stocking up for winter..

i love myself some strawberries when

it's not strawberry season!

so these are off to the freezer!

tonight my new friend keva is coming over

and we're going to have a lil baking party.

i'm so excited!

muffins for my new friend: keva

oh how i love her!

first we went to a local coffeehouse..

which has the best chai i've had as of lately!

last night we went to 'inception'

which of course was an amazing movie.

i am SO blessed!

God could not have given me

a better friend right now... seriously!

mid-week muffin

just some of the ingredients

white chocolate macadamia nut muffins

today is another lovely day outside

and i chose to be inside baking..

with the oven on 400* and now i'm wondering

why i decided to bake on a day like today...

~ perhaps it is because i wanted to use some new muffin liners

(if you look closely you can see little pink muffins)

~ perhaps it is because i LOVE baking..it doesn't matter how hot it is outside.

(right now it is 91* outside!)

~ perhaps it is because i had a new recipe i've been wanting to try.

(it has been calling my name!) and i love myself some white chocolate

macadamia nut cookies...and in a muffin form...yum!

~ perhaps it is because i don't usually bake

with macadamia nuts or vanilla chips and i've had them

in my pantry for some time and been wanting to use them.

one of the longest names of a muffin a might say.

white chocolate macadamia nut muffins.

maybe it should be w.c.m.n. muffins : )

i thought about drizzling a white chocolate glaze on top

(which i still might!) but for now i'm going to see

what my husband thinks of them.

i think they are sweet, just as they are.

but a little white chocolate on top..

would make them look FABULOUS!

my new cookbook

today i checked my mail

and received a lovely package.

i am so excited to have won this cookbook

by Julia Child (my first blog win!)

and it came all the way from Australia!

thanks to the lovely Louisa Janke

who has a wonderful blog, Vintage by Lou Lou

hope you all had an amazing week!

this time last year..

this past weekend marked the first anniversary

of one of my best friends, rachel getting married.

rachel and i met in college but really didn't become

friends until our senior year when all of us girls

lived next door to each other.

we wished that we were as good of friends now

as we were when we first attended NNU.

however, we now have the rest of our lives

to be the best of friends!

and not to mention..our husbands are like

long lost brothers..so it works out perfectly!

rachel was the first of my close friends

to tie the knot...nate is such a lucky guy!

we got to celebrate their 1st anniversary

with them..so i thought i would share some

pictures from their wedding weekend..a year ago!

enjoy!

starbucks run before the rehearsal

gorgeous setting!

lovely friends.

the big day..

rachel's mom, kathy doing her hair

the bridal party.

the reception

the ding-dong tower

ikea love

poppyseed muffins!

muffin liners

some lovely napkins

tonight i realized was i in an Ikea mood!

we were out of napkins..so i looked through my

stash. yes i have a stash of lovely napkins!

most of them were gifts from from my mum.

however, these ones i purchased at Ikea.

my favorite color is purple and i could

not pass up the gray and purple combination!

on another trip to Ikea i purchased these muffin liners.

i bought two packages...one for me and another

for one of my close friends, Rachel, who also enjoys baking.

the liners made a great hostess gift along with some towels!

which leads up to tonight..i finally baked with mine!

i chose to make one of my favorite muffin recipes..

my fat-free poppyseed muffins!

(also a husband favorite!)

chocolate chip bread

yesterday i brought out my bread maker

(courtesy of my grandparents!)

and made some yummy chocolate chip bread!

it was a new recipe, and one that i will definitely

be making again!

my husband had just gotten home last night

just as the bread was done baking..

and there is nothing like taking the baby loaf

out right away and having a warm slice!

magazine time

i got both my Vogue and Better Homes and Gardens

yesterday in the mail. you know it's going to be a

good day when you get not one..

but two magazines in one day!!

and tonight i'm going to be lazy and enjoy them!

favorites.

Haute Hippie tee

$354.90

3.1 Phillip Lim dress

$224

Collective Concepts tee

$37.90

Calvin Klein Jeans sundress

$52.90

West Kei tunic

$31.90

RJ Graziano necklace

$24.90

Report 'Lem' flat

$46.90

all items can be found at

http://shop.nordstrom.com

as many of you know already..

Nordstrom is having their ANNIVERSARY SALE!!

since there is no Nordstroms nearby..

i was browsing online and checking it all out!

sadly i won't be purchasing anything this time around,

so i picked out some of my favorites to show you

and hope you all are having a great night!

a glimpse..

some things that i love.

from left to right..

my earrings displayed within a frame;

my gray lamp on top of black and white

photo boxes on my desk.

two of my favorite necklaces hanging on

a room divider (that i have laying flat against the wall)

now it's time to go outside

and enjoy the sunshine!

another thing that dean and i both love is yahtzee!

whether it's regular or triple.

it is such a classic game.

we play it when he comes home for lunch

and sometimes (lately!) in the evenings too!

have a wonderful wednesday!

banana praline muffins

tried a new recipe the other day..

banana praline muffins.

although i didn't have any pecans

so i used walnuts instead.

they turned out so lovely!

fabulous interiors

AMAZING closet

this chandelier is gorgeous!

all photos courtesy of Elle Decor

photographer: Craig Blankenhorn

I am loving ELLE Decor's spread

of photos from Sex in the City 2's movie set.

the rooms are to die for!

of course the clothes in the movie are amazing

but now seeing the furniture.. oh my!

perhaps i will just buy the movie!

have a lovely weekend!

LBD

+

isn't this dress lovely?!

it's gorgeous and i love all the ruffles!

this is such a cute cocktail dress

and a perfect little black dress at that!

and loving these shoes..

both of them together = oh my goodness!

oh how i love TOPSHOP

i came to love the store first while i was

studying abroad in England.

(i can't wait to go back and hopefully

someday live there!)

both images courtesy of topshop.com

happy 4th of July!

happy 4th of july!

today has been a relaxing day

filled with fresh cherries

and laying by the pool.

perhaps i will make some

caramel corn later on.

my mum's recipe is the best!

such good memories of munching

on it while celebrating with friends

and watching the fireworks on the waterfront!

healthy summertime dessert

here is a slice of the angelfood cake

with fresh strawberries and coolwhip (fat free!)

this is one of my favorite summertime desserts!

i should have taken a picture of dean's slice.

he LOVES coolwhip (i've learned since we got married)

so much that he almost used half a tub on one slice!

i couldn't believe it! he managed to cover every bit of cake with coolwhip...

it was quite a masterpiece i must say!

my kitchenaid!

my new toy!!

it's not the boysenberry (dark purple) one

but black will have to do for now : )

(dean said he would still get me the

boysenberry one! yippie!)

thanks again mum & pops

it's all washed up and ready for action!

now...what to make first?!

mallows!

my dad came home from the store yesterday morning

with these mallows for me!!

i was so surprised! these mallows are hard to find

and more expensive too.

i'm excited...they definitely are extra giant!!

i think this afternoon i will open them up and try a few.

oh and they're pink and white.

the most amazing jo-jos!!

my parents came to town last night

and we went to one of myself and dean's favorite spots to eat.

bobs burger and brew. they have good burgers..

but they have AMAZING jo-jos.

the portion is huge..perfect for a group!

and the best dipping sauce: sweet baby rays bbq sauce

they also had my favorite soup (of the day)

homemade chicken noodle.

i had it once before and it was so good!

sadly, i didn't even touch my malibu chicken burger.

i was so full! yeah for leftovers : )

new dress

the new dress i ordered online!

it should be here in a few days!

i'm so exited..i've been so good lately

without buying clothes..that dean said i could get

this dress..and it was even on sale!