Bellaziza - Pretty Precious. Exquisite Children's Accessories

Have you heard the phrase, “Yum-O” coined by the beloved Rachael Ray? Well, her thirty minute meals have nothing on this fabulous five minute cake! It’s moist, it’s made from scratch, and it’s to die for with a little ice cream! So grab your favorite mug and get ready to make your new favorite chocolate treat!

The Most Dangerous Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever!!!

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• a small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).  And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

A big thanks to Sarah, our amazing web designer at Camp Creative Group for yet another of her superb recipes!  Sarah, YOU are absolutely one of our very Favorite Things!  Again, thanks so much for all of your brilliant work on our fabulous 2008 Holiday Gift Guide and everything else that you do!!!

Our friend Andrea wrote a great baby food tutorial a while back and we have been meaning to share it with everyone for the longest!  Andrea is one of those moms who inspires so many with all of her crafty little projects and her commitment to being fabulously healthful.

Take a look at just how easy and how much better making your own baby food can be by clicking HERE.  Thanks Andrea!

Hatley is one of our absolute Favorites for that indispensable genre of clothing that might not fall into the extraordinary every time, but that none of us can live without…Everyday Clothes!  Hatley’s new colors and patterns for this fall are beautiful and so much fun!  They are of course in keeping with their Nature theme, apples, horses, dinosaurs, the ever popular moose, and this time around there’s even some alien action!

Hatley’s new backpacks and lunch totes are pretty impressive.  They of course are made with the high quality that we would expect form all things labeled Hatley, but they spare no expense in the design and production departments!  It’s so great when something works and functions as well as it looks, right?!?!  That’s typically Hatley!

The backpack is very roomy without being oversized, and makes great use of its’ compartments.  The lunch tote fits very neatly inside too!  The zippers are made for kid-use and the canvas that they are constructed of is absolutely made for loads of loads and multiple washings.  We love the apple print the most but were a little concerned as it is mostly white…hmmm…SCOTCHGUARD, GIRLS!  It works fabulously and will keep people in wonder and amazement of how you could be that good to keep your little sweetie in a white backpack that always looks new!

The Lunch Tote is fabulous too and makes a great little travel cooler as well if your set hasn’t reached school age yet.  Again, it washes quite well and you can keep it looking new forever with a little Scotchguard.  The inside is lined in plastic, and there’s an elastic tether to keep things from bouncing around inside.

The Backpacks are $30 and the Lunch Totes are $20 and are available to ship immediately.  Check them out online to browse or place your order, CLICK HERE or on the button below to see their website.  All items ship from Canada, so give a little extra time for shipping.

Also, stay tuned for our upcoming reviews of their fabulous new outerwear collections including matching Rain Essentials (raincoats, rain boots, and the weetest little umbrellas you’ve ever seen) and Snow Essentials (fluffy snow jackets, snow pants and matching snow boots fit for the Canadian cold!).  They are all absolutely adorable!!!

Aren’t these dolls just the cutest?  Where do you get them?  You make them yourself and it’s really simple even if you don’t really sew.  It’s a little something we found on MarthaStewart.com and we are so in love with the idea.

Just imagine how June Cleaver-ish of you to sit down with your little princess and make her a doll!  OMG, right?!?  There are 3 tutorials to show you exactly what to do and a very simple pattern to download for free!  Go you, Supermom!

CLICK HERE for more info, and thanks Martha!!

To win your very own gorgeous ensemble for a boy or a girl from Cha Belle by Right Bank Babies valued at $125 - $200, visit www.chabelleforrbb.com and email us with what you love most about their gorgeous collection.  (CLICK HERE to download their catalog.)  Email swag@bellazizasfavorites.com with ”CHA BELLE BY RIGHT BANK BABIES SWAG” in the subject line.

All entries must be received by Tuesday, September 23rd at midnight, PST. You may enter once per email address per day. Winner will be chosen on Monday via random.org. Winner will be fetched using Prizey.net.

