when in paris. (a guest post by katie)

I just got home from a month-long journey through Europe. I stopped through England and Holland, both countries I've lived in, and two very short stays in Belgium, topping it off with two weeks in France.

On my very last day, we took a train into Paris early in the morning, leaving us with an entire day to wander around Paris. I've done the big things before; climbed the Eiffel Tower, visited Notre Dame, toured the Louvre, walked the Champs Elysees, ect.

This time though, I had a very clear list in my mind about what I wanted to do: eat escargot, visit the Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore (and buy a book!) and make a wish at Kilometer Zero.

Paris was, to put it lightly, wonderful. I'd forgotten how gorgeous Notre Dame is. Out of the big three, that is, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumphe, and Notre Dame, Notre Dame is by far my favorite. It's such a magnificent building.

So tell me: Have you ever been to Paris, and if so, what's your favorite place? If you haven't been, what specific places in Paris would you like to go to?

Katie: 16. coffee+photos. Uses a Mac. Wishes she was Alice. Reads too many books, splashes through too many rain puddles. Related to George Harrison. Wants to work at Pixar, own the Eiffel Tower, adopt a child, eat escargot. Clearly, she dreams big. You can find her here. 

Bulletin Sticks. (a guest post by Kaija)

Wanting to add a new point of interest in your room? Here is a simple project that adds style and functionality.

What you'll want: 

• sticks

• yarn (as many colors as desired)

• scissors

• fun pieces of art, reminders, stickers, etc. 

This idea came from interior designer Genevieve Gorder in her show Dear Genevieve. Genevieve was incorporating nature into the room with sticks; the yarn, she explained, was to keep the sticks soft, rather than jagged. 


Here's how:

one. Gather a few sticks. (The most ideal sticks for this project are those with far-extending branches.)

two. Wrap the sticks individually with yarn.

It's as simple as that! But, once I had completed the project (to Genevieve's extent), I figured why not make this functional?

So...

three. Wrap yarn from one branch to another. (The tighter the spaces, the better things will fit. As noticeable, I wrapped the string loosely in the middle two branches. I did this so I could use adorable little close pins. See the photo following the one below.)

When the opening appears too petite to place a photo or piece of paper in, rest writing utensils in the spot instead.

four. After I had constructed the crevices and arranged the artifacts, I positioned the sticks in an antique spool to act as a vase. I believe that by doing so, it marries the motif of the yarn.

I had completed my project! But no, my crafting session was not over yet. As I was wrapping up the excess yarn, a new idea came to mind: the neat bunch looked like a bow. So, after I secured a bobby pin into the bow...

...I had created a new hair piece.

Thanks, Emily, for asking me to guest post!  

Have a lovely August, everyone! 

                                                                                           

I'm Kaija from Live Blissfully. I love life, family, fashion, the beach, traveling (hopefully to London, Paris, and Rome), handbags, accessories, nature, blogging, and so much more!

i wish... {a guest post by Jocee}

First, I'd like to thank Emily for letting me guest post on her lovely-happy-ohmylipgloss-just-plain-old rocking awesome blog! I know I don't have Miss Emily's mad blogging skills or anything like that {or anyone elses, for that matter}, but I shall try my best to entertain all you lovelies. So, enjoy this post :)) 

i wish... i could sport these lovely shoes

i wish... i had a lock for every one of these keys and there'd be a different world behind each of them

i wish... we had some more white chocolate mousse with strawberries, but alas, no. goshbubbles.

i wish... i could pose like this:

i wish... i wore flowers in my hair daily

i wish... i could knit like Carlotta. okay, i wish i could knit in general.

i wish... i could make a perfect meringue. food coloring & sprinkles is a bonus.

i wish... my cookies didn't have to turn out to be a not-so-epic fail.

i wish i had Emily's mad video making skills. i wish i had a MacBook Pro.
i wish... that i took all the photos above. but i can solemnly swear i took this one:

