Tote bag sale!

Hello! I put the Library totes on sale in my shop. You can snag one for $10 until June 6th!

I use mine ALLL the time.. as a reusable grocery bag, for library books (hence the name), and even just as a purse. I'm betting you'll love it too.

Available in 5 different chevron colors and in the owl print shown!

Get yours here!

Beet ice cream

I told you my beet obsession was taking me here.. to beet ice cream. And if you love beets, you can go there too. Even if you hate beets, you have to admit there is something mesmerizing about the color. Its like a natural fuschia.. which is probably where half of the obsession comes from.
Anyway... the ice cream was good.. but a little disappointing. It had a REALLY strong orange flavor which in my opinion, doesn't pair well at all with beets. Next time I'll use lemon zest AND maybe a bit more beet puree.. it was lacking in a strong beet flavor. Overall though, it was a good and gorgeous!


The recipe is from Jeni's splendid ice creams at home, which is the best ice cream book out there!

2 cups milk

4 tsp. cornstarch

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Peel of 1 orange

3 tbsp. mascarpone cheese, softened

1/2 cup puréed roasted beets**

2 tbsp. poppy seeds

1. In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup milk and the cornstarch; set slurry aside. In a 4-qt. saucepan, whisk together remaining milk and the cream, sugar, syrup, and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add orange peel. Cook for 4 minutes; stir in slurry. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

2. Place mascarpone cheese in a bowl and pour in 1/4 cup hot milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Then whisk in remaining milk mixture; stir in beets. Pour mixture into a plastic bag; seal, and submerge in a bowl of ice water until chilled.

3. Remove orange peel. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer's instructions, adding poppy seeds during the last minute of churning. Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until set.

**to make pureed roasted beets: roast 2-3 medium beets in the oven on 450 until soft. peel and blend the beets in a food processor. strain through a fine mesh sieve to get a smooth puree.

lately..

lately...

-i've been drinking so much bubble tea, i may need an intervention. well, actually it's not so much bubble tea as a fruit smoothie with boba pearls. they are so addicting..
-i've been to salt & straw more times in the past couple weeks than i'd like to admit. you haven't live until you've tried their mint chocolate chip with lemon zest.. it's THAT good.
-i realized laurelhurst park is the prettiest photo location
-this is where you can find mosey just about any time of day. that or partially in my lap, partially laying across the laptop keyboard.
-i spotted this guy on a walk in our neighborhood. i've never met such a friendly squirrel.. i was tempted to bring home.. (do you see him standing in that picture??!)

Selling my T1i

Hi friends! I've decided to sell my previous camera and wanted to give one of you a chance to buy it before I list it on craigslist or ebay. It's a Canon t1i 500d body, you can see the amazon listing here.

It was my beloved camera for a couple years, especially paired with my 50mm lens.. (similar one here). It's what I used to take all the pictures on here up until this last Christmas. It takes pretty phenomenal pictures if you ask me.

It's no longer under warranty but I've had no problems with it and it's in excellent condition.

It comes with manual, cords and original box. I'll even throw in the 8G SD card too. The going rate for this same camera body right now is upwards of $400 but I'm offering it up for $300, that way you can buy the nifty 50mm camera lens and be set!

If you're interested, leave a comment with your email address and it'll be yours sooner than later. If someone else has already left a comment with their email and you're interested too, leave your email also just in case the others falls through.

playing catch up..

With Josh out of town for a few weeks, It's been easy for me to work extra long hours to get caught up on orders.. (i made 14 dresses this week, yowza!). I'm caught up enough to where I can take all next week off from orders and work on my photography website and the LITTLES line coming out in june. I'm SUPER excited about both, and i'll be sharing more as it approaches.

Also on the agenda next week is making beet ice cream. I'm a little bit more than obsessed with beets. I'll also be selling my previous camera (canon T1i) and about 100+ MAC eyeshadows that I never use.. so if you're interested, there will be a post next week!

And since word posts are boring, i'll leave you with some out-takes of some photos i took for a guest post that will be up soon!

Hope your weekend is great!

blog spotlight >> eat sleep cuddle

I don't do this very often but I just had to share Whitney's blog, eat sleep cuddle.

I found it about a month ago and have been obsessed ever since. I just love the simplicity in her words and her photos are SO beautiful! I had to go through and read every post.. it was that good!

Go take a peek, you won't be disappointed!

all photos from eat sleep cuddle

i ♥ portland: salt & straw

Over the weekend, while it was pouring down rain and a whopping 50 degrees outside, I convinced Josh to go on a spontaneous ice cream date. Aren't those the best kind?! Actually any ice cream date is the best kind. Salt & straw is definitely the best ice cream you'll find in Portland. I have to exercise self-control so I don't end up there every day. I just love the unique flavors...(some are crazy.. see the menu up there?) I picked honey lavender this time (which was TOO DIE FOR..) and Josh got chocolate brownie. I have my eye on the lemon basil sorbet for next time.. which I hope is sooner than later.

All you locals that have never been, you need to go stat! And if you're ever visiting Portland, put salt & straw at the top of your Must-go list.

Happy Monday to you all.

an afternoon with succulents

yesterday i decided it was time to rearrange my succulent collection. most of them were on their own and some not even in soil.. i just grabbed a few containers around the house that will host them until i can buy bigger ones. Don't you love succulents? They are so low maintenance which is exactly what i need in a house plant. Plus they sorta look like creatures!

It was so relaxing.. and felt good to get my hands dirty. I'm wishing I would've planted a balcony garden to keep up in the summer. (Maybe its not too late.. I'll add that to my weekend to-do list)

Speaking of the weekend, this week wore me out! And I'm so looking forward to the weekend to catch up on all the little things I can't get done during the week (i get so stressed about the little things) but i'm mostly excited to relax and read a book or something! And maybe make some ice cream...