Making Madeleines

For a long time madeleines have been one of my favorite treats. I love their buttery lightness, their depth of flavor despite the use of so few ingredients. Unfortunately I rarely indulged in this love as the store bought varieties are generally over-priced and rarely fresh tasting. Recently this all changed thanks to the purchase of a madeleine pan.

I was intimidated by the sheer number of recipes available (and some of the techniques they required). When I stumbled across the one on 101 Cookbooks I knew it was the one to try. I was still intimidated by browning the butter as I felt I would surely burn it, but in the end all was well. The process went smoothly and the resulting taste is heaven. I definitely recommend giving this a try especially as you probably have all of the ingredients already in your pantry.

Madeleines @ 101 Cookbooks

On the Right Foot

1. Cupcakes and tea!, 2. Star Cookies, 3. yellow shoes, 4. "I like sitting over the roofs"

Happy Monday everyone! Welcome to my weekly post where I will be sharing some of the flickr photos that inspire me, things I loved about the previous week, things I'm looking forward to, and some of my favorite links. Please feel free to join me either in comments or via your own blog, I would love to see what's inspiring you ❤

★ André Rieu | I expanded on this in my last post, but I'm still feeling the effects of the concert. I've been feeling inspired by the concert all week.

☆ Running | Or, more accurately, I should say speed walking. I finally found a park close enough that actually has a track so as of Saturday I've started up a new routine that's goal is to ease me into running. I'm a little sore, but the effects have already been fantastic. My mood has been through the roof.

★ Early Mornings | This is tied into the above point because I have to get up at 4:50AM to get to the park (to accommodate my mom's work schedule - we're keeping each other accountable by being exercise buddies). I used wake this early throughout high school when I used to walk before school, but after moving to an unsafe area I let the habit lapse. I love that time of day though and I'm finding such bliss in getting back into that groove. Everything feels so fresh and new. The air is cooler (an important consideration in the desert summer) and full of possibilities. The birds are chirping. It's wonderful.

☆ Things I'm Anticipating | crossing off things on my new list of things to accomplish • working on my inspiration books • all of the fun activities planned for next weekend's holiday • ... and so much more!

bella pilar's portfolio • flower headband tutorial @ homemade by jill • fingerless gloves @ knitty • felt rose ring how-to @ cout out + keep • a fun carnival wedding @ green wedding shoes

An Evening with André Rieu

On Wednesday night I had the great pleasure to attend my second André Rieu concert. It was a night of beautiful music, fanciful gowns, and great fun. He and his orchestra have such fun with classical music (from across generations, from the music of Beethoven to the love theme from Titanic and everywhere in between) and that fun is infectious. By the end of the night we were all on our feet swaying and clapping to the music, some taking to the eisles to dance. It was magical and is certainly something I would love to experience again.

Being able to go was something of a miracle in the first place. After going to his holiday show in 2007 I've been keeping an eye on concert dates, but when this was announced I was unable to afford the ticket price. A little while later free passes were put up on a local radio station's webpage, but I didn't have the points. A few weeks later by a stroke of fate I happened back onto the page to find the tickets at a level I could afford. I snapped them up immediately, a good thing as they were soon gone from the page. The magic didn't end there either. The ticket was originally for up in the risers, towards the top. However, as the seats in the arena weren't filled an usher was handing some of us tickets to move closer. In the end I was able to sit only ten rows back from the stage. What an unforgettable experience.

For those unfamiliar with his work he tends to pop up on PBS if you're curious to see what a full concert is like. Here are a few clips off of youtube as well:







If you ever get the chance to see him live I would very much recommend the experience.

Blank Pages

This weekend I was at the craft store looking at the sketchbooks for my inspiration book project when I fell in love. With a journal that is! It's compact with a hard black cover and pristine white pages (from a sustainable forest). It's absolutely perfect for me and my goal of successfully filling my first journal from cover to cover. With the lack of spiral binding I wont be tempted to take out any of the pages either.

