Teatime Tuesdays!- How to brew a cup of English tea

"A great idea should always be left to steep like loose tea leaves in a teapot for a while to make sure that the tea will be strong enough and that the idea truly is a great one."
                                                                                      - Phoebe Stone

Americans always make it seem like the English spend an eternity making one cup of tea when in actual fact it's done in pretty much the blink of an eye. Take these easy steps to make yourself a cuppa!

1. Boil water and put a little bit in the teapot to warm it up. Then tip the water out
2. Put two tsp of loose tea into the teapot and fill with boiling water
3. Brew for two minutes  
4. Pour into teacups and add milk to satisfy one's taste

Teatime Tuesdays!

"[ I am] a hardened and shameless tea drinker, ...who with tea amused the evening, with tea solaced the midnight, and with tea welcomed the morning."- Samuel Johnson  

Being half Persian, half English it was easy to fall in love with tea. Like Samuel Johnson I eat, sleep, and breathe it.  In both English and Persian households it is the first thing you offer visitors regardless of the occasion. My mum used to host coffee mornings in the winter and afternoon tea parties in the summer. I would sneak into the room to watch the parade of wide brimmed hats and fancy dresses floating elegantly in and listen to the latest gossip.

I hereby pronounce that Tuesdays on Polished Practical will be dedicated to my tea and coffee explorations. Places, flavors and fashion of the tea world!

I think it's time to put the kettle on...

Cupcakes and Candy Nails- Strawberry edition

Strawberry laces and marshmallows, gel nails in Funny Bone and Gerber Daisy

I have been indulging in strawberry marshmallows lately enjoying the combination of sweetness and melt in your mouth sense of delight. After visiting the Montrose Candy shop I conjured up my next manicure. The light pink of the marshmallow seemed so dainty on its own so I balanced it out with a hot pink to give my nails an instant edginess.

Petits Fours-Staycation

                                                Old photo's of my mum!

 Although this stay cation was only brought on by some injuries leaving me no choice but to slow down I still had the chance to explore new places and sought through some old boxes. I came across old pictures of my mum which made me feel somehow closer to her as if I caught a glimpse into her life  that I previously did not know about. For starters I had no idea she had red hair for a short while! I will definitely be looking forward to morning coffee with her over the weekend for some new stories.
Have a great one!
xoxo ~Tasha

A wall of jewellery and the button earrings I treated myself too at Meowdy in LA

I couldn't resist these Thank you cards by Graphique( found them at HomeGoods)!

                                Dinner at Chakra and lunch at the Alcove

Blue Crush

Dior sunglasses, Victoria's Secret dress, Bergdorf Goodman bracelet, Urban Expressions clutch and Enzo Angiolini heels

I read a post by a fellow blogger just the other day commenting on the lack of color in a woman's wardrobe. It inspired me to throw this bright number on from Victoria's Secret. The dress is simple but combined with an exotic headscarf from my mum's modeling days in London and my Dior cat eyes the punch of blue becomes positively eye catching!

What color are you crushing on? 

Ipsy- Pretty in Pink April Bag

                                             Ipsy Bag for April

This month's Ipsy bag feels very girly with all the pink tones and great touch up products. This should be your go to bag if you start looking like a hot mess half way through the day. My only disappointment would be that two items were missing from my bag this month.

BIG SEXY HAIR Powder Play: This is good if your hair tends to lay flat by midday, to get the effect the powder needs to be applied liberally to the root of your hair.

be a...BOMBSHELL blush in 'Sweet Cheek': I'm naturally rosy cheeked so I usually opt for a bronzer over blush. I tested this out-it glides on smoothly and feels light weight. TIP: Apply this lightly as it's highly pigmented so if your not careful you will end up looking like a made up porcelain doll!

SATION Nail polish in 'Of corset I'll call you': You know I always love a new nail color! It starts sheer but you can add layers for a deeper pink.

MICA BEAUTY 'Earth' eyeshadow: No time in the morning? Just swipe this eyeshadow over your eyelid for an instantaneous polished look. The color is a shimmery pink bronze blend. I also sprinkled some on my nails over clear nail polish and loved it! Check back in with me for a DIY post on this.

Let me know what you thought of this month's Ipsy...

New Blog Name!

Hola!
There seems to be some confusion with my blog name Tasha Speaks. To avoid any frustration I have decided to use a fun name that encapsulates my blog...drum roll please...
Polished Practical will be the new name! I hope you like it and continue on this journey with me.
Love Tasha

Pretty Please

It can be frustrating finding the perfect gift for your girlfriends but fret no more, I have discovered the perfect solution. What's the one thing that every woman loves? Having perfectly manicured nails of course! As a little girl I used to change my nail polish to match every outfit I wore. Although I'm not quite so obsessive anymore I still love to look down and see a pop of color or a dab of sparkles tapping away at the keyboard. I needed a gift that would make 9 different girlfriends happy for Naw-Ruz (Persian New Year) that's why it was an obvious decision to turn to Pretty Please.

Pretty Please allows you to personalize a nail polish to mark a special occasion or to give as a unique gift. It takes three simple steps:

1. Choose a color
2. Name your nail polish 
3. Place your order! 

I was worried my order would not arrive in time because I had left it to the last minute so I contacted Sara Ricklen, Founder and CEO of Pretty Please to let her know what the occasion was. To my surprise instead of getting a typical corporate generic answer Sara guaranteed it would arrive on time and addressed the fact that I was so excited about ordering this product. It's refreshing to have a company engage with me on a genuine level.

I can't wait to mark another special occasion with Pretty Please!

Have a great weekend!
Love Tasha

LuckyFABB Petits Fours

Checking out the cute new line of AG Jeans and having fun with Pretty Gossip blogger

I couldn't wait till Friday to share my most recent petit fours with you. I attended the LuckyFABB bloggers' conference last week and had an incredible experience. There were informative speakers such as Brandon Holley, Lalena Luba, Matt Edelman and Mandana Dayani including Emily Schuman of Cupcakes & Cashmere( my favorite blog) as well as workshops to participate in. Not to mention the amazing blogger friendships I got to make and exciting sneak peaks of upcoming lines by L'Occitane, and AG Jeans among other brands.
Thanks LuckyFABB for making this a great conference!
xoxo

The new line for L'Occitane will be released just in time for Mother's Day! Books lined the shelves at SLS Hotel and Emily Schuman joined a panel on the business of blogging

The extremely generous bag of goodies from LuckyFABB and partners

Drew Barrymore spoke about life, work and her new cosmetic line FLOWER