EXTRA ENTRIES are available for subscribing to our blog, blogging about us on your blog, AND/OR adding our button to your blog too!  Just email swag@bellazizasfavorites.com letting us know what you did for your extras and we’ll make sure to count them!

Okay, so when you have a cookie that starts with the words “Gluten Free”, if you’re like us you’re thinking ‘Thanks honey, but I’d rather have less of the real thing…gluten and all!”  This cookie is a very rare exception though.  It’s fantastic and you would never even know it’s completely flourless!  It only takes about 15 minutes too, baking time included!

It comes from our dear friend Katie who we are crowning Our Favorite Queen of Simple Chic.  Yayee Katie Cakes Cookies!

Katie’s Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c chunky peanut butter… “A certain national brand rhyming with ‘hippie’ works best” :)-Katie
1 c packed golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c chocolate chips.

Mix all ingredients in order. Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

As mentioned, we are partnering with Petit Tresor over the next few weeks to bring you inside information on some of the absolute best new products available for you and your family, and some fun celebrity news as well!

This past week we had an exciting opportunity to interview Nina Takesh, one of the owners and creators of Petit Tresor!  We want to pass the highlights on to you:

On the story behind the store:

Crista:  What was your inspiration behind the store?

Nina:  We had both just had babies.  Samantha had twins (a boy and a girl) and I had a son.  We couldn’t find nursery items that we really loved. On a whim, we traveled to Paris and were amazed at the nursery items that were available on the market!  That was our inspiration.

Crista:  So both having new babies AND a new business?  How on earth did you do it?

Nina:  (laughing) It’s amazing how much time the babies spent on playmats in our first store!

Crista:  What was your vision for the future back then compared to now?

Nina:  Our goal was to introduce European style to Americans. Today, we’re still doing the same, but we’re a bit more eclectic and modern, yet still traditional.

Crista:  In retrospect, what worked, and what didn’t work?

Nina:  It all worked. It was all a big experiment trying to learn what American mothers wanted for their babies.

On The Petit Tresor Experience:

Crista:  What really defines the ‘Petit Tresor Experience’ for your customers and makes it so unique?

Nina:  The fact that you can find everything under one roof and that if you can’t find it and we’re designing a nursery for you, we’ll go anywhere to find it. This is a service that many of our celebrity customers love about Petit Tresor.

Crista:  What’s your favorite product in the store?

Nina:  Without a doubt, the playmat from Plain Mary.  Every baby should have a monogrammed playmat. It’s the best shower gift, and it’s so practical!

Crista:  What’s your favorite memory in the building of your business?

Nina:  When Petit Tresor was featured in People Magazine for the nursery of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s twins, Emme and Max.

Crista:  What’s your favorite new line or upcoming designer?

Nina:  We love everything from Plain Mary including their burpcloths, bibs, changing pads and t-shirts.  We love Mia Bossi diaper bags and everything from Kissy Kissy.  Our designer hospital robes from Dear Johnnies are a must have for every mother about to give birth too!

Crista:  Sounds fabulous!  We absolutely adore Mia Bossi bags too!  In your experience, what is one item that no mom should do without?

Nina:  A designer hospital robe from Dear Johnnies but also one of our silk photo albums which are just gorgeous!

On ‘What’s all the buzz?’:

Crista:  Who shops or has registered at Petit Tresor?

Nina:  Everyone from Jennifer Lopez to Britney Spears to Nicole Richie to Christina Aguilera to Matthew McConaughey to Heidi Klum to Tori Spelling to Halle Berry… it’s a very, very long list.

Crista:  What do your celebrity clients shop and register for?  Any favorite picks???

Nina:  Everything from the essentials, to having us design their entire nursery.  Sometimes these clients have more than one home also.  Our organic bedding, complete layette selection and our incredible selection of picture frames are also very popular.

Crista:  Do you offer any special or exclusive services?

Nina:  We of course offer our Nursery Design service, but we also offer our Concierge Service which entails us sending our clients everything that they need for their baby each month from birth through toddlerhood.

