Asparagus Gruyere Tart

I can't wait to make this! 

Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

serves 4

Recipe from Martha Stewart

• You will need:
• Flour, for work surface
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 5 1/2 ounces (2 cups) Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
2. Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over Gruyere, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

frames times twelve

For only a year now, I have been on an search for THE PERFECT above the couch space filler aka art, photos, something to fill the space. I don't want it to be the focal point of the room as our light fixture  is a huge statement piece. You never want too many large scale statement pieces in a room because then they'll fight for attention causing an awesome piece to not have the attention it deserves. 


ANYWAY, I like the image above. I would probably only do nine frames. 12 frames fits that space perfect though. I don't think I want to do photos. Possibly drawings, vintage sketches, little paintings done by nathan and i? That would be a fun weekend project. 


IKEA has wonderful large frames for the budget conscious decorator! I am postponing this project until the next time I am in dallas...mid april possibly?! 




What would YOU fill these frames with?

giving this a try...

I have heard many great things about the cosmetic brand, tarte. I was in Sephora yesterday and picked up one of their award winning cheek stains. I have read about this brand several times and thought I'd give them a try. I don't want to get hooked on expensive makeup. But, I don't mind a few splurge  products in my makeup bag as long as they work better than what they sell at target. Their cheek stain has a chap stick like consistency. I prefer this type because it stays on way better than powder blushes do. The particular color I got is called "flower child". Other perks of this brand is that all of their products are all natural including ingredients such as: acai berry extract, acerola, goji berry extract, maracuja, pomegranate, and t5 fruit complex. It is made without mineral oil. YESSSS. 

birthday memories

Here are a few fun snap shots from celebrating my bday.

curtains. go big.

Up until about a year ago I had never once used a curtain. My mom and dad have always loved plantation shutters. So, there was no need for curtains. Once we moved in our home and had to find window treatments, we realized plantation shutters were a bit out of our budget. So, we gave curtains a try. I have developed a strong liking not for just the ol' regular curtain but BIG ones. Dramatically long and fluffy ones. They make a room feel whimsical and fresh. Longer curtains have the illusion of making a window look larger. * Remember when buying curtains, don't buy them too short! 

Pottery Barn showing a classic, lengthy curtain.

Little floral lovelies. What a statement they make. These are fluffy and remind me of a big dress..in a good way.

The closer the rod is to the ceiling..the more visual effect the curtains have on making the window look larger.

Not as long but still maintains an effortless flowing look.

Here are our curtains in our living room. We chose a light colored curtain to keep the room bright. Several pieces in our living room are modern. Clean lines and a bit geometric. So, I brought in these curtains to soften the style. It did the trick. I don't think I could live all modern. I like homey elements too much.

wouldn't mind drinking out of these cups...

a one piece swimsuits all the rage

After browsing online and in stores, I have seen tons of one piece swimsuits. This style has definitely declared itself for Summer 2010. I love swimsuits but honestly there's only so much creativity that can go into an itsy bitsy tiny bikini. There's only so much room to work with. Now that the one piece is back in for the season, I have noticed a resemblance this style has to clothing, more than anything. This season we're seeing necklines other than just your typical strapless or thin straps. We're seeing one shoulder (resembles a nice dress from the waist up, I think so!). We're also seeing studs and ruffles around the neckline. Zippers? They have been a trend for clothing and now we're seeing them on swimsuits. These suits are totally taking on the look of clothing! I love it. I feel like designers have gotten more playful with the extra few feet of fabric when designing a one piece! 


What do you think of this look? 
Would you wear it or no?

still blogging here but also blogging else where

Recently, the company that I work for changed from The Whitney English Company to English Paper Company. You can read more about this exciting expansion. I am super exciting about helping to market this new and exciting journey for the company. I volunteered to take on the blogging aspect for the company. I am so exciting to be creating blog posts that revolve around stationery and other current design trends. My column is called "Design + Stationery". Some of the other great English Paper employees will write blog content as well but I get to handle putting it on the blog. So, be sure to check out the blog regularly! 

22 on the 22nd

What a great golden birthday I've had...

Lots of celebrating with people I love and lots of chocolate cake, of course!

