Etsy Tuesdays: True Blood



I might receive some evil eyes for saying this, but I really don't get this whole vampire craze. True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Twilight... everyone's got blood on the brain!

And why are they all so broody? Is it the vitamin D deficiency?

In my teenage years (which unfortunately, was not that long ago), the only popular vampires on screen were Dracula and the ones who didn't get their butts kicked by Buffy on a regular basis.

I'm rather satisfied with watching the occaisional vampire dispatching at the hands of the Winchester brothers on Supernatural.

♥ Favorite Find: The pretty kickass sterling and garnet "casket" ring by idlehandsdesigns. And the "Monostache" is a must-see!

Etsy Tuesdays: Summer Meets Fall

   Autumn is on its way, and who says that fall color has to be muted?

I just love the coral, turquoise, and buttercup yellow hues of this summer meets fall treasury.

Keep warm when the chill starts rolling in with one of these sunny shades!

♥ Favorite Find: Those scrumptious looking chocolate acorns from the confectionary marvels at Andie's Specialty Sweets. Have you seen the chocolate toadstools?! I want to perch one on a cupcake and devour it.

Etsy Tuesdays: All You Need is Love!

Besides being head-over-heels crazy about Middle Name Silly, I've been swimming in a rising sea of love lately... namely, weddings!

Next month starts a four month, one-wedding-a-month wedding frenzy.

I'm attending three of the four, and I'm a bridesmaid in one of them.

Expect a bundle of cool wedding DIY projects from yours truly.

Hint: button boutonnieres!

There sure is a lot of love in the air, people... and it's pretty freakin' awesome.

♥ Favorite Find: The sentimental and totally practical Love Languages tote from BucktoothedBunny... it just beckons to be filled with cute printed binders and notebooks!

Etsy Tuesdays: Aquamarine & Canary

The color blue and I have always had a stable, long-lasting relationship.

It's the color of my birthstone, the clearest summer sky, and my favorite mukluk slippers (so comfy!).

Yellow, on the other hand, has just recently come into the picture.

I really used to dislike all things yellow... not to mention that bright yellow isn't too flattering on pale skin like mine. Yuck.

Lately though, I keep finding myself drawn to the perpetually cheery color.

Maybe there's a little room left in this girl's personal color wheel for a little sun.

♥ Favorite Find: The quirky and colorful molecular hair clip from BooandBooFactory... cute nestled into a tousled braid!

I'm also crushing on those canary yellow pumps... they're in my size, too!

Etsy Tuesdays: Dandelion Wine

Dandelions are just too freakin' cool to be a pesky little weed.

Blowing those fluffy dudes all over is definitely more exciting than blowing out birthday candles.

They make for some pretty eye-catching, nostalgic decor as well!

♥ Favorite Find: The Dandelion wedding invitations by DesignsbyAdj. Unique, strikingly simple, and perfect for an evening summer wedding!

Right this moment...

I'm on a computer that's not mine, anxiously awaiting the mailman to bring my new charger for my dead, misbehaving laptop.

I'm retiring my beloved pineapple print planner and writing important dates, birthdays, events, and school schedules into my new mod-birdie print time.mine planner.

Without a trusty planner by my side, I would be far more disorganized. Scary thought.

I'm also wanting to sink my sweet tooth into these chewy bar cookies dreamt up by Nicole of Baking Bites. Salty pecans and chocolate? Hello, chewy melty goodness!

♥

Etsy Tuesdays: Peachy Plum Crisp

Aside from blackberries, peaches are my favorite fruit.

And peach crisp? Heaven.

Plums, on the other hand, creep me the hell out.

I can't really put my finger on it, but that squishy, little alien fruit is seriously odd.

Makes a gorgeous color combo, though!

♥ Favorite Find: The ridiculously stunning hand-pleated top by lirola. A universally flattering color with adorable elbow-length sleeves... perfect with a string of pearls!

Spur of the moment trifle... without the triviality.

Silly's mom has recently developed a serious crush on tiramisu.

The boy and I were planning a little gourmet celebration for her birthday: dinner by the insanely attractive son, dessert by yours truly.

And I was completely stumped at what to make.

I woke up late the morning of with the inspiration... tiramisu!

Wait.

Three problems...

1. I've never made tiramisu in my relatively short life.

2. No ladyfingers. Where do you even get ladyfingers??

3. Where the hell am I going to find time to bake some cake-like substance in order to make said tiramisu by tonight?

The solution? Serious recipe-tweaking and spontaneous trifle-making.

So grab one of those guilty, store-bought pound cakes (hello, Costco!), a tub of mascarpone cheese, and get your trifle on!

 

 Oh, and you'll totally impress that boy's mom.

♥

Right this moment...

I'm head-over-heels in love with IKEA.

It's a put-it-together-yourself furniture wonderland.

Yesterday, Silly and I made the trek out to the Swedish mecca so I could convince him of it's overall addictiveness. A couple steps through the doorway and he was hooked.

Did you know that there's a little sit-down restaurant inside of IKEA?

...And that every dish is wallet-friendly to match their inedible products?

...And surprisingly, freakishly, crack-a-licious?

No joke. It's addictive and delicious... hence, "crack-a-licious".

Those are Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and a side of lingonberry jam.

This Princess Cake - aka sponge cake with raspberry filling topped with marzipan frosting and a chocolate crown - was so light and tasty that Silly couldn't keep his fork out of it.

Oh, this? It's called a Daim Torte, and for less than two dollars I experienced some serious crack-a-licious flavor. Two layers of almond cake sandwiched between layers of caramel cream, topped with crushed Daim candies (almond toffee) and milk chocolate. Yum!

A few hours later, we walked out with a couple packs of magazine holders, a big glass for succulents, a toothbrush-shaped pot scrubber, and two salad spinners.