Crista:  Your new website is fantastic, but what else is next for Petit Tresor?

Nina:  We have plans to open two more retail shops this year in Malibu and San Francisco,  and New York and Miami in 2009!  We are very excited about the future of Petit Tresor!

To read more about Nina Takesh and Petit Tresor, or to do some shopping check out their website at www.petittresor.com.

THIS JUST IN: Yet another great sale from GILT Group!

Chic parents and kids alike love Baby CZ for their soft cashmere and beautiful designs.  Trousers to dresses, these timeless styles can be passed down for generations.

Sale starts tomorrow, Tuesday August 19th at 12 noon EST. at www.gilt.com.

Happy Natonal Breastfeeding week everyone!  We just found an absolutely fabulous product for all of you nursing moms out there.  It’s called the Slurp & Burp.  Okay, so the name is a little funny, but the functionality of this fantastic product really makes up for it!

There are all sorts of little tricks to breastfeeding in public, but how many of us end up covering up our babies along with ourselves in the process?  There’s the good old blanket through the bra strap trick and now over the past few years there are nursing covers that drape around mom’s neck, securely covering both mom and the baby.  Wouldn’t it be nicer for all of the little nursing bundles out there though if they didn’t have to be covered while nursing?  We think so and that’s why we love the Slurp & Burp.  Come on Moms!  It gets hot and stuffy under all of those blankets and covers!  (It’s SO much fun when they just yank them off too, right?!?!)  Not anymore…thank you Slurp & Burp!

Slurp & Burp comes in a large variety of colors and designs, and retails at under $40.  It is made of super soft and stretchy cotton and comes with a built-in burpcloth, which is just so clever!  It’s really very comfortable and looks pretty cute too!  It comes in a nice little pouch too and makes a perfect gift.  Check them out online at www.slurpburp.com where you can see their collection and purchase them too!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Fisher Price!  Someone over there must have felt our recent disappointment in trying to find a truly exceptional swing, because they really delivered!

How many of you mothers went through more than one swing per child because you bought the wrong swing?  It’s not a good feeling when after 3 or 4 months of use a motor bites the dust or something cracks or it’s just no longer usable for whatever reason.  At that point both baby and mommy are liking the swing, so you have to go out and buy another one.  Feelings of buyers’ remorse aside - it’s a pretty important piece of equipment and we have been looking for the absolute best one for quite some time now.

Fisher Price’s new Zen Collection™ is truly breathtaking.  The attention to detail and the quality of the entire collection is really far above and beyond what we had expected.  The collection includes their Cradle Swing, Gliding Bassinet, Highchair and Infant Seat.  They are all aboslutely lovely and the functionality and design of this collection is truly divine!  We really love the earthy tones, real wood accents and luxurious fabrics that they used, setting this collection far apart from any other.  Take one look and you will understand.

The swing’s construction is very high-end and it’s built to last.  It is very simple to operate, and even when changing positions or removing the seat for easy portability, there’s one great button that does it all!  It swings both forward and side to side too.  The mobile is simple but cute, and the music that it plays is actually nice, rather than the techno-electro type of chimyness that most other swings subject everyone to.  It also has waterfall and cricket type nature noises that are quite interesting.

The swing’s cover comes off quite easily for cleaning.   After 3 wash and drys (inside out, delicate cycle, low heat) it still came out looking new with no pilling or shifting of the padding at all!  This makes us smile.  Fisher price will also sell replacement covers for the seat through their parts department eventually.  (It’s such a new product that they don’t have them just yet.)  TIP: buy an extra cover so that you can rotate them rather than washing and waiting!

The swing itself operates on 4 D-sized batteries, or the included wall adapter.  LOVE that!  No more batteries unless you chose to use them!  The D’s get quite expensive too, right?

Our favorite thing about this swing that makes it so unique is the fact that you can take the seat off of the swing base easily and smoothly with one touch to bring baby with you without any disturbance.  It makes such a great little portable baby seat!  There are also two little blankets that are attached, so no more falling blankets that slow the swing down and place extra strain on that motor.  Very smart, right?!?!

