3.31.2008

colour lovers

















bart forwarded colourlovers to me about 30 minutes ago & i've got a profile up already. this is a place to create, share & search for colors, color palettes & patterns. i love the site; it is easy to use & search. an aspect that i really enjoy is when creating a new color or a color palette you can upload links & images that inspired the creation. here is my take on the kiwi restaurant in la paz.
Kiwi Restaurant

ffffound



this site is a great source of laughter & inspiration. it's not new, i'm just late - check out ffffound.

3.28.2008

hollywood regency



i've seen this term around - hollywood regency - but i let it slip past me. up until wednesday i let it be seen, but never registered. up until wednesday i had not heard of the parker palm springs. this leads to fantasizing about sun, living in southern california, having bold wallpaper & wearing a bathing suit with a flowy white robe all day, every day.

hatch has a great post on decorating titled hollywood regency 101 that you must read if you are interested in the style. it's funny to look back at my apartment inspiration folder & see how much of it is in this style.

3.26.2008

worm meet robin


















it's always fun at my 8-5er when i get to work on one of our quarterly postcards. my director brought the concept to me & let me go to town. i had a lot of fun doing photo tracing & vector work - not to mention picking the colors. i would make the greens a little less muted next time, but i love the fresh feeling of the pink-oranges with the warm grays.

happy spring everyone!

my polaroid blog



i love it & am adding it to the blogroll - readers meet jen & her polaroid blog.

etsy wednesday



i love these sweet flower pins by creme-tangerine. the pins are made from layers of hand-cut & singed fabric, embellished with seed beads & finished with a simple pin on the back. most pins are 1.5" to 2.5" & cost $10-$20 for a set.

all freckles



a lack of posts huh? i'd say so.

bart & i just got back from our 8 day trip to el pescadero, in the baja. it was a fantastic trip, 80 degrees & 100% sun, it was much needed & deserved. i'd recommend it to anyone; sierra de la costa was the perfect casita, just 100 yards from the beach & run by great people. we spent most of our time sitting on the beach & swimming in the ocean at our beach & los cerritos; we did make our way to la paz for the day, eat lots of tacos at barajas tacos & drink a lot of tecate & tequila.

on a color & design note - i was amazed by the natural & man made color palettes of the baja. la paz was filled with burnt corals, seafoam greens & off white. i also liked the greens, warm greys & bursts of red found on our drive through the desert. i am hoping to do some color schemes from my trip - keep your eyes peeled.

more pics

3.13.2008

red velvet cupcakes & more















i made my 2008 to do list about 2.5 months ago & i am off to a good start; i like lists, i like making them & crossing things off of them. so far i've attacked cleaning out my walk-in closet, going somewhere warm for my birthday (leaving for the baja on monday) & here is my experience with making red velvet cake.

my first shot was about a month ago. the cupcakes & frosting turned out yummy - but it made a ton. the red velvet was very moist & flavorful & the frosting was super rich (i ate many spoonfuls).

recipe found on the food network:

cupcakes
15.5 ounces all-purpose flour
1.25 teaspoons baking soda
1.25 teaspoons salt
1.25 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 cups vegetable oil
13 ounces granulated sugar
1.25 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
4 tablespoons red food coloring
1.25 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider)
1.25 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 cup water

mix flour, baking soda, salt & cocoa in bowl & set aside. in a mixer add the oil, sugar & buttermilk, mix until combined. next add the eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla & water, mix well. slowly add dry ingredients to the mixer, just until combined; do not over mix. bake the cupcakes for 20 - 30 minutes at 350 F.

cream cheese frosting
1.5 pounds cream cheese, room temp
1 pound butter, room temp
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

mix cream cheese & butter until creamed. gradually add the powdered sugar & finish with adding the vanilla after all combined. this makes a lot of frosting; i recommend cutting the recipe in half or being prepared to freeze it.

here is another red velvet recipe that i used for the most recent batch. i liked these just as well & they are a lot simpler to make. i found this recipe on the recipe slanger.

cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1.5 cups water, room temp
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon red food coloring

start by mixing the cake mix & cocoa, set aside. blend water, vegetable oil, eggs & food coloring in mixer. add the dry ingredients & mix on a medium speed for 2 minutes. bake for 22 - 25 minutes at 350 F.

i used the same cream cheese recipe from before, this one simply used a little bit of milk in addition to the other ingredients.

--

in addition to red velvet cupcakes i made a couple other items last weekend: chocolate covered red vines & buttermilk cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting.

i wasn't a fan of the buttermilk cupcakes, but the frosting was to die for. i used the basic cream cheese frosting recipe, but added 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice & 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. it was a perfect pucker. mmmmmmm.

for the red vines i began by melting white chocolate morsels over boiling water, stirring often. once it was completely melted i dipped in red vines to cover about 4 inches of them. i placed them on wax paper covered cookie sheets, poured on the sprinkles & popped them in the freezer for 15 minutes. they are a sugar overload & i might add a little milk to thin out the chocolate the next time.

3.12.2008

etsy wednesday



i recently found the store of picciolo. she is a london-based graphic designer by day & artist by night. i like her stuff because it is all so clean, yet detailed & playful. the store features key chains, fabric art & hanging decorations. her work ranges from $8 - $48.

cork coasters & trivets
















i just saw these on the design*sponge; they had a diy contest & this was one of the finalists. #18 by abigail, that's all they give us.

i've been a keeper of corks ever since i was a bartender back in michigan. i've also been wondering what to do with the latest collection & here i go. the corks were sliced into about 1/4" discs & then stitched together with 2-3 stitches. this should be a quick, fun project!