Sprinkles Cupcakes

From Marie Antoinette to the Mad Hatter

How-to make Sprinkles cupcakes style chocolate icing

 

Ingredients

10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 lb. unsalted butter, at room temp
1 lb. 8 oz. powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Melt and cool chocolate (until just slightly warm). Beat butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar. Add salt, vanilla and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add chocolate and mix until just incorporated.

Don’t over-whip and add too much air into the frosting. The consistency should be rich and dense, like ice cream!

Heidi Fleiss’ Gucci planners

When Heidi Fleiss was still in business she kept the details of the meeting she set up for her clients in Gucci planners. Thankfully she wrote the details down in a coded format and her handwriting was untidy so most details were kept safe while the court case was being conducted.

 

Having untidy handwriting is a good thing. Most geniuses like Albert Einstein and Galileo Galilei were known for their untidy handwriting. And untidy handwriting also discourages people form reading things you have written as it would take them too much effort to try and figure out your writing.

 

If you want to keep something private it is best to write it on plain writing paper and casually fold it up and put it under some other things lying on your desk. You will only draw attention to it if you write it in an important looking leather bound diary or something similar.

 

A similar Sun Tzu: Art of war approach can be applied to keeping jewelry or other items safe.

1. Do not tell people where you keep these items.
2. If you are going on holiday it would better to hide it in you washing machine (first switch the washing machine off) than in a safe as that is the first place a robber will look.

How to look effortlessly stylish

An excellent product will go unsold if it is not marketed.Your clothing reflects your lifestyle and personality and gives people an idea of who you are. When meeting new people they often will form an impression of you by what you are wearing and how you are wearing it.  Paying attention to how you present yourself can help you in social situations by projecting confidence and style and attracting people to you.

 

The following points will help you look effortlessly stylish.

 

1. Dress for the people you want to impress.

People will feel drawn to you if they can identify with what you are wearing. They will want to get to know you as you look like ‘their type’ and will find it easier to relate to you. They will also feel more comfortable around you as you appear familiar even if you haven’t met them before.

Determine how you want people to see you and what you wish to convey.  If you are going for a specific look e.g. professional/ athletic/ artistic you must keep that in mind when you buy your clothes and purchase key pieces that display that element of your personality. However, you don’t want to come across as a fraud. An extreme example of this is that you shouldn’t dress as a goth rocker if that’s not you; you will feel awkward if a hot guy/girl approaches you and asks you what your favourite metal track is and you don’t have a good answer.

 

2. Get ideas from celebrities and other public figures.

This is a good way to determine what the key pieces of a look are and will give you ideas on how to put the look together. What most people neglect when doing this is to ‘break down’ the persons look. Find a few good photographs of a person whose style you admire on the internet and then zoom into each item. You may miss the point of an outfit if you just go by the overall effect. What leads to a ‘look’ working can be small details such as rolling up shirt sleeves, the fit and tailoring of the clothes, texture of fabric.

 

 3. Be yourself.

While it is good to use other people as style inspirations, you don’t want to dress exactly like them. Different people, different personalities, different careers, different body types. You should feel like everything you put-on was made especially for you. Half the battle of looking fabulous and being able to “pull it off” is feeling confident because without the attitude to match what you are wearing there is no ‘style’.

 

4. Know what looks good on you.

Find out what colors suit your skin tone, get your clothes tailored to fit and if you find an item that works for you get it in other colors and fabrics.

 

5. Focus on fabric and quality.

If you are buying something like boots, watches or suits that you want to wear often, check the quality of the fabric and workmanship.

 

6. Try really hard to look like you did not try at all.

You can mix inexpensive pieces with hints of luxury because it is better to look cool than rich. A brand may be cool but keep it to one or two statement pieces; do not wear Versace or Ed Hardy from top to bottom. A luxury branded item will get more attention if the rest of your outfit is toned down. A $5000 watch or a pair of designer boots stands out more when worn with casual pants and a sweater than it does when paired with an Armani suit.

 

How to start your own blog

In today’s world where business is often done over the internet without people physically meeting it is essential to have your own website which you can refer people to.

Having your own blog is a great self-promotion tool and anyone wanting to know what you are about can be referred to it. Blogging is also a fun way to share something that interests you with other people.

Some pointers to get you started:

1. Arrange webhosting.
2. Decide on what you are going to write about. This could be anything e.g. your business, hobby, fan club etc.
3. Think of a good name. Keep the name easy to spell and remember. It is good if the name of your blog is readily relatable to your blog’s subject matter.
4. Keep the contents of your blog positive. Your blog doesn’t have to be funny but it should at least make the people reading it feel good.
5. Update your blog regularly. This doesn’t have to be done daily but you need to keep your blog current so when people check back there is something new for them to read.
6. Keep the layout neat. Leave enough space between entries and keep the sentences and paragraphs short.
7. Include contact information such as your e-mail address on your blog.
8. Encourage feedback (this will also give you an idea of the activity on your blog). Allow people to post comments on your blog and remember to check and respond to comments regularly.
9. Promote your blog. Include your website address on your Facebook and Myspace accounts. You can also set up your e-mail so it automatically includes your website address and other contact information in the footer of each e-mail sent. Ask friends to post a link to your blog on their websites.
10. A good way to improve your writing style is by writing fanfiction. There are many websites where you can post fanfiction about characters from a television series, computer game etc. Fanfiction websites also allow for reader comments so you can identify areas where your writing can be improved.