Posts from — February 2012

Last week I revealed the newest addition to our apartment furniture: a solid, white corner desk from Ikea that now serves as our workstation.  I absolutely love the way the white desk and bookshelf create a cozy home office in a corner of our living room, but the bookshelf has been looking pretty bare since we assembled the piece.

The pictures I shared before showed off our new, simple white lamp, a couple of fake potted plants, and a small bundle of fresh flowers. But clearly more work needs to be done. I want to add baskets to at least two of our bottom squares, our desk top needs some sort of organization tool, the wall above the work station needs art, and most importantly, the squares need filling!

So here’s where my head is at as far as filling the squares in our bookshelf. I like white ceramic pieces (can you tell I read Young House Love?). Busts, animals, bowls, vases. You name it, I like it. I also want plants! Green, green green. I love the way a small plant instantly brings life to a shelf. And books. Ideally colorfully bound books. I’m not a huge fan of framed pictures on bookshelves, but a framed piece of art, or simple print might make its way in.

Take a look at the bookshelves that are making me weak in the knees.

Bookshelf photos on Pinterest here, here here, here, here, here and here.

I’m hoping that by next week, our shelves will be looking this good. Lots of white, with bursts of color. A plant or two (or three) and an assortment of books. A couple of baskets to hide our junk, and a wall with a frame (or five). You guessed it! Another white framed gallery wall might be in our apartment’s near future.

Who’s excited? I’m excited, are you excited? Good. Stay tuned for after photos, and in the meantime send me your favorite desk / bookshelf decorating tips!

Who wants to start with a quick list of the two things I said I was going to do this weekend?

• Go shopping in search of these black pumps
• Bake one of the following quick and easy desserts

Whoever said that goals are more easily realized once written down, was way off. While I didn’t get around to my actual to do list, there was quite a bit of doing this weekend. So here goes.

I did indulge in the most lazy, laid back Saturday morning at a local coffee shop in Portland’s Old Port. I sat at the coffee shop bar enjoying a delicious latte and donut, while herds of locals came and went. Some set up shop on the couches, others stopped to listen to the shop’s live music. A 19 year old with a keyboard and a microphone and a whole lot of soul.

I checked out a few local stores in the Old Port that I had never been into before. Turns out Blanche and Mimi is the most adorable store in the world. I seriously could not walk out empty handed. I decided to make a few purchases for a good friend who is expecting her first child this May. Super soft, sweet colored, organic baby clothes? Yes please.

I managed to take down some margaritas and white sangria and chips and dip and mexican food. There was a trip to the dog kennel to pick up my parent’s puppy, and a trip to the airport to pick up my parents. I hit the jackpot at Marshall’s and finally scored a bust of Buddha (after looking for oh… 2+ years), and picked up a few additional goodies to help spruce up our new white desk. I also snagged two new tops from H&M. A gold sequin sweater, and a black and white polka dot blouse. Pictures later this week, I promise.

Shopping and food and coffee shops aside, the absolute best part of this weekend was taking part in the homecoming of my best friend’s boyfriend after a year long deployment overseas. A night on the town is always fun, but his return this weekend made our nights out a bit more special than usual.

So there  you have it, my weekend in a nutshell. Did anyone else throw their to-do lists to the wind this weekend?

It was just after 11AM. I parked the car on Exchange St., bundled up and grabbed my camera. I fed the meter and set off, planning to take some photos of downtown Portland. But the skies were cloudy, and the wind was freezing, so I stopped into Bard for a latte. I walked in and found a young guy playing live music. A keyboard and a microphone and so much heart and soul that I couldn’t resist staying for a while.

So I ordered a triple latte and a donut.

I took a seat at the coffee bar and took in the music of Max Ater. Kid is amazing. Turns out he’s only 19, but already has a voice of a pro. And he sings songs about Maine, and girls from a small towns, and lost love and breaking hearts and Friday nights and living life so seriously what’s not to love? Have a listen below.

Mornings like this make it hard to leave Maine. If I could spend every weekend morning sitting on a bar stool in a local coffee shop, listening to live music like this, my life would be pretty perfect.

