Spring is Born :)

I love days like today- when the weather is perfect and you just want to get outside and enjoy the bright sunshining Spring day. What a perfect day to throw on a bright and colorful outfit to put you in a cheery mood and make you feel like prancing around (well, at least that's what this outfit makes me feel like doing hehe).

I'm so glad that the fashion trend this spring is all about mixing patterns and color, and not to make everything so matchy-matchy- it's so much more fun to style this way!

You can still get this top here and these shoe here

It wasn't until I was out my front door that I realized, except for my sunglasses (by Modern Amusement), that my entire outfit is from Anthropologie- even the bracelet, belt, and bag! I guess that shouldn't be so surprising since my wardrobe is slowly turning very anthropologie-ish :)

Looking for a bright and colorful outfit? Check out Anthropologie's Parading Hues Dress that I've been pinning over...but since I'm trying to be good, I'll just have to settle for the outfit that I put together :)

Parading Hues Dress by Maeve- click here

Have a bright and cheery weekend!!

Foto Friday

Happy Friday everyone!!!
Since last week was Buddy's Foto Friday, I thought it only fair that this Friday belong to Montana. Monty is the sweetest and most obedient doggie ever...isn't she a cutie pie?

Her favorite hobby- sleeping

Check out how ripped she is!

Shadow Monty

Do you have any pet photos you'd like to share?

Photography Love

My new hobby for the past year has been photography. I've always wanted to take a photography class when I was younger but never got the chance. I was given a DSLR camera for my birthday and enrolled myself in the photography classes at Samy's Camera- and I LOVED every minute of it.

Now you will rarely catch me without my DSLR camera...my husband sometimes gets annoyed at me when I stop every 5 minutes to take a photo of something- especially when it's of some yummy meal he's about to dig into but has to wait, fork suspended in mid-air, for me to make the perfect composition.

On my days off, I usually venture out on my own to find something to shoot and to practice my new- learned skills. Well, I'm no longer alone in my hobby! Just 2 weeks ago, I enrolled in a film photography class at the Armory Center and I convinced the hubby to join me and guess what? He loves it! We've already been out together to shoot photos, strolling the streets and alley ways for anything interesting to photograph.

We bought a Canon Ae-1 camera from Amazon.com and obtained another for free from a co-worker! It's been fun learning how to use the camera and I just love the sound the camera makes when the shutter release is pressed. It's also a little weird having to wait to develop the film in order to see what we captured but it's almost fun waiting- especially in a time where we're so use to expecting everything STAT.

Neither of us have ever owned a film camera before so we made a few embarrassing rookie mistakes. Here are some tips for you in case you decide to shoot film:

1) Don't forget to load the film- I shot 36 photos before realizing that there wasn't any film inside the camera
2) Learn to rewind the film correctly- I accidentally opened up the camera before rewinding all the way, therefore losing almost my whole roll of photos
3) Make sure there isn't film already loaded- I popped open the camera to find the film already loaded, therefore ruining the film (again)
4) Know which rolls of film were used and which ones are unused- for awhile I had a hard time telling if I used a roll of film or not. I then realized that new film has a lead sticking out so I had to make sure to rewind the lead all the way back in after using a roll.
5) Remember to set the ISO to match the speed of your film

Lastly, remember it's not digital! I kept staring at the back of my camera after every shot, expecting to see a digital image pop up.

Here are a few photos from my first roll of film- I didn't figure out how the light meter worked until more than half way through the film so some of my exposure was off- and my focusing definitely needs more work. Hopefully my next roll will be better!

Have you recently started a new hobby? And if so, did you make some funny rookie mistakes?



The End of the Rainbow

There's something about seeing a rainbow that makes you want to stop what you are doing and just stare at it- whether you are driving, running, walking to class, or just taking out the trash. It's one of the wondrous yet simple beauties of mother nature, and the perfect way to brighten up a dreary and rainy day.

As kids, I'm sure we've all wondered what's at the end of a rainbow...is there really a pot of gold or a hidden treasure? Well, we might never reach the end of the rainbow but I think I just found the pot of gold in this awesome rainbow-in-a-jar recipe.

When I saw this recipe, I wanted to bake it right away. It couldn't be any simpler - all you need is a box of cake mix, a can of frosting, and food coloring (of course, you can make all of this from scratch too). You'll also need a few cute jars. As I have a love for all things "mason jar", I used a few of the many I have throughout the house (used as vases, to hold crafts, as soap dispensers, etc). You can find the jars in the baking aisle of your local supermarket, usually sold in cases, or online here (another tip: I also like to use them to gift baked goods, as they are cheaper and way cuter than paper boxes).

