i-zilla the terrible

MOVING DAY!

2011-10-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally, officially, back from my break and I feel very refreshed and renewed and have been able to work through a lot of the things I had on my mind. I told you all before I left that I had a blogger epiphany that resulted in me immediately needing to step back and take a breather. Well actually I had two epiphanies:

The first: Blogger and I have had a good run but it's time for us to part ways. I'm appreciative for everything I gained from blogging via Blogger. This was the first time I really started blogging seriously and having been blogging now for almost two years (my first post was 10/04/09), I've loved watching how far I've come with it. However sadly there are certain things I've wanted to do with my blog design wise and Blogger just isn't interested in working with me on that. It took some "shopping" around and I finally found what was best for me as I move forward. So having said that...I'm moving!

I'll hope you'll follow me to my blog's new home and stay a while!

...Oh and that second epiphany? Well you'll just have to go visit the new blog.

http://izillatheterrible.typepad.com/blog/

p.s. Make sure to update your bookmarks, feeds, etc.!

when keeping it real goes right

2011-09-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a little break from my break (which is almost over!) because I finally felt inspired enough to post. I've read Danielle's Journal Day posts before, but was always a lurker, never a participater. However after reading a few inspirational posts from some dear blogging buddies, as well as Dani's post (which I could relate to), I wanted to share my thoughts on the current topic...

Looking at all of the life you've lived so far, can you pinpoint one time frame or instance that you feel truly contributed to your growth as a person? This may be a turning point, a positive or negative experience, a moment or collection of moments that stand out in your mind...something that changed you as a whole.

My turning point came at the end of my last relationship. Thanks to low self esteem and not having dated a lot of guys well...ever, I tended to latch onto any guy who showed even the smallest interest in me. This resulted in being involved with, one way or another, a LOT of schmucks. I don't want to completely bash my ex, but until him I had never put up with someone who treated me so poorly for so long. I loved him, so I ignored so many red flags and warning signs to jump ship because I thought he was the only person who was ever going to love me. This was the best it was going to get.

So I put up with three years of him taking me for granted, manipulating me, neglecting me and our relationship, always choosing his friends over me, lying to me constantly about his drug habits and borrowing hundreds of dollars from me that I would ultimately never see again. We fought frequently in that last year but it never came to a head until one night when he was at work and his friends decided to rearrange all the living room furniture, none of which belonged to them, on a whim in the most impractical arrangement I had ever seen.

(At this point you should know that during the last year of our relationship he had convinced me to move in with him and two of his friends. BIG MISTAKE. Don't ever do it.)

I was irritated because they had asked neither one of us if this was ok and I found it a little rude. When I told the ex about it he told me that basically since the only piece that was mine was the couch, that I didn't have a say on what went on in the house and that they could frankly do what they wanted. This sparked an argument which no longer was about who moved the damn couch where or the politeness of asking first. There had been a lot of issues building up and we were finally getting it out. In the course of the argument he completely took over. He wouldn't let me speak. He wouldn't let me reply to any of his arguments. I was simply to sit there and let him yell at me. I promptly told him if he wasn't going to allow me to talk that he could "get the fuck out."

He then stormed out and proceeded to scream at his friends, about me, as I sat alone in the room. I had never felt so humiliated and so angry. He always threw me under the bus around his friends before but this took the cake. How dare he? How dare he talk shit about me, purposely loud enough enough for me to hear, in my own home?

...in the home where I paid for all the food he ate.
...in the home where he parked his car out front that I paid the insurance on and the gas that went in it.
...in the home where I did most of the cleaning and replacing of my own things that they constantly disrespected and destroyed.

Enough was enough. I got up, packed a small bag and slipped out of the house without causing a scene to the sounds of his further ranting and berating. I drove to my sister's house, crying the entire way. He did not call or text once to see where I was or if I was ok. I cried myself to sleep and when I woke up hoping he had called during the night I found nothing still. He didn't care. I had left and for all he knew I could have crashed my car and been lying in a ditch somewhere and he didn't care. He didn't call my friends. He didn't call my family. Nothing. In fact when I returned he wanted to act like nothing had happened. It was the push I finally needed to move out and move on.

From that moment I finally had decided I was never going to allow another person, boy or otherwise, to treat me with anything less than the utmost respect. I decided from now on I was going to treat myself with the utmost respect. There will be people out there who don't have your best interest in mind. They'll lie to you, stab you in the back, sabotage you, try to tarnish any happy moment you try to have. Those people are weeds that need to be plucked. I realized I only wanted to have people in my life that enhanced my life rather than hindered it and thanks to that mindset I have so many amazing people in my life right now. Once in a while my garden needs weeding, but these days the weeds are easier to spot as I have so little tolerance for them.

fall break day #10

2011-09-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Spotted this during a recent trip to one of my favorite craft stores.

"Creative Time" indeed!

Well I guess when the mood takes you...

fall break day #9

2011-09-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

Onigiri snack on the way to my sister's birthday picnic.

I am addicted to these things!

I really want to learn to make them. It seems simple enough right?

P.s. On a separate yet related note...

Does anyone know where a girl can buy one of those bamboo mats to roll sushi with?

fall break day #8

2011-09-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

I don't mean to brag, but I'm going to.

My little niece Isabella (Izzy) is a gorgeous girl.

She recently got to have her first photoshoot

(they needed babies in the 6 month category)

and her pictures are so adorable! I'm such a proud aunty!

Check out Megan Squires Photography for more pictures of my pretty girl!

fall break day #7

2011-09-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

During our recent trip to San Fransisco,

the boy and I stumbled upon this amazing little penny arcade on Pier 45 called Musee Mechanique.

It's filled with coin-operated antique arcade machines that are absolutely gorgeous

and have been kept in great condition.

They had these miniature replicas of fairgrounds that I was absolutely enamored with.

Next time we go I'm bringing a lot of change so I play all day!

fall break day #6

2011-09-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

You know it's going to be a good day

when you kick off the morning with a ginormous "boat" of french toast

and a plate full of potatoes

...and let's not forget the mimosa

fall break day #5

2011-09-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

She asked and I said yes!

To being a bridesmaid that is.

My dear friend Elise invited us to frozen yogurt where

she officially asked us to be a part of her special day.

She had a cute table set up with balloons at the end of which was a picture of us and a heartfelt message about our friendship on the back.

We enjoyed yummy yogurt and pink lemonade cupcakes I made for her recent birthday.

I'll probably cry like a giant baby watching her walk down the aisle.

fall break day #4

2011-09-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

My friends and I became highly amused with the idea of planking

So we tried planking on things all over the house

It was a group effort to get her up there, but the end result was worth it

fall break day #3

2011-09-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing to bake is mini cupcakes.

Everything should be small and cute and delicious.

(and mini cupcakes make you feel less guilty when you eat 10 of them)

Don't you agree?

fall break day #2

2011-09-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

The best macaroons I've ever had hands down.

Based in Southern California, Lette has some of the most unique and delectable flavors and they ship overnight!

My greedy ass tried to sample every flavor.

I'll eventually buy some for myself and melt away in a macaroon induced coma.

fall break day #1

2011-09-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a kid at heart who loves picture books

When I discovered My Milk Toof it was instant love.

I not only bought a copy of the book for my niece and nephews but I totally snagged a copy for myself.

Are you team Ickle or team Lardee?

fall break

2011-09-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a bit of a fall break for the next two weeks. I just need to step back for a moment after having a blog related epiphany that has now left me with a lot to think about (more on that upon my return). I also have a lot of things on my to-do list for the rest of the month including

- catching up on my blog readings
- continuing to clean and declutter the house (I just did my bathroom and my bedroom is next!)
- work on some blog related things
- work on some non-blog related things including a big cupcake job for a wedding this upcoming weekend!

Don't fret lovelies. This place won't be a complete graveyard while I'm away. Everyday there will be pictures of my favorite memories from this past spring/summer that I never got around to sharing with you. Until then take care and see you October 1st!

Q and A: A blogger discussion

2011-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another installment of Q & A: A Blogger Discussion. It's a way for you all to not only be introduced to some great bloggers but to open up a dialog regarding why we blog, what we blog about and a myriad of other issues we face as a result of being a blogger.

So let's get things going with this week's question...

Q: How much information (photos, stories, etc.) to do share about your significant other on your blog? Are they comfortable with the idea of themselves and your relationship being featured on your blog for everyone to see?

Heather // Paper Doll Smile
My fiancé and I have never discussed his feelings towards being mentioned on Paper Doll Smile. It hasn't come up simply because I tend to stray away from blogging about our relationship. With the exception of our wedding that I do document every so often in one of my features, Wedding Planner. It's a big part of my life that I'm very excited about and love the idea of sharing it with others. On the other hand, I do hold back on how much information is released on the blog for privacy reasons. I know that he likes to keep our relationship out of the public eye for the most part, so I respect that. That way things are considered special, when they're not exploited to the blogging world. Occasionally I will post a few pictures of us if we go on a trip, but I much prefer keeping the blog focused on my silly little world full of fashion, pretty things, creativity, and work.

Erica // I Bleed Pink
In regards to my blog and my relationship it’s pretty much an open book. My fiancé actually reads my blog everyday (when I have time to post) and gets on me about posting more often. Since our schedules are crazy busy we don’t get a lot of time together, and he tells me he likes reading my blog because he can kind of catch up with me. Along with that, my blog is kind of a scrapbook to our growing relationship. He is very comfortable with what I post about us, I try to be as real as possible on my blog, but I still know when and what to keep personal and private among us.

I-Zilla says...
I'm kinda of a private person in general so I try not to give out too much personal information, especially about other people. I definitely felt I needed to ask permission first, even though the boy said he didn't mind at all if I posted pictures of him or talked a little bit about our relationship (he says he's internet famous now haha). It's definitely been an issue in the past with a prior relationship and I had to remove posts because he was so uncomfortable with me talking about us even though I never mentioned him by name or posted pictures of him (this was back in when I was predominately blogging on Tumblr). It definitely helped me learn that while it's my blog and technically I can post whatever the hell I want I still need to be respectful, because once you post it and it's out there and seen, you can never really take it back.

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Thank you so much Heather and Erica for your input! As a reader feel free to leave a comment answering this week's question or you can simply comment on what you've heard from my featured bloggers. Feel free to use any of the Q & A discussion questions as a post prompt, I just ask that you be a dear and link back to this post. As always you can read more about the project here and sign up to get in on the fun!

it's leviOsa, not leviosAR!

2011-09-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

I recently finally got a chance to make Butterbeer cupcakes (or butterscotch cupcakes to all you muggles our there). They were scrumptious, I could have drank the butterscotch genache straight from the bowl and having all the left over cream soda to enjoy was a nice bonus! You can find the recipe for these yummy cupcakes here.

Oh and did you know that if you mix cream soda and butter schnapps you have an "adult" butterbeer? It's amazing! (p.s. be a dear and drink responsibly)

dinner for two

2011-09-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

Going out to eat is fun but it can get old after a while...and expensive...and you start to feel like a million pounds and that you're not really putting anything good into your body. Therefore when the boy suggested we cook dinner this weekend I was all for it.

I had recently seen an article in the July issue of Real Simple (a magazine which I'm beginning to love) which featured recipes for appetizers, main & side dishes and desserts that only required three simple key ingredients (as well as your standard spices and oils that you would already have in your cupboard). The amazing thing about these recipes is that they're super simple to execute and when you're finished the dish looks like you put in a lot of effort when you really didn't. Psst, hello easy way to impress your guests!

We made:
red curry-glazed salmon
grilled sesame sweet potatoes
spicy sauteéd green beans
dulce de leche mousse

Everything was so delicious and we were really proud of ourselves for pulling off a full meal like this. I've always been intimidated about cooking salmon, but not anymore! I will totally be making this again as well as trying some of the other amazing recipes!

As a side note: I don't have a grill so we cooked the potatoes in the oven until they were soft and they were just as delicious. We also nixed the sesame seeds and to be honest the sesame oil wasn't even necessary either (just depends on how you like your sweet potatoes). We also used white sweet potatoes instead of red, both are equally yummy!

happy friday

2011-09-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

I don't believe in the saying "money can't buy happiness" because frankly it buys my happiness. I like spending my hard earned money on my favorite things. That makes me happy. That said, it doesn't take a lot of money to make me happy. Sometimes $5.00 can buy my happiness. It's just a simple little Chococat pocket mirror, but it made me smile ear-to-ear. I'll keep it until all the paint wears off (and then some) and when that times comes I will go to Sanrio and buy another one. I almost got the Hello Kitty one with the hot pink gem on the bow, but I decided I needed to be a little adult about this...just a little.

