Sun Falling

Outfit Details: Dress (underneath): Thrifted (remixed here) // Dress: UO (old) // Scarf & Shoes: Thrifted // Purse & Brooch: Antique Mall

Happy Saturdays darlings!  

No big plans today which is the perfect contrast to how life has been as of late.  I am officially on slow mo and loving it, if only just for a day or two.

So the weekend kicked off like this -  Upon eating a yummy homemade tomatillo and shrimp pizza, some friends and my little fam and I piled in the car and headed down to the beach area in my neighborhood to catch the falling sun...pure delight, (but I will admit it looks a bit like a Cialis commercial this time of day, which made us giggle).  Anyhow, this is the kind of thing I wish I would consciously think to do every night as a peacefulness dwells there like none other and sanity is captured once again:) 

Cheers to warm and sunny summer Saturdays!

Love Bunches, 

June Sponsor Spotlight

Happy Thursday darlings!

It's hard to believe this week is already coming to an end and summer is now upon us -well if you are on this side of the globe:-)  As this month closes out I wanted to introduce some of the gorgeous gals who have been my sponsors this month.  If you have not become acquainted with them yet, both of their blogs are really too darling for words - so have a peek and give them some <3 if you feel so inclined.

See you real soon!

xx

Marisa

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 Hello! I'm Lisa from lala faux bois, a blog about my obsessions with traveling, vintage, and making stuff. I have dreams of seeing the world, but most the time you can find me petting my kitties or thrifting my heart out. 

Blog // Twitter

  

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Hello fellow Shades of Monet readers. I am Mary-Morgan from The Muffington Post and I am honored to be a part of Marisa's lovely blog this month. :) I am a hairdresser and makeup artist. When I am not working, I am baking yummy vegan treats or cooking yummy vegan meals. I love to craft, read comics, go thrifting and find wonderful secondhand gems, spend time with my prince charming Shey and our fluffy babies. I hope you will come by and say hi, I love meeting new, fantastic people! XOXO

Blog // Twitter // Pinterest // Instagram // Tumblr

On the Road

 Outfit Details: Cardi: Topshop (old, remixed) // Top (romper): UO (old, remixed) // Skirt & Shoes: Thrifted // Scarf: Vintage - gift from friend

Hello darlings!

Well I'm back from another long weekend away.  This one found me in my hometown to do some odds and ends which included trying on a dress for my sister's wedding in November, taking photos for a friend's album cover, and of course to celebrate Father's day with all the amazing men in my life - my hubby, father, and grandfather.  What a fantastic hodge-podge of a weekend indeed!  

Before it all began though, the hubs and I headed down to Maryland to catch Keane in concert - I think it was my 7th or 8th time seeing them, but they never do disappoint.  The concert ended on a very sweet note - see the photo below:)  I can always appreciate a band that takes time to chat with their fans.  All three times I've met them, they've been nothing but warm, gracious, and just completely down to earth.  One of the members even let us record a little video of him sending a greeting to our son who's name is also Keane - such a sweet little keepsake that will be fun to show our son someday.

So as you can imagine, I am pleasantly tuckered out from this lovely little weekend.   Now I'm looking forward to the first week in a long time where my husband, Keane, and I can just relax and enjoy our time together with minimal hustle and bustle :)  Though I love being a busy gal, I think I might just be a homebody at heart.

Love Bunches, 

What I Bake: Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Well hello there darlings!

Just as promised here is the Nutella cupcake recipe that helped me survive multiple rounds of company in and out of my house last weekend.  The original recipe was taken from here and modified just a tad.  It's as easy as pie and because the recipe yields 36 delicious little cakes - I simply could not go wrong.  Every last one went and were a big hit - so if Nutella and peanut butter are your things, I would most certainly recommend giving these sweeties a go.

What you'll need:
To Cake:

2/3 cup Nutella
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt (or the same amount of buttermilk)

To Frost:

6 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:
1. Line 3 dozen muffin cups with cupcake liners or grease using non-stick spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Sift together flour & cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes, until it is pale and thick. Add in the butter. Mix until combined. Add in the nutella. Now, add in the yogurt. Beat until well incorporated.

4. Add the flour mixture in 3 increments and beat until smooth. Divide batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over-bake. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.

Nutella Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream the butter and cream cheese in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixture. Add the nutella, peanut butter and vanilla and continue to cream. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar as you continue to cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat on high speed until fluffy and smooth, adding milk or additional sugar (if needed) to reach desired consistency.

Frost the cupcakes and garnish with shaved milk chocolate or jimmies. Ooh la la - you will soon find out how heavenly these are :)

I'm finally back home from this exciting little week.   I have much to share, but for now I must do some catching up with all of you.  See ya soon and happy weekend!

Love Bunches, 

Sponsor Spotlight: Hattie // Hattitude Style Blog

Hello there!

While I am off to a Keane concert tonight, my feature sponsor Hattie of Hattitude Style blog and  Hattitude Jewellery  is taking over the reins today.  Give her tons of love darlings and be sure to visit her loverly blog.  She really is quite a doll and really has a fun and killer sense of style and knack for creating the prettiest vintage inspired jewelry!  It's all yours Hattie....

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Hello Shades of Monet readers! My name is Hattie and I'm so excited to be doing a blog posting for Marisa. I've been following her blog for awhile. She's so cute and whimiscal isn't she? 

 I am the owner and designer of Hattitude jewellery. I create one of a kind hand made jewellery using vintage recycled pieces. If you're a vintage lover, you'll have to check out my collections, click here. I started Hattitude when I was 15 years old. I am 24 now and am lucky enough to call myself my own boss. I also have a style blog, where I show my outfits and ways to style the jewellery from my store.