I'm so proud of myself. I'm also proud that my non-capitalization phase ended. And now, to make some White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries. Oh me! Oh my! I'm so excited.
{About the Author} Jocee: dark amber brown eyes, brown hair, dreams with emerald green eyes, sees life in the color vintage, cupcake enthusiast, lover of British accents, left-handed, traditional coca-cola bottle lover, lavender vanilla bubble baths, sea shell collector, avid believer in Narnia, Wonderland and Middle Earth, dictionary reader, quill and ink writer, profound quote creator, despiser of capital letters, your personal imagination station, inspired by rainy days, aspiring photographer, bubble blower. be sure to check out my blog! :{) <-- mustache smiley face 

orange & almond cupcakes

this is a great recipe that I just found. the almond and orange are a great combination. makes 10-12 cupcakes. 

P.S. surprise! I said that "i'll ride across the park" was going to be my last post until I came back. but I forgot that I scheduled this one! :) 

2 eggs                                                   7 tbs sugar

zest of 1 orange                                  1/4 cup ground almonds

3 tbs potato flour                              1/3 cup slivered almonds

2 tbs confectioner's sugar 

 {beat eggs and sugar together for 5-10 minutes, until thick and pale}

 {grate 1 orange and add the zest to the eggs and sugar}

{add ground almonds} 

 {add potato flour}

 {mix all ingredients together}

{fill muffin tins about 2/3 full, top with slivered almonds — bake for 22 minutes at 325˚} 

 {dust with confectioner's sugar}

enjoy! :)

i'll ride across the park

short post. 4 things I just wanted to show you:

and I almost forgot: farewell. this is the last post I will be doing until I come back (most likely) from California! So goodbye and farewell — I know the guest posters will treat you well. I'll be back on August 12 [I thought this would be a nice place to insert this forgotten message]


how well packing is going....
As you know, I will be going to california from July 28 to August 12. As I am leaving tomorrow, I guess I thought it would be a good plan to start packing tonight...
Every time I have gone into my closet to get dressed or put away clothes, I have picked out the items that I might want to take with me to California and tossed them on the floor. After several days of doing this, my room has become:

 my new favorite item of jewelry...
I took this metal-smithing class the other day (YAY.) As you may or may not know, I make jewelry. The jewelry I make is all beaded, plus the fabris hair accessories I make (etsy)
But yesterday, I had my first metal-smithing lesson. I was expecting to just learn the basics and what not — but I actually made a ring! And I've got to say (although it's a little crooked) I am pretty proud of it.
p.s. to answer the questions — no, I won't be selling these rings on my etsy because within the two classes I am taking, I will probably only make 1 or two (plus I don't have a studio to make any more) and I'd like to keep this one, and give the others as gifts. sorry!

and a preview of a DIY project post...
I made my own custom fabric photo board the other day :) If you bought one at a store, it would cost between 18 and 35 dollars (I just looked it up.) But a homemade one would cost about 15 dollars — read more on that when I publish the post!



and this song....
I have been in love with this song sor several years now, but it's nice and summery, so I thought I'd share it with you.

friend

Today it finally cooled down after over a week of 95 — 105 degree weather. For a couple of days now, it has been nice and sunny — but not too hot. I was feeling very summery so I made a summery video. 


The song is by the same artist that is used in my key lime pie video that Olivia and I made.

friend [lover] — evenings

strawberry sorbet

I'm not sure if you guys have been stuck, so unfortunately, in a heat wave like me... but it has been so incredibly hot this past week — I wouldn't dare turn on the oven. I went to the beach the other day, and I couldn't stay out of the water for more than two minutes because it was so hot. The perfect solution: sorbet. 


ingredients:
1 pint fresh strawberries                               1/2 cup simple syrup*
1 tbs orange juice


*simple syrup: boil 1 cup sugar  + 1 cup water

strawberry sorbet:

 {cut up strawberries and add to blender}

 {add orange juice}

 {add simple syrup (it looks like water but that's just because the sugar dissolves while boiling)}

 {pour into a bowl and freeze for approximately 2 hours}

{all of the bowls I like were in the dish washer so I used a bread pan (: } 

Although I didn't have an ice cream maker, the sorbet turned out really well. But if you do have one, I would suggest using it! It was delicious and refreshing! Enjoy :)