Happy Friday loves ♥

happy feet

2011-09-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Liz's September Lust List, I've been thinking about all the lovely things I've been pining over this month. I really don't need anymore clothes so what I've really had my eye on lately is shoes and socks to spice up my bottom half and perhaps give my skirts, dresses and shorts a little more time to shine as we move into fall.

no. 1 Minnetonka fringed tall boot

no. 2 Steve Madden Tblanket moc boot

no. 3 Blowfish Wright midheight bootie

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no. 4 UO striped cuff over the knee sock

no. 5 Free People petticoat tall sock

no. 6 Anthropologie Marzipan sock

What footwear are you hoping to squeeze your dainty tootsies into this fall?

happy days are here again

2011-09-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Normally I would start this post lamenting over what a bad blogger I am for having not posted in a while. Normally I would actually feel bad about it as I honestly do love my blog. However honestly, I don't feel bad about being away. I've been busy enjoying my personal life and it's been nice not having to worry about drafting and scheduling posts. I promise I won't neglect this blog much longer, I've just really enjoyed the free time developing my personal relationships as well as just taking the time to do silly little things I want to do like read before bed, or dream up how I want to redecorate my bedroom or paint my nails. I've just been very content lately and unfortunately this blog sort of became an afterthought as a result. Back to normal soon I promise!

Q and A: A blogger discussion

2011-09-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my very first installment of Q & A: A Blogger Discussion. As you know I started this little project as a way for you all to not only be introduced to some great bloggers but to open up a dialog regarding why we blog, what we blog about and a myriad of other issues we face as a result of being a blogger.

This week I thought it would be good to start things off with a bit of an introductory topic so let's meet our featured bloggers this week and get started!

Q:How long have you been blogging? What prompted you to start a blog? Explain your blog title.

Beth // Ramz and the Flock
Hello! I'm Beth and the owner of a little and fairly new blog called ramz and the flock which I started on the first of May. The name came from my fondly kept nickname 'ramz', short for my surname Ramsay (yes, like good old Gordon!) and well, at the time thinking it was a light bulb-above-the-head moment, the 'flock' bit came from 'ramz' sounding like 'rams' (sheep!) and therefore my 'following' could be a flock. I hope that made even a tiny bit of sense, haha! As for why I began blogging, I guess I've always been that really annoying person who pauses at the most random of times, with camera in hand, shouting "FREEZE!" so I could snap that 'perfect' moment so I think this really was the motivation behind my blog. That and the fact I can talk for England haha! And I'm not gonna lie, I kinda jumped into the whole blogging wagon right in the deep end; I hardly knew what a blog even was, hadn't really read anything remotely bloggy and had no more knowledge about HTML than the last hopeful fourteen year old! But I'm humongously (that isn't even a word, but that's how much I like it!) happy I did- I've gained about a wheelbarrow's worth more confidence, found some lovely lovely people on here and well, I might still be a newcomer to the big bad land of blogging, but I already feel at home!

Bee // Vivatramp
Hello readers! I've been blogging for just over a year now so I'm still pretty new to the game compared to some veterans of the online world. I initially blogged over at Myspace, before it got deserted, but decided that I wanted a better platform to work with. I had no idea that the so-called 'blogosphere' existed so I was pleasantly surprised when I found so many inspirational people through it and made, what I hope to be, life-long friendships. I'm frequently asked about the name of my blog, Vivatramp, because it sounds so obscure. Basically, 'Vivatramp' was a nickname given to me by a friend thanks to my outgoing lifestyle on a budget. I've always been that girl at the party. The one who sank the vodka too fast; that one that sang into her empty glass and embarrased herself. That's where the 'viva' comes from (viva comes from the Spanish verb 'vivir' - to live). The 'tramp' part comes from the idea of me being on a budget. Charming. It's a name I've become so incredibly fond of so I'm glad I picked it for my blog because it all just seems to fit perfectly.

Rhianne // For The Easily Distracted
I've been blogging since February 2009, so 2 and a half years now which seems crazy to me, it really doesn't feel that long. My blog name is a little embarassing to me though - originally I wanted my blog to be somewhere that I could let things go - get things out there without burdening people or keeping it in and causing myself more grief. I had just finished university and started a new job which I was a little disheartened with and I missed my friends and family like crazy and I really missed being creative and I was struggling to focus on anything, so initially my blog was 'Diary of the Easily Distracted'.

After about 3 or 4 months into blogging I realised that I prefered to blog happy things and things that I had found that cheered me up - things that distracted me from the negatives thoughts in my life and that really, it wasn't much of a diary - I've never kept them well before, so why I thought I could then, I'm not really sure. I needed to update my blog title and I knew I wanted to keep easily distracted, as I am really so easily distracted but I didn't want it to be focused on me anymore, I wanted it to be for anyone who needed a little distraction, so I changed it to 'For the easily distracted...'

It's odd looking back at how my blog started - I felt so lost before, I didn't know what I wanted to do and then I started my blog and honestly, it changed my life... It gave me something to channel my efforts and creativity into, a massive distraction I guess. I've met so many new people, many of which are now amazing friends which I am so grateful for, I bought my first 35mm camera in years which led to a rather unexpected analogue camera and photography obsession and although I'm not 100% sure if my blog title still represents my blog (I do post mainly photos now rather then my distractions) but I still feel it is a blog for the easily distracted - which means me and you, so I've kept it the same.

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Thank you so much ladies for your input! As a reader feel free to leave a comment answering this week's question or you can simply comment on what you've heard from my featured bloggers. Feel free to use any of the Q & A discussion questions as a post prompt, I just ask that you be a dear and link back to this post. As always you can read more about the project here and sign up to get in on the fun!

nailed it: it was love at first sight

2011-08-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted. I'm addicted to Essie nailpolish and I don't care. I can quit any time I want, but to be honest I don't want to! Especially after my latest purchase in which I found the perfect shade of pink that I have been desperately searching for! So much so that I had been considering shelling out $14 for the fancy stuff. I've finally found a brand that caters exactly to what I like: matte colors.

I like bold as much as the next girl, but I don't always want it on my nails and it's been really difficult to find the shades that I like without glitter or shimmer or in ultra bright shades. The particular shade I bought, Eternal Optimist, is so cute and perfect and I haven't been able to stop smiling at my nails since I put it on.

Their latest collection is perfect for fall and the minute it hits the shelves i know three hot hues that are coming home with me! Do you like Essie? What are your favorite Essie polishes?

P.s. I don't know about you, but all this talk of cute nail polish is putting me in the giving mood....stay tuned.

since we last spoke...

2011-08-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a lot of quality time with my girls and loving it. It makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have an amazing group of friends.

I've been working on my Q and A project (first session should be up this week!)

I've been reading comic books. I've been borrowing this series from the boy and I'm hooked! I'd forgotten how nice it is to relax and lay down and read before bed rather than staring at this computer.

I've added some new movies to my DVD collection.

I've been in the mood to start keeping a journal again. I'm so bad with keeping up with them, hell I even have trouble keeping up with my blog, but I have so many new things going on and it would be nice to get some of my more personal thoughts down on paper.

I've been thinking about my next tattoo. I know exactly what I want, it's just a matter of where. I've also been debating whether I would eventually be willing to commit to a half sleeve. It'll probably be a while before any of this comes to fruition, but it's fun to think about.

I've been fiddling with html/css. Some days are more frustrating than others. I still have A LOT to learn.

I've been creating new fro-yo concoctions. I call this one:

This Sh*t is Bananas

peach sorbet

pineapple sorbet

raspberry sorbet

captain crunch

cheesecake bits

shredded coconut

bananas

What have you been up to since we last spoke?

back in the swing with bow rings

2011-08-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a really long time since I've crafted, like really long. I kind of felt out of practice. I needed to start small. I had seen some really cute bow rings on Etsy and I knew it was something simple I could make. The lovely thing about being crafty is sometimes when I want something (and I don't have the patience to wait by the mailbox) I can just gather the supplies and whip something together. These are incredibly easy to make. I simply made a mini bow and hot glued it to a ring base I got at my local craft store (a.k.a. personal Disneyland) Michael's. I really like it and I can't wait to make more!

p.s. Do you like my nails? Ashley was cleaning out her vast nail polish collection and gifted me this amazing blue nail polish! I've been looking for a matte navy blue polish for ages so I literally squealed when her little care package came in the mail. I was going to save it for fall, but I couldn't wait to wear it! Thank you Ashley!

2011-08-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

[♥] This zombie attack engagement photo shoot! As a horror movie fanatic this is the most awesomely amazing thing I have ever seen! I love that they did something completely out of the box and original. I hope if I get married some day I can do something this fun!

[♥] Hannah's new dresses in her shop. I already own two of her creations (I'm just hoping I have some place fancy enough to wear them). Every cent from the shop goes toward the amazing work she's doing in Africa so you'd be shopping for a good cause. I love it when that happens!
[♥] Diana and James' new puppies! Oh my they're so adorable!
[♥] Joy's blog Oh Joy! I always find so many beautiful inspiring things on her blog that I want to wear, eat or decorate my home with.
[♥] Everything from Olive Manna's shop. Seriously...I want everything: the cake stands, the vintage desk accessories, the stained wood tags, and let us not forget these gorgeous kitchen tins!
[♥] My new duvet cover! It came in the mail yesterday and the matching shams are on their way (back-ordered). I can't wait to start making some fun pillows to go with it! My room doesn't get a lot of natural sunlight so hopefully this will help brighten up my room a bit!
[♥] Kara's tips on how to do a "sexy" outfit post. I love a girl with a sense of humor!

[♥] Planning fall outfits (already? yeah I know...)
[♥] Playing with my new camera. I'm anxious to finish the roll so I can see how they come out!
[♥] Youtube. Hours and hours of lovely distraction.
[♥] Realizing how silly and immature you can be in front of your friends and they still love you.

What are you currently loving?

my last hurrah

2011-08-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost over. Can you believe it? Hell in some cases if you're school bound, the semester is already starting. Boo! Even though I've got one more weekend left, I felt like this weekend was my last weekend of summer as next weekend with be filled with baby showers and birthday parties and lots of other craziness. This was my last weekend to relax and be lazy and move through the day as slowly as I pleased.

My last weekend of summer was filled with...

sleeping in (which for me is 9:30)

watching the House Bunny and eating popcorn and M&M's for breakfast

packing healthy picnic snacks and relaxing in the park

laying in the shade until you almost fall asleep

Korean bbq for dinner and fro-yo for dessert

serious talks with happy endings

Scene-it Simpsons edition

chocolate stout and hazelnut ale

late night trips to In-N-Out

singing along to Captain and Tennille on the radio

trying to stay up to watch tv but being so full and happy you pass out

getting the large stack of pancakes

long long walks

and afternoon naps

While I will be sad to see summer go I definitely had a lot of great memories and I think I'm definitely ready for fall! How will you spend your last moments of summer?

web love: quick fixes for blogger users

2011-08-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Change can be hard for some people, especially when it comes to blog design. It's even more difficult when you feel like your HTML challenged. If the idea of completely redesigning your blog seems daunting and overwhelming, just take a deep breath. Here are 3 quick and easy touch ups you can apply to your blog to give it a little lift:

[1] Hate that pesky navigation bar? Is it totally cramping your style? Yeah me too, that's why I ditched it. Head over to SRSLYLIZ for an easy-peasy tutorial on how to get rid of it.

[2] Thanks to Katrina I have discovered the magic that is Google Web Fonts. I don't know how I didn't know about this before (I must have been living under a virtual web rock). While Blogger has definitely stepped it up with their user friendly Template Designer feature and included a lot of great new web fonts for you to play with, you still may feel like none of them are right for your blog. Never fear! You can pick out your favorite fonts at Google Web Fonts and they'll show you how to install them into your layout code to use on your blog!

