CHRISTMAS THINGS

 A few snaps of Christmas around the house.  Our tree started out as a boho woodland theme but now I just keep collecting cute animals for it.  The ceramic paint tube and paint brush from Anthropologie last year are my favorite though. I picked up a few more from there this year (like the deer below).  Less is more for me with Christmas decor, or maybe it's because I have expensive taste in ornaments. haha. More importantly, Urban Outfitters instagrammed the above photo of my tree yesterday and I was pretty stoked about it to say the least! 

 Cable knit stockings from Target, a fresh wreath, and greenery I clipped from the back of the tree for the mantle.

 A dream catcher I found at a thrift store

 The kitty girls being cozy together (only when it gets chilly in the house)

Hope you are enjoying the holidays and finding some time to relax.  Today is my last 'real' day for the week and I'm looking forward to sleeping in, gift exchanging, and cooking with my family. 

XO 

HOLIDAY BAKING: CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CRACKLE + RED VELVET THUMBPRINTS

OMG. If you're going planning to do some gift giving in the form of baked goods, these recipes from Southern Living are AMAZING.  All my chocolate lovers out there especially need to try to crackle cookies, they are rich and fudgey and delicious. 

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CRACKLE COOKIES

2 oz. unsweet chocolate baking bars, chopped

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. table salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract 

2 large eggs

3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. unsweet cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup powdered sugar 

1. Microwave first three ingredients in microwave safe bowl on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Stir in sugar, peppermint, and eggs until blended. Stir flour, cocoa, and baking powder together then stir into the chocolate mixture until well blended. Cover bowl with plastic and chill for 1 hour. 

2. Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough by level spoonfuls into powdered sugar and roll to coat.  Place coated cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

3. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are crackled. Cool completely (about 20 minutes) 

RED VELVET THUMBPRINT COOKIES

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp red food coloring

1 1/4 c. flour

1 tbsp. unsweet cocoa

1/2 tsp table salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 oz. cream cheese, softened / room temperature

1/4 c. white chocolate morsels, melted according to directions on package

extra morsels to garnish 

1. Preheat over to 325. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until creamy. Add egg and food coloring, beat 30 seconds

2. Sift flour with cocoa and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until combined. Stir in vanilla 

3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place 1/2 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheet.  Press thumb into each ball, forming an indentation

4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cookies and fragrant and dry. While cookies are still warm, press indentations again.  Cool cookies completely (about 30 minutes)

5. Stir together cream cheese and melted white chocolate in a small bowl. Fill center of cookies with cream cheese mixture (I put the mixture in a ziplock bag and cut the corner to squeeze it out in nice little circles). Garnish with white chocolate. 

Happy Baking! 

XO

SOUTH CAROLINA IN PHOTOS

Some photos from a quick Thanksgiving trip to my grandparents. I love visiting their tiny town. Slow southern living at its finest.  The weather was absolutely perfect at a crisp 28 degrees in the morning, I love it cold! Winter sunsets, pretty ponies, and fluffy cotton fields... perfection.

XO

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

print in my shop

Happy Thanksgiving! 

There are so many wonderful things to be thankful for.  I am especially blessed by my family, friends, and career.  Looking forward to fun long weekend ahead when the people I love! 

As a way to say to thanks to you all, I'm offering 20% off in my shop through Sunday! Enter the code 'THANKS1' at checkout.

Wishing you all a happy holiday weekend. 

XO 

HAPPY FRIDAY + SOME LINKS

all florals on black available in my shop

Happy Friday! 

We are off to visit my grandparents in South Carolina for a few days.  I am so looking forward to the cold weather and wearing some layers for once!  I recently got a new lap top which makes me feel so much better about being away.  Having a reliable computer so I can still get some work done on trips relieves tons of my stress, especially around this time of year. While I totally enjoy unplugging every once in awhile, I like to stay productive and check in during down time on vacation.  Hope you have a lovely weekend and are getting prepared for Thanksgiving (already!) next week.  

Starting next week through the holidays I am going to be turning these Friday Favorites posts into gift guides.  Stay Tuned! But first... some loves, wants, and needs from this week... 

*Quartz collar necklace

*Lavander, thyme, and white chocolate scones, amazing.

*Brass initial door knockers

*Inspired by the cut and texture of this Valentino dress

*Painted antler ornaments

*Just a really pretty holiday pin

*This Free People tunic 

*Stunning, inspiring photo of Jennifer Lawrence 

*A beautiful wedding color palette 

*This adorable boho cottage is everything 

XOXO

THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE!

I am beyond excited to have my new holiday collection up in the shop! More fun lookbook photos to come but for now you can shop them right here! 

XOXO

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

Happy Cinco De Mayo! 

I'm excited to do a celebrating later tonight, it's my friends birthday as well (fun birthday to have, right?).  The themed food and drinks I keep seeing on Pinterest are mouthwatering to say the least.  Definitely looking forward to some fancy, fruity cocktails this evening! 

