fete : book art [jannah's picks]

sorry, after-school specials, kate hudson rom-coms and teachers of the world : we always judge a book by it's cover. the two of us have distinct taste when we walk into a barnes & noble [or flip through apple books]. jannah goes for the neon backgrounds, pop art photographs and playful fonts. savera's opinion carries a bit more clout [being a casual book model and all]. she sticks to the ones with a south asian vibe. throw a diety on the binding or an ancient chant on the dust jacket and she's in. let the paperback prizefight begin.

look : staycation [belle-bottoms]

our staycation is split between time zones. one of us is sunbathing with elephants and drinking lime juice on the beach. one of us is waging snowball war on the neighbors and sipping gourmet hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. this month it is savera's shorts v. jannah's parkas. may the odds be ever in your favor [spoiler: there will be no bloody battle...just some sartorial slaughtering]. 

taste: family recipes [acai bowl]

a couple years ago, acai was everywhere. acai will cleanse your liver! acai will protect you from alien invasion! acai is the second coming! the craze has since died down, but acai bowls are still as good as ever. we made them for brunch [extra thick and gluten free]. the greek yogurt base and peanut butter topper helped to up the protein. once we licked the bowl giant teacup clean, we ran three miles, won a twerk-off with a truck driver and pole-vaulted into a tree to save a kitten. acai superpowers.

sip : juice [market fresh]

the new year starts and juice cleanses are all the rage. don't worry, we've tried them all : the blueprint, the green day, the master cleanse, the servant spruce. day one you're a human, day two you're a zombie and day three you're beyonce. yes, juice cleanses work, but we always miss chewing. plus, peeing every half hour is only acceptable if you're a puppy, not if you're the girl forcing pit stops on the family road trip to yala [or during a snowed-in sherlock marathon]. so instead of a full on cleanse, we ripped off parts and added them to snack time. these market fresh juices from sri lanka have the vitamin punch of citrus and the digestion benefits of mint and papaya. queen bey approved.

taste : family recipes [pink peppercorn brownies]

savera's rich umber skin tone does not come from the sun. it comes from two decades of gorging on chocolate. as a bonifide addict, she has perfected hundreds of recipes all starring cacao. this spicy twist on brownies will leave your tongue humming for more. you can serve them three ways : on a porcelein platter as the centerpiece for high tea, on a doll plate as a birthday cake for a barbie or at the museum as a contemporary art piece glorifying nips.

look : staycation [fourteen carat]

our staycation is split between time zones. one of us is sunbathing with elephants and drinking lime juice on the beach. one of us is waging snowball war on the neighbors and sipping gourmet hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. this month it is savera's shorts v. jannah's parkas. may the odds be ever in your favor [spoiler: there will be no bloody battle...just some sartorial slaughtering]. 

fete : book art [savera's picks]

sorry, after-school specials, kate hudson rom-coms and teachers of the world : we always judge a book by it's cover. the two of us have distinct taste when we walk into a barnes & noble [or flip through apple books]. jannah goes for the neon backgrounds, pop art photographs and playful fonts. savera's opinion carries a bit more clout [being a casual book model and all]. she sticks to the ones with a south asian vibe. throw a deity on the binding or an ancient chant on the dust jacket and she's in. let the paperback prizefight begin.

look : staycation [effeuiller la marguerite]

our staycation is split between time zones. one of us is sunbathing with elephants and drinking lime juice on the beach. one of us is waging snowball war on the neighbors and sipping gourmet hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. this month it is savera's shorts v. jannah's parkas. may the odds be ever in your favor [spoiler: there will be no bloody battle...just some sartorial slaughtering].

sip : [purple graze]

the new year starts and juice cleanses are all the rage. don't worry, we've tried them all : the blueprint, the green day, the master cleanse, the servant spruce. day one you're a human, day two you're a zombie and day three you're beyonce. yes, juice cleanses work, but we always miss chewing. plus, peeing every half hour is only acceptable if you're a puppy, not if you're the girl forcing pit stops on the family road trip to yala [or during a snowed-in sherlock marathon]. so instead of a full on cleanse, we ripped off parts and added them to snack time. purple graze has the health benefits of matcha and the antioxidants of blueberries. drink up. it's queen bey approved.

the list : [january]

