I just finished working on a beautiful new set of wedding invitations for an adorable couple getting married this July.
The wedding colors are green and navy, and all of the paper for the invitation has a nice shimmer.
Happy Mother’s Day weekend! Hopefully you have something nice planned for your mom. Anthony’s mother, brother and sister are coming to visit and we’re planing dinner on Saturday night and brunch on Sunday. I’m really lucky to have a wonderful mom who has always supported me in everything I do. I also have a great mother-in-law, grandmother, aunts, and grandmother-in-law (is that a thing?), plus some wonderful friend who are fantastic mothers.
Here are some good things to make for your favorite moms this weekend:
- Blueberry Bundt Cake from Bake at 350
- Pasta with Garlic Mussels from Camille Styles
- Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake from Martha Stewart
- Nectarine and Blackberry Gallette from Cupcakes and Cashmere
- Soft Eggs with Buttery Herb Gruyere Toasts from Smitten Kitchen
I did a lot of work on our bathroom, and it is getting closer to where I want it to be. Here’s a before shot.
Obviously, we have some issues. First, is it just me or is our sink really short? Second, there is a window above the sink where a mirror should be. Third, the tile is awesome, but the part of the wall where the tile ends is caked in caulk. These are three things which I cannot change since we live in a rental apartment, the building is 100 years old, and we didn’t want to spend any money.
Here is where I ended up.
The dark blue paint and chevron curtains are helping things look a little less sterile, and even though we still have the mini sink and no mirror, the room is a little happier. Anthony doesn’t seem to mind shaving in the small mirror, so that’s ok too. I also added a small moulding to the top of the tile to cover up the messy caulk. It’s kind of cheating, but who cares?
We love Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Soap in Lemongrass, so I bought some accessories to match – a green candle, a green plastic cup for our toothbrushes and a little green bird candleholder.
I have a little bit of an aversion to things that are purely decorative, so this bird is a big step for me.
I fooled around with some different options for art, and I ended up making small striped watercolors and framing them in big square frames.
I have a few more things to add, like a new, bigger rug and possible a little plant.
Happy Friday! I have a few things scheduled this weekend – making a birthday cake, babysitting, sewing some curtains for my sister’s new house, and (hopefully) banishing some truly terrifying spiders from one of our windows. Here are a few of my favorite things from the internet this week:
- Root Vegetable Fritters from my new favorite food blog, Spoon Fork Bacon
- A delicious looking Avocado and Smoked Salmon Salad from Joy the Baker
- Homemade Blood Orange Marmalade in adorable packaging from Love & Olive Oil
- I absolutely love AB Chao’s Bedroom
- Pretty Paper Peony from Ellineé Design
I just finished up some awesome new programs for a wedding this weekend and I’m so excited about how they turned out.
The programs are printed on a long narrow piece of card stock, and folded into a cute little booklet.
I love how these programs can hold a ton of information for a big bridal party, a full church service, a lovely thank you note from the bride and groom, and a memorial page, but still fold up small enough to fit into a small clutch or suit pocket.
If you’re getting married soon and want these for your own wedding, the programs are now available in my etsy shop – here is a link!
Now is the perfect time to order something pretty for your mom for Mother’s Day. The best place to find pretty stuff is on etsy. Here are some things that your mom will love.
Custom Silhouette from Tailored Takes
Personalized Mother Necklace from One Life Jewelry
White Jade and Rose Gold Love Bracelet from Precious Heart Shop
Ipanema Envelope Clutch from Paco & Lupe
Porcelain Votive Holder from Porcelain Affairs
May really snuck up on me – I thought we had at least another few days left in April. Our schedule is already filling up with good stuff – we’re hosting Anthony’s family for a Mother’s Day brunch on the 13th, and we’re heading to Baltimore for a wedding the following weekend.
I finished up our bathroom yesterday, and I just need to take some pictures to share with you. I have a few more projects to do around the house, and lots of great new invitations to share.
Anthony is off to Chicago for work this week, so I needed a project to keep myself busy while he’s gone. I have been wanting to make some updates to our bathroom for a while now, so this is a perfect time. I bought some Martha Stewart Paint in Azurite (a nice deep blue) when we moved into the apartment, and I also have some yellow chevron fabric that I bought a few months ago for curtains.
I found some great stuff online to add to my blue and yellow theme.
There are a ton of issues with the room that I have to fix before I start accessorizing, and I am working on some good ideas for art and some small plants.
There are approximately a billion chocolate chip cookie recipes, and everyone seems to have a favorite one. I made a big batch this week and wanted to share some of my favorite tips for making them more delicious, no matter which recipe you use.
1. Melt the butter before you start. I always forget to leave the butter out to soften it, and I usually want to get started baking RIGHT NOW. Instead of creaming the room-temperature butter together with the sugars at the beginning of the recipe, you can add melted butter. Some of the sugar will dissolve into the butter and the cookies will be delicious!
2. Get yourself a portion scooper for even-sized cookies. This one is good, but they come in a variety of sizes depending on what size cookies you like. It also makes scooping out a ton of cookies very easy.
3. Bake one sheet at a time. No matter how anxious you are to finish your cookies, only bake one sheet at a time. This ensures that the heat is even on all of the cookies, and stops you from opening the oven door a million times and changing the temperature.
4. Save some for later. Scoop the cookies out on a lined baking sheet and stick it right in your freezer.
A few hours later, the cookie balls will be frozen through and you can drop them into a freezer bag or storage container. When all of your cookies from the first batch are gone, you’ll still have ready-to-bake cookies in your freezer (mine are sitting between a tub of cake balls and a tub of buttercream frosting). 
When you’re ready for more, just bake them like fresh dough.
5. Store baked cookies in an airtight container with a slice of fresh bread. The bread will keep the cookies moist, and will even bring hard cookies back to life. It is miraculous.
I may or may not be eating a plate of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies for lunch right now.
I made the BEST dinner the other night from Power Foods - a cook book that I have had for over a year, but never used. Anthony has been keeping up with his vegetarian diet, so the salmon was just for me. The risotto is made with barley instead of rice, and it was really delicious.
The salmon is roasted on orange and lemon slices for 17 minutes at 400 degrees and topped with a puree of fresh peas and watercress. The risotto has leeks, asparagus and peas, and is prepared just like regular risotto. Delicious
Here is the recipe for the Spring Barley Risotto.
