Heart of Haute Blog
Lavender Lemonade: Serious Yum
Hey Heart of Haute Fans,
This is Mandie Bee and I have a totally non-fashion related post, but I felt like sharing some serious yum!
I moved to a house (which I've named, the Honey Pot) that happens to have both a lemon tree and a lavender plant in the yard. Lavender has a natural calming affect and can be used in food and bath products. You can also rub lavender oil to soothe sore joints, keep certain insects out of the house, and help you sleep. Mixing it into tea or sweet lemonade is probably the best and tastiest way to enjoy it. I had a rather busy day here, getting things ready for Viva. I got home and decided put lavender to the test and see if it would actually soothe this busy bee.
In this entry, I'm going to show you a little step by step about how I make lavender lemonade. Trust me, it's rather simple.
You will need:
- approx. 3/4 cup of lavender buds and leaf sprigs
- 1 cup pure lemon juice
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1/2 cup raw sugar or honey
- 2 cups lukewarm water (or more depending on your taste)
- a music playing device and your favorite music....this is important.
Step One: Put on some tunes... please don't skip this step. It's the most important ingredient ;)
Step Two: Pick your lavender! You can buy food-grade lavender at certain special grocery stores, but I just cut mine from the yard. It's still good! The more flowers on the bud, the better. This will add a slight pinkish tint to the lemonade, too. The sprigs (leaves at the bottom of the stems) are the most aromatic part of the plant.
Step Three: Pick your lemons! I have tons of them. You can get them from me if you'd like. Seriously- I can't use all these lemons. I used 10 lemons to make 1 cup of juice. Some lemons will make more, some will make less. Meyer lemons are the sweetest!
Step Four: Cut the lemons in halves and juice 'em!
Cut lavender into pieces- buds and sprigs. Pour hot water over and let steep for 10 minutes.
I have a little tea pot that I use for loose leaf tea, you can also use a regular pot and put the pieces directly into hot water. You will need to strain the pieces of lavender plant out before adding it to the lemonade.
I had to flip the record by this point....
Step Six: Mix it up!
I don't have photos for the next steps...
You'll want to mix your sugar or honey in a pitcher with the hot lavender water first until the sugars dissolve. Next, add the lemon juice. Add cold or lukewarm water until you achieve just the right taste. You can add more sugar if you like, as well.
Tada!!! Lavender Lemonade! Just what I needed to help me chill out after a long day at work....
To make this drink alcoholic, I suggest adding a shot of vodka and some ginger ale. And a flexi-straw.
You'll notice this lemonade has a purple or pinkish tint to it from the flower buds. You should also find it has a unique, floral taste that accompanies the obvious- but I think it seemingly tames the tartness of the lemon. Pour your fancy lemonade over ice and enjoy the music.
With Love & No Regrets,
Mandie Bee
Where the MAGIC happens
If you step into any department store, you'll see a lot of well known brand names like: Levi Strauss, BCBG, and Betsey Johnson , even our beloved Hello Kitty. Any retail store that carries multiple brands has a buyer to plan and stock the shop. All of these companies show at the MAGIC tradeshow. Also in attendance? Our friends at Fables, Queen of Heartz, Lux DeVille and Unique Vintage!
In this Photo: Lauren Shade, Barrie Kaufman, and Stephanie Castro 
Here I am with pieces from my Spring collection for Mandie Bee. I'm wearing the Ruby dress in the Blue Anchor print. My dress form has on the newly-popular Etta Dress in Yellow bees.
On another day, I wore the Marleen dress from Heart of Haute. Seriously- this dress is one of my favorite wiggle dresses.
On our last night, we had to make a stop at Frankie's Tiki room. I know this is a regular stop for many Vegas visitors. If you haven't been there yet, you just gotta check it out!
With Love & No Regrets,
Mandie Bee!
