Happy Hump Day!
SFGirl Says Farewell.
1 year ago
Freebie Printable Part Deux : A French Bulldog in Paris!
Hellooo. So apologies are in order for the fact that my posts (and blog visits) have been few & far between.I could make a million excuses, but I know I'm not the only busy one, so I wont! :)
Hope the the beginning of your holiday season is great. I will be stuffing myself with everything (but stuffing--yuk!) this year. All hail the glorious food coma!
Just wanted to share a little card I made below. It's not for class, I was just trying to practice my clipping masks in Photoshop. Not perfect by far, but getting sooo much better.
Both images were provided by stockxchng (here & here) and are greatly appreciated!
Please feel free to print this for personal use :)
You can find the download HERE
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| Top is the outside, bottom is the inside! I wanted it to say From Paris with Love, but thought if I left it blank you could fill it in wherever you are! |
Sometimes, on Your Birthday. . .
you feel a little sad.
Because you can't believe that another year has already passed.
It feels like just yesterday you were heading out into the world
Completely carefree
Ah so much has changed.
Maybe I'm just an old soul.
but I'm finding that I find many days to be much more exciting than my birthday
Which my childhood self would find impossible to believe.
But then I get something small in the mail.
That traveled from a long ways away.
A little drawing of a big fat cat. He looks familiar. Maybe an old acquaintance?
A twisted note, that only a friend would find sweet
and I think that maybe I'm not so old after all.
Maybe birthdays are still worth celebrating.
Did I mention I recently turned 24?
It's The Most Beautiful Time of the Year
It's the holiday season, which can only mean two things:1. I will struggle not to consume all the baked goods and carb filled treats put in my face both day and night.
2. I will be on a socially acceptable spending spree, spending hours purchasing *gifts* for *other people* (really on a search to find pretty things for myself to wear to Christmas parties!)
Of course I will also be recording every claymation Christmas special, perusing recipes to find the next big "tradition" in our house, and hopefully getting sloshed at a few fabulous soirees.
At the very least I will be sitting in front of the tube sipping some bubbly watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, oh and can't forget every girl's favorite White Christmas!
Back to my original point. The next few months I will be trying to A. stay skinny (or get skinny, whichever) and B. get pretty (or stay pretty). In this wonderful spirit I wanted to share a few preemptive purchases I've made to make my season just a little bit brighter (also, my face).
I've been trying to build my make-up collection to cater to my skin tone & hair color, instead of just grabbing the newest color that doesn't really flatter me. I'm loving my new Lorac Blush in Flaunt. Nice cool pink for my super white skin! Its really bright, which at first scared me. But it goes on pretty sheer, allowing you to choose the intensity you want.
Best color ever. Bright pink with blue undertones you would think its shocking based on the intensity but its so flattering! I love it. Thanks to Diamonds & Tulle who turned me on to this stuff :)
I really like this brand for multiple reasons. For one, I love the art deco packaging! But more importantly I like her "saint/sinner" lines. "Saint" is a more sheer version of the color, while "Sinner" is more robust. I bought the Saint "Wine" color and it's so nice. Goes on like lipstick but the color is very soft, perfect for work. I think she describes it as 20% color. If you love the color but want more, just purchase the sinner counterpart!
Ok this is an oldie but a goodie. This is the first eye shadow I was ever allowed to wear, when I was 13 my mom took me to the Clinique counter and said "only something that looks natural" which of course I was so mad about because I wanted every color in the rainbow. Now I can appreciate (some) simpler things in life and this is definitely one of them! I also buy the Dark Chocolate liner from them to pair with this.
All my new holiday make up really needs a pretty container. . .
So want to fill this with make up, or just display it at my house!
Ok so now you know my beauty *secrets* for the holidays. What are yours?
Sexual Napalm for Your Walls
Does anyone else remember when John Mayer said that Jessica Simpson was like sexual napalm?
