Photo-a-Day: Final Days

27. something I ate

My boss, who is Chinese, cooks me lunch almost every day. It's so good I can't turn it down.

28. money

This our change jar. We recently emptied it, counted up all the change, and deposited $65 into our savings. That was without the quarters, too! We need those for laundry.

29. listening to

I've been listening to Robyn's newest CD, Body Talk, for a month straight. I loooove it.

Well, that's it. It's been fun, but I'm kinda glad it's over because these photos take up a lot of space on my blog!

Photo-a-Day: Week 4

20. handwriting

My sister is a math major.

21. a fave photo of you

I was 2 or 3. We were on a hike when I scraped my leg. My dad thought it was really cute and took some pictures of me sitting on the ground.

22. where I work

The door of my office. It's just two doors down from my apartment!

23. my shoes

They won't be my shoes for much longer. I can't wear them anymore, because of the heel and the fact that they won't fit my insoles. My sister is going to enjoy them instead :)

24. inside my bathroom cabinet

I store most of my bathroom stuff under the sink. It was so dark that the pictures wouldn't turn out right, so I took almost everything out. I don't use all this everyday!

25. green

Snow Drops at my mom's farm.

26. night

Color Trends: Fall/Winter 2012

A couple weeks ago the Wall Street Journal had an article in the Off Duty section titled "There Will Be Oxblood." It was their tepid review of NYFW. One thing they pointed out was the prevalence of the color known as oxblood. It's a deep red, and reminds me more of ketchup than oxblood (I'm more familiar with the former).

After pouring through the photos of LFW, I noted some color trends for Fall/Winter 2012. Here is my prediction:

F/W 2012 by fleur-d-elise on polyvore.com

Orla Kiely

Mulberry

Maria Grachvogel

Mary Katrantzou

Acne

Don't forget the Mac and Cheese! This yellow reminds me of the powdered cheese in those little pouches. It's day-glow delicious! (Seriously though, I love it!)

Bora Aksu

Moschino Cheap and Chic

Photo-a-Day: Week 3

13. blue


14. heart


15. phone

My phone is crap. It drops about 75% of my calls.

16. something new

My hair color and my falsies!

17. time


18. drink

My husband came home from San Diego and took me out to breakfast. I ordered as many drinks as possible. I love drinks!

19. something I hate to do

I hate throwing away magazines. This isn't my whole collection, either. Even the ones I don't like, I at least try to resell at Half Price Books.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! @catiebeatty

Emerald City & a Yellow Brick Wall

I'm actually not a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz, but I couldn't help noticing the similarities. Here I am on the yellow brick wall and my husband definitely doesn't live in Kansas anymore. Then there is the whole "little dog" bit.
She represents both the obvious Toto and the part where someone needs a brain.



And here we are in the Emerald City. Such a glorious place. You can say what you want about our weather, but this place is just spectacular.

Looking out over the sound from Discovery Park.

I learned something important over the years. The bitter parts in life are just there to make the sweeter parts that much sweeter. The gray days are there to make the sunny ones that much brighter.


Looking forward to more t-shirt days!

In these photos:
Sunglasses from H&M
Thrifted t-shirt and belt
Vintage pleated skirt
Coach purse
Cooperative wedges

hearts & candy

Yet another holiday with the purpose of reminding us to tell our loved ones how much we appreciate them. Go buy some chocolates for someone :)

In these photos:

Thrifted Land's End sweater

H&M belt

Forever 21 skirt and shoes

Now, for a delicious recipe! It's always nice to have something special on Valentine's Day, so I came up with this Rose-Pistachio Buttermilk Biscuit recipe, based on one from the Fannie Farmer cookbook.

Rose-Pistachio Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup butter or shortening

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup chopped pistachios (if salted, they should be rinsed first)

Preheat the oven to 425F. Grease to 8-inch cake pans. Put the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter using two knives, a pastry blender, or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk all at once and stir just until the dough forms a ball around the utensil. Add more buttermilk if it looks to dry, but be careful not to add too much! Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 14 times (really, that's what it says, it's not just a Valentine's Day thing). Pat or roll until 1/2 inch thick. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out biscuits. Place about 1/8th inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve with raspberry or cherry jam and mint tea.

For the icing:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp rosewater (Very affordable at Halal markets!)

Optional: Crumbled rose petals

Stir ingredients until well mixed. Drizzle over slightly cooled biscuits.

Photo-a-Day: Week 2

6. dinner

This was dinner on Monday. After Sunday's fare (so much cheese!) I thought a salad was in order. Call me old fashioned, but I still view salads as the confessional booth of foods. Repent of thy sins! Now do 10 Hail Meuslis.


