Currently, burnt orange is the color taking up lots of space in my mind. I know, it’s more of a fall color…but how can you say no when it’s against winter whites and fresh spring greens? And how about these gorgeous and sweet little duck tolling retrievers? They’re the dog breed I dream of owning some day…oh how I wish that day was now! Tollers are still my favorite redheads, hehe.
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I feel like the only person in the world that is just holding onto winter with all my might. Warm coffee, sweaters, piles of quilts, the joys of hot showers and baths, and the complete lack of stifling, brain-draining heat. Ohh stay a little longer cool weather. I really love you to pieces.
Recent images that have been floating around my visualize.us account. Apparently I’m digging dreamy, romantic images right now? 
GDIS Hard drive via GeekSugar – Bracket, Handle, Chandelier by Anthropologie
Disney Storybook Prop Replicas by miehana – Earrings by M Flynn
Brick bedroom via Apartment Therapy – Florals via Weddingbee
Life has not been quite this relaxing and lovely today. Truly, I’d just like to go back to bed…
I have been hankering for a new pair of glasses. I wear my contact lenses religiously, but in the last two years I have had some problems with my eyes or running out of contacts that puts me back in my six-year-old emo frames (see picture).
Being six years old, these frames are getting kind of grody and boring. While the thick black frames were trendy in 2004, now the black frames seem harsh to me. I still like the idea of them but not the ones I currently have. I want glasses I love, that I want to wear. Unfortunately, being married and no longer a dependent of my parents, the harsh realities of insurance and the costliness of contacts and/vs glasses has tied my hands as far as buying new frames, ones that I would want. Most places I could actually afford have little selection, and frames are something I’m very picky about.
Enter Warby Parker, the Tom’s Shoes of eyewear. I found this site through the blog For Me, For You. They have awesome, retro-inspired frames for only $95, and every pair they sell, they give a pair to someone in need. They even take care of the scariness of buying eyewear online with a feature that allows you to upload a picture of yourself and try on different glasses. Unlike the primitive hair style simulators I’ve seen online, this one is pretty effective and helpful. And if you buy them and still don’t like them, you can return them easily with free shipping! As soon as I can convince John this is a worthy investment, I’m getting the Sheridan or Aubrey frames (I’m leaning toward Aubrey).
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I hesitated to write anything about the first cake that I promised you in my cupcake post, but after looking at the pictures, I can’t help it. I must show it off because if nothing else it looks beautiful. The cake turned out edible but not really as delicious as it looks. I think it was the recipe instead of my own amateur cake skills. The icing is just weird. Sour cream, chocolate and coffee. The coffee should have been ground espresso powder melted into the chocolate, not just plain ground coffee added to the sour cream. The coffee taste overpowered instead of accentuating the chocolate. Even though the cake was a taste fail, I gained good experience in how baking a cake works. I think I could even do some experimentation with this recipe and fix the icing, but I’m too cheap to waste ingredients and time on experimentation. I like guaranteed results. That’s why it hurts so much when I have a huge baking fail like last night. So enjoy the pictures, beware of the recipe for Classic Birthday Cake from the Food Network cookbook How to Boil Water.
there’s more to this article. keep reading…
The only room in our house that the roomies and I have yet to begin tackling is our bathroom. Currently it’s a dingy white, bad linoleum, small-windowed mess of a room! Since my ideas for redoing it have been, well, all over the place, I decided to put together an inspiration board to clarify and focus my ideas. With the other girls’ blessings, we’ll hopefully start transforming it very soon!
Chandelier by Lamps Plus – Towels by Target – Mirror by Pier1 – Knobs by Anthropologie
Shelving via Design Sponge – Votive Holders via Jamali Garden
We already have a bunch of vintage postcards (like the California one above) that will be the focusing decor element. We’re hoping to update things with clean white walls, accent paint in periwinkles, and bright pops of color throughout the rest of the space. This board pretty much nails the fusions of our decorating styles: romantically feminine, a little ecelectic, and all about having a good time.
I can’t wait to get started!!
via Apartment Therapy
LOVE! Spotted these incredible postcards on Apartment Therapy this morning — and even though I’m normally really good about not impulsively buying, I couldn’t help snapping up one of these babies! Can you blame me though? The aesthetic is right, and the price is fab: 100 postcards based on classic Penguin book covers, and for only $16.50! Unfortunately they’re only available for pre-order and won’t ship until October…I’m so excited to get my hands on them.
And even though I’m planning on framing my favorites as wall art (they’ll go perfectly with the vintage aesthetic in our bungalow), how sweet is the back? A few special people just might get some in the mail…
You can pre-order them here on Amazon.
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To me, the perfect Valentine’s Day treat is the cupcake. They are so tiny and cute, a perfect individual treat whether you are celebrating single-hood or being with that special someone. And they come in so many beautiful flavors and colors and combination. Cupcakes are like ice cream. There’s a flavor and combo for everyone. My favorite is a classic yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting. I thought Valentine’s Day cupcakes would be the perfect recipe to break-in my brand new Kitchen-Aid stand up mixer. dun dun DUN! That’s right, Charlotte got a willow blue Kitchen-Aid mixer, for Christmas, not Valentine’s Day. Everyone, meet Katy. Katy, this is Everyone.
Hello. I'm Katy, and yes, I am a Kitchen-Aid.
I’ve been putting off using it to make my very first cake for a cake party, but I decided to do a soft opening by making these cupcakes from the Food Network instead. I’m shooting for having my cake party this Friday, so I hope you all can come but for now, on to the cupcakes!
sweetness
These cupcakes were easy to make and quick, especially with my new mixer. They are really vanillay though. John thought it was too much, and although I liked them, I can see what he was talking about. There are a full 2 tsps in the cake batter, and 2 more tsps in the icing. Next time, I think I will only use 1 1/2 tsps in the batter or even just 1 tsp. The icing, however, was fantastic! I used some pink tube icing to draw X’s and O’s on the cupcakes to make them festive. Click the Food Network link for the recipe.
hugs and kisses
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We complement one another.
These Olympic commercials really know how to make u cry. Wow.
