Martha Stewart: Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!

Today has been one of the rainiest we've had all summer. Although we've had days where it's been too hot for baking, today was a great opportunity to throw some cuppies into the oven and snuggle up!

I used a recipe out of Martha Stewart's cupcake cookbook, although it can be found on her website here.

Bake on, lovers!

-B

P.S. This is rather old news to some of you I'm sure, but check out Jaydiohead- Radiohead mashed up with Jay-Z. Saweet!

Lush Cosmetics Review: Colour Supplement

When Tess and I were downtown yesterday we randomly took a gander over to Lush, a company that makes fresh, handmade cosmetics and skin care products out of mostly natural ingredients.

Not only is it fun to walk around and marvel at all of the incredible (and sometimes incredibly odd) products, but their sales associates are incredibly friendly (almost on the verge of car salesman-ness) and are always offering demos such as face masks or hand treatments... which we gladly indulged in ;)

I was especially intrigued by a product called Colour Supplement, which is a pigmented concentrated foundation of sorts. The genius in it is that it was made to be mixed with whatever face lotion one uses to allow for easier blending and a lighter feel that is healthier for skin. The sales associate who helped me find my color match was extremely helpful as well.

(It blends a little better than this...)

I walked away with a small pot of it, figuring that at $13.95 it would last a long time as long as I mixed it with my face lotion (Olay Complete with SPF 15, as Claire would be happy to know!) it would last just as long as regular foundation.

Especially in a hot climate, putting on foundation is often an unpleasant idea- however, this stuff is light and seems to blend into the skin along with the lotion. It's light, soft, and gentle on my easily irritated skin.

All it took was a teeeensy dab and a bit of lotion the size of my pinky fingernail and it was actually more than enough!

What is also great is that on each product there is a sticker with the photo and name of the person who made it!

This is a product that I definitely recommend, especially as it costs about as much as any regular foundation! Hooray!

-B

Adventures With Tess Bates!

One of my great friends and roommates from APU, Tess, is visiting Seattle from Chicago before school starts! We've spent the past few days attempting to see and do all the wonderful things here, such as wandering downtown until our feet fall off, going to a Sounder's game, thrifting on the Ave in the University District, and of course drinking COFFEE!

(Tess met someone really special downtown- save the date!)

Also, I made the purchase of a lifetime- the tackiest, pinkest, cutest, weirdest pint tumblers EVER!

(Yes. Yes, that's right)

I realize that I'll garner much criticism from friends and strangers alike for owning these... but I feel no shame. I'll squee a little bit every time I take a sip from one of these bad boys!

-B

Gaea

I LIIIIIIIIVEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Applause please:

I have been without internet for a month

Somehow, I made it through

(i'm contemplating writing a song about this)

Damn, sometimes I am just in awe of how impressive I am.

Speaking of which, I have discovered the an incredible website-

Ecos

Its completely dedicated to green options for your home!

The best part is that its not all hippydippypatchouli-

it is accessible to everyone and makes being green super easy

on an EVERYDAY basis

If you haven't noticed, I am all about being nice to mother earth

She keeps me alive, so I guess I feel indebted.

And my freshman year science teacher,

however much of a basketball headed dunce he was,

made a good point-

if shampoo burns your eyes, imagine what it does to fish scales.

And thats not even talking about bleach or ammonia.

WWWOOOOOOO NATURE

Of course, what would a Claire post be without some mention of makeup?

Toxins in makeup are as harmful to you as to the earth-

FURTHER impetus to buy green and as close to organic as possible

(keep in mind that no product is perfect. the industry is always going to have flaws)

I <3>

Dr. Hauschka

Burts Bees

Jurlique

Tarte

E.L.F (cheap!!)

Lush

Ecotools

Aveda

Origins Organic

and YOU!

Kisssssssses

Claire

DIY: Magnetic Scrabble Letters!

My mom loves scrabble letters. She's picked them up at thrift stores over the past year and has a set sitting on a bowl near the front door and arranges them into cute phrases, like this:

(Waiting for me after I came home from my first year of college)

There being about four sets of scrabble letters in my house, mom gave me some to take with to school to put on the coffee table. I decided that they would get more use as magnets, on our fridge!

All it took was a pair of scissors and a trip to the hardware store to buy a few feet of magnetic strips (with adhesive on one side, so no glue gun required!) for about $2.00.

Cut the pieces to about 3/4 of an inch, or whatever best suits the length of the Scrabble piece.

Secure the little magnets to the Scrabble pieces by removing the adhesive covering and pressing them firmly to the back of the Scrabble square.

-- And booyah! Cute magnetic Scrabble pieces for your fridge, white board, or what have you.

The total budget for this project is somewhere around $5.00 :)

-B

Wine Taste On a Beer Drinker's Budget, As My Mother Says...

Proenza Schouler Tweed Dress. Gorge.

Fun With Interior Decorating YEE (And the Magical Qualities of Spray Paint)

This year I'll be living "on campus" in an apartment with two wonderful roomies! However, even in my dorm last year having my own space was mildly exciting, but never really motivated me to get creative in decorating my space.

But now... the thought of having a living room, kitchen, AND bedroom to decorate is rather thrilling! My mom found these sweet little plastic dragonflies at Goodwill the other week:

Apparently they're some swanky brand, but I wasn't very excited that they were silver- not really my thing. However, my mother reminded me that all it takes is a can of spray paint to transform something...

