KEEP IT REAL WEDNESDAY

Installment #2

JUST WHEN

Just when I thought that rainbow was shining its brightest, it shone brighter.
Just when I thought I didn’t have any words left, you gave me more.
Just when I thought ‘I am the luckiest,’ I got luckier.

…and all of this is because of you.

I wish I had more words, better words to thank you all for all of your kindness. All of those thoughts and prayers and good vibes you were sending found us and then buried themselves in our souls. I am glad they stayed put.

Thank you from the very bottom of my heart.

*pendant by Melanie Favreau. You can find more of her amazing pendants in her Etsy shop. Amazing designs with heartfelt wording – the latin ones are my favorite

I WANT LIFE

*click to make it bigger

KEEP IT REAL WEDNESDAY

Ok...so I didn't really start this as a "personal" blog but I guess that is the best thing about blogging, it can really be whatever you want it to be. I love sharing the ins and outs of my life with you guys, I really do and the comments always make me smile. Who knew that the internets could be such a warm and inviting place!

So, while I'll still [OBV.] continue with most of the personal stuff here on Lemon Pie, I'm doing a 12 week 'Keep It Real Wednesday' campaign that can be found here. That way if you don't want to know what my scale says or how much I can bench press ;) you won't have to.

xo

MILK BOTTLES

I've been seeing a lot of these lately. Honestly, they just do something to my soul. I love that you can put juice in them for the breakfast table or flowers to brighten your day or even crayons! So many great ideas and I am sure there are many more. Here are a few of my favorites:

Glass from Three Potato Four (8oz & 32oz sizes).


Porcelain (and we all know how much I love porcelain) from Alyssa Ettinger
(she never ceases to amaze me with her ideas).


Vintage bottles on eBay.

My dear friend Mary has gotten me all addicted to eBay.

If you're willing to do a little work and a little driving, get on craigslist and search for 'milk bottles.' I found these babies.
They are 45 min from my house and the whole shebang is $15.

If you're interested to read more about milk bottles and their popularity, you can read about them on wikipedia here.

A QUICK UPDATE

Things that have happened since Friday at chez Lemon Pie:
Healthier eating (kind of)
Bruins in GAME 7. Holler.
Ironed an inhumane amount of fabric
Cut out a 20 piece pattern
...and then cut out a romper, a dress and a pair of ruffle bums! yeah!

Things going on today/tonight:
Reading the new Martha Stewart Living Mag (there is a section on Lemons...)
Find a good recipe in everyday food that will last me a few days
4 new tires for the vehicle. Yup, I said 4.
Sewing, sewing and a little knitting
Chili cook-off prep

Whew.

This obv. means that there will be pictures soon right??

A FEW MORE NOTES

Update: I found my camera cord but, someone snagged the batteries. I am popping out hopefully tonight to snag another pack of rechargeables...until then I am still picture free.

Due to the camera debaucle, I am a few days behind 365 but, I will make up for it.

I think I have already mentioned this but, May 9th there will be a shop update! Dresses and ruffle bums for the girlies; rompers for the boys!

The comming week will be filled with lots of progress - I'll give a few sneak peeks before I reveal the whole shebang on May 9th.

Things to look forward to:
Long walks
Good movies
Lots of sewing
Wine
Sleeping in a little
Lots of blogging
Possibly a playlist

REALLY?

I lost my freaking camera cord. What?

I won't have pictures until I can find the dang thing.

Currently waiting to post:

365: Out
Homemade Whoopie Pies

Maybe it is a good thing I cannot see the whoopie pies though. Weight Watchers started today so I am going to try to be really good. I'll be honest and say that I do let myself have things that I want because I would go crazy if I did not - I might not have the whole thing, but I will have a few bites.

Thank you so very much for your words of encouragement - you peeps are some of the nicest I've 'met.'

SimpleSong: I have been drinking the Maxwell House Blue Jar with light cream - delicious. A little birdie also told me that instant expresso is quite delicious too!

LAUGH

Late to the party. Fashionably late that is.

1 photo everyday for a year. Each day has a new theme.

Today = Laugh

{technically this photo was not taken today but I think it sums up the word laugh}

SORE

So - much of this weekend (4 hours of it anyway) were spent at the gym with one of my best friends as drill sergent. I can't complain because she got the job done but today I feel like my body is falling apart.

Which is good because it means it is working.

And for some reason the pain is a little gratifying.

Hmm...

This week also starts me back doing Weight Watchers...so, you'll probably be seeing (and hearing) lots of things related to that. I might even dedicate Wednesday to be like Weight Watchers Wednesdays or something.

Also, I've decided to train for a 5k.

Gotta love spring.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION

My Dad invited me over for a lovely breakfast last Sunday morning. On the menu were homemade homefries seasoned with garlic, onions and (my personal favorite) bacon, served with scrambled eggs (that were perfectly cooked), a cold glass of delicious OJ and, most unexpectedly, instant coffee.

Instant coffee? Yup. And you know what, it was delicious! So delicious in fact that I went out and bought a stainless steel travel mug and my very own jar of instant coffee.


This will make waking up better for sure.

SWEET INNOCENT FIRECRACKER

I need these colors in my life. Preferably on the walls of the studio I am building in my head.

THE ELUSIVE FRENCH BRAID

Today = REALLY bad hair day. I switched up the shampoo/conditioner regimen and I really don't think it worked to my advantage. With the new addition of bangs [ the straight across the forehead kind] and a crazy amount of layers, I am a little limited as to what I can do with my mop. Attempting to forego the ponytail, this morning I whipped up a french braid. Partly because it is a super great way to tame my hair and partly because friends, the braid is back.

