California and a haircut

Matt and I are in Istanbul as I type. It's fairly early in the morning. So far, the trip has been wonderful! The only gripe would be the voltage conversion issues I've been having, but no other complaints! This is a quick post and I promise to have pictures of Turkey in the next post. I thought I should catch everyone up on the goings ons in M & M world. Last week, we went to Napa, San Francisco, Sacramento, and St Helena. Here are some photo highlights (oh! and many haircut pictures!)

Woodhouse... our favorite chocolates.

Break at the cafe for refreshments.

New short hair!

Lots of bounce!

It was hot in California... over 100 degrees! I was sweating!
More pictures to come!

A Charmed Life & A New Book

Australian born Author and fellow blogger Vicki Archer seems to live a charmed life in the South of France, the place she has found and now calls home. Like many, I adored her first book "My French Life" and her new book "French Essence", continues to drag me into her dreamy world. The photography by Carla Coulson is divine and Vicki's styling is second-to-none. I have posted my absolute favourite page in her new book above. I decided on this one page as I don't want to spoil it for you. This book is definitely one to add to the Christmas wish list! Congratulations Vicki on another huge success!!

Nb. French Essence is available now in Australia & New Zealand and will be sold on Amazon later this year.

Lauren's (sassy) Senior Portrait

So generally you only find us on the wedding circuit, but I recently had the pleasure of doing some senior portraits for the lovely Lauren. We had done her sisters photos a few years back and her mom wanted another Snap!-style portrait for her wall. No problem! We headed over to the East Side of Providence and took advantage of some of the great vintage walls.
Ah, to be 18 again...

Best of luck to you Lauren in all that you do in the future!

Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cookies...The Addiction Continues

What a long day! The new washing machine stopped draining (of course, the machine is digital so you can not just take something apart). I am working outside and the weather is back to being cold, rainy, and gusts of wind are shooting from all directions. I am also missing my little girl. Ashley, my daughter, just passed her driving test and received her license last Friday. She is 18 and decided to go for the weekend with friends. Today is the first day I have seen her since Friday and I feel heart broken and hoping she stays safe. I don't have words to put down that describe trying to let go and let her grow. Great, I am getting teary eyed again. Baking cookies and staying busy helps me from driving the dog, 2 cats and my hubby nuts. I am picking everything up before the item is even set down, fed the dog twice on accident, and the cats sense me contemplating giving them a bath. Cookies sound so much safer.

So here we are with another chocolate and caramel dessert to share with friends and send off to work. Did I mention that Ashley came home, stayed for about 1 hour and left because she had friends waiting soooo, of course, I called with bribery of freshly baked cookies for her to come and pick up whenever. I can see this bribery thing is my next new skill set. Hopefully Ashley is not reading this but if you are kiddo, just kidding! LOVE YOUUUU....!
Oh yes, cookies. Here is the recipe and may I say YUM!!! in advance. While Ash was here, she unwrapped all the Rolos for me.

Caramel-filled Chocolate Cookies With White Chocolate Drizzle
These yummy chocolate cookies have a tasty caramel surprise inside. With crushed pecans on top and a contrasting white chocolate drizzle, They are almost to pretty to be eaten but it can be done.

Ingredients:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. plus 1 Tablespoon sugar, divided
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. baking cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1 1/4 c. chopped pecans, divided
1 package (13 oz.) Rolo candies
4 squares (1 oz. each) white baking chocolate, melted

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in 1/2 c. pecans.

Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each candy, forming a ball. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and pecans; dip each cookie halfway. Place nut side up 2-inches apart on greased baking sheets.
Bake at 375 degrees F. for 7-10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle with melted white chocolate.
This recipe should make about 3 dozen cookies =D

Black & Spiro Today

Here is our current window display at Black & Spiro {above}. It's very bright, I must say, even for me! It's been a crazy week here at B&S. Usually the September school holidays are a quiet time for us. It is usually a time we call the lull before the storm with the onslaught of Christmas coming! However, for some strange reason these September holidays have been crazy. Lots of deliveries arriving as you can see below. A few clients will be very happy at the end of this week once they receive their beautiful armchairs!!