P.s. If you like the above font, it's called Montez

[3] Did you know Blogger allows you to upload a favicon now? Favicons are the little icons that appear next to the webpage name on your tabbed or bookmarked websites. Just go to the Design tab, click on Page Elements, click Edit next to the Favicon tab and upload. You can design your own or find a small icon online that you really like!

summer time and the livin's easy

2011-08-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

I love the California State Fair. I try and go every year and it always elicits such fond memories. It's a definite summer tradition. While I do love me some carnival rides the primary reason I love to go state fair is all the fun food. I had to have my mandatory wine slushy (or three) and funnel cake, however this year I tried a fried snickers bar for the first time. HEAVEN! (I would have taken a photo of it but I was too busy inhaling it)

My favorite part though? Photo booths! I can't leave without taking a least one set of photos with whomever I'm with. They're just too much fun!

What is your favorite part of the state/county fair in your area?

p.s. When we were at the wine garden getting the slushies I overheard them talking about how you make them and the "secret ingredient". You better believe I'm going the try and make these at home now!

something sweet: victory is mine

2011-08-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

After a previously unsuccessful trip to Cultive in which the one flavor I was craving more than anything was out of order, I decided I would not be made a fool of twice. So Saturday morning I woke up, showered, got dressed, did my hair and was there right when the place opened. Seems silly, but I-Zilla needed breakfast. After all it's the most important meal of the day! I call this tasty concoction:

You Don't Need Two Hands To Drive

french vanilla frozen yogurt

red velvet frozen yogurt

Captain Crunch (w/ crunch berries)

Fruity Pebbles

granola

blueberries

strawberries

blackberries

cheesecake pieces

What are your favorite frozen yogurt flavors and toppings?

Note: While I do not advocate trying to eat and drive at the same time, or even holding your fro-yo cup while trying to operate said motor vehicle, I will say that it's not as bad if you wait to take bites at red lights and stop signs. Just saying.

i spy with my little eye...

2011-08-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

fun colors and chevron prints...

If you didn't already know Missoni is coming out with a collection for Target. I love it when Target comes out with new designer collections. Nothing makes this girl happier than window shopping on the internet. The Missoni collection definitely has some fun pieces. I'm digging the chevron shorts, pretty scarves and fun flats the most. I'll definitely have to snag me a pair when the collection hits the shelves.

They also have some lovely home decor items as well as something for the fellas and the little ones! You can view the full collection here. What are your favorite pieces from the collection? Is it September yet?

my new toy

2011-08-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I wanted a cute little pink camera. I wanted it enough to put it on my camera wishlist. Hell I even liked it enough to give it away for my birthday. Fast forward and I'm in a gift shop in a museum in Seattle. I'm browsing, I look down and there it is: the pink slim angel wide-angel camera. My pink slim angel wide-angel camera! I snatched that baby up so fast you would have thought it was the last one in the entire world. I'm so happy to finally have one of my own. I just bought film and I can't wait to use it. It's the first time I've ever used a film camera other than a disposable so there will be ALOT of trial and error, but I'm excited to try. Wish me luck!

Does anyone else have this camera? What do you like about it?

p.s. If you're thinking of purchasing one (and you should cause they're super affordable) please be forewarned that you can only use it outdoors in sunny areas. I guess that just means you'll have to have lots of fun outdoor adventures on beautiful days. Oh the sacrifice!

i like my cake medium rare

2011-08-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

Monday was the boy's birthday and I couldn't wait to present him with his birthday cake. At first I was just going to make him some regular cupcakes, but then I figured that's what I always do. I needed a challenge. Ever since a former co-worker of mine made me a hamburger cake for my birthday I have been itching to try making one myself. Considering I wasn't going to be using fondant to make any of the veggies (because I personally think fondant tastes gross) it was definitely a challenge figuring out how I was going to make the cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. All I can say is thank god for piping tips. They work magic! I like how it came out for my first try and I think the boy liked it too!

Now I want to try making other "food" cakes! I already have a few ideas!

hey i'm talking to you! yes you!

2011-08-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

One of the things I wish I could do more of is interact with my readers and fellow bloggers. I'm so busy at work and my internet access is limited during that time that sometimes I feel like I miss out on opportunities to connect with you guys the way I would like. I really like hearing fellow bloggers opinions on a variety of subjects so, with your help, I would really like to open a forum for discussion.

How it will work is every other week I will pose a question, mostly about blogging, but also lifestyle and a few fun randoms. I will have responses that I have already gathered from three featured bloggers, as well as myself, with commenting open to give your own opinions on said topic.

If you are a featured blogger that week, the post will include a photo of you (if you don't mind me snagging a pic of your pretty face from your blog), name, a link to your blog and your response. I would like for this to serve as a way for you all to "meet" some really cool bloggers and have your voice heard as well.

So, with that said, if you would like to participate as a future featured blogger for my little Q& A all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post to sign up. I'll not only be picking participants from the comments, but also asking some of my favorite bloggers to weigh in as well. Once you've been featured your comment will be deleted from this post as a way of crossing you off the list.

I really hope you'll participate. I want to hear from you!

Please note: I want this project to illicit positive and polite discussion amongst us bloggers. I want this to be fun! I trust we can all act like mature adults here. I will not allow harassing or just blatantly immature or rude comments and anonymous comments will be deleted. I won't tolerate cowards who hide behind anonymity.

happy friday!

2011-08-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I feel just dreadful for being so absent this week. I hate neglecting my blog even for a week, but at the same time I've loved getting to spend time with my gorgeous friends and handsome boyfriend. Hopefully today and perhaps sometime this weekend I'll be able to accomplish some much needed spring cleaning here at the blog, changing some things and moving some things around to accommodate all the new stuff I talked about earlier this month. I have so many posts I can't wait to draft and projects I can't wait to share. In the meantime enjoy your weekend lovies! ♥

p.s. Don't you just love this little pig? I got him in Seattle and I just adore his happy little face! I'm tempted to name him, but I'm not quite sure what just yet...suggestions?

turn the radio up: party poison

2011-08-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy this week that's I've hardly had the time to scratch my own ass let alone blog about it. I literally have something planned every day this week (with, hopefully, the exception of friday). I'm so bloody tired! Therefore please understand if posting is scarce this week. I could definitely use an energy boost and songs like this definitely get me amped. I like to listen to it first thing in the morning on the way to work to put me in a upbeat mood, even if I'm just going to end up sitting at a desk for 7 1/2 hours. Enjoy! (p.s. don't fret if the music bar below the photo disappears, just hover your mouse over it and it will come back!)

My Chemical Romance
Party Poison

2011-08-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

[♥] Finding fun new ways to style my hair (p.s. mama needs to get her eyebrows waxed stat!)

[♥] This shirt. I ABSOLUTELY need it. In fact I think we should all get one. Blogger pub crawl maybe?
[♥] This adorable pillow. It took me quite a while to find out who made it and where I could buy it. Now I just need to convince myself to shell out $45 for it.
[♥] Geronimo balloons! These are so fun and would be a great idea for a photoshoot/photobooth backdrop! I kind of want to try this myself...
[♥] Expecting mommies! I happen to have quite a few friends expecting right now and even though it still isn't something I want for myself, I love seeing how cute they've become with their glowing faces and growing tummies. Isn't Ashley adorable?!
[♥] These super cute diy envelopes by Hello Sandwich. I just wish I lived in Japan so I could attend the workshop! I think I could still give this a try though...

[♥] Being crafty again
[♥] Taking my parents out to lunch because they deserve it
[♥] Finding new cupcake recipes
[♥] Buying more fruit and less junk at the grocery store (even if I'd really rather have the junk food)
[♥] How nice fellow bloggers are. You guys are so nice to me just because. I hope I can repay the favor to all of you!

tea for two

2011-07-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

When the boy and I went on a weekend trip to San Fransisco there was one place I absolutely had to visit, but I was unsure the boy would comply as it was something completely girly. Luckily he was quite understanding (and thirsty) and allowed me to drag him to Crown & Crumpet. Located in Ghirardelli Square, Crown & Crumpet is an adorable tea room that makes the tea parties I had as a little girl pale in comparison. They also have a small side shop where you can buy the prettiest teacups, teapots and dessert stands.

I absolutely must come back here with just the girls so that we can dress up and have tea like sophisticated ladies ;)

nerding out: is that a wand in your pocket?

2011-07-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, the final installment of the Harry Potter series.

It was moving and I'll be honest I cried. The little girl sitting next to me openly weeping did not help. I'm a little sad it's all over. I liked looking forward to a new HP movie practically every year and now there will be nothing. Oh well I guess there's always Pottermore....

and luckily my crush Daniel Radcliffe is keeping himself busy making scary movies (my two favorite things crammed together!)

...and I could probably keep myself busy in the kitchen making these delish Butterbeer Cupcakes...

You know, I think I'll be all right.

P.s. Team Ravenclaw for life bitches!

blog news: 07/26/11

2011-07-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Just a few blog related things I would like to announce to you guys that are neither stupendous nor groundbreaking, but hell it's important to me so it's worth mentioning:

After much deliberation I did something I swore I would never do (bad Iris, bad!), I signed up for a Twitter account. Initially I was against it as I figured how many social networking websites do I need?, but after thinking about it this will not only be a another way I can keep in touch but I can also keep people updated on things happening with the blog (new posts, giveaways, etc.) that for personal reasons I've decided not to do via Facebook (see adorable grandmother and jesus loving cousins who aren't too keen on my occasional swearing and "sinful" lifestyle). Wait, my grandma doesn't have a Twitter account does she?! Ah well, let's be friends!

Remember how I told you about my aha moment? I decided to create a blog completely dedicated to my baking: i-zilla bakes. It will be an online portfolio documenting my progress, not only for myself but for future potential clients can see what I can do. It will also be a place to pen my successes, failures and thoughts as I try to get one step closure to achieving my dream. I will try to update as much as possible and in the beginning you may see a lot of baking projects already featured here, but as I said, I have a portfolio to build and I love seeing how far I've come since my early baking days! I hope you'll follow and support me!

After a lot of thought I've decided that I going to not only start sponsoring other blogs, but accepting sponsors here at i-zilla the terrible. I had to ponder over this for a long time (I know that seems silly) to decide if it was something that was right for me. I probably won't start until September and I promise you it won't be pricey (hell I'll probably make the first month free). I like being able to support blogs that I love and accepting sponsors will definitely help me be able to hold more giveaways because frankly I can't help it, I love giving you guys free shit.

- ♥ -

So that's all for now. I hope you're as excited as I am about all the new things happening here as I am. I'd also like to thank you guys for all the love and support I received on my last post. I can't tell you how many times I considered not posting it, but I'm glad I did. It feels good to get things out and not be ashamed of things you can't always control. You guys are the cat's pajamas!

let's be honest....

2011-07-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been reading some inspiring blog posts about essentially being comfortable in your own skin and embracing your uniqueness and personal style. This particular subject has always struck a cord with me because it's something that I have struggled with for years. I briefly alluded to it in a previous post but, if you'll bare with me I will like to share a bit more. Forgive me for the inevitable length, I'll try to be as concise as possible.

Since a very young age I always felt out of place. I attended predominantly white schools and the majority of my friends were white. Once in elementary school a girl asked me why I didn't look like anyone else (as there was only one other black student in the class and he was a boy) and I honestly had no answer for her. Not only that, but it became very apparent at that moment how much I stood out. The growth spurt in the 6th grade that made me the tallest person in class didn't help either, but I digress. Because I couldn't find anyone to identify with I began to feel like there was something wrong with me.

As I got older I struggled with my identity even further. I realized that I did not look like other black girls. I did not dress like them. I did not talk like them. I didn't fit a stereotype and people could not wait to point this out. I would have black girls I didn't know glare at me, give me dirty looks. A girl once approached me in junior high, not having ever taken the chance to truly know me, and with much disdain in her voice told me I didn't act very black. I was speechless. In high school I had people ask me why my parents named me Iris (as opposed to a ghetto name) or whether my parents were really black (because someone who acts as "white" as me couldn't have possibly been raised by black parents). I got called an oreo, whitewashed, even a conformist. As teenager trying to develop her identity, as we all do at this age, these questions made me feel even more out of place. If I'm not black then who am I?

I also struggled with my self esteem heavily. Boys wanted nothing to do with me. I had plenty of male friends. They were nice to me, we joked, we laughed, we passed notes during class, but no one actually wanted to be seen holding my hand. I never got asked to dances and the one boy I asked avoided answeing me until the dance had passed. I was one of the guys. I was the girl you asked for advice about other girls. I looked at the girls boys fawned over. I didn't look like them. I could never look like them. My skin wasn't going to get any lighter. My hair wasn't going to get any straighter. Damn these glasses. Breasts? Couldn't have told you what those were because I didn't have them (yet). I felt ugly.