One can of high-gloss spray paint from Home Depot turned them into chic little wall decorations! When I return to school I'll be scouring the thrift stores for more cool odds n' ends, armed with a can of paint! (Another good example can be found HERE, with candlesticks)

During my online interior decor perusing I came across the brand Kikkerland, which makes products commonly found on Modcloth or Fredflare. Here's a few of my favorites:

Kikkerland Imperial LED Chandelier- $30.00

Kikkerland Leaning Ladies Bookends- $32.96

Kikkerland Drunk? Shot Glasses Set- $7.00

Kikkerland Decor Chalkboard Sticker- $6.25

The best part about this brand is that it's not ridiculously overpriced, which is often what happens when a brand makes really cool, original designs... boo! Have fun decorating your new place, college-bound kids!

-B

DIY Bow Cutout Shirt!

The other day I was browsing an online boutique that will remain unnamed when I spotted a t-shirt that was adorably over-priced and immediately had an, "Ahh, I can do that!" moment.

I bought a cheap t-shirt from F21 and will probably try out a few other ideas on more shirts, especially when they're are 3.50 a pop!

Here's how to do it!

1) Mark with a pin where you'd like to cut the shirt (it might help if you do it while the shirt's on you, it'll help you determine where the bow will lay)

2) Create a template for each half of the bow. As you can see, it doesn't have to be perfect, the t-shirt won't hold the triangle shape perfectly anyway. Keep tweaking the size and shape until you're happy with it!

3) Trace your bow-shape onto the shirt (make sure to put a piece of paper between the layers of the shirt to prevent bleeding!), leaving an inch or so between for when you tie the center.

4) Cut the shirt! trim as you see fit.

5) Use a length of narrow lace or ribbon to tie the center and let it hang as long or short as you want.

The end result! Forgive the gloriously awkward photo :3

Craft away, my loves!

-B

Drooooool McQueen

In an ideal world where cupcakes served as currency and I didn't have any school bills to pay, this would be mine:

Alexander McQueen Lace Clutch

Unfortunately, McQueen pieces can't get you a degree. Boo.

-B

Fall Editorials: Faking Fashion

Years ago when I first created a livejournal for angsty teenager-y posts, I became a member of a community called "faking fashion," where its members/admin basically scan in hi-res photos of spreads from numerous fabulous fashion mags, both old and recent. It's worth creating an account just to ogle the spreads without having to pop $10 every time you want to take a peek at Vogue UK (I am very much guilty of this... sorry tip moolah).

Here's some snapshots of some of my favorite editorials from my recent browsings:

(US Vogue August 2010. Lesson to be learned: layer up! Even if it's 80 degrees out... find a way!)

(Vogue Paris September 2003. Wear menswear and ladylike pieces together with a badass confidence.)

(Vogue UK September 2010. Don't shy away from feminine pieces! Embrace lace and corseted fits and red lips!)

(Vogue UK September 2010. Can I go on a tangent in parentheses? Is that allowed? Good. Kate Moss is one of the only celebrities I've ever seen/heard of that made a legitimate comeback after toeing the dark side. Now she's healthy, is a mother, model, and fashion icon... just check out her designs for Topshop! Okay. Be fierce like Kate Moss. Minus the coke, ya dig?)

Although summer is winding down, at least we can look forward to those September issues ;) Which... by the way... is a FANTASTIC documentary about Vogue USA's Editor-In-Chief and her staff. The Devil Wears Prada was based off of it.

-B

Homesick for Places I've Never Called Home

Some nights when my life feels small, I miss the places I've been that made me feel like I had taken in bits of the world with every breath. And I carry them with me everywhere and remember them when I feel lonely or insignificant or bland.

I know it's all waiting for me to come back.

-B

A little lovely for your sunday...

Aloha

Each day is too short to forget to smile.

Here are somethings I appreciate, and thought I would share:

Pre-fame (pre-bleach!) Bridgitte Bardot

Sometimes I get growing pains

This dress is basically perfect

I will dream of it until forever

Explosions of adorable: The cure to any bad day

I adore Keira Knightley

and

simple makeup is a gem too often cast aside

Chelsea Clinton's BEAUTIFUL wedding dress

(damn Bill is a geezer these days)

Furthermore:

soft baby skin

dancing movies

french braids

hiking

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

goldfish crackers

"air multipliers"

soundproof headphones

walk-in closets

tiaras

cleaning

Otis Redding

boobies

family photos

hair dye that smells like candy

dachshunds

I am happy.

<3

Claire

Craving... So Hard...

As seen before in this post, I've had a penchant for utilitarian boots as of late. I've never really been attracted to ankle boots... until now.

Sam Edelman "Joss" Boot- $180.95

And just tonight I've been offered to buy a pair of discounted All Saints boots... and am sorely tempted...

Baaah!! Will someone please remind me that I'll be needing textbooks come September, not beautiful fierce soft leather studded boots?!??

-B

Clothing Swap Success!

Tonight I hosted a clothing swap at my house; it was rather hastily planned but so much fun!

(Attempting at organization- see the teeny signs? :3)

Although there were only 6 of us, it was actually pretty ideal- two huge bags of clothes are sitting in my basement waiting to be donated!

Everyone left with some treasures!

(Natalie with her favorite find: an adorable romper from Gavia)

Hilarity also ensued:

(Brooke. No words for this.)

I'll post a couple of my favorite finds later- ladies who attended, feel free to post a photo of your favorite item found in the comments

(or send it to me and I'll post it)!

All in all, hosting or attending a clothing swap is a great way to freshen up your wardrobe for free and relieve your closet of unwanted items that will be enjoyed by a friend (also for free!).

Oh, and I made cupcakes for the event. Of course. Lemon Lavender :)

-B