happy movember!

Happy Movember!

I am quite excited for December 1st for more than one reason....one of these may or may not be all of the clean shaven men that I expect to see tomorrow!  Movember's great, but not all of the moustaches that result from it are....

Looking back at the last couple of months, it appears as though we have a healthy love for facial hair...it just seems to pop up everywhere!

Back in Summer, we showed you how to throw a moustache party.  And we crafted moustache photobooth props and cake toppers.  We also baked moustache cookies....and more moustache cookies. We even made magnificent moustache mugs!  So, yeah, we're kind of in love with it.

We hope you are enjoying our obsession, and that you've been able to support a man growing a moustache this month!

p.s. ♥ kelsey (& jordyn and clara)

Christmas baking: north pole cupcakes

Now, I'm really hoping this post doesn't freak too many people out since it's still November, but I for one am definitely already getting in the Christmas spirit.  My apartment is decked out in pretty lights, snowflakes, Christmas bunting...and we even have a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree!  I'm even getting ready to make some yummy triple chocolate shortbread for a Christmas banquet I'm attending tomorrow night!

So, starting today, and for the next few weeks, we'll be sharing some of our favorite, classic Christmas recipes, as well as some fun new ones!  

(For those of you who followed my beyond the cookie jar blog, a few of these might be familiar!)

First up are these simple north pole cupcakes!

Supplies:

-batch of cupcakes (here are our recipes for chocolate or mocha cupcakes!)

-candy canes (red and white work great, but any will do!)

-red smarties/m&ms/skittles

-buttercream icing 

-sprinkles (optional)

-small north pole signs  (you can make your own, or I made a printable version HERE!)

Directions:

1) First, pipe or spread your buttercream onto each cupcake (here's our recipe if you need one!).  I chose to decorate all of mine with coarse white sprinkles, to make it look like snow!

2) Then, break off the hook of each candy can, and carefully insert into the middle of your cupcake.

3)  Dab a bit of icing on the top of the candy cane, and place a red smartie on top.

4)  Next, dab a bit of icing on the candy candy pole, and gently press your north pole sign in place...and you're done!

I absolutely love how simple, yet adorable these cupcakes are!  I know Christmas is a time where my family likes to break out fussy (and amazing) recipes....but sometimes simple works too!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

tasty tuesday: hot apple cider

Now, I realize that this isn't much of a recipe....but I think it's such a perfect drink for winter, and super easy to make for parties!

All you need is: apple juice and mulling spices!

Jordyn and I are so incredibly lucky, as we always have a (nearly) endless supply to delicious, homemade apple juice that our dad makes for our country store!  And we sell all sorts of mulling spices in our store as well, so we have quite the selection!

First, you'll need to place some of your mulling spices in a tea ball...

Then, pour your apple juice into a large saucepan, place your tea ball inside, and let it simmer gently for as long as you like!  Seriously, it can simmer away all afternoon....and will make your house smell like heaven!

We also added a few cinnamon sticks to ours for extra goodness!

I can hardly believe that November is nearly over, and finals are closing in quickly!  However, I'm extremely excited for December to arrive, and can't wait to be with friends and family to celebrate this Christmas season! 

There will be lots of Christmas themed baking, crafts, and more here on the blog for the next few weeks!  Hope you enjoy!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

A long long famous sleep...

p.s. ♥ clara

weekly wrap up: tea and things

I had an incredibly full schedule this past week.  I was (and still am) working on a major project for my documentary film class.  I am making a 10 minute documentary about a wonderful woman name Karla, and her tea business Karla's Specialteas.

Though it has been a lot of work, this project combines two of my favourite thing, tea and film!  And it gives me an excuse to go to the lake and film tea cups!

 (Though I may have gotten a few odd looks...)

You may recognize Karla's name from other posts we have done here on ps: heart.  She was the one who convinced Kelsey to finally try tea, and shared her awesome Sangria Iced Tea recipe with us!

I also did a bit of baking with my mom this week!  Which is always fun.  We made some delicious pumpkin tarts, as well as our traditional 5 loaves of fruitcake.

I'm not going to lie, we may have busted out the Christmas music while we were making the fruitcake.

I'm sorry, but you just can't make Christmas cake without listening to Christmas music!  

It is one of my dad's favourite Christmas treats, and it is definitely a two person job.  It combines over 8 pounds of fruits and nuts, so we have to mix it with our hands in the biggest bowl you can imagine.  I was up to my elbows in candied fruit!

I may have cheated and used a photo that Kelsey took of me last week, but I just couldn't help it.  We went over to my friend Michelle's house to play games and hang out with her new puppy Buffy.

