Recipes : Makin' Whoopie

I just bought the book Whoopie Pies. I'm ridiculously excited to get it, maybe a little too excited. I've never made whoopie pies before, and the thought of pillowy chocolate cake with slightly sticky marshmallow filling is making my mouth water. Yum.

Doesn't this make you want to bake?

[image via arnold inuyaki]

Eye Candy : Ray Caesar

Bringing you all something a little different today. A friend brought these to my attention and I thought I'd share. Ray Caesar's art is equal parts whimsical and weird, which makes it all sorts of awesome in my book.

A little about the artist, from The Art & Pop Culture Encyclopedia:

Ray Caesar (b. October 26, 1958) is a visual surreal artist and digital painter residing in Toronto, Canada. He has exhibited at the Mondo Bizarro art gallery in Italy.

Graduating from the Ontario College of Art & Design, Caesar went on to work in the Art and Photography department of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where he has documented various child inflictions in sketches. This gruesome experience has enabled Caesar to create surreal landscapes and models with very detailed photographic textures. Caesar uses 3D modeling software, Maya with figures and environments built out of Nonuniform rational B-spline surfaces.

[all images are property of Ray Caesar]

Etsy Finds : Cute Fruit

Clockwise: Fruity Mustache Magnets ($11), by Kikichoo -  Eat Me Grocery Tote Bags ($16 for 2), by emandsprout - Blueberry Plush ($15), by LittleMissDelicious - Pineapple Parade Poster ($25), by GiselleGonzalez - Banana Laptop Decal ($12), by OvenMonsters

Food : Coconut Mango Rice Pudding Pops

When I came across this post on Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn my mouth watered, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Coconut and Mango Rice Pudding Pops
Makes 12 3-ounce popsicles. Adapted from Saveur.

One 15-ounce can coconut milk, shaken
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1 cup short-grain or arborio rice
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large ripe mangos

Whisk the coconut milk and whole milk together in a 4-quart (or larger) saucepan. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and stir in. Stir in the rice, and bring the whole mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Turn the heat down to low and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, water, vanilla extract, and salt. Peel the mango and chop into 1/2-inch cubes. Fold the mango into the rice mixture.

Transfer the rice and mango mixture to twelve 3-ounce ice-pop molds. Insert sticks and freeze until solid — 3 to 4 hours.

To release the pops from the molds, run the molds briefly under warm water.




[images from thekitchn]

Wishlist : Polka Dots

If you know me, you know I've got freckles to spare. Last week I went and got a couple removed by my dermatologist (safety reasons and all that jazz). In honor of those fallen freckles, I've put together a collection of cute things with spots:

Clockwise from top left: Dotted Darling Suit ($118), Anthropologie; Green Polka Dot Dog Collar ($15), Crate & Barrel; Shroom for Cream Mug ($25), ModCloth; Dots Chocolate Weekender ($230), Dwell Studio; Flower Farm Measuring Cups ($15), Anthropologie; Theory Strapless Polka-Dot Dress ($335), Neiman Marcus; Kate Spade Splodge Dot Heddy Cosmetics Case ($80), Bloomingdales; Tweezerman Mini Slant Tweezers ($15), Sephora

Etsy Finds: Milk Glass

Clockwise from top left: Avocado Green Bowls ($15) from RichardandRuthie, Feathery Leaf Milk Glass Bowl ($18) from harlowmonroevintage, Milk Glass Bud Vase Collection ($18) from jwhite2, Milk Glass Compote Dish ($15) from PrairieSeed

Travel: Memories

One of the things I'm most thankful for is that I was able to go on a study abroad trip the summer between my junior and senior years at the University of Miami. That trip was the catalyst for a lot of firsts: my first time on a plane, my first time out of the state/country, my first time living away from home, and the list goes on. Since then I've been able to travel a bit more (the Canary Islands, the fine city of New York) and I have an ever growing list of places I still want to see.

Clockwise from top left: the coast at Bajamar, Tenerife; vineyard on the German Rhine; the train car on the way to Slovenia; fire escapes in the East Village; a band on the Charles Bridge in Prague; a boat in Tenerife; the coast of Piran, Slovenia at sunset; the impressive Vintgar Gorge in Slovenia; building near the Brooklyn Bridge; Carnavale masks in Venice; the astronomical clock in Prague's Old Town; prints at the Gutenberg press in Mainz, Germany

[click on the links in the caption to see the original photos on my Flickr account]

Le Petit Monsieur!

How adorably genius is this stackable ring set from Etsy seller Kristy Lin? If I had the cash I'd buy these ASAP.

[via poppytalk]

Retro-"Futurism"

As I've mentioned, I absolutely love retro anything. Right now I'm loving these faux vintage ads for modern day technology from Moma, a Sao Paolo based ad agency. 

[via Unplggd]

The Look: Pin Up Girl

I grew up listening the local oldies station and watching AMC (back when they played old old movies instead of 80s movies) and I've been in love with all things retro every since. My favorite eras to recreate are the '40s and '50s. Those decades are full of such feminine, figure flattering silhouettes that it's a wonder they ever went out of style. Thankfully the retro look is popping up all over the place thanks to Mad Men (it's an AMC full circle). In the spirit of modern/retro, here's my ode to one of my favorite pin-up girls created by the great Joyce Ballantyne.

Dress: Traced Twirls Dress ($158) - Earrings: Swirling Drops ($30) - Lipstick: Lorac in Leading Lady ($22)* - Shoes: Charles by Charles David Pompadour ($100)

*I can't recommend this lipstick enough. I tried the famed Ruby Woo by MAC and although I loved the color, it was just too drying. Leading Lady won't dry out your lips and lasts forever, especially when used with MAC's Prep & Prime.

Etsy Finds: Airstream Edition

Who doesn't love the classic look of an Airstream trailer? I know I do. Enjoy :)

Clockwise from top left: Happy Trails Stamp from Corrabelle ($10), Airstream Print from vol25 ($20), Travel Trailer Charm from charms4you ($17), Airstream cushion from tilly2shoes ($25)

Scarf in Progress

Scarf in Progress, originally uploaded by cristinapuerto.

Kitchen : Anthropologie

One of my favorite rooms in a house is without a doubt the kitchen. I love to cook and bake; I even enjoy doing dishes if the view is nice. This love of the kitchen naturally leads to a love of filling it with pretty things. Here's a few items from Anthropologie that I'd love to put into storage* for my future kitchen.

Clockwise from top left: Stockholm Floral Apron ($28), From the Deep Cup & Saucer ($14), Appelation Utensil Jar ($28), Comedy-of-Manners Mug ($10), Burgeoning Summer Napkin (Floral and Star, $8 each), The Illustrated Kitchen Bible ($35)

*Since I'm still living at home, the powers that be (aka my mom) have officially banned me from buying anymore housewares... something about filling every last cabinet with mugs and bowls.