I had a moment of hesitancy, as I always do, at the prospect of doing something to the first page. In the end I wanted to keep it simply so I used markers in some of my favorite colors and a stickers from my favorite sheet. I'm excited to see how this journal will evolve from here. I'm planning to use it to record the simple things that make me happy, fun activities, things that are going on around me, and spontaneous pieces of art. I want to start a series of these so years from now I can look back and remember how wonderful life is (and to see how I've grown, both as an artist and a person, over a period of time). I'll be sure to share anything fun that finds its way into the pages.

On the Right Foot

1. cherry blossoms, 2. The show must go on, 3. face cupcakes 028, 4. 7_14_07 177.jpg

Happy Monday everyone! Welcome to my weekly post where I will be sharing some of the flickr photos that inspire me, things I loved about the previous week, things I'm looking forward to, and some of my favorite links. Please feel free to join me either in comments or via your own blog, I would love to see what's inspiring you ❤

★ Vintage Shops | Over the weekend I got my first taste of vintage shopping in quite some time. Many of the shops in my city are in areas of town that I don't frequent so I never seem to make the time to go to them. This weekend I decided to head down to Main St. after reading a recommendation in the AAA magazine. The shops were so beautifully decorated and I was so inspired by the clothes (especially the dresses from the 1950's). They weren't a "normal" thrift shop in that everything was expensive (most items fell into the $100-$200 range), but I had so much fun browsing that I wasn't disappointed. Now I'm excited to try and find some good thrift shops in the area.

☆ Sunshine | Normally I'm a rainy sort of gal, but the sunshine this week has been beautiful (and blissfully not too hot thanks to a steady breeze). This facilitated a whole host of activities from cleaning the patio to outdoor window shopping to slurpee drinking, to swimming. It's been a truly summery week and I've had a blast.

★ Craft Books | A little while ago I picked up a few new craft books (Pretty Little Felts and Creating Your Perfect Wedding - both of which I am completely enamored with) and going through them this week led me to going through a bunch of my favorites from my collection. I love looking at all of the colorful projects and visualizing how I would use them. I have a new list of things I want to try and I'm excited to get started.

☆ Things I'm Anticipating | seeing André Rieu in concert for the second time • working on a notebook collage project • filling in the first page of my new journal • going to see the new Transformers film • the debut of Princess Protection Program on Friday • ... and so much more!

how to take consistent action @ the positivity blog • my milk toof • vintage teacup pincushion @ craftzine • yummy cakes and sweets @ daisy pink cupcake • use the good stuff @ simple mom • post script... @ a fanciful twist • fireworks cake toppers @ wisdom of the moon

Setting Goals

Last night as I was starting to fall asleep I was hit with a wave of both inspiration and motivation. About an hour of getting everything down on paper and I am ready to start making some changes, both online and off. I am excited to start showing you some of the results (one of which is a complete redesign of this space), but in the meantime I though I would talk a little about goals.

The post before this one contains a list of 101 things that I would like to accomplish in 1001 days. I am a list maker by nature so having a list of goals goes a long way in keeping me motivated. I'd been debating about how I wanted to go about this list: did I want to create a general life list or did I want a more specific deadline? In the end I came across a community of bloggers writing lists like this and it seemed like the perfect marriage of the two lists. The time period is long enough for big projects, but short enough to keep the list focused on specifics. As you can see from the dates I started this a little while ago, but I'm trying to be more open and authentic so I wanted to share it here (plus having the list shared publicly will help to keep me motivated). I look forward to sharing this journey with you!

Do you keep a list of goals you want to accomplish? What format do you find most inspiring? Have you find sharing your intentions publicly to help (and if so please feel free to share your links, I'd love to cheer you on)?

101 in 1001 Days

Start Date: April 16, 2009
End Date: January 12, 2012

Big Things
• Get a job with the library.
• Pay off my credit card.
• Open a savings account.
• Learn how to drive.
• Write a personal code.

Charity
• Participate in the Great American Bakesale.
• Earn at least $50 for charity during a blogathon event.
• Create a list of causes I'm passionate about and find ways to support them.

