Weekenders

Oh, I have had a crazy couple weeks: a visit to NYC for work and fun, sake and sushi, karokee (pictures too embarassing to share here), shopping galore, and a few new projects! I'm trying to get myself in order but thought I'd share a couple of pictures from my trip so I'm not not totally stagnant on here!

Visiting friends ...

and vintagey NYC views from my hotel ...

For Japan with love

Today I'm joining with many others in a bloggers day of silence for the victims of the disaster in Japan. You can help them and the victims of other natural disasters by donating here. Have a happy weekend and keep Japan in your thoughts!



They call me mellow yellow

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When I posted about this Chloe couch last week, my friend Kayla text me that she was considering the same piece! It's a small sofa world out there people, and while Derek and I have yet to commit to the Chloe, Kayla is ready to take the plunge with the beautiful couch in sleek granite.

Yesterday, we talked paint colors and agreed we both love the soft but modern combination of yellow and grey, so I thought I'd pull some images for inspiration! Which do you like best?

Cherry swirl cake

Awhile back, I picked up a cookbook called 101 Things to do with a Cake Mix at a thrift store for about cents. It's a cute little book and all the recipes are effortless - involving cake mix and just a few other ingredients. When I was craving something sweet the other day, I thought I'd whip up one of these simple recipes and was delighted with the result! It took almost no time to make and was just as quickly gobbled up.

Enjoy!

Cherry Swirl Cake
from 101 Things to do with a Cake Mix

Ingredients:
1 white cake mix
3 eggs
2 cans or 21 ounces cherry pie filling
Whipped cream or powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Prehat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix cake mix and eggs together and stir in half of the cherry pie filling
3. Pour batter into a greased bundt cake pan and bake 40-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean
4. Invert hot cake onto a platter and dust with powdered sugar
5. Serve with reserved pie filling and whipped topping

Want to see something cute?

Miss Chelsea in the above video is a Teach For America corps member, one of 8,200 teaching this year to change the lives of over 500,000 students growing up in some of our nation's most impoverished school districts.

Want to help students like the super scholars? All you have to do is shop! That's right! This weekend (March 17 - 20) when you use the coupon at this link, you receive 30% off at Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic (outlets included) while 5% of what you spend goes to support Teach For America's efforts to close the achievement gap.

Just click, print, and shop! And feel free to pass the link onto friends, family, and your own readers. You can even pass the coupon to the shopper behind you in line after you check-out and ask her to do the same!

So spread Spring style and help our kids get an excellent education.

Thanks so much!

Weekenders

The sun was out this weekend in full force and we made sure to soak up plenty of it! Friday we went to the drive-in movies, our favorite way to watch a new flick since we can bring as much candy as we want and a bottle of wine.

Saturday we drove up in the mountains to Julian, an old mining town that has retained much of it's historic charm. We even ate at an original drug store soda fountain! Yum!

And Sunday, I was majorly spoiled as Derek insisted on doing all our chores (vacuuming, dusting, laundry, etc), while I lounged in the sun with a book. He even managed to be a sneaky photographer in the process.

Have pure joy

During last weekend's stroll on the beach, Derek and I wandered onto the leash-free dog beach so I could drool openly over how much I want one of my own, and not even look out of place! And I must say, there is nothing more joyful than a dog at the beach - frolicking in the waves, chasing toys, and meeting new friends - it reminds me of a book called Dog Heaven I read as a child.

So this weekend, I hope you're as joyful as a dog at the beach! Here are some links I liked this week to help the happy factor.

Black and white and read all over!

I simply can't wait to have a non-community laundry room, but if I had this one, laundry would feel glamorous!

This pasta dinner we made this week was light, easy, and absolutely bursting with flavor. Mmm, baked goat cheese!

Be prepared for astonishment, these are real people, painted!

Oooh! I think I'll wish for an herb mill in my Easter basket.

I'm quite jealous of this find and DIY art idea! Fabulous!