Wednesday, March 30, 2011

If In Doubt. Bake a Cake.




I used to work at a bakery , so cakes will always have a soft spot in my heart. Here are some of my favorite cakes around the blogs right now.



This frosting free cake spotted on Martha Stewart is just simply striking.



SWOON is all I got to say about this pink ruffle cake spotted on Ruffled Blog. Melanie from My Sweet and Saucy did a tutorial for this ruffle cake here.



I think this purple ombre {a french term meaning "shaded". Usually a mulicolored stripe, with color graduating from light to dark} cake would be perfect for a spring wedding.
The cake is by Maggie Austin Cake from Postcards and Pretties spotted on Evie Shaffer's pinterest.



This cake from Sprinkle Bakes was inspired by the Crown Jewel Cake {a.k.a Broken Glass Cake} that was first spotted on the back of Jello's boxes in the late 1950's. The recipe looks complicated, but I would love to give this a try sometime with a friend {I always like to try complicated recipes with a friend, so it'll at least be fun even if the result is a disaster}.




I wouldn't mind this whimsy cake for my next birthday {What do you think Vivien?}.
The cake is by Nine Cakes from 100 Layer Cakes spotted on Victoria's pinterest.




You're probably not surprise that I love this cake {if you are, please take a look at my blog banner}. Not only am I in love with this cake, but I'm also in love this whole wedding on a strawberry farm. Swoon Swoon Swoon!!

Do you have a favorite recipe? Please share. I used to baked a lot, but I haven't been baking much lately due to busyness. I'm hoping to change that soon, especially since my husband recently made a very tempting offer. He promised to do all the cleaning every time I bake as an incentive for me to start baking again.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Styled

Hi friends!! It has been forever {at least that was how I felt like}. Our internet has been down for the past week and we've been duking it out with our internet provider. I don't want to say much more about that, because it will drive me crazy thinking about it. I have so much to catch up on around the blogging world. What were some of your favorite posts last week?

On a happier note, Victoria of A Subtle Revelry just launched Styled Magazine with the subtitle of "the art of merry making" {don't you just adore that}. The magazine is filled to brim with beautiful photos and inspirations for your next party.





One of my favorite featured from the magazine is Wardrobe to Party where each party scene is based of an outfit. My favorite of the party scene {see below} was styled by Melanie from You Are My Fave.





Photo by Katie from Be Katelyn


Now go and see all the loveliness of Styled.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Blue Balloon


I was searching for some vintage library cards for a party I"m planning and I ended up stumbling across a delightful etsy shop called The Blue Balloon. It is filled with charming vintage jewelry {along with a few other things}. Her designs has an effortless style to it that also lend her jewelry a sense of nostalgia that I can't help but fall in love with.

















This was the item that helped me discover The Blue Balloon.

Don't you just love it? Which piece is your favorite? I pretty much love them all.
All photos are from The Blue Balloon.

Monday, March 21, 2011

I WON I WON I WON


It is an extremely happy Monday for me. I just found out that I won the L Letterpress giveaway over at Urban Scarlet. I was so happy that I fell off my bed. I seriously can't wait to play with my L Letterpress Epic Combo Kit. Thank you so much Justine {Urban Scarlet} and Laura {Lifestyle Crafts}!!!




P.s Right now you can receive 20% off from Lifestyle Crafts when you enter BLOGURBAN at checkout.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

In the name of hope



This friday I will be joining a community of bloggers in silence to raise awareness and respect and acknowledge the devastation going on in Japan. See more info here.

I have a started a post about the devastation in Japan last friday, but couldn't bring myself to finish writing it. My heart became more broken and heavier with each words I was typing and each picture I was uploading. I had to step away from my computer, phone and all social media because it was just too painful. I started cleaning my condo and saw this quote I had written on my inspiration board a while ago.

"Always act in the name of hope!!"



This advice has always been helpful to me, especially in time of despair. In this moment when everything feel impossible and unfixable if we can all pull together and act in the name of hope, we can make a small beginning of good and sometimes we can even begin to turn the tides...so lets act in the name of hope for our brothers and sisters in Japan.

