Le diable dans le details III...

crush hard...

really, guys?! really! could you be any more awesome and talented?!

Apple Cinnamon goodness...

If your still not over the holiday goodies...

2 tbsp soft butter

1tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

2 tbsp veggie oil

1 1/2 cups diced apple (I used green for a bit of punch)

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping: granola and an extra pinch of cinnamon

- preheat oven to 375degrees

- In large bowl, stir dry ingredients, (flour, baking powder, salt,cinnamon)

- Add in brown sugar, egg, softened butter, veggie oil and vanilla. 

- Slowly add in milk after every few stirs, until all ingredients are wet

- Stir in apples

- Spoon batter into lined muffin tin

- Sprinkle granola and a pinch of cinnamon over the top.

- Bake for 16-18 minutes.

- makes 12

tele-photos...

 To my dear & unfortunate successor,
Sunday night (Christmas night)...this holiday weekend is coming to an end. Mr. and I had a good one this year. It was peaceful, less stressful than most others, and we drove...a lot. We took a "Polar Express" train ride in Mt. Hood. It was filled with hot chocolate, ginger cookies, children screaming for Santa & great views of the forest and some apple orchards. We drove along the river for hours listening to great music (thanks Josiah;) We went shopping...together! We never get to shop together. We drove around fancy neighborhoods to look at the gorgeous old houses. We got lost. We made dinners. We saw Christmas lights...
I hardly ever get to use "we" when recounting the things that I've done for the week. I am very glad that this holiday weekend I got to describe with "we." However, like I said, it is coming to a close and I'm back to I for the night. The Mr. has gone to work and now I'll just cuddle up in all my blankets and watch Edward Scissorhands on Netflix.

crafting...

I've been super crafty lately...and I'm loving it! There were so many tutorials, sewing patterns and various projects that had (until now) just been taking up space in my craft notebook...it was really stressing me out. I love sewing and making various things, but just seeing the ideas & projects pile up in writing without actually being created...well, that just gives me mini anxiety attacks. Anyway, all my holiday shopping was done about a week ago so I spent this week making and reinventing many, many skirts, cooking with new recipes and making a few of these super cute little wallets...

 

A day trip to Seattle...

views from the Pike Place Market & space needle...

 

a tour through the Everett Boeing facility...

I have to promise to stop wearing these yellow shoes...

but don't they go with everything? Yeah...I thought so.
  Anyway, we went to the Oregon zoo in Portland to take a late night train ride through their Zoo Lights. It was really great. I wish I could have taken more photos of the animals, but it was too dark and a flash in an animals eyes...well that's just rude! However, it was a very majestic train ride...the sounds of heavy steel on the tracks, hissing steam, whispers of excited children, the weary bright eyes of the wolves in the dark of night... (the wolves were pretty amazing)

Ode to edvard munch...

To my dear & unfortunate successor;
pieces of one of my favorite short stories. 

"...no matter the season or the weather. I've seen her barefoot in snow. I asked her about that once, if she would wear shoes if I brought her a pair and she said no, thank you, but no, because shoes make her claustrophobic. I find her sitting there alone on the park bench near the old fountain, and I always ask before I sit down next to her. And always she smiles and says of course, of course you can sit with me. You can always sit with me.
...she smelled of fallen leaves, that dry and oddly spicy odour that I have always associated with late October. Yes, she smelled of fallen leaves and her own sweat and, more faintly, something that I took to be wood smoke. Her breath was like frost against my skin, colder even than the long winter night. .....and she whispered soothing words in a language I could neither understand nor recognize.
...and she's left me these strange dreams in return. I have begun to think of them as a sort of gift, though I know that others might think them more a curse. Because they are not entirely pleasant dreams. 
...she has made me superstitious and given to what psychiatrists call "magical thinking", misapprehending cause and effect, when I was never that way before we met.
I play piano in a martini bar and, until now, there's never been anything in my life that I might mistake for magic. But there are many things in her wide burnt sienna eyes that I might mistake for many other things, and now that uncertainty seems to cloud my every waking thought."
-ode to edvard munch; Caitlin R. Kiernan

Head on over...

