I am loving these pretty latte-esque bowls that I found at Target this week. They come in three sizes - in the perfect cottage white.
I will no doubt be using these for everything from lattes to ice cream, but today I thought they would be perfect for an early Autumn arrangement...
The lovely Hydrangeas are from Trader Joe's (they really do have the prettiest and most inexpensive flowers around!) and the colors are so soft and beautiful...
Happy Tuesday!
:-)
Jessica
Pretty lavender roses (from Trader Joe's). They're a little bit bruised and faded, but I think it makes them all the more beautiful...
Happy weekend!
:-)
Jessica
Even though Autumn is still officially a day away, I can already feel it in the air. I just love the Fall - the crisp air, the bright blue skies, and the changing leaves. And after a scorching summer, I am once again happy to turn on the oven and be baking again. Nothing fancy today - just some mint chocolate chip cookies for the girls...
I just used the regular Toll House recipe (found right on the package), and substituted in some mint chocolate chips and Smarties (the British version of M&M's) for the regular chocolate chips.
Perfect with a cold glass of milk.
So yummy.
And pretty, too!
:-)
Jessica
I may have mentioned in the past that the girls and I are a pretty hairy bunch. Yes, we all have rather long locks and keeping them in place requires a lot of hair accessories!
I used to just keep everything in a basket, but we could never easily find what we wanted - especially when we had about two seconds to locate it before we had to rush out the door to get to school. So, to avoid hair accessory chaos on busy mornings, I devised a simple way to store and display them. All you need is some ribbon (I used satin, but I've found that grosgrain works even better), a bit of glue, and a few thumbtacks. This is so easy, you won't believe it...just cut a length of ribbon to suite the size of your accessory collection, fold over the ends and glue (this is more for appearance than function), and thumbtack your ribbon to an easily accessible place (we have ours tacked on the side of a built-in bookcase in our kitchen).
Then just clip away!
I made one for our flower-type clips...
And one for our rhinestone bobby pins...
The hair accessories look so pretty gathered together as a collection and now the girls can quickly find what they need!
I have seen expensive hair accessory/bow organizers for sale in children's boutiques, but why waste the money? This costs just pennies to make and works just as well!
:-)
Jessica
Well, I've been waiting rather impatiently for Target's new Missoni collection to hit the stores. Missoni's wildly colorful knitted stripes and zig-zags are not typical of my usual design palette, but I am actually quite a fan (I LOVE anything related to fashion!).
So, today was going to be a pretty exciting day for me. My plan was to drop off the girls at school and still make it to Target in time for them to open at 8 am. I knew the minute I hit the parking lot that things were not going to go as planned. The parking lot, which normally has about three cars in it at 8 am, was already half full! I made it inside by 8:01 and there was already a large group of women surrounding the Missoni clothing racks. I panicked! What to do??? Did I forget the clothes and run up to the second floor to try getting some housewares? Should I go to the children's department? Accessories? Did I just stay there and try to fight it out? My paralyzingly indecision ultimately cost me. I chose to stick with the clothing and by the time I made it upstairs, almost everything in housewares was gone! :-( It was truly quite a scene - tons of adult women clawing at racks and pushing their way through to the merchandise (yes, I was one of them). Within minutes, most of the racks and end-caps were completely depleted.
Woman were running around, carts overflowing with everything they could get their hands on. It was a madhouse.
Now, while I did miss out on some of the things that I had eally hoped to get, I did manage to get a few things...like these cool melamine plates and trays...
I think they will make for some fun place-settings...
I had really wanted these cute make-up bags and was lucky to score a few.
The clothing selection was limited by the time I got to it, but I did get this pretty shirt...
I love the mix of colors and patterns.
Some adorable skirts for the girls...
And scarves in a bunch of pretty colors...
I think the towels may actually be my favorite.
I wasn't able to get any bedding or pillows. They were completely gone within seconds. But that's OK, because they don't match anything in my home anyway! ;-) When I left the store, I was in sort of a daze and I was completely exhausted. But still determined to find those items that I had missed out on. So, I promptly logged onto Target's website (in the car/on my i-phone!), only to find out that the site had crashed because it couldn't handle all the traffic. In fact, it was still down (and only working intermittently) the last time I checked at around 5 pm. Insane! So, did any of you try to brave Target today? Did you get onto the website? Or am I the only crazy person around here???
Happy Tuesday!
XOXO
Jessica
We are celebrating my little sister's birthday this weekend, which is great because I have been looking for an excuse to make these fun "fringey" streamers ever since I saw them on Jordan's lovely blog, Oh Happy Day.
They are so easy to make and I just love the feathery effect!
Aren't they fabulous!
You can find Jordan's complete tutorial here.
:-)
Jessica
I am sitting here wondering if the rain will ever stop.
It has been raining now for days and days. Not just a little drizzle, but "torrential downpour, thunder and lightning, severe flooding, and tornado warnings" kind of rain. I actually like a little rain now and then...for a day or two. But after that, I find it really kind of depressing. :-( So, I really had no choice but to turn to some sprinkled doughnuts to cheer us all up.
I was too lazy to make my own (this weather does that to me), so I just bought some plain ones at the bakery and gussied them up...
