Friday Favorites // August Edition

Hello, hello, 

I'm back again along with several of my lovely sponsors with our end of the month friday favorites.  Can you even believe autumn is almost here?  Where on earth did this summer vanish to?  It's hard to believe I walked outside yesterday to fifty something degree weather - even more nuts is seeing the clump of red leaves on one of our trees.  Now let's break out the pumpkin pie and party!

Have the most loverly weekend darlings!

Love bunches, 

Marisa

Here

With autumn just around the corner, I couldn't help but adore this cozy looking sweater.  The sailboat and anchor knit has me smitten.

Here

So, I may have to really save up for these babies (or beg for them as a birthday gift), but aren't they just darling?  Who can resist wearing roses on your toeses?  

Here

I'm really obsessed with this line of handcrafted soaps by Emma's Friends, so much that we used them as favors for my sister's bridal shower.  The Pumpkin a la Creme scent is made with real pumpkin puree and coffee and is oh so perfect for fall.  The story behind the company is incredibly heartwarming as well.  

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Mary Morgan - The Muffington Post

Here

At the moment I am currently loving velvet! In dress form, cape form, pillow form, shoe form, drape from, cake form, word form. Velvet is it. Like this coat with velvet buttons and pockets!

Mary-Morgan, The Muffington Post

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Hannah, The Braided Bandit

Here

I am absolutely in love with this kitty-printed dress from the lovely Yana of the Etsy shop Supayana.  It is no secret that I am a cat lover, and the print, the cut, and the beautiful collar on this dress are perfection to me!  I would love pairing it with a cozy knit scarf, tights, and, of course, a pair of kitten heels for the upcoming cooler months!

Hannah, The Braided Bandit 

Blog // Shop

What I Baked // Bridal Shower Edition: Lemon Lavender Honey Cupcakes

Oh hello there darlings, 

Just as promised, here is the recipe I used to make my lemon lavender honey cupcakes for my sister's bridal shower.  These were definitely a special occasion cupcake as the hubs and I actually purchased a lavender plant from the nursery to makes these babies.  Truth be told, you can actually just use dried lavender flowers, however, how much more lovely is it now that we can take care of our little plant and have lavender to use whenever we want?!  Anyhoo, I've already made these darling little cakes twice and both times they've gone off like a hit.  

On a side note - I decided to get extra fancy schmancy this time around and fill them with this lemon curd and cream cheese filling which I took from a tart recipe off Mary-Morgan's blog, The Muffington Post, which was very delicious in itself.  So if you do try your hand with these delightful little cakes, be sure to give me a holler and let me know how it goes.

Lemon Lavender Honey Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 sprigs of fresh lavender or 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons lavender honey (I ordered mine from Amazon.com)
•  Zest of one lemon
• 1 cup all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 cup milk

• Preheat the oven to 350°F; line a 12 count muffin pan with paper liners.
• Put the sugar and lavender flowers in a food processor. Process briefly to combine.
• Tip the lavender sugar into a bowl with the butter and beat together until pale and fluffy.
• Beat the eggs into the butter mixture, one at a time, then add in lemon zest and lavender honey. Next sift in the flour and fold gently. Add baking powder and salt.  Stir in the milk, then spoon the mixture into the muffin cups.
• Bake for about 18 minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.          

Filling

• 1 cup lemon curd (you can make your own, or use store bought) 
• 8oz. pack of cream cheese, at room temperature.

Using an electric mixer, mix together until blended into a creamy consistency.  Once the cakes have cooled, use a paring knife to remove a "plug" from your cupcakes.   Fill hole with lemon cream curd.

Frosting

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons lavender honey 
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar 

Beat butter, cream cheese, and honey together until combined. Beat in sugar until stiff enough.
Frost cupcakes and top with a blueberry. 

Adapted from  Yummy Mummy Kitchen

                                                           

* Oh and those other chocolate cupcakes you see in the photo are my Bailey's Toffee Espresso ones.  You can find that recipe here.

Until next time!

Love Bunches, 

Lovebirds in the Afternoon

It's old news already that things have been just a tad quiet over here as this past weekend was fully consumed with planning my lovely little sis's bridal shower.  Above are some snapshots of the perfectly delightful afternoon, which was laced with Lemon lavender honey cupcakes ....oh and Bailey's toffee mocha ones too along with lots of love and happiness and yes, very delicious food.   The venue was an old Victorian mansion, which was magical in itself but add a room full of family and friends and an altogether beautiful couple and the day was nothing but enchanted.  I couldn't be more proud of my sister bear and so very excited for her and her fiance as they embark on this new journey hand in hand.

I have another busy few days ahead of me, so I must run now, however I'll be back soon with my lemon lavender honey cupcake recipe in hand :)  Have a gorgeous week darlings!

Love Bunches, 

Happy Monday darlings!

Phew!  What a weekend I had - busy busy busy as a little ol bumble bee, so naturally a weekend long blog break was in order!  As for my sister's bridal shower.... it turned out more beautifully than I could have ever hoped for and the bride to be was as pleased as punch and as happy as a clam while we celebrated over a delightful lunch and plenty of cupcakes with our closest family and friends in an old Victorian mansion.   (More about that tomorrow though.)  As for now,  it's that time again to give a call for sponsors in September.  If you are interested pop on over here or click on the "Sponsor" tab above to get the details.  Checkout is as easy as apple pie and your ad will go live within 24 hours of submission.  

Book by September 3rd and get 20% all ad spots with the code LaborDayShades.  

* Please note the large ad spaces are booked for September, but there are still some available for October.

Have any questions? - you can always give me a hoot and holler at Parkerlilyblvd@yahoo.com.

Gotta fly for now darlings.  See you tomorrow!