I have to admit. It was kind of hard for me to say those words. Nothing against people who shop at Payless. I am all for finding good deals, and paying less for things. I live out of cheap stores like Forever 21 and H&M, but when it comes to shoes. Well, I’ve always thought shoes deserve more. For the sake of comfort, on my feet, I’m almost always willing to spend a little more. So it’s fair to say I haven’t shopped at Payless in… years, and years, maybe longer.

Well I’ve had it! Jessica from What I Wore wears two pairs of heels from Payless over and over again. If you follow her blog, you’ve probably noticed that she wears the black and red pumps a lot, and she wears them well. And for a fashion blogger like her to wear a pair of shoes over and over again, means that they must be bearable on the feet.

Photos from What I Wore posted  here, here and here.

But it was really Kendi from Kendi Everyday that pushed me over the edge. She seems to be wearing similar, if not identical black pumps from, you guessed it: Payless.

Photos from Kendi Everyday posted here.

Of course as my luck would have it, I think I held off for too long, because I can’t seem to find these black heels on the Payless website. So, this afternoon: I’m going to pay a visit to the Payless store.

Has anyone else found a surprisingly chip and cheap pair of shoes from Payless? Send me links to pictures so I know I’m not alone!

I was kind of, maybe, sort of hoping you’d forgotten that when I shared my list of new year’s resolutions, it included a goal to try new recipes and bake more often. I even got specific: bake a new dessert or a new treat at least once a month.

January was by default easy, since Heather and I made individual sized cheesecakes during New Year’s weekend. We followed Giada’s recipe for individual orange and chocolate cheesecakes, and left out the orange. It was my first attempt at anything cheesecake like, and it was surprisingly easy. Literally had no idea cheesecake was that easy.

I checked off another first time baking attempt later in the month when I made blueberry dump cake for some friends. It was a random Thursday night and the boyf invited some friends over to watch basketball. My sister also happened to be staying with us that night, so it was a full house and I was looking for a quick and easy dessert. Fortunately I had just come across this post on My Blessed Life earlier in the week, and holy moly, she wasn’t kidding. Easiest dessert ever. It was also one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted.

So that was my experience in January. Easy as pie, and delicious to boot.

Now it’s February, and the month is almost over. So this weekend while I spend the weekend in Maine, I plan to whip up a few tasty treats. Unfortunately my parents are going to be out of town, which means I’ll be the only taste tester, but I suppose that’s not the worst problem to have.

Here’s what I’m thinking:

No Bake Nutella Cheesecakes, recipe from My Baking Addiction or Curros, courtesy of Emily

White chocolate spice cupcakes shared by Olivia Rae

Oreo truffles from Your Homebased Mom

Cookie dough cheesecake bars from My Baking Addiction

Anyone drooling yet? Or am I the only one? So my plan is to pick one of the desserts above, and get busy baking this weekend. Stay tuned for a post with pictures after my attempt to bake!

I can’t be the only person that finds it hard to pick the right shoe to wear in the middle of the winter. Right? Here’s the situation:

It’s freezing cold, maybe snowing. Ground is wet, covered in slush, or even worse – three feet of snow. But life moves on, people!  I have to get to work each day, and go out at night. My feet get cold when I wear flats, my Toms get wet depending on the weather, my boat shoes don’t exactly scream “winter,” and while Uggs are super comfortable and somewhat practical, who really still wears Uggs? (Well, I do… on the weekend, or when I’m lounging in the evening. But not to work, or out on a Friday night).

My mom would probably say something that makes it seem all too easy. Buy a pair of snow boots, wear them on your commute. Bring a pair of flats to slip on when you get to work. Simple, no? No. It’s not that simple, mom. You try finding a pair of snow boots that don’t look more like moon shoes. (Side note: if you find a pair, let me know!)

So back to the problem, or better yet, the solution. Recently I’ve been turning to my light brown ankle boots. They look a whole lot like the Steve Madden pair below, except they’re a little bit more brown, and believe it or not – they were even less expensive. A coupon and a clearance helped me snag the pair back in the summer for some ridiculously low cost (I think $8).

And now, here we are two seasons later and they are still just as comfortable, and just as practical as ever. My favorite part about wearing these in the winter is that unlike flats, Toms or high heels, I can slip a pair of socks on and no one can even see. Extra warmth? Yes please.

I think I’ve decided that ankle boots might just be the perfect, four season shoe.