 

Since my hair is FINALLY long enough to curl..I wanted to try this curling wand. I got mine off of amazon. This isn't the brand but it looks like this one above. For some reason the clamp on regular curling irons always messes me up so I thought a clamp-less iron would work much better! :) Hopefully!

wine label design

While browsing through isles of wine (my favorite part is looking at the label designs)...my eye would go directly toward this one. Vibrant color gets me every time. 

image via Lovely Package

writing on mirrors

What an interesting and unique concept to bring to your large mirrors. The writing can simply turn your mirror into a piece of art. Love. 

{I believe a black dry erase marker would do the job just fine}

cupcake party

I sure do love this idea for a party. A diy cupcake bar. With lots of different frostings and toppings to choose from. I like the presentation as well. Relaxed yet very thought out and organized as a fun way to get guests involved. I am pretty obsessed with three tiered serving stands right now. I love the silver metal one in the image above. I know I saw it at Pottery Barn not too long ago...but its not online anymore...darn. Anyway, I am still getting ideas for my grad party...I am enjoying this lovely idea. But..It doesn't go along the lines of my theme. Did I ever mention my grad party is a FIESTA theme? :) I was going to stick with a girly and whimsical theme but then one day at work when I was browsing through the shelves of stationery, I was inspired by some Whitney English designs and decided to change my direction. Besides, who doesn't love frozen margaritas and pinatas?? 


images via StyleMePretty

wedged

There's something about the brown summer wedge sandal. I just love it. I'm not going to admit how many pairs of brown heels/wedges I own... For some reason, I feel okay buying 'the brown sandal, wedge or heel'...because it's a versatile color and style and the shoe can be dressed up or down. I haven't rocked sandals yet this year. My preference on sandals is to wait a few weeks after Spring Break because it's still kind of chilly most days. 

Urban

Urban

Anthro

Jeffery Campbell

Free People

bike season is finally here

Yep, this is my bike! I love her. She's a Huffy. When I quit my high school job to head off to college, I used my last paycheck to buy this steel of a deal at Walmart. So, that was 5 years ago and she is still holding strong. I wanted a vintage inspired bike with a basket of course!

I love riding bikes in the spring/ summer evenings with Nathan..I know..it sounds kind of cheesy...like long walks on the beach. But, I love strolling through our neighborhood and being together. Today, we rode our bikes to dinner with Nathan's parents. It was so fun...finally being able to hang out outside after a cold winter. I can't wait for all the fun bike rides we'll enjoy this summer! :)

I love my Huffy and all but have you seen the Liberty of London for Target bikes?!? TOO CUTE! Vintage inspired bikes and floral patterns..how much better can it get? :)

chocolate smoothie breakfast

My mom introduced me to this delicious morning drink. It keeps me full for about 4 hours until I need a mid morning snack :)

Chocolate Soy Milk Smoothie:

1.5 c light chocolate soy milk

1 whole banana

2 tsp creamy PB (I add another bc I love PB)

1 TB instant coffee granules (you can buy 7 TB packets of instant coffee @ target for $1!)

3-4 ice cubes

Blend until smooth. 

It. Is. So. Good.

im falling hard for...

 I am loving this classic Tory Burch bag...

elementary school craft perfection

Beautiful. Fresh. Playful. Creative. Budget Friendly. 

Who knew an elementary school craft could be so wonderful!?!


images via oncewed

i'm practicing my penmanship

so i can write like this...

image via Oh Joy

image via Oh My Deer

BEAUTIFUL!!!!...SO MUCH LOVELINESS ALL ON A SMALL ENVELOPE :) 

with lots of practice maybe mine could look like this?!?! Maybe.

alternatives to the norm

If your like me, you like unique home design that maintains lots of style with hints of new and vintage items. Well, today we're talking about some vintage loveliness. These two pieces pictured above are alternatives to very common home accents: An console table and an apothecary jar filled with goodies. I especially love the jar filled with old photos. It adds color and is an innovative way to display some family photos. I really enjoy the stacks of suitcases. I know a friend that loves vintage suitcases!! This would be perfect for her. This is a great way to decorate a small space and give it some personality. 