Awesome.

♥

Etsy Tuesdays: Eco-Chic

A delightful mix of vintage charm and modern ingenuity with a eco-friendly twist!

♥ Favorite Find: A tie between the woodsy-cute twig pencils from alliebeans and the envy-inducing retro wall clock by VectorCloud.

Coffee so good, you can kick that Mr. Coffee to the curb.

I love coffee.

I love the smoky, earthy, and chocolate-y undertones of flavor.

I love that little kick of caffeinated joy.

What I don't love about coffee?

That nasty burnt flavor of coffee over-brewed and sitting too long on the hot pad of the coffee maker.

Yuck.

While flipping through Food and Wine a few weeks ago, I noticed a recipe for "cold-brewed" coffee.

That's right. Coffee, sans the Mr. Coffee.

Thick, gritty goodness.

All you need is a bag of whole bean coffee, a grinder, some cold water, and 24 hours of patience.

The best part?

No more burnt coffee!

♥

Etsy Tuesdays: Dreamy Pastels

This week's treasury evokes that feeling of dreamy contentment when waking up early on a carefree, overcast day.

One of those days where you throw a few extra berries in your cereal, read a thought provoking book, and throw on a pair of feel-good earrings and take a stroll in the park.

♥ Favorite Find: I love the hazy watercolored glow in the "Cotton Candy Petals" print by zuppaartista. It would look lovely mounted in a gold-tinted vintage frame!

Right this moment...

I'm fondly remembering the tastes from my adventure at the state fair yesterday.

Oh, that? That's a whipped cream and soft-serve covered funnel cake.

Silly and I also tried a deep-fried snickers bar and a reindeer corndog.

Yeah, I'm probably on the naughty list for that one, but it was freakin' delicious.

Thank goodness for the calorie-burning heat and carnival rides, arm fulls of baby piglets, and narrowly escaping the aim of a spinning kid with a seriously upset stomach. It was a close one.

♥

Ooey gooey cinnamon rolls. 'Nuff said.

Not just your everyday cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon pecan rolls, made with Amish Friendship Starter.

Yep, that's right. Another use for that bag full of regenerating, magic goopy stuff.

I might or might not have eaten two or three of these fresh out of the oven.

Make these dense, flaky morsels for a crowd, or you could end up with a very full stomach.

♥

Amish friendship bread...waffles?!

It's been ten days since my first Amish friendship bread baking extravaganza, and it's time for yet another baking day!

I was itchin' to try out some untraditional, non-loaf recipes using the starter, so this morning I woke up and whipped up a batch of waffles.

Decadently fluffy, not-too-sweet, tangy Belgian-style waffles.

So take that dusty waffle maker out of the cupboard and stuff your face with these piping hot lovelies.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's starter spin-off - another breakfast favorite.

Trust me, it's worth it.

♥

Etsy Tuesdays: Un Voyage à Paris

I was a bit of a French nerd in high school.

Sure, French is an impractical language to learn when you live in a state whose second most spoken language is Spanish, but everyday of the three years of classes I took was like one big party.

We performed skits, drew chalk tracings of eachother on the pavement, watched offbeat French movies, held massive Mardi Gras celebrations, and received envious glances from Spanish students sitting in class while we played Bocce ball outside in the sun.

My French isn't as good as it used to be, but someday I'll make my way across the pond and see firsthand what all the fun was about!

♥ Favorite Find: I found a vintage pink suitcase a few years ago on one of my bargain-hunting adventures, and the "My Favorite Spot" print by yvetteinufio reminds me of all that vintage girliness.

Right this moment...

♥ I'm still swooning over this spicy grilled tuna melt I made last Saturday. Creamy cheese + crunchy bread = YUM.

♥ I'm dreaming up wacky treats to bake up using my quickly multiplying Amish Friendship Bread starter.

♥ I'm loving these ruffled zipper sandals on sale at Pac Sun.

♥ I'm stoked for this Friday's adventure to the State Fair. Ferris wheel, here I come!

♥

Immortal bread. Awesome!

A little over ten days ago, my best friend shows up on my doorstep bearing delicious gifts.

A loaf of Amish Friendship Bread, and...

...a bag of bread starter that keeps on giving.

Cinnamon-sugar crusted, moist, scrumptious bread every ten days when one starter multiplies into four.

Yesterday, I baked two of the starters into two mouth-watering batches of bread:

Classic style with cinnamon sugar crust,

and chocolate chip with cocoa-cinnamon crust.

A little research turned up some inventive, non-loaf recipes using starters. Stay tuned for late next week, when it's Baking Day, take two! ♥

Starter how-tos, and recipes after the jump...

Etsy Tuesdays: Schoolgirl Geekery

It's now in mid-summer that I start thinking about the new school year, and most importantly - school supply shopping.

That's right... I'm "that girl".

You can find me at the local office store in the prime of back-to-school season, arms full of 10 cent filler paper, mechanical pencils, and 3x5 study cards.

In late August I'll walk onto campus with an oversized tote bag filled with my color-coordinated binders and my trusty time.mine day planner, ready to learn!

♥Favorite Find: The wool felt coffee cozy from InboundThread combines my love of all things coffee and my fascination with reuseable innovation.

The violence of lemons...

Lemons are violent little fruit.

The smallest bit of juice on your tongue twists your face up grotesquely.

The citric acid eats away at your hard-earned tooth enamel.

I won't even begin to describe the exquisite pain if you get sprayed in the eye while juicing one.

This pretty pink watermelon lemonade is punch-you-in-the-face-only-to-apologize kind of violent.

The tanginess of the lemon aggressively grabs your taste buds, and the cool watermelon soothes and refreshes.

It's delicious masochism.

♥