friday favorites!

the cold weather is definitely here! and it's got us thinking warm and cozy things for our favorites!!!

first up plaid leggins! (also, we LOVE jillian harris!!!!!)

2. starbucks chai latte's!  of coarse i drink them all year but nothing warms you like a spicy hot tea!

3. dark nail polish!  OPI borris and natasha.  my fave fall go to!

pheasant feathers!!! i just recently did my fall decorating and i mixed these beauties in anywhere i could!!!  i LOVE the rustic pattern and the delicate texture!

 hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!

thank you all for reading!!

crystal

happy fall morning!!

fall is in full swing! the weather is colder, leaves are falling and my craving for pumpkin is out of control!!  so naturally there was no better way to start a rainy tuesday than with tea and pumpkin spice doughnuts!!!

Petite Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Makes 24 mini donuts

For Donuts:

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoons ground cloves

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup milk

For Coating:

1/2 cup butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover)

Preheat oven 350 F.  Butter a mini donut pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over mix.

Using a pastry bag or a steady hand and a spoon, fill each donut cup with the batter.  The donut cups should be fairly full, but not overflowing. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until donuts spring back when gently pressed (if you're using a larger donut pan, allow them to bake for 12-15 minutes).  Turn donuts out onto a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes.

While the donuts are cooling, melt butter in one bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another.  When donuts are still hot (but not too hot to touch), quickly dip each donut in melted butter, then coat in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Serve immediately.

thank you all for reading!!!

crystal

 2, 3, 4, recipe

mid century modern living room!

i designed a mid century modern living room for a traditional house with amazing architecture. the house has a lot of wood which can make the space look really dated and challenging to design, but with using this new style, it gives the space an updated look. we decided to go with more modern accents to freshen up the room.  the warm colors and neutral textures help to make the space feel cozy and inviting.


1. navy velvet chair : one kings lane

2. bubble ceramic side table : west elm

3.  blue and white floor pouf : west elm

4.  hemp honeycomb rug : serena and lily

5.  carved wood side table : west elm

                       
                                                     thank you all for reading!
                                                                    crystal

Drew Barrymore's personal home collection!

She first captivated us as the adorable pigtailed Gertie in E.T., but, born into the legendary Barrymore acting dynasty, Drew was predestined to be a star. She’s grown up, branched out, and soared since then, but she never lost her unique charm, free spirit, and irresistible brand of approachability. Her home style follows suit: Funky, eclectic, and from the heart, the environments she creates are all about comfort, inspiration, discovery, and things she loves. Every item here is from Drew's personal collection. A portion of the sale proceeds go to donorschoose.org.

check out all of her amazing home pieces by clicking on the link below!

Hollywood Star Inspired Sale Featuring Drew Barrymore at One Kings Lane

thank you all for reading!!!

crystal

family tradition!!! easter nest cookies!

here are a couple of easter treats we made to go along with our celebration!

our family makes these cute little nest cookies every year! they are so yummy and so easy to make!

Barbara's Nest Cookies

                      1 stink margarine
                      2 c sugar
                      1/2 c milk

                      combine and boil for 1 minute
                      then add...

                      1/2 c peanut butter
                      1 1/2 t vanilla
                      3 c oats

                      mix together and drop on wax paper
                      add jelly beans or other eggs shaped candy
                     

we also made these adorable little deviled egg chicks!!!

                           boil eggs until hard boiled (15 min)
                           peel and rinse
                           then cut top 1/3 off to remove yolk
                           mix yolks as you like and add back into bottom of egg
                           then put the top on!
                           i used pepper corns for the eyes (you could also cut pieces of an olive)
                          and cut a carrot in tiny triangles for the beaks!

NOTE: if you use peppercorns for the eyes you will probably want to remove them before eating! that would be quite a heavy dose of pepper!!!

i just love these adorable little guys!!!!!

thank you all for reading!!!!

crystal

easter table!

here is a little peek at the table setting we'll be enjoying on easter! it hasn't even felt like spring yet, in fact i had to pick my little daffodils the day after a snow! poor guys! but they were hangin in there.  i'm happy that these few made it through to be a part or our special celebration!!!!

thank you all for reading!!!

i hope you all have a happy easter!

crystal

designing from the heart!

i am so excited to start working on a design project for a very special cause that is close to my heart!  a very spacial lady that i came to know a couple of years ago has been working very hard to open a home for girls with crisis pregnancies.  well i am over the moon that her dreams are taking shape and that i get to be a part of it.  she has asked me to help by design the girls rooms and a couple of the common rooms! i am honored to be a part of this and so pumped to get started!!!!!

here are a few images i collected for inspiration for the girls rooms (they are step one)

we are wanting to use orange and green in the girls rooms, and lean toward making them 

fresh and trendy! i can already tell this will be a really fun project!

i'll post more later as we make progress!

thank you all for reading!!!

crystal

decisions, decisions!!!

we have a wedding to shoot verrrry soon and there are so many decisions to be made!!!!

i made up a couple of design boards with some of our ideas and the two different colors schemes we are trying to decide between!!!! 

soooo... what's your vote?!?

thank you all for reading!!!

crystal

all photos from pinterest

my living room project!!!

when i took all of my christmas decorations down i realized how much my living room needed some major attention!!!  so i decided to take a designers approach to decorating my OWN living room! i do it for other people all the time but had never really taken the time to do it for myself! i would always just switch out accessories here and there along the way and that was suficiant for the time, but now i want to get a real style and feel for my living room!

first up... inspiration and color pallet

i chose this house to be the inspirational house for my because it has sooo much of what i want in the room.  and the style plays well with the architecture of my house too. this is the most bright and beautiful spanish bungalow! however my house is not in california so i cant get too carried away with the spanish theme but i do love the natural woven textures and and the white on white on neutral color pallet so there are still a lot of things that will work!

next up putting it all together... i already have chocolate leather furniture that will still work with this style (yay for saving money!). so then my focus will be layering lots and lots of textures. staying very neutral and light in the fabrics and then relying on all the textures to create the richness. 

i think the money maker in this style is to let nature be the staring role on the room!!!

let the room be filled with light cascading through the windows, let the earthy richness of wood grains be on full display and let beautiful fresh cut flowers be such a subtle pop of color the room begs for and i think you will wake up every morning and feel like you are on vacation!!! 

i'm so excited to start the process!!1 i'll keep you posted along the way!

thank you all for reading!!!

crystal

baby sprinkle!!!

i got to put together a little something for a dear friends baby shower this weekend. 

if the blue and orange don't give it away... it's a boy!!!!

thank you all for reading!!!

crystal