Computer
• Sell something on Etsy.
• Earn more page views for Quirky Charm, having a day with at least one hundred views. ( 345/100 )
+ 345 on July 25th, 2009
• Completely organize my iTunes music.
• Create pages for Quirky Charm.
+ 101 in 1001 page
• Research and incorporate personal branding.
• Redo my journal tags.
• Create a comprehensive list of movies I want to watch.
• Create a Las Vegas guide through regular posts at Quirky Charm.

Creativity
• Create twenty five pieces of random acts of kindness art. ( 00/25 )
• Fold one thousand paper cranes. ( 0000 / 1000 )
• Sew ten new pieces for my wardrobe. ( 00/10 )
• Complete Project 365. ( 000/365 )
• Make an amigurumi.
• Design a series of cute mascot characters.
• Submit a piece of art or a photograph to Somerset Life.
• Create a doll wardrobe of at least ten pieces. ( 00/10 )
• Learn to create clay charms.
• Expand my knitting repetoire by trying three new projects. ( 0/3 )
• Complete five new embroidery projects. ( 0/5)
• Learn calligraphy.
• Take five new crafting courses from JoAnne's. ( 0/5 )
• Learn how to make my own candles.
• Fill a sketchbook.
• Pick up acrylics again.
• Improve my jewelry making by successfully finishing a challenging project.
• Take a good profile photo.
• Create a keepsake plush.
• Fill a journal.
• Put all photos in scrapbooks.
• Use the three canvases I am currently storing away.
• Purchase a tripod.

Education
• Learn conversational Japanese.
• Improve my French.
• Read or re-read all Jane Austen novels.
• Study my family ancestry (biological).
• Learn all of the world flags.
• Pick up my Latin studies again.
• Create a comprehensive resource guide for subjects I'm interested in.

Friends + Family
• Bake five gifts for others. ( 0/5 )
• Send cards for all birthdays for a year.
• Make my own Christmas cards.
• Get and keep up with a penpal.

Games + Sports
• See a football match live.
• Own a Manchester United jersey.
• Be able to clearly explain the offside rule.
• Learn how to play Mahjong.
• Play an RPG videogame from start to finish.

Health + Beauty
• Take control of my health by creating positive eating habits and an exercise routine.
• Learn to create deco nails.
• Have my ears pierced.
• Create a natural beauty regimen.
• Research natural healing.

In the Kitchen
• Purchase a crepe pan.
• Design and create three charaben designs. ( 0/3 )
• Create a signature ice cream dish from scratch.
• Enter an Iron Cupcake competition.
• Learn cake decorating.
• Learn cookie decorating techniques.
• Make a Gâteau de Crepes.
• Learn how to make macarons.
• Create a personal cookbook of my favorite recipes.
• Purchase a French press coffee maker.
• Try at least one new food each month. ( 04/33 )
+ blackberry latte
+ various mushroom varieties
+ lychee
+ gummy tummy penguins
• Learn how to make homemade candies.

Local Happenings
• Attend a performance of the local symphony.
• Attend a ballet.
• Take a wine tasting course.
• Eat at the Eiffel Tower restaurant.
• Attend all community theater performances I'm interested in.
• Keep up with library bulletin events.
• See Phantom of the Opera live.
• Go on another bus adventure.
• Attend high tea at the Ritz.
• Visit the Bellagio gardens for each display change for an entire year

My Room
• Purchase a Blythe or Pullip doll.
• Complete my inspiration books.
• Create an organized wishlist.
• Read through my entire book collection and donate materials that I am no longer interested in.
• Catalog and organize all of my possessions, donating anything that I no longer love.
• Find a way to incorporate fairy lights into my room.
• Create a pretty bed canopy.

Nature + Green Living
• Successfully grow a plant from seed.
• Learn the language of flowers.
• Obtain canvas shopping bags.
• Visit an orchard and pick my own fruit.
• Participate in a community cleanup.
• Create recycle bins for the condo.

Writing
• Study poetry writing and write five new poems. ( 0/5 )
• Complete a fanfic challenge.
• Write a children's book.
• Retool a classic fairy tale.
• Finish writing Fairy's Delight.
• Finish a short story prompt challenge.

