My Favorite Bobbi Brown LipsticksBobbi Brown Rich Lip Color

I love changing my look from day to day.  If you are like me, you have to repeat outfits every now and then.  To make them look different I try styling the outfits with accessories.  The easiest way to change your overall look is by your lip color choice.  Are you feeling sassy?  How about a bold red lip!  Are you going for a feminine look?  Apply a soft pink color! Be brave, walk into your favorite beauty store and ask to speak with someone working.  They should be able to help you find different shades that work perfectly with your skin tone.  Listed below are some of my favorite lip colors.

Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color in Uber Pink-petal pink

Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Sweet Nectar - peach coral

Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Old Hollywood - bright cherry red

Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Neon Pink - pink fuschia

Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Hot Berry - bright pink berry

Wedding Wednesday: Return Address Stamp

Last week I shared with you the Save the Date postcard design.  Monday, I was off of work and decided to have a wedding work day of sorts.  I printed off my mailing addresses, grabbed the cards, and camped out at my local Starbucks.  Here is how they turned out, I can't help but smile each time I look at it!

If you are sending out Save the Dates, invitations, and thank you notes, you should look into getting a custom stamp.  I happened to find a great shop on Etsy that makes them; you need to check it out.  I am so happy with the results!  It was a little large for my postcards, but I decided to add it.

Banana Bread

Today between all of the inauguration watching and house cleaning I managed to have a pretty productive day off!  What I am most excited about is finally finding a banana bread recipe I like!  For some reason, I am always looking for recipes similar to the ones I grew up making.  Found memories of being in the kitchen with my mom mashing up bananas in a zip lock bag as her kitchen assistant just make me smile.  Honestly, I am not a huge fan of bananas; mostly it’s the texture that I don’t like.  However, I do enjoy a slice of banana bread.

Before the oven

Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 stick butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3-4 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed (place them in a sandwich bag and take out your aggression)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Set aside for later use

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time

5. Mix in the mashed bananas

6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined

7. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

8. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling

Hot & fresh out of the oven

Weekend Update

I ask you this question. What is the best part of the weekend? My answer: breakfast and coffee. Hopefully, you get to sleep in and start your day whenever you please. Next you can decide to dress up or down. Then you decide on breakfast: brunch, coffee shop, or doughnuts?

This morning I decided for comfortable clothes after being at a work conference for the past three days. Then we headed to a local doughnut shop. At last, we rounded off the morning with a trip to Starbucks! As you can see the child in me picked out the pink sprinkle doughnut for breakfast.

My January BIRCHBOX

Monday evening my favorite day of the month happened!  Opening my mailbox, I found my monthly BIRCHBOX patiently waiting for me.  I am very happy with my January BIRCHBOX!  I agree with the BB Team, let’s make 2013 the best year ever!  Let me tell you all about the goodies in my box this month.

Eyeok—Skinny Liquid Eyeliner
This item is from the UK, and it’s a pen applicator that is smooth and has a perfectly fine point.  I love liquid eyeliner; it has such a sexy look to it!

Harvey Prince—Skinny Chic
Fresh perfume with a blend of apple, mint, and lotus blossom.  It is growing on me; I think this will be perfect for spring.

Pur~Lisse—Hyrdra-Balance Moisturizer
Moisturizer with Chinese lotus and French marine plant extract leaves your face feeling smooth and hydrated.  The biggest plus, it has anti-aging properties!

Rahua—Shampoo and Conditioner Sampler Pack
An eco-friendly brand filled with natural and organic ingredients.  I love the voluminous shampoo and conditioner, who doesn’t like big hair?!

theBalm Cosmetics—Hot Mama
A blush that also serves as a highlighter with a hint of golden shimmer.  My good friend Kristin loved this during undergraduate.  I love the pin-up girl on the cover!

Wedding Wednesday: Save the Date

This week my wedding to do list is small.  1) Finish up the invitation list and finalize addresses.  2) Get the Save the Date’s in the mail by next Tuesday.  Those two things seem obtainable to me at the moment, we will see if I can manage to get them done.

Picking out a Save the Date card can be overwhelming, just like anything else to do with your wedding.  There are soo many options to choose from.  Do you want a: magnet, postcard, peel off calendar sticker, sports ticket style, or artwork?!  Before I went searching, I picked out the type of card I wanted.  We decided on a postcard (hello cheap postage)!  After we had that in mind, next we just had to decide on the layout and material.

Etsy can be a bride’s BFF during the wedding planning process.  Numerous talented graphic designers have shops just waiting for you.  When placing an online order, you need to be very specific and detailed with your wants.  Most shops will send you a digital proof before you move forward with ordering.  My recommendation is that you look over it with your groom but also let another set of eyes check it out (just to be safe).

Save the Date cards are also a place where you can list your wedding website.  There are numerous free options out there for you to create a wedding website.  It is a place where you can list: your proposal story, a few engagement photos, and your wedding registries.

Wedding Wednesday: Flowers

Today is Wedding Wednesday!  Why do you ask?  This evening Jered and I will be meeting with our florist for the first time. Once again, I have turned to Pinterest to point me in the right direction. There are so many options when it comes to flowers.  Below are a few of my favorite pins.

Since our ceremony will not be long and elaborate, I am not worried about flowers at the end of each row. Instead, I am leaning towards flower petals down the aisle; it has a romantic feel to it. Also, since it is taking place outside in a vineyard, my hope is that it will be pretty enough to stand alone.  Who knows, maybe we could find a way to incorporate the flower petals into the reception site?  That might be asking too much; I am not sure.