I became sad, very sad. Sad enough to worry my mother into taking me reluctantly to a doctor. I was depressed, but not their definition of depressed. I didn't have unexplainable chemical imbalance. He asked me cookie cutter questions that didn't even remotely address any of the personal things I was going through. I left feeling worse than ever.

I tried everything to fit in somewhere. I tried being the rapper girl, the rocker chick, the scene kid, the anime geek and the girly girl, but nothing felt right. It didn't feel right because I wasn't being myself. But I was so afraid to be myself, terrified in fact. When I was myself people judged me. When I was myself I got mean looks and puzzled looks and rude comments (even if that wasn't their initial intention). I would not get the courage to even try to do so until my early twenties. I began meeting a lot of new people within a short period of time and having the time of my life. Even though it was one of the most over-dramatic times of my life I finally felt good in my own skin because I was around people who liked me as Iris and as long as I stuck to that (and chipped in $5 toward a bottle of Absolut) we could all be friends.

I'd like to think that a simple change of scenery and a social circle helped me accept myself, but it wasn't that easy. I had to tell myself every day that I was good enough, smart enough and that doggonit people liked me. I had to tell myself it was ok to embrace my personal interests. I had to tell myself "it's ok to wear that if YOU like it" and not give a fuck what anyone else had to say about it. I had to recognize my own awesomeness.

Now I'm 27 and I don't want to be anyone else but me. Once in a while I have my days. I get jealous. I feel defeated. I don't feel pretty. But those feelings don't last long and are few and far between. I'm 27 years young with an amazing family, beautiful, talented friends, a boy who I'm kind of crazy about, a job that pays the bills and buys the shoes and so many fun goals to work toward. I'm lucky. I'm grateful. I'm happy.

So I urge all you ladies out there to embrace being yourself and don't ever question how unique, amazing and beautiful you are. It sounds sappy but as someone who at one point would have given anything to be in any body but her own, I cannot describe how life changing it is to no longer feel that way.

oh the places we will go: san fransisco

2011-07-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the boy and I went on an impromptu weekend getaway to San Fransisco. A friend of his from England that he hasn't seen in a while was going to be passing through the city and we've been talking about a weekend trip in SF for a while so we figured we'd kill two birds with one stone. We drove up Friday evening and awoke Saturday morning ready for an entire weekend of fun.

Every proper adventure should start with a good breakfast which in my case means cupcakes. Coincidentally our hotel was across the street from the hotel I stayed at when I attended Renegade and that meant Kara's Cupcakes was nearby. The perfect blend of delicious moist cake with flavorful frosting (that's not too sweet) makes my tummy happy. I also found new love in their coconut cupcakes. I'm still dreaming about it.

Off to the California Academy of Sciences! The tickets are a bit pricey but totally worth every cent. It's hard to choose my favorite part. There's the three-story dome within which they've recreated a rainforest. It's warm, sunny and butterflies flutter right in front of your face.

When you get to the top the elevator takes you down to the aquarium. The fish are so cute! I even think the jellyfish are cute. They have a wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling tank full of countless fish. I could stare at it for hours. It's so peaceful. We reluctantly move on to the rest of the museum. We soak up every little bit of information we can. We learn about a boa constrictor named Lemondrop and the difference between a turtle and a tortoise. I'm so glad we came. The best part? The serve cocktails on Thursday nights. Yes please!

Across from the academy is a Japanese tea garden. It's absolutely gorgeous. What a lovely place to just sit and enjoy the view. Unfortunately we can't stay too long because we have a lot of places we want to visit including Mission Street (where I have my very first street vendor hotdog and live to tell about it), Chinatown (where I have to stop myself from buying numerous adorable coffee cups with bunnies on them) and Crown & Crumpet (where I talk myself out of $70 dessert stands and cry a little on the inside).

We return to the hotel for a quick nap then make our way to the BBQ place for a late night dinner which we take back to our room. We feast on fattening junk food and beer and watch the Food Network on television. I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Sunday is a little more relaxed. We visit Pier 39. The views are beautiful, but the winds are a bit high so I get a nice touristy hat to keep my hair in place. There's only a few sea lions left as the rest have migrated. We walk from one end of the pier to the other before heading to Japantown to meet the boy's friend.

While we wait for her to arrive we visit all the little shops. He's very patient with me as I slowly and carefully peruse every kawaii pencil, notebook, keychain and roll of washi tape. I cave and buy a few things...ok a lot of things. We meet up with his friend who is terribly sweet and just plain adorable. We all chat over big bowls of ramen and tour the Japan Center a bit more before we say our goodbyes. The boy and I deem it a successful weekend and head home ourselves. We're both exhausted but agree that we've never had more fun.

Have you ever been to San Fransisco? What are your favorite places to visit?

i spy with my little eye...

2011-07-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

...something big and sparkly.

I couldn't help but fall madly in love with this empress tiara from ban.do. Yes I realize it's part of their bridal collection and I'm not getting married any time soon, but I don't see why I can't enjoy it in my everyday life: getting the mail, doing laundry, making photocopies at work, etc. (and you better believe I would wear the shit out of this on my birthday). Pair it with their gold mini heart and I would have enough sparkly to last me a lifetime!

...................................................................................
sequin clip art from pugly pixel

i heart sf

2011-07-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

I just had the most fantastic weekend in San Fransisco. I feel exhausted yet rejuvenated at the same time. It definitely helped me relax and clear my brain of all the things that were bothering me. I've never crammed so many activities into a single weekend before. It was a good thing I wore comfortable shoes! I'll share more later I promise. I hope you all had an equally fab weekend. Do anything fun?

technical difficulties

2011-07-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a little flustered and frustrated with myself and with this blog at the moment. If I keep staring at this blog I'm going to keep fussing over it until I drive myself completely crazy. So I'm going to take a little break. See you Monday! ♥

and the winner is...

2011-07-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Alycia. I will be emailing you for your contact information. Thank you to everyone who entered and a special thanks to BAGGU for making this possible!

my aha! moment

2011-07-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

If you've ever watched Oprah or read her magazine then you may know a bit about what's known as an "Aha! Moment". Basically it's an moment/event in your life where the light bulb in your head clicks on, you gain some perspective, you realize what's important and what you should be doing to make yourself happy and put yourself on the right track.

If you've read this blog long enough then you know about my dream. I've spent so much time not knowing what I wanted to do with my life and it's been refreshing to finally have a direction to go in that would not only make me sublimely happy, but one that so many support me going in as well.

Recently, I was asked by my friends Liz and Ashlee to bake for their annual Stitch Swap event and I couldn't have been happier to accept. I haven't done any "gigs" in a while and not only did I want to get back into the grove of baking, but finally I would have a chance to have complete creative freedom to bake whatever the hell I wanted. So I baked my little heart out and took them to the swap. I was pleasantly surprised not only by how fast people gobbled them up but the good reception they received. Ashlee even stopped me to introduce me to some lovely ladies who wanted to tell me how much they enjoyed my cupcakes. I was humbled and appreciative as anyone knows I am my biggest critique.

Then the photos from the swap were released and when I saw this photo of my cupcakes I had my Aha! Moment:

I couldn't stop staring at this photo. The cupcakes looked beautiful. They looked professional. They looked like someone with actual experience made them. For a moment I no longer felt like some girl who bakes for fun and plays around with flour, icing and piping bags in her kitchen.

I know it seems silly to get all worked up over a mini chocolate cupcake shot with a fancy camera, but seeing it in this way lets me know this is the path I'm supposed to be on. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm supposed to bake and frost and cover everything with sprinkles and gold luster dust. I'm supposed to make people smile one cupcake at a time.

Because of this the gears in my head are already turning. I'm already working on a few little projects that I can't wait to share with you. I also can't wait to get back into the kitchen and keep practicing.

P.s. I need to get me one the them fancy cameras, because dammit my cupcakes look good.

2011-07-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

[♥] My newest accessories. Can you believe the striped ones were only 75 cents a piece? I had to stop myself from buying tons!

[♥] This yellow polka dot cup cozy. If I drank coffee regularly (or at all for that matter) this would definitely be coming home with me!
[♥] Ashlee's post on decluttering her life. As I sit here staring at a messy cluttered desk in a messy cluttered room I think I need to take a cue from her and declutter as well!
[♥] These amazing pictures Katie took of barbie dolls. Love them!
[♥] These adorable red pants. I love how they're paired with a teal belt. Super cute!
[♥] This site makes me appreciate the dates I went on that didn't end in me getting drunkenly puked on, sexually harassed, yelled at/threatened, possibly murdered or getting walked out on while I went to the bathroom.

[♥] Sleeping in my own bed.
[♥] New followers. Hello!
[♥] Thinking about the future of this blog and possible new related projects I want to take on.
[♥] When the shows I watch have a happy ending.

What are you currently loving?

how to: pretty up a boring braid

2011-07-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

After seeing Katie's Summer Hair DIY post I was absolutely smitten with the idea of adding lace to my hair as a pretty feminine accent. It inspired me to do my own take on it by using lace to jazz up a simple braid. It's really easy!

[STEP ONE] Get a strip of lace. Mine was about 2 inches wide and 18 inches long. Lace is super easy to buy in strips at any fabric store. Or in my case, from an old top I was no longer wearing.

[STEP TWO] Using a clip or bobby pin, pin the lace under a small portion of your hair (enough to hide where you pinned it when you let your hair down).

[STEP THREE] Start braiding the lace into your hair. When you get toward the bottom separate the lace out from your hair and wrap it around the braid a few times (depending on how much lace you want remaining)

[STEP FOUR] Using your fingers create a small loop around the braid with the remaining lace. Take the end of the lace and bring it around and through the loop like you're tying a knot.

This knot will secure your braid but if you're still worried about it coming loose you can secure it with a hair tie prior to the last part of STEP THREE and then proceed as directed using the lace to cover up the hair tie.

You're all done and now you've got a cute new way to style your hair with little effort! Let me know if you try it! Happy good hair day!

oh baby!

2011-07-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Let's not forget the real reason I went to Seattle. While it was great to see the sites, shop a little too much and eat some amazing food, the reason we packed our bags and jumped on a plane in the first place was to meet another new member of our family. My middle sister had her first baby and I couldn't wait to meet my little nephew Archie and kiss those little cheeks!

He also got to meet his cousin Isabella for the first time. When they weren't accidentally smacking each other, poking each other and stealing each other's binkies I think they got along quite well. Our favorite pass time became laying them next to each other while they napped and taking a million adorable pictures of them which they will probably hate us for when they're teenagers.

I just love him to death! He's so adorable and makes the cutest little sounds, even when he's being fussy. It's funny looking at him and imagining that I was that small once. Dang my sisters make some pretty babies!

oh the places we will go: seattle

2011-07-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Did you miss me? Spending a week in Seattle was absolutely splendid and I got to experience so many wonderful things:

I met my adorable nephew (more on him soon)
I enjoyed gorgeous views from my sister's adorable little beach house
We visited her hubby's record store, Easy Street Records

I ate giant cupcakes and snagged the cutest cupcake shirt
I tried honey lavender ice cream and fell in love at first bite
I soaked up the sun and read magazines on the deck

We went to an art museum and got inspired
We went shopping and spent too much and didn't care
We met a lot of my sister's lovely friends, and even more babies

We had lunch overlooking the water
We ordered our own desserts and then ate off each other's plates
We laughed a lot and shared stories and even cried a little when we had to say goodbye

Seattle was amazing and it felt good to create some new memories, but it's also good to be home and getting back to my regular schedule. That being said, I can't wait to go back for round three!

P.s. A quick thank you to my lovely blogsitters who watched over the place last week. I loved all your posts! You girls are the best!

giveaway time!

2011-07-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm so exciting about this giveaway because you guys are getting something good. Something I want badly and I don't even have yet!

When I contacted BAGGU about their super cute bags and my interest in purchasing a gift certificate to give away to one of my readers they decided to do one better and donate one for free! How amazing are they?! Founded in 2007, BAGGU makes simple, high quality bags in many bright colors. They’re durable and fill many uses so you can own less stuff!