1. look: staycation

   2. spot: home

       3. taste: family recipes

           4. sip: juice

               5. fete: book covers

                   6. wild card: emergency exits

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

[inspiration]

  tina fey's bossypants  .  the candy kitchen in bridgehampton  .  coconut sambol  .  green juice  .  marc jacobs in pajamas  .  sri lankan elephants

look : birthday [glitter pimp]

drunch [drunk + brunch] is one of new york's finer innovations. on the table there were bottomless bellinis. on the dj booth there was a neon violin played by a raver in sequined shorts. savera's 21st birthday at pranna was a classy ragefest. as the clubbing ensued [at 3pm], savera's birthday dress became the center of attention. a human disco ball with a screwdriver in hand. we thought we'd bring it out of the archives and into the snow. glitter bomb. rage on.

sip : [elderfizzle]

new year's eve means champagne toasts, champagne fountains, champagne seven wonders of the world [if you're kanye]. we respect the tradition, but we wanted to start the night with something a little bit different. we met in italy, so this year we're cheers-ing with elderfizzle [the drink, not a new name for snoop dog] : prosecco + a dash of elderflower syrup. and for our resolutions? we'll deal with those tomorrow.

spot : czech republic [karlovy vary]

santa's pastel village. human-sized snow globe. karlovy vary is that place that your parents said you could only see in disney movies. eastern europe has been in on the secret of this town's mystical mineral baths and herbal liquors, but the rest of the world only knows it as the backdrop to casino royale and the last holiday, that queen latifah movie. take a peak at the fairytale-come-to-life, with buildings the colors of french macarons, powder snow and unlimited becherovka tastings. just make sure you are near a toilet. that enchanted water will transform you into queen of the porcelain throne.

fete : christmas [dinner & brunch]

we may be on different sides of the globe, but both our families are stellar at the same thing : eating. candlelit dinner. candlelit brunch. we don't care what the meal is as long as our plate is full and it has a matching cocktail. with the time difference, the christmas dinner in colombo and the holiday brunch in nyc were synched up. simultaneous boozing and carbo-loading.

look : birthday [pearl submission]

in prague, where beer is mixed in with the baby formula, 21 means nothing. so instead of a full-blown rager, jannah did dinner at the four seasons, spontaneous twerking at an empty club [it was a tuesday], a shot of absinthe & a viewing of pitch perfect. classy dress + a dinner table next to mark zuckerberg + aggressive alcohol + harmonized movie = birthday bliss. now, the holidays just ended, and we unwrapped a ton of gifts. so we decided to tie something back up. thank you 50 shades for the inspo : we just signed a contract with some pearls.

sip : [solstice sangria]

it's christmas eve and we want to forget that it's winter. so we brought back a summer favorite, with an elderflower twist. sangria is perfect for the holidays for three reasons: you can make it in bulk, you get a serving of fruit & you get a table-side decoration [look at that color]. so pull out that grecian urn you've been dying to use and make a vat of solstice sangria. don't forget to leave a little extra for santa.

taste : cake [magnolia carrot cake]

savera's food pyramid consists of chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. but in order to keep the red hair, jannah has to eat the occasional orange vegetable. we've tried carrot cake all over the city, but nothing comes close to magnolia. maybe it is the extra thick layer of cream cheese frosting. maybe it is the wall of walnuts. maybe it is the hidden pineapple in the stuffing. we're not sure, but this cake is so rich it could give bugs bunny a heart attack. carrots, nuts, raisins and dairy. look at that : a balanced meal.

look : birthday [ginger spice]

at the peak of viva forever and wannabe, jannah had a spice girls party. actually she had two spice girls parties. twice she rocked pleather, leopard and more pleather. #shorthairdontcare was not trending in the 90s [trending wasn't even a fake-verb yet]. so she slapped on an auburn wig, finished it with a dragonfly clip [one step up from the butterfly clip] and threw a bunch of peace signs. now it's 2013 and we're having a nostalgic moment. crop tops. flatforms. it's all back. and since savera is a south-asian benjamin button, she can still rock a 7-year-old's shirt. hi ci ya hold tight!

fete : christmas [new york city]

new york city around christmastime is weird. twilight zone weird. strangers hold the door of the subway, starbucks baristas take the time to get your name right and those peta and dominos flyer-fanatics disappear. manhattan becomes a friendly neighborhood, drizzled in fairy lights with a blanket of snow. of course, once the post-holiday sales start and the snow turns to sludge, everyone returns to blank faces and ignoring you when you wipe out on black ice. but for the moment, we're going to chug eggnog and marvel at our urban wonderland.

