things I love (terrariums!).

In all fairness, I didn't always love terrariums. I didn't really give them any thought at all. But my favorite Phoenix gem, frances, was having a workshop...and as I usually react to such news, I called, booked a couple spots for me and a friend and figured no matter what it was going to be fun. 

You guys. It was fun. 

And I sort of love terrariums now. 

I may or may not have immediately come home and googled where I could find a miniature teepee for my miniature gold club girl/pegasus duo to reside in. 

Led by the brains behind Terrarian, a local mastermind of miniature, the class was the perfect way to spend an evening with a friend, make new crafty pals and try my hand at a gardening hobby I might not kill off immediately. 

frances is always hosting really great events, so if you're in Phoenix, or visiting Phoenix, or even NEAR Phoenix, you should check out their event calendar. 

Trust me. 

love.lauren

adventures in pasta making.

I was feeling adventurous last week and decided to try my hand at pasta making. Nothing fancy, just something I could make with my hands and a couple ingredients (since my kitchen tools are still pretty sparse!). I saw a delicious Mario Batali recipe and my mom was coming over for dinner, so I figured what the heck. 

MAKING the dough is super easy. Flour, water, BAM. 

SHAPING it into what I wanted was another story. Orrecchiette is meant to resemble little ears. Mine were more like Frisbees, but they were still delicious! 

Add a bunch of kale (instead of the broccoli rabe) and some spicy Italian sausage, and you've got a treat. 

I'll definitely try it again. Practice makes perfect! 

love.lauren 

oscar schmoscar.

Award shows are best watched with snacks, food, great friends a little bit of harmless judgement. This year I invited a few friends over to watch the Oscars and provide sassy commentary on awkward outfits, wordy speeches and everything in between. 

It was a lot of fun! 

I made sandwich cookies, picked up some snacky food at Trader Joe's, printed out some ballots, tossed on my brightest ban.do pouf, and called it good. 

We laughed, we cried, we let out a collective gasp of horror when Jennifer Lawrence tripped. 

Nights like that with good people are what I live for. 

love.lauren

treats I love (chocolate sandwich cookies).

My mixer has been eyeing me from it's corner of the kitchen for a month now. 

With a little office party looming in the distance, I decided to try it out with these super sweet treats (thanks Martha!). 

Mine aren't heart shaped (good luck finding anything useful and Valentine's Day themed the night before the big day), so circles had to do, but they turned out crisp and sweet and delicious! 

What you need! 

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for parchment
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• cream filling (see below)

What you do!  

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together butter, sugar, and egg. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and stir until a dough forms. Divide dough in half; roll out each half between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment to 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to baking sheets, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut out shapes, making sure you have even numbers in each size, rerolling scraps once. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. 

Bake until firm and fragrant, about 8 minutes for 1-inch cookies, 10 minutes for 1 1/2-inch cookies, and 12 minutes for 2-inch cookies, rotating halfway through. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets set on wire racks. Spread filling onto bottom side of half the cookies, and sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently. 

for the cream filling:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (I always ending up using more than this...play around with it until you get the consistency you want!) 
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons 2% milk, if needed

Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add sugars, beating until thoroughly combined. Beat in vanilla. If filling is too thick to spread, beat in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until spreadable.

Enjoy! 

love.lauren

crafts I love (easy painting project!).

I was looking for a quick, cheap way to jazz up an otherwise white wall in my new home, and found an easy DIY painting project. 

All you need is a canvas, a set of small cardboard letters (bonus if they are sticky on the back!), and a few shades of your favorite color paint (I got everything I needed at Michaels). 

Spell out whatever phrase you want (a quote, name, etc.), lay out a pattern for where you want the letters, stick the letters to the canvas, and paint the whole thing gradually getting darker as you go (think ombre!). The paint helps keep the letters in place, and you can keep touching up the coloring until you're happy with it. 

Bam. Done. Easy! Now just hang it somewhere you can show it off. 

love.lauren