d.i.y spring flower crown

"If you're going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair..."

Any Scott McKenzie fans?!

Each year, the spring catches me by surprise and it seems as if all the flowers and trees bloom overnight! It is such a wonderful treat to wake up that first morning and see all the colors of the rainbow right outside your window. Every spring feels like the first spring and you can't help but have a big smile on your face and want to talk long strolls about town.

In celebration of the hot sun, cold wind, chirping birds, and blossoming buds, Whoof and I decided to partake in the age old spring tradition of garland making! Drawing some inspiration from Mommalah's garden, here is what we came up with:

The project was super easy peasy and the flowers were only $3.99. We bought a few other bunches in different colors and can't wait to get started on making more! Read on if you're interested in seeing how we did ours.

1. Blue and gold pansy. 2. Whoof showing you everything you'll need for this project: silk flowers from any old craft store will do, plastic headband (although felt would have worked much better!), hot glue gun, and scissors. 3. To start, snip off all the flower blossoms and a couple of leaves. 4. Hot glue gun the blossoms onto the leaves using the central vein as a guide. Press down gently. 5. Glue the leaves onto the headband one at a time. I found that after initially gluing them together, I had to go back and while pressing them together, inject more glue in any gaps so it wouldn't break off later. 6. We did ours in three sections; the 2 sides and then the top center portion.

By Whoof, she's got it!

Whoof ready to nosh a burrito of sorts. Can't start the day without some cinnamon hazel blend! Two sugars please!

Just a quick one today. I got the idea from Whoof while she was burying her bone in one of the closet compartments after breakfast. Ten minutes into pawing and sniffing she dug up this broken felt hanger and although slightly annoyed at the bone-burying- disturbance, thought we should try putting it to good use at least once before throwing it away. So I accepted the challenge! And here is the end result:

A little make-up windchime-esque, no? I've read a few places that after cleaning your makeup brushes, it is better to let them sit downright so that any remaining moisture drips down instead of into your brush handle where it might fester and create mold and scary bacteria. Yikes. Not toooo sure if this is anything scientific, but one of my brushes was starting to smell a little funky so we jerry rigged this little doodad and let them warm in the sun. A couple hours later we were left with some squeaky clean brushes that are all ready for a week's worth of correcting! :)

Cheers!

veggie and sausage breakfast muffins

Wish I could credit coming up with this absolutely delicious recipe, but you'll find the lovely directions for whipping these up yourselves right here. Mute the morning news, pop on some Benny Goodman, sip/gulp down your morning cup o'joe, and roll up those PJ sleeves! Definitely worth getting up an hour earlier than usual. Whoof certainly enjoyed them. Hope you are all enjoying the first days of spring [showers here] :)

D.I.Y Yellow Pocket Pants

It is official, I've got spring fever and have consequently taken to dumping out the entire contents of my closet onto the bedroom floor! Generally speaking, the house rules are as follows: if you haven't worn it in the last four months, dump it in the Goodwill pile.

After clawing through to the very back, I found an old friend in the form of these grey cotton pants from Old Navy. I bought them last summer and imagined they would be the perfect pant for winter with a cozy knit and a big chunky scarf. Alas, the poor guys missed out on much of the cold season and they aren't exactly the most spring-ish of colors. However in the spirit of new beginnings and brights, I grabbed some yellow fabric, a tube of all purpose glue, and with the help of a needle and thread, one particularly sunny afternoon, and half a late night, this is what I have to show for it!

Maybe I'll paint little hearts on the back pockets there. A project is never finished! :) Can't wait to wear them tomorrow in the sunshine!

D.I.Y. Ombre Shorts

Things you'll need: A pair of high waisted cutoffs (these used to be jeans i found for 5.99 at goodwill); fabric dye; salt; steaming hot water; rubber bands to create a starburst effect; a bucket.

Follow the mixing directions on the packet of whichever fabric dye you are using keeping in mind that the solution will stain whatever bucket/bowl it is in. I recommend wearing a pair of gloves for the whole process as the water is really flipping hot and you don't want your fingers looking an odd color!

Here is the blue lagoon mixture I ended up with! After tying a couple of ends together with the rubber bands, just dunk it right in! I did mine in three sections, the third being the cuffed portion of the shorts which I let sit for the longest amount of time in the solution (5 or so minutes). The longer your fabric is submerged in the solution, the richer the color.

Pop them in the wash by themselves and hang to dry. And here is the end result!

The turquoise is more subtle than I anticipated, but I love them nonetheless! This weekend I'll probably try out a purple dye on another pair and see how that turns out. White/yellow would be another really cool color combo. Give it a try, it was the perfect project for a sunny day out of the house :)

finally, the end of the weekend!

Yep, you read that right! After clocking in 32hrs 49min this weekend, I am happy to finally have my Friday funday tomorrow! As such, please stay tuned for one (or all) of the following goodies:

1. a nifty D.I.Y involving flowers, hemp, denim cut-offs, and bleach

2. an outfit of the day

3. the recipe for a cheesy delight to try with a lovely pinot noir once your weekend comes around! :)

Until then, I'll leave you with a quick snapshot of this furry nugget because what blogpost is complete without a little picture action?

