Winter JCrew Picks

1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5 

I know I'm quoting Game of Thrones.. but it is! 

Winter is coming.

And I just love JCrew. 

Here's some of my picks for layering to stay warm! 

DIY: Gilded Bobby Pins

This was a fun little craft I did over the weekend. I had been at the craft store picking up some essentials to wrap a gift, when I wandered through the aisles. I found these little golden studs in the "iron-on" section, and picked 'em up thinking I may embellish a headband or something.

When I got home, I was browsing the internet and saw these great, thin, golden hair clips.  I loved the look, but they are $58. Yup, 5. 8. together. nuts.

I decided on trying to replicate it somehow, and landed on blonde bobby pins! Now, they're much smaller obviously, but same general idea-ish.

I bent the bobby pin open, put a dab of hot glue on the back of the gem, and placed it on the flat side of the bobby pin. Wait about 3 seconds, just so it slightly cools, then push your finger into the dollop of glue so it flattens around the bobby pin. You want to fully encase the bobby-pin in glue, otherwise the gems will fall off. 

Up-close from the back, it's not so cute. Some challenges I encountered, the glue is f*#$^ hot. be careful. Also, if it's too clumpy , use the tip of the hot glue gun to smooth them out. Also, you really need to bend the pin open a bit, and sometimes it's a challenge getting it back together. This may have taken a light tap of a hammer or two. And, I used tiny scissors to trim some of the excess strings.

The finished product adds an edgy-gilded flair to your look.
I'm really pleased with them overall!

Classic Baked Doughnuts

I bought a doughnut pan. Why, you ask? 

because I am self-sabotaging any hopes I have of getting in shape.

Because, doughnuts are yummy!

and surely baked is better then fried.

Fresh nutmeg is just so aromatic and adds a warm nutty flavor to the doughnuts.

I used this recipe that came on the back of the packaging for the pan.  I will say, they weren't bad by any means. But I know in my bakers-heart, they could be so much better. They were surprisingly easy to make though, and so pretty! I actually bought the mini doughnut pan too after these worked out so well.

I will be trying some new recipes sometime in the near future, so stay tuned for that!

Tipsy Tuesday: Bourbon Lavender Sidecar

Well, it's not really a sidecar- because that's traditionally made with brandy. I was on a roll with the whole bourbon thing though, and wanted to try something else. 

A sidecar is traditionally brandy + orange liquor + lemon juice

I used that basis to create this delicious concoction, the bourbon lavender sidecar.

Playing up the earthy flavors of bourbon again, I chose lavender and honey to sweeten the deal this time.

lavender honey simple syrup:

 combine 1/2 cup of boiling water

1/4 cup honey

1tbsp dried lavender

Allow lavender to steep in mixture until cool then strain through a mesh sieve, pressing on the lavender to release all the beautiful essential oils. I strained it into a small weck jar for keeping in the fridge. (good for about 2 weeks)

1 + 1/2 oz Bourbon

1/2 oz Grand Marnier (or other orange liquor)

1 oz lavender honey syrup

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice (about the juice from half a lemon)

dash of orange bitters

Pour ingredients into a shaker glass with 4-6 ice cubes. Shake until cold and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with superfine sugar. youtube tutorial anyone?! 

The color of this boozy-beauty is a vibrant orange, and the distinct bourbon flavor is muddled but cuddled on the tongue by the sweet floral lavender. If you don't like bourbon, this isn't one you should try, but if you do, you'll want to only drink this from now on... for serious...

It's really good.

Splurge or Steal: leopard flats

Again, diggin' the leopard everything. In some browsing sessions I came across these awesome leopard print- horse hair Steven flats and I thought, "oh, WoW! These are almost identical to those beautiful JCrew Collection ones that are 3 times this price!"

Just had to share.

Tipsy Tuesday: Blackberry Bourbon Bramble

I've been wanting to do a bourbon cocktail for awhile now. I fondly think back to when I first moved here to bourbon country. I decided to have a girls night with a few of the ladies in my master's program. I picked up the essentials of course, lots of wine.  When I offered the lovely chilled-white to the girls all accepted except one, who said kindly, "oh, no thanks. But i'll have some bourbon and ginger ale if you've got it!?"

I did not.

In fact, I had never even tasted bourbon, and the first time I did I thought it was gross. My, how things change over time.  I've truly grown to savor the earthy flavor that good Bourbon adds to everything. And when you live in Kentucky, I really mean everything. Barbecue sauce, chocolates, marinades, desserts... I mean you name it, it's on some menu some where! And it's probably delicious...

I decided to search for cocktails including Bourbon and St. Germain, thinking the floral of the elderflower would enhance the earthy notes of the Bourbon. I came across this little gem on saveur. While in Wholefoods, I also happened upon some beautiful blackberries from a local farm and thought, voila! Local berries, local bourbon. Done & done.

muddle 6 blackberries in the bottom of a shaker.

Add:

1 ounce elderflower liqueur 
1 ounce bourbon 
1/2 ounce creme de cassis 
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Shake for 45-60 seconds and strain into a glass. I added a giant ice cube to elongate my chilled beve sipping pleasure.  This keeps it cold without watering it down.

Enjoy!

Tipsy Tuesday: Fig Thyme

As I walked into whole foods this past weekend, the beautiful display of figs caught my eye. Confession, I've always loved fig newtons as a kid. Strange perhaps, yes, but they are just so naturally sweet and delicious!  (my husband also thinks it's weird I loved Ovaltine, but come on, that chocolatey powder is the biggity-bomb. Back to the topic at hand..) Because of my childhood love of the fig-newts, I later graduated to eating dried mission figs with nuts as a snack. When I spotted this cocktail in The Art of the Bar, I knew I had to make it.  

This is the all grown-up version of my fig love affair, and oh, how sweet it is.

Ingredients:

1 Fig quartered

plus 1 extra quarter for garnish

1/2 oz of thyme simple syrup *

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1 1/2 oz pisco

1/4 oz cointreau

Muddle the quartered fig with thyme syrup in the bottom of a shaker glass. Top with ice and add the lime juice, pisco, and Cointreau. Shake until cold and then strain through fine mesh sieve into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with quartered fig and a sprig of thyme if you'd like!

*Thyme simple syrup: 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme or 3 teaspoons of dried thyme.

simmer for 15-20 minutes. Cool, strain through a sieve, transfer to a bottle and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

  Enjoy! xox

Links I Love: Home Edition

Once again, I've been absent. But this time I have a really good excuse...

We. are. buying. our. first. home.

AAAAH!

If you remember, it was on my list of things to accomplish this year. Truth be told, we had been giving up on the idea due to not finding the right fit. Houses are a big financial investment, and they change your priorities a bit (Goodbye Tory Burch, Hello lawn mower?!).  Weekends will be spent doing little projects here and there, but this is an exciting next step in our lives that we are really looking forward to.

With that being said, I also don't want to jinx it! The inspection is this Wednesday, so fingers crossed things continue to go smoothly from here. I also haven't been able to think about much else since the whole deal happened. My Pintrest has been an explosion of home related items, so much so that I decided to just make a private board as to not bombard my friends following-page with all this stuff!  

Here's a few things I'm loving home related. 

1. X-benches are wonderful. I'm def wanting two for the guest room.

2. Anthropologie has some great home accessories.

3. a trip to Ikea will be needed, they have some really awesome pieces on the cheap.

4. Puff. 'nuff said.

5. Wanting to change out the dining room fixture for something mod like this.

6. We have dreams of finishing the big attic space and adding a closet like this. Inspirations here.

7. A great blog with cheap finds of high-end designer stuff! brilliant.