take me away

 

I can almost touch summer... It's not quite here yet in my household. One more week. Then... You can take me away! 

monday {menu}

 

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY  

happy sunday...

 

enjoy!

 

Hope you all have a fabulous 3 day weekend... Enjoy! 

bold a n d beautiful

I wish I had a project I could use this gorgeous hot pink and white wallpaper in... It's so bold and beautiful! In the mean time I'll make a statement through my flower arrangements like this one above. The pop of hot pink flowers is stunning! By the way making a statement in your home can be through pillows and accessories and good old fashioned flowers! Try it... I think you'll like it! 

dance party

 

Remember the clapper... I personally never had one for my lamps, but they always intrigued me. hahah But, I do think I would definitely use the clapper for these beautiful lamps! No joke I think my neighbors would think I was having a dance party in my room because I would be clapping with excitement every time I would enter the room... hahaha

monday {menu}

 

{recipe from... h e r e}

nectarine puff pastry tarts

Ingredients: 

           5-inch square puff pastry sheets*, thawed

• 6 small nectarines, sliced into thin wedges
• 3 teaspoons turbinado sugar
• vanilla bean cream cheese, recipe follows

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese:

• 4 oz cream cheese, room temp
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, or 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
• pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Score a 1 cm border around the puff pastry square. Spread about 1 ½ tablespoons of vanilla cream cheese on each square, staying within the scored border.
• Place nectarine slices on top of cream cheese. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of turbinado sugar over nectarine slices.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before dusting with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese:

• Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla paste, and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined.
• 
  
• Note:
• • Store leftover puff pastry tarts in the fridge. Reheat in a toaster oven.

  

  
  

  
  

• I use puff pastry that is already cut down to 5-inch squares. You can buy a large sheet of frozen puff pastry and cut it down to your desired size.

weekend r i d e

 

We did it! We all made it to the weekend... Happy Friday! Now how do we get this car for the weekend? Hmmm I got it! Lets start a gofund me page and then we can get one! Just kidding!  Oh wouldn't that be nice... Hope you all enjoy your weekend in any car you drive! 

classic attire

 

It's time to pull out all the classics... Here's one of them, simple shorts! Classic white or flax linen shorts will make you taller and tan! Well, I think that's what happens when I put a pair on. lol  So come on sun come out so we can wear some shorts and play! 

 

win win

 

This looks so cozy and comfy to me! The soft colors and smooth textures are perfect. I definitely could spend sometime lounging right here. Hot coffee in one hand...  And a romance novel in the other... Win Win in my books! haha 

blended

 

Blending fabric and leather in a room is so refreshing if its done correctly... I could blended these two images together in a heartbeat! What do you all think?  

monday {menu}

{cake recipe from... here}

VANILLA BEAN CAKE WITH 

STRAWBERY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING 

ingredients:

vanilla bean layer cake

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (you can also use cake flour if you wish)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large egg whites (room temperature)
• 3 tsp Rodelle vanilla bean paste (link to product below)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat, room temperature)
• 1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk, room temperature)

fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese (full fat, room temperature)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup pureed, fresh strawberries (I used about 15 medium sized strawberries)

instructions:

vanilla bean layer cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 6×2 inch cake pans and line with parchment paper rounds. To make parchment paper rounds, trace the bottom of one of the cake pans on a piece of parchment paper and then cut out the circle. Place at the bottom of the cake pan. Grease the top of the parchment paper using cooking spray and set aside.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 1 minute on high until light and fluffy.
• Add the sugar and beat on high for 2 minutes until the butter and sugar are well incorporated and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
• Add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Beat on medium high until well combined and then beat in the sour cream on medium high.
• Slow the speed of the mixer to low speed. With the mixer still running, slowly pour in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Continue to run the mixer on low and slowly pour in the milk. Mix until just combined. If you need to, turn the mixer off and finish mixing the ingredients by hand to ensure they are well combined. Do not over mix.
• Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cakes are baked through. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack in the pans completely before frosting.
• If you live at high altitude (above 3,000 feet), please follow the instructions in the "Notes" section below!

fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting

• Clean the strawberries and cut them in half. Place your strawberries into a food processor or blender and blend for a few seconds. Continue to pulse the strawberries until a puree is formed. It's ok if there are a few chunks left! You will still want to see some of the strawberry bits through the frosting. I used around 15 medium strawberries to get 1/4 cup of puree.
• Using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on high for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
• Mix in 2 cups of the powdered sugar, one at a time. Add the strawberry puree and mix until well combined.
• Continue to add cups of powdered sugar, one at a time until desired consistency is reached. I like for the frosting to be a bit thicker for layer cakes so I used 4 cups of powdered sugar!
• Spread the frosting onto your cooled cakes with an offset frosting spatula (linked below).
• Store cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 7 days!
• 
  

w h a t

 

This would be an amazing office space... or guest house! Adding wallpaper wouldn't be so bad either! What could you see this space as? Game room, Pool house... Craft room? What!?!?

o m g

Ahhhh I  finished the book Verity in 2 days. Started it a month ago and then decided to put it down and come back to it. Truth, I forgot about it with everything going on in my life... Then pushed myself to pick it up and finish it. OH MY I got suckered in and loved every minute of it! Talk about steamy romance and a plot twist. Now I wish they would come out with other one... Colleen Hoover if you're reading my blog, please! This is such a great romantic thriller! 5 rooster stars! 

good doggie

 

{all pictures are from... h e r e}

They do say, If you surround yourself with the right people and right things, you will make your life much easier and definitely much happier! So I believe this goes for dogs aswell! {wink wink} 

I will take one of each please! Miss Molly will be happier If she had this tote bag for me to carrier her in, the rattan dog bed to sleep in and of course she would love those homemade treats! I'm on it Molly!    

dream team

 

It all just works! 

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

monday {menu}

 

{recipe from... here}

Sea Salt, Pistachio & 

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

ingredients:

• ▢½ cup 1 stick unsalted cold butter
• ▢½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢½ cup packed brown sugar
• ▢1 large egg
• ▢1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips I used Ghirardelli's 60% cocoa dark chocolate chips
• ▢1 heaping cup of freshly shelled pistachios
• ▢Sea Salt for topping Preferably Maldon.

instructions:

• -Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• -In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat in for about a minute. Lastly, add vanilla extract and beat til blended.
• -In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the mixture all at once to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Finally mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.
• -For this recipe, I scooped cookies 1 tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets. Leave about an inch and a half of room between each cookie. Sprinkle with sea salt.
• -I like my cookies chewy and soft, so I baked them for 12 minutes, you can bake them for a bit longer until golden brown if you prefer. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

notes:

If you're looking store the cookie dough to bake later, form your cookies and place them on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the freezer then place them in an airtight container. They'll keep in your freeser for about a month or two.

To store freshly baked cookies, as soon as the cookies are cool place them in a tightly closed plastic container or resealable bag. They will stay fresh for 3-5 days.

Not a pistachio fan? Swap the pistachios for walnuts or pecans.

Not a fan of sweet & salty combinations? Omit the final sprinkle of sea salt!

Don't like dark chocolate? Opt for semi-sweet or milk chocolate instead!