#FLASHBACKFRIDAY // red velvet if you please

his is probably an outfit I'd still wear, if I had that skirt still.  I've had the t-shirt since high school, it was something I grabbed from the little boy's section of Walmart, go figure.  And of course, my trusty Minnetonkas.  This outfit is from my visit to Elsie and Emma's Red Velvet vintage and cupcake shop in Springfield, MO when I was on my Brave trip.  It's crazy to think that it was 5 years ago when I rolled through town and parked my Winne down the street from Red Velvet and visited those ladies.  

Red Velvet If You Please // November 11, 2010

Yesterday I got to go to Red Velvet in Springfield, MO and hang out with Elsie and her sister Emma for the day! After seeing her posts on the shop grand opening, I thought to myself, "I wonder where she's located and if I can go visit!" Turns out, she wasn't that far away at all (I was in Arizona at the time), so I booked it across NM, TX, and OK to get to Red Velvet. It was worth the long days of driving, and I had the best time hanging out at the shop, seeing a bit of Springfield, getting smoothies with Elsie and pizza with Emma, and trying on adorable vintage dresses.

cardigan & tights/target :: top/walmart :: shoes/minnetonka

skirt/courtesy of Vintage Strings

Emma sent me home with some of her delicious cupcakes and I can't wait to have cupcakes for breakfast! Speaking of breakfast, I went to IHOP yesterday for breakfast, which is the first time I've eaten out on my own on this trip (not counting fast food, though I haven't really done that much either). Something about yesterday morning just made me want some major breakfast food, and to not have to make it myself. Also, I kind of slept in and check out at the campground was at 11 am. Not that I couldn't have still cooked myself breakfast, but something about IHOP was calling my name, and it doesn't often do that. Oh my goodness, I thought I was going to explode. Best/worst decision ever. So delicious. IHOP always makes me think of this bit by Jim Gaffigan. "I've never left there feeling like hopping... It should be called, 'IBarelyMove'" SO accurate.

In which Little Bit does not want to pose for photos. She was having the best time sniffing new smells, making friends with customers and wandering around Red Velvet all day. Consequently she was totally uninterested in doing anything I desired her to do.

Go check out Elsie's blog to see pictures of the Brave looking terribly cute sitting down the street from Red Velvet!

outfit shots by elsie!

shredded + studded

ix years ago I did a studded pocket DIY, but I have no clue where those shorts went, and I also never did a tutorial for them.  Since I'm still obsessed with studs, I figured it was high time to re-do that DIY and also do a tutorial for it!  I'll be sharing the DIY tomorrow, but here's a little peek at it in today's outfit!  I thought the studs, being a little bit rock + roll, would go perfectly with a pair of shredded jeans.  This pair from Lulu's was just right, and I didn't even realize until I started writing this post that I paired the shredded jeans with a shredded tee!  Maybe I look like I lost a fight with a weed whacker, but I dig it.   I have some leftover studs from this project so I'm scheming up another studded DIY.  I did a studded purse DIY years ago as well, and I still have that purse!  I haven't used it in a long time, but now I'm inspired to pull it out again.  What is your favorite studded piece or accessory that you've seen/own?  I have studded jackets, bracelets, jeans, purses, phone case... what am I missing?

 

top/skyline fever :: cardigan/courtesy of ruche :: jeans/courtesy of lulu's + DIY hat(similar)/thrifted :: necklaces/handmade + courtesy of tribe jewelry boots(similar)/lulu e. bebe :: photos by Dan

rosemary thyme dubliner soda bread + bread pudding

ast month Kerrygold contacted me to see if I'd be interested in doing some recipe posts with their cheese and butter and seeing as Kerrygold's Dubliner is one of my favorite cheeses, I was pretty stoked to make delicious recipes with their cheese.  In the coming months I'll be posting a few fun recipes with their cheese, so cheese-lovers, get excited! I'm a little belated in posting this recipe, since it was inspired by all things Irish due to St. Patrick's day, but I was on the road during St. Paddy's day, and besides, this recipe is great for any time of year, not just for when we're all decked out in green!  
Dan was really into baking bread for a few months last year and one of his great staples was Irish soda bread, so for this recipe I enlisted his help in taking his soda bread to the next level!  We added cheese and fresh herbs and then used the soda bread to make a savory bread pudding that is divine!

(recipe adapted from epicurious)

Irish Soda Bread Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup Kerrygold Dubliner cheese

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

To make soda bread:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cheese, and herbs in a large bowl. Add buttermilk and butter. Stir just until dough is evenly moistened but still lumpy.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and turn dough to coat with flour. Gently knead with floured hands about 8 times to form a soft but slightly less sticky dough.

Form into a loaf, appx. 6-inch round and put on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut a 1/2-inch-deep "X" across top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Dust 1 tablespoon of additional flour over the loaf.

Bake in middle of oven until golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer loaf to a rack and cool completely.

Bread Pudding Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup grated Kerrygold Skellig sweet cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Kerrygold Dubliner cheese
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups whole milk
Loaf of Irish Soda Bread

To make bread pudding:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter ramekins or baking dish.

