A Belated July 4th Celebration

I saw this beautiful engagement shoot on Style Me Pretty, and immediately fell in love with a single detail...(can you guess what it is?). Mike Colón Photographers + Visual Exposure Photography.

I want one!

The other shoot that caught my eye last week was on Creature Comforts, with photography by Butterfly Sparks and Kelly Trontel Photography. I love the outfit. So classic and American without looking too costumey.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I typically balk at theme-y wedding posts on the blogs. Sometimes, though, a really beautiful, thoughtful holiday wedding pops up. This wedding inspiration shoot was on Snippet and Ink today, and I was so in love with the Irish theme, captured by Larissa Cleveland (who is based in San Francisco, not Cleveland!).

Love the vintage fridge used to store the flowers!

One of the prettiest boutonnieres I've ever seen!

See more here. The venue is gorgeous and moody, and the palette of creamy white with spring green is so well done!

Valentine's Inspiration

This post today on Ruffled put me in the mood for some pops of bright red. And just in time! This snowstorm coupled with the chilly temperatures had me squarely in the middle of the winter doldrums.

Love the white lace dress with the bright red tights!

Not to mention the giant gold heart necklaces!

I love everything about this picture!

Um, adorable. Vintage toy oven+cupcakes?

Pretty florals: bright red with soft purple.

Meant to be a wedding bouquet, but who doesn't love
getting flowers for Valentine's Day?

Love his jacket and boutonniere!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I had an amazing day of food and family. I hope you did too!

Here's a few last holiday links I've loved...

~Let it Dough! Creative Christmas cookies!

~Build a Christmas village on a shelf, starting with this free download. Then, if you get ambitious, she has more for sale.

I would totally watercolor these. I may make them soon!

~An adorable winter engagement shoot. My favorites, however, are the first two pictures!

Tangled in lights. Love it!

~Um, hello amazing photo. Originally found here.

Totally my favorite. Love the clothes, her expression, and the colors!

~T-Rex sums up the year's accomplishments.

~Ickle and Lardee have one of the cutest letters to Santa ever.

PS if you don't know these two teeth,
you need to go through this entire blog's archives immediately.

~Look amazing, but a ton of work to make...mini gingerbread houses! And they sit on coffee cups!

Wow. Just wow.

Holiday Cheer Part 3

~Did you know kissing under the mistletoe may be partly inspired by Norse mythology? The things you learn reading mental_floss.

~Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication (according to Da Vinci), as shown by this perfect little hot chocolate recipe: milk, chocolate, sugar. And the picture is divine:

via

~Beautiful typewriter art, found here.

How do people think of these things?

~I have a love of blogs that give elaborate gift wrapping ideas at this time of year. You know, like the stuff you see on Anthropologie, where you can spend as much on the wrapping as the present. I opted for something simpler (see below), but fell in love with this method of re-using cheap plastic dinosaur toys.

It's a metallic dinosaur! On a Christmas present!

Or, even better, a metallic dinosaur necklace!
All it takes is a coat of paint!

Here's my gift-wrapping scheme this year: brown paper packages tied up with string, with a touch of deep red:

Four more days! Merry Christmas, everybody!

Party Time!

I love the contrast in these images by russetplait: the red hair, the deep red lips, the black against the snow. So gorgeous!

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I love this look for the holidays; just a pop of deep red with black and a touch of sparkle at the collarbone.

I also liked E's look on Academichic for a party with professors: deep charcoal gray with bright red tights.

I would so wear this! Only I'd probably add a simple necklace with red gems;
I don't like my neck to go bare unless I'm playing violin.

My take on neutrals+red? I'm currently wearing red nail polish from Urban Outfitters.

This exact one, in fact.

This is a first for me, because I've always avoided red nails. They're just so basic, not much more interesting to me than a french manicure (eeew). Nothing against girls who want the classic look,* I'd just rather have an opaque pop of color if I'm going to take the time to do my nails. I don't often do it, because I'm impatient and smudge the nails before they can get a chance to really set.

Generally I'm all about the OPI Sephora colors, but it's hard to justify $9.00 nail polish when I'm not a nail polish maven. When I was at UO buying this nail polish (and Christmas presents for people), the girl at the checkout said "This is such a blood red. Like something out of Twilight." One of the other cashiers chided her, "DON'T TELL THAT TO THE CUSTOMERS!" I had a chuckle.