Anyway, someone just stopped me and said "Wow, a braid, remember when those were really popular?" Which kind of made me feel super un-cool but hey...if Lauren Conrad can rock it, so can I.

SLUMBER PARTY PART 2

Remember these sleeping bag invites? Saturday was the slumber party and the birthday girl requested a marble cake decorated like a sleeping bag. The final product:

What would a weekend be without some baking involved?

The cake: Yellow cake with chocolate marble...I think it could have been more marbled but this was my first attempt so, more practicing will have to happen. I used 3/4 of the yellow cake mix and then poured 1/4 of the chocolate batter on top in a swirled motion then took a knife and swirled in the opposite direction. I think there should have been more of a folding method?

The frosting: Decorator frosting tinted with regular fool coloring. Tip: when tinting frosting, on a plate tint a tablespoon of frosting a shade or two darker than you want your frosting to be then add that test tablespoon to the rest of your frosting. To darken, take another tablespoon from the (now colored) frosting and add food coloring to get it the color you want and then add to the batch. This lets you better regulate the color you get.

The decorating: Various wilton tips, pastry bags. Fun!

**I will admit that my Mama helped me out with asthetics and general decorating...she is the master and you just don't mess with that**

RIBBING & RIBBON

This weekend I put the finishing touches on these little knit pants. They are by far my favorite knit item ever. When I have bambinos of my own, I hope they are born in the fall/winter so I can dress them in a pair of these daily. The pattern is based on these baby bell bottoms and a pair of baby knickers that were featured in Martha Stewart a year or two ago {I cannot find a photo of them online but they are in the Handmade Holiday special issue}.

Straight legged, with a ribbed cuff and a satin ribbon for a perfect fit make these pants my ideal baby pant and I cannot wait to see a little baby butt in them. I specifically made these so that they will be 'grow with me pants' - meaning that as the little one gets older, the pants will still fit in the waist but will be more like knickers/capris.

These will be a staple in my fall line for lux risa. {I know, strange to think about the fall aready.} I am also going to do a summer shop update mid-May. Dresses and pinafores for the girls and rompers for the boys. I've picked up a ton of great fabric over the past few months and am really looking forward to showing you what I've been working on!

Sarah

MONDAY MONDAY

Waking up to these baby daffodils makes it seem ok that it is Monday.

MORE CUPCAKES?

OK...so I'll admit it, I've been on a bit of a cupcake rampage lately. Cupcake week over at Martha Stewart isn't helping either. Last weekend I had plans to try chocolate cupcakes with peppermint frosting but my guinea pigs were less than thrilled with that.

I decided to go with vanilla cake and lemon frosting (again) as it is always a favorite. The twist though, I bought this lovely kit (at Target): I should have taken a few more pictures of it BUT I can tell you this:

• It comes with 3 fun decorating tips
• a filler tip (can you imagine lemon pudding in a white cupcake?! I can't wait to use the filler tip!)
• disposable plastic decorator bags (way better than the parchment ones I usually make but, plastic = worse for the environment. note to self: purchase reusable pastry bags)

Man was this fun! All of my cupcakes had beautiful rosette tops and I broke out the spring sprinkles again. The little mini cupcakes I gave as a gift to some hard working nurses and the larger cupcakes were saved for us!

I did have an *issue* though...and a strange one at that - have any of you run into this:

I made one pan of mini cupcakes (24) and one pan of regular sized cupcakes (12). The regular sized cupcakes rose beautifully (see above) but the mini cupcakes barely rose at all. I am thinking that it may have had something to do with bake time? I cooked the bigger ones longer. The mini's were cooked all the way through and despite them not really rising, they were delicious all the same. I don't get it...

But back to the cupcake decorating kit...you really nead one

LAUNDRY

{Photo via Apartment Therapy}

All I can say is WOW. What an awesome idea. I am going to file this photo away so that I can do this in my own home someday (visions of a laundry room like Martha's dance in my head).

I think I'd like this even more if there were small chalk boards over the industrial canvas baskets.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

I am not going to lie, for years I have attempted to make the *perfect* chocolate chip/chunk cookie. You know that perfect balance between crunchy and soft. While I am a good baker, I've never been able to achieve perfection in the chocolate chip cookie realm...until now.

These babies kicked butt! I made a few recipe modifications and viola! I used a bag of the Nestle chocolate chunks and followed the recipe on the back but, with the following changes:

• 1.5 cups of white sugar


• No brown sugar


• 1 tablespoon of molasses


• additional 1/4 cup of flour

As usual, I sifted all of my dry ingredients. I also set aside a chunk of this batter to add walnuts to. I don't like walnuts but some of my favorite people do.

Bake for 10min (or until the edges are golden brown).

The first batch came out great, alibet a little on the large side but, my Dad didn't seem to mind as he grabbed 5 (no lie) on his way out the door.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY BENEFIT (FEAT. TOO LOUD)

Saturday night the lovely Tara invited me (us) to a benefit for Habitat for Humanity. The band rocked and def had us up on our feet! (Tara is the lead singer!)

It was right down the street from me and I knew some great peeps were going to be there. We all had an amazing time laughing and dancing and dancing and dancing and singing.

(strike a pose, there is nothing to it.)

I even ran into a few people that I had not seen since high school!

There is nothing better than a night out with friends to support a very good cause.