blue skies...finally.

I've been grumpy and stressed all week and it was only exacerbated by the awful/gray/miserable weather we've been having.  So I finally got happy today when I woke up to blue skies and sunshine and a perfect Sunday!

outfit details:dress: Urban Outfitters, sweater: thrifted, coat: H&M, scarf: gift, tights: target, boots: thrifted

new birthday necklace!  It's a Geode!

00ps! I lost my necklace!

I've been doing some serious wedding planning.. booked the venue ( a really beautiful ranch/ country inn in Lawrence, KS)  set the date (September 4!!!!) got the dress (A 1950's gown that I'm gonna revamp!) It's all coming together!  but there is still tons of work to do, I'm just trying to make everything fun instead of stressful, so lots of crafts and diy projects are in my future!

BINGO!

Last night I went to the bingo hall with some gal pals and played bingo for the first time!  IT WAS AWESOME!  Really, it was so goofy and weird, but great.  I've been doing a lot of that lately, fun and weird!  I, unfortunately, was not a bingo winner.   But I feel like I left as a winner because my friend Mary came to bingo and gave me this awesome skirt that I've been meaning to buy from her forever!  It is soooo cute!  Remember I went to her zombie fashion show? you can check it out here.

I am currently super stressed about the whole wedding thing, but hopefully some of the big questions will be answered soon! wish me luck!

outfit details: skirt: by Mary Bellamy, blouse: thrifted, belt: World Market, boots: gift, tights: Target

peaches and cream....and a pear cake

I had a hard time taking photos yesterday (honestly, these are the best ones!).  It has been so foggy here lately that my outside photos aren't really great, so I took some inside photos too, that weren't really great, but I did get Simon (the cat) into the photo shoot!  I got this cute peach dress at Wildman, a vintage store in Lawrence, for my birthday (from the fiance)! 

 I also got this adorable flower bracelet from my friend Nancy!  everyone was ssssooooo generous, I can't wait to show you everything that I got! 

 I thought that Simon and I matched , both in our peaches and cream!  

outfit details: dress: vintage from Wildman, tights: Walmart, Belt: thrifted, boots: thrifted, bracelet: Birthday gift!

I don't think that I mentioned it, but I made my own birthday cake for my party.  It was a chocolate pear upside down cake.. and although it turned out a little crazy looking (it flew out of the pan onto my kitchen counter and I had to piece it back together)  it was really tasty!    I got the recipe from my mom, but this seems to be the same one.... it is totally deliciopus and a little bit of a twist on the classic cake!  enjoy....yummmm!

Ingredients

Pears:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 Bosc pears, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored

Cake:

• 1/3 cup milk
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely ground toasted almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch-process), plus additional for dusting
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

For the pears: Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper. Put the butter, brown sugar, and lemon zest and juice in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Add the pears, cover, and simmer, turning once, until the pears are soft and juicy, about 4 minutes. Pour the pears and their syrup into a strainer set over a saucepan. Set the syrup and 1 pear quarter aside. Arrange remaining pears in the prepared pan, stem ends toward center, rounded sides down, and 1/4-inch from the side. Chop reserved pear and use just enough to fill center.

For the cake: Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Scald milk in a small saucepan; keep warm. Whisk flour with almonds, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add granulated sugar; continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl. Add cocoa powder and vanilla and beat 1 minute. While mixing at medium-low speed, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

While mixing slowly, add the flour mixture in 4 additions; turn off the mixer and fold in the hot milk with a rubber spatula. Spread the batter over the pears, taking care not to disturb them. Tap the pan lightly on the counter to settle the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving plate. Cool briefly, carefully peel the parchment paper from the top, and then cool completely.

To finish the cake: Boil the reserved pear syrup until slightly thick and lightly brush the top of the cake with syrup. Whisk a few tablespoons of cocoa powder with an equal amount of confectioners' sugar, and sift over the cake; serve.

..it was a birthday bash!

I got this cute cupcake cake at work! Thanks Jen!

thats right folks, my day of birth was celebrated this past weekend and what a weekend it was!  I had a joint birthday celebration with three other lovely Capricorns!  We had a skating party at the local Skate World, followed by a bit more of a raucous house party!  to top it all off TWO, thats right, two of my out of town girlfriends came to KC for the weekend!  it was fabulous! 

 birthday girls (and Monica) at the roller rink : from L to R, Amanda, Monica, Me, Angela, Andrea

when was the last time you went roller skating?  I couldn't remember the last time I'd been...it was super amazing!  At first I was totally weirded out... it was hot and muggy in the roller rink (weird right?) AND it smelled so grossely of feet.  then I started skating and it was amazing, I gotta admit, I kinda rocked, and suddenly I didn't smell the weird foot stench... weird-ER?! maybe, but it was really fun.  Did I mention how much fun I had?  yeah, I even did the Limbo!

