Favorite Blog: How About Orange

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/

This blog is certainly a favorite of mine and is one of my go-to reads. It always has wonderful ideas and DIY crafts. Plus they always have free printables and downloads! The designer is Jessica Jones and we most definitely must be kindered spirits-- her favorite color is ORANGE too!!!

One of her most recent posts is AMAZING.

Free canister decals by Cathe Holden that will make your heart flutter!

ENJOY!

Fabric LOVE

I am OBSESSED with this fabric by designer Seema Krish. Seema (located in Boston!) brings her Indian heritage to her gorgeous textile fabrics. All fabrics are handmade and can be custom made to order. One day, when I have copious amounts of money (HA ha.) I will line my couches with these pillows and cover my beds with these throws.

really beautiful stuff!!

Fabrics can be found at:

Lekker Home 1317 Washington street, Boston, MA 02118 http://www.lekkerhome.com

Koo de Kir, Boston 65 Charles street, Boston, MA 02108 http://www.koodekir.com

Beans. Dragon Beans.

I have been feasting on these delicious beans all summer.

Their name?

Dragon Tongue Beans.

Sounds like something Harry would eat at Hogwarts. And these beans sure are magical. They are so tender and delicious. The colorful pods are great when eaten raw. They have a satisfying crunch and are juicy and sweet. YUM! Zan has been growing them in his garden all summer and I've been eating them by the handful. They are supposedly locally grown in California, but have been producing just fine here in Massachusetts.

Have you ever had these beans?

Another delicious item in the garden:

Dragon's Eggs. They look like eggs, but they're really cucumbers! A heirloom crop that is most rare and unique. Cool and crisp I've been eating these "eggs" like apples. Even better, they don't have a pit.

Summer vegetables! YAY!

CC here I come!

It's that time of year again!!

The one week out of the year that I live for.

Off to Chatham I go!

We are driving down in my new sweeeeet wheels.

We are going to eat seafood.

And collect seashells.

And watch out for those craaaazy sharks!!!

Catch ya later! Enjoy the weekend...

The summer weekends are dwindling!

Get those sweet rays while you can.

American Girls

WHO remembers American Girl dolls?

Of course you do.

WHO loved their doll SO MUCH and wished they lived in the time period of said doll.

I DID.

Let's take a look back on the three original dolls from our childhood:

Kirsten Larson: 1854

Kirsten lived on the American frontier, immigrated from Sweden, and went to school in a one room school house. She wore sweet braids in her hair and a blue flowered dress and a red checkered bonnet. LOVE the olden days. I wish wish wish I lived in this time period. Oh the simple days-- livin' on the land.

Samantha Parkington: 1904

Samantha lived with Grandmary in a Victorian mahhhhnsion. She had an awesome 4-poster bed and beautiful golden locket. And she hung out with sweet Nellie and trickster Eddie Ryland.-- Had an super fancy wooden desk with an inkwell. Oh, feathers. How lovely.

Molly McIntire: 1943

Molly. Cute little freckle faced, glasses wearing Molly. Molly lived during the second World War. She wore pigtails in her hair and a traditional plaid jumper. A big dreamer, she was. Lively and loveable: a true American girl.

Which American girl doll did you love and cherish?

I had Kirsten. Meg had Samantha. Becca had Molly.

Oh, the good old days with classic American Girls.

Yummy Pizza

Lauren made these SUPER yummy pizzas for dinner tonight. They tasted so good, and they're good for you too! She found the recipe in this month's Women's Health. Tasty, tasty.

Individual Pizzas with Gruyere, Caramelized Onions, and Apples

Hands-on Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 medium red apples, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
2 cans (15 oz each) white beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled
4 whole-wheat tortillas (8-inch)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Gruyere cheese (8 oz)
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450°F.

2. In a large skillet, warm 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Add onions and toss to coat. Add 3/4 cup water, bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes longer.

3. Add apple slices and cook until apples are crisp-tender, onions are golden, and liquid has evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mash beans with remaining 2 teaspoons oil, lemon juice, salt, rosemary, and 3 tablespoons water.

5. Place tortillas on 2 large baking sheets. Spread beans evenly over tortillas. Top with the onion-apple mixture, cheese, and pecans.

6. Bake about 5 minutes, until pizzas are piping hot and cheese has melted. Serve hot.

Makes 4 pizzas.

domino.

Being home this weekend has been amazing.
I love visiting here for many many reasons, but one in particular is my mother's decorating book collection. One step into my childhood house and you will instantly know where my love of decorating comes from. From patterns and knick-knacks to bookshelves and quilts, my mother has it all.

One book I have been devouring over the last few days is this one from the editors of the domino magazine. Unfortunately, this magazine stopped it's publications a little over a year ago, but this book is a decent replacement with over 250 pages of decorating bliss. Domino: The Book of Decorating

Skaneateles Waters Shining

Home for the weekend and headed to gorgeous Skan-town today for some quality lake time!

Yay yay yaaaaaaay.

This is one of my favorite places on earth.