So without further delay let's see what you're all playing for:

This adorable Sea Stripe Daypack!

The Daypack is a lightweight and strong backpack that folds into its own pocket for travel or storage. It has adjustable straps, an inner drawstring closure, and an outer snap and buckle. Made from 100% Ripstop nylon, it is machine washable and comes in a selection of solid colors and stripes.

You want it? Ok well here's how you win it!

Mandatory Rules:
[1] Be a follower
[1] Visit BAGGU and leave me a comment telling me you favorite BAGGU product.
*make sure to include an email address I can reach you at

Additional Entries (leave a separate comment indicating you have done each):
[1] Become friends with BAGGU on their Facebook. Psst! They also hold giveaways periodically via Facebook so it would definitely benefit you to be in "like" with them!
[2] Follow BAGGU on Tumblr.
[3] Reblog about this giveaway (include link to post in your comment)
[4] Tweet about this giveaway (include link to post/twitter in your comment)

AHHH! So many ways to win, I'm so excited!

~~Giveaway ends Sunday July 10th. Good luck!~~
Sorry this giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks for playing!

blogsitting: getting crafty with ashley

2011-06-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Ashley here from Plumeria Avenue, and I thought I'd stop by with a fun summertime DIY to-do list while Iris is on vacation (which I'm jealous of by the way). If you have stopped by my blog before you probably already know how obsessed I am with to-do lists. I mean really really really obsessed, it's actually sort of ridiculous. But this is one of my favorite types of lists to make, and I cannot wait to try a few of these beautiful DIY projects this summer.

{click images for tutorials and source}

Handmade Organic Moisturizer.

Most Beautiful Crocheted Blanket.

A Balloon Mobile.

Rafia Window Curtain.

Tennis Racket Mirrors.

The Prettiest ~~White~~board.

blogsitting: making smoothies with ashlee

2011-06-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hello hello! I’m Ashlee from Where My Heart Resides and when Iris first asked me to do a guest post for her, two words immediately came to mind: sweet tooth. Iris always posts lovely photos of her recipes and cupcake creations—clearly her readers must have major sweet tooths (or, sweet teeth?).

Confession: I’m not a huge cupcake eater. I know. I don’t really like cake either. I KNOW. I am, however, a certified frozen yogurt addict. I basically love anything that resembles froyo and/or ice cream.

Which brings me to: The Best Smoothie Ever. Last summer I became completely obsessed with this little recipe I made up one day. It’s light, refreshing, healthy, and has a caffeine kick (bonus!). Without further ado, the top secret recipe:

Chocolate Banana Coffee Smoothie

2 cups crushed ice

1 cup nonfat milk

1 cup nonfat organic soy vanilla yogurt

1 medium-sized banana

1 tablespoon chocolate muscle milk

1 Starbucks Via instant coffee packet

*Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until blended. Enjoy!

It’s magical. It’s good in the morning. It’s good in the afternoon. It’s good after dinner. It’s just plain good. What’s your favorite smoothie recipe?

blogsitting: getting pretty with ashley

2011-06-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hello, there! My name is Ashley, and I blog over at That is All.

When Iris asked me to guest post, my first thought was to do something with cupcakes since that is what I love to see on I-Zilla. My second thought was that I’m terrible at baking.

So rather than share pathetic cupcake photos, I’m going to show something I’m better at - makeup. :)

Here’s a quick eyeshadow tutorial based on cupcakes.

(photo via I-Zilla the Terrible)

What I’ll be using...

Palladio Herbal Eyeshadow Primer
Clinique High Impact Mascara
Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipgloss in Color of Hope
NYX Blush in Silky Rose
Stila Liquid Eyeliner
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese
Urban Decay Ammo Palette

Let’s get started!

Start by priming your eye with an eyeshadow primer. This will help your colors to be vibrant and last throughout the day and night.

Next, apply some of the jumbo eye pencil on your lid only. Then take some of Polyester Bride (or any shimmery white shadow you have) and apply it to the first half of your lid.

Now we are going to add some color! Apply Shattered (shimmery blue) to the outer half of the lid. By putting down that white pencil first, this blue is really going to stand out and be pretty.

Run Last Call (shimmery plum) through your crease. Take this color as high as your are comfortable with.

An optional step would be to take the black in the palette, Oil Slick, and apply it lightly to the outer corner of your eye. You can even run this color under your eye for a more dramatic look.

Next, apply a black liner to your upper lash line. I prefer liquid because it easily covers all the shimmer on the lid.

Add a little mascara and your done! I kept my cheeks and lips neutral since we have a lot going on around the eyes.

Hope you enjoyed this little cupcake-inspired tutorial!

blogsitting: eating cookies with katrina

2011-06-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, my name is Katrina and Iris asked me to blog-sit today while she's on vacation. So, I bring my entry to Much Love-Anna's weekly series, Much Love Monday:

I ♥ Lemon Heart Cookies Packaging

When I saw these cookies at Trader Joe's last week, I knew I had to buy them. It wasn't because I love Lemon Heart Cookies -- I mean, I've never even seen these cookies before. The motivation for my purchase was package-deep, that is, I wanted to buy the cookies strictly for the packaging. I love the fonts and the colors, not to mention the black and white vintage illustration of the girl and her heart cookies.

So, you might be wondering how the cookies tasted. They were "okay". They weren't bad, but they weren't I-would-totally-buy-this-again-delicious, if you know what I mean. They were "tasty". The cookies were light and crunchy and I think they would make a nice midnight snack.

i'm leavin' on a jet plane...

2011-06-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Monday I'll be heading off to Seattle for a week to meet my new nephew and I couldn't be more excited! The last time I was in Seattle was for my sister's wedding, but we were all so busy planning and preparing for the big day that everything seemed like a blur. Hopefully this next week will be a little more low key and we'll have plenty of time to relax and I can see what Seattle is really like! Even though it'll be a tough being away from my blog for a whole week (this thing is like a baby to me) and I know you'll miss me (haha) I've got some lovely ladies who will be keeping an eye on this place while I'm away so I'm not too worried. In addition, I've got something special for you all the week after, but I refuse to giveaway the surprise until then. You'll just have to wait and see!

Bye for now! Muah!

...................................................................................
photo: squishiesquidd

happy mail: razzle dazzle

2011-06-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

When my blog buddy Katrina contacted me a little while ago and asked if I wanted some of her vintage sequins I think I said something along the lines of "HELL YES" and told her to send them my way! This isn't the first piece of happy mail I've received from Katrina and I will say this: the woman has a way with packaging! I always love seeing the little extra touches she adds to her packages and the colorful tissue paper confetti that spilled out of the envelope put a smile on my face. I definitely want to use some of these gorgeous sequins to embellish some clothes and accessories. Thank you Katrina!

who doesn't love a little sparkle?

2011-06-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

One of the goals I wanted to accomplish this month was getting a much needed manicure, but I've been so busy and have had plans every single weekend that it doesn't look like that's going to happen, especially before I leave for Seattle. I still wanted to do something fun with my nails so I gave myself a quick little mani at home with my most recent polish purchases.

I don't know why I haven't purchased Essie polish before. I love it! I had to stop myself at only buying three colors.

Essie in Master Plan // Merino Cool // Watermelon

I also found this amazing glitter polish at Urban Outfitters that I just had to get. While it looks black in the bottle it's more clear with a black tint so I would definitely suggest doing a coat of black polish first.

UO in Black Glitter // Color Club in Black // Essie in Master Plan // Essie in Merino Cool

I love doing different color combinations on my nails and I really like this particular set (the weirder the better). I think I just love all these colors in general. I know you're supposed to wear bright fun colors during the summer, but I never follow those sort of trends. I have to go where my mood takes me!

oh the places we will go: berkeley

2011-06-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

The boyfriend and I have been wanting to get a way for a few days, but we've both been so busy with school and work and each of us going on separate vacations at the end of this month that there hasn't been any time! Nevertheless we still wanted a chance to get out of town this month and a he suggested a day trip to Berkeley. Neither of us had been so I was all for it.

We started off at the University of California Botanical Garden. It was absolutely lovely. With a myriad of trails, beautiful flowers, ponds and waterfalls it was a great way to start off the day. They even had plants for sale and believe me I was tempted. I really feel like I want to give plant care another try and honestly an adorable little cactus puts a smile on my face.

For lunch we went to this amazing little place called Ann's Kitchen. At first glance it doesn't appear to be anything special and I figured the food would be average, just a place to fuel up before heading to the next location. I couldn't have been more wrong when I received my turkey burger with a side of "home fries". Not only was the turkey burger juicy and delicious but the hash brown style potatoes were the perfect addition. I don't think I have to tell you I cleaned by plate and left very happy. The only downside, if that sort of thing bothers you, is it's very Do-It-Yourself. You seat yourself, pick up your own food and even have to bust your own table. For me it's worth it for the potatoes alone.

After lunch and a little bit of shopping in the area we headed off to Tilden Regional Park. What was meant to be a quiet little nature walk turned into a total hike which we didn't realize we were on until we were too far to turn back. We trudged on and even though it took us a while to get back to the car, the hike was fun and provided a lot of great views. We only had enough time for the hike, but I definitely want to go back to check out the garden, the merry-go-round and the steam train!

It was the perfect little day trip / date. I can't wait to see what other adventures we can go on!

the good, the bad and the ugly

2011-06-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

THE GOOD // Saturday's Stitch Swap was a lot of fun. I got to see a lot of my favorite ladies, the food was excellent and I managed to snag a totally cute vintage skirt and nerdy argyle sweater vest. At these swaps I'm more interested in getting rid of my clothes then bringing some home, but it's always nice to walk away with a cute item or two. My cupcakes came out really well and I was so happy with the finished product. The ladies gobbled them all up and I got a lot of good feedback! Note to self: get some business cards!

THE BAD // I went to move my car during the swap, but apparently I wasn't fast enough because I got a parking ticket! Boo! Oh well, such is life.

THE UGLY // After the swap was over I was walking back to my car with all my stuff, including my 3-tier dessert stand. I was almost there when the handle screwed off and the stand went crashing to the ground. I just bought that thing! When it hit the ground and broke, pieces flew all over the place and cut the back of my leg in two places sending blood down my leg and onto my glittery flats! Luckily, it's not super noticeable and hopefully I can get the stain out. A nice family walking by helped me pick up the broken pieces. I was a tad bummed but honestly I was in such a good mood about the day as a whole that it actually didn't bother me as much as it should have. Plus I bought the stand at Target so I'll just buy another one (and super glue it so it never comes apart again!).

How was your weekend?

are you from sacramento?

2011-06-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

If you are then I urge to to come stop by the Stitch Swap this Saturday!

It's going to be a lot of fun and I'll be there (with tons of clothes for the swapping) with yummy goodies to give you that much needed sugar rush so you have enough energy to snag some gently used/loved items to replenish your summer wardrobe!

Liz and Ashlee have worked really hard so please come show some love. Did I mention proceeds from the event will support a good cause? Come on people!

With that said I'll be signing off for the rest of this week. I've got lots of prep to do today and tomorrow to have lots of pretty cupcakes ready by Saturday. I'm so excited!

like omg totally bffs forever

2011-06-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

After seeing this DIY on friendship braclets I totally want to make some for summer. I used to make TONS of them in elementary school. It was all the rage amongst the girls and I like that they're making a comeback. I've got lots of embroidery thread collecting dust in my craft box and I feel like it's been forever since I've made something. They've also got a crazy cool DIY braided hex nut bracelet tutorial that I would love to try.

So...like...wanna be friends?

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photo // Honestly...WTF

2011-06-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

[♥] These gorgeous housewares by Anna Pernilla...

[♥] This cute photoshoot shot by Kristen featuring her adorable sister. Um can I have that dress please?
[♥] Katrina showing off her best "bitchface" inspired by this Kris Atomic print
[♥] Signing up for the photo swap over at For The Easily Distracted. I missed it last time and I'm so glad I get to join in on the fun this time around!
[♥] Everything in Keiko Lynn's closet, but especially this outfit
[♥] This DIY turban headscarf tutorial. It looks easy enough for me to actually accomplish!

[♥] Taking breaks and refocusing on what's important
[♥] Playing dress up in my closet
[♥] Mini adventures with the boyfriend. It feels great to get out of town, even if it's just for a day
[♥] All the love and support I receive from my fellow bloggers. You ladies never cease to amaze me!