Happy Christmas Train and Tree Layout

Have you been by Custom Crops this week? Several of the designer have new files posted. All of the new files now post on Monday mornings so I will admit that CC is one of my Monday stops. I love to see what everyone has created.

One of my latest CC designs is a double page layout using Christmas Noel and Plantin Schoolbook and features this amazing tree and train. I am very pleased with how this layout came out.

In addition to the train, which is just stinkin' cute, I am really impressed with the tree ornaments on Christmas Noel. I especially like the long ornament which is detailed. I was afraid that my cricut would not do well with the small details but I put in a new blade and it went smoothly. There is a lot to be said for a shape blade and a new mat in the world of cricutting!

Click on the Custom Crops blinkie to the left and you will find the article which includes directions and the cut file for this project listed under my name. Enjoy!!

Flavor of the Month. . . .A Tribute to John Hughes

Sixteen Candles came out my freshman year in high school. The movie spoke to me. I just knew there was hope for me yet. (Although, I would draw the line at giving my panties to a geek.)

It would go like this....My sophomore year, Jake Ryan (complete with Porsche) would see through the frizzy hair, the pigeon toes, the overall geekiness and fall totally, completely in love.

Yeah, right.

We rented Sixteen Candles a few weeks ago. Remember that last scene? That was the height of romance in my eyes as a teenager...wearing a fancy dress, sitting on a glass top table, huge cake in the middle, Jake leaning in for a kiss.

Watching it this time, my thoughts were:

1. I wonder how thick that glass is? My butt would definitely crack that table.
2. Leaning over those candles is really dangerous! What if their clothes had caught on fire?!?
   

So, maybe I've grown up a little. When I became a parent, the more I saw genius in John Hughes' Mr. Mom. :)

But, still, no one captured teenagers in the 80's like John Hughes. The man had a gift for capturing our generation...the geeks, the snobs, the weirdos, the jocks, the wanna-be's...and then there's Ferris. :) Bueller, Bueller?

I couldn't resist a little Pretty in Pink!

Pretty in Pink Krispies

(these are better the day after making them!)

3 TBSP unsalted butter
1 pkg (10 oz.) marshmallows
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
AmeriColor Deep Pink food coloring
6 c Rice Krispies

Lightly grease an 11 x 7" pan.

In a large saucepan, combine the butter, marshmallows and salt over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla bean paste and food coloring.

Add the cereal, stirring until completely coated, making sure to stir up the marshmallow mixture from the bottom.

Lightly grease or butter hands and press mixture into the prepared pan. Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting.

Alright guys, whatcha got? Was this month too weird of a theme? Link up here! {Linky will close the evening of October 1st.}

Flavor-of-the-Month October Edition......PUMPKIN!!!
Anyone and everyone is welcome to join!

A Summer Table

This lovely table setting screams Summer to me. I love the fresh green and white colour palette. I also love the little succulent arrangements. They actually reminded me of the lovely succulent arrangements Chelsea over at Frolic created recently as below.

image 1 - victoria pearson via brown turtleneck sweater,

image 2 - frolic

i ♥ movies. & my tickets collections this year.

i ♥ watching movies. on DVD or cinema, does not matter at all.
this is a common hobby that i do without realizing that doing often could caused empty wallet. lol.
some of the tickets are from Indonesia (my home country) which i went everytime i had holiday off from my university.
some are from Thailand because i went there quite sometime whenever i have short term holiday. but most of the tickets are from GSC in Penang, Malaysia because i moved here to finish my university.


the seats that took most of the time are The Twin Seat.
which most of the time costs RM24 (Rp.66rb) for both person. (i always went with my BF).
sometimes i brought along Kinder Joy Chocolate from the snack corner outside of the cinema, sometimes i also bought little snacks from the cinema food stand but ONLY sometimes.
I don't spend much money on snacks from Penang Cinema because honestly they are NOTHING interesting to buy.
In Indonesia i would have buy Nachos with Extra Cheese or in Thailand i would have buy Butter Cheese Popcorn, but in Penang there aren't anything much at all. :[


since i'm bored, i'm going to list some of the movies i have watched this year.
(in no partical order or sequences of the dates).