Summer Gingham

Summer Gingham by QuirkyCharm

I've been seeing gingham everywhere lately (a sure sign of summer) and I've been feeling so inspired by it. For me gingham evokes images of picnics in the park, the cool summer breeze at twilight, fun memories at the beach, sweet afternoons in the orchard, and summers spent with family as a little girl (gingham was a wardrobe staple for me at the time). Sadly I've come to notice that I no longer own anything gingham besides the interior of my picnic basket.

When I saw these shoes on the pages of a magazine it was love at first sight. It got me thinking, what other cute gingham pieces are out there? With that in mind I remembered stumbling across Polyvore months ago though I had promptly forgot about my account at the time. I had a lot of fun searching out some cute pieces to put together in a virtual inspiration board of sorts (this is something I will most likely be doing more often). I fell in love with frilly tops and sweet details. Unfortunately I can't afford any new pieces right now, but I can live vicariously through looking at the pretty pictures. If you're curious about any of the above pieces, click the image for their prices/sources.

What are the styles of summer that give you fond memories?

On the Right Foot

1. Goldfish, 2. Red Envelope Pocket a, 3. itty bitty bunny, 4. Mixed Drink Cupcakes and Truffles

Happy Monday everyone! Welcome to my weekly post where I will be sharing some of the flickr photos that inspire me, things I loved about the previous week, things I'm looking forward to, and some of my favorite links. Please feel free to join me either in comments or via your own blog, I would love to see what's inspiring you ❤

★ Making Changes | This is a little vague (though some of this will become evident in time), but it's the thing that made the biggest difference for me last week. Towards the end of the week I was feeling mopey so to snap myself out of it I opened up a notebook and started plotting. This is one of my favorite activities on any day, but this time I couldn't turn off the flow of ideas, I can't wait to see what comes of it.

☆ World Cup Qualifiers | It's no secret that I'm a huge football fan and last week started off another series of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. By a wonderful stroke of fate some of the matches were televised on my cable package so I was able to watch a few of them to. An absolute luxury that I'm hoping to repeat this week.

★ Fun Shopping Trips | In the chaos that was my weekend I was able to squeeze in some fun shopping. I came away with some adorable Hello Kitty merchandise (a couple mini-plushies, a set of stickers, and some konpeito) as well as a couple of new crafting books thanks to some wonderful coupons. I'm looking forward to trying out a few of the projects once I round up some supplies.

☆ Things I'm Anticipating | putting some refreshing new changes in motion • relaxing with a good book • finishing some sewing projects • making regular use of my sketchbook again • trying some fun new recipes • ... and so much more!

a charming baby shower @ the pleated poppy • coffee filter rose tutorial @ angela harris • pretty pink cottages @ dream create inspire

Birds of a Feather

A few of my friends recently got into papercraft and they've inspired me to give it a go myself. My printer is out of color ink at the moment so I needed a pattern that could be adapted onto scrapbook paper and when I came across NaniBirds I knew I'd found just what I was looking for, how perfect that birds are also one of my favorite motifs.

My first step was to print one of the patterns in b&w to get a handle of the process. I made a few mistakes, most notably cutting the area above the beak, but I liked the look of the end result (see the gray one in the above photo). I was feeling reasonably confident so I traced the b&w pattern onto some colorful scrapbook paper (I thought the spring imagery and text was a perfect match) using a folder to crease the lines since the paper is thicker than printer paper. Once everything was in place I wanted to add some extra details so I used a coordinating paper for the beak and feet and drew on a little eye. I had so much fun with these that I can't wait to try some new designs (and perhaps make a few more birds too).

A Day in the Park

For Memorial Day weekend I spent the day at the Springs Preserve for their A Taste of Shakespeare event. In their outdoor amphitheaters (as pictured above) local actors performed a major scene from six of Shakespeare's plays. It was a lovely way to spend a day and the actors did an excellent job (especially considering how hot they must have been in their costumes). In addition to the plays that had live orchestra music playing and booths of enticing confections (I was able to have my first taste of fresh fairy floss in years - thanks to mom for holding it so I could get a clear photo).

