my favorite things consist of j.crew swimsuits, vanilla cupcakes and red lipstick

sour cherry pie...

Sour Cherry Pie

Ingredients

Makes 1 nine-inch pie

• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• Pate Brisee (Pie Dough)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 7 cups cherries, pitted
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle, about 13 inches in diameter. Drape dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and transfer to refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together beaten egg and milk, and set aside. Combine cherries, lemon juice, sugar, and flour, and pour into chilled bottom crust. Dot with butter. Roll out the remaining dough to the same size and thickness. Brush rim of bottom crust with the remaining beaten egg, place the other piecrust on top, and crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers. Transfer to the refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes. Brush the crust with egg wash, and bake 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. and bake 30 to 40 minutes more. Let cool before serving.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Sour Cherry Pie and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

southern dessert...

 

  

  

My mother gave me a quick lesson on how to make her delicious, southern-style banana pudding...To my surprise, it was rather simple than I was expecting. The finished dessert only took 10 minutes to make and as always....it tasted GOOD!

• 1 large pkg instant vanilla pudding, (6 ounces)
• 2 1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk, (14 ounces)
• 1 container whipped topping, (16 ounces)
• sliced bananas
• vanilla wafer cookies

Preparation:

Mix pudding and milk; add condensed milk. Blend well; fold in half the whipped topping. Alternate layers of pudding, bananas and vanilla wafers; top with remaining whipped topping and a few banana slices.
Refrigerate overnight before serving.

easy strawberry smoothie...

 

  

Need: 

1 cup sliced fresh or frozen strawberries

1 1/4 cups milk

1 1/4 cups ice (8 large ice cubes)

Directions:

add strawberries, ice, and milk to blender

blend on high for 1 minute

  

Smoothies are one of my favorite things to drink in the morning for breakfast or just for a quick 'pick-me up' snack...Although smoothies are often yummy and healthy it's very easy to pack on the extra (not needed) calories...Here is a simple recipe to make a delicious drink under 3 minutes. 

*If you are vegan (or) your tummy just simply cannot handle dairy, you may substitute the milk for soy, almond or rice milk instead for an equally delightful treat.

birthday treat...

Vintage Cocktails, $50

The Satorialist, $25

Domino: The Book of Decoration, $32

Tim Walker Pictures, $125

I Love Your Style, $19.99

There is nothing more fascinating then flipping through a rather large, vivid, coffee table book! My collection keeps growing at a rapid pace...never quite giving me the chance to take a break from purchasing these lovely reads. With my birthday steadily approaching (December 8th), I'm thinking about taking a trip to Anthropologie & treating myself.

Easy as fried pie | Homesick Texan

Easy as fried pie Homesick Texan

These blueberry pies look delicious! I’m planning on making this dessert over the weekend.

Whimsical aprons for baking

These adorable aprons are sweet for whipping up delicious cupcakes and cooking amazing new dishes!

Idea: Retro aprons can also be worn as tops in the summer :)

These aprons are available in the store and even better....they are on sale!

Please see the Summer Clearance section

Etsy Favorite: Coupon Pocket-Book

Hi Everyone!

I saw the most amazing product on Etsy today..and just wanted to share with everyone :)

It's by an Atlanta based company named Mulch.

The owner name is Stephanie and she invented the 'coupon pocket-book'

This AMAZING, convient book makes searching for coupons at the grocery store a breeze...and the books are very stylish too :)

My favorites are the Hootie Owl accordian style and Paisley Mini Coupon Pocket-Book.

Check them out for yourself!

http://www.mulch.etsy.com/

Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 12 cupcakes

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 ½ cups grated carrots (be sure to grate finely so it doesn’t all sink to the bottom of the cupcake)

¼ cup pecans, chopped

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting 4 ½ ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

¼ cup maple syrup

12 pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake holders.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars and oil until they are combined. Add the two eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Add the vanilla extract.
Sift all the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix. Add the grated carrots and pecans.
Divide the batter between the cupcake holders and bake for around 15 minutes or until springy to touch. Allow to cool.
For the frosting, mix cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar and maple syrup until creamy. Spoon the icing onto the cupcakes and place the pecan halves on top.

* I absolutely love carrot cakes and ANYTHING cupcakes...so I thought this was a treat for all the sweet tooth's out there :)

This little recipe was published in Design Sponge Online

This entire weekend was purrr-fit!

I enjoyed relaxing under my bedroom fan, listening to Pinback and watching how-to-do videos on 'floral arrangements'...

After being inspired by the short film...i threw on a Summer cotton dress and converse.. headed out the door to my nearest nursery...

I settled on 3 herbs to start my herb garden...Greek Oregano, Parsley and Sweet Basil.

I can't wait to try the fresh basil in my pasta dishes :)