Ice Cream Date

This past weekend Joel and I went to our all time favorite ice cream shop here in RVA called Gelati Celesti. If you're from around here and you haven't tried it, well, you're missing out. I'm not an ice cream lover, but I LOVE some Gelati Celesti. Joel's favorite is cookie dough, and I love coffee with chocolate decadence. Yum! Two flavors I normally don't like, but somehow they make them both delicious. We had been waiting for months and months to make a trip to our favorite shop, but even with the weather going up and down, it has still been too cold. Last Friday the weather shot up to 80 degrees! We jumped to the opportunity to get our ice cream treat. All of their ice cream is unique and fresh, I think that's why I love it so much. That, and the thick texture of homemade ice cream. 

give them a like on facebook!

{last picture-instagram}

Yes Pile No Pile

Action Item :: Day 5

Challenge Make a NO pile. The NO pile consist of the following items:

 -things you keep out of guilt (gifts)

-things you hope to one day fit

-things that used to fit

-things that aren't you 

-things that are uncomfortable, or haven't been worn in a year 

Now make a YES pile. When making the YES pile, consider the following:

-do you love it and feel great in it?

-does it fit?

-will you wear it often?

If you answered No to any of these, throw it in the no pile

The No Brainer Wardrobe

Your Top 10 Least Favorites

Action Item :: Day 4

Challenge Pull our your top 10 least favorite items. These are items that fit, but are never worn. Note what makes them undesirable. The fabric? The cut or the color? 

Color in these items has a lot to do with why I don't like them. Some of the pieces have cheap or itchy fabric, some no longer fit, and some I could never make work with my body shape. 

The No Brainer Wardrobe

Outfit Post :: high waist & belt

When I put this outfit together, I couldn't help picturing 
Scarlett Johansson in her high waist Levis with a gray shirt 
& brown belt from the movie He's Just Not That Into You. It was unntentional! 
In fact, I used to hate this particular outfit from the movie! 
But as I've started to really style my own personal body shape, I'm realizing more and more
I'm in the same shape category with Scarlett Jo whether I embrace it, or not.

1// 2// 3// 4// 5

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe has taken me a long way over the years. It's one of my very special, but also personal recipes, and since I have been sharing so many in my book, I didn't want to leave this one out. I'm not a huge peanut butter fan, but somehow these cookies manage to make the peanut butter actually enjoyable. If you are a pb fan, feel free to add a more for the taste. 

You Will Need:

1/2 creamy peanut butter 

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 stick of butter, softened

1 egg 

1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

pinch of salt

dash of vanilla

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375

Measure you peanut butter and sugars, then toss into a medium-bowl with your butter. Mix well, then add 1 egg. Add your salt and vanilla, mix. Measure your flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix batter until white is gone. Add your chocolate chips and then make small to medium size balls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown 

Your Top 10 Favorite

Action Item :: Day 3
Challenge Pull out your 10 favorite items from your closet. Note what you love about them. Is it the color? The fit? The pattern or fabric? What makes them your top 10 favorite items? 

All of them are comfortable, easy colors to work with, and somewhat flowy. All of them range in mostly natural colors, navy blue, and blacks. There is only one 'outside' color-burgundy. 

The No Brainer Wardrobe

Swedish Scones

My friend from Sweden, Maria, taught me how to make her homemade scones a couple years ago. I had forgotten about the recipe until her recent visit, and I got a craving for them! I made them for breakfast (as always) for my husband and we put grape jelly on them. They go great with just about anything. This recipe has been converted from ml to American measurements. 


How to ::
Preheat your oven to about 450 
Throw in the bowl...
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    4 tsp baking powder
    1 tsp of salt
    1 stick of room temp butter
Add 1 1/4 cup of milk 
Add flour as needed to make the dough less sticky
Roll into balls and place onto greased cooking sheet
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown 

Pin Your Inspiration

Action Item :: Day 2

Challenge create a style board on Pinterest and pin 20 different styles and outfits. Make notes of reccuring pieces. What kind of patterns and styles do you see? 

