Weekend Recap: In which I bake (twice!) and iron something.

Remember that recent incident with Costco and the Kitchenaid? Apparently, the hubs did some research and found that, even without the mail-in rebate, the price was a pretty good one. So he went back and bought me the mixer!! We're calling it an early Valentine's present and the color only makes it more appropriate - it's red! To match our kitchen.
I. Love. It.

To break it in, I decided to start with something quick-and-easy and you just can't argue with a double batch of Ghirardelli Triple-Chocolate Brownies. I know that some people wouldn't really consider this "baking" since it involves a mix but jumping into 'sourdough bread from scratch' with the machine right out of the box seemed a bit over the top.

Don't worry - I'm not about to turn into one of those bloggers who cooks and bakes all the time and then documents it for the world one step at a time. Just thinking about taking a picture of each and every ingredient as you add it to the mixing bowl wears me out. Not to mention the editing and the uploading... I have a lot of respect for those bloggers (and enjoy their recipes!) but I just don't have it in me. 
I'm also far too impatient for a blog post like that. Just ask my mom - I want to jump in, get it done, and enjoy the end result as soon as possible. And lick a beater dripping with brownie batter somewhere in the middle.
All that to say, the brownies are fantastic and I had enough faith in my new mixer to whip up some more banana bread to get me through the week. I'm sending the hubs to work with a plate-full so we don't eat them all. Having them for dinner was bad enough.

Oh, and I went to Disneyland with my mom. Again. I know, I'm spoiled.
Mickey on Small World (one of his favorite rides, I think):

I'm seriously considering creating a topiary like this one in my front yard:

No matter how many times I see them, I'm always excited when the bells chime and these little guys prance around the circle to mark the time:

Then I came home and did productive things. Like, "four loads of laundry and weeding in between rainstorms" kind of productive. And I was forced to iron the sleeves of a shirt because the makers didn't think it was important to sew the cuffs down. They flip inside-out every time. I loathe the iron. But Earnest wasn't about to help - he was too busy getting grey furballs all over the clean laundry.

And that's the weekend!
On to February!!



Images by me. Please don't use without asking first. Thanks!

Weekend Recap

I'm a little behind... this recap is actually from last weekend. These past weeks have been so crazy-busy that pictures from last weekend didn't make it to my laptop until today. Whoops!
This current weekend is just as busy as last weekend and at the rate I'm going, you won't hear about it until Christmas!
Regardless, the hubs and I hopped in the car last weekend to head south and meet eight - yes, eight! - of his friends at my favorite place - Disneyland!

It's snowy and Christmasey and full of Holiday Spirit and I love love love it!

I want to make one of these for the birds that live in our tree!

The Hubs went home after Disneyland but I stuck around LA to hit up Unique LA and Renegade with my mom and sister on Sunday.
I always feel awkward taking pictures at these shows so I didn't take very many. I did get to meet Danni from oh, hello friend - she had booths at both Unique and Renegade so it was a treat to meet her. I said hello and then followed it with something incoherent and crazy like, "oh my gosh i've been following your blog forever and you have the cutest blog and i love your stuff and your wedding was darling and your mom is so cute and i pray for her all the time" and she was sweet and gracious in return. I bet she gets that all the time...
Anyway.

I always seem to gravitate toward paper goods and this show didn't disappoint. A few of our favorite booths belonged to:
Sycamore Street Press
Joie Studio
Paper Pastries
Dee & LaLa
RockScissorPaper
luludee
The Art of Brittney Lee

Some images I snapped: 
A fun little acorn tree - love the red baker's twine.

Encountered this little guy as decor for a booth. Don't you just want to scratch behind his ears?

LOVE their booth and business! What a cute little scooter!

The day was surprisingly clear and warm for December in LA. 
How amazing are these views from the penthouse?

You can see all the way down to the port of Long Beach!

Also love this turret -

And this super-fun bike rack - 

I hope you're all having a great weekend! I'll try to be better about my recaps... maybe a resolution for the new year...?


All images by me. Please don't use without asking first. Because they're just that awesome.

Favorites for your Friday

If you follow me on Google Reader, you've probably seen most of these in my shared items. If you don't, well, here they are.

Stripes, stripes. Gorgeous stripes. 
And chevron stripes!
Cute little gift tags.
These are absolute perfection and they want to live on my feet.
Great free font.
Caroling gift tags.
Creamy stripes on a bag.
A gorgeous giveaway.
Way. Too. Cute. 
Love this colorful collection.
Festive freebies.
Weekly wrap - loving the pink!
Stocking stuffers galore!  
Spruce up your gift for the holiday hostess.
You'll never need to buy another gift tag.

Gift List

Trying to organize your gift buying? Need to make sure you have something for everyone?
Hop on over to Benign Objects and download one of these free printable gift lists! She even made two different designs to suit your fancy.
While you're there, be sure to check out all the other freebies from her 25 Days of Freebies and Giveaways!

Images via Benign Objects.

Men and Trucks

For the man in my life:

From Paige Russell, called "4 by." Appropriate, no?

P.S. I'm also a fan of her Muzo Collectibles - how cute is that caribou?

Free DIY Downloads from West Elm

First spotted over on Amy Atlas, these downloads from West Elm are just in time for holiday entertaining!
I'm partial to these cologrful tags from their Graphic Suite:

And these darling animal menus from their Animal Suite:

Click here to hop on over and check out the entire collection!

Stamp It

The holidays are approaching (whether you like it or not!) and it's time to start thinking Christmas cards, gift wrap, and festivities.
You can use them on your cards or even on the front or back of your envelopes - here are some of the latest stamps I'm loving from Paper Source.
You can check out the entire collection of holiday stamps here.

This wreath stamp would look lovely at the point of your envelope flap:

Love the font and flourish on this Most Wonderful Time stamp:

These would make cute little borders - around your envelope or even on a gift tag:
String of Mittens















 Holly Flourish

Lights!

Click on product titles for image sources.

Soft and Cozy

Isn't this scarf just gorgeous? I'd love to wrap it around my neck tonight.

Image via KnitFrekkles shop on etsy. 
Many thanks to Creature Comforts for the find.