The only thing that we weren’t crazy about is that although the recline is fantastic and makes it very usable with tiny newborns, the sitting-up position of the seat is still very reclined.  Once baby is at the point that they want to see their surroundings and be a part of things more, really sitting up in it will be difficult.  Propping a blanket behind them may work, but we do wish that there were another click available in the seat adjustment.

Overall, it is by far the best swing that has probably ever been produced and we are highly recommending it.  Finally, Bellaziza has a Favorite Swing!!!  It retails at just over $200, but given the quality of its construction and magnificent design it is very well worth it.  We love this swing and so will you!

Okay, so if you were one of us who watched Oprah on the day that she introduced us to her favorite turkey burger, you can understand why we had to go right out and get the ingredients to sample it ourselves!  It turns out that they ARE as good as they looked on-air, so move on over Oprah because Bellaziza’s Favorite Things now has an Official Favorite Turkey Burger too!  It’s not something we would have ever expected, but not all that surprising either at this point:).  Ooh, and P.S. - Oprah, we love you!

So this recipe will be the star of the show at your 4th of July fête with your family’s potato salad or maybe even some Freedom Fries (LOVE the irony…and the French!).  It comes from Donald Trump’s posh private club Mar-a-lago in Florida.  Thanks to The Oprah for getting the recipe out of The Donald.  Give it a try and enjoy your holiday!

• 1 Anjou pear, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups Major Grey’s Chutney
• 1/4 cup dried currants or raisins

Preheat oven to 350°. 
Toss the diced pears with the cinnamon and salt. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes. 
Cool and mix with the chutney and currants or raisins. 

Okay girls, these have got to be the absolute best chocolate chip cookies…EVER.  Thank you Neiman Marcus!  Seriously, just give the recipe a try and you’ll be a believer.  

We have been using it for years now and have a few tricks…mix the butter and sugars very well so that they are a smooth and creamy consistency.  Also, barely mix in the egg.  This is important.  Over-mixing the egg will actually give you ‘tough cookies’…hehe:).  We also sometimes substitute 1 cup of flour for oatmeal.  A perfect treat for Father’s Day or anytime…enjoy!

Ingredients

Directions 

When we recently spotted this salsa recipe on Do Better, one of our favorite tips and tricks blogs, we knew you would love it! Doesn’t it look amazingly delicious?!? Well we whipped up a batch and it in fact is. Try it as the perfect addition to your Memorial Day feast!

Ramon’s Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango
1/2 red onion
1 bunch of cilantro
2-3 tomatoes
1 can of black beans
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tsp honey
season with salt and pepper
Chop all of the ingredients to roughly the same size. Stir. Drizzle in vinegar and honey. Stir again. Store covered in the refrigerator about an hour. Stir. Taste. Need salt and pepper? Add a little and taste again. Taste again. And again. Stop eating directly out of the container momentarily. Grab a fresh spoon. Eat again. Enjoy! Graciously accept the loads of compliments that are sure to come your way.

How to be your preschooler’s hero this weekend:

Just pick up a 6oz box of blue, yellow and red Jello plus a box of knox gelatin. To get these fabulous layers, mix the blue jello with an envelope of the knox gelatin. Pour in two cups of boiling water. Dissolve the gelatin. Add 1/2 cup of ice. Stir until thick. Remove any remaining ice cubes and any bubbles that may have formed. Pour into a 9×13 inch pan. Let set in the refrigerator.

Repeat with the yellow jello and pour it over the set blue. Repeat with the red jello and pour it over the yellow. And there you have it, Rainbow Jello!

We won’t go into the whole primary and secondary color thing, but these colors, when stacked upon each other, create other colors. There is not an orange or green layer. It just looks like it when the red and yellow layers touch and then yellow and blue layers touch.  Pretty cool!

Oh, and these can be made and cut a day ahead:)!

Thanks to Do Better, one of our fave online resources!