How sweet it is

Shop BORELLI Scarves

We added a new color for the month of February over at BORELLI.  What better way to show your love this Valentine's Day than a hot pink scarf?  Electric pink is huge on the runways right now.  Has anyone seen J.Crew's Spring Preview?  The brighter the better.  Happy Monday!

All photos taken by 2goplease at Qamea Resort and Spa, Qamea Island, Fiji

2011 Wrap Up

Happy new year to my readers near and far.  A few favorites from my travels in 2011. 

FijiMoon - Honeymoon at Qamea Resort

Fiji

Dublin, Ireland

Copenhagen, Denmark

Stokholm, Sweden

Indio, California

Laguna Niguel, California

Santa Ynez, California

Lake Shasta, California

Puppy #1, Percy

Monte Sereno, California

East Los Angeles, California

Monterey, California

Puppy #2, Nacho

Half Moon Bay, California

La Jolla, California

Santa Ynez, California

One of my Favorite Work Days

Most of this blog has focused on things I do in my free time so I wanted to shed a little light on what a typical work day looks like for a fashion designer.  Yesterday I spent all day in downtown Los Angeles. When I lived in LA meetings downtown used to be a bit bothersome.  Parking was always a hassle and outrageously expensive.  I don't have the best sense of direction and would wind up the wrong way on one-way streets praying a cop wouldn't see my illegal U-turn.  BUT, now that I live in San Diego, trips to the fashion capital of California are more than enjoyable.  I couldn't even sleep Monday night I was so excited!   

Tuesday
7am - Up and at em'.  (I drove up the night before in order to avoid the morning traffic and crashed on a friends mattress.)  Shower, quick swipe of blush, concealer and mascara.  Throw on a black bamboo dress, black cotton motorcycle jacket, cowboy boots and our Fiji Teal BORELLI Scarf. 
8:30am - Wandered the LA Flower Mart while waiting for the LA Textile Show to open it's doors.  Picked up mini succulents, chili pepper plants, hot pink fillers and some fancy pots to display them in. 
9:50 - Medium coffee, with soymilk.
10-12:45 - Heaven! An entire floor full of textiles, notions (buttons, zippers), trims (piping, binding, lace) and people obsessed with fashion as much as I am.  I sourced domestic and international fabric for my line, researched factories for a new collaboration with SUP, learned all about backpack materials, ran into old friends and left refreshed and inspired.  
1pm - Meeting with my awesome production team at the Cooper Building.  On the agenda?  1. Final decisions on our next style, the BORELLI Wrap Dress.  2. How to bring these awesome headbands to market?  3. Screen print, hangtag, trims, piping, and sewing details.  4. Eco-friendly textile sources.
2:30pm - Meeting with our new dyehouse, deciding our next scarf color.  What will it be???  :)
2:55pm - Quick phone call with a potential Public Relations company.  
3pm - MUST stop at Babycakes NYC-LA.  Picked up a Hostess Red Velvet cupcake (for TDH) and a Pumpkin Spice cupcake (for me).
3:15pm - On the road back to La Jolla.  Attempting to eat last night's leftovers.
6pm - Sunset walk with Percy.
7:30pm - 1st sit-down meal of the day.  Arugula salad with tomato, cucumber and crusty bread.

Boat Stop

The island of Qamea does not have a SINGLE road.  Not one!  But what they do have are "Boat Stops".  The only way to get around the island is by canoe, kayak, swimming or by boat.  Driving around Los Angeles today I really wish I was back on Qamea and could SUP (stand up paddleboard) from Pasadena to Santa Monica.  Is there anywhere in the US like Qamea?  Maybe Florida Keys . . . 

Nese stole my heart

While honeymooning in Fiji we visited a village on the tiny island of Qamea.  It's a magical little spot.  There are no roads on Qamea, the only way to get around is by boat, kayak or canoe.  This is a video of Nese clapping to traditional Fijian songs.  She stole my heart and all my silly bands by the time we left.

Nese singing, Qamea, Fiji from marissa casellini on Vimeo.

Can you tell who the tourists are?  :)

Foto of the Day - Fiji

Qamea, Fiji about 6:15pm, last sunset on our Fijimoon

Fijian Inspired Pizza

Fijian Inspired Pizza

I call this an inspired pizza because they never actually served us a pizza in Fiji.  Well, that's a lie, we found one on the last day by accident.  After 10 days in pure sunshine and emerald green waters we said our teary goodbyes to the staff and friends we made at Qamea and hopped on a boat to Taveuni where we discovered our plane was delayed.  For 4 hours!  So we convinced Eddie, the Qamea driver to take us to a bar instead of singing Backstreet Boys to himself at the airport. 

hand written boarding passes

A few miles down the road we found ourselves at Taramosa  (The Corner).  Gorgeous views, simple wooden tables, smiley staff and a slew of pizzas????   After a vacation of grilled white fish and shrimp over shredded green papaya and local greens a cheesy pizza was American heaven.  Our friends from Houston, Texas ordered the Deluxe and Dily whipped it up from scratch.

Dily rolling out the dough

i wish every airport bar looked like this

a chef proudly displays her pizza

the finished product (the sun-dried tomatoes were key) 

TDH and I made our own version at home a few days after we flew back to LA.  We are trying to hang on to Fiji any way we can.

                                        RECIPE
Dough

-       Premade Pizza Dough from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or your local pizza place.  Gluten-free dough will work as well.  

