Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Making Macarons

My sweet friend Kaleigh came over the other day and we made macarons! Since I've been wanting to do more photography with my DSLR, I pulled it out and took a few shots while we worked. The macarons didn't come out perfectly, but they were tasty and the most important part was that we had such fun making them! It's been so amazing to have a baking buddy in Hammond! Who knows what we'll bake next!







Friday, March 22, 2019

Meet our new kitten!

Meet our new kitten--Tigger! Aptly named for his color and stripes and tendency to bounce everywhere he goes. 

Casey found him at a job and the man there was on the phone with the pound trying to get them to come pick up the cat. He was meowing like crazy (it was seriously annoying) but he was just so cute. So Casey told the man he'd take him and find him a home. 

Several weeks later... and he's still here. In his home. We couldn't bear to send him elsewhere.

Tigger is currently staring at me and I can't get over how adorable he is. Except he's a little less adorable when he wakes me up around 4:00 every morning. 
Everyone always asks how Oxford feels about the situation and he pretty much hates it. By pretty much I mean completely. Oxford is not playful at all and he doesn't understand that the cat is playing and not being mean by attacking him. Because of that, he's completely wary of the cat. Sometimes Tigger will try to cuddle up next to Oxford and he only puts up with it for about 30 seconds before moving away.

Tigger's new favorite thing is outside time. Unfortunately, he loves to get under the house. We had dinner with Casey's parents this week and had to bribe the cat out from under the house before we could go eat. He's getting super sneaky about sneaking past us when we open the door, so we're having to be extra careful when we get home and let Oxford in and out.

Seeing that I've never had a kitten, it's definitely been an interesting experience, but we are loving (most of) it. He's an adorable little furball!

And here's the best part... PHOTOS!

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Happy Pi Day!



I may not be a math person, but I am definitely a nerd at heart and can get behind celebrating days that combine nerdiness and sweets!

Today I was driving downtown to Courtyard Cafe to get some work done when I saw a sign that said PIE! Immediately my attention was drawn because... pie. There were tables out with fresh homemade pies, people holding signs about pie, and the kicker—they had shut down the street. Literally. They shut down the street so people could sell pies. And in that moment, I received confirmation that I live in the right town. Small towns are the best.

I didn't actually make a pie today (nor did I make one yesterday that could be consumed today), which means I'm totally slacking this year. I did, however, make a chocolate coconut cream pie last week at Casey's request, so I guess we just celebrated early. My fave pie is apple though, and, man, I'm craving an apple pie. Maybe I'll make one next week, so we'll have celebrated pi day early AND late!

Hope you're having a happy pi day!

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

A Day in NOLA

A few weeks ago, my bestie Julianne called and asked if I wanted to go to New Orleans with her to deliver some vintage clothes to a few of the vintage shops. Of course I said yes!

Which is how we found ourselves in Century Girl for several hours. Obviously, this is my kind of shop, since the outside is my favorite color--PINK! It's just too cute. It was so fun to sit in on the buying appointment as Julianne pulled out an entire trunk worth full of vintage clothes for the shop owner to look through. Thankfully I'd already pulled out a hot pink loungewear set to keep for myself!
After the appointment, we walked down the block to Grandmother's Button, where I bought a pair of pink sunglasses. "I would have tried to talk her out of them but they were perfect for her," Julianne later told Casey. (Not really sure why we needed to defend my purchase--I only buy cheap sunglasses!) I definitely didn't need them... but I have an affinity to acquire cheap sunglasses and probably have like 12 pairs in my car. You'd think I keep so many because they break or I lose them. Nope! I can keep a pair of sunglasses from Target's dollar bin alive for years. But I really enjoy choosing different colors based on my mood that day.

Then we had some time to waste so we popped into Deville Coffee House and Creperie. I got a hot chocolate (I try to avoid caffeine in the afternoon) and a caramel apple crepe. Oh, the crepe was divine! Now I want to convince Courtyard Cafe to add it to the menu!
After snacks/coffee, Julianne went to another buying appointment and Casey met up with me! He found a New Orleans tour app and led me on a tour of the Garden District. We popped into Garden District Books because I can't resist a book store. It was so cute!
I enjoyed taking photos of the houses along our self-guided walking tour. We both love old houses. (Which is why we love the house we're in now!)

I'm truly blessed to be married to a guy who finds the absolute best restaurants in the entire world. He found this little hole in the wall place that had PIZZA MAC AND CHEESE. Yes, the caps were necessary. It was truly one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten in my entire life. Man, I want some right now.
After the PIZZA MAC AND CHEESE, we went to Angelo Brocato for dessert, and I got my fave⸺the cream horn. I also sampled the almond pistachio gelato and that's what I'll be getting next time!
We finished off the evening with a game of putt putt in New Orleans City Park. And... I won! (This is the second time I've beaten Casey. Yes, I'm keeping a record.)

Monday, March 11, 2019

I MADE A SKIRT!

I had no idea when I wrote out my goals for this year that I would teach myself how to sew. It all started with these reusable produce bags. And it escalated quickly... I made this skirt!

I found this video tutorial and it is AMAZING. It's over two hours long and I watched the entire thing and decided I could probably do it. It's the perfect project for a sewing beginner. She teaches how to make a pattern and it's totally customizable--I made it to my measurements and the exact length I wanted it to be, which is great, because I sometimes find it hard to find skirts the length I like! I learned some new techniques, like gathering, how to hem, how to do a waistband, how to seam rip (I got lots of practice), etc.

Definitely don't look too close, because it's not perfect. BUT I'm still proud of it and I've already worn it a ton in the week and a half since I made it.

I'm now working on my second skirt. I decided to make some modifications to the original pattern. I'm moving the zipper to the back, adding two pockets, and shortening the hem half an inch. I thrifted some olive colored curtains for $6 that I'm making it with. I wanted to use cheap fabric since I'm messing with the pattern, just in case it doesn't work. Skirt number two has proved to be a major pain. I accidentally sewed the wrong sides together and had to seam rip a tonnnnn. But... it should be alright in the end! (Hopefully.)

Jumping into this sewing journey is opening up a world of possibilities! After I finish skirt number two and make sure it turns out alright with my modifications, I plan on using this fabric next. Isn't it cute?
I love fun clothes, so I'm excited to be able to make my own! I've been majorly inspired by this super fun art teacher's clothes, and hope to try out some of her ideas!

And for funzies, here's the original of that first pic. The brown wall just didn't work for me, so I turned it pink. I love photoshop!