wildcard : [ice skating]

we've watched the tourists wipe out at rockefeller. we've swooned during the last scene of serendipity. but until this year, we had never actually gone ice skating in the big frozen apple. with the olympics coming up, we thought it was time we started our training. so savera put on her power pimp coat and jannah put her super thick juicy socks to use [when else can you wear socks that read "smells like couture" on the bottom]. we zigged. we zagged. we triple sow cowed. we quadruple goat milked. and in the end, bryant park awarded us with the gold medal [and a fine for using our camera on the ice].

sip : [elderzesty]

last minute stocking stuffing. overdo chanukah shoppping. kandle kollecting for kwanzaa [the holiday, not the kardashian]. these last couple weeks of december are super stressful. we know spa water is usually saved for the after new year's hangover and for resolutions of faux fitness and health. but we are drinking it early. make yourself an elderzesty to get through the next couple days of holiday hysteria. this spa in a glass will transport you from the overloaded kmart aisle to johnny depp's private isle in the early spring where you get hand fed grapes and fairy massages.

spot : czech republic [prague]

after the iron curtain fell, prague became a time warp where anything goes. fashion is stuck in the '90s with bootcut jeans and band t-shirts, the music is '70s disco, and the local cuisine is medieval [meat, bread and potatoes]. the city center has ancient roman arches, mid-century parisian cobblestone and a starbucks on the corner. in the winter, old town square clears out, tourist shops close up and the czechs do what they do best : drink. so let's grab a pint of pivo and make a toast. to kafka and hockey, na zdraví!

taste : cake [restaurant roundup]

cake is brilliant for every occasion. birthdays. holidays. finals week. a good cake can do more than turn your frown upside down. a luscious cream cheese frosting can make cows sing acapella, a gooey chocolate filling can make a bodybuilder giggle, and a clever fondant topper can start a war [see cupcake wars]. but it is hard to get the perfect balance. here are some of the places that got it right. as rihanna says, it's all about the cake cake cake cake cake cake cake.

look : birthday [bow-tastic]

every great birthday is chock full of bows. big bows mean big presents like a barbie car or an oversized bottle of champagne [yes, please]. savera's red birthday skirt was a bit betty draper and a bit 50s serial killer. all tied up with some cream cheese frosting and a glass of merlot, this natal day was bow-tastic.

fete : christmas [lego nutcracker part 2]

the nutcracker is one of our favorite parts of the holiday season. the balanchine ballet version. the local dance studio with scratchy soundtrack version. this year, we're doing it differently. lego-style. are you ready to crack some plastic multicolored nuts? if you missed part 1, here it is.

sip : [elder-wise]

to balance out the ugly sweater parties, we needed a tasteful holiday drink. in walked elder-wise, the elderflower edelweiss. this combination of delicate liqueur, gin and bubbles gives you superpowers in that next round of white elephant. fix yourself a glass, take a bite of that too-sweet-cookie and listen to some sound of music [the original, not the american idol vampire version]. blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever.

look : birthday [spy surprise]

jannah's 20th birthday was breakfast at tifffany's with a twist: the little black dress became the long black dress, and the pearls and cigarette holder were replaced by dangling gold jewelry and a silly straw. dinner was foie gras soup dumplings, wagyu beef with shaved truffles and champagne. the apartment party was friends, avicii and more champagne. now, it's been a couple years. jannah has gone from holly golightly to one part 007 three parts american-hustle-style amy adams. don't cross her. she's wearing at least five deadly weapons around her neck.

spot : czech republic [prague]

after the iron curtain fell, prague became a time warp where anything goes. fashion is stuck in the '90s with bootcut jeans and band t-shirts, the music is '70s disco, and the local cuisine is medieval [meat, bread and potatoes]. the city center has ancient roman arches, mid-century parisian cobblestone and a starbucks on the corner. in the winter, old town square clears out, tourist shops close up and the czechs do what they do best : drink. so let's grab a pint of pivo and make a toast. to kafka and hockey, na zdraví!

fete : christmas [lego nutcracker part 1]

the nutcracker is one of our favorite parts of the holiday season. the balanchine ballet version. the local dance studio with scratchy soundtrack version. this year, we're doing it differently. lego-style. are you ready to crack some plastic multicolored nuts?

the list : [december]

1. look: birthday

    2. spot: czech republic

        3. taste: cake

            4. sip: elderflower

                5. fete: christmas

                    6. wild card: ice skating

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

[inspiration]

  rupaul christmas special  .  old town square in prague  .  st. germain liqueur  .  barbie cake  .  high heel ice skates  .  scene from the ultimate christmas present movie  .  betsey johnson's birthday runway