Hydrangea Exploded by Qi Wei via
“The world’s favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.”
– Edwin Way Teale
Happy May Day, love bugs! What have you got brewing this spring?
xxSarah
May Day
Summer Supper Club
What would you do if you found this invitation to join a Sunday Summer Supper Club resting in your mailbox all tied up with twine? I think I would squeal with delight.
My cutie pie friend Meghan emailed me an invitation she designed for her impending Sunday Summer Supper Club. I thought it was SUCH a darling idea I begged her to let me show the invitation to all of you. The bottom left hand pic is of my dining room table set for company, which she found on A&O!
the front
the back
I say YES YES YES! What do you guys think? Does this invitation get you thinking of starting your own supper club?
xo,
Lydia
On the Road
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A quick, hello! and happy weekend! I’m off on a last-minute trip to Palm Springs.
What are you all doing?
xx Sarah
Clutch the Rainbow
This season my favorite Morgan Parish clutch bag, the Moors Pouch, comes in almost every color of the rainbow. ROYGBIV never looked so chic. Hurry and get one before they sell out.
I am getting Tangerine for my summer wedding marathon.
xo,
Lydia
Sprinkles Cupcake ATM
I made a detour through Beverly Hills yesterday to stop by the Sprinkles cupcake ATM. It was 11:30 AM and 8 people were lined up outside, even though the store was open!
Why can’t all ATMs look this bright and cheerful?
The women in front of me were repeat offenders. They swear the novelty hasn’t worn off, even though the cupcakes cost $0.50 more than they do inside. It was fun to dip my card and choose from the array of flavors that popped up on the screen.
There was no capturing it on camera but once you make your selection the screen shows a mechanical arm reaching back to grab your freshly-baked cupcake. Then it’s down the chute and out onto the hot pink landing platform. Adorable!
Opening my box revealed a Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake topped with fudgy milk chocolate cream cheese frosting, smelling like it was just baked and frosted. Heaven on Little Santa Monica Boulevard.
Watch out NYC! Rumor has it you’re next to receive your 24-hour hot pink cupcake machine.
xx Sarah
Great Design in a Small Space
Our friend Beth has her home featured on Apartment Therapy right now in the running for the Small Cool Contest 2012! If you like what you see please go vote for her place.
Photographer, wine enthusiast and maker of organic soaps, Beth left her full time job this year to travel with her husband and commit to her creative talents full time! To support this lifestyle shift the couple downsized to a 554 square feet rental.
Her great design taste and creative use of the space makes this tiny home feel cozy and bright.
Spices cleverly stored on the side of the refrigerator.
She used temporary wall paper to give the bedroom accent wall depth.
The bigger bedroom is now an office/craft space/reading nook.
Their bathroom looks like a spa!
Such an inspiration to us all. I really hope they win don’t you?
xo,
Lydia
Meatless Monday: 10 Grain Pancakes
You know how they claim certain store-bought shortcuts are so good there’s no reason to try from scratch? They lie. Exceptions are limited to puff pastry, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (because you want them to taste like Pillsbury crescent rolls, not real rolls) and, now, Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix.
Fluffy and filling with just a hint of satisfying whole-grain grit, these pancakes take 5 minutes to make. No harder than Bisquick, but way better tasting and much more nutritious. Follow the “Bob’s Way” recipe on the back for a memorable Sunday morning.
The trick to making any pancake extra fluffy is separating your eggs and beating the whites into stiff peaks. A hand mixer gets it done in 2 minutes.
Combine the egg yolks, oil, milk and pancake mix then gently fold in the whites. Looks gross but this is always a fun step when you’re the one doing it. Stop folding before the batter become homogenous. You want to see pillows of foamy whites throughout.
That’s the layman’s poetic way of saying it. It really looks like lumps of curdled cheese. But it feels light and pillowy. You’ll have to trust me until you make them yourself.
Hello there, puffy pufferton. Can’t wait to eat you with warm maple syrup.
Here’s the recipe straight from the bag.
Xx Sarah
Bob’s Way 10 Grain Pancakes
Makes about 8 medium pancakes
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix
Scant 1 cup milk
Butter for browning
Beat egg whites until stiff. In a medium bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients until just combined. Gently fold in the egg whites.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter then, when it foams, gently drop in your pancake batter. Cook until bubbly then flip and cook until done. Enjoy with more butter and warm maple syrup.
Color Worship
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Wishing you a vibrant weekend so rich and dense in experiences you can scoop them up with a spoon.
xo,
Lydia
Mrs. Kennedy and Me
I’m pretty positive y’all have caught on to my Jackie Kennedy Onassis obsession by now, right? First it was my copycat shift dress and then the vision of Jackie in pink. I have always counted her on the top of my fashion icon list, and have a not-so-secret fascination with reading cheesy books about her life. I turn a blind eye to memoirs revealing all of John Kennedy’s indiscretions, I’m honestly just in this for the fashion and juicy First Lady details.
I just finished Mrs. Kennedy and Me written by her former Secret Service agent, Clint Hill. Mr. Hill was with Mrs. Kennedy (as they refer to each other in the book) nearly 24 hours a day for the 3 years the Kennedy’s were in the White House and for the tragic year after her husband was assassinated and she lived in DC with her children. It’s fascinating to hear what life is like for a First Lady of the United States and how difficult it was for the Secret Service to keep up with the jet setting life of Mrs. Kennedy. All those famous images of Jackie traipsing barefoot around Ravello or riding the elephant in India were logistical nightmares for the men charged with her protection.
Judge me all you want but I loved every page of the book. What’s your guilty reading pleasure?
xo,
Lydia
Chesapeake Blondies
Pepperidge Farms is the OPI of cookie companies. Just like a certain raspberry shade tells you a girl is Berry Daring, certain flavor combos familiarize you with the residents of Sausalito, Montauk, Captiva and Santa Cruz. It makes total sense that they everyone in each respective town likes milk chocolate with macademia nut, milk chocolate chunks, dark chocolate brownie, and oatmeal raisin cookies, right?
I made blondies for the first time ever on Monday, using Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. Inspired by the Chesapeake Pepperidge Farm cookies I stare at daily while waiting for my morning coffee at the campus cafe, I added dark chocolate and toasted pecans.
All it takes is one bowl, one baking dish, one measuring cup and one measuring spoon. Practically no mess! Use your microwave to melt two sticks of butter then add two cups of brown sugar.
Beat until combined. It will look greasy and gross at first but don’t worry, it comes together. Beat in two eggs and two teaspoons vanilla extract plus a generous pinch of salt.
Add flour to make your batter blonde. Two cups, of course.
It would be hard not to memorize this recipe.
Two cups chocolate followed by your pecans, already toasted then cooled. I used all the pecans I had left, about a cup and a half. An even two cups would be just fine.
Pour into a buttered 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees until almost done in the center.
While they cook the kitchen smells like warm vanilla. Not butter, not chocolate, not cookie dough, just pure, unadulterated, amazing vanilla. Consider me converted.
After 35 minutes mine were set along the edges and gooey with warm chocolate. Not bad for one bowl and five minutes work time.
You can add whatever flavors you want to the basic blondie blueprint- espresso, white chocolate, dried cranberries, bourbon, etc. The Chesapeake blend was crunchy and a little too sugary. I should have know those imaginary Southerners would have a sweet tooth!
What would you put in your blondies?
xxSarah