetry to a bare room. The Ikat throw pillows in charcoal, tangerine, and French grey bring a hot, Aztec mood.
The designer discusses her inspiration and process of creating the Holiday Jewelry collection.
 Twinkle Jewels was born with the goal to make costume jewelry that will go with our ready to wear collection. 3 years after the first twinkle necklace was created, Twinkle Jewels has evolved into an independent and complicated product line, without losing its quirky and sophisticated character.
In twinkle Jewels’ holiday collection, I pictured a necklace to look like stars being tossed back into the sky- shiny yet slightly buried in the blue velvety night. It should compliment our holiday collection in an unexpected way- echoing a moody Impressionist print, while softening the sharp geometric lines. The Starry Night necklace was therefore created.
To start, we need matte and semi sparkle blue, black, grey and antique silver beads. But the finished look should be more modern instead of exotic.
 
After a few fun attempts, I decided that this was it. It glistens like a starry night, yet it has a geometrical shape that works perfectly with the theme of the collection.
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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.
By:Â 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
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
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.
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!
The day has finally come. It’s the last show in Bryant Park and we’re backstage preparing to ensure everything is ready by 6:00pm. As models slowly trickle in, one by one over a span of hours, we check them in and move them through hair, makeup, and nails as quickly as possible. Suddenly it’s 5:50pm and we still have five girls that need their makeup done. They’re calling first looks and all the other models are already changing. Will we finish in time? Will we make it? As these questions run through my head, the girls are already done and putting on their first ensemble. Someone calls out to clear the area of all non models and stylists. That’s my cue…time to fight for a good spot to stand so I can see the show. The lights go out. Then, the spotlight hits the stage and the music starts. As I start to feel the music, the first model hits the runway. The show flashes before my eyes as all the models walk out onto the runway to do their final walk. Everyone starts clapping uncontrollably, and I know the show was a success. It feels great to be a part of all the excitement
Model getting final touch up!
This is my second experience attending a fashion show during my internship at Twinkle by Wenlan. It has been a fantastic experience for me and has allowed me to understand more aspects of the industry. I am especially glad to have been able to join in both fashion shows during New York Fashion Week. These allowed me to participate in different events that featured both the Spring and Fall collections. This year’s work differs from my previous experience in that I am currently working to invite the Chinese-language press to our show. It is the first time Twinkle by Wenlan has reached out to the media from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. Because of Wenlan’s Taiwanese background, many Chinese media are especially interested in her personal experience, the story of how she struggled to make it in New York, in addition to Twinkle’s line of apparel. Working with Chinese media has been enjoyable, and the media outlets have been friendly and responded favorably. Hopefully, this media campaign will result in more people in Asia knowing about Twinkle by Wenlan and fall in love with the designer and her products – as I have.
Wenlan interviewed by International Press
Fall 2010 was my first experience on the ‘other’ side of the runway during Fashion Week. Before the show, I wasn’t too sure what to expect and came in a bit apprehensive. Backstage at Twinkle’s Fall 2010 Fashion Show was probably one of the craziest places I’ve ever been. It’s organized chaos; models are popping in and out, press are backstage snapping pictures and trying to get interviews and there is a constant stream of people in and out offering their best wishes and getting the backstage scoop on the show. Wenlan’s dog, Milan, was also backstage checking out the action!
My first task was checking in on the models backstage and making sure that we knew where they were at all times. Watching models backstage is similar to babysitting- they’re always running out to smoke a cigarette, rotating around the make up and hair stations; you have to keep an eagle eye on 26 girls! I was a little panicked at first because some of the models were running late from an earlier show. Eventually, they all wafted in from their various earlier jobs and got settled into hair and make up and my heart rate slowed down!
Then it was time for the show to start. I was backstage with Wenlan and the Assistant Director helping make sure that the girls were in the right order. The run-of-show is very specific and is deliberated over for a long time before, so it’s important that it’s right! If not, the program is wrong and the looks don’t tell the right story. Since girls are changing into one or two more looks, it’s a constant, heart pounding process of making sure they’re in the right order. I barely got to watch the show as I was so busy making sure that the girls were lined up correctly and we had everyone!
Finally, after the last girl walked out onto the runway for the finale, I could catch my breath and my hands stopped shaking. And I loved every second of it!
By: Stephanie
30 mins before the show starts!