Viva Las Vegas: Angie Alamilla's Style Guide
Viva Las Vegas. Swing Dancers, Rockabilly and Vintage Enthusiasts flock by the thousands from all over the world each year to make it to this massive event! It's like a subcultural adult prom that occurs every year.
I've been going with Heart of Haute to vend since 2006. One of our employees, Angie Alamilla, looks forward to Viva every year! In fact, Angie has created a basic style guide for the Viva-goer. A car-show look, a casual day-look and an evening-look.
While there are TONS of events going on at Viva, one of my favorite things is to see what other girls are wearing. I especially love walking around and spotting all the Heart of Haute out there, too!
We will have all of these items available for sale at the car show!
(with the exception of the Marsielles dress).
The Car Show look:
Tres Noir "Ultra Lux" Sunglasses
The Sweetie Dress This print will be exclusively sold at Viva Las Vegas and not on our website!
The Casual-Day look:
and the Vogue Pencil Skirt in Black
The Evening Look:
The Marseilles Dress from Heart of Haute
See ya in Vegas!
With Love & No Regrets,
Mandie Bee
MARCH MADNESS
Hello Heart of Haute Fans!
This is your bumbly blogger, Mandie Bee, with news for you!
If you haven't heard the news, we're having a month-long promotion for March. I call it, March Maven Madness, because I know you are all so-very smart ladies and to pass up a deal like this would be silly. Not only is everyone entered in a wonderful contest, you also win a little something. I offer a 10% discount when you enter! Put in 'IWANNAWIN' in the coupon box in your cart.
Enjoy the month of savings!!! 3 Lucky winners will have some great prizes popping up in their mail boxes come April. Who doesn't like getting stuff in the mail? Especially when it's from Heart of Haute.
With Love & No Regrets,
Mandie Bee
The Pearl Hotel
After the Zoo, we found our way over to The Pearl (as mentioned in my previous post). While heading down the road, you might miss it in a blink. This place must have once been an old run down side-of-the-highway motels you see in any town. However, the Pearl's owner saw its potential as a beautiful new and hip side-of-the-highway mid-century mod inspired hotel! This 25-roomed hideaway is a new favorite and I will definitely return for their summer Dive-in movie! Yes, they have a giant projector screen above the pool, so you can lounge or swim about while watching popular old movies from the past. They also have a hip little lounge where you can play a variety of board games or cards. I have every intention to get in on that action, but we were having too much fun at the bar playing Space Team on our iPhones. Seriously. Space Team is totally geeky, but a lot of fun to play if you have 2-4 friends. Try it!
After a solid power nap, Kevin and I spruced up a bit and walked on over to the bar. I wore my favorite stand by and perfect traveling dress, the Nice Dress from the Mandie Bee line.
Not only is the food delicious at the Pearl, (and we only ate the veggies) the cocktails are to die for! We have to thank the bartender, Emily, for providing super service and delicious concoctions. She made me a blackberry-something-something lemon drop with honey? She said she made it up as she went. That's cool! If you're a sucker for tasty craft cocktails like me, you'll have to at least stop by their bar for a drink. You will not be disappointed. Promise!
The rooms are very nice and fresh. The cutest thing about the room itself is the permanent room mate. This was our room mate, Ace. Who knew a beta fish would be good company?!
We managed to order too much champagne and fell asleep at an unreasonable hour, but woke up with the security of knowing checkout time was at noon and not something silly like...say, 11.
With Love & No Regrets,
Mandie Bee
Mandie Bee goes to the Zoo!
Here's just a quick photo diary of some of the animals (and flowers) we visited....
Fantastic Flamingos!
Jungle Book anyone? Ooo bee doo! I wanna be like you-oo-oo 
Spectacular Snake Skeleton
Fascinating Orchid green house....
Stay tuned for my next adventure as I review and sincerely compliment the Pearl Hotel in San Diego. We spend our evening at this splendid destination after our excursion at the zoo and have nothing but sweet things to say!
With Love & No Regrets,
Mandie Bee!