waysideviolet

so sweet!

jessica — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:27:22 +0000

I love to bake and I like to try new recipes, but there’s nothing better than whipping up an old favorite. You know, the kind of recipe that you don’t even have to look up, you’ve made it so many times. One of my old favorites is a recipe for chocolate & peanut butter scones that I found in an old issue of Southern Living.

(photo credit) (photo credit)

I made a batch last week for Joel to take to the office. From what he tells me, they were a big hit (especially with the boss!). A nice way to start a new job, don’t you think? Here’s the recipe, if you try it let me know what you think!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Scones

1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 2/3 cups of chocolate & peanut butter chips
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

extra sugar

STIR together milk and vinegar. Set aside

STIR together butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl.

COMBINE chips, flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Drop by rounded 2 tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with extra sugar.

BAKE at 450º for 8 to 10 minutes or until scones are golden.

I always melt a small handful of chocolate chips (20 to 30 second in the microwave will do the trick) and drizzle chocolate on top of the scones, after they cool. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy!

pretty things

jessica — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:50:17 +0000

It’s cloudy here and our home is so cozy it seems like the perfect “inside” day. Here are some pretty, lovely things that I’ve come across lately. First up, the new Toast catalogue, so beautiful!

These adorable prints by The Meadowlark (via Here Comes the Sun). The little fox is my favorite!

My newest favorite food blog, No Recipes. Isn’t it gorgeous?

And last but not least, this magical star lantern

So gorgeous! What are you loving today?

paris

jessica — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:34:37 +0000

Maybe it’s the slightly longer days or the sun that keeps sneaking out to melt bits of our mounds of snow, whatever the reason I keep dreaming of packing a suitcase or two with pretty things and sandals and cameras and heading off on a little adventure. Maybe Paris!

I love looking through Nicole’s (the fab writer behind the delightful little brown pen) flickr stream and seeing all of her dreamy shots of Paris.

Her photos are so pretty! I can almost smell the eclairs and espresso!

interview: sara lagacé

jessica — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:16:08 +0000

I saw Sara’s beautiful Paws on the Etsy front page one day and promptly fell in love. They’re so lovely and fairytale like I had to check out the rest of her shop!

Sara and her creations

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello! My name is Sara, I now live in Montreal with my beloved husband but was born and raised in the countryside. I did my BFA majoring in studio arts and photography, and since last year I am taking jewelry classes. I love to cook, garden, listen to music and play drums.

Q. How did you begin making such pretty things?
I’ve always been a creative person, loving to learn new techniques and to experiment as well. I started knitting and making jewelry when I was just a kid. These hobbies turned out to be real passions. At the beginning I was just assembling pieces together, until this no longer satisfied me artistically. So I started experimenting and creating pieces from raw material. I’ve learned a lot both by myself and through great teachers, which allowed me to progress from hobbyist to having a real personal artistic direction. When I discovered Etsy in 2007, I felt like I had found my creative outlet and here I am now, making a living out of it.

Q. All the items in your shop are so lovely! What is your creative process like?
Thank you! For my crocheted items, I usually start with the fur (all recycled, coming from old collars, coats and hats) then try to find the perfect yarn to go with it. Because I use recycled material, no two items are alike, but that’s the beauty of handmade!

Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
My morning ritual always begins with a big (ok, huge!) cup of caffè latte, while taking care of my online shop. Then depending on orders, I either do some knitting/crocheting, or I go work in my studio where I create jewelry. In the afternoon, it’s picture taking time, packaging and shipping out orders. Then creating some more, often until late at night. During spring and summer, I love to spend time in the backyard, basking in the sun and taking care of our garden.

Q. What inspires you most of all?
Material is what truly inspires me. I see a piece of vintage fur, a skein of yarn or a stone and they sort of tell me what they should become!

The Giveaway: a beautiful anemone ring!

so cute!

To enter just visit Sara’s shop and leave a comment here about your favorite item.

The giveaway will be open until March 11th. Good luck!

free people

jessica — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:35:17 +0000

I had some fun doing a little virtual window shopping over at Free People this evening. It’s the prefect thing for dreaming of summer, there are so many pretty things! It was hard to choose, but here are a few of my favorites…

They also have a really lovely blog. And they were so nice and featured my little cozies yesterday!

a mixed tape

jessica — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:02:05 +0000

Here’s a little midweek pick-me-up mixed tape for you! Just push play and have a little dance party in your office or around your house. Music makes everyday better!

And here’s my mini wishlist for the day

Roxy headphones (blue and green, please), some fluffy cotton candy, and White Wayfarers by Ray Ban (photo credit). Is it summer yet?

pretty things

jessica — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:02:20 +0000

It’s a brand new week and a brand new month! So I thought we should start things off right with a few pretty things! Today I have Marie Antoinette on for inspiration. I love the colors and music and the clothes! Such gorgeous clothes!

(photo credit & photo credit)

This pretty video by Angela Kohler and Ithyle (via Lobster & Swan)

I’m working on some pretty new things for the shop

Hopefully they’ll be in the shop this week! Happy Monday!

weekend projects

jessica — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:57:19 +0000

We keep getting snow and more snow and it’s so pretty and our home is so cozy I don’t even mind. But I am ready for some spring colors so here are some pretty spring projects for the weekend!

I saw these Votive Vases on Project Wedding. Aren’t they pretty? I think they’d make a sweet little gift for a friend or add a happy splash of color to my office.

so pretty!

I love this gorgeous Feather Butterfly Wreath DYI by Elsie Cake! It’s the cutest!

cutest wreath!

Happy Saturday!

five things

jessica — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:10:55 +0000

Inspired by the Red Velvet Art girls!

5 Things I am looking forward to:
exploring our new area, my first Renegade Craft Fair!, finding a cute local bookstore to get lost in, getting all of these boxes unpacked and put away, and finally spending the H&M gift card I got for Christmas!

5 Things I did yesterday:
made coffee, ran errands (and didn’t get lost!), unpacked more boxes, played with the pup, dug out my yarn and did some knitting♥

5 Things I wish I could do:
I wish that Joel and I could both work from home, go to Fashion Week in London, take more art classes, build a cottage with a pretty little garden full of flowers and veggies, and have dinner with both of our families tonight (silly geography gets in the way).

5 Places I’d like to travel:
Maine, Germany, Oxford, Italy, and I’d love to go back to Ireland and just drive all over for weeks and weeks!

5 Cute things I’ve found online lately:

cutest moccasins by darlingtonia, cheerful journal (via ModCloth), personalized tea light holder by snowowlwoodshop (via The Storque), bumblebee nail polish (Elsie*Cake), and yummy cupcakes from cococakecupcakes

Let me know if you play along, just leave a comment with a link.
I’d love to read your answers!

outfit no. 6

jessica — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:23:11 +0000

Thanks to Nylon’s twitter I found out that Burberry was streaming its Fall 2010 show yesterday. I sat by my computer in anticipation. I was so excited! I love Burberry for their British cool and the show did not disappoint! Beautiful coats and gorgeous colors! I couldn’t take my eyes off of one coat in particular (maybe the buttons hypnotized me) and I had to build an outfit around it!

ivory shirt by minx shop, book necklace by the black spot books, earrings by lara lewis, pretty bag by morelle, and coat by Burberry