CdM in the Kitchen: Not Your Grandmother's Chocolate Drizzle Cake

This cake was inspired by my great grandmother's recipe for white cake topped with bittersweet chocolate drizzle but I decided to give it a modern updateby adding cherries, of course, and trying out the ombre cake trend I've been seeing all over Instagram. It's the perfect dessert for a birthday party or even just a summer get together with friends. Check out the recipe below and try it this summer for a cake that looks and tastes delicious made from fresh homemade ingredients!

Ingredients
2 boxes of White Cake mix
Eggs
Cooking Oil
4 boxes of powdered sugar
Milk
3 sticks of butter or margarine 
2 bags of Fresh Cherries
Sugar
Corn Starch
water 
Red and Pink food coloring
Unsweetened Bakers Chocolate

First I made 4 8" round cakes by filling the pan to half what I would normally fill it and then let each layer cool.
While the cakes were baking I started on the Cherry filling I used to put in between the layers for an added burst of flavor.
I pitted the first bag of cherries and put them in a small sauce pan with around half a cup of water and 4 tablespoons of sugar. I brought the mix to a boil and stirred the cherries letting them simmer for several minutes until they became soft. Then I took the mix off the stove and poured it into a strainer. I used a wooden spoon to mash the cherries up over a bowl until I had juiced all the cherries. I then poured the juice back into the saucepan. I saved some out and mixed in 1 tablespoon of corn starch to cut in while the sauce was cooking. I brought the mix to a boil and added more sugar then let it simmer while I slowly added in the corn starch mix and stirred until I found the consistency I wanted. I put the sauce into the fridge to cool and thicken to a jelly like consistency.
I then started on the homemade frosting. I sat 1 stick of margarine out to soften before putting it in a bowl and adding in the powdered sugar and a dash of milk. I mixed the ingredients adding more powdered sugar and milk until I had used 1 box of powdered sugar and had the frosting at a thick consistency.
I spread the frosting over the first layer of cake covering the top and then added a few spoonfuls of the cherry filling in the middle before repeating the process for all 4 layers.

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 I put the cake in the fridge to harden and let it sit overnight before taking it out the next morning and making a new batch of frosting for a crumb coat. After letting that sit I mixed the dark red food coloring into a small bowl of frosting and added a few drops of purple to make it even darker. Then I mixed pink into a separate bowl and put drops of the dark red color around the bottom of the cake and added drops of pink and light pink in the middle. I used a thin flat spatula to spread the frosting while turning the cake stand to achieve the ombre effect.

A post shared by SierraClair (@cerisesdumatin) on May 13, 2017 at 1:14pm PDT

Now that I had the cake frosted I melted 3 pieces of the unsweetened chocolate and spooned it on the sides of the cake to make the drip effect. I covered the top of the cake completely with more chocolate and smoothed it out to add some shine to the cake. I topped it off by piling cherries on the top of the cake and sticking them in the chocolate as it was cooling so they would stay. I also added some around the sides of the cake for a finishing touch.
Cherry lovers will enjoy the bittersweet flavors of this cake as a way to satisfy those sweet tooth cravings anytime of year!

Summer is Officially Here and it Looks A Lot Like Baywatch: Exclusive Collection Launch at Ron Robinson in Santa Monica

Today Baywatch, the summer's hottest beach movie, hits theaters and the remake of the 90s phenomenon will have fans dreaming of beautiful California beach days with hot lifeguards Zach Efron and Dwayne the rock Johnson in sexy muscle tees and stylish throwback looks. I got the ultimate taste of Baywatch fashion on Thursday when I attended the exclusive launch the official Baywatch collection at Ron Robinson in Santa Monica.

The collection was created in partnership with Paramount Pictures under a licensing deal for the Baywatch movie and at the same time that we were celebrating the US launch, stars from the film including Efron and The Rock were in Australia promoting the movie overseas. "We are thrilled to have this great design collaboration celebrating the Baywatch movie release,” said LeeAnne Stables, President, Worldwide Marketing Partnerships & Licensing at Paramount Pictures. “The film spotlights the spirit of the beach lifestyle in a fresh and contemporary way – perfectly captured by Ron Robinson and Sugar.” The partnership between Sugar and Paramount resulted in a great personalized collection for fans with many options for customers to pick styles they liked and items that they could enjoy all summer long. 