What are you currently loving?

let's be honest....

2011-06-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

I really feel like I've been phoning it in with this blog lately. I feel like I've lost my steam. I love this blog, but I feel like I haven't been able to devote the effort I would like to. I have all these ideas but my execution is sloppy. Then I sit there and realize this...

Why am I coming up with ideas for my blog? It's my blog, aren't I supposed to just be chronicling my life? Why should I be putting all this extra effort into something that should be so simple? Every time I try and make a big production out of this blog I'm not happy with it. I make a layout, I hate it immediately. I try to do a new feature. I hate it immediately. I feel like I'm trying too hard to be something my readers would like rather than just be myself.

I would love to have an interesting post every day, but let's be honest...Monday through Friday I go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch or read something and go to sleep and nothing interesting ever happens.

I would love to follow/read every blog on the planet, but let's be honest...my work has very strict rules on internet usage, even during lunch breaks. As much as I'd love to I can't read or comment on blogs during the day. I try my best to catch up when I come home, but I'm tired and my brain is gone. My weekends are almost always booked up now so I can't even catch up then. I read a lot more than I comment and I feel like a jerk for it.

I would love to have this amazing, more adult blog about my fascinating life, but let's be honest...I'm a single girl, in a new relationship that I'm not comfortable fully disclosing yet. I'm not married, I have no children or pets so I can't really blog about that. I'm not mature enough for a more sophisticated blog as I still giggle whenever someone says "wiener". I don't travel as much as I would like and while I would love to one day tackle the arena of fashion blogging I still feel really weird asking people to take pictures of me.

I realize this is a long rant about my insecurities with this blog, but it's been on my mind. I don't intend to stop blogging any time soon, but I think I'll enjoy it more if I just stop worrying so much.

something sweet: you can call me flower if you want to

2011-06-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

I didn't make this cake. I wish I could say that I did. My sister is truly amazing. She made this for my niece's party and I'll be honest...I ate two slices on top of the delicious handmade lemon tarts she made. Seriously if you need yummy goodies at your next event and you're located in Sacramento by all means look her up.

Once she learns how to work a piping bag I'm toast...

this month...

2011-06-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

This month I will...

make those Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies

EXERCISE, because lord knows I need it

bake some goodies and clean out my closet for a good cause

get that much needed manicure

get my unruly eyebrows waxed

fly to Seattle to meet my new nephew (so excited!)

What's on your to-do list for June?

♥

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pattern: gondoliers pattern 2 from colour lovers

motivation

2011-06-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

I will wear you

Without a tank top

And feel comfortable

I don't know how long it will take, but I really would like to make this happen.

I also took an instax polaroid of said bikinis to take to work (where I do most of my damage) so that the next time I think "yes I totally need a cookie from Cookie Connection" or "yes I will totally snag a large slice of cake my co-worker made" perhaps I can look at my motivation and pass. While I have no intention of starving myself I also recognize that this past month I have been eating horrible (but delicious) things in excess with absolutely no exercise. I don't even think I knew what a fruit or vegetable was. I feel yucky and frankly something needs to change. I will wear a bikini dammit!

beauty review: i'm not a lush

2011-06-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, well I am a bit of a lush but this time around I'm referring to cosmetics, not cosmos. There was a time when everyone and their mother was raving about Lush Cosmetics. The products seemed positively lovely so I decided to give it a go. I bought a cleanser, a moisturizer and a toner.

They smelled great and felt good going onto my skin. However it wasn't long before I noticed that my face didn't feel very clean. After using the cleanser it felt like there was a layer of "stuff" left behind and the toner wasn't alleviating the situation at all. Then my face started to break out. The cleanser was definitely clogging my pores and my poor face was protesting. It wasn't severe by any means, but cleansers are supposed to clean, not give me pimples. In the end the only thing I would buy again is the toner as it was gentle and refreshing and made my skin nice and soft.

Sadly I had to come to the realization that Lush cosmetics simply aren't for me...well at least not for my face. I haven't completely given up on Lush, however, and once I actually have a bathtub I would love to try their delish bath bombs or test out their conditioners.

Are you a lush?

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photo: we heart it
labels: pugly pixel
stationary textures: pugly pixel
fonts: bebas // jane austen

the perfect weekend

2011-05-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Memorial Day I got a much needed 4 day weekend. It was amazing. The perfect blend of fun and rest and relaxation (and I even managed to get some chores/work done too!). The boy and I hadn't seen each other all week, so it was a nice way to play catch up.

Friday // I got off work early and coincidentally the boy got out of class early as well. He had a really fun date planned. We headed off to dinner at Sandra Dee's, a very yummy southern food restaurant, and then to see An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein. Most people know him as the author of beloved children's books as A Light In The Attic and Where The Sidewalk Ends but he also did a lot of work for a more mature audience, including pieces for Playboy. It was so much fun. The actors were great and the skits were really funny. It was really neat to see a different side of Shel Silverstein.

Saturday // The boy discovered that the Sacramento County Fair was currently underway so we decided to be spontaneous and go. I had no idea we even had a Sacramento County Fair as I've always gone to the California State Fair at the end of the summer so I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely didn't compare to the state fair, but it was still a lot of fun. We got in some fun rides and delicious fair food, although they didn't have any wacky fried concoctions, boo!

Sunday // My sister threw an official welcome-to-the-world party for my baby niece Isabella. Way too much good food, good friends and lots of laughs. I had so many sweets I thought it was going to burst. My little Izzy was so cute and everyone just loved her! It was a perfect sunny day for everyone to get together.

Monday // Definitely a chill day. We had breakfast at Fox & Goose. I had my first Bloody Mary. I was a little hesitant as vodka for breakfast never seems like a good idea, but it's actually quite delicious. The rest of the day was pretty low key: hanging around the house, a quick trip to the antique store and grocery shopping. I spent the rest of the evening in my pajamas streaming Netflix and getting a little work done.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

How was your weekend?

style muse: brittany pierce / heather morris

2011-05-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a little bit of a Gleek. If you don't know what it means to be a Gleek you're seriously missing out because Glee is a super fun show and one of my favorites. One of the aspects of the show I love the most is seeing all the styles the characters wear week to week.

My favorite Glee fashionista has definitely got to be the character Brittany Pierce played by Heather Morris. Brittany's style is very playful, unique and she's definitely not afraid to take chances with her style whether it's adding a funky hat or knee high socks. I want and would definitely wear 90% of her wardrobe on the show. If I ever get my hands on that pink ruffle bolero I'm never letting go. Plus, according to my best friend, Brittany is totally my spirit animal so I think that means I'm destined to have all her clothes.

Are there any television characters whose style inspires you?

currently loving...

2011-05-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

No. 1 // These Natural World Dessert Plates from Anthropologie. Every time I go there I look at these plates and sigh quietly to myself over the fact that they're not coming home with me. They're even prettier in person. I want every single one of them!

No. 2 // Cath Kidston masking tape? Yes please! The floral is obviously my favorite but the mint green polka dot is coming in a close second!

No. 3 // Mandi's Wear it Four Ways post over at A Beautiful Mess. I absolutely love her Modest Chic outfit. I have a similar top so you better believe I'm going to try and recreate this adorable look!

What are you currently loving?

picture day

2011-05-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

Subject: All the small things
Location: Inside a little plastic container of happiness

This is going to sound silly, but buying sprinkles makes me happy. I love seeing shelves of them like a pretty little sugary rainbow all lined up row after row. A while ago I was finally able to restock my personal stash of my favorite sprinkles (sparkling sugar being a close second). They're just so fun and colorful and add a little something extra to any plain old cupcake. I know I sound crazy raving over sprinkles, but I really can find happiness over the little things in life...literally.

P.s. I think my grumpy cloud is lifting. I'm definitely feeling a lot better. Thank you for your positive vibes ladies!

cranky-pissy-poopy-pants

2011-05-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

That's what my sister calls my nephew when he's in a bad mood or throwing one of his tantrums and sadly to say, sans tantrum of course, that's how I've been feeling all month. Everything has got me stressing and I feel like I can't seem to do anything right or to my personal high standards (I'm my biggest critic). My normal M.O. is to go shopping for clothes I don't need and buy tons of comfort food that I definitely don't need. Unfortunately my wallet isn't in a position to comply at the moment so I did what any girl would do when you're down in the dumps with your back up against the wall....break out your mini donut maker.

Ok so maybe that's not what ever girl does but since I was so graciously given one as a Christmas present I decided to finally bust it out for some much needed sugar therapy. Small, sweet, delicious and just what I needed to take my mind off everything. I tried to do a chocolate glaze for donuts but it went horribly wrong, so I used candy melts instead. I also used the basic donut recipe that came with the appliance, but to be honest I wasn't really feeling it so I think next time I'll just use a cake recipe.

What quick fix do you use to feel better when you're being a cranky-pissy-poopy-pants?

wear it out: strawberry fields

2011-05-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of dresses. More than I ever thought a former tomboy like myself could own. I didn't need another dress, at least that's what I told myself and I wasn't even looking to buy any more clothes in general but this dress totally caught my eye. How could I not get it? I mean come on, who doesn't love strawberries? I paired it with this ruffled tank that I've had for years but for some reason have never really worn yet could never part with it. I'm glad I kept it.

♥

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Ruffle tank: Gap

Oxfords: Forever 21

something sweet: mother's day treat

2011-05-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

My mother is amazing and very giving and generous. She just wants everyone to be happy. Part of how she takes care of us is cooking big delicious meals every time our family gets together. Mother's day was no exception, even though the day is supposed to be all about her sitting back, relaxing and not lifting a finger. I contributed to the Mother's Day feast the only way I know how: dessert. I normally don't make cakes, but I wanted to get back into the habit. I can't just make cupcakes forever (ok that's a lie, I totally could). The best part? The colorful surprise inside as you cut your first slice.

something savory: best sandwiches 2011

2011-05-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Synopsis: Sactown Magazine publishes an article about Sacramento's best sandwiches of 2011 in their February/March issue. Being lovers of a good sandwich, the boy and I make it our mission to try them all. Gluttony ensues.

The Corner bird is...grilled chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried onion, ranch dressing and pepper jack cheese between two sliced of toasted bread. It'll cost you $9.50.

Pros...A new take on the club sandwich. The chicken is juicy and flavorful, the bacon is thick (which will always sway my vote) and the addition of fried onion (think awesome blossom) is a yummy extra touch. The fries were hearty and delicious. Paired with a nice cold beer, this was an excellent dinner.

Cons...It could have used more bacon, but I say that about everything, even things that didn't originally come with bacon.

Verdict...I would totally eat this again and would absolutely recommend it. Definitely a step up after that first sandwich.

something savory: bruschetta tastes betta

2011-05-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite appetizers is bruschetta. It's simple and simply delicious. The only problem is I'm impatient and I hate waiting at restaurants just to get my hands on it. Last week I decided to make some at home. I can't believe I waited this long. It's so easy to make!

tomatoes

fresh basil, chopped

garlic

olive oil

vinegar

salt & pepper

baguette

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove from burner and place tomatoes in the hot water for 1 minute. Drain and let the tomatoes cool just long enough to easily remove the skin. Dice tomatoes into smaller pieces. Mix with chopped basil and chopped garlic. Add a bit of olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Slice baguette into small pieces. Brush one side with olive oil and place oil-side-down on cookie sheet. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes or until bread is golden brown (*Optional: immediately after removing from oven, rub oiled side of baguette with garlic for extra garlic taste).

Place baguette pieces oil side up top with tomato mixture (do this right before serving to avoid sogginess). Enjoy!

I didn't put exact measurements as I catered to my own desired amount and taste. Some people like more basil than others, some people love garlic more than others. It's up to you!

----------------------------------------------------
*Snazzy tip from my brother-in-law Ian

does not compute

2011-05-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to focus worth a damn at the moment. I have plenty to blog about but the will to do so, to sit here and draft out a post, is completely lost. I'm too distracted, I keep tinkering with other things. I'm like a cat who's easily preoccupied by those blasted laser pens. However I didn't want to leave you completely empty handed so I will lead you to these super cute (and free!) chevron fabric backgrounds from tinysea which I'm sure you crafty/web savvy ladies could find a myriad of uses for! Love them! ♥

it was fun while it lasted

2011-05-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

For a while now my roommate and I have talked about making our own glitter polish using the pretty shimmery glitters from the Martha Stewart Collection. This past weekend I decided to give it a shot using some tinsel glitter I already owned. One coat clear polish, one layer of glitter and a top coat and I was one hand down one to go. Only it was so much of a hassle and I was getting glitter everywhere that I decided to do only one hand and paint the other a solid teal.