Toppings

-       julienne carrots, zucchini, mushrooms (or whatever you have in the fridge)

-       1-2 medium balls of mozzarella, sliced, fresh if possible

-       ½ c goat cheese

-       basil, shredded

-       avocado, thinly sliced

Peanut Sauce adapted from the kitchen of Qamea Resort and Spa, Fiji

- 1 medium onion, finely chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed

- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (use a cheese grater)

- 2 tbs peanut, toasted sesame or olive oil

- ½ c peanut butter (creamy for a smooth sauce, crunchy for a texture sauce)

- ¼ c coconut milk (unsweetened)

- 2 tbs soy sauce

- 1 tbs lemon juice (1/2 a lemon)

- 1 small chili, de-seeded and chopped or 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you are a spicy baby)

- 1 tsp sugar

- salt to taste

Saute the first 3 ingredients in the oil.  Reduce heat, add peanut butter and coconut cream, blending well.  Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes.  Do not allow to boil. 

OR

If you are lazy or live in LA where it's 90*, do as we did, mix all ingredients in a re-sealable container (for the leftovers).  You can also choose this way if you want less of a onion taste in the sauce.  

Assemble the Pizza

1.     Leave dough out for 15 minutes to soften up, grease a cookie sheet and roll out to desired thickness

2.     Preheat oven to 400*

3.     Spread peanut sauce over pizza dough

4.     Spread a layer of mozzarella cheese

5.     Layer vegetables

6.     Dollop with goat cheese

7.     Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown

8.     Top with chopped basil and avocado
9.   Eat!

30 by 30

The Competition - 30 countries by 30 years old.  

** Post Update **  

Knocked off a few more countries.

At 29, I've seen 24 29 countries.

Where have I been? (in order of visitation)

St. Lucia - have your hair braided, fly on a trapeze and skip in the tropical rain. 

Italy - favorite European country. Milan, Lake Como, Venice, Portofino, Genoa, Lucca, Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Cinque Terre, Forte dei Marmi, Capri, Positano, Amalfi, Naples, Sicily, Taormina, Lipari Islands.

Mexico - Manzanillo, Cabo (Day 1.

Czech republic - Prague, gorgeous but passport, camera and credit cards were stolen, be careful!

France - Niece while studying abroad, then Paris. 1st trip by myself, scary, exhilarating, a must for anyone!

Monaco - cleanest train station ever seen. Beautiful but a bit snoody.

Greece - Santorini and Mykonos.  Pelicans the size of a 9 year old hang out in the restaurant kitchens.

Spain - bus-ed it from Barcelona, Grenada, Sevilla, Portugal then train back to Madrid, train is the better way to go.

Portugal - Lagos and Lisbon.  The fresh fish rivals Fiji's.

Switzerland - Bern, Interlacken, Murren.

Bahamas - Relaxing, hot, dine on conch a hundred different ways.

British Virgin Islands - Sailed from Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Willy T's (must get the t shirt!)

Canada - Montreal (an all time favorite), Vancouver.

New Zealand - Prepare for the adventure of a lifetime! I prefer South Island over North Island.

Australia - Melbourne, Sydney, Perth.

India - Rajasthan (Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ranthambore) Mt. Abu, Ahmedabad.

England - London, the food is amazing! if you avoid British fare except at high tea.

St. Martin - Favorite passport stamp, the font is fabulous.

St. Bart - Glamorous island living with a French accent.

Anguilla - Whitest sand I've ever seen.

Hong Kong - I'm more a Kowloon girl than Hong Kong island.

Vietnam - Hanoi and Sapa. Sapa was surreal; rice patties, water buffalo, tribal women half my size scurrying up mountains in plastic slip-ons. 

Fiji - nicest people I have ever encountered, you will laugh all day long here, perfect for a honeymoon.

Ireland - Dublin, Douglas (our favorite!), Killarney (ideal for the outdoors lovers), Inch, yes it really is called Inch, Dingle and Galway.  

Denmark - Copenhagen. Explore, eat,

Sweden - Malmo and Stockholm. (Where we would live in Stockholm.)

Germany - Munich, beers and pretzels the size of our heads!
Belize - San Pedro Island. 1, 2, 3, 4 

On the radar ~ Iceland, Peru and Bali.  Have you visited these 3?  Where should I go/do/eat/drink?

Dublin, Trinity College

Last night in Stockholm, Sweden

Nyhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark

Sunset, Fiji

Locally made textiles, Sapa, Vietnam

Fijian Recipe: Kokoda

Day 2 in Fiji on the island of Qamea.
The cuisine so far has been unbelievable. Even the breakfast is tasty! (I tend to loathe breakfast.) Today's lunch starts with Kokoda. Fiji's version of ceviche. Enjoy.

Kokoda
- bite size chunks of (raw) fresh fish. firm white fish or tuna is best.
- marinate in lime or lemon juice for about 2 hours and strain it.
- combine fish with 'lolo' juice from a freshly grated coconut. or canned coconut milk (unsweetened).
- add 1 small chopped onion
- add 2 medium chopped tomatoes
- add 1/2 chopped red bell pepper
- salt to taste
- as much chili as you can handle (red pepper flakes, red chili paste or siracha)

- Tip: you can make ahead for a night of entertaining or surprise your roomie or better half.

Time to scoot, I have a hot date with TDH paddle boarding. He's hooked!