When it comes to bouquets, I have two things in mind: roses and peonies because they will be in season for our wedding taking place in May. I want something feminine and fun!  I think that this particular one meets all of those goals.

Centerpieces for the reception need to be simple—hydrangeas along with baby’s breath might be the winner.  To me, this has almost a rustic feel to it that I enjoy.

Upper Crust Wood Fired Pizza in OKC

There are a few things in life that I am obsessed with; two of them being cheese and pizza!  When you combine pizza and cheese, boom—mind blown!  Living in Shawnee our options for eating out are slim.  During the week, I pack my lunch and try to cook dinner at home (not to mention it saves
serious cash).  However, when the weekend rolls around—it’s time for dining out and good eats.

Saturday morning we spent time in Oklahoma City shopping.  By 1:00 it was lunch time so we decided to hit up one of our favorite pizza places in Oklahoma City, Upper Crust Wood Fired Pizza.   We started off with fried mozzarella and then had the “Some Like It Hot” pizza.

When our waiter came back to check on us he asked how the fried mozzarella was.  Since it was all gone, one could guess that it was delicious.  I continued on to tell him “It’s the Michael Jordan of the fried cheese world.  All of the other fried cheese aspires to be as good as him.”  I am guessing he found my humor amusing because he busted up laughing.

Seriously, if you live around the OKC area and are looking for new places to try—take it from me and go there tonight.  You can have a bottle of wine and pizza for a steal!  Bottle + Pie = $25, tonight 7-Close.  Not to mention there are numerous TV’s that will have the big game playing, regardless of what team you are rooting for.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Yesterday I had one thing on my mind: cupcakes! I scanned Pinterest and every cookbook I could find searching for the right one. For some reason, I was feeling adventurous, contemplating trying something new. This recipe makes one dozen vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. The only thing that might be a challenge is findings vanilla beans. I had to hit up a local specialty shop to do just that. While on the hunt for vanilla beans, I scooped up a few gourmet cheese.  Did I mention I LOVE cheese!  I found the vanilla beans; these little guys are expensive at $14 per tube. No wonder vanilla extract is so high, it's hard work to get the seeds out. Once you taste this frosting you know all of your hard work was worth it!

It has been brought to my attention that I need a cooling rack…

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners. Set pan aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow cooling in pan 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and allow cooling completely. Prepare frosting.

Vanilla-Bean Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar (sifted)

Directions:

1. Cream the butter in a medium-size bowl until very smooth. 
2. Stir in the vanilla-bean seeds until they're evenly distributed. 
3. Add the salt, vanilla and milk, and stir until combined. Sift the sugar over the butter mixture and stir the mixture until it's perfectly smooth. If the frosting is too loose, add a few more tablespoons of confectioners' sugar, and stir until smooth. 
4. Cover with plastic wrap until you're ready to use; mix well just before using.
5. Decorate cooled cupcakes as desired.

Bling On The New Year

I might be classified as “wedding obsessed” at this point in my life.  If the two words in quotations annoy you, I beg you—save yourself and stop reading now.

You are still reading, good!  Anywho, Jered asked me to marry him in April and ever since then I have been daydreaming of our upcoming spring wedding.  I am constantly looking at different wedding blogs for inspiration and finding myself drooling over them.  Like any other 20 something girl, I love Pinterest!  Speaking of, Glamour magazine has the best Pinterest board!  They also have a wedding blog and feature all kinds of wonderful topics, pictures, stories, and real weddings.  Recently I came across Save the Date where you can upload a picture of your engagement ring, and it has a chance of being featured on the blog.  Being wedding obsessed, I thought why not.  I uploaded sometime this fall and this morning in my inbox I have an email waiting for me from Kimberly!

Best news of today, my ring was featured on the blog along with four other gorgeous engagement rings.  I love seeing how every ring is different and how each personality is showcased.

Congratulations to all of my recently engaged friends!  Did you know that 40% of couples get engaged around the holiday season?   Yesterday was referred to as White Wednesday!  How cool is that?

Copycat Mall Pretzels

Happy New Year friends!  I hope 2013 is treating you well.  Yesterday was filled with college football goodness.  Since I was camping out on the couch watching TV most of the afternoon, earlier that morning I tried to get lunch prepped and ready to go.  Who wants to sacrifice crucial #okstate game time?  That’s right, no one!

I have found a pretzel recipe on Pinterest that I have made on several different occasions and I am very pleased with.  They remind me of the pretzel shops you see in shopping malls.  If you give these pretzels a try, your house will smell amazing! Mine do not turn out that pretty but they are so yummy.

Copycat Mall Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½  teaspoons table salt
• Rock Salt for topping
• 1 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon butter (melted)
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 ¼  cups + 2 tablespoons warm water

Directions:

1. Prepare yeast as instructed on the packet


2.  Add oil to the yeast and stir.


3.  In a separate bowl mix place powdered sugar, butter, flour and salt. Mix to combine.


4. Place yeast mixture into the dry ingredient bowl.


5. Flour a surface and knead the dough mixture for about 10 minutes. (I use my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix until the dough is formed into a ball around the hook)


6. Place dough in a covered bowl and let it rest for about an hour at 80 degrees. The dough should double in size.


7. Preheat oven at  425


8. Take the dough and cut into 8 sections. Roll into a long rope and twist the dough into the pretzel shape.


9. Prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda.


10. Dip each pretzel into the baking soda water bath.


11. Place pretzel onto parchment paper on top of a baking sheet.


12. Bake for about 10 minutes or until pretzel is brown.


13. Blush additional melted butter onto each and sprinkle salt on top.