Have a beautiful weekend + a vacation

Hello my darlings, how are you this beautiful Friday? I am sweating like crazy! It's a record breaking 90 degrees here in Denver and just walking from a to b takes effort. Well, I am luckily escaping the heat this weekend and will arrive in breezy San Francisco at around 10 am tomorrow for Kimia's wedding! I am very, very excited. The last time I was there was about 10 years ago so it should be quite different this time around. I will be crashing on my friend Melissa's couch. She lives in the Mission district which apparently has lots of vintage shopping. YES! I will be gone til Tuesday so I won't be able to get back to you til Wednesday. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Also...

Ha! Wonder art

Uh...I was not this cool in high school.

Sweet double exposures!

I like.

Alphabet from above!

Cute cutting boards here, here and here.

Unique Italian home.

I need a lawn chair for the summer!

treeman.

London guide.

Living in: the darjeeling limited (yes!)

Elle Russia.

reasons to love San Francisco...

(via harpy)

Deep thought thursday + a slump.

What do you do when you're in a slump? I am not feeling myself lately and I can't quite seem to get myself out of this little funk. My head feels cloudy and my day to day work feels uninspiring. Ugh. Well the good news is I am off to San Francisco this weekend for the beautiful Kimia's wedding. Hopefully some of that California air will do me some good!

(via art equals happy)

My future home.

Do you ever build your future home in your head from scratch? Room for room. I know it's crazy but I just can't help myself sometimes. It makes me sad when I think about how long it will be until this is reality but what the heck, a girl can dream! Here are a few things that I might not be able to live without...

1. A claw foot tub.

2. A garden

4. A bedroom with angled ceilings

5. A porch (with lots of rocking chairs)

6. A creative space

7. A kitchen with black and white tiles

Two letters...

May has been a plentiful month for me in regards to mail. I am not talking about bills, magazines or junk mail; I am talking about letters. I received two of them this month, both handwritten, both drastically changing my day. One was from a friend; the other from a relative, neither of which I have seen for at least 5 months. It doesn't seem like a lot but it got me thinking about traditions that have died with technology. Nothing is on paper anymore. Nothing is tangible. The romance of it all is dead. I bet grade school kids don't even write notes to each other in class, with your names written in bubble letters on the front. I remember keeping them all in a shoe box in my closet and looking back on them years later. They meant a lot more than an email or any facebook message I've ever gotten. So, how bout it guys, let's bring letter writing back! Anyone need a pen pal? :)

Have a sunny weekend!

Hello lovelies! Hope you had a bearable week and are looking forward to a few days of relaxation. Anything fun planned? I feel like I can finally count on the days ahead being warm and sunny and I am loving it! Tonight I am going to a dance club (ha, I never do this kinda thing) which I think will be both hilarious and fun. Also, tomorrow I am going to a yard sale/hot dog social with a friend of mine in the Highlands. That's really all I have planned so far. Have some fun outdoors this weekend!

Oh hey, look at all this fun stuff...

I want to learn how to cook Indian food!

I want a porch so I can put these awesome vintage chairs on it!

This photo makes me smile.

Something else to clutter my apartment with...brass animals.

Loving this retro swim suit (why so spendy??)

Fly!

Recently discovered etsy store.

Collections.

Little dream cats.

This egg ravioli looks incredible!

Air plants...never heard of them, but an easy to maintain house plant, count me in!

And speaking of plants... (the car photo cracks me up!)

Around the world in 80 seconds.

(photo via Nectar and Light)

Deep thought thursday...

(via kind over matter)

A recipe: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

A couple of words about whoopie pies....

They originated in the Northeast, specifically Maine and Pennsylvania. It is said that they got their start as a fun treat for the kids when moms had leftover cake batter and icing. The "classic" whoopie pie is chocolate cake and marshmallow filling but there are tons of other varieties out there. (my sister just got me this cookbook with over 100 pages of recipes!) I have made whoopie pies twice now and have learned a few things along the way...

Marshmallow Fluff (pictured below with my mom and sister) is preferred for the filling. I actually did a taste test comparison on this...it's just better. Also, the longer you beat the filling the lighter and fluffier it gets.

I just read in my cookbook that Crisco instead of butter (they use a mixture of 1/2 butter and 1/2 Crisco in most of their recipes) helps achieve lift, lightness and that classic rounded whoopie pie shape...hum, I will have to try this next time...

My recipe was actually adopted from a couple recipes. I love using the marshmallow and many of the recipes I looked at didn't call for it so I had to improvise a bit. Also, the first time I made these they were huge, so just so you know about 1 tbsp of batter makes a 2 inch cake which for me is the perfect size.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Cook Time: 8 minutes per batch; makes about 24 pies

Cookies:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 bottle (1 ounce) red food coloring
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 tbsp butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


1. For the Cookies, preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Mix buttermilk, food color and vanilla in small bowl.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until smooth and scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter, 2 inches apart, onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. (Cookies will spread so avoid crowding them on baking sheet.)

