Wearable Blue

     So since it went over well last time I posted about makeup, maybe I can get away with it another time? How about some blue eye shadow  Now I know for a lot of people, when you talk about blue, you get a few images in your head.

     First I automatically think of Mimi and her really garish, unblended, to the brow shocking blue.  The second thing I think of is really frosty, still to the brow, 1970’s blue. Always accompanied by feathered blonde hair. Both of these looks are really dated and unwearable. Well I mean more power to you if this is your thing, but I’m not sure if it would fly so well at my office. 

     I decided to try and tackle a blue that was wearable. I’ve seen a lot of palettes popping up with fresh bright spring colors. Seeing as it’s really horrible here in the Midwest this week, I figured something that called to spring would help perk up my mood a bit. Here’s what I came up with. 

     I kept it far away from my brow bone, and because I have quite hooded eyes, I brought the blue down around my tear ducts and the bottom lash line. My when catch me looking down, or you know just “casually” fluttering my eye lids, you get a fun wash of color. The colors are from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, and the Wet N Wild “Blue had me at hello” palette (See the card for placement).

      I kept the liner on the top lids subtle  using a light hand and a pencil liner, using a brush to blend it out into a faint cat eye. I defined my brows and added mascara to curled lashes. For my lips I used Revlon Color burst lipstick in “hazelnut”.

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How I Store My Vintage Patterns

I know I’ve mentioned my sewing pattern

hoard

collection before. I own a lot. Probably too many.

I’d say my collection is about half vintage, and half modern.

I just had them stuffed in a box haphazardly for a long time, which made it hard to find anything. Also it wasn’t doing any favors for my delicate paper patterns. (I have some dating back to the 20’s!). So I decided to do something about it.

I got an idea from the most unlikely of places, my nerdy boyfriend Brian.

Isn’t he handsome? PS this is totally at epcot, excuse the hat. 

Brian

likes

 LOVES comics. In fact, I’m pretty sure the only reason we bought our house is because he could walk to the comic store from it. 

Who loves and wants to protect paper more than sewing pattern hoarders? 

COMIC BOOK NERDS.

In fact they have very specific products to protect and preserve their comics. I guess I just lucked out that my paper product was similar in size to theirs. 

Here’s what you’ll need. 

Backer Boards & Bags

Long Boxes

 (I mean you could use the shorts, but my collection barely fits into the two long ones.)

I of course purchased these at my local comic book shop, any comic book shop should carry these supplies. 

I used the backing boards to stabilize my extra delicate vintage patterns. You can use them on the modern ones or not, it’s up to you. You then put the pattern with or without the backing board into the bag and seal with a piece of acid free tape. The bags and boards are already acid free, which is awesome. You should end up with something like this. 

Easy peasy right?

Here’s the entirety of my pattern collection, taking up way less room, and so much safer, than before.

 I used the backing boards, with tabs I cut from other backing board tape on them, to serve as dividers in my vintage box. I’ll eventually organize the modern side into the big four pattern companies.

No pattern is safe around Taco though, his name should be paper destroyer. 

 A plus I’ve also found for using these comic book bags is that if you can’t fit your pattern into the envelope, it’s much easier just put it in the comic book bag. Better yet, for printable patterns you have an envelope to store your pieces.

I hope this helps you fellow pattern hoarders at least get your “situation” organized. Let’s just all thank my boyfriend, with his nose in his Absolute Dark Knight book shall we?

Paleo Strawberry Pankcakes

If you’ve been on pinterest before, I’m sure you’ve seen the two egg and one banana pancake recipe. It’s intriguing to me because one, all the ingredients are Paleo, and two, it seems super easy. 

Here’s my variation, which involves a bit more than the two original ingredients. 

You’ll need

2 Bananas

4 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sliced strawberries

Coconut Oil

Maple Syrup for serving

Makes 8-10 small pancakes

Directions

I started by just putting my eggs in the blender and giving them a good whirl for maybe about 30 seconds. It think this helps keep the pancakes a bit more fluffy. 

Add the remaining ingredients (except the strawberries, coconut oil & maple).

Add strawberries and mix in by hand, don’t blend them in. 

In a small skillet, over medium heat, heat up about a teaspoon of coconut oil. 

Add two tablespoons of batter and wait until pancake starts bubbling on top side before flipping. 

I found it easiest to use a bendable plastic spatula to flip these. 

Cook for about another thirty seconds on the other side.

Put the pancakes on serving plate, and continue until there’s no remaining batter left. 

Serve immediately with lots of 100% real maple syrup.

While I, and Brian, think these are really delicious  I don’t think that you’ll fool anyone into thinking these are fluffy gluten filled pancakes. The texture is probably more spot on with a thick crepe. 

I think my recipe is winner though, Brian’s requested I make them two days in a row. 

Week In Review

I know, I’ve been a lazy blogger this week. But to be fair I was on vacation for most of it. Expect an obnoxiously long photo post as soon as I’m able to get those bad boys uploaded and edited. 

