scanned... old corsages

here is a part of a project that i started working on recently...more to come!

baking... trios

another baking day...trios... thumb print cookies filled with orange marmalade, raspberry, and strawberry jam.

today...

experimenting & finding inspiration...

home-made dog toy

teddy loves his new home-made toy...braids of unbleached canvas knotted... voila... a dog toy that isn't made in china with plastic and glue, and it has lasted for more than a day so far!

a birthday weeked!

a busy weekend full of birthday festivities for jonah...
starting with a home-cooked birthday meal on thursday, which included moscow mule cocktails. here is the simple mix:

• Ice cubes
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup chilled ginger beer
• 1 lime wedge
• recipe from bon appetit here
  

and for a quick and simple dessert we had ice cream cookie sandwiches from bierkraft, topped with kitty chocolates. bierkraft is amazing, and we dangerously live a block away.friday night's festivities began in bayridge at schnitzel haus with friends. we all over indulged with german beers and sausages & schnitzels... yum yum.
and the evening ended with a homemade strawberry cream cake and champagne... on a side note, i just remembered that we got teddy last year around jonah's birthday... it has been so much fun having this little guy around...

inspired by... stitched illustrations by stephen campbell

i love the simplicity of these stitched illustrations by stephen campbell...images from www.art-dept.com

and more libert print love... from A.P.C.

chic liberty print accessories from A.P.C. ...

more liberty print love... from bonpoint

more liberty print love from bonpoint...

iosselliani stacking rings

i love the eclectic look of these rings from iosselliani

an apple a day...

more baking due to time off work... this time we had a surplus of apples, so why not make apple muffins...i found this recipe but tweaked it by adding more apples and cinnamon and topping them with apple slices...and being low on muffin papers inspired me to use parchment squares, which work great. tips on parchment squares here.the muffins are tasty... but nothing compares to the apple ugly muffins from the now closed back door bakery in silver lake back home. as i was waiting for the muffins to bake jonah started to make homemade marinara sauce for dinner...

the traditional princess cake marzipan

jonah and i are starting to plan our wedding, which will take place a year from this month. in regards to a cake the first thing that came to my mind was a marzipan princess cake... prinsesstårta, which is a sponge cake filled with layers of cream and topped with a layer of, usually green, marzipan. It is also usually decorated with some confectioner’s sugar and a red rose made from marzipan...
they are so cute and yummy. after a little hunting i came across this post which kind of explains the history of the cake. it is said that the cake originated in sweden, where it was invented in the 1930s by cookbook author jenny akerström, who is said to have made it in honor of sweden's three princesses at the time--margaretha, märtha and astrid. here is the original cover of the cook book...

cape cod weekend

jonah and i were lucky to spend a few days and a weekend up in cape cod. here are some of the highlights...

all that glitters is gold and blue eyes crying in the rain

inspired by michelle williams today...and by this resort ensemblethe pretty icee blues make me think of these lyrics:

In the twilight glow I see her
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.
As we kissed good-bye and parted,
I knew we'd never meet again.

Love is like a dying ember.
Where only memories remain.
Through the ages I'll remember-
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.

Now my hair has turned to silver.
All my life I've loved in vain.
I can see her star in heaven.
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.

Someday when we meet up yonder,
We'll stroll hand in hand again.
In a land that knows no parting-
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.

obsessed with rislan & rattan french cafe chairs

searching for the perfect stools for my kitchen work table the first thing that came to mind are the rislan and rattan french cafe chairs. a bit pricey but amazingly customizable in any color and weave. the authentic ones are custom made in france, hence the big price. i first fell in love with these years ago at maison midi in LA.
i know of a few places that offer the custom chairs from france. TK collections, Maison Gatti, poitoux, and HK designs. Check out TK collection's custom weave program where one can dream up endless color combos for all of the amazing weaves. here are my choices...so since these custom french ones are out of my price range at $1000 A POP i might look into finding budget versions like these or these. hmmmmmm? the search continues...

nadinoo hearts

love all of these sweet and simple ensembles from nadinoo. especially loving the use of liberty prints. and here is the cute nadinoo blog.