The Anatomy of a Cupcake

How sweet is this?



How delicious is this print by Allen Hemberger? What a creative take on the sinfully delectable ingredients that go into making one of my favorite treats. This is available in print and how cute would be over a tiny apartment kitchen table? Sweet, sweet, sweet!

{via Black*Eiffel and Oh! Cupcakes}

Have a Lovely Weekend!

Happy Friday my sweet readers! I am so looking forward to this weekend and the plans that I do and don't have. My nights are low key for the most part, and aside from a 12 mile run tomorrow {yuck}, I am excited to see what the weekend has in store. Dave & I are celebrating Valentine's Day on Sunday since he is jetting to the East Coast next week for work. I'm excited to get dressed up and look pretty for our date, I feel like these days are so few and far between when we are able to find the time to sit down for two hours together, out of our apartments & all cleaned up. We are going to Tarantino's, an adorable Italian restaurant with a great wine list and cute tables for two. I have a sweet little Valentine's gift for Dave that I am going to preview for you tomorrow {luckily Dave doesn't read my blog too often!}  Since Chicago is currently colder than the North Pole, dressing up and staying warm is unfortunately not an option - so I am going to freeze for the evening.

Since it is no where near Spring in these parts, I am going to stick with the basics. I absolutely adore the first dress, but any of these would do.

1. Flutter Sleeve Dress

2. Ruffle One Shoulder Dress

3. Abigail Lace Dress

*I currently do not own any of these {nor have the $$} so I plan on hunting this weekend.

I would keep it sweet & simple with the accessories. Throw in a little color & some pretty earrings, good to go.

1. Valentino Bow Pump 

*shocking side note, Paris Hilton makes a cute alternative without the $$$.

2. Pave Posy Clip Earrings

All of this will be hiding under an enormous puffy North Face coat, scarf, boots, gloves, and hat. Dave will be shocked, since he has probably forgotten that I am capable of looking cute in these dark winter days. On top of dinner, Sunday is supposed to be 40 degrees in Chicago! So I hope to make the day enjoyable for both of us, by cooking breakfast, taking Webster to the dog park, and moving slowly with no plans whatsoever. But enough about me, what are your plans?! Anything fun with your valentine?

See you Monday!

Crumbs



We have a serious problem. This just opened around the corner from my office. This is a problem because I consumed 2385728566 pounds of taco dip, bacon, beer, french fries, and pizza this weekend, which is why the plan was to begin serious detox day 1 today. Then, someone rudly walked by my desk with this:

and I almost drooled, before I saw the next girl walk by with this:

Seriously?  But then I started thinking, "I wonder what other flavors of delicious, ginormous cupcakes Crumbs offers?"

Horrible. Terrible idea.

Detox Day 1. Crumbs!

Homemade Twix Bars

Emily over at Cupcakes and Cashmere posted a recipe for Homemade Twix Bars a few months back and I have been dying to try them. I have a few nights all to myself this week and I think it will be the perfect way to wind down after a long day. I have an almost gross obsession with caramel and her photos look too good to be true!

{recipe via Not Without Salt, photos via Emily}

Holiday Candles

Holiday candles are probably one of my favorite simple pleasures to enjoy during the dark and chilly Chicago winters. Their tiny flickers and wonderfuls smells make you feel at home and celebrate the holiday season.

Henri Bendel makes my three favorite candles for the holidays.

 

and for $30 each, they make the perfect little gift! Find them here.

A Friendly Thanksgiving

Tonight is our second annual friendly "Gizzard Gobble" Thanksgiving. It is to celebrate this wonderful holiday with our friends while allowing ourselves a sneak peak of the meals we have to look forward to next week.

My boyfriend, Dave's, house is hosting it for the second time and lets just say the decor is slim to absolutely no decor, maybe a holiday candle burning if we are lucky.

I wish I could bring along something along these lines to excite our guests and really get their hearts beating with holiday spirit...

..but I could almost guarantee Dave would look at my and laugh and tell me to go pour myself a drink.

Instead, I am contributing this cranberry sauce and this pumpkin banana tart!

Happy Weekend!

A Nice Little Sunday

My Sunday began with this...

yes, wow.

with lots of coffee, on a brisk fall morning.

The benedict called for arugula-lemon butter to drizzle on top. 

So delicious.

 Webster watched from a distance with constant drool pouring from his mouth.

But I couldn't be mad because he is such a little, patient, lovebug.

Amazing. And the best part was that I got to share it with two of my faves...

Happy.

My Sunday finished with this...Team Name: Soft Touches

Playoff game 1 was on Halloween, Dave came as Peter Pan.

Team Soft Touches lost in the first playoff game...

until next year!

Happy November!!