This week was wonderful/horrible. 

Wonderful: 

Vacation

Finding Perfect Vintage Earring Cases

Being able to take a “Downton Bubble Bath”

Finding a new favorite nail color, so springy! 

Horrible:

Lots of time on planes

Swollen Legs

Seriously Hurting my feet from the amount of walking I did in San Francisco

Jet Lag and time zone issues

My house being a total disaster area

Not keeping up with the blog schedule

But Thanks goodness things are getting back to normal (including my legs).

Minor Change In The Kitchen

Just got back from my San Francisco trip! I’m a little sun burnt, a little swollen, and a lot jet lagged. 

But hey, gotta keep on keeping on, am I right? 

I got a kitchen cart that makes much more spacial sense than the gate leg table I had next to the fridge before.

See how far it sticks out in comparison to our fridge? That led to a lot of door banging and bruised hips. It did the job though, and was something I already owned. So being a bit impractical for that space was made up for by the fact it was “free”. But since I had a bit of extra cash with my tax return that came in, I brought something that made much more sense. 

I love it, a lot. It’s the 

FÖRHÖJA

 kitchen cart from none other than IKEA. It was kind of a pain in the butt to put together, but I really like the look

 of it.

 Since it’s against the wall instead of serving as an island, I might put some drawer stops on the back. Besides that though it’s perfect. I can finally get my cook books out of the 

cabinets

 too! I often forget I have them when they’re sight unseen. 

PS: I still love the new tiny fridge! I haven’t had any issues with food fitting or the fridge being too small. It’s just laid out really perfectly. I cannot 

recommend

 it enough! 

Paleo Chocolate Hearts

Guys, I love candy. I’ve always had this killer sweet tooth. I blame my mother, she’s way worse than me. (love you mumsy!)

Valentines day is an awesome time for candy, weather it’s from someone else or you “treat yo self”.

Being Paleo though can be kind of a buzz kill. Leave it to me to find a sneaky way around it for this delicious treat.

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup 100% dark cocoa powder

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Candy Mold/Shaped Ice Cube tray

Start by melting your coconut oil, I just pop the whole container in the microwave for 30 seconds and pour out what I need.

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Fill molds and set in freezer. You might want to lightly mist with some olive oil or non stick to help you remove them later. I picked up two heart shaped ice cube trays at the target dollar spot. You could use any mold or ice cube tray that you have. When I make this paleo chocolate for an everyday sweet tooth killer, I just half fill my silicone muffin liners.

Let set until completely firm, which takes about a 1/2 hour. I then remove them from the molds, and keep them in a freezer bag. Because they rely on coconut oil, I would at least keep them in the fridge (freezer is better) so they stay solid. That’s if you don’t eat them all right away.

Recipe Adapted from

here

San Francisco Trip Packing

So I’ve got a little weekend trip to San Francisco this weekend. I get kind of obsessive about packing. I try to only pack in my carry on, and still have room for a few souvenirs. I’ll only be gone for four days, but I like having options. So I try and pack things I can mix and match, a capsule wardrobe if you will.

Bring major pieces in neutrals. Something that can be worn easily with other colors and prints. Jersey is your best friend. It rolls tightly, is easy to wear, and is pretty wrinkle proof. I love the jersey knit pencil skirts Old Navy is currently Carrying. I’m packing one in black, and one in a black and white stripe. 

Skip the jeans, bring the jeggings. They’re ten times more comfortable, and take up way less space when you pack.

A jersey black dress (any neutral will do).

A pair of good quality black tights, the kind with an extra high waist won’t roll down and will be comfortable all day.

A brightly colored sweater for a pop of color.

One neutral colored and one brightly colored (contrasting or complimenting the sweater). I wear them mostly as scarves  but it’s nice to be able to throw something over your shoulders if you get cold. Also they can make a good beach cover up if weather permits swimming (or if your hotel has an indoor pool!). Mostly I like them to jazz up what can be a really basic outfit.

A cardigan (for chilly mornings and nights).

Always remember your sunglasses (and prescription if your visually impaired like I am). 

Two pairs of shoes, one comfy pair of flats that slip on and off easily (for air-port screenings) and one pair of nice shoes for going out and looking hot. These can either be flats or heels. If you bring a heeled shoe though, make sure it’s comfortable. I love my ankle booties. The thick heels make them easy to walk in! I will pick up a few gel inserts though before I leave, nothing ruins vacation more than blisters or sore feet.

Two pair of earrings. I always bring my pearls, and a cheap pair. The gold rose earrings are from forever 21, and I’m not afraid to lose them. I’ll wear these on tours and walking around the city. While I’ll save the pearls for a nice dinner or another special occasion on the trip.

Here are just a few examples of what you can pull together with my16 items. 

I save space by rolling things together. Like I would roll my skirts into one roll. Laying them together on top of one another and rolling them like a sleeping bag. Things don’t wrinkle as much this way either!

Whats your go to packing list? Anything in San Francisco I shouldn’t miss?