GSC

1. Halloween
2. Bangkok Dangerous
3. Outlander
4. Underworld 3
5. He's just not that into you
6. 21 (nice movie ^^)
7. Bedtime Stories
8. Push
9. Knowing (my BF hated it)
10. Australia
11. Ghosts of girlfriends past
12. The Final Destination 3
13. Dragonball Evolution
14. Fast & Furious 4
15. G.I Joe : Rise of the Cobra
16. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (WOW)
17. The Spirit
18. I Love You, Beth Cooper
19. Madagascar Escape 2 (i always lovee the penguins, they are the funniest!)
20. Inkheart
21. The X Files
22. Deep In The Jungle
23. Bolt
24. Quantum of Solace (YEAAHH!!)
25. My Best Friends Girlfriend
26. Drag Me To Hell (one of my fav thriller movie this year)
27. The Uninvited (best thriller movie i watched this year!)
28. Changeling (oh so touching, i wish she ever found her son back)
29. Street Fighter : Chun Li
30. The Proposal
31. The Strangers
32. Coming Soon
33. District 9 (WOW this movie is very different, me & my BF love it)
34. Up
35. Seven Pounds
36. Valkyrie
37. Imagine That
38. Public Enemies (my fav movie this year. total awesome!)
39. Eagle Eye (this could be my BF's fav movie this year)
40. Star Trek
41. Blood : The Last Vampire (plaiin & boring)
42. Max Payne (wow dominated by hot girls, i really like it)
43. Twilight (of courseeeeeeee my fav!!)
44. Ugly Truth
45. Journey to the centre of the Earth
46. Obsessed
47. 17 Again (zac efron is overrated, he's not that hot, really)
48. A Perfect Getaway
49. G-Force (i dont know, i found it boring -.-)
50. X-Men Origins
51. Tropic Thunder
52. Ong Bak 2
53. The Transporter (Jason Statham is a total hottie!)

GSC PREMIER

1. Transformer 2 (overrated.. lol)
2. Night At The Museum
3. Harry Potter 6 (of course, i'm a fan)

Cathay Cineplex, Komtar

1. The Orphan

Bintaro 21, Indonesia

1. Narnia
2. Iron Man (overrateed)
3. Get Married (lucuuu hahaa)
4. Ayat-Ayat Cinta
5. Virgin 2 (hmmm..)
6. Beowuld
7. Laskar Pelangi
8. Radit & Jani (my fav indonesians movie ever!!)

Pondok Indah 21, Indonesia

1. Speed Racer
2. National Treasures 2
3. Pantastic 4
4. Pulau Hantu

Pondok Indah XXI, Indonesia

1. Water Horse
2. Horton Hears a Who (quite funny)
3. Stardust
4. Harry Potter 5 (of coursee!)

SFX Chaengwattana, Bangkok, Thailand

1. (a thai movie.. can't type here)

Paragon Cineplex, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Day The Earth Stood Still
2. Body Lies (leonardo dicaprio is the best actor out there, he magically turn the movie to be good)

so i guess that's all the tickets i got. i actually watch more than the lists here because some of the tickets are taken by my BF & my friends. xD


poll.. what's your fav movie this year????


love.love ♥♥

Meet Amelie

Meet Amelie !

Amelie @ CoverModels Management (Ottawa)

It's already very soon October. The days are shorter, no sunny sky and a cold atmosphere.Well, the winter is in front of our doors. He brought us some promising new faces, like, Amelie. Amelie is the newest discovery of our Canadian boutique agency, CoverModels Management. After only 24 hours signed the beauty already a contract with Giovanni Models in Montreal and Toronto.From the first seconds is my impression of her huge. She has the certainly special look without any doubt. Amelie has an impressive facial expression, very fresh and playful with a touch of cuteness and a touch of uniqueness. A pale skin, two piercing eyes and a well formed face. The young canadian beauty is 16 years old and has a height of simply perfect 177 centimeters (82-60-86). Take a look at her promising two single polaroids and write Amelie's name down.