000 | A little wallpaper...

If you're like me you take notes on everything, especially motivational lectures. I finally figured out a way to continually remind myself of those notes I meticulously took during the lecture–by creating a desktop wallpaper for my computer. I rotate these backgrounds every 5 minutes, so I am consistently reminded of these great quotes. Some of my favorites are shown.

Another style quiz...

...just in case you don't quite have it figured out yet!


This time the quiz is from sproost.com, which asks you to rate different decorating styles from love it to hate it. It's interesting because I took the quiz twice and each time I was given different images to rate, resulting in some very different outcomes. The first time it tells me I'm contemporary and clean; that I stay away from antiques and vintage collections, the second time I took the quiz it says you can find me at the flea market! It looks like the percentages are correct; a pretty equal combination of Vintage Modern and Contemporary, with a slice of Rustic/Cottage.

Tooth Fairy?

Today I get my wisdom teeth pulled, all 2.5 of them! I'm super excited because my mom is coming up to take care of me and for a weekend of crafts, shopping, and movies! What more could a girl ask for? Anyway... I usually make some sort of out-of the-office card when I'm gone and I'm quite fond of this toothy one!

Room & Board

Yay! I got my annual Room & Board catalog today! I'm so excited, I've been looking at the images online for a while now, but there's something about looking at them in a catalog that makes it that much more enjoyable. Now, they just need to open a store in KC! If I could only pick one store to describe my interior style, it would be Room & Board. They have the perfect combination of contemporary and vintage modern. I can't even dog-ear my favorites, because every page would be folded!

AND they strive to be green, just like me! Published once a year, the catalog is printed with vegetable-based ink on 30% post-consumer waste paper and 100% post-consumer waste cover stock, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

'Lil Monkey Baby Shower

Images on mood-board are from Martha Stewart, Amy Atlas, and Paul Frank.

This past week we had a Banana Split baby shower to celebrate the anticipated arrival of a co-worker's baby boy. She's decorating the baby's room in a monkey-theme, so we thought a banana-split party was appropriate. I've held off on posting the mood board and other images, to keep the shower as much of a surprise as possible. The shower turned out perfect and went off without a hitch... more images from the actual shower to come soon!

The soon-to-be parents are keeping the name of the baby a big secret, so we played a guessing game with the shower attendees. We handed out cards to guess the name, date, weight, and *length of the baby.
*I put height on the actual card, but learned during the shower that this is typically known as length for babies... leave it to a non-parent to make the cards!

Puffy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I love working in the kitchen, but I have never been a baker, I think it's because I lack the patience and precision of measurements required. This weekend I wanted to use the Silpat baking mat I got for Christmas and I was craving peanut butter and chocolate, so I decided to make one of my all-time favorite cookies–Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. I generally mess up the simplest chocolate chip cookie, but this time I tried what I know best–the guessing game on ingredient proportions! They were probably the best cookies I've EVER made and may become my signature cookie!
I love soft, puffy cookies, so I altered the recipe to make them puffier, according to the tips provided on allrecipes.com. Here's the final recipe I came up with:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup chunky or smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light. Add the egg and mix until fluffy. Blend the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together well. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mix well. Add the chocolate chunks, folding into the dough.
Use ice cream scoop to form uniform cookies, drop onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375° or until light golden brown.

Yet another style quiz...

from ikea! Check it out here.

According to this site, I am Scandinavian Classic. What are you?

Things I'm Loving: Martha Stewart Kitchen Collection at Macy's

I know these items have been around for awhile, but I recently renewed my love for them after visiting a friend's apartment where the recipe box was displayed. I think this particular shade of blue may be my all-time favorite color (orange is my current favorite). I would love to have this beautiful blue KitchenAid and other accessories grace the cabinets and counters in my kitchen! How chic and retro?
It's crazy how big brands who stick to primarily one color can make such an impact on society, think Tiffany blue, Cocoa Cola red, and now we can add Martha Stewart blue. I wonder if this would be my favorite color without companies like MS and Tiffany supporting it?
Hint: These items make excellent birthday gifts!