outfit of the day : owl love!

I love owls!!  So I was very excited when I found this cute top on sale at Urban Outfitters.

As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what to pair it with!  I don't own very many skirts, and I usually don't know what to wear with the ones I do have.  This top and skirt made a perfect combo for a bright summer day, and a lunch date with Kelsey and our great Auntie Tina!

Owls are just so cute!  Sometimes we can hear them hooting when we work on the farm (they must have an owl version of insomnia!)

As per usual I took a jumping photo while wearing a skirt.  I'm not sure why but I love jumping photos, especially for outfit posts!

Hope you had a great week!

ps: jordyn ♥ 

diy: simple paper bunting

The supplies you'll need for this quick & simple DIY include: jute/twine, a book (preferably an older one to get a more vintage feel...) to cut up, tape, and scissors!

All you need to do for this diy is to cut the book pages into flags, fold down a flap at the very top so that stringing them up and taping them down on the jute is easier, and voila! You've got yourself a gorgeous detail to add to your summer parties. 

And I apologize for the not-so-great photo, but here's an example of paper bunting! We used this to dress up Kelsey's place for a bridal shower we threw for a dear friend of ours  =) 

Hope you enjoyed this mini diy post! 

ps: kelsey & clara ♥

tasty tuesday : banana mocha muffins

This is one of my go to recipes.  It always turns out, and is very forgiving.  Throw in an extra banana if you want, or use whole wheat flour for a healthy kick!

Don't be afraid to put these three bold flavours together, they complement each other rather than overpower each other.

 When you bite into these muffins there is a symphony of flavours, but also a pleasing crunch!  My secret is sprinkling coarse sugar on top.  It adds a little extra sweetness, and an interesting texture to the muffins.  If you have some coarse sugar on hand DO NOT skip this step!  I promise you will not be disappointed.

I always use my ice cream scoop to get uniform muffins.  This recipe yields about 18 muffins.

Whenever I have bananas that are starting to get ripe I throw them in the freezer.  This makes it convenient to just grab, defrost, and squeeze out.

 Mmmmmmm the coarse sugar looks delicious!

Banana Mocha Muffins

(from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup softened margarine
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 (heaping) tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• 1.  In a large bowl, cream together margarine and sugar.
• 2.  Add egg, and mix well until light and fluffy.
• 3.  Add bananas and mix well.
• 4.  Dissolve instant coffee granules in the hot water.
• 5.  Add coffee mixture and vanilla to your batter, and mix.
• 6.  Mix in salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
• 7.  Then add flour and beat until just mixed. (*you don't want to overmix!)
  8.  Finally, stir in chocolate chips.
• 9.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

I really am in love with these muffins, and so are many of my family and friends.  This year I participated in The Run for Water, and did a bake sale to raise money.  These muffins helped me raise $300 for clean water in Ethiopia!

ps: jordyn ♥

a one year celebration...

I can't believe this, but today marks mine & Caleb's one-year anniversary!

I feel soo incredibly blessed to be married to him & we have had a wonderful year together and are looking forward to many MANY more years to come!

To celebrate, I thought I'd share some wedding memories with you all =) Enjoy!

...do you see the lovely miss Kelsey, who was one of my lovely bridesmaids? & Jordyn is hiding in the crowd as our videographer! Love those girls so much!

This is a Korean wedding tradition where the mother-in-law of the bride throws dried figs at the bride. However many figs she catches in her sleeve is supposed to be the number of children the couple will have! Can you tell that my new mama is absolutely ecstatic about this?! =)

...some details of thrifted & diy projects

 & lastly, some portraits done for us by Caleb's sister (Petara Panabaker)

Isn't my man just soooo handsome? I mean, I know I'm a little biased, but still... he's just so dreamy =)

I am seriously so blessed to be sharing my life with this wonderful, handsome, God-fearing man. I absolutely adore & love this man and am proud beyond words to be his wife. 

Isn't he wonderful? For our one-year, he set up our tent, strung it with lights, and we had a wonderul supper with chocolate fondue for dessert! Exactly my kind of romance =) It was a perfect way to celebrate!

Happy one-year anniversary, my dear. 

ps: clara ♥

weekly wrap-up: site-seeing and good friends

The past couple of weeks have been insanely busy....but so much fun!

Our family lives on a farm...and this past year we have had the privilege of having a farm intern named Thabang on exchange from Lesotho, Africa.  Our family decided to take him on a day trip to Vancouver a couple of weeks ago to show him where I go to school (UBC), as well as a few other sites along the way!

We hit up downtown, and couldn't help but do some touristy poses!

On our way home we stopped in White Rock, which is a cute little town beside the ocean that is famous for it's fish 'n chips!  It was so delish!

It was a gorgeous night, and the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Fast forward to the middle of this week......I had such an AMAZING time with Clara, and it was so much fun to be able to work on so many wedding projects with our dear friend Jenna!  (Keep an eye out for future wedding-related diys!).

As a last "hurrah" on Clara's final evening with me, we decided to grab gelato from the cutest little Italian restaurant (called Presto Cucina) and pack in as much conversation as we could!  

It was so sad saying good-bye....but we'll be reunited in just 3 1/2 short weeks for the wedding!

I hope your week was just as amazing as mine!

ps: kelsey ♥

outfit of the day: a mint crush

So....I have a crush.  A crush on MINT!  

Mint has become super trendy this past year...and I'm lovin' it!  I actually bought this dress TWO years ago, and it is still one of my absolute favorites.  I found it in the sale section of Urban Outfitters for 50% off!  I've realized that my obsession with Urban is not exactly healthy for my wallet, which means that their sale section is basically my second home!

And my jean jacket has made it's second appearance!  Seriously, it has been my favorite item this summer and is so versatile.

And I bought the cutest holga from Urban Outfitters a couple of months ago, and I am IN LOVE!  I'm nearly through my first roll of film and am so excited (and nervous) to get it developed and see how it turned out!

What's your current colour crush?

ps: kelsey ♥

in love with : bows

I have to confess something that no former tomboy ever wants to confess...

 I have a very girly and big obsession with bows.

My childhood self is absolutely betrayed and horrified. I was totally one of those girls who stole and wore her brother's clothes, brought back animal skeletons from the woods near our home and laid them out on our beautiful glass dining room table (my poor mother!), sported grass stains and mud everywhere, and once was caught stuffing my stockings into the garbage bin at church
(which did NOT go over well with my mom who caught me red-handed...)

So how did this obsession happen? I have no idea...

 All I know is that bows are darling and sweet and I absolutely love them on anything: clothes, shoes, hair, bags, whatever! Like I said, my childhood self is cringing with disgust. 

Don't get me wrong, I still channel my childhood tomboy in me & I absolutely LOVE the outdoors! If it came down to it, I would gladly choose my hiking boots over any cute shoe with a bow (although a little part of me would cry over the loss), but somewhere in my teens I began to embrace the inner girly girl in me and fell in love with the delicate beauty of all things vintage and whimsical.
Good thing too, or this blog would never have happened!

Anyways, thanks for letting me get that off my chest ;)
Hope you enjoyed this mini-post and the glimpse you got into my childhood!

ps: clara ♥