Outfit details: dress: wetseal (thrifted), belt: thrifted, I also wore my brown cowboy boots when I wasn't skating!

I wore this sparkly blue dress and a coon skin hat (but I had to ditch the hat, it was way to warm!).  I've had this dress since like July, but I never had a good occasion to wear it, I always thought it was a little to flashy for everyday wear, but it was perfect for a birthday celebration!

Me + Ryan doing some couples skating!

grey or is it gray day?

...I really should know.  Anywho it was one of those days, this morning we had some serious fog, but I still got some shots taken before I headed out to work.I had a fairly normal day, work and such but then..... I met up with some girlfriends at the gym and worked out, it totally kicked my butt and I was all ready to head home and relax, when I realized I'd lost my keys... this is so not like me, honestly, normally I am very on top of things and aware of all of my stuff, but I've been feeling exceptionally spacey lately and obviously it is having some repercussions in my daily life.  So anyway, after some running around I finally made it home, but, honestly, I am feeling very strange and  like I need to slow down and regroup.
I am really looking forward to this weekend as it is my BIRTHDAY!  A few of my best girlfriends have b-days around the same time as me and so we are gonna celebrate together by having a roller skating birthday party (followed by a party-party)!  I am soooooo excited.....

cardigan: thrifted, shirt: Urban Outfitters, leather skirt: Forever 21, boots: thrifted, tights: target, earrings: Forever 21

..now all I have to do is figure out what I am going to wear.  I really REALLY want to get my hands on an Indian headdress, so it can blow in the wind as I skate around the rink with my man by my side! (doesn't that sound perfect?)

mish-mash

I've been wearing all black all week while I was working at the theater, so I really wanted to wear some color today and minus the goofy pictures, I loved this outfit, it was warm and super comfy.

outfit details: cords: BDG, Urban Outfitters, shirt: American Apparel, belt, sweater,scarf, boots: thrifted

I've been working like crazy lately, packing up Nutcracker and working at the theater, here's a picture of some tiaras and hair accessories, that we were cleaning/ airing out before they were packed up for the season.

And, on another random note....Since I got engaged in December I have kind of been ignoring the whole wedding thing until I was done with  Nutcracker and the Holidays and such, so... now I have the time to think about it and, whew, talk about overwhelming.  Any of you married gals have some helpful advice for me?  I'm hoping to have an outdoorsy ceremony and party and I'm definitely trying to do it on the cheap.  I have a feeling I'll be sharing a lot of this wedding planning adventure here on the blog, so readers beware, sorry if I get too bridezilla on you!  but here are a few looks that I am loving...

holy snow!

It just won't stop snowing here, and apparently our town is completely unequipped to deal with ice/snow on the streets, which are totally treacherous.  As a Colorado native, I'm used to living with snow, but at least Denver is a city that knows how to plow the roads!  ...whew, sorry about the rant, it's just that I am working two jobs this week (normal KC ballet + White Christmas) and its been such a stress, getting to work and such. 

But, man, all this snow makes for a pretty setting, especially in the sun.  

I have a few big fur coats like this but I hardly wear them, for some reason I get a bit self conscious in them.  I think I feel a little over the top sometimes, or like a big, furry, giant, bear/girl amazon woman.  But, it is just so COLD and wintery here that this coat feels appropriate. (and, I like that this coat matches my hair color!)

One of the best things about buying from vintage/ thrift store is that the clothing/treasures have already lived a life and can sometimes tell a story.  This coat was actually made in Kansas City, which is really cool, and speaks to what an industrious city KC once was

 and to top it off someone lovingly stitched in the initials "J.E.D." into the lapel.  

Who were you J.E.D.?  when did you wear this coat? was it for cocktails and parties?  I wish I knew your story.... alas, all I can do is thank you for passing on your coat so that I can stay toasty and cute on this cold winter day!

outfit details: coat: thrifted, jeans: Urban Outfitters, shirt: thrifted, earrings: F21