So in case you want to snag a pair (or three) of your own, here are my favorite styles. Three styles on the right are steals, coming in at under $200. The three on the left, well I’ll save those for my dreams. But maybe one of you lucky readers is in the mood to splurge.

Seasonless Booties: Steals and Splurges by whitneyprior featuring suede western boots

We have a home office, we have a home office, we have a home office that’s a desk and a bookshelf and a laptop workstation! I hinted at a IKEA purchase in an earlier post this week, but I didn’t tell you what we were purchasing.

So, I’ll rewind. Remember back in September when the boyf and I moved in together? I made a great long list of all of the major apartment projects that were needed before our one bedroom apartment felt like a home. We checked off a number of big ticket items in the fall, like painting the living room, painting the bathroom, creating a dining room and a cozy, bright living room.

Somewhat strategically, we left one big huge corner of our living room empty until after the holidays. It’s where we housed our Christmas tree during the holidays, and a queen size aerobed in the months since when we’ve had visitors. But our goal was always to turn the corner into a home office of sorts.

Finally this past weekend we took the plunge and drove to IKEA. We braved the crowds, and the warehouse, and the big, huge, boxes and returned home with a great, big, awesome white desk (and bookshelf). We ended up purchasing the Expedit workstation. It’s pretty bulky, but our living room corner can handle it’s dimensions, and it’s the style we had been eying since September.

We set up the workstation the same evening and (unlike the living room paint color fiasco), we have no regrets. We both absolutely love it, and having a “home office” has already proved incredibly useful.

Now, it’s just time to decorate that beast! There are 8 cubes in the Expedit bookshelf that we purchased, but only 4 are visible (the other 4 are tucked underneath the table top).  Stay tuned to see how we fill the shelves, and decorate the wall above the desk!

Random story that will somehow be related to this post: my cousin Susu from Los Angeles invented arm candy. Okay, obviously not, but ever since I was a little girl, my dad would tell stories about how you could hear Susu from a mile away. When she arrived at your door, she wouldn’t ring your doorbell, she’d give her forearm a shake, and her bangles and bracelets would jingle so loud that you’d know she had arrived. It’s been a running story for years, and it’s one of my favorite make shift memories that I have of her. So, in my mind – Susu started the arm candy trend, and the world has just finally caught up.

So without further ado. I share with you my love for some serious arm candy in the form of bangles, bracelets, cuffs and watches. Layered, stacked and piled on to delicate little wrists.

I love that the look can be pulled off in a zillion ways. Sometimes wrists go overboard, decked out like crazy, and I love it. Other times, the accessories are much more simple. An over-sized watch and a handful of simple bangles. I still love it. Whether your look includes every color of the rainbow, or you prefer a monochromatic arm (obviously I prefer all gold), arm candy is just freaking awesome.

Photos on Pinterest 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

So there you have it. My roundup of arm candy from Pinterest. Now it’s your turn. Go pile on the accessories and make your arm jingle your new signature hello.

I didn’t want to go out. Definitely didn’t want to drink much. I wanted to get to bed at a reasonable hour and feel alive on Sunday for our early morning IKEA trip (more on that later).

But we had committed to plans, and I didn’t want to back out. So we met the boyf’s best friend (and his parents, and younger brother) at a bar in Back Bay. We ended up having a few drinks. Great company, great conversation. When it was time for them to make their way to dinner, the boyf and I stayed put at the bar to finish our drinks.

It was just a few minutes later when (out of no where) a big, bearded guy pushed his way through the bar crowd, right into my personal space. It took a second for me to realize that the boyf was to my right, and no, I did not expect any company towards my left. I turned around to see one of my absolute best friends from college, with a big, huge shit eating grin on his face.

I just about cried I was so flipping excited.

It’s nights like Saturday that make me wish I went out more. I ended up having such an incredible night. The boyf and I hung out at the bar with Tyler for an hour or so before making our way home. We invited my old roommate and her boyfriend over for an old school house party (for four).

We drank beers and champagne and sat on the living room floor playing college drinking games until (some of us) couldn’t drink anymore.

What’d you all do this weekend? Any surprise visits?

This song gets me everytime. Every, single time. Give it a listen and I dare you to tell me it’s not swoon worthy. Swoon worthy in a totally heart wrenching, makes you want to cry kind of way.