Did anyone else laugh for like twenty minutes after?
Well anyways I stumbled across a kind of sexual napalm I can really get on board with--the kind for your walls!
I am a pretty cheeky gal myself so I just adored this Erotic Toile print you can get to adorn your walls, your bed, your bags, and if you are really adventures you can eat some decadent
Taking a sweet toile print your grandmother might have in her French Provincial cottage, www.k-loushop.com has really duurrrtied it up with some pretty sexually suggestive scenes right out of 1863. And I like it!
So. Check it out and if you are of an adventurous spirit test it out!
Thanks CasaSugar for passing this along. . .
A Bit of a Food Snob. . .
In most aspects of my life, I think I'm pretty simple.
I do, on occasion, venture out of the house without make-up.
My hairdo's most often go awry.
I wear mismatched socks (if I can find any in my heap of clothes).
In the food world though, I can be quite prissy.
I love throwing around fancy words like verrine & rillette.
I want to learn French solely for the purpose of understanding (and being able to quote) fancy food names.
Don't hate me. lol
I'm probably overcompensating for my plain-jane American roots, but don't burst my bubble.
In my food-fantasies I'm a world traveling chef. . .
in real life I do sometimes rely on boxed mixes & frozen foods.
Anyway last year I made my first escargot. I found some for purchase at Cost Plus World Market.
Garlic + Parsley + Escargot = AMAZING.
But my new obsession for this year is. Escargot Lollipops.
I got the idea from watching the Foodnetworks Food Truck Race. Spencer on the Go!
I'm thinking a variation of Escargot en Cerceuils (Snails in Puff Pastry) might do the trick. . .
Ingredients:
36 Snails -- undrained
1/2 cup Chardonnay or dry white wine
1 medium Onion -- minced
1 Shallot -- minced
2 cloves Garlic -- minced
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound Puff pastry, preferably homemade
1 Egg yolk, MIXED WITH
3 tablespoons Milk
3/4 cup Butter -- well-chilled, cut into 12 pieces
1/3 cup Chopped toasted hazelnuts
3 tablespoons Minced fresh parsley
Turn this recipe into a puzzle! [click]
Directions:
Drain snail juices into small saucepan. Place snails in bowl. Add wine, onion, shallot, garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg to juices and bring to boil. Pour marinade over snails. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter baking sheets. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to thickness of 1/4". Cut out 36 circles using 2-inch floured cutter. Arrange circles on prepared sheets.
Using knife tip, trace lid on each circle 3/4-inch from edge; do not cut through dough. Brush with glaze. Bake pastry until puffed and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly on rack.
Using sharp knife, cut out lids. Discard any soft dough inside shells. Reduce oven to 375 degrees.
Strain marinade into large saucepan, pressing down on vegetables to extract all liquid. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove pan from heat and whisk in 2 pieces of butter. Set pan over low heat and whisk in remaining butter 1 piece at a time. Mix in snails, hazelnuts and parsley.
Adjust seasoning. Place 1 snail and some of sauce inside each shell. Top with lid. Bake until heated through. Serve immediately.
From CDKitchen. . .
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter baking sheets. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to thickness of 1/4". Cut out 36 circles using 2-inch floured cutter. Arrange circles on prepared sheets.
Using knife tip, trace lid on each circle 3/4-inch from edge; do not cut through dough. Brush with glaze. Bake pastry until puffed and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly on rack.
Using sharp knife, cut out lids. Discard any soft dough inside shells. Reduce oven to 375 degrees.
Strain marinade into large saucepan, pressing down on vegetables to extract all liquid. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove pan from heat and whisk in 2 pieces of butter. Set pan over low heat and whisk in remaining butter 1 piece at a time. Mix in snails, hazelnuts and parsley.
Adjust seasoning. Place 1 snail and some of sauce inside each shell. Top with lid. Bake until heated through. Serve immediately.
From CDKitchen. . .
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