3. Bake 8 minutes or until cookies are puffed and spring back when touched, turning baking sheets halfway through baking. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

4. For the cream cheese filling, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, marshmallow fluff, cream cheese and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. To assemble whoopie pies, place about 1 tablespoon filling on flat side of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, pressing gently to spread the filling. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store whoopie pies between layers of wax paper in airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days.

Inspirational bits: misanthropicnic

I have been having quite the love affair with 35 mm film lately. I understand the digital revolution based upon convenience and well, cost I suppose but I refuse to accept a total take over. I have yet to invest in a chunky SLR but as for my adequate point and shoot, it's nice to have around I admit. However, when it comes to taking photographs as art I just can't move away from film. Today, I was browsing Flickr and found a photographer that illustrates my point beautifully...

(via misanthropicnic)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hello my dears. Phew! This week really took it out of me. I flew back to CO on Monday, worked a full day and have pretty much been going non-stop since then. Being back in Tennessee sure made me homesick. Everything is so green...I mean it's unreal. So beautiful. It was so good to see my family all together in one place. We went to the Steeplechase, which has been a huge tradition ever since I can remember. The event lasts all afternoon and by the end of it I am always stuffed with good food (and good drink...wink) and exhausted from a day in the sun. On Mother's day, my sister, mom and I went the the Frist Museum to see the Chihuly exhibit. It was so fantastic! If you're not familiar with his work, you may recognize it here. Look familiar? He is most famous for his large scale glass sculptures but he draws and paints as well.

After the Museum, we met up with my brother and the rest of my family at Arrington Vineyard for a picnic. It was the perfect end to my weekend.

What are you guys up to this weekend? I am filling mine with a little bit of laundry, a concert and a couple of bbqs. Enjoy it!

I almost forgot...

Bunting necklaces.

Apples to apples.

Nashville: 1864 (also, Boulder 1916)

This wallpaper looks like it moves!

Neat jar sculpture.

If you haven't seen this already...you should.

Couch surfing.

How a circus tent is born.

Vintage DHARMA ads. (for all my LOST fans out there)

The unicorn.

shoes.

I want summer!

pretty vintage matchbooks.

one of my favorite things about summer...nightgown weather.

More mason jar inspiration.

(photo via tessroby)

Deep thought thursday

(via dailypoetics)

Bits of my weekend...through pictures (cause sometimes they are better than words)

(via me)

Weekend time+ Happy Mother's Day!

Hello loves. I am off to Tennessee this weekend to assess the flood damage, go to a horse race and tell my mother in person just how wonderful she is. I'm planning on taking tons of pictures. So I will be sure to share my adventures with you upon my return. Hope you all have a fantastic next few days. x.

Here's some cool stuff...

A different kind of thank you note.

Love this picture.

knitted nature.

A Zebra pinata! (it's homemade!)

glasses are chic...

Pretty summer dresses.

to be continued...

(photo via Hula Seventy)

Deep thought thursday...

(via notebook doodles)

Happy...

Cinco de Mayo! Right now I am making tilapia tacos, drinking Modelo and listening to Buena Vista Social Club. (I know they're Cuban but they get me in that mood, ya know) Hope you are doing something fun too!




(photos via Smitten Kitchen and flickr)

Jars.

I really love the idea of using jars as storage. You can literally put anything in these babies...spices, homemade dressing, rice, dry pasta, cereal, ANYTHING. I am not sure why I am so attracted to this idea but it really does make me want to rip apart my pantry, throw away all those ugly boxes and invest in a ton of glass jars. I just like the way it looks. Don't you?

(via Decor 8; from me to you)

It's...Monday.

This was not my ideal weekend. I was busy, busy at work all week and even had to work on a Saturday which is just tortuous. So Sunday I spent all day recovering by sleeping...a lot. I don't feel guilty, not one bit. I worked for that sleep! Okay, so I'm back now feeling at least 90% myself again. Hope you all had a fun kick start into May and are having a semi-decent Monday...cause that's usually all we can ask.

Okay so here are some things I found and was too busy to post this weekend...

Holy cow! Tennessee is under water...but my family is okay. phew.

a visual comparison, free-range vs. farm fresh eggs.

Bwahahaha! Lil' Wayne v. The Office (as you can tell I kinda like this show)

Whoa! This apartment in Hong Kong is insane!

Look at all the details in this tiny little house.

Makin' Woopie pies for the horse race this weekend...these, these or these.

Some advice.

A little bit of sparkle goes a long way.

Ugh, dating.

Style lust...I want all of these outfits. (especially this dress)

Stationary of horror.

Looking into the past.

Some honest reminders...

(photo by Marion Post, Natchez, Mississippi 1940)