Anyways, back to party looks. We had a nice little shindig at our place Sunday evening. Just eleven friends, mulled wine, and appetizers. It was an awesome evening. It was the first time we've had more than a couple people over at once, and it was a smashing success.

I labeled everything.

The puppy chow/muddy buddies were gone by the end of the night.

The table with Christmas decor.

Snowflake garlands and pretty lights.

Our coffeetable with the "party tree"
and flowers from John's concert on Thursday.

Setting out the pretty cups and the veggie tray.

And, of course, I have no photographic evidence of my outfit, but I got lots of compliments. I wore a soft-as-can-be black cardigan over a quirky floral print dress I bought at Salvation army, my red nails, my grandmother's golden lockets, a black fascinator in my hair, and dark skinny jeans. The important thing to me was keeping everybody in food and drink and conversation, and I'd say it went off without a hitch.

Hope your holidays are filled with many nights of family, friends and fun!


*Unless you get a french pedicure. Those creep me out for some reason. A lot.

Holiday Cheer Part 2

More pretty pictures to get you in the holiday spirit!

Wow. What an amazing image of a tinsel tree.

I love the warm orangey-pink glow emanating from this tree.

Helicopter Santa! Enough said.

Santa takes a tumble.

A Christmas Journey through Space. I kid you not.

Good old Shiny Brite ornaments.


And, some other non-photo, Christmas-y links:

A great mental_floss article about eggnog.

There's nothing like Bing's White Christmas to put me in the holiday spirit!

"I hope their Christmas trees get termites" For those of you who aren't excited about Christmas, Oscar the Grouch concurs wholeheartedly.

Poor Mr. Hooper!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Guess what?

...

Look! Santa's waving at you!

IT'S DECEMBER! This means the holidays are already upon us!

Yes, that is Mario with a turnip.

Isn't it exciting? Seeing everything lit up and decorated with bright colors. Even for the not-religiously-inclined, it has to be exciting to see so many bright colors in a time when the skies are often gray and the temperatures are frigid.

Cowabunga!

Those are some of my all-time favorite decorations and pictures of our Christmas cheer. Here are some others from Flickr (which are definitely of a higher quality than mine!):

A cute little elf

A close up of some awesome vintage ornaments

I'm a sucker for a white tree and a vintage santa

Pink ornaments and vintage ornament boxes

Nothing like an aluminum tree with a bright green ornament

A groovy outer space ornament

Such cheery bright colors on an aluminum tree

Boxes o' ornaments

A snowy scene with a beautiful white tree

A beautiful, nontraditional Christmas tree

I love the look of this whole room with the tree and the pillows

A vintage tree topper against a beautiful background

The Ultimate Gingerbread Cake

I've been on a gingerbread kick lately. I had a gingerbread latte recently and I thought it was excellent; spicy and not too sweet. It adds nice depth to a full bodied coffee.

So at the store today I bought some gingerbread latte creamer. This will either thrill me or disappoint me. I can't wait to try it!

For my father's celebratory birthday dinner a few weeks ago, I made him a decadent, dense gingerbread cake. It needs little else other than a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar like the first dusting of snow. However, I took the recipe's suggestion and made up homemade whipped cream. They suggested an unsweetened cream to combat the richness of the cake, but I cheated and added just the slightest hint of vanilla sugar*.

I can't endorse this cake enough. You can make it in a bundt pan as it suggests-which makes it look pretty-but I've had just as much luck pouring the batter into a loaf pan and serving thin slices with coffee.

*How do you make vanilla sugar, you ask? You buy expensive vanilla bean pods for one recipe for a friend's birthday present, you balk at the cost, you decide you need to re-use the pods in some way, you throw some sugar in a tupperware with sugar and let it sit in there until the sugar takes on a heavenly, perfect aroma and flavor. You leave the pods in and replace the sugar as you go. You put it in recipes, in coffee, in your famous french toast. Everyone is impressed with you because this seems like something Martha Stewart would do, not a busy graduate student.


PS This cake is incredible. I highly recommend you try it for the holidays. Impress your friends and family!

Gingerbread Caramel? Yes please.

Martha, you've done it again.

Gingerbread Caramels!

mmmm....

Not only do Gingerbread Caramels sound delightful, the packaging is perfection. I think I will have to take on this particular project for my holiday gifting.