DIYs of the day

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Two loves on a Tuesday

Stripes and sparkly to die for stairs, it's amore.

Picnic perfect

There are few things that I love more than dining al fresco. I just love it. And I'm obsessed with outdoor summertime concerts and movies where you can bring your own picnic and draaank; some of my local faves include: Doheny Blues Festival, Sunset Serenades in Laguna Beach (Fridays), classic movie and a picnic at Chapman University (Fridays), concerts at the pier in Santa Monica (Thursdays), concerts in the park at Hart Park in Orange (Wednesdays)- the list goes on and on. Just a few weekends ago, Adri, George, Bellie, Kevin and I had an awesome dinner outside by candelight, and it was perfection. It seems that in this day and age, we eat just to fuel ourselves, rushing through it and not taking time to enjoy it. I'm guilty of eating breakfast in my car on my way to work :/ This is why picnics and dining outside, away from the tv and with time to enjoy eachother's company, are perfect. They force us to slow down, and stop to smell the wine and cheese.

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Food and drinks:
My go-to picnic food always includes a variety of the following:
- Wine
- Cheese
- Crackers
- Some type of meat (prosciutto, turkey sammies, etc.)
- Something sweet. Duh.

Some recipes I want to try for my next picnic outing:

- Strawberry mint sangria!!

- Marinated figs with brie

- These awesome sammies

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Materials:

I always seem to forget something.

- Blanket

- Cups

- Utensils

- Plates and nappies

- WINE OPENER (I've forgotten this more often than not)

- A mini table or long tray to hold and serve everything (makes it so so much easier)

I posted this picnic basket last week, but I can't get over it. I wantitneeditgottahaveit.

Outfit:
The comfier, the better. I prefer shorts or a long comfy maxi dress. Don't forget that sweater for night time shows!

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Me sneaking wine into cups while picnic-ing in Santa Monica with Kev.

Happy al fresco dining, peeps!

Golden dreams

A gold rehearsal dinner; dear God, I'm in love.

What.a.week.

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This week at work has made me seriously contemplate retiring at the ripe old age of 23. I'm throwin' in the towel. My white flag is raised. I am spent. But it's weeks like these that make the weekend so much more enjoyable, and make me appreciate a little (even if it's only a couple of hours that I haven't booked) time to myself. Today's my mom's birthday, and we're celebrating tomorrow at the Doheny Blues Festival. I've never been, and we're stoked to check it out. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Favorites from around the web:

No but, seriously.
Wanna go to Italia, asap.
Loving these red velvet shorts.
How fab is this picnic set!
Perfect little spring time clutch
This cannot be somebody's house...I am depressed. Stupid apartment! Step up your game!
S'mores cakelettes...NOM NATION

Me wants summer

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Can you tell it's been a long and dreary week? I just wanna prance around in my bathing suit on a boat taking me to my summer house in the Hamptons, like, is that really so much to ask?

brb

Gonna go find these places and move there.

Thoughts?

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I've been wanting to purchase an orange-y/coral lipstick, so I tried one on at Sephora the other day. I wore it around for a little bit, but chickened out and didn't get it. I feel like I'm too dark to wear this color, but it's so NOW and so spring and so fun and I'm such a chicken butt :( Orange no mixy with this Mexi?

Today, I wanna try

To have more monochromatic days.

To add more pops of vibrant colors to my life.

To garden more (at all). I want an herb box!

To pass out little candy jars as party favors.

To wrap presents in fabric!

To relax, slow down, and not rush through life. I have too many accidents a day (ie burns from irons, broken iphone screens :( , etc.), which my mom tells me is due to me rushing through things. I admire those with patience and the ability to just, chilllll.

Read all about it!

I posted this DIY newspaper print nail trick on Friday, decided to try it last night, and love it!! I've gotten so many compliments and it was relatively easy. Here's what you do:

- Paint nails a neutral color (I used an Essie polish whose name I have since forgotten). I did two coats. You must wait for your nails to dry completely, or else the newspaper will stick to it.
- Tear out a page of newspaper, and rip into smaller pieces a little bigger than the size of your nail
- Dip pieces of paper into rubbing alcohol (the blog post I read, said to dip into vodka, but I didn't have any on hand...swear I dunno what happened to it...).
- After dipping, press firmly onto your nail for at least 10 seconds, but as I discovered, not more than 20 seconds or pieces of paper will stick to your nail. Try to keep the paper in one place, or the print will smudge.
- Coat with a top coat.