7. button



8. sun

This is the last of the sunshine being reflected onto my apartment building.


9. front door



10. self portrait

I always thought I couldn't draw human figures, but then I decided to sit down and give it a real go. I drew myself, since I know that "subject" best. I think I turned out alright. There are certainly some "artistic liberties" taken, though.


11. makes you happy

This is Frida. For the past 2,758 mornings (minus the 7 months I lived in England) I have woken up to this silly looking dog. I laugh at her every day. Her face is so funny. Ears for days.


12. inside my closet

It's hard to take a photo in my closet. The lighting is horrible.

Follow me on Twitter to see a new photo every day. @catiebeatty

Photo-a-Day

Oh crap.

I accidentally deleted this post. All better now.






In these photos:
Thrifted hat
J.Crew Cardigan
H&M dress worn as a top
Forever21 trousers
Vintage Coach purse

spring wish list: illustrated

Clockwise from the left:

1. J.Crew Tippi Sweater $72.50
Great for layering (Spring weather can be unpredictable!) and the perfect preppy piece to pair with all of those crazy florals, which we'll get to later. Check out J.Crew for a million other colors.

2. Cat-Eye Glasses
This is one of those trends that seems to have real staying power. Vogue says it's because of the recession (no one has money to invest in new trends). Regardless, they're pretty awesome and go great with those other trends that don't seem to be going anywhere: 50's and 60's style

3. H&M Chiffon Blouse $49.95
Collars are EVERYWHERE. Classic oxford collars, patterned collars, peter pan collars, beaded collars; everything goes! They're an easy way to add some interest to an outfit. Layer it under your crew-neck sweater (see #1) for insta-prep.

4. M.A.C. Fake Lashes $15
What's nice about the trends this Spring is that they all go together! You don't have to worry about getting your space-age make-up to look right with Victorian-inspired dresses. Instead, most of everything looks straight outta the early 60's. So pair your cat-eye glasses with cat-eye make-up. Try fake lashes for extra oomph!

5. ASOS Floral Pants $72
Florals were seen all over the runways again for S/S 2012, but these are not your prissy mini-florals of years past. Think huge, bright, and kinda kitsch. Alexander Wang and Blumarine had some of the biggest, most over-the-top prints. Asos has some good ones, too!

6. J.Crew Tillary Bucket Tote $198
Ok, so neon is yet another trend that keeps coming back every spring. It just makes sense. It's fun, it's lively, and like masago adds such a pleasant pop to sushi, neon adds the nicest pop to an outfit. This leather bucket bag is a steal at just under $200. Also, check out the Celine-esque Tillary totes for $328.

Photo-a-Day:Week 1

This Photo-a-Day thing is fun, but it was eating up too much space (in other words, pushing my main posts out of view). I've decided to condense the pictures into a weekly post.

1. My View
To be honest, I discovered the photo-a-day challenge late in the day, and since the daylight is gone and I can't get the pictures of my messy desk to come out right, I decided to cheat a little. Technically, I was downtown on Feb. 1, but this shot is from a couple weeks ago when we had snow.



2. Words
I am having a very passionate love affair with fonts. These are hand-painted using watercolors.


3. Hands


4. L'etranger
I want a new camera. Free is nice and all, but I want one where I can actually see what I'm shooting. I can't tell if a picture is good or not, so sorry stranger boys. I wish I could of gotten some better shots of you.


5. 10am
Toast with a side of vitamins: Calcium, Omega-3, Turmeric, and Hair, Nails, and Skin multi.



This is a great idea! It's like a treasure hunt through pictures. To join, visit Fat Mum Slim.

inspiration

This card is currently looking down at me from my note-board. I don't usually buy cards--I'm quite efficient at making my own and people seem to like them--but I just couldn't resist this one. I love the handwritten text, the "Frenchiness", and of course the girl's striped top. I also really love the fact that the design is hand-painted.



I've been painting a lot more lately, thanks in large part to Rifle Paper Co. You never know what's going to inspire you or how, but every time I see one of their designs, I want to go home and paint! Every card, notepad, and calendar is the perfect combination of beauty and humor. I love the whimsy and the somewhat-careless fashion of the designs. I wish I could let loose enough to paint such fun designs, but I can't seem to get my hand to paint in that same style. You see, my style is determined to be very detailed and perfectly accurate.



Instead, I'll just keep painting in my own style and enjoying Rifle's designs when I'm browsing one of the many card shops I frequent.

I encourage you to visit the Rifle Paper Co. website . They have so many lovely paper products and even do custom designed invitations!