Blowfish Shoes Giveaway!

dress - peacock plume

belt - asos

shoes - c/o blowfish

I've got exciting news today!! Blowfish Shoes is offering one lucky gal a pair of free shoes! whee! I know "free shoes" is amazing to begin with, but it gets even better -- you can pick whichever pair you'd like!! ahh!

To enter you just need to be a real follower (none of this follow-&-leave-as-soon-as-you-lose-the-giveaway jazz... that's super rude!) and let me know what shoes you'll choose (unintentional rhyme) if you win! You can visit Blowfish Shoes here to pick out your favorite pair, and then leave a comment on this post. You have until next Monday at 12:01AM EST to enter. Oh, and make sure to include a way for me to get in contact with you in case you win!

And that's about it! Good luck!! :D

ps. The video at the top is a music video that I made especially for this giveaway.. please take a peek (with the volume on) if you have a chance! It took a lot of work & I love how it came out! :)

Happy Father's Day

My brother always jokes that I got all of my dad's genes, and he got all of my mom's. I personally think I have a good share of those mom genes, but it's true that I'm a lot like my dad in almost every way possible. Except that I don't like football or ice cream. Oh, and I'm a girl.

We like the same books, music, movies and food (he's the only one in my family who will try my vegetarian concoctions) and we both enjoy discussing the big things like philosophy, global politics, science and history. We both come up with insane business ideas that make everyone else in the family roll their eyes. Perhaps the most obvious way we're similar is in how we interact with other people. We're both painfully shy and socially awkward, and usually leave public conversation up to my mom & brother. At my art show a few weeks ago, my mom had to stay at home so it was just me, my dad and my brother. When my dad & I had to talk to the art show organizers, Kyle stayed back a few feet just to watch us flounder.

My dad also owns his own online business, so it's wonderful being able to commiserate with him about the downsides of customer service and lulls in orders. Since neither of us have any employees or coworkers, I think it's incredibly beneficial to our health (and sanity) that we have each other to complain to when things are rocky with work. We're both having huge dry spells with orders right now, and I know having my dad there to talk to about it helps me in a way that nothing else can.

One of my favorite parts of the day is when we go for a walk late at night. My dad works a late shift at his part time job and doesn't home until around 11pm each night. When he gets home, we go for a short stroll around the neighborhood. It's dark and quiet, and we get to talk about our day, what's going on in the world or he'll come up with insanely hard to answer questions like "who do you think was the most important person in all of civilization?" that keep me thinking for days.

I had a hard time with that particular question, but if it had been changed from "in all of civilization" to "in your life" the answer would have been incredibly simple.

scathing brilliance

//all images link back to their source

Tumblr was great this week.. I got my Jude Law fix and my Hugh Grant fix (what can I say, I adore them!) and that Mulan gif will never get old (LOVE that movie!) Oh, and there was so much pretty food I practically gained twenty pounds just looking at it. Those nutella strawberry banana angel food cake things?! *oh my gosh*!

Speaking of food, I made these cinnamon bun pancakes for breakfast the other day (and yesterday... and today...) and they're seriously the best pancakes I've tasted in my entire life!! Do yourself a favor and go make them right now! And then try not to eat the entire batch yourself.. I dare you ;-)

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

What is your favorite breakfast food? I'm a scrambled eggs gal myself..

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice - Emma Wallace

Sugar, Spice and Everything nice is my new series that spotlights exceptionally sweet bloggers! And really, who is sweeter than Miss Emma Wallace? Her kindness, zest for life and innate positivity are contagious! And if ever a person had a voice to match their personality, it's Emma. Her music is so lovely and cheerful that I guarantee one listen will put a smile on your face, and significantly brighten not only your day, but your entire life. I'm super excited that she agreed to share some of her sweetness here today!

ps. she was (predictably) too modest to choose her own music for the sweet song, so I cheated and added one of her songs at the end of her post. ;-D Have a listen and prepare to smile!

Well, since I just had a baby, I think all my photos of him are sweet! I'm completely twitterpated. But here is a photo of him in the front baby carrier my husband wears. It's DOUBLY sweet because it a. has my baby in it and b. has my wonderful husband carrying him around (which makes me fall for my husband that much more). I swear Peter would live in that carrier if he could!

I have a passion for children's books. I think I spend pretty much all fun money on out-of-print or exciting children's books. My usual favorite type is the "slice-of-life" books - that are just about the every day goings on of the characters. There are so many I adore and one of my favorite authors, Eleanor Estes, writes about the sweetest books ever. One of her books, Pinky Pye, is about a family that spends a summer vacation on a remote Northeastern island and adopt a scrappy, abandoned kitten. Parts of the story are told from the kitten's perspective and it really is the perfect and adorable summer read.


I have not one sweet tooth, but, really, ALL my teeth are sweet. It's true. So I asked my mother for one of my favorite (of many) childhood dessert recipes. It's like a candy bar AND a baked good. What could be better?

HELLO DOLLY COOKIES
Melt 1 stick butter and pour in greased 8 x 8 inch pan. Layer 1 cup graham cracker crumbs over butter. Layer 1 cup coconut over crumbs. Layer 1 cup chocolate bits over coconut. Layer 1 cup pecans over chocolate bits. Pour 1 can sweetened condensed milk over all. DO NOT MIX. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.





There are so many sweet songs out there! This one, though, not only has such sweet lyrics but the tune also seems so darling to me! I first heard it sung by Harry Connick, jr - his piano solo is marvelous - but I love the Sinatra version so much! The picture I chose is of the most romantic Hollywood
couple ever...


I lived briefly in Seattle mid-college and I have many (many) sweet memories of living there! My sweetest memory isn't the many-layered chocolate cakes from Dilettante Chocolates (oof, those were good), or the truffles I squirreled away and ate one by one when I was tragically low on cash (mmmm) or the gelataria and donut shop I worked at (I think I put on about 800 lbs working there. But now I can make both gelato and donuts. Totally worth it) or the pecan sticky buns from the vegan bakery (so sticky you want to cry), NO! All around Seattle, there are blackberry bushes, just growing on the side of the road. I walked everywhere in Seattle and I have such wonderful memories of snacking off the wild blackberry bushes.

Okay, maybe the many-layered chocolate cakes are up there with the blackberries.

Fred Astaire by Emma Wallace!