.: heart shaped baklava :.

How cute are these baklavas?

I used this recipe and used a heart-shaped muffin pan.

Such a simple & delicious treat to give to your loved ones for the holidays.

Houston is saying "Happy Thanksgiving!" :)

.: DIY Christmas Tree Ornament :.

I had a special project I was working on and it required me to make a hinged Christmas Tree Ornament. I never made an ornament from scratch before, but I'm always up for a creative challenge!

Here's my recipe:

.: Ingredients :.

1 Styrofoam Ball ( I got the biggest one that Michael's carried)

Magna Tac Glue

White Felt

2 Moth Balls

1 wooden stick ( I just used a reed diffuser)

optional: gold spray paint

.: Direction :.

1) Cut a styrofoam ball in half.

2) Spoon out all foam. (This part is pretty messy so make sure you have newspaper laid out for easy clean up.)

3) Cut out little circles and glue them to the balls...making sure you have enough to cover both halves. (note: In order for them to have a flower like appearance, I used a pencil to make a hole in the foam of the center of the petals.)

4) Let glue dry overnight

5) Spray paint petals with a gold glitter spray paint.

5) In order for the ornament to stay closed when unopened, I used a wooden reed diffuser to go through the center of each styrofoam half. Then, I drilled a hole halfway through moth balls. (It was the only wooden, circular item I could think of!) I attached the mothballs to the end of the diffuser sticks. This allowed the styrofoam balls to stay closed. Make sure to leave little room at the top to slide the styrofoam balls up and down!

6) I used an old broken ornament and took off the metal top. I glued it to the top wooden ball.

7) Using a festive ribbon, tie a bow going through the metal top.

8) Optional: I found a pretty angel ornament that I attached to the ornament.

It's a great project to do for the holidays. It's a neat stocking stuffer idea and it allows you to put a little present inside the ornament. :)

.: What is Inspiration :.

As most of you know by now, I'm a huge fan of Anthropologie so I was so happy to hear about their new project, The Anthropologist. The main theme of the site is the ask the question, "What is inspiration?" They feature the works of three artist- currently, David Eustace, Andrew Zuckerman, and Jane Campion- to help answer the question. It's a beautiful site and it feels like an interactive scrapbook/ online art gallery. It's definitely worth checking out. You won't be sorry.

{ Jane Campion shows us some of her inspiration behind making Bright Star, a drama based on a 3 year romance between poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne.}

.: images: the ANTHROPOLOGIST :.

.: weekend eye candy :.

I love looking into designers' homes and seeing what they did. Remember my Alexander Wang's post? Well, do I have a halloween treat for you today! October's Elle Decor featured designer Jill Stuart in her downtown apartment built by legendary architect Philip Johnson, master-mind behind the Glass House. With 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and more than 6 dozen floor-to-ceiling windows, her enviable apartment is any designer's haven. (oh- I forgot to mention that it has a 2,000 square foot terrace and a 360 degree view downtown Manhattan and the Hudson River!) The pictures below will speak for themselves. She went for a serene minimalist approach, but still managed to keep her home feminine and chic...just like her clothing line. :)

{images: elle decor}

.: apple pie recipe :.

This past weekend, I went up to visit my lovely girlfriends in Boston. I love MA in the fall and the drive up couldn't be more beautiful with the fall foliage. A must do activity in the Fall is apple picking!! We went to Russell Orchards and of course came back home and baked an apple pie. Click here to see a similar recipe we used. (Apple Picking + Baking = Always Good Times )

.: shoe display :.

How do you store your shoes?

I personally like to see them in my closet. It's so convenient to have right in front of you when you are getting dressed in the morning. No need to run up and down the stairs to the garage, just to end up not liking what you picked out. I don't like storing them under my bed, because I know I'm going to forget about them all together.

What I use is similar to the Over-the-Door Shoe Rack from Bed Bath & Beyond. It's the perfect solution to maximize space because it doesn't take up any closet space. You simply have to hang it over the door and it stores up to 36 pairs of shoe. I loved it so much that I bought a second one! (See pic below) They are far better than the those "pocket" shoe organizers- I can never seem to fit my shoes in them!

Another solution is to use these pretty Closet Fetish Boxes. It's a great organizational tool and each box includes an outside frame that allows you to display a picture of your enclosed treasured soles! These boxes are stackable and come in a variety of colors. Girls, your closet is ready for its close-up! (Set of 2 for $19.99)

...or how about taking your shoes for a spin on the Shoe Wheel? I'm kind

of obsessed with this one. I JUST found this on the Bed Bath and Beyond website. It's too cute! The wheel's 20 expandable pockets will allow you to store up to 30 pairs of shoes.

...or how about placing them in antique display cases? After all, you did invest money in them so your shoes do deserve a good home. They are too pretty to be collecting dust!

...or using old bookcases

...such lovely eyecandy.

.: images: this is glamorous :.

.: new blog project! :.

.: photo: Mandy Lynne photography :.

Hey all!

I started another blog called "The Ensemble Project" with a friend of mine.

This blog is all things fashion and how we like to put our ensembles together!

I would love for you guys to visit and follow me there!

Thanks for all your support! Means the world :)

xoxo