At the event I spoke with reps from Sugar t-shirts the brand behind the fun retro collection as well as a representative from Paramount Pictures Australia who told me that the swimsuit styles in the fun retro collection were inspired by the costumes in the movie. As I wandered around the store checking out all the fun photo ops with the Baywatch decorations I could definitely see the resemblance.

This collection was the first to include menswear for Sugar tees and they did a great job translating their signature sassy style into the menswear collection with funny sayings and graphic designs that will no doubt start a trend for the summer.

My personal favorite of the womenswear looks was this cute bodysuit inspired by the signature red Baywatch swimsuit which became an icon of SoCal beach styles in the 90s.

Guests had a great time in the store checking out all the beach themed products to go with the collection and summer vibes were everywhere as many showed up wearing pieces from the collection.

Check out my article for E! News about the revival of the Baywatch movie here and don't forget to check out the collection online so you can show up to the new movie in theaters now in style! 

Loved my cute little makeup bag form the event it was perfect for a beach day! 

Spotlight: Summer Fun at the Ice Cream Museum in DTLA

Today I visited the Ice Cream Museum in Downtown Los Angeles where everyone was enjoying the fun and bright exhibit to start off their summer. The popular exhibit which already had several weekends sold out for the months of May and June while it is in town debuted in NYC last summer and is now coming to LA where celebrities and influencers are already planning visits to the made-for-Instagram exhibition with endless photo ops and colorful displays. The trend for interactive experiences that are tailored to digital and social media for consumers has really taken off and soon new virtual reality experiences will be the next big thing attracting people to events. The pop art style exhibit brought food and design trends together using pop culture phenomenons like "goth ice cream" and neon signs with fun sayings in bright colors such as hot pink as well as rainbow decorations inspired by the popular unicorn trend. Workers encouraged guests to have their phones out and take pictures embracing the fact that consumers are constantly checking and posting on social media. The exhibit was great for guests looking to get an amazing photo shoot and taste the latest ice cream craze of the summer such as Mochi and, appealed to all ages with games like ping pong and even a sprinkle pool to play in scattered throughout the tour. However, the fast paced tour didn't leave much time for a lot of information about the exhibit and the social media popularity of the museum didn't reach many outside of Southern California. I wore a retro Ice Cream themed look with my favorite Kate Spade "What's the Scoop" tote and hot pink Kate Spade dress. Check out photos from my visit below! 

 

No detail was too small to be left undone and I loved the simple artistic design of this cool rainbow coat rack.

The exhibit was tailored to it's location in California and included samples from the popular California ice cream shop McConnel's and fun photo ops of popular SoCal landmarks like the Venice beach boardwalk.

Fashion Consciousness Magazine: Blue Party in Hollywood

Today I headed over to the W Hotel in Hollywood to celebrate the release of Fashion Consciousness Magazine's new issue release. The theme this year was blue and everyone showed up decked out in all shades from turquoise to navy and everything in between. I opted for my light blue sequin dress and had a great time taking photos on the red carpet. The party looks like it might spark a trend for the coming season as I've been seeing tons of blue pops on the runways lately.

The Blue Issue of Fashion Consciousness magazine also included some great editorial shots in blue looks which definitely gave me some ideas for this trending color. I enjoyed mingling at the party before the fashion show started. This year's show celebrated all the past issues of Fashion Consciousness magazine which each featured a different color. The amazing presentation showcased looks that captured the theme of each issue progressing through the rainbow in shimmery and avant guarde designs. Party goers enjoyed the exciting runway show and everyone got treated to an explanation of the power and meaning behind the color blue by the editor Valeria. While I generally prefer pink, even I was convinced that blue can sometimes be an equally fashionable statement.

