Handbag Dreaming

Chloe Paraty Medium Satchel

Just a quick a post this morning. Hope you are having a great week.

Cake Creations

Last weekend I attended a baby shower for a dear friend. She asked me to create some treats for her dessert table. Since her theme for the shower was bumblebees, I thought bee-shaped cake pops and lemon meringue cupcakes would be perfect.

Whenever I have an idea for a baking project I search the internet for pictures and inspiration.  I was able to find a variety of different cake pops and used elements from different pictures to create these. I used boxed cake and frosting from the can to make the cake pops. I then decorated them with chocolate, fondant, and icing.

The lemon meringue cupcakes have been featured on my blog before. They are from Martha Stewart and are always a hit!

Her shower was full of love and laughter, and everyone had a great time.

Have a great day! <3

Lush Haul/Swamp Thing

I LOVE Lush! That store makes me happy every time I walk into it. A couple weeks ago I decided to treat myself to some new products. I bought a few bath product, a new face scrub, an eyeshadow from their new makeup collection, and, as you probably guessed, a face mask. 

According to the Lush website, the Love Lettuce face mask is the "most exfoliating mask that scoops up dirt, oil and debris and washes it all away." I have been traveling a lot lately the the lady at the story told me that this would be great after exposing my skin to all of the recycled plane air. It felt nice on my skin, didn't break-me-out, and left my skin a little more glowing afterwards.

The face scrubs come in a 2.1 oz jar for between $5 and $7.  These fresh face scrubs need to be kept in the refrigerator and are good for about three weeks. I think that these are a great way to pamper yourself for under $10. 

I think I may just love the fact that it makes me look like a Swamp Thing. 


Stay tuned to hear more about the other products I purchased. 

A Weekend in Paradise

Ok, well not paradise exactly, but pretty darn close!

I spent the weekend in Napa Valley. We went wine tasting, ate yummy food, and attended a concert (Natasha Bedingfield) at the Mondavi winery.

Terra Valentine, beautiful! 

he was over the door at Terra Valentine 

at the concert, so much fun!

On Sunday afternoon we went to Mustard's for an early lunch. Before hand, we walked around their garden.  If you get a chance to go to Mustard's I highly recommend that you try the onion rings and the Lemon Meringue Pie! 

mom and step-dad

giant sunflower

lemon meringue pie

Current Obsession

Occasionally I become completely obsessed with an accessory. Currently, I am loving this tote from Kate Spade.

Can't you imagine me sitting on the beach in Hawaii with this beautiful tote carrying all of my beach necessities? I can!


Happy Monday!

S'More Please

Now that I am officially on summer vacation (oh the perks of being a teacher, my friends), I have more time to do the things I love.  One hobby that I will be documenting more frequently is baking.  I was recently looking for a new cupcake recipe and came across Martha Stewart's S'mores Cupcakes.

the batter seemed a little watery to me at first, but thickens up as it sits

They have a deliciously crunchy graham cracker bottom, a chocolatey cake, and a marshmallow frosting. Bonus, I get to use my kitchen torch to add the toasty marshmallow effect that usually comes with roasting marshmallows over a campfire.

Wishing you were sitting by a campfire with a marshmallow on a stick? Try these cupcakes for the same effect.

Happy eating!

To The Gym

So this is a sad confession, but one of the things that motivates me to workout the most is....drum roll please...cute workout wear! I'm a sucker for fashion and if I look cute while I work out, I'm more likely to have a better workout. Here are some of my top picks.

1. Flow and Go Tote Lululemon
2. Mayarasana Seamless Bra Athleta (one sale!)
3. Stride Jacket Lululemon (on sale!)
4. Santi Top Athleta
5. Harem Crop Lululemon (on sale!)

Have a happy and healthy week!!

Lemon Meringue

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I made these for a friend's birthday. They are impressive looking, but aren't too difficult. The only part that can get a little tricky is the meringue frosting. If you follow the recipe, it will work! I used Martha Stewarts recipe found here. 

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes 

The recipe calls for homemade lemon curd, but I found that store bought works just fine! Cut out a little bit of the center and fill with lemon curd. 

This is what the frosting looks like before you torch it. 

Enjoy!

Seattle's Best

View from the Space Needle


This past weekend Richard and I took a short flight to Seattle. I had never been and always wanted to go. Seattle is a fantastic city, COLD, but lots to do. We wanted to relax and didn't want to schedule ourselves so we spent most of the days wondering around.  We did however, eat a LOT! One of my favorite things to do while traveling is eat local food. Of course we went to some of the tourist locations, but also ate at some of the smaller, more hole-in-the-wall places. 

Bakery #1

Fresh Crab at Pike's Market

After arriving in Seattle we dropped our bags off at Hotel 1000 and headed out to explore the city. One of our first stops was Uli's Famous Sausage. It was a tiny little restaurant, but wow, their sausages were delicious. After filling our tummies, we headed to Nordstrom (the first ever to be exact).

Sculpture Garden

We really wanted to wander around the Sculpture Garden, but it was SO cold that we ended up speed walking through instead.

 

As we ate our snacks, we sat and watched them make the cheese. FASCINATING

Becher's Handmade Cheese was one of our favorite stops on our trip. It is a wonderful place to sit and enjoy some delicious mac n' cheese or grilled cheese. This sandwich was probably one of the best grilled cheese I have ever had! I should probably mention that this is what we had for breakfast on the last day of our trip!

Richard and I walked by this place the first day in Seattle, but the line was wrapped around the block. We went back on Monday, and I understand why so many people are willing to wait for the delicious pastries. I had a marzipan filled pastry and Richard had a Marionberry and Sweet Cream pasty.  I highly recommend visiting Piroshky, Piroshky while visiting in Seattle. They are located in Pike's Market. 

As I mentioned, it was cold there. We live in San Francisco, so we are not strangers to cloudy skys. However, this felt different. I ended up having to stop in Columbia to purchase a down vest to wear under my jacket. I promise, I changed my clothes while I was there, but I was too cold so show any of my layers!