On my board there are lots of: 

simple looks. solid colors. colors in navy blue, black, grey, red, gold, natural tones, and whites. dresses that fit up top and in the waist then expand and flow outward at the bottom. boots. heels. wedges. splashes of gold on accessories. comfortable, loose fitting items. leggings and pants. big purses AND small purses. chunky scarves. the word flowy comes to mind.

The No Brainer Wardrobe 

How do you feel about getting dressed?

Action Item :: Day One

Challenge Brainstorm about who you feel when you get dress. What is your routine? I feel like I have plenty of options to choose from, but I am not using the full potential of my closet. I tend to grab the same sweater or blouse because it's easy to work with and takes me little to no time to decide on what to wear. It usually takes me about 5-10 minutes to pick out an outfit.  

The No Brainer Wardrobe

The No Brainer Wardrobe

The No Brainer Wardrobe is a book I came across online. I have never been what one would call a 'fashionista', but as I have started getting deeper into my 20's the appeal for style seems to be growing on me. I have three main mottos to getting dressed: don't over think it. be comfortable. and be yourself. The author, Hayley Morgan, emphasizes on all of that. Not only am I excited to work on a closet make-over for myself, I'm excited to share it with you as I go. At first I started to read the book, and planned to follow through with the actions items, but then it occurred to me it might be fun to document my progress! You can purchase Hayley's book here if you would like to take the challenge yourself. Please note that when I address the challenges she gives, I am not giving away her material. If you do the challenges without first reading her book you will miss a vital part of this project and neglect the understanding of why each challenge is an important step to your closet make-over.  Day 1 coming tomorrow! 

heart pancake.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

   I know I've been a little absent from blogging, but I've been filling a lot of my time cooking and baking. I will be back to my normal schedule soon, but in the mean time please enjoy my recipes and try them at home! 

You Will Need: 

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour 

3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1 1/4 cups of milk 

1 egg

3 tablespoons of butter, melted 

1 tablespoon of white sugar 

1 teaspoon of salt 

Sift your flour into a large mixing bowl. Add in your baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Pour milk, egg, vanilla, and butter into the center of the flour mix and mix together well.

Heat pan over stove on medium-low and spray with cooking spray.

Pour 1/4 of butter into a circle in pan (large enough to fit your cookie cutter if using one)

Brown on both sides and remove from pan

Let cool for a few minutes, then use your cookie cutter to make shape

Serve with butter and maple syrup 

I used this cookie cutter

Oliver cat 

Blueberry Crumb Top Muffins

You will need:
3 tablespoons of butter, softened 
2/3 cup of white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk
1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 package of blueberries


Crumb Top: 
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour 
1/4 cup of butter, cubed
2 teaspoons of brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350

Mix your butter and sugar in a mixing bowl

Add 1 egg and beat into mix

Then add your milk and mix together thoroughly

Add flour, baking powder, and salt

Add your blueberries to the mix and gently fold into batter.
Spoon into greased cupcake pan and set aside

To make your crumb top: mix your butter and sugars together. add your flour and mix until the flour mixes well into the butter mix. sprinkle the crumbs onto each muffin in pan

Bake for 15-25 minutes depending on your oven. I bake mine about 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Current Obession: Blazers

Outfit Details:

Blazer: Gap Republic

Blouse: Acne Shinning

Jeans: Twenty8Twelve 

Shoes: Steve Madden

Perfume: Tocca Bianca 

Purse: Alexander McQueen

Homemade French Toast

Crack 1 egg in a mixing bowl and lightly beat 
Add 1 cup of milk
1 Teaspoon of white sugar
2 Teaspoons of brown sugar
Dash some salt into the mix and stir well

Bring a pan to medium-low heat and add a slice of butter to coat the bottom of the pan
Take one slice of bread  at a time and lightly saturate both sides of bread in egg mix 
Place bread in pan and cook until brown on both sides, make sure it's cook through
Add powder sugar on top and your choice of syrup 

Done! 

Happy Eating!