Hello!
The sweet Stina over at Her name was Greta is starting to feature guest posts from her "friends & sponsors." Guess what? I'm up! Head on over for my quick collar tutorial...

Bienvenue, sweet flouncy collar...

I received my ASOS dress sooner than I expected and I couldn't be happier! The collar is everything I had hoped for. It is about 4 inches too wide so I had to wear a belt with it. Which is definitely not a problem, it can easily be taken in a little on both sides, but I just could not wait to wear it!

Besides... a dress being too big is so much better than the disappointment of a dress being too small!

So with the joy of wearing a new dress comes the undeniable urge to dance like I'm back in school listening to my Dennis...

Le diable dans le details II...

Just a few details that have made my week, thus far, a little bit brighter...

When shopping, I usually pass right by that Icing accessory store because it's great for teens and not so much for me. Until the other day, when I passed by and saw a table display that was set up in front of their store. It had this great black velvet pillbox hat...so I went inside in search of it. Turns out, they didn't even sell it! but they were selling this cute little purse, in all its simplistic glory, for $5!  

Pulling out the holiday decor...

 

Taking out the extra blankets, sci-fi edition...

Fancy collars...

Red & white ruffles: MNG by Mango for Jcpenney.       

Brought to you by Bubble My Licorice!

*Here is a deliciously sweet recipe from the fun girls over at Bubble My Licorice. Thanks again for wanting to share this ladies! It's a perfect way to spend a chilly morning at home...

 

~Uber Delicious Cinnamon Rolls~

We absolutely LOVE cinnamon rolls!

But they seemed kinda hard to make so we never actually tried, until we found this pretty easy recipe and managed to make our own and they turned out Delicious!

Ahhhhhh it makes me feel hungry again!

      Look at it! You know you want to make some too... right?

Fear no more! We decided to share with you the recipe

yes! we are THAT selfless...

Gather your materials!

-for the cinnamon bun dough-

> cup of full fat milk(at room temperature)

> 1/4 cup warm water

> 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder

> 2 beaten eggs (at room temperature)

> 1/2 teaspoon salt

> 1/2 cup of butter(at room temperature)

> 3/4 cup of white sugar

> 5 cups all purpose flour

>  3 teaspoons of yeast

-for the stuffing-

> 1/2 cup of butter softened

> 1 cup of Brown sugar

> 5 teaspoons of cinnamon

> 1 cup of walnuts or 1 cup of chocolate drops or whatever you prefer to add :)

-for the icing-

> 250 grams of icing sugar

> 1/4 cup of butter

>1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder

> 4 teaspoons of milk ( you might need more you don't want the mixture thick)

  

Add the ingredients for the dough in the mixer with the following order to make it nice and soft:

First add the butter with the sugar for a while. then add the water and the milk while slowly adding the flour. add the yeast the eggs and the vanilla (and keep adding the rest of the flower)

Add some flour on your table (or wherever you want to mold the dough) and mold it for about 8 min

then put it in a bowl and wrap it and let it sit for about 20 min

  

Start molding the dough again and try to shape it into a rectangle. 40x60cm.

 Now get the materials for the stuffing!

Mix them in a bowl. Except the butter.

Spread the butter on the surface of the flatten dough. It's easiest using the back of a spoon.

Then spread the stuffing evenly on the dough and start rolling!

Slice the roll. It should make about 12 pieces.

Then coat a pan with butter and place your cinnamon rolls inside.

Press the cinnamon rolls down a bit.

Cover them with plastic wrap and leave them aside for about 1 to 1 and a half hours.

Then preheat the oven at 350 degrees(F)

Bake them for 20-30 minutes until they are a bit brown.

Take them out of the oven when they look like this!

Awww, the smell is heavenly!

Prepare the Icing.

Mix all the ingredients in a little pan at low temperature until the mixture turns out nice and even.

Pour the icing on the cinnamon rolls.

Let them soak in the icing for 5 minutes and then take them out.

And Serve Them!

^w^

ENJOY