Love Bunches, 

August Sponsor Spotlight

Ello there darlings!

Hope your Thursday is a sunshiny one.  Again it's that time of the month where a couple of my lovely sponsors wanted to take a moment and bid a very warm hello to all of you.  If you haven't had a chance to pop by their spiffy spaces yet, you'll definitely want to do so.  These ladies are pure awesomeness to the 100th power...hehe (I never said I wasn't a cheeseball).  

Anyhoo - like I mentioned before, I'm off to cupcakeland.  It's been a kind of marathon getting things ready for the bridal shower this weekend and I couldn't be more thrilled.

See ya real soon!
xo, Marisa

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Hattitude Style Blog & Jewellery

My name is Hattie and I'm 24 years old. I'm the owner and designer of Hattitude jewellery. Check out my online shop here. I have a style blog where I like to showcase different outfits, most of them have a vintage flare to them, with my jewellery pieces. Pop on over by clicking here. Or here. Or even here.  I love the 1920 flapper girls, calico cats, and the idea of magic.

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The Braided Bandit Blog & Vintage Shop

Hello! My name is Hannah and I am the blogger and curator behind The Braided Bandit Vintage.  I love searching for pretty dresses for my shop, while my other passions include cute animals, photography, and most importantly, burritos! My degree is in Environmental Policy, so I love that wearing vintage, second hand, and recycled clothing is not only more affordable, but also better for our planet! I would love for you to stop by and say hello!

Blog: thebraidedbandit.blogspot.com // Shop: thebraidedbandit.etsy.com //Facebook //Twitter

Of Capitals and Corgis

 Outfit Details: Jacket, Bag & Shoes: Thrifted // Romper: UO // Hat: Target // Necklace: Gift from Mother

Most photos above taken by Katherine.  Thanks lady!

This past Saturday, while I was back in my hometown, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Katherine of Of Corgis and Cocktails.   After numerous blog posts where Katherine and I literally took pictures at the same locations within days possibly even hours apart, I knew we just had to meet up at some point.   As all meet-ups go, Katherine was just as sweet and funny as I had thought she would be and conversation was never short as this Cincinnati girl had me laughing with her geek-tastic ways (she even showed me a thing or two about my dslr camera) and adorable stories about her dear pups .  

 Anyhow, it was quite a lovely evening filled with a trip to The Atomic Warehouse, a huge vintage store full of a quite impressive selection of vintage furniture, housewares, clothing, accessories, you name it and surprise surprise - we ran into another blogger there, Hope of Pink Champagne, who's boyfriend owns this midcentury heaven.  She was as sweet and as helpful as can be and the store was nothing but pure awesomeness so I highly recommend swinging by if you are in the Harrisburg area.   Better yet, I ended up walking away with a delightful toadstool printed dress and retro floral swimsuit.

So after that little stop we moseyed around the capitol building to grab a few photos and be watched by some passersby - always a treat, right?  The evening concluded with dinner at a local piano bar with fried caprese salad and all and of course I think it's safe to say we left there feeling quite satisfied.  I never gave much thought to Harrisburg growing up - it's quite a small city, especially for a state capital, but nonetheless, if you look hard enough you can find it's charm and have a great time exploring this little place...especially with a cool gal like Katherine :)  If you haven't become acquainted with Katherine's blog yet - you totally should, between her whimsical style, darling pups, and yummy recipes, it's utterly adorable!  You can check out her post on our day here.

Happy Tuesday darlings!  This week is going to be stuffed to capacity getting ready for my sister's bridal shower on Saturday.  My life will be nothing but cupcaking and craft making these next few days.  Wish me luck!  Talk soon!

Love Bunches,

Brand New Day

 

Hello darlings!

This weekend finds me back in my hometown to finish up some planning for my sister's bridal shower next week and meet-up with a very lovely blogger friend of mine - but more on that some other time.  

A couple Friday's ago, when the hubs and I were volunteering at our town fair, we got a frightening phone call and learned that a couple of our close friends were in a car accident, hit by a Mac truck. After hearing that the car had flip over into a ditch, we really didn't know what to expect as we quickly drove to see them at the hospital.  So when we arrived it was the biggest relief to see them up and moving about with no cuts, scrapes, or anything much worse besides some aches and pains.  Saying the whole thing was scary would be an understatement and saying that it is a miracle that they survived it nothing more than true.

In celebration of life we all picked up and headed to Philly the very next day :)  A brand new day to live is the quite possibly the best gift ever.

Have a splendiferous weekend my friends.  Catch you soon!

Love Bunches, 

Plane Spotter II

Outfit Details: Blouse: Forever 21 (very old) // Shorts: Thrifed & DIYed // Hat & Socks: UO // Necklace: Gift from mom // Shoes: Gift

This past weekend, the hubs and I hit the road for yet another trip to Philly, to catch a ball game with a good friend and do a little exploring on the side.  Our friend is a professional photographer, and a pretty stellar one at that, so naturally we took him by one of our favorite spots to take in the scenery and snap just a few pics.  I've written about this little spot before - better known as Plane Spotter's Place.  It's a wee nook right beyond the airport where you can sit on the waterside and watch the planes fly very low overhead.  Of course it's near and dear to my heart because it holds memories of summer's past, laying, talking, and dreaming on the hood of the car with the dapper fellow who later became my husband.

On a side note, obviously this outfit is a far cry from my normal vintage dress get-up - which I will admit is much more me.  But 90s degrees and 100% humidity call for shorts at times and so do ball games :)  

Thus concluded another successfully weekend in the city.  Oh yeah, and the Phillies won! - Ok, not that you probably care that much, but still :)  I'm not an athlete by an means, but I do like a good game every now and then.  

What fun have you been up to darlings?

Love Bunches,