Paris vs. New York

 Paris vs. New York
... A tally of two cities.

I have been lucky enough to visit Paris once
but I've never been to New York
(I dream of going one day).
Nonetheless, I love this art.

If you have never seen the blog Paris vs.
New York, then you must jump on over and check it out!
It is so so so fun!

The blog is created by Vahram Muratyan,
a graphic artist living between Paris and New York,
and now the author of the blog-then-book
"Paris versus New York"

Did I mention that I love these prints?
Just thought I would say it again.

 

J. Peterman Company

I have always been one to wear dresses.
And not just for special occasions... I'm talking all the time.
In high school, when everyone else was trying to be casual and cool, I was in a dress.
At work, people always commented saying:
"Oh your dressed up today, where are you off to?"
I would reply: "Just my office" or "Just enjoying the day".

Hence the reason these dresses by J. Peterman Company caught my eye.

Yes, you are viewing them correctly!
They are hand illustrated drawings of dresses that J. Peterman Co. offers.
Instead of just taking pictures of their inventory, they get their items illustrated
(doesn't that make it seem all the more romantic). 

I can just see myself now...
strolling down the streets of Paris, Vienna, or Rome,
wearing one of these dresses,
a big sun hat on my head,
and a fabulous satchel purse to match.

Calamari Studio

Here is some beautiful art work by Calamari Studio
to brighten up the mid-week hump
(or hump day, as it is otherwise known).

I love these pieces so much.

Probably because Poppies and Succulent
 are two of my favorite plants.

things i'm afraid to tell you

This has been circulating around the blog-o-sphere for a few weeks now.

I originally saw it over on Creature Comforts and loved the transparency

of the other bloggers so much, that I decided it was time

for me to "get real" on my blog as well.

For so long now (almost 4 years) I have kept at arms length with getting personal on my blog. I don't know why... insecurities, vulnerability, afraid I might scare all my readers away... it could be any one of those. But very recently I have been challenged by friends and other bloggers to begin to show more of myself and who I really am. So, with that said, here is my "Things I'm afraid to tell you" post.

What am I most afraid to tell you?

Micah and I are trying to adopt. 

You might ask: why are you afraid to tell us that? That seems like a great thing!

Yes, it is a great, exciting, and joyous thing to be embarking on! But the thing that I'm afraid to tell you is that the process has been long, hard, and emotional.  Many days it's hard for me to be motivated to do anything... cook, blog, work, get out of bed...and every day that goes by where we don't get the "phone call" telling us we have a baby, is a day that feels like my heart is breaking. 

With that said, I know one thing, which gives me hope (most days)...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path."
That gives me hope in the hard times.

What are the things that your afraid to tell?

(the basic idea behind the "things I'm afraid to tell you" posts are to show a more realistic look into our lives- instead of the perfected versions that are often portrayed on the internet. The lives where our laundry isn’t always folded and color coordinated, dinners aren’t always spectacular and styled, and where we’re met with real situations that aren’t all rainbows and glitter - via: Courtney Khail)

Bloom Theory Straps

I've been trying to take more photos with my camera.

Recently (aka since the iPhone)
I have relied on my phone
for all my picture taking.

Sad how that happened,
but I just couldn't seem to resist
all the cool camera filter apps
that you could download.

After seeing these
beautiful custom camera straps
from Bloom Theory...

It has inspired me to grab my camera
and start snapping away again!

My Week in Instagrams

Happy Saturday!

What are you plans for the weekend?

I fully intend to take it easy this weekend.

And by that I mean, catching up on some reading

while I soak up some sun,

check out a garage sale or two with friends,

and have a breakfast bbq!

Here are my Instagram photos

from this past week!

This Week

What was your week like?

Here's my week in a nutshell...

I'm playing along with

Lovely Indeed's "This Week" posts.

Feel free to check it out on her blog

to play along as well!

Cadbury Cream Egg Cupcakes

I love Cadbury Cream Eggs.

You know... the delicious cream filled chocolate eggs
that stores begin to carry around Easter time.

I had a pack of mini cream eggs
just sitting on a shelf in my pantry,
begging me to eat them.

But instead of popping them in my mouth one by one
(which was tempting)...

I baked them into cupcakes.

And it was amazing.
So amazing, I had to share the recipe with you.

