All great things must come to an end...

Mad Men Season 4 finale is today!
Im so sad, but will end on a good note: an homage to the Mad Men Theme song, a live orchestra behind vocals from Nat King Cole's original "Nature Boy". Ive been playing this song over and over.
Add to your season finale party playlist.

Recipe: Spicy Squash Soup w/ a Twist

fresh garden ingredients for Spicy Squash Soup

I love making and eating soup, especially when the ingredients are seasonally, and in my case, garden fresh. Below is a recipe I made up using crook neck squash from my garden, but you can use any squash from butternut, acorn, summer or winter squashes.

Ingredients:
3 lbs or 3 small-2 medium size squash - chopped into cubes
2 onions - sliced (I used red from my garden, but any kind will do)
4 cloves of garlic- diced
2 fresh jalapenos - chopped
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
truffle oil - to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. in a large pot - on med-high heat - add olive oil, garlic, and onion until carmelized. This is where the soup will get its flavor base and the burnt caramelization of the onions and garlic give the base kick.
2. add sliced jalepeno about 5 mins into the saute
3. after about 10 mins of saute' add squash, chicken broth and water. turn heat down to medium and let squash, and rue of garlic/onion/jalapeno cook for 20 mins or until squash is tender.
4. after determining squash is tender, turn off heat and let soup cool
5. after cooling, add the entirety of the soup to a blender/food processor, and blend until smooth (I do this in batches to avoid a major mess!)
6. once fully blended return the now smooth and creamy soup back to pot to medium low heat.
7. flavor with salt and pepper
*Serve with frech cracked sea salt and drizzle of truffle oil on surface of soup. Truffle oil brings the olfactory and taste buds to new heights on this curiously spicy, light but hearty squash soup.
*8 servings

I accompanied with fresh steamed broccoli, crusty garlic bread, and a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir!

An amazingly healthy and tasty soup that even the picky will enjoy (my taste tester is my food-finicky sweetie and he couldn't get enough of this!)

BON APETIT! 

Lusting After...

J Crew Camden leather brogues $250

And finally purchased some brogues. Ive been obsessing with this shoe style for over a year after a visit to London - and seeing all the high street chic 'birds'  - stepping out in this menswear trend. The perfect fit and color was found at J Crew. However all designers have this style, also referred to as an oxford, in their FW10 collections from Sam Edelman, Steve Madden and Marc Jacobs. A style and price for everyone!

Im prepster chic! 

Words of the Wise

One of my favorite proverbs - of which my grandmother used when I was a little girl, my mother used when I was a teenager, now I use as an adult. 

Do you have a favorite? 

DIY: Fortune Plants

I save everything. Well not everything, but most things that I think will come in handy at some later time for arts, crafts, and especially DIY projects. Just recently I cleaned out my wallet to find a handful of fortunes from fortune cookies (NOTE! Eating a lot of Chinese food is likely not good on the waistline)....my creative juices start flowing......and a light bulb goes off:

DIY FORTUNE PLANTS!

What does this even mean you ask? Well this was my brilliant plan. 

• Bury the fortunes in plant dirt, about 1/4 inch deep.
• At time of watering, fortune will reappear!
• A buddha-like fortune 3-7 days a week without the calories! 

As you can see I also add collected shells and coral, and a few coffee stirrers from a cafe in Paris. House plants are so passe' otherwise!

If you dont have any fortunes lying around, you can always order a pound for only $5.

Fortune plants make excellent house warming, birthday and wedding gifts! 

Are you on your way to being Forbes Most Powerful Woman?

Reposting this message from Popsugar as I think its an important one to read. So many woman have dreams of escaping their 9-5, starting their own company, becoming the next Oprah, Gaga, Martha, Julia or Obama. Live those dreams! Its achievable if you put your mind to it, surround yourself with positive energy and people who support you and help you dream. And remember - patience. It doesn't happen overnight :) 

Forbes released its annual list of the most powerful women in the world. Michelle Obama, who ranked 40 last year, jumped to the top spot, knocking Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel off her lady throne. In between, the list is lined with policymakers, CEOs, pop culture icons, and at least one "political maverick and commentator."