You can get involved and donate through For Japan with Love and here is also a list of organizations to donate to that are specifically helping Japan.

As I'm talking about hope, I realized that it is a gift that I have been given. For me before I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, I was in an awful hopeless place. I just wanted to share that I know for many what's going on in Japan right now seem hopeless, but there is hope. You may not be able to see or feel the hope, but it is there for you. How do we find the hope? There is only one place where hope can be found, and that is in Jesus Christ.



This photo is from Nameless and I spotted this on Oh, Hello Friend.


I would love to talk to you more about this, please talk to me at CrookedStoveTop@gmail.com.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Swoon: Reversible Bow Ties

I am smitten with these reversible bow ties from Pierreponthicks right now.















What do you think? Do you think the bow ties are more dashing and charming



like this guy.
{Photo from Capricho spotted on We Heart It.}


or are they just plain dorky



like this guy.
{Photo spotted on The Retronaut}

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Current Obsession: Confetti

One of my big love out side of polka dots right now is confetti. I love how fun and whimsical they are along with the many ways they can be used, see below.


I am loving these confetti wedding programs from Martha Weddings.



I love the simplicity of this confetti cake also from Martha Weddings.



I can't wait till I get a chance to make these confetti party invites. Jordan Ferney from Oh Happy Day is the lovely creator behind these invites. You can find the tutorial here.



I love the idea of putting the confetti in a book. See more of this vibrant wedding on Snippet and Ink.



This confetti garland from Kristina Marie's etsy shop makes me happy. I spotted this on Creature Comforts Blog.



These confetti washi tape {Japanese masking tape} from Urban Scarlet's shop are adorable.



How fun are these confetti presents? It put me in the mood to party. You can see the easy tutorial on Tokketok's blog. Spotted on Oh happy day.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Polka Dots Around the Blogs


I've been spotting {hehe} some super cute outfits around the blogs with polka dots recently. Here are a few of my favorites.



I love this colorful polka dots skirt spotted on Fancy Fine. Ashley put together this dream outfits for her vacation to Maui.



I love this adorable polka dots dress with the gold stars spotted on Little Girl Big Closet.



This outfit on Sydney from The Day Book is what I call casual chic. {I am on the hunt for a cute polka dots tank right now, so if you see one please let me know}.



Lilli from Frocks and Frou Frou looks seriously adorable in her polka dots stocking!!!



I absolutely love love love this outfit on Kelly from The Glamourai. This outfit is pure perfection to me!! PURE PERFECTION!!!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

I love you too, Mr.Darcy!


What I"m about to share with you, will soon {waiting till my next pay check} be one of my most favorite thing to own in the world!! Pride and Prejudice is one of my most favorite book {I love the movies too}, so when I saw this mug on Kyoko tumblr I kind of went crazy!!!!! I remember seeing the mug and made an extremely high pitch noise and things seriously got blurry for the next 10 minutes because I was in pure la la land over the joy of this discovery. Are you ready for it?








I am in full blown SWOON mode. You can get this mug {best mug ever!!} along with other lovely Jane Austen inspired creations from this delightful {and totally awesome} etsy shop, Brookish.

Also check out this Pride and Prejudice inspired shoot over at Grey Likes Weddings. This was the first thing I woke up to in my google reader this morning and I seriously couldn't be more excited to be awake.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A Pretty Palette: Blush and Peach

I am loving the color palette of blush and peach right now. I got to see this palette in action over the weekend from a wedding we did at the eclectic and modern Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas. Here are a few low quality shots from phone.














Images by Crooked Stove Top for Branching Out Floral and Event Design,


Also check out this gorgeous party palette I"m swooning over right now on The Sweetest Occasion.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Wish List

Being sick and glued to my couch yesterday I did a little window shopping online. I added a few {ok, a little bit more than a few} things to my wish list.




Loved from St Kilda Jewelry.




Polka dots flats from TopShop




Stripe duvet cover and shams from West Elm




I really really really want this bag from Kate Spade