The song from Monty Python's Life of Brian has been playing a lot on my one of my Pandora stations, and it always has me wanting to burst out singing at my desk. I refrain so my co-workers don't think I'm too 'out there'. When I get home, I often end up singing it to Teemo, for no apparent reason other than Jason and I sing to and about our dogs a lot. Except I sing 'always look on the bright side of Weems' which is what we call Teemo sometimes. This bracelet is a happy bracelet to me because it always makes me want to sing the song all the time. This dress is also a happy dress because it has dogs all over it. I really do have a 'print with animals' problem, don't I?

cavorting canines dress :: anthropologie (via ebay) remixed

belt :: target remixed

loafers :: target remixed

bracelet :: kate spade

rings :: gorjana griffin remixed
necklace :: lulu bug jewelry remixed

Yellow is one of my happy colors. It was one of the main colors in my wedding, the color of my favorite fruit (bananas), and has been the paint color in my bedroom and my home at times. That is why I was quite relieved that my dear friend Becki's wedding color palette involved yellow - a happy color for a happy event. While this isn't the dress I will be wearing for my matron of honor duties come October (it is another yellow strapless number though), this is a dress that reminds me of wedding and happy times. I received a gift card to the local mall for graduation (a week before our wedding), so Jason and I promptly went to Anthropologie to search out a dress for out rehearsal dinner.  This was yet another example of I can't choose clothing for my body and Jason can. He insisted I try the dress on, and while I was reluctant at first due to the bandana print, I'm sure glad I did. It's hands down one of my favorite (and most remixed) pieces. This dress is over 2 years old now and shows no sign of wear and tear.

bright bandana dress :: girls from savoy via anthropologie (now on ebay) remixed

belt :: anthropologie (similar) remixed

blue skies heels :: seychelles remixed

necklace :: crave jewelry design remixed

clutch :: loeffler randall for target remixed

rings :: gorjana griffin remixed

headband :: anthropologie

I love sparkling things. Sparkling skirts, sparkling water, sparkling wine! Sparkling wine is one of the treats in life that makes me feel incredibly fancy - although at times it can be a bit more expensive that I'm willing to spend on a glass or a bottle. I'm really excited to sampling a few types of sparkling cava from Spanish wine brand Freixenet because there fancy looking black bottles are not only good looking and tasting, but also affordable! Seriously, I am so sick of buying the ugly green bottles with their white labels for nice events because it's what I could afford. Freixenet, on the other hand, actually looks nice and costs less than 20 dollars a bottle (usually around 10-16 dollars depending on where you live).

Anyhow, the first of the three bottles is the only one not in the signaure black bottle - a cordan rosado (Spanish for rose) that felt like it would make the most perfect, summery berry spritzer. It's the only bottle I opened to drink alone with Jason - the others I am hoping to share with others as sparkling wine really does not last well in the fridge. So keep an eye out for it in some wedding-related celebration posts later this year! This one was yummy, for a rose (which I usually either hate or am okay with, and I was okay with this one), and had a lot of berry flavor. Which is why I wanted to play that up with more berries!

What You'll Need
Freixenet Cordon Rosado sparkling cava
Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
2-3 Raspberries per glass
Blackberries and blueberries to your liking

Funny story - opening this was an adventure. I don't open bubbly wines - I'm a disaster at opening wine anyway, so promptly after the photo was taken, I handed the bottle over to Jason to get the work out. But, we couldn't. So we used a grippy-hand-thing (what are those called? they are like rubbery plastic circles) to pull the cork out a bit. As Jason grabbed it to run outside, it shot up and dented the ceiling. So - be careful, remember, when opening sparkling wine.

Muddle the raspberries in the bottom of the glass. Throw in a few blackberries and blueberries or whatever you have on hand in after wards.

Add a small amount of Pama - about 1/2 a shot glass. I did a 1 second pour.

Fill to the top with wine (carefully!) and serve!

When I first visited Harrisburg, I was driven down Front Street, where there is a long, quaint park along the river. I was amazed at the cute buildings perched right across from the water - no levee, no walls, and no real space between the river and the road. It was a real switch from the Ohio River in Cincinnati - the geography and cityscape are nearly complete opposites, and I was in love with the fact that Harrisburg was 'adorable.' I'm still honestly shocked when locals seem off-put by me calling their city cute, but it is truly is from my perspective. While I'm fine not living here (I technically never lived in the city, I lived nearby), I do enjoy working downtown and driving down Front Street every day. I've been wanting to take photos at this bridge forever, and I finally set up one day after work. I was surprised no one got caught by my camera considering the amount of people that passed me. I must be really good at making things look completely desolate at 5:30 PM.

feline karma dress :: leah reena goren for anthropologie remixed

belt :: target remixed

flats :: bass remixed

bag :: cambridge satchel remixed

scarf :: gift from jen of made in minich
bracelet :: crave jewelry design remxied
ring :: kiel mead remixed

For most of my life, I haven't been one to stand out in a crowd. I'm far too short for that. But with all the bright colors and (slightly obnoxious) prints I've been injecting into my wardrobe lately, I've been getting a little more looks in my runs to the store than I am used to from years back. So, I finally got a dress that can stare back. I was obsessed with my Leah Reena Goren feline karma dress so much I wear it on a near weekly basis. I figured it was about time to invest in the other print, and I'm not disappointed. Jason, on the other hand, is. This purchase was definitely not approved by the husband - he's totally creeped out by it. Good thing I gave up on impressing him years ago.

poker-faced dress :: leah reena goren for anthropologie (via ebay)

belt :: target remixed

sandals :: target remixed

ring :: sanrio remixed

necklace :: via double dutch boutique

tote :: shinzi katoh remixed

Oh cupcakes, you wonderful things you. I grew up a baker, and while I've slowly become more of a cook and forgotten my weekend long baking binges in high school (I baked all of my friends customized batches of goodies...which I miss having time to do that kind of stuff). I wanted to make this really crazy red, white, and blue cupcake idea (that turned into pink, purple, and yellow) because I've been strangely into American colors lately. Once I got the cake down (first batch was meh) these were quite yummy.

Strawberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart recipe here

What You'll Need

1/4 Cup Cake Flour

1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 Tablespoon Baking Powder

Pinch of Fleur de Sel

1 Stick Butter, softened

1 1/4 Cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

3/4 Cup Fat Free Half and Half

6 Ounces Strawberries, diced

Preheat over to 350 Degrees. Add all of the dry ingredients together and mix well. Sift them if you feel so inclined.

Ina  mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and eggs slowly. Then add in flour mixture by the 1/4 part alternating with the fat free half and half over a slow speed.

Wash strawberries and dice. Then add to cupcake batter slowly.

Soon batter into cupcake wrapped laid into cupcake pans, filled to 2/3rd up. This should make about 12 -16 cupcakes.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 Degrees until a toothpick placed in the middle comes out clean.

Filing the Cupcakes - What You'll Need

1 Jar of Lemon Curd

Knife

Patience

Cut a small hole in the middle of cupcake and remove the cake.

Use a small teaspoon (1/8 or 1/4) to fill the cupcakes.

Blueberry Icing

Recipe from My Igloo Life - better instructions here. I made this really late and didn't photograph - oops!

What You'll Need

1 Stick of Butter, softened

1/4 Cup Blueberry Puree (put into blender or magic bullet)

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Dash of Lemon Juice

3-4 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

Whip butter. Slowly beat in the blueberry puree. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Once well mixed, begin slowly adding sugar until light and fluffy.

Top cupcakes with icing and voila! Red, white and blue (ok, pink, yellow, and purple) cupcake!