What are some unique ideas you use to decorate your home?

little lovelies & challenging your creativity

 

I have been in search of some inspiration all evening for a school project. I happened to run past these lovely little book covers (not at all in the right direction for my project... I get distracted too easily with pretty designs) These quick 24 tour guide of : Madrid and Moscow are awesome. What first caught my eye about these covers were the beautiful illustrations. Simple vector lines created a complex city scape scene. The illustrations are stylized in a bit of a whimsical way with the oversized birds and patterns in the clouds. It's fun. If I was looking for books on Madrid, my eye would instantly be drawn to this one because of its colors and creativity, I'm sure of it! (is that only because I am a graphic designer and pay attention to these things?!?!) I also love that the two book covers are very consistent with one another (they are such diverse cities too!!) yet, both books could easily stand on their own with out the help of the other. The designs work in a group of by themselves is what I mean. 

One of my favorite problems in design is making a not super exciting product... exciting. I am going to admit that city guides aren't ridiculously fun to stare at...maybe the content is good but we want good design, people! In solving a creative problem you have to start with sorting through all of the crazy, creative, boring, cliche, interesting, stylish & confusing ideas going through the brain...don't be afraid to dream big and reel yourself back in later. Sketching is a good way to document your ideas. Writing down ideas helps you later elaborate further on a beginning idea. Consider all of your options...write them down. Write down words that come to mind when brainstorming. Finally, a decision must be made about the concept...what best solves the creative problem. Visually? Conceptually? Does it do the job? How well does it do the job? Its a fun, exhausting, frustrating, confusing and rewarding problem to solve.

This idea of making something that isn't very exciting more exciting can be applied in other areas of design. Interiors, Fashion? OF COURSE! Look around and I encourage you to get creative with it. REMEMBER TO CONSIDER ALL OF YOUR OPTIONS. Play outside the box and challenge your creativity. 

new favorite drink

My mom told me about this delicious hot drink

*apparently lemons are a natural cleanser?! 

half a lemon (squeeze juice into mug)

1 tsp of splenda

cup of water

mix and microwave

some prettiness

Here are some pretties that I've found lately. 

I'd love to walk through this door everyday. I want this door. Summer project? YES! OH, OR even a Spring Break project! YES YES!!

After entering through our lovely door, I like the idea of lounging in this beautiful space. I love chandeliers too much.

After lounging for a bit I'd love to freshen up in this lovely space.

Then cook dinner in this wonderfully spacious kitchen!

And finish the day sipping drinks on our porch. I am researching window boxes right now. We have two currently but I don't love them. Have I mentioned I am getting a garden for my birthday?!? I CAN'T WAIT!!

a good decorating lesson and my favorite quote

This morning I was going through my daily reads from design blogs. I was reading Little Green Notebook (a very wonderful interior design blog) Last week Jenny re designed her parents bedroom. She is going through the step by step process on her blog (tomorrow is the big before and after reveal!!) Anyway, Jenny said something in her step by step process that I thought was so important when brainstorming ideas for a room


"Don't get so attached to an idea or color that you make poor decisions or miss out on better options."


I am guilty of this. I get hooked on one style or idea to find that it's not working out. Instead of scrapping that idea, I try to cram the previous idea into my new design idea. This goes for all types of design. The outcome tends to be bad from what I've experienced. It's okay...trial and error.
Speaking of scrapping ideas...please read my favorite quote of all time by graphic designers Chip Kidd: 


"Never fall in love with an idea. They're whores: if the one you're with isn't doing the job, there's always, always, always another."  --— Chip Kidd, graphic and comic designer

guess what i got in the mail

I am a fan of Anthropologie. I think these days I am more in love with their advertising and graphic design than anything. Their design is impeccable. It's clean yet edgy, stylish yet so classic, hip but sophisticated. They execute all the bases to market to all of their buyers. Yesterday, I got this lovely package in the mail since its my birthday month. You would think that I would be soo excited about the 15% off total purchase but no. I was ecstatic about the design of the card. It had a plastic candle tied to the front. I turned it over to see that it was a necklace! How innovative. Anthro's presentation is fabulous. The bow on the back was tied perfectly. Little dots formed the outline of a cupcake (love this style) and simple and subtle type was placed at the bottom. Bravo Anthro!

lace vellum and the color blue

I am 110% in love with this ceremony backdrop. It's a bit out there style wise. Not only is it visually beautiful but the materials that were used make it that much more amazing- vellum and lace. Sometimes I'm not a huge fan of vellum but in this instance I can't get enough of it. Also, check out the stationary above. Also made using vellum. Love consistent material choices. It keeps things looking intentional and thought out which is a good thing, in my opinion.  Both images via Once Wed