California!!!!

I'm home!  I've come to the conclusion that I really dislike the act of traveling.  It's so stressful!  Once I get somewhere I'm fine, but having to get my stuff to storage and then get myself to the airport and onto the plane and home kind of makes me break out in a nervous sweat.  So of course the first thing I did today was bake a giant plate of stress brownies (actually two plates. hehe).   The recipe I used was for Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies from Smitten Kitchen, and I have mixed feelings about it.  It's pretty easy to follow, but the pumpkin half of the batter and the chocolate half have totally different consistencies.  The pumpkin is rich and creamy and smooth, and the chocolate is dry.  Like VERY dry.  I'd add about a cup of milk to the chocolate part of the batter, maybe even more.  But don't they look lovely?

Dolce Vita Niko Tubular Wedge Sandals, $186 at shopbop.com, Joie Mazira Dress, $248 at shopbop.com: These shoes belong on my feet.  Giant wedges with tribal-bondage straps?  They might as well have Megan written across the soles.  I would totally wear them with this Joie dress.  The retro fit-and-flare cut is the perfect contrast to the busy, geometric print, and the bra-strap-esque cutout in the back adds just a hint of edge.

Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Eva Longoria, Salma Hayek: Cannes is always an interesting red carpet.  I feel like at the Met Gala and here are where celebs really go crazy with the gowns.  Just look at the skirt on Kate Beckinsale's dress.  That deserves it's own photo call, no?  Although I think she looks fab, doesn't this look remind you of everything else she wears?  Either she's got that formula down to a T (teased up-do, pouffy princessy dress) or girlfriend's stylist is stuck in a rut.  I applaud Cate Blanchett for wearing this McQueen dress.  It's certainly bold, but I think she pulls it off gracefully.  The fact that she's so understated and eternally elegant gives her the ability to wear crazy gowns without actually looking crazy.  Not sure why Eva Longoria's at Cannes, but that is one large dress.  I think the square layers of fabric on the skirt can work (see Kate Beckinsale's skirt) but instead of looking like a deconstructed fairytale, here the heavy fabric makes it look like the curtains at a modern, minimalist brothel.  On the other hand, Salma Hayek looks simply stunning.  The color of that Gucci gown works perfectly on her, it fits like a glove, and it's sexy without being too over the top.  It's actually rather lovely and understated for Gucci.  Love the subtle sheerness at the neckline.

MAC Refined Golden Bronzer, Bronze Body Oil, Beach Bronze Cream Bronzer, all from the To The Beach Collection: After looking at all the products from MAC's To The Beach collection, I'm shocked to say that all the things I want are bronzers.  I'm torn between the cream and the powder bream, since they seem to pretty much be the exact same color, a tawny bronze with subtle gold shimmer, and then the body oil for the rest of me.  It sounds tacky, but it adds just a hint of warm shimmer and a golden hue to the skin that's really summery and quite lovely.

PS: I'm thinking of adding a video component to the blog, maybe doing some vlogs about outfits, some video makeup reviews, stuff like that.  Thoughts?

Image Sources:
Dolce Vita wedges: shopbop.com, Joie dress: shopbop.com, Cannes photos except Salma Hayek: glamour.com, Salma Hayek: jezebel.com, MAC: Refined golden bronzer: temptalia.com, body oil: temptalia.com, cream bronzer: temptalia.com.