A Sweet Mothers Day Celebration with CoachArt org x Natasha Wagner atRon Robinson in Santa Monica

This weekend I attended the CoachArt x Natasha Wagner event at the Ron Robinson boutique in Santa Monica. The event was sponsored by Ron Robinson and the CoachArt foundation - a charitable foundation that works with local artists to provide one- on-one training and group classes for children with chronic illnesses. The foundation kicked off it's partnership with actress and local community theater leader, Natasha Wagner, who is also the daughter of Hollywood legend Natalie Woods, last year at their annual gala. She was honored with one of their awards and has been working with them ever since. Since then she has been working with the organization to create theater and improv classes for CoachArt children in communities around the LA area. Natasha launched her Santa Monica program at Ron Robinson this Mother's Day. As part of the event the store even offered special deals and a fun shopping experience for the mom's who brought their kids to the event. Natasha celebrated the day as well with a special on her own signature fragrance line inspired by her mom Natalie Wood; 20% of proceeds went to the CoachArt foundation. Natasha was so excited to see such a full house turn out for her theater class; the kids who participated were having a blast learning improv techniques. She made sure everyone was included and came up with fun activities for the whole group. The event also included snacks and dessert provided by a local catering company that specializes in all organic and sugar free creations. The class was an exciting opportunity for the children who participate in CoachArt programs because childhood chronic illnesses can often prevent kids from joining many activities in their school, especially if they attend public schools who already have a limited selection of arts activities available. For these children a chance to get to know new friends and feel accomplished at something is such an important opportunity since they can often feel out of place at public schools who aren't equipped to offer them alternative activities to choose from. Choices are often limited for children who are required to attend public schools and giving a variety of choices of activities and learning environments for kids to choose from based on their needs is something many children could benefit from. CoachArt and it's volunteer coaches such as Natasha are providing a much needed place for these kids to get exposure to new activities in the arts, which for many may even turn into a possible career. The fun day continued with more arts and crafts provided by CoachArt volunteers. I headed over to check out Natasha's new fragrance line and spoke with her about her inspiration, her mom and silver screen glamour girl Natalie Wood. According to Natasha she wanted to create something that was classic while still being fresh and light. She said, "I wanted to create something fresh and accessible but still have gardenia at the heart."

 The fragrance appealed to fans of all ages and captured her mother's memory with notes of gardenia, her mother's favorite flower, and orange blossom which Natasha said always surrounded her childhood home. The fragrance captures the timelessness of her mother's legacy and according to Natasha one her favorite memories of Natalie Wood. On her mother's birthday Natasha remembers getting hundreds of gardenias sent to the house and the air being filled with the refreshing scent for days afterwards. She spent months developing the fragrance and learned about the process of creating a perfume at a company in upstate New York, a process she said she really enjoyed. "What I  learned is, it's not just one or two fragrances that create the scent. It's like wine or like cooking,"  she said of the yearlong project. According to Natasha she is a very decisive person and she knew instantly what she liked and didn't like. She wanted to stay away from anything too strong and "perfumey" but was incredibly happy with the final product once it was finally finished. It has inspired her to create more fragrances and she has plans to introduce more to the line in the future. She is currently working on a rose inspired fragrance to add to the line next.

Rei Kawakubo at the Met Gala Reignites the "Fashion vs. Art" Debate

On Monday May 1 fashion's elite turned out for the annual Met Gala, the event of the season for celebrities and designers lucky enough to be on the guest list. The Gala is the place to see and be seen and the gown or suit worn can make or break your style and image for years to come. Each year, the met gala has a theme and honors a designer who has had a profound impact on the fashion industry.

This year the theme was  called "the art of the inbetween" and guests were encouraged to dress in outfits that reflected the work of Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo. The Japanese designer, who founded the brand in 1973, is only the second living designer to be honored with an exhibition at the Met Gala Costume Institute. In this Vogue interview with the Met's Costume Institute Director, Alex Bolton explained his choice saying, “Rei Kawakubo is one of the most important and influential designers of the past forty years, By inviting us to rethink fashion as a site of constant creation, recreation, and hybridity, she has defined the aesthetics of our time.”

The designer's work has often been cited as innovative and anti-fashion over the years and her couture designs are characterized by large bulges and intentional wear and tear. She is also credited with making black an avante-garde fashion statement and it has been a popular color for her line over the years. She is notoriously reclusive as many artists are and, although her business was reported to have made over $220 million a year she has said she doesn't care if her clothes sell or not. That sentiment has become even more evident in her designs since her announcement that she was "done making clothes" in 2014.