Seems like influential may be a better word than powerful, so let's see what it really takes to make the list.

• Be a multitasker: Beyonce (singer, fashion designer), Angelina Jolie (actress, UN goodwill ambassador), Madonna (singer, fashion designer), Heidi Klum (producer, model), Rachael Ray (talk show host, author, chef), Sarah Jessica Parker (actress, designer), Lady Gaga (performance artist, singer), Gisele Bündchen (fashion designer, model), and Martha Stewart ("lifestyle guru") all got on by doing more than one thing well.
• Have a gig in politics: Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are just a few of the political heavyweights on the list.
• Start a blog empire: Tina Brown (Daily Beast), Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post), and Nikki Finke (Deadline Hollywood) are now all powerful enough.

Haute-lloween

The countdown to dress rehearsal begins! Only 24 days until Halloween! 

JeNeSeQua is here to help put a little haute into the holiday. From famous couples, singles, groups, glamourous characters of todays television and film, here are my favorites:

Margot & Ritchie from Royal Tenenbaums

Passing the torch to the lucky couple who pulls this costume off. We cant do a repeat! 

me and my sweets - Halloween 2009

What you need:

Margot: fur (mine is vintage and a gift from my granny, but faux is best ;), black eyeliner, dark polish, red barrette (I used a tortoise one and painted it with red finger nail polish!), carboard for a wooden finger, loafers, little girl socks, serious pout, striped dress (she wore Lacoste if you want to be original)**I owned everything here but if I didnt, I would go to Goodwill, Redlight - any thrift store. 

Ritchie: sweat band & wristlet, camel colored blazer, grey scarf, chinos, white polo, sunglasses, tennis racket

The Drapers or Mad Men Characters

What you need:

Betty: blonde bobbed, perfectly coifed do, ciggies, pearls, elbow length gloves, sweetheart neckline flirty floral dress, glass of champagne 

Joan: pinned - siren Red Hair, simple, waist-accentuating shift, cleavage grazing gold pen necklace, liquid eyeliner, pinky-red lipstick

Peggy: awkward bangs, short sleeve full skirted dress, in stripes or brown brocade, barely there makeup, brimmed pillbox church hat and wrist length gloves. 

Don: muted grey or navy slim fitted suit with white shirt, simple-single colored skinny tie, slicked hair, fedora, ciggies, scotch - neat. 

Sterling: silver neatly combed hair, great one-liners, lighter colored 3 piece suit with skinny printed tie and pocket square.  

Jackie O's cousin - Little Edie Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens

What you need:

mink fur or faux, scarf for head, red lipstick, brow wax, black tights/leggings, black turtleneck, black irish stepper dance shoes (any black flat will work), long island accent, maybe some cats and pints of ice cream.

Mark Zuckerburg in his Harvard years:

courtesy of Gawker.com and MZ's real FB page

What you need:

sweats, GAP or Harvard sweatshirt, adidas flips, curly auburn wig, possibly a Harvard pennant.

Bonnie & Clyde

What you need:

Bonnie:  beret, dark printed scarf (for neck, bobbed blonde do or wig) camel colored short sleeve sweater, tweed or dark colored skirt of same palette), brogues, toy gun.

Clyde: dark pinstripe suit, white collard shirt and tie, fedora, wing tips, toy gun. 

Speidi (Spencer and Heidi)

What you need:

Heidi: large bra stuffed with balloons the size of watermelons, long blond wig, stuffed little dogs, something fancy, or just a bikini will do. 

Spencer: fake or real beard, blond tamed fro, creepy look in eyes, big watch, baggy pants and button up shirt.

**Just act ridiculous, stage photo shoots, feed each others, carry un US Weekly with them on the cover.

Some other great ideas worth mentioning are Kardashian Sisters, Olsen Twins, Lindsey Lohan+ SCRAM ankle bracelet, Anna Wintour, Rachel Zoe (plus Brad!).....

I think you get the picture. Pull from your wardrobe and thrift shop on the weekends (you have 3 of them left to prepare) to make this an inexpensive costume.