Here is Whoof being quite the smartie pants and watching her favorite channel, CNN.

The MACdaddy of all foundations.

Sorry, I couldn't resist with the title.

So foundation has always been a tricky one for me to figure out. Until someone told me you could have combination skin, I just assumed mine was whacked out. Some days it was oily, other days it was bone dry, one day my forehead would be greasy, next it would be my nose. And while there are a handful of quality products the drugstore brands provide, more often than not the formulas I experimented with would fade by the day's end, give mediocre coverage, and rarely match-up to my skin color. Ring any bells? Cue MAC Matchmaster.

So essentially, the brainiacs over at MAC have somehow managed to bottle magic. When applying , I use about 1 pump and it does a beautiful job of hiding any acne scarring or uneven skin coloring without looking cakey or turning me orange. Being a neutral foundation, MAC has created a product with more leeway in regards to matching. In the past, I've found the NC's to be very yellow and the NW's too pink. This one here is 5.0 and would suite NC40-42 just fine. It honestly blends with my skin so nicely and dries a soft matte leaving it looking delicate and natural. The design of the pump is especially wonderful because you don't waste as much product as you might otherwise. The consistency of the formula is not too thick and not too watery and does well when applied with either a brush (any generic one will do) or a sponge.

The only other thing to say is that it works better when applied with a primer (L'oreal Studio Secrets is a good one) and then set with a powder. Otherwise it moves a little throughout the day however I still get 8+ hours of wear with this and if I'm carrying on through the evening, a little powder freshens it up just fine. Here is the skinfish I've been wearing with it:

Here is a little before, during, and after action (click to enlarge!)

Looking a little worse for wear: dark circles, blemishes, uneven skin tone, frazzled hair; Applying Mac Matchmaster with rando Eco Tools brush; Dust on some Skinfinish/powder; End result: geeking out sans outstanding dark circles, noticable blemishes and overall happy about an evened out skin tone. Unkempt hair solution TBD.

At the end of the day, I couldn't be happier with this find. It did cost a pretty penny, but when it comes to something like foundation I recommend saving and then treating yourself to a quality product. If you're like me and you will be using it most days without fail, then it will be a pretty penny well spent.

Hang ten!

golden snitch sweater

With daylight savings six days away, I'm drunk on the sheer thought of sunshine and warm weather. Yesterday was absolutely divine and after a quick stroll about town, some shameless people watching (and plenty of man gawking), my co-workers and I popped into a local bar for a drink or two. All in all a perfect way to ease into the week. Thought I'd share the outfit I sported for said lazy Sunday. It was a little smart for the occasion, but I just had to wear this metallic crewneck ASAP.

Back in November-December, H&M had two versions similar if not identical to this gold one. The only difference might have been the color selection (winter version came in black and a rose gold I believe). They were retailing them at 24.95 or something along those lines. With other Christmas presents to buy, a NY trip to save for, I didn't get to pick one up and when I finally got around to it, they had pulled them from the floor. Long story short, I spotted this one last weekend (trained eye that I have) and after zero'ing in on it, nearly fainted/yelped/beat up the beat when 1. they had my size and 2. IT WAS $9.95. YES, $9.95. Sheer. Happiness.

Still working out how else to style it, but it is definitely a gem when worn over simple shirts with a collar and jeans. Here is the completed look, including the lipstick I paired with it. I'd love to try and pair it with a mint green or pastel pink for the spring time. What do you think? Should metallics be a item left for winter? Or should a girl shine all year long?

apple, gorgonzola & pecan tartlets with maple drizzle

Despite a self-enforced cheese noshing interlude, I can't completely get away from the stuff. Instead of jamming every type of gouda, cheddar, and brie into my mouth, I've resorted to jamming aforementioned cheeses into other people's mouths, and have left my pie hole to enjoy exactly that- pie. (strawberry rhubarb recipe to come!) So without further ado, I bring you the first installment of "A Cheesemonger's Life for Me," a complete guide (read: a hodge podge of kitchen experiments) to cooking with every possible cheese under the sun. First up: gorgonzola dolce.

First things first, you're going to need at least 17oz. of pastry dough that should be divided into 6 equal squares. Score these guys all the way around with a sharp knife so heat can escape and your tartlets don't become all misshapen and trollish in the oven. It'll look a little like a picture frame! Pop your third to a half pound of gorgonzola (I used dolce) into a bowl, chuck in 1/4 cup of heavy cream, and in the immortal words of Bob Marley: stir it up. To give your pastry those crisp golden edges, crack an egg in a separate bowl, whisk it lightly, and then brush along the edges of the pastry square.

Next, spread the gorgonzola/cream mixture on top of your pastry square, making sure not to cover the scored lines. Crush some pecans and sprinkle them right over and then peel, core, and quarter an apple or two. Lay them flat (don't worry if the apple chunks are little thick, they will cook down in the oven), drizzle some maple syrup over all that and pop it into the oven at 425 for 15 min. I defs recommend checking in on your little tartlets after 8 minutes or so. My oven is completely mental, so it cooked them in half the time. My guys were a weeee bit crispy, but still absolutely delicious inside! The fam really enjoyed them and it was a great time to gather round the table and share a few good laughs.

Until next time!