Oddly enough, this newspaper article that I cut out had my boyfriend's name on it, so being the creepy girlfriend that I am, I put him on my thumb...
Next time, I want to find various fun words to add to my nails, and maybe see if I can get some color and different fonts too! Oh ya I love nails! Nails Nails Nails!

Monday and a treat

What a weekend. I haven't stopped celebrating life since Thursday evening aka Cinco de Mayo, and Monday could not have been a more dreadful day. I am tired, full of diet coke, and counting down the minutes until next weekend. Just to add on top of an already depressing day, I just signed my summer weekends away via LSAT prep courses which begin mid-June, and are every weekend until the October test. Talk about RUDE.

Welp, depressing days like today call for a delectable recipe, which I'm hoping to make tonight. They will be my reason to run an extra mile or two and add some dramatic panting on the treadmill after work. But seriously, wouldya look at these suckers???? I just want these every day for the rest of my life. I'll be sure to post pics of how it turned out...Recipe below. Have a good week, peeps!

Pat's Peanut Butter Mocha-Maple Brownies(adapted from Martha Stewart)
*printer friendly Recipe

*Mocha Brownie batter
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces of semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 Tablespoon of espresso powder
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Maple Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 Tablespoons of maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ganache frosting (optional but may lead to remorse if skipped.)
1 1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Method
Brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Spray the foil and set aside.
Prepare the batter: Put butter and chocolates in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Whisk granulated sugar and espresso powder into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated. Set aside while you make the filling.

Filling: In a large bowl, on low speed, beat together the butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, maple syrup, and salt until smooth.
Pour about one-third of batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling (about 1 tablespoon each) on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Drizzle remaining batter on top, and gently spread to fill pan. Drop dollops of remaining filling on top. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Using the foil overhang, carefully lift the brownies out of the pan and place on a wire rack. Cool completely before ganaching.

Ganache: Put chocolate chips into a medium-size heatproof bowl.
In a small saucepan, bring cream to a gentle boil. Pour the hot cream over chocolate chips and let mixture stand for about 5 minutes.
Using small concentric circles, gently whisk in butter until it is incorporated, chocolate is melted, and a smooth mixture forms.
Pour/spread the ganache on cooled brownies and let stand until set, about 20 minutes.

Makes about 12-14 brownies

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Hanging florals

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This last one would be so so easy to make! I have a ton of wine bottles already...

Pretties of the day

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Celebrating mom

How do they do it, these moms of ours? I feel like if I had a kid of my own right now, I'd probably ruin it or break it somehow. Does it just, happen? Who teaches you what to do? Like one second you're a selfish 23 year old spending all of your money and time on happy hours and new bangles, then you have a baby and you're automatically this awesome, selfless, magical mom? Especially my mom who had me at 18. You know what I was doing at 18? I was walking around school in costumes and with glitter on my face, scrambling to find $8 for the movies, and sitting in the Del Taco parking lot with ma homies at 2am daring eachother to suck down packets el fuego hot sauce; motherhood couldn't be further from my mind. So how the heck did my mom just give up her life at such a young age and turn into this incredible mom?

I can't even begin to express what she means to me; she's become my best friend and I have no idea what I'd do without her. She's taught me more about life than any teacher or book could. She's the hardest-working and most selfless person that I know, and every time I'm with her, I feel so blessed that she's in my life. I can't wait to celebrate her this weekend, and every day. I hope you and your ma get some good quality time together too! Happy Friday!

And a few faves from around the web:

- This awesome DIY color block pouch, and I mean AWESOME.
- Speaking of DIY, these nails are so cool!!
- A little Rachel Bilson perfection.
- Annnnd yet another DIY; hoping to get my artsy sister to make this bracelet for me...
- A house that I'm looking into buying.
- I'd take baths every single day if I had this darling bathroom and tub.
- Ring ring for me me.
- Great mother's day brunch menu.
- Such great heights.
- And a little Kanye for mom.

Have a great weekend, peeps. (and feel better, Krystina!)