Dress: Vintage, Chez Thrift, Bolton, ON  

Tights: Urban outfitters Head 
scarf: mothers
 Necklace: one of my creations, Hattitude jewelry 
ring: Spanx, Vancouver, BC 
Belt: Thrifted 
Shoes: Shoepper

Four (because everyone does three) neat facts about me:

1. I've never broken a bone, not even a toe, or finger, nata, nothing, zing!

2. I had a double lung transplant 2 years ago, due to my chronic illness, cystic fibrosis, which I was born with. Click here to find out more about CF. Or click here to save a life.

3. My favourite book is Gone with the Wind. This is a must on every girl's book shelf. If you have not read this book, it's an injustice and you must go and read it! 

4. I am a music fanatic. I love indie pop, alternative, and a little bit of folk music thrown in for good luck. 

There is a little sneak peek into the window of my, Hattitude life. 

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, join my Facebook page or stop by my style blog and tell me a little about you! :) 

Hope everyone has a fabulous week, and Marisa hope you enjoyed your concert! 

Marathon

 Outfit Details: Top: Vintage in my Etsy // Scarf & Shoes: Thrifted // Sock: Topshop

What a blur this past week has turned out to be - not that that is a bad thing, I've really just been so extremely busy that the saying "time is of the essence" has been so completely true.  So Thursday night I baked a boatload of Nutella cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (recipe to come) so that they would last through the 3 rounds of company we've had over to our home this past weekend and let's just say they didn't disappoint!  Not only cupcakes but a chili throwdown was the event of the weekend and sadly I chickened out and didn't enter my vegetarian chili into the mix, but I do think it would have fared quite well now looking back - avocados and poblanos do make some magic together:)  Nonetheless, the 8 different chilies that were entered were scrumptious and each unique - now only if Bobby Flay would have shown up!

So my reward for making it through this weekend of playing hostess? - A nice relaxing day at the beach (aka lake) in our neighborhood with some good friends, a very long nature walk (see above)  and the biggest and best burrito later on that night...perfect! 

All this out and about and hostessing and so on has thinking of the song Marathon by Tennis, an oldie but goodie.  Not because I'm on a sailing voyage like the duo in the song (though that would be so much cooler), but because I feel like I've been running one...still, tis a loverly song to have stuck in my head.

Hope your week is getting off to one swell start too darlings!

Love bunches, 

Tucked Away

Hello darlings, 

It's been one jammed packed weekend for me - so I took a couple days to just unplug and recoup.  In the meantime, you can find me over at Sprinkles of My Life doing a lil ol guest post.  Pop on by and say hello if you do so wish.  I'll be back to my normal shenanigans tomorrow:)  See ya then!

xx, 

Marisa Noelle

Seven Tubs

Outfit Details: Dress: UO (old - remixed here) // Blouse, Brooch & Scarf: Thrifted/Antiqued // Hat: TJ Maxx // Shoes: AE (old) // Tote: c/o Cute Vintage

Sunny days call for explorations - I say it all the time, but really, this is one of the best things about spring and summer I do believe.  Today found us out at Seven Tubbs Natural Area which is laced with plenty of trails, bridges, and waterfalls to make the heart go pitter-patter just a bit.  I've been longing to check this place out for a while now and it surely did not disappoint.  Note to self - next time pack a picnic lunch and wear some flip-flops and shorts so I can really get down and dirty and well...just splash around in the falls like I was ever so tempted to do.  When it comes to me, I'd rather be chasing waterfalls than pavement any day.  

On tap this next coming week - a darling DIY,  an easy summer recipe, oh and a Keane concert!  My schedule is maxed out per usual - but I don't mind :-)

The weekend is almost here - do enjoy darlings!

Love Bunches, 

Rainy Day Library Adventure

Outfit Details: Dress, Blazer, Shoes - Vintage, thrifted // Hat: UO // Necklace: Modcloth 

Today it rained - so taking pics was not so much in the cards, but you know what was... going to the library! That's right, my little man Keane and I headed off to the library with our friends for story time with a wonderfully eccentric librarian.  Better yet, she was giving out a free book to all the kiddos who came... so naturally I was pretty darn excited as I am quite a children's books enthusiast - that's the elementary education major in me coming out.  Unfortunately no photos of that here - it would have been too weird to be snapping pics when so many other people's children were there too...who really wants to be the creeper in the corner holding the camera?  The day concluded with a banana gelati and plenty of snuggling up to old episodes of Mad Men.  Perhaps rainy days aren't so gloomy after all. 

Rain or shine, I wish you the most lovely day darlings!

Love bunches, 

Starr Garden and Lychee

Outfit Details: Dress: c/o Cute Vintage // Hat: UO // Bag: Antique Mall // Shoes: Thrifted

Finally...I am back, nestled safe and sound in my home sweet home.  It's been one fine week away and I spent the latter half of it in Philly as my hubs was away on business.  So perfectly it concluded with an afternoon spent on South Street upon his arrival home.  We thrifted, we park strolled, we froyo-ed - I indulged with a concoction of lychee, cake batter, taro, raspberry, pistachio yogurt topped with blackberry, coconut, cookie dough, kiwi, jimmies and mochi.  Yes, this girl likes a bit of everything. 

So that's that.  We made it through a bad storm and tornado warning on the drive home - and if you know me, tornados are one of the things I am most scared of in life...haha.  I was a complete nut the whole ride home checking the weather channel app every other second to assure that we would be ok. Goodness gracious, I do have the tendency to make things more dramatic than they probably need to be.

Alright darlings, wishing you one perfect Saturday.   I'm off to catch up now:)  See ya soon!

Love bunches,