I love that they're doing more events at the preserve. It's a beautiful location filled to the brim with natural desert plants and examples of desert landscaping (a major goal of the preserve is to educate the public on conservation and green living). This is a good time of year to go as the flowers are in bloom and the colors of nature are so vibrant.

the aforementioned fairy floss


these trees were everywhere, their blossoms are so light and ethereal


a more traditional example of desert landscaping


these were such a beautiful, vibrant green


this little meadow area was filled with a variety of purple hues


this little stream made such a relaxing sound

How's It Growing?

Rewind to a couple of weeks ago. I went out and purchased a set of plants from the nursery of a large chain store, consulting the plant caretaker along the way. I came away with the necessary materials and the enthusiasm to plant them. That night I set everything up, spending a few hours with my hands covered in potting soil. The act of planting is something I find relaxing, I've found. I love the feeling of dirt on my hands, surrounded by the beauty of nature. I was quite happy with the end result.

Fast forward to this past week and the plants are all essentially dead. Though I mentioned that the plants I was looking to purchase needed to be able to withstand four hours of direct sunlight a day I was saddened to find that these plants did not fit the bill. Things started to go downhill fast, even though I was moving the planter around the patio so it could stay in the shade after I realized that the direct sun was scorching them. I changed the amount of water I was using. I tried tip after tip online. Alas, it was not meant to be. I have learned a lot this time around (and after further investigation I've learned that the Dahlias each had a bad case of root rot when I brought them home so not matter what the conditions they would not have survived). I feel more comfortable with gardening, the act is no longer so intimidating. I've learned the things to watch for when picking out a plant (make sure the soil isn't too wet, if the plant has a white ring right above the root system it most likely has root rot).

I've been debating on how to share this here. Did I want to keep my blog only for my successes and triumphs? In the end I decided to go with what is most authentic. To keep this true to myself and my life I need to share my failures too. To share the lessons I've learned from my mistakes. This was my first real try at gardening and I am not going to give up now (though I will be using a different nursery this time). I will go in armed with my new lessons, a little less naive of the process.

Finding Inspiration

Lately I've been struggling with my creativity. I've been in a funk. Honestly, this is nothing new. During college I wasn't able to find the time to be creative and now that I'm finished I've been trying to get my spark back. I've tried dozens of methods, but nothing stuck. Until now.

As a young girl I spent a lot of time making inspiration boards from my favorite magazine clippings. I had them displayed all over the place. Larger ones adorned my walls while smaller versions found their way onto my notebook and binder covers. I had notebooks filled with style favorites and clips of pretty photos. Over the years I stopped making them, though I never stopped collecting clippings or magazines.

Now I have a veritable army of both, languishing in stacks around my room. I was flipping through some of them a couple of months ago when I felt a rush of new ideas fill my head. It's taken me a while to decide how to harness this feeling, but now these clippings will have a purpose. They will fill a series of themed (so far: style, design, holidays/special occasions, and general inspiration) notebooks. At the moment I'm working on sorting through the last of my magazines and organizing the clippings, but I can't wait to share the end result and the steps along the way. My spark is back and I couldn't be more excited.

On the Right Foot

1. bedroom, 2. Amigurumi Autumn chickie bird w/leaf, 3. anascakes, 4. ballpen tiger

Happy Monday everyone. For me Monday's have always been a least favorite. This is something I'm trying to change. I want to look at Mondays as the gateway to a week full of wonderful possibilities, a fresh start where anything can happen. From this point on I will writing this series to do just that (as inspired by Gala Darling's Things I Love Thursdays). I will be sharing some of the flickr photos that inspire me, things I loved about the previous week, things I'm looking forward to, and my favorite links from the previous week. Please feel free to join me either in comments or via your own blog, I would love to see what's inspiring you ❤

★ Getting Organized | Last week a large portion of my time went to getting my life in order. My room is blissfully clean and my computer files are starting to follow suit. I love being able to find exactly what I need (and I love rediscovering some amazing things along the way). Organization is still a major goal for this week and I'm excited to see where it takes me.

☆ UP | I saw UP on Saturday and I was instantly charmed. My expectations were high after hearing so many amazing things about the film and I was not disappointed. The animation was gorgeous (I would love a print of the scene where the house is floating against the blue sky) and the story the perfect mix of touching and funny. The film's message is still rolling about in my mind and I feel inspired to craft my own adventure. I don't normally recommend films as everyone has different taste, but I will make an exception for this one.