Pictures by Rick Kaufman

Dear awesome new car:

Dear awesome New Car,

YAY for being new pals! I can't wait till I pick you up on Monday. You are SOOOO sporty and fun. I already just know we are going to be amazing best friends. We can listen to music together and sing along too when we know the words. Thanks for choosing me Honda Fit, because I sure did love choosing YOU.

With love, your new owner,

ME. :)

the good old days of Blueprint

Do you know what I really miss?

Blueprint.

Does anyone else remember this positively perfect magazine?

It was Martha Stewart's magazine for twenty-something home decorating/organizing lovers such as myself. It had adorable (and inexpensive!) ideas for making your home (or apartment!) just as put-together and stylish as can be.

Does anyone know of any similar magazines out there today?

I suppose design*sponge and apartment therapy can feed my hunger for now, but sometimes I just want to hold paper, turn pages, and read in my bed with a low light next to me. Ya know?!

Oh Blueprint, how you are missed.

Hanging out with David in the Bean

Two weekends ago my cousin David came to Boston allllll the way from Indiana (said in a mid-western accent) for a fraternity conference. Meg and I met up with him in Faneuil Hall and ate dinner in Quincy Market. It was fun to do some tourist-y things, which I don't often do. Visiting places Boston is famous for makes me feel lucky to live here! Friday evening was a perfect time to visit this tourist hot spot. We got there in time to visit a few shops and then ate our meal just as the market was closing-- so we could actually find a place to sit!

Here we are with David (on the L) and his friend Ben.

Great to see you David!! :)

(oh, and Allie AND Melanie, I saw the ginormous macaroni too!)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Love YOU!!!!!!

SOOOO MUCH!

little pink teapot

This ADORABLE little pink teapot has a new home in MY kitchen. I picked it up yesterday while skimming around AJ Wright. It was 10 bucks! It may not be the most durable teapot on the market, but it sure is better than our old one. That one was burned so many times I didn't trust the boiled water that came out of it. The spout was crusty and shriveled! Yick.

Plus, this one just looks so pretty.

Like it was meant to sit on this stove.

Don't you agree?

Favorite Blog: Dear Weekend

http://dearweekend.blogspot.com/

Here's another one of my favorite blogs for you to add to your list. Elisabeth is a wonderful artist based around San Diego. It also just so happens that she's originally from my hometown! Her mother was my french teacher and her younger brother Mike was my date for Junior Prom (if I had a picture, I would insert it here). Small World! I absolutely LOVE her artwork and I am just waiting until I have a little extra cash in the bank to claim one for myself. Her blog is fun and fresh, with lots of mentions about the weekend! ♥

Here is a peek at some of her work.

SO FUN and DELICIOUS!

Wouldn't these be so perfect in a kitchen?

Check out her website:

http://www.ekfinearts.com/

and her etsy site too:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DearWeekend

Hope you're having a great WEEKEND!!

New favorite song:

LOVE IT.

Good Tidings!

Today, on this lovely Saturday, I bring good tidings. Good tidings indeed.

First, my internet is back. Phew! It was a tough couple of days, let me tell you. I couldn't check my email, stalk people on facebook, update my Twitter, and gosh darnit- I couldn't blog! Oh the woes of not having internet in such a technology savvy world.

Second, I am one week away from finishing my summer internship. The GLORY! Finally I will be able to have a life again. For a little while at least....

Because lastly, and MOST exciting: I have a teaching job!!! I was offered a job as a first grade teacher in Maynard, MA. A small town a little over 15 miles outside of Boston. SO EXCITING. I can't wait to get started setting up my classroom. And planning fun activities. And buying stickers. Yay yay yay. As you may know, I was a first grade teacher for three years in a small private school in Boston before taking the year off to get my M.Ed.. Last night, after finding out the good news, I started going through all my old goodies, organizing and getting ideas for next year. I've learned so much this past year and I can't wait to get started. You can start calling me Miss B. now. Go right ahead. :)

And now the car hunting begins.... eeeek!

Internet Issues

My internet is broken.

OH MY. The tragedy of it all.

On my friend's computer to give you the news.
See you when it's fixed!

If I had an iphone...

If I had an iphone I would be the happiest kid on the block.

Also, I would get this super sweet case for it.

I'm obsessed with the polka dots.

And the button.

SO adorable.

If you are lucky enough to have an iphone check out these fun handmade cases from nimoo@etsy.

handwritten letters.

There is nothing better than a handwritten letter.

I love to write them and I love to get them. Mostly, I think I just really love buying stationary. I love the pretty patterns and the thought of how happy someone will be when they get something besides bills and catalogs in the mail. Sometimes I write with news about life and other times just to say hello. I still have an entire bag of letters from college, and some day I plan to go back and read them all. I'm sure I will be laughing with the memories tucked deep inside.

If you get the chance, write someone a letter this week. I guarantee it will make them smile.

They will smile from head to toe,

from ear to ear,

and deep down in their heart. ♥ ♥

KPRIME's birthday shoutout:

Happy Birthday, KP!

Hope your year is fabulous and here's to getting together a bunch!

Here's a card for you:

and a cupcake too!

XOXOXOXOXO.