A post shared by Timothy Tate (@timothy.o.tate) on May 2, 2017 at 7:39pm PDT

Many guests chose to honor the theme and wear vintage Comme des Garcons pieces while others chose to make obvious statements with their looks in reference to the Comme des Garcons brand's history of challenging traditional fashion and social norms.

Guests with obviously avant-garde looks like Katy Perry and Rihanna were praised on the front page of fashion and celebrity publications everywhere Tuesday morning as best dressed of the night. 

A post shared by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on May 2, 2017 at 12:45pm PDT

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Even celebrities who weren't wearing CDG or custom designs but, who had obvious statement pieces and artistic themes to their looks like Kendall and Kylie Jenner or Jaden Smith were at the top of the list. While these celebrities definitely incorporated the themes of the brand on the red carpet other guests who opted for more traditionally beautiful designs like Mindy Kaling and Kim Kardashian were accused of being off-theme in some cases. However according to a Women's Wear Daily Twitter poll 44% of respondants voted for Kim Kardashian when asked who wore white best. 

Who wore white the best at the #MetGala 2017?

— WWD (@wwd) May 2, 2017

This divide isn't new to the fashion industry and the argument over "mainstream fashion" and designers who believe the purpose of fashion is to defy and innovate in an artistic way has been debated by many in the industry. Rei Kawakubo's designs took flight in a time of punk rebellion when the fashion industry began to acknowledge street style and cede some of the runway's authority to the anti-fashion crowd because of designers like Vivienne Westwood. 

Today the Met's exhibition opens against a backdrop of the competing forces of fast fashion and luxury industries where true craft and brand identity often get lost in the quest for the consumers' and  even more so the media's increasingly fickle tastes. 

The industry continues to discuss whether fashion is truly art or purely a business and when standing in a museum full of avant-garde designs with labels like object/subject and self/other it can seem hard to debate the former. However, the exhibition also included designs from the pre-2014 days of Comme des Garcons with pieces from collections where Rei Kawakubo explored themes like mixing Japanese tradition with Western dress. Rei Kawakubo herself was even quoted in 2015 as saying, "When fashion is driven by creation, I suppose it can be called an art form. But I have no concept of art in my work. Clothes are only completed when somebody actually wears them. If they were art, they could be more abstract. As long as something is new and has never been seen before, I don't mind if people call it art. Wear them if you dare. " in Interview Magazine. 

A post shared by l s j (@linesander_) on May 3, 2017 at 12:12am PDT

"Fashion is art that we live in" is another relevant quote that comes to mind here and in this case I think the "live in" part is particularly important. Fashion is something that most people can't escape even if they vehemently detest the "traditional" industry. And in fact the Fashion vs. art juxtaposition is something that makes the industry uniquely able to serve consumers from all backgrounds. While making art and challenging cultural concepts requires constantly being new and revolutionary putting on an outfit every morning and using your income to buy pieces you like is a relatively simple and compulsory task for most people. And don't the choices we make about what clothes to wear, however simple, make a statement about our personalities or even just our feelings in that particular moment? 

It has been said that for a work to be considered great art it must capture a time, a place, and a feeling, and a look at a Vogue cover from the 1960s or maybe even your mother's prom photo shows that a great outfit has all three. Fashion is a business, a multi-billion dollar business to be exact, having clothes is a necessity and, companies make money when people decide they need more clothes. But, people also have a need for expression and fashion offers the ability to express oneself in even the smallest way, sometimes subconsciously, which is perhaps the most important and authentic form of expression. Even those who lament the unimportance of fashion are making a statement in their own way while, for the majority that falls somewhere into ambiguity and vague curiosity the "art of the inbetween" can be found in the little everyday moments of inspiration that strike when we least expect it. 

Check Out my Article on MBFWA Resort FW18 for E! News Australia

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia has become a popular event for resort wear trends read about the celebs who love to attend below!
http://www.eonline.com/au/shows/australia/news/847815/mercedes-benz-fashion-week-australia-returns-to-sydney-with-a-chance-for-fans-to-enjoy-a-celeb-s-eye-view-of-the-runway

Check Out my Article for E! News on Celine Dion's First Ever Met Gala

She is also launching her own accessories brand read more about it below!
http://www.eonline.com/news/847388/celine-dion-is-attending-her-first-ever-met-gala-this-year-this-is-like-having-a-job-for-the-first-time