It looks really fun, but it was actually sort of irritating to have on my nails. Despite the top coat it was very rough/scratchy and pieces of the tinsel were peeling up looking very messy. By Sunday night I couldn't wait to get it off. Maybe one day I'll try this again, but with regular glitter.

P.s. This little venture also made me realize I need a manicure stat!

this month...

2011-05-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

This month I will...

try and coexist with my allergies

try something fun with my nails (if I don't screw it up I'll post about it)

put lots of lovely things in the mail to go to some very lovely ladies

make some mix cd's for more enjoyable car rides

start planning some cute cupcake ideas for my next baking job

What's on your to-do list for May?

♥

picture day

2011-05-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

Subject: I love it when they get my name right
Location: Starbucks, Downtown Plaza

I love it when they get my name right
When I stand there and clearly say my name
"Iris"
I even give a little emphasis to the "ssssssss"
They smile, nod, repeat my name...
And then I get my cup and it says "Ira"
Which is a total girl's name so I can see how they could get it mixed up

One time I ordered a pizza and when I went to pick it up they had my name as "Iran"
Iran...
I think I'm going to change my name to Susan.

he's got legs and knows how to use them

2011-05-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I also had the pleasure of helping my friend Elise do some volunteer work for the WEAVE Walk A Mile In Her Shoes event. The premise of the event is simple. Men walk a mile literally in women's shoes to raise awareness about sexual assault. We got up bright and early, 5:30am to be exact, to help set up for the event. It was freezing and windy, but once we were there helping out it felt really good. Plus, I assembled my very first balloon arch that looked pretty damn good if I say so myself, even if my fingers hurt and I broke at least three nails in the process.

The best part, seeing all the men in their high heels! You could either rent shoes for the event or bring your own. Some of those guys had really cute shoes and it was almost depressing that they could walk in heels better than I can. Yes I'm bitter!

We had a great time watching friends, family and boyfriends strutting around in their heels. The free mimosas, cakepops and mini red velvet cupcakes didn't hurt either! All the guys were such good sports and you could tell they were having just as much fun as we were watching them. Good job guys!

oh no mofo!

2011-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to the Sacto Mofo mobile food festival here in downtown Sacramento. Ever since reading about the mobile food festival Sandy attended over at Sandy A La Mode I've been dreaming of food trucks ever since. When I found out we were having one here in Sacramento I was overjoyed (and so was my tummy).

I threw on my favorite new maxi dress, grabbed a whole lot of cash and my appetite and headed over. Unfortunately everyone else in Sacramento must have been as excited about it as I was because once we arrived it became apparent how out of control it was going to be. I was expecting the lack of parking (that was a given) but what I wasn't expecting was the lines, at least not in that capacity. The lines seemed to stretch from one end of the park to the other and with no indication of what line went where we just found the end of a line and stood in it.

Two hours of standing in line later the end was in sight, but sadly there was nothing bittersweet about the victory of finally making our way to the front. The Indian style burrito we purchased (as they had run out of everything else on the menu) didn't really satisfy in the least, especially because it was so hot/spicy I could barely taste anything else. By the time we tried to find another food truck to sample wares from everyone was out of food. I left hungry and disappointed.

I think Sacto Mofo has the potential to be really amazing, but they've got a lot of work to do and kinks to work out. A liquor license would have been helpful too...just saying...

something savory: best sandwhiches 2011

2011-04-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Sactown Magazine sure knows how to catch a readers eye and keep it there. On the cover of their February/March issue they displayed a delectable looking egg salad sandwich with the promise of sharing Sacramento's best sandwiches of 2011. You had me at sandwich. Inside they featured numerous versions of heaven slapped between two slices of bread and where you could go to try each one.

That's when the little light bulb in my gluttonous head went off. I was going to try every single one of these sandwiches, go on a little "sandwich tour" of Sacramento if you will. I showed the boy and asked if he would like to join me on this little venture. He almost seemed insulted that I even had to ask. So together we've set off on a little journey to sample some of Sacramento's best sandwiches and I'm taking you with me. Let's start with our first sandwich...

The Classic Reuben

Sam's Hof Brau
2500 Watt Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95821

My first impression as we approached Sam's Hof Brau was "Hmmm...this is it?" The outside looked like a German peep show (or dive bar at best) with it's brick walls and glittering blinking lights. As we stepped inside this low lit restaurant it took us a moment to figure out the protocol. No one comes to seat you, no waitress takes your order. You stand in line, pick your entree of choice and then are ushered down the line with your cafeteria style tray as you pick and choose side dishes, drinks and dessert. Men in white coats and chef's hats hand carve the meat right in front of you. I always like a little showmanship with my meal.

The Classic Reuben consists of corned beef brisket or hot pastrami served on rye bread with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. You can eat it cold or have it grilled panini style. It looked delicious in the picture. It even looked delicious on the plate. Then I started eating it. I realize there's no nice way to say this, but I've never had a sandwich make me nauseous until now. At times I have odd eating habits when it comes to consistency. For instance, sandwiches should never be too mushy/creamy/soft. Between the sauerkraut, the melted Swiss, the resulting soggy bread from all the juice and all the fat still hanging off the pastrami I could barely eat half the sandwich before I said no more. On top of that, the the turkey stuffing I got on the side was totally bland and equally too mushy. The boy, however, loved the Classic Reuben and not only ate his but the rest of mine so I can't necessarily say the sandwich was terrible, it just wasn't the right sandwich for me. Luckily I was able to salvage the evening with a nice big slice of pumpkin pie, but honestly I don't think I'd ever go back to Sam's Hof Brau.

I was a little disheartened that the first sandwich on the "tour" was such a flop, but I will not be deterred and am ready to try more delicious sandwiches! I just hope my waist line is ready too!

the dirty truth

2011-04-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month the ever lovely and very sassy Kristen tagged me as a creative blogger. The rules are to post 10 things about yourself and then tag 10 other creative bloggers. I was a little stuck thinking of what the hell I could possibly put that I haven't already shared and then I started thinking of a conversation I had recently with some friends about blogging. Essentially the conversation was about who you are "in real life" versus you who present yourself to be on your blog and how unfortunately sometimes people get caught up in looking like you have this wonderful life online rather than being honest with yourself and with your readers. I hope to never be guilty of this (if I am please feel free to call me out). So instead of 10 random facts I'm going to post 10 less-than-glamorous truths.

[1] I have a huge crush on Daniel Radcliffe. I realize he's pasty and awkward, but I find him incredibly sexy. Even if he was never Harry Potter and just some nerdy boy who lived next door I would still swoon over him.

[2] I wear extensions. My natural hair comes down a little bit past my chin. I hate having short hair. Hey I paid for it so technically it's still all "my" hair isn't it?

[3] I swear a lot. I do a pretty good job of censoring myself on my blog out of respect for my readers but if you meet me in real life I tend to say some crass things at times, always joking of course. I could never describe myself as classy or ladylike.

[4] At times I am terrified of taking chances, especially when it comes to my dream of running a cupcake shop. I doubt myself a lot. I'm not sure I'm good enough or will ever be good enough. Going after what you truly want is scary. I don't want to fail.

[5] I have stretch marks...on my butt. I got them in the 6th grade after I got my growth spurt. I call it my "zebra ass". Since then I always wear shorts with my bathing suits. Always. I know I should just own it and not care, but I do.

[6] I cried once during an episode of Xena Warrior Princess as well as Hercules (the television series with Kevin Sorbo). I also cried when the turtle died during Kung Fu Panda.

[7] I used to struggle a lot with my self esteem and my identity. Trying to balance who I wanted to be with who I thought I should be and what those around me were telling me I should act like. People couldn't wait to point how "white" I was acting or that I'm "not black" because I wasn't a stereotypical ghetto girl. I felt angry, depressed and ugly. It wasn't until the past couple of years that I've finally learned to be ok with myself, see beauty in myself and realize that it's kind of awesome being Iris.

[8] I purposely coughed in my ex's mouth once while I was super sick. He was mocking me with this obnoxious open mouthed laugh and I saw my opportunity and took it. I don't feel bad about it, in fact I thought it was hilarious.

[9] I have bad road rage. I don't cut people off or try and run them off the road but I curse loudly, and often and I have flipped people off on numerous occasions.

[10] I'm a clean freak when it comes to my desk area at work. Everything has to be in order, in neat labeled piles, perfectly aligned, etc. I have to have a specific type of clicky pen. My highlighters have to be a specific shade of green or I won't use them. Everything in my desktop folders have to be uniformly named...and yet at home my room and bathroom are in complete shambles and I could give a rats ass if it ever gets clean.

So those are my 10 facts. This is the part where I'm supposed to tag 10 bloggers, but you know what I'm not going to. I'm going to break the rules. The people whose blogs I read and the people who read my blog are all some unique creative ladies. I can't pick just 10. So I'll leave this open to everyone. Take some time to be honest and open and yourself on your blog. It's ok. We can't always be fabulous. We can't always be perfect.

P.s. Thank you for your tag Kristen, your 10 facts were equally simply honest. I loved them.

the simplest diy

2011-04-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

I love our little place, but it's small, and the one place where it lacks the most is storage where it counts. I know I have a lot of stuff and not a lot of places to put it so I have to create extra space where I can and I recently took to my walls as an alternative. I love cork boards. They're a neat and simple way to store pictures, notes and inspiration. I've also found they're a good place to hang hats, earrings and necklaces.

I found these cork boards at an office supply store and they came with double-sided adhesive stickers so I was able to literally peel, stick and I was all finished. I don't know if this even deserves to be referred to as a "DIY", but technically I did mount these all by myself so I'll just give myself the smallest little pat on the back.

UPDATE: Liz, to answer your question, these particular cork boards were pretty thin. I would definitely try and get thicker boards because when I did push the pins through I could tell they were hitting the walls (which defeats the purpose if you're trying to avoid damaging the walls in any way). Oh well. I put enough holes in the walls prior to this so what's a few more!

my crappy portrait

2011-04-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this website after seeing a friend's "crappy" portrait on Facebook and after a little bit of lurking I was officially in love. I knew one day I would totally have to get my own crappy portrait and recently decided it was time.

The premise of the website is simple: submit a photo with a brief description and one of their "talented" artists draws their interpretation of said photo which often looks like it was produced by a 3rd grader. Brilliant.

I decided to send in the picture of my best friend Sarah and I from a pub crawl we attended back in October. The results are nothing short of wonderful.

The best part is you can submit photos as many times as you want so you better believe I will be doing this again sometime. I highly suggest you visit Free Crappy Portraits and get one of your own!

triple word scores, oxfords and lots and lots of cake

2011-04-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was such a whirlwind! It went by way to fast and frankly still thinking about it all makes me pooped!

Friday
I went over to the boy's house for a couple's game night with his friend and friend's girlfriend. We played scrabble. It's amazing how competitive boys get...even over Scrabble. It's also funny how much shit talking goes on...even over Scrabble. The boy totally dominated. I on the other hand came in last place the first time and third place the second time (woot! movin' on up!). I don't know why I despised this game so much before. It's actually kind of fun! Now I just need to bulk up my vocabulary and strategy!

Saturday
It was time for the mother daughter shopping trip. I've been excited about this ever since my mother put the idea out there however when she said meet at 9:30 am I almost started to tear up. Does anyone sleep in anymore? After the quickest shower ever I sped (legally of course hehe) to my sister's house and shortly after we were off to the Galleria. Once again I spent a little too much money but what else is new. Those two cute pairs of oxfords weren't going to buy themselves. I had a lot of fun just shopping with the girls. As tired as I was from perusing the mall all day I promised a while ago to go out with some friends that night and didn't want to cancel. I think I would have been better off staying in. Apparently it was "creepy guys who won't leave you alone or take no for an answer" night at every bar we went to. It started to get extremely aggravating. When has being a disgusting loud mouthed blatant creep ever worked for anyone? Yuck. I couldn't wait to get home and go to bed.

