DIY: Underwear Rolls

Since time keeps inching closer and closer to Christmas day, I thought I'd share one of my favorite  simple and cute DIY projects! These underwear rolls make perfect small gifts for your secret santa, or to use as a fun stocking stuffers. I made a set for my sister and some friends a few years back, needless to say they were such a hit! Here's how...

g a t h e r

+ choice of underwear | hint |

+ silicone cupcake liners | hint |

+ clear cellophane wrap | hint |

+ pretty ribbon | hint |

t h e n

+ fold underwear in half

+ roll them up

+ place in cupcake liner 

+ wrap with cellophane 

+ tie ribbon around

+ voilà!

Before wrapping in cellophane, top these off with colorful paper confetti for added pizazz! Your friends will be so impressed with how creative you are! :)

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a few more lovely little ideas...

- minimalist lighter sticks & metallic candles

- holiday sweets for your gluten free friend

- letter press printed 3 month calendar,

- drape your gifts in gold foil bunting string. 

Happy Birthday, Catie

My little sister Catherine turns 18 years old today! Getting together has been a more difficult task theses days, but yesterday my brother Chris and I decided to take Catie out. We started at The Jolly Pumpkin in downtown Ann Arbor for some amazing food and drinks including a cheese sampler platter, a truffle pizza Catherine and I split, and the JP burger with a side of their famous truffle fries for Chris. We absolutely loved the atmosphere there. It was as if we were transported to NYC's West Village, one of my favorite boroughs in the city.

After dinner, drinks and nice conversation, we stepped out to some live music and stuck around for a bit to take it all in. We walked over to the State Theater a few blocks away to see 50/50. I'd highly recommend it if you haven't seen that movie! The soundtrack was great, and I really liked Anna Kendrick's character too.

Once the movie was out we walked a few blocks until my sister and I spotted this dimly lit bar called The Raven's Club. It was the perfect spot for grabbing a drink after the show. She and I ordered a couple coffees, mine with a shot of Bailey's and hers with cream. We split the seasonal apple and rhubarb crisp over a candle lit table, which complimented our coffee quite well. The night turned out to be a lovely one. Happy Birthday Catie, xoxo!

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a few extras:

- the pop of bright blue in this fall ensemble.

- this chocolate chip cookies recipe

- these festive treats

- design your own cards/memory books with pinhole press.

- warm up with these fall dishes

A Trip to the West Coast

My younger sister recently arrival home from Cali. She spent the past week and a half their with her friend Maddie, visiting our dad. She told me all about their west coast adventures and showed me the numerous amount of photos they took with my Canon powershot.

Originally I was going to let her borrow my Canon Rebel, but it was being fixed at the time because the flash hadn't been working properly. Fortunately for me, it was a manufacturers problem and I was able to upgrade to the T2i for no extra charge!

The Fourth

(source)

Since I was a kid, every year when the 4th of July came around, we typically had a big BBQ with family, good friends, and lots and lots of food. My dad was always in charge of the grill while my mom would make some sort of 4th of July themed dessert. However, since my dad moved to San Diego, and my mom's currently in New York visiting family, this year wasn't at all the same. Everyone is much more grown up and have jobs and busy schedules, so it's harder to get together. Since my favorite part was always the dessert, my sister Catie & I decided to keep up that tradition with a strawberry & blueberry shortcake! Neither of us are amazing cooks or anything like that, so we just looked up how to make the biscuits from The Serendipity Cookbook, then added vanilla ice cream, strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream on top!

ingredients:


2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder


2 tablespoons sugar


1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces, plus extra for the pan

2/3 cup cold milk


1 large egg


1 tablespoon heavy cream

Granulated sugar, for dusting
(we used sugar in the raw)

1 pint heavy cream,

1 can whipped cream for serving

1 gallon of vanilla ice cream

2 containers of strawberries

2 cups of blueberries

1. Preheat your oven to 425ºF. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process briefly to blend; add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 30 seconds. Add the milk and process until just incorporated; the dough will be dry.

2. Working the dough as little as possible, turn it out onto a clean surface and bring it together with your hands into a ball. Press the ball flat to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Cut out biscuits with a sharp 2 1/2-inch round cutter and place them on a buttered baking sheet, 1 inch apart. (we just did triangles instead)

3. Lightly beat the egg in a small dish, add the cream, and stir. Brush each biscuit with the egg wash, and then sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown and puffed. Transfer to a rack. Keep warm for serving.

Makes approximately 8 biscuits.

Once cooled down, top the biscuits with your choice of vanilla ice cream, cut up strawberries, blueberries, and a dollop of whipped cream.

Meet my younger sister, Catie. She's 17 years old and just graduated high school! Her and I are pretty much as close as sister can get. We're always there for each other, and I don't know what I'd do without her, and I'm sure she'd say the same for me. If you'd like to check out her tumblr, you can do so here > what catie likes. It's really cute, and I'm sure you'll be able to tell she's a big fan of food while scrolling through her posts. Her and I also started our own tumblr, here :).

My Canon Rebel T1i

Central Park in the Fall

A couple of lime green moleskins.

My little sister, Catie.

New York City: Central Park.

Athena &  Carl.

New York City Cab.

New York City Sky Scrapers.

A self portrait for my photography class.

Loui

I recently traded up my Canon powershot with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. I've always loved the idea of photography and played around with it throughout the years, though I wouldn't consider myself to be a photographer. I'd been wanting to pick it up as a hobby for a while now but never had the extra time, or extra money to spend on classes that I didn't absolutely need. 

After my break-up last summer, I figured it'd be the best time to pick up a new hobby to keep my mind pre-occupied. I took one digital photography class and still feel like I have so much to learn, but at least I know some of the basics.

I really love the camera as a whole and would recommend it to students interested in pursuing photography. I'm still learning, but can't wait to tackle all the in's and out's.