Such Pretty Things

Lavender Roses

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

Autumn Baking

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

 

 

Pretty Organized: Hair Accessories

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

Target Tuesday: Missoni Madness!

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

Fringe Party Streamers

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

Rainy Day Doughnuts

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!