★ Town Square | There will be a more in depth post about this soon, but this needed to be added to the list. Town Square (in Las Vegas) is one of my favorite places in town and by an oddly wonderful twist of fate I was able to get down there twice this week for both movies and shopping. The weather was gorgeous both times, balmy and wonderful versus the usual beginnings of oppressive heat that June brings, adding to the bliss. I love any occasion to walk around outside and browse pretty shops. Frozen yogurt is also a plus (I'm in love with Pomegranate Raspberry flavor right now).

☆ Things I'm Anticipating | my library reserves coming in • relaxing with a good book • finishing some sewing projects • ... and so much more!

delicious pico de gallo @ the noshery • origami cherry blossoms @ the flirty guide • super cute hello kitty cake pops @ bakerella

The Kindness of Strangers

I love those small moments when I'm reminded of the overall goodness of the people around me. These flowers were given to be a couple of weekends ago by a woman at the market I frequent for grocery shopping. She had some leftover blossoms from Mother's Day bouquets and she handed these to me as I was leaving. This gesture really struck a chord with me and these lovely blossoms cheered up my desk area for a solid two weeks reminding me of her kindness.

It can be so easy to walk around, feeling cynical towards my fellow city-mates. Watching the news only serves as a posting board of the ills of society. It's so easy to focus on that one person who cut me off in traffic or pushed me aside while shopping. Moments like these serve as a beautiful reminder that I'm surrounded by good people. They're a light in the tunnel of negative interactions. I wanted to share this with you today to remind you that a kind smile or a small gesture can go a long way in making someone's day. I wholeheartedly want to pass this feeling on to others.

Simple Touches

Recently I revamped the way my room was set up and a part of that process involved getting rid of the hutch on my desk in order to move it in front of my window. This left a large amount of negative space on my desktop which wouldn't have been a bad thing except for the series of scratched on the lefthand side of the surface. I was lucky to purchase the desk at a discount, but there were several small defects (that were once covered by the hutch in question). At the time I didn't have the money to purchase anything to cover it up so I dug through my crafting resources instead.

A few ideas surfaced through my search all revolving around my stash of scrapbook paper and an empty small sketchbook. The sketchbook had a generic cover that was not particularly pleasing to the eye and I was happy to see that I still had a sheet of one of my favorites leftover from an earlier project. A gluestick made quick work of the project and now I have the perfect little notebook to jot ideas and doodles down in while I'm surfing the web.

paper by - lionart

Warm Weather

The days of summer are nearly upon us (and here in the desert it feels as though they've already arrived). While I don't know if I would classify summer as my favorite time of year, though it certainly does have its advantages. This year in particular I am filled with excitement at the prospects of this coming season. These are a few of my favorite (summer) things:

• sipping ice cold lemonade on the patio on a hot afternoon
• ice pops in a rainbow of flavors
• swimming the day away at the neighborhood pool
• fun movies at the theaters almost every weekend
• playing at the park (I'm particularly partial to frisbee and badminton)
• the feel of my desk fan on my face
• afternoons spent exploring the world and beyond through the pages of a book simply because it's too hot to do anything else
• long days perfect for fitting in all sorts of new excitement
• participating in the blogathon
• the rare summer storm that lifts the oppressive heat, however briefly
• going to concerts, there always seem to be more of them in the summer
• deliciously crisp salads and refreshing sandwiches
• the blissful feeling of a light breeze on a sweltering afternoon
• ... and so much more waiting to be discovered!

In relation to the first item on the list (and the above photo) I'll share one of my favorite ways to make a simple, refreshing summer treat. This is one of those delightful accidents that has since become a frequent in my house. I purchased some pre-made lemonade from the market and it was a little bitter for my taste. A little bit of sugar and some defrosted frozen strawberries did just the trick (and now I can make my own without having to pay more for dressed up lemonade that can be difficult to find - I also love doing this with raspberries). After blending I do recommend straining the seeds out, they add an awkward crunch particularly toward the bottom of the carafe where they tend to settle.