Just some simple icing (recipe below) and some brightly-colored sprinkles...
Instant sunshine on a plate, don't you think?
Happy Weekend!
:-)
Jessica
P.S. I've had a number of requests for my icing recipe. The truth is, I don't actually have a "real" recipe. I just take some confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) and mix it in a bowl with a little bit of milk or cream until I achieve the consistancy that I want. I made it rather thick for these doughnuts. Then, I color the icing with food coloring (I prefer the gel type, as it adds less liquid). For extra smooth icing, I also either sift the sugar before mixing (to avoid any lumps) or I pass the mixture through a strainer before using. Also, to avoid those annoying air bubbles, try tapping your bowl on the counter a few times and then let the icing sit briefly. If you still find a few bubbles in your finished prodect, use a toothpick to pop them!
With the girls going back to school this week, I am once again faced with the dreaded task of packing lunches every day. Both of my girls are good eaters, but they are also picky and, therefore, do not love the lunches that the school has to offer. And, since they have such a long day at school, I really want them to eat! So, I find myself making packed lunches...day after day after day. Not my favorite activity. Can you relate?
To make this rather mundane chore a bit more palatable, I have learned a few tricks along the way. So, today I thought I'd share a few tips with you:
1. Lunch Box: Yes, this is obvious, but shop around. There are so many cute options out here. My girls always pick out their own lunch boxes and I am happy to say that, after many, many years, we have finally graduated from the "princess" lunch box phase! This year we found some adorable, floral versions at Cath Kidston.
2. Storage Containers: You will need a bunch of little storage containers for sandwiches, snacks, etc... While I must admit that I do resort to using the occasional plastic bag, I do try to use storage containers whenever possible. HomeGoods, Pottery Barn Kids, Target and the Container Store are all good places to find cute storage options. I found these at PBK, Borders Bookstore, and Cath Kidston...
3. Ice Packs: These are obviously necessary for keeping lunch fresh if it won't be refrigerated. I look for ones with pretty, colorful designs. These are from Target - collected over the years.
4. The Details: My favorite part - adding in all the pretty, little details. Colorful napkins are a must. I buy these whenever I find them on sale. HomeGoods has an especially wonderful selection and the prices are always great.
Pretty straws make drinking your milk so much more fun!
And a handi-wipe can't hurt for those sticky fruit leathers and sweet treats!
5. A sweet note: I also always like to include a little note - just something as simple as "I love you" or "eat your veggies" lets the girls know that I am thinking about them...
6. A little Something Special: For special occasions such as birthdays or the first week of school, I like to include a special little treat - just a small trinket - like some stickers, a piece of candy, or a Squinkie (Mini-mini-me's fav at the moment)...
I know this may all sound like a lot of extra work, but it honestly only adds about one or two extra minutes to my lunch-packing process. I just stock up on pretty, fun things when I see them. You can even write out a bunch of notes all in one sitting. Packing a "pretty" lunch makes making lunch so much more enjoyable for me... and I know my kiddies really love all the special touches. :-)
Happy Back-to-school!
XOXO
Jessica
P.S. Yes, we did survive Irene. Thank you so much to everyone who so kindly wrote and expressed their concern for our safety. We were very lucky around here and managed to come out of the whole thing without any injuries to ourselves or damage to our home. Sadly, many others along the East Coast have not been as fortunate and my heart goes out to everyone whose lives have been forever changed...
Well, it's about 5:30 pm and we are waiting.
Waiting for Irene and waiting to see what she will do.
We are not that close to the coast, but we are supposed to get hit with a lot of rain and high winds later this evening. Like many others, we've spent the last few days preparing - getting groceries, batteries, and ice. We've got the cell phones charged, the snacks and board games at the ready. And now we are just waiting.
The girls are actually a bit excited about the whole thing. Me - I am a bit uneasy. I don't like the waiting, so I am trying to keep busy. Mini-mini-me and I picked these pretty Zinnias earlier in the week, so I thought I better run outside (too dark inside today) and photograph them before the rain began.
Hoping that you and your families stay safe and dry this weekend...
XOXO
Jessica
School starts up again next week, so we are enjoying these last days of summer vacation. Mini-me is off on a little trip with her grandparents, so Mini-mini-me is home with me and we are enjoying some special mommy-daughter time together. I found a recipe from King Arthur Flour for home-made Pop-tarts a while back and thought today seemed like the perfect day to try it out.
We followed the recipe pretty closely, but we just rolled out the dough and cut out a bunch of 3" x 5" rectangles. We also substituted three different fillings (raspberry jam, chocolate chips, and Nutella), as you can really use almost anything. These were Mini-mini's favorites - the chocolate chip version...
I prefer the raspberry jam...
Oh, and if you use jam, make sure to really seal your edges tightly or it might leak out during baking and make a big, gooey mess in your oven. We also chose to ice ours with a little pastel frosting (confectioner's sugar mixed with a little milk and food coloring).
....and some pretty sprinkles!
Mini-mini and I are very proud of how our "pop-tarts" turned out. They were really delicious and quite easy to make (you could even use store-bought pie dough in a pinch). I think they would make the perfect "back-to-school" treat, don't you?
XOXO
Jessica