Sunday
My sister is totally revamping her catering business and website and as a result was doing a photo shoot to showcase all the awesome new services they will feature. She needed my help so I headed over bright and early to help her set up a mock dessert bar for the shoot. It was really neat to see all the behind the scenes stuff that goes into this sort of thing. As an added bonus we even got to eat all the desserts. You can't let all that yummy cake go to waste can you? I couldn't stay to watch the entire shoot, because frankly I was too exhausted at that point. I came home, ate dinner and passed out by 7:30 like a total old person.

I had a great time, but I'm definitely going to keep it more low key next weekend (fingers crossed). It was nice to spend lot of time with all the people I love most...especially this pretty girl....

What did you do this weekend?

insert title here

2011-04-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

(via)

I apologize for the lack of posting. Normally I like to have a fresh post to start off Monday but my weekend was so jam packed with stuff, and so little of that stuff actually being sleep, that by 7:30 pm yesterday I was out like a light. Even after sleeping that long I woke up this morning still feeling a little out of it. Bleh. Plus I think my allergies are totally kicking my butt. I got so excited for spring that I totally forgot about this part and how much it sucks.

Tomorrow I promise to be back to my old self.

something sweet: my reconciliation with starbucks

2011-04-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I stood in a Starbucks on a early Saturday morning. The sun was shining and the day was full of hope and promise. I stared through the glass display case at the most perfect looking little mini donuts. They had pink frosting with white sprinkles, simply adorable. I was sold. I bought one simply because it was small, adorable and pink. It's a problem I have.

How can something so cute not taste delicious? Easier than you think. It was bland, sort of stale, the frosting was mediocre. I was heartbroken. "I'll never trust you again Starbucks..." I muttered to myself with contempt.

Fast forward to present day and once again I'm faced with a similar dilemma. I'm staring at this adorable and delectable looking red velvet whoopie pie in a Starbucks display case. I want to buy it, but I fear another little pink donut fiasco. I can't help myself, it looks too good to pass up and I've still never had a whoopie pie before. I buy it. I also noticed their cake pops, which I wanted to try as well, but I was already getting the whoopie pie on top of three petite vanilla scones and the cashier was giving me judging "haven't you had enough?" eyes so I decided against it.

I take it home. I stare at it hesitantly wondering if I just wasted my money again. I take a bite. It's pretty darn good. I finish it in two more bites. Starbucks and I are on good terms again. Now let me at those cake pops!

Summer lovin' happened so fast

2011-04-13T06:30:00.001-07:00

The lovely Summer over at Athena In The Middle was nice enough to interview me over at her blog along with a little giveaway action as part of a feature she's doing of her favorite blogs/bloggers. How effing sweet and adorable is she?! Definitely head over to her blog to read my fun little interview and enter the giveaway and definitely stay and enjoy her blog because she's an amazing gal. She speaks openly, honestly and sincerely from the heart so I felt honored that she thinks I'm neat.

Now if you've read the interview and kindly made your way over here from Summer's blog (Hello there!) you know that for the giveaway I've put together a mini cupcake decorating kit. I thought it might be nice to give you a little peak at the prize. Oh and when I said "mini" I wasn't kidding. Baking mini cupcakes are my favorite, as I love everything small and cute so hopefully you will too!

What you'll get:

♥ 5 packages of small gumpaste & royal icing flowers in pink, purple, fuchsia, blue and yellow

♥ 1 package of yellow stripe mini baking cups (you'll need a mini cupcake/muffin pan for this, but I promise they're not expensive and I found mine at the grocery store!)

♥ 1 star shaped piping tip

♥ 1 bottle of pink AmeriColor soft gel paste food coloring

♥ 1 bottle of rainbow edible glitter (this stuff is so fun to decorate with!)

♥ 1 package of 12 inch disposable piping bags (10 bags)

Thank you so much Summer for including me in your wonderful feature!

I appreciate it so much!

(P.s. Sorry for the corny Grease reference in my post title. I couldn't help myself!)

what's in my bag?

2011-04-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever actually done one of these posts before. For some reason I just felt now was the time. I always found other people's "What's in my bag?" posts fascinating like I was getting a little sneak peak into their personal lives. Sadly to say, I don't know if you'll find the contents of my purse particularly interesting, but at least I had a moment of self discovery when it became apparent why my purse is so damn heavy...

The bag:
♥ ruched leatherette handbag (Forever21)

Inside the bag:
♥ pink Filofax planner
♥ Merona green polka dot clutch wallet (Target) - I loved my old studded bow wallet from UO, but I realized how much in enabled me to keep a cluttered wallet. This wallet has a lot less space forcing me to only carry the essentials.
♥ hand sanitizer
♥ cell phone - I will keep my phone until it completely shuts down or falls apart. I think it may be time for a replacement soon!
♥ Chi Chai Monchan pocket mirror (Sanrio) - I've had this mirror so long the color on his face and little cheeks has long since worn away, but I can't bare to part with it!
♥ chapstick and lip sheer
♥ mints
♥ keys - notice the my little cupcake key holder?
♥ pen
♥ kleenex - as we venture into allergy season this is a must!
♥ Ipod - some people can't live without their phone, I can't live without my Ipod! I would go crazy at work without this!

Inside the bag, but not pictured:
♥ Canon digital camera - you never know when a great moment needs to be captured so I never leave home with my camera!

happy birthday to you

2011-04-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was my nephew Isaac's party to celebrate his fourth birthday. Oh my how they grow up so fast! I remember when he was a little chubby munchkin just learning to crawl and now he can run, jump, count, say the alphabet and knows how to play Tony Hawk on Playstation.

My sister made an adorable and delicious cake. Soon she won't need me to bake for her catering jobs. Gulp!

I was able to snag him during a quick break from playing to take a picture with his aunt before he broke away again the throw the ball and pretend not to step on hot lava.

We then jumped in the car with cake and presents in tow and headed to John's Incredible Pizza Co. where all his friends were waiting to have some fun with the birthday boy. The only way I can describe this place is to say that it's somewhere between Chucky Cheese and Dave and Busters. They have a huge buffet, mini rides/coasters and plenty of games to earn prizes. The best part? They serve beer and wine. Anyone who has been to one of my family gatherings knows any holiday/celebration is an excuse to drink. Christmas? Let's have a beer! Lincoln's birthday? Let's have a beer! Baby shower? Let's have a beer! And with tons of screaming kids running around your feet you need a beer. (P.s. I made my mom do this, she doesn't actually drink two beers at once)

Everyone had a blast. Well except for one person....

My niece managed to sleep through the entire party: the screaming, laughing, clapping, music, bells and whistles. I'm pretty sure she's chillest baby on the planet.

2011-04-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

♥ This pretty in pink picture from Katrina's Spring Colours Week post. It's funny how I used to detest pink and now that I'm older I absolutely love it!

♥ My pink grapefruit face wash and raspberry sorbet and almond body wash. They smell like candy and definitely help me wake up in the morning!

♥ This online store I discovered thanks to my sister called Shop Sweet Lulu. Pretty paper straws, washi tape and milk bottles (even though they're sold out, boo!) are just a few of the things on my wish list. I can absolutely see myself throwing down some serious coin here!

♥ Exercising. It's very hard to get back into the swing of things when I haven't lifted a finger since last spring, but even just walking the track around the park by my house is better than nothing. Gotta start somewhere right?

♥ The idea of this giant gummi bear on a stick. I saw them in a gift shop while I was vacationing in Florida and for some crazy reason talked myself out of buying it. I've been lusting after it ever since.

♥ All the love I've been feeling in blogland lately. I think bloggers are some of the nicest girls you'll ever meet!

♥ Shorts! I can't wait until it get's a little bit warmer. I recently bought some floral, lace and tweed shorts and I'm dying to wear them all!

What are you currently loving?

.............................................................................

sequins from the marketplace

lullaby font from dafont

lucidity font from dafont

this month...

2011-04-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

This month I will...

go on lots of walks

have a mother daughter date with my mom, sister and niece

try and "plan" a Sunday Funday (I haven't had one in a very long time)

attempt at least one outfit post

watch more scary movies

find a new book to read (any suggestions?)

make more hair bows/headbands

What's on your to-do list for April?

♥

something sweet: flag day

2011-04-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

In addition to the spring mini cupcakes I made last week I also made a batch of mini red velvets. I've been eager to make some fun adorable little flags using the masking sticker sets (1||2) that I bought a while back. I absolutely love how they look and will definitely make more in the future. You can easily make these using deco/washi tape, toothpicks and a pair of scissors.

Lastly, to answer some questions from my last cupcake post, to ice my cupcakes I use piping bags and frosting tips which are becoming more easily available in stores (well at least here in Sacramento). Usually when I have "just because" baking days I bring them to work and let my co-workers demolish them. I've learned that when you walk around trying to pass out cupcakes most people will decline and tell you they're on a diet. However if you put the cupcakes on a plate in the office kitchen and walk away they'll be gone in 5 seconds. Anonymity works wonders.

P.s. I get asked frequently how I frost my cupcakes to get them to turn out so nice. If I did a tutorial (perhaps a vlog) would you guys be interested in that?

the spring where i never wore pants

2011-04-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out my closet a little bit yesterday and it became apparent that I now seem to own a lot of dresses...a lot of dresses. Some of my hangers have three or four dresses to a hanger because I have so many clothes and so little hangers to accommodate them. Even after getting rid of some I still have quite a bit. Therefore it has become necessary that I will be making use of all these dresses this spring, as I would feel guilty letting them sit in my dark closet all season. Although let's be honest, I'm a little excited for all this warmer weather and I love all my dresses and cannot wait to wear them! Bye bye pants, see you next fall!

Do you have any pretty dresses you can wait to wear this spring?

(P.s. Yes that is my closet with all my dresses, half of which you can't really see, but they're in there.)

why indecisive girls shouldn't own blogs

2011-03-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

And before you go "Oh snap, she's about to put another blogger on blast! This is going to get juicy!" I'm actually talking about myself.

Web design is one of my hobbies. It's something I do for fun, almost always for myself. I still can't do a layout from scratch, but boy do I love to tinker and manipulate blog layouts. If you've been with me from the beginning you've noticed that I tend to change my layout frequently. I see a layout. I get excited thinking about what I can do with it. I debut it. About a month later I already hate it and am looking for something new. This is especially true as I pick up new skills or discover new programs. It's a problem. I feel like a design junkie.

I'll be honest. I'm already tinkering with a new layout as we speak. I can't help it! I see my current layout and I miss all the open white space.

In any event, I apologize for my constant need to change. Is there a support group for people like me? Does anyone else have this problem?

something sweet: spring forward

2011-03-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally, slowly but surely showing it's face. It's getting a little sunnier and a little warmer bit by bit and I could not be more excited. Spring also made it's way into my kitchen this past weekend. I saw these little sugar flowers at a bake supply shop and quickly snatched up every pretty pastel shade they had. I had to bake with them immediately even though there wasn't any special occasion. They were the perfect fit for some simple mini cupcakes.

Hello spring. It's good to see you again.

since we last spoke...

2011-03-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

(via)

I ate far too much fried chicken in a single sitting.

I met up with the lovely Nikki to pass along the tights she won. We chatted over yummy food and pomegranate margaritas. It was eerie how much our pasts were similar. She's adorable. I hope she enjoys the tights!

I decorated a wedding cake with my sister. Luster dust makes everything better.

I made an amazing breakfast: waffles, bacon, eggs and country potatoes. Nom nom.

I went on a walk around the park with the boy and we stumbled upon a stand selling Mexican food. Apparently they set up shop there every Sunday. I spent the rest of the walk savoring a delicious chicken tamale. Tamales are my favorite. They're going to make a lot of money off me.

I baked lots of mini cupcakes. I love baking little teeny tiny things. So cute!

I played dress up. Sometimes I just like to go through my closet and put together outfits, play with patterns and find ways to remix clothing in ways I hadn't thought of before. It's fun, try it!

rain rain go away

2011-03-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

All the rain here in Sacramento lately has completely been spoiling my mood. Yesterday I woke up and the minute I realized it was raining, again, I instantly became crabby. I just want to stay inside all day and glare out the window. Clearly mother nature does not understand that I have fun things I want to do and cute spring clothes I want to wear. Boo! Luckily I've been lifting my spirits amongst all this drizzle with good music. I just recently discovered this song by A Silent Film and I'm in love. I hope you guys like it too and try and stay dry today!