So go ahead and brighten up that special someone's day by baking this super simple and delicious recipe- it's bound to make you, to quote Stevie Wonder, "the sunshine of my (their) life." :)

Here are a few photos of the ones I made:

This reminds me of dying Easter eggs 

My layering of the colors are a little uneven

Perfect for a kid's birthday...or a grown-ups party :)

hmmm....doesn't the frosting remind you of clouds?

Looks more tie-dyed than rainbowish...

hmm..with cookies and soda pop :) 

They are also so easy to store for later- or to package as gifts!

Or stack them in your fridge...

Do you have a favorite dessert that totally brightens up your day? Or if you're like me, any and all desserts will put a smile on your face.

For more yummy dessert recipes in a jar, click here.

Happy Easter!

Foto Friday

Today is Buddy's Friday Foto Fun Day! He sure is one photogenic doggie, isn't he?

Buddy trying to take a nap- no thanks to me!

He looks scary here but he's really a sweetheart

I call this Dog's Best Friend

Also, a photo of me in my Take Action Dress from my previous post; I decided to go with outfit #1 because it is so adorable and girly- and we all know how girly wedding events can be!

Belt- Anthro, Shoes- by Glint from Nordstrom, Necklace- J.crew

With a cute cardigan (from Anthro) in case it gets cold

Well, the hubby and I are off to a San Diego for a weekend full of wedding festivities- have a great, love-filled weekend and Happy Easter!

Take Me Out Tonight

I took a visit to Anthropologie, my absolute favorite store, and found the cutest Eva Franco skirt on the sale rack. It had great hanger appeal but I was a little doubtful that it would look as good on, especially since there were so many left on sale. Boy was I wrong, the skirt is amazing! It fit well- not too short (or too long), emphasized my waist (in a good way), and minimized my thighs. So of course, this skirt made it home with me for just $39 (down from $158!) and I knew it would become one of my favorite pieces to wear.

Draped Jungle Skirt-get it on sale here

When I got home, I looked in my closet to see how I could style this beauty and came up with was a super cute outfit perfect for a date or a night out with the gals- I call it my "Take Me Out Tonight" outfit. What do you think of it?

Top- Odille from Anthro, Shoes- Louboutin, Belt- Anthro, Purse- Free People, Necklace-J.Crew

Here it is on me- sorry for the blurriness but we were in a hurry and late for dinner! :)

The only thing I did differently was to switch out the brown purse for a turquoise one

I get so excited when I find something I love for a great price! Have you found any great deals lately?

Royal Blue Cupcakes

I'm excited for Sunday. This Sunday is not only Easter, it's the start of TLC's Royal Wedding Week. You see, I'm a huge wedding fan. HUGE. I love all things wedding; it doesn't matter what it is, if it has to do with a wedding, I am immediately interested. So you can probably imagine how excited I am about the upcoming royal wedding. I already told the hubby that he better record it for me and he thinks that I'm a little strange for getting so excited over it. 

So when I decided to bake some Easter-decorated cupcakes, I was inspired to make them ROYAL blue in honor of the royal wedding...well, I tried to make them royal blue but they turned out to be more of a teal. But that's ok with me, since teal is my favorite color. 

I used my favorite red velvet cake recipe from bakerella.com (I just substituted the red food coloring for blue). This recipe is so moist and simple to make, and the cream cheese frosting is to die for (I tinted the frosting with gel coloring).

Not the royal blue I was going for but still a gorgeous color

They rose perfectly and smelled so yummy

This little chick is proudly the king of the cupcakes





Are any of you excited for the royal wedding that's coming up on April 29th?

Cranes for Kids!!

When the Mr. and I got married last September, we folded origami cranes as a way to incorporate his Japanese heritage. It's been said that folding 1,000 cranes will bring good luck and fortune, along with a granted wish. These origami beauties were truly folded out of love, and with the help of family and friends, we soon finished over 1,000. We incorporated the cranes into our decor and even used them as escort cards that our guests could take home.

So after the wedding, we packed up the the remaining cranes (still over 1,000 of them) into boxes and had plans to use them as wall decor in our home. But since then, we've been fairly busy and so the boxes of cranes just sat in our garage. Well, we won't be using them as decor anymore, in fact, we won't even be keeping them at all! We've found a much better way to put them to use- check out this OshKosh B'gosh Cranes for Kids event! For every folded origami crane they receive, they will send an article of clothing to the children of Japan.

We've all been touched by the recent tragedy in Japan, and I love how there are so many ways for us to contribute somehow, no matter what our financial status may be. This contribution may not cost me and my husband very much in monetary terms, but I still feel good about being able to help out in some way. I guess we'll just have to find something else to use as wall decor...or we can always fold another 1,000 cranes...

So check out OshKosh B'gosh Cranes for Kids program for yourself- but this program ends April 25th so hurry up and get folding!

For more information on how you can help, click here.

Here are a few wedding photos of our origami cranes

Have you come across any great ways to help the people in Japan?