Cadbury Cream Egg Cupcakes

1 box vanilla cake mix (gasp! yes, I know...but I was in a hurry)

1 pack mini Cadbury Cream Eggs

2 sticks butter, softened

3 cups powder sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp heavy cream

pinch of salt

orange food coloring

1. Mix the cake batter according to the package directions.

2. Fill 1/2 of the cupcake liners with the cake batter mix (I used mini cupcakes). Then plop one mini Cadbury Cream Egg in the center of the liner, squishing into the batter.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes for mini cupcakes or 18-20 minutes for larger cupcakes.

4. Cool the cupcakes completely.

5. While cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting.

6. With an electric mixer, beat butter, powder sugar, vanilla, heavy cream, salt, and a drop of orange food coloring together until light and fluffy.

7. When the cupcakes are cooled, pipe the frosting on top.

8. Swoon over the heaven-like flavor in your mouth.

Voz Jewelry

I am totally a bracelet girl.

Out of all the jewelry I have,
my favorite pieces are always bracelets.

So, I am excited to show you
these lovely bracelets
created by Voz.

I am so loving the
triangle trend right now!

Changes

You might have noticed this by now...

But I get bored pretty easily with the same old thing.

I change my clothing style, make-up style, and hair color quite often.

My house is always getting rearranged.

It never shocks Micah to come home and find the sofa

completely on the opposite side of the room. 

And that's just the tip of the ice burg. 

Thus, the changes on my blog (again).

Enjoy the new look!

Clothing Swap #2

A few of my friends and I

got together again

for another Clothing Swap! 

Now that Winter is over and Spring is here (yea!)...

We all saved some money

by bringing a bag of clothes and accessories

that were still in good condition,

yet we were tired of wearing,

and swapped them!

Here is one of my favorite finds!

We always have so much fun at these swaps

that were planning for another one in the Fall! 

Here are a few more of the things I found...

Beauty Must Have List #1

I can honestly say...
 I never thought I would be doing this.

But here is my very first
video blog (vlog).

Ashley (5ohWifey) and Jenna (The Life of the Wife)
are hosting a lovely video blog link up
and it's all about
"The Girl Behind the Blog".

The topic of this month is Beauty!

So here are two of my beauty must haves...

Litographs

Have you heard of Litographs?

 They are prints that are

created from the text

of classic books!

I am in love with them.

Here are a few

of my favorites...

If you love them,

then head on over to

Going Home to Roost

(one of my favorite blogs)...

she has a great giveaway going on!

Carne Asada

How did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

We celebrated it with this...

Carne Asada 

2 lbs flank steak

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced 

cilantro leaves, handful, chopped

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

2 limes, juiced

1 orange, juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

1. Mix all together and marinate the meat for up to 8 hours. 

2. Top with fresh made pico de gallo, shredded spinach, and sour cream. 

3. So Good!

 

Sunday Morning Breakfast

I love French Toast!

It is one of my favorite things
to make for breakfast.

And I also love being creative
when making different flavors.

So for this Sunday,
I made...

Orange French Toast

 
Peaking through the picture
are my Romain Lettuce leaves
that will hopefully be planted
in our garden today!

Napkin Holder

Spring has called for some
major Spring decorating in our house.

And I am in love with this

Calling Bird Napkin Holder...

I would be the perfect spring addition
to our dining table.

Via: Ruche

My Week in Instagrams

Another Spring-time week down...

Only a few more

until Summer is here!

It's the best day of the year

when Micah and I

get to go flower shopping!

Another jewelry party thrown!

French Breakfast Puffs.

Pot Roast is perfect for a cold day...

So is Chicken Apple Chili.

Jewelry for sale!

  

I love it when the weather permits outside bonfires!

New Curtains to add some change to our living room!

The Boardwalk Sandal

I am still up in the air
about these popular sandals.

Some days I love them,
some days I just don't know
what I think about them

What are you thoughts?
Do you own a pair?
Are they comfortable?

These are the things I need to know.

Via:
Madewell

Lotta Jansdotter

I am loving this

bright yellow scarf from

Lotta Jansdotter.

What a perfect

casual summer look.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

French Breakfast Puffs

sounded yummy this morning!

Today was suppose to be sunny...

but the clouds are still lingering.

I had high hopes to get all my

newly purchased flowers

planted today.

We'll see if the

weather permits.