Cut enough bread into 1-inch cubes to measure 3 3/4 cups. Divide bread among ramekins (or spread in larger baking dish).

Whisk together eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in cheese and spoon over bread in ramekins or baking dish. Let stand 10 minutes.

Put ramekins or baking dish in a larger baking pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up sides of ramekins or dish.

Bake until just set and a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

Transfer ramekins or dish from hot water bath to a rack and cool 10 minutes before serving.

toms waxed canvas bag giveaway!

f you were here earlier today you probably saw I hinted at a TOMS giveaway... and here it is!  You can win one of these gorgeous olive waxed canvas backpacks!  I really love this pack.  It's got a laptop/tablet sleeve, pockets for your phone and other items, and my favorite little feature is the zipped side pocket, which is super easy to access while still wearing the pack on your back!  One of my least favorite things about backpacks is having to take them off and dig around inside to find what you need.  I found myself throwing my keys and phone in that little pocket because it was so easy to just zip open and grab those things I need frequently.   Scroll down and enter the giveaway for a chance to win this cute and uber practical little bag!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

one for one

'm not an early adopter.  I like to hold on to old things until I'm forced to update.  When I was in high school I refused to read Harry Potter simply because everyone was doing it.  Ditto for watching The Simpsons.  I had my Nokia 6010 brick phone until 2012 and only gave it up because it got drenched in a downpour and the buttons eventually stopped working.  Instead of upgrading to an iPhone 6, I fixed the cracked screen on my old iPhone 4.  I got on instagram, pinterest, and twitter way too late in the game.  I'm still not sure what snapchat is.  But, I will say, that I'm trying to change.  When I was younger I thought I was being an individual and "going against the grain" by not being into what everyone else was.  Now, I'd like to be less of a stick in the mud and try things when they're new, not just when it's so late in the game that I'd be dumb not to join in.  
All of this is to preface the fact that I used to be super not into TOMS.  Like, up until two weeks ago.  Everyone I knew had a pair of those little floppy canvas TOMS shoes, and while I felt like (based on what I noticed from my friends' shoes) they fell apart a bit too quickly for my taste, my main turn off was just how ubiquitous they were.  I was all eye-roll-y about it all.  Yeah, TOMS, whatever.  What's the big deal?  So I brushed them off and slipped on my moccasins which had lasted me 4 years and still weren't close to falling apart.  But then, at TxSC CAMP I learned more, a lot more, about TOMS and felt a little stupid for not wising up sooner.  For someone who loves supporting clothing companies that are actively trying to do good in the world, I kind of totally missed out on this company who is kicking ass and taking names in this department.  After chatting with Bethany Joy Clark, the Marketing Director for TOMS at TxSC, I'm so excited about what TOMS is doing.  Her beautiful positive outlook and magnetizing joy and passion for changing the world through her work is so inspiring.  Seriously, you guys, my stone heart melted and I cried during her keynote speech at TxSC.

 
top(similar)/thrifted :: cardigan/courtesy of ruche :: boots(similar)/lulu e. bebe leggings(similar)/courtesy of modcloth :: bag/toms

I'll stop fangirling in a sec, but I was most captivated by learning about their new bag line.  True to their one-for-one model, for each TOMS bag purchase, they're helping support safe births around the world by giving safe birth kits and training to birth attendants in areas of the world where infection due to unsanitary birth conditions causes death of mothers and newborns.  Those of you who have been around the blog might know why this particular cause is meaningful for me.  My grandmother was a nurse midwife in the 40's and 50's, doing exactly what TOMS is doing.  She started as a nurse midwife with the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky, where nurse midwives would visit patients on horseback, which was the only way to access those folks living in the hundreds of square miles of backwoods country (if you've watched "Call The Midwife," just picture that, except instead of bikes, they rode horses, and instead of London streets, they covered hundreds of miles of woods).  Because of her experience in Kentucky and her public health degree, she was hired by the Territory of Alaska to construct a plan to combat the high rate of mother and infant mortality that was occurring during birth in the Alaska native villages.  She trained native women all across Alaska on safe birth practices, taking small planes, boats, and dog sleds to get to them, and she wrote and illustrate dozens of guides which were published by the Alaska State Health Department which were distributed to villages across Alaska, outlining safe practices for birthing babies.  

Alaska and Kentucky now have access to 1st world medical facilities, but TOMS is helping do exactly what my grandma did, in areas of the world which still desperately need clean and educated birthing, for the health of both the mothers and babies.  I think my grandma would be stoked (can grandparents be "stoked"?) to hear about the work TOMS is doing for women around the world.   Also, it just happens to be my Grandma's birthday today!  Happy 94th birthday, Grandma!

At TxSC, TOMS generously gifted every attendee one of their new waxed canvas backpacks, and now I'm giving one away to one of you!  Stay tuned for the giveaway later today!  And the winners of the ModCloth, ONA, and Blog(Design)Love 2.0 giveaways are below! Congrats ladies!