Hand lettering done with gouache paint! 

XO

EDIBLE GIFTS : PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE COOKIE BARK

If you're up for some mad holiday baking this week, I highly recommend this simple and delicious cookie bark.  It's pretty ridiculous and super easy to make!

PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE BARK COOKIES: 

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg yolk 

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped candy canes or herseys candy cane kisses

2 ounces white chocolate

*Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 13 x 9 pan with non stick spray and line with parchment. You'll be using this as a "handle".  Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy.  Gradually beat in sugar.  Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla then egg yolk. Gradually add flour and salt, beating on low just to blend.  Drop dough in prepared pan spacing evenly.  Use moistened fingertips to press dough evenly along the bottom of the pan.  Pierce dough all over with a fork.  Bake the cookie base for about 30 minutes, until light golden brown and the sides start coming away from the sides of the pan.  Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top and let stand until they soften, just a few minutes. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate evenly.  Immediately sprinkle chopped candy cane on top.   Separately, microwave and stir white chocolate in small bursts until smooth.  If it's too thick add a little vegetable oil.  Use a fork to drizzle the white chocolate on top.  Cool until white chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes. Using the paper as your handle, remove from pan and place on a cutting board.  Using a large knife, cut the bark into irregular shapes or squares if you prefer.

xox 

EDIBLE GIFTS : LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Sugar cookies are the best mainly for decorating purposes.  These were really fun to make with my family and bff this past weekend.  You can follow this simple sugar cookie recipe here but the frosting is the key to these so they harden and look pretty to decorate! 

2 cups confectioners sugar

1-2 tbsp milk (add more if it is too thick)

1 tbsp light corn syrup 

1/4 tsp of lemon extract (you could also do vanilla or almond!) 

Cream the first to ingredients together so they become light and fluffy.  With a mixer, add the light corn syrup and extract.  It should be really smooth and glossy, this is key to hardening after you frost them.  

Happy Baking!

HAND PAINTED FLORAL GIFT TAGS

A little last minute Christmas project.  I was playing around with some painted poppies the other night when I messed one up and decided to cut it off of my page (don't ask me why?) ha.  Then I thought, how cute would my little painted florals be as gift tags (or even place cards) to top on presents or tie around a bag of baked goods?! Tada! They obviously don't have to be perfect, even some paint splotches or a stroke of color with hand written names would be a darling addition to any gift.  Hope you can use these (and my last post) as inspiration for wrapping the rest of your gifts this weekend. Painting is supposed to be fun, there are no rules or the "right" tools, seriously.  Practice and playing is the way to find what works for you, just have fun with it!   xx 

GIFT WRAPPING WITH FRESH PINE

I get really excited about wrapping presents around the holidays.  I like to take the time to make each package look pretty and incorporate some natural elements.  I guess my color choice could be more exciting, but I like to keep it simple.  I got my wrapping paper from paper source, they have an assortment of colors which is perfect for decorating / DIYing yourself.  All my fun ribbons (that I'm clearly obsessed with) come from various Etsy shops.  Finally, I just cut some pine sprigs from the back of the tree for toppers.   Below is a couple photos from my wrapping post last year.  Still natural elements, still loving plain paper.  I used rosemary and a variety of ribbon scraps last year.  

I'm all about presentation, it's nice to put extra love and thought into something, when you take time to hand make, hand letter, etc your gift recipients will appreciate. And remember to have fun with it! 

STUDIO WORK LIFE / LATELY

It's been a whirlwind lately with the holidays in full swing.  Here is a little glimpse inside December so far.  My favorite month! 

(above) Some of my favorite cards from my shop.  Remember, this is the last weekend to shop! I'm closing my shop for holiday at the end of next week. Thursday will be the last date to receive orders in time for Christmas! 

 Client meetings with beautiful and delicious lattes at Oxford Exchange 

Some office snaps: A little corner of my studio (looking forward to get a little more organized up in here for 2015) / Calligraphy in grey tones (favorite!) / More poppies of course / some of my favorite greyscale floral prints available in the shop

The art of preserving flowers and my velvet ribbon obsession continues

My renewed passport aka daydreaming a lot about my upcoming trip to Antarctica.  Only 15 more days until we leave.  I am over the moon excited for this experience. 

Celebrated my birthday (a few times).  As usual my family, friends, and Hunter made the whole week exciting and special.  There were lots of flowers, cocktails, and cake.  Brunching and dinner. And my mom and I went to Orlando for the night.  We stayed at the Grand Bohemian, got massages, and did some shopping.  It was all perfect! 

Finally, my favorite little Christmas scene in the house. I love everything smelling like fresh pine right now.  

___________

As for this weekend I will be catching up on painting and editing, wrapping presents, beginning to bake, and working on some fun projects for this little ole blog.  Hope everyone has a lovely weekend as well.   xox