Friday Five-ish

So for my first Friday post, I decided to do something called the Friday Five-ish. It'll basically just be a brief (or maybe not so brief, as I tend to have a problem with cutting my writing down sometimes... but I'll try, I promise!) round-up of topics. Things I am loving at the moment. Events. People. Thoughts. Anything, really. This is usually done on other blogs or sites as the "Friday Five", but I like to keep it open, as sometimes I may have lots to say and sometimes not much at all. It may or may not carry on as a weekly feature... we'll see how it plays out, how I like it, how you all like it. Never know until you try, right? This blog was essentially built on that philosophy, after all. So let's dive right in! 

1. If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I have a huge sweet tooth. And to go off on that tangent, another fun fact: I also really like to cook and especially to bake. Lately, I've been playing around in the kitchen, toying with some of my favorite desserts. Recently, it was tiramisu... mostly because my sister and I had just returned from our trip to Italy and were feeling nostalgic (to say the least). Needless to say, it turned out good but nowhere near as good as the ones we would have in Rome. Anyway, I've really been wanting to attempt crème brûlée next, another all time favorite. I've already found some great recipes online, but I'm kind of iffy about the whole flambeé part, which involves a kitchen torch and is very much necessary, because it essentially gives you the hard sugar coat on top. I know this is a bit of a stretch here but I have to ask -- anyone out there happen to have any experience with this? Any good tips that will make the last bit a little easier? At any rate, I'll keep you all posted.

2. Something else I've been feeling the urge to try out and experiment with lately? Nail polish. I'm one of those people who always has to have perfectly manicured nails at all times, even if sometimes that means just keeping them natural with a clear coat. Most of the time, though, I stick to my 3 or 4 tried and true favorites, which are either very light (along the neutral/pink lines), super dark, or the perfect shade of red, not really paying any mind to the season or the nail trends of the moment. But now, I've been seeing pretty shades of grey, mint green, taupe, and light lavender and I just can't resist. So I think I may have to go with something completely new and different next time -- recommendations?

3. And finally, I have to say I was excited to see Julia Roberts as the cover girl for the September issue of ELLE. I've more or less been keeping up with her as she does her promotional rounds for Eat, Pray, Love because I absolutely can't wait to see the film (love Julia and loved the book, so I have to admit I'm expecting great things.. Ryan Murphy, please don't let me down!). To this day, I can never NOT watch Pretty Woman when it's on. And while all three covers were stunning, I wanted to share instead the two images from the shoot that were my personal favorites...

Gorgeous, right? Happy Friday, everyone! As always, I'd love to read your thoughts in comments! xo

images via elle.com