Cotty time again!

Last year we had an AMAZING girls weekend at my friend Kaitlyn's cottage. It is here again...this weekend!!! I am so excited and thought I'd share some photos from last year to stir up some more excitement!

Purge is a weird word.

The other day Julia, my Mom and I went through our closets and did some major spring cleaning or "purging". We were talking to our friend Kaylee about it and she decided she wanted to do the same. Let's just say we had no idea what we were getting into! It had been a very long time since she'd gone through everything in her room.

Found some hilarious items throughout the process (5 hours) and ended up with 9ish bags of things to donate and about the same amount of stuff to throw out. If you've never done this before, let me strongly suggest it because you likely have no idea what's even in there! You'll be surprised what you find... plus she has so much more space now!!

The scarecrow shoes...



"Hard to Handle" definitely from high school!



Yes, she had a shirt with a rubber boot on it.



Me wearing her broken :( JLo hat



We were all a little confused by these shirts...




A few of the 32 pairs of jeans we found in her closet. The funny thing is she "doesn't like jeans"...



The give-away pile.



All bagged up and ready to go!



Kaylee, you are the best! It took a lot of hard work to get this done and I'm seriously impressed.
You must see her room NOW... it was cute before but now it's drop-dead gorgeous!

Thanks for letting us in and for providing me with excellent blog material!

J. Crew

StyleCaster posted new J. Crew looks for spring/summer. See more here.

Good Friday

Last year on Good Friday, my dad sang a song at our service at church and it has been one of my favourites ever since. Christ is Risen by Matt Maher.

Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
But fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but heaven's will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead
He's alive! He's alive!



Despite the pain and sadness of Good Friday there is hope and joy because of what happened three days later on Easter Monday. Today, I'm reminded of the ultimate sacrifice that took place so many years ago so that I can live a life free from sin and have a relationship with God that's real and that affects those around me.

Two-Toned Eyeliner

Loving the Daily Beauty Tip from InStyle Magazine today ...two-toned eyeliner.
Get the "How To" here.

German Chocolate Cake

I was watching ThrowDown with Bobby Flay on Sunday afternoon and was immediately inspired to make a German chocolate cake. He mentioned that this kind of cake actually has nothing to do with Germany at all! It originated from Texas where a woman use German's chocolate, which is named after a man called Sam German, to create a chocolaty cake with coconut and pecans! I had no idea!

Anyways, a few years ago, a friend of mine, Jessy, made this and everyone raved about it, so naturally I got the recipe from her and we've made it a few times since.

Here it is!

Cake
1 package (4 oz.) Baker's German's sweet chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter/margarine
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
4 egg whites

Melt choclate in boiling water. Cool. Mix flour, soda and salt. cream butter and sguar intil light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each. Blend in vanilla and chocolate. Alternatley add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition until smooth. BEat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter.

Pour into three 9-inch (greased and floured) layer pans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted coems out clean. Immediately run spatula around pans between cakes and sides. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove from pans and finish cooling on racks. Spread filling and frosting between layers and over top.

Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting
1 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream
i cup sugar (I used only half a cup because I felt it would be too sweet)
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
1/2 cup butter/margarine
1 tsp vanilla
Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/3 cups coconut and 1 cup chopped pecans. Cool until of spreading consistency, beating occasionally. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

One Day...

Every year it seems to pass me by, but one day, Coachella, one day it'll happen. For now, this will have to do!
Here's some shots from around the blogsphere...feeling VERY inspired!

(Harper's Bazaar Online)








(Just Jared)







(StyleCaster)




Whitney Port had some super cute/interesting style moments...I think she got a lot of flack for the Princess Leia (sp?) buns though!




Just discovered Behind the Seams, an awesome fashion blog with some great Coachella standout shots.

GAHH and the music of course!
(Rolling Stone)

Buried Treasure

Good news readers! I found the perfect pair of sunnies! Best part? Only $9.95 at H&M hidden behind a ton of others. They always have the best hidden gems, sometimes you just gotta dig :)