The Recent

My life currently looks something like this:

-Furniture shopping is the new clothing shopping. so addictive, so easily expensive, ...so awesome.

-I cannot get enough of country music. It's become quite the love affair.

-Daniel has been in Italy for 6 months already! Where is time going?

-I've been taking a pottery class and I'm seriously obsessed. I love it!

-Seasonal depression. It's real. My prescription? Get a special light to sit under every day...hmm...sounds an awful lot like fake tanning to me. It may be time for me to succumb.

-My winter duvet has now officially made its permanent home on my bed. Oh hello, winter.

-I go to bed every night now by eleven. ELEVEN, people. And even that's stretching it for me. Who am I?

-My bangs are almost fully grown out. And now I want to chop them back in. gahh.

-Gossip Girl. I'm still so obsessed.

-I want a pet. But I kinda have commitment issues.

-And lastly, can I just say that html is cake compared to that nonsense called css? I now understand why web designers can charge so much.

Applesauce Spice Cake

Oh my. I really have no words for this besides you all NEED to try this.

After one too many trips to the apple orchard this fall, I had a surplus of apples sitting around. (Really though, how many times can you eat apples, make apple pie, apple spice bread pudding, apple crisp, apple anything before you just get sick of it?) So...this weekend I decided to try my hand at homemade applesauce and wipe out the whole surplus in one fell swoop. If you haven't tried making your own applesauce before, you really need to. It is so easy and sooo good. I ended up tweaking a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and it was to die for. All you need is apples, cinnamon, a lemon, and water. SK's recipe calls for 4 pounds of apples, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 strips of lemon peel, and a cup of water. I used the same amount of apples and water, but substituted 3/4 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 2 strips of lemon peel for the suggested amounts. I'm guessing that a few tablespoons of brown sugar would be yummy too...but I left it out in the name of healthiness. And then made applesauce spice cake. Haha. The applesauce spice cake recipe came from Smitten Kitchen as well and is literally my favorite thing I've baked this fall. Seriously, it was that good and I'm not even a cake person.

On another note, my mom and I have started skyping each other while we're baking and it is so much fun! It's almost as good as baking in the same kitchen, and let me tell you, there are few things in this world that I love as much as just spending an afternoon in the kitchen with my mom. Here are a few photos from the foray into applesauce caking that we had this afternoon:

We forgot to take any 'during' pictures. Oops. Here's the finished product:

SO yummy. cream cheese frosting with fall spices, can anyone resist this stuff?

The first bite. I always feel slightly guilty cutting into something right after I finish it. Don't let that face fool you though, this stuff was GOOD.

And really, if you're going to try baking anything this fall, try this! You won't regret it one bit!

Are You Happy?

You better believe this will be hanging in my home as soon as the next run is available. Such a basic idea, yet so beautifully stylized. From Alex Koplin.

October Highlights

I seriously cannot believe that October has come and gone and November is already here.

Highlights from the month:

Got to see my favorite Chicagoan a lot

Finally saw The Lion King and LOVED it!

Channeling my inner Woodstock this year for Halloween

{This just makes me smile.}

Happy Friday

Happy Friday peeps.

{weekend.weekend.weekend}

I have a new favorite blog that you all need to check out. You know when you occasionally see a photo of someone who totally at first glance looks like you and you have to do a double take to realize it's not you? This blog was kinda like that for me. One of those whoa wait a minute moments where you realize that this other person has like an 80% match with your sense in style, taste in music, etc. Anyways, this was on her blog today and I. ABOUT. DIED.

Today...

...I remembered why I love what I do. There is no other feeling in the world like rocking your client presentation after endless late nights and moments of really thinking you might kill your fellow teammates.

I love that last minute of team tension, the team's uttered swear words that somehow lighten my mood, that zone I get in where I can just tune the world out and have the most acute tunnel vision focus, the hasty print jobs, and finally the calm that comes while presenting, knowing that this is my baby and I believe in it.

Love you, hate you...cheers to you, Advertising.

{since when did I become all grown up and old enough to be making these pitches anyways...hmmm?}

Just a Few Things

1- My music tastes change with the seasons. Now that fall is in full swing, I can't help but love Carla Bruni again.



2- I was facestalking some old friends last night and came across this quote: "Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn that anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you." {David Whyte} Amen, David Whyte. Amen. My exact sentiments on the entire state of Michigan. One good thing about living here in solitary confinement Michigan has been learning what and who truly brings happiness into my life. I will never take the happiness that comes from living near friends for granted again.

3- I did my hair for the first time in over a week today. It was quite the accomplishment.

4- I'm now officially known at work as the assistant planner who bakes, with requests for my recipes that I've brought in. Boo-yeah.

5- I need a good weekend away from life with a friend. Or my boyfriend. Or my mom. Anyone?