Buffy is absolutely adorable!  I may just have to steal her away and love her forever.  Or maybe I will leave the responsibility of a puppy to Michelle and her husband Kevin, and just visit her all the time and be the "cool aunt".

I hope your week was wonderful!

And, if you are a student like me, good luck with finals and final projects!!

p.s. ♥ jordyn

outfit post: peplum shirt - 3 ways

I first noticed that the peplum trend was coming back ever so slowly a few years ago...and I thought it was awful awful awful.  All I could think of were the eighties, and the strange peplum dresses that were so popular back then.

And then I found this shirt....and fell in love.

In my defence, it was the combo of the colour, lace, and back detail that convinced me that it was a good idea to even try on....AND the fact that it was on sale.  Once I had it on I couldn't say no, so here we are today!

So, I decided to style it 3 ways!

1) The first look is super casual, and is a perfect example of how I wear it to school!  I used a drapey sweater and combat boots to help dress it down.

{sweater: UO, peplum shirt: spank, pants: plenty, boots: steve madden}

2)  The next look is a bit more dressy, as I paired it with my favorite blazer, and a pair of wedges.

{blazer: charlotte russe, jeans: AEO, shoes: aldo}

3)  The final look is more formal, and I actually tucked the peplum right into my skirt!  It actually looked pretty cute untucked with a skirt as well, but that was a bit too eighties for my liking...

{skirt: charlotte russe}

The back of this shirt is pretty killer as well!

So, I'm a total hypocrite.  But I'm very happy to have been proven wrong!  It just goes to show that you should give things a try before you judge them (unless it's a mullet....please don't try that.)

I'm still completely stuck in Fall...and loving it.  Most of the trees near my apartment STILL have their leaves on....and it was beautifully sunny today!  I know it's almost December, but I don't want Winter to arrive just yet!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

diy: moustache cupcake toppers

This DIY is so easy, yet it looks so cute!

These moustache cupcake toppers can be seen on my Moustache Themed Birthday Party post.

You will most likely have all the supplies on hand: black construction paper, scissors, a writing device, tape, and toothpicks.

Draw your desired moustache shape onto the construction paper. 

Cut out your magnificent moustache designs! 

Rip a small piece of tape for each moustache, and use it to adhere the toothpick to the back.

Make sure you can't see tape or part of the toothpick poking up above the top of the moustache!

Now these majestic moustaches are ready to be placed upon your cupcakes.

Again, click HERE to see more amazing moustache themed DIYs and food!

Hope your Movember has been as wonderful as mine!  I am thoroughly enjoying seeing so many moustaches around.  I believe every month should start with Mo!!

p.s. ♥ jordyn

tasty tuesday: moustache cookies for movember - part 2

Welcome to part two of "moustache cookies for movember"!

Now these cookies are perfect for those of you that prefer buttercream icing, and have your very own moustache cookie cutters!

{If you missed part 1, where we used royal icing and round cookie, check it out HERE}

Again, you start with sugar cookies, and then whip up some buttercream icing to decorate!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter

3/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

1 TBsp Milk

2 cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

Directions:

1)  Cream butter - add sugar, vanilla, egg and milk; beat hard.

2)  Add flour and baking powder to cream mixture and beat again. 

3)  Roll onto a floured counter and cut into shapes.

4)  Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-6 minutes.

For your buttercream icing, you can refer to our back to basic buttercream post HERE, and add food colouring depending on the colour of moustache you desire.  Or below is a recipe for chocolate buttercream!

Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients

1/2 cup Butter (or margarine) {It's very important that this be at room temperature}

2 1/2 cups Icing Sugar

1/3 cup of Cocoa powder

1 tsp *Vanilla

2-5 TBSP Cream

Directions

1)  Begin by beating your butter on medium-high until well mixed.

2)  Add icing sugar, vanilla, and a couple tablespoons of cream.

3)  Beat on medium until combined.

4) Here's the tricky part: use a spatula to test the consistency, and stick a spoon in to do a taste test.  Adjust the taste and consistency by adding any of the above ingredients!

We decorated our cookies using sprinkles and shaved chocolate.  To draw in different textures, we used toothpicks and the back of our cookie cutters which had indents in them!

Jordyn and I made these for her epic moustache party....which you can read more about HERE!

Happy Movember!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

tasty tuesday: moustache cookies for movember - part 1

So, last week I was struck with this thought: "Why in the world do ALL of the guys in Vancouver suddenly have super sketchy moustaches?"  And then I remembered....

MOVEMBER!

How could I forget?  I suppose I just wasn't prepared for the sheer number of moustaches that would be grown....some better than others.

So, to celebrate, we're bringing you 2 different ways to make moustache cookies!  Here I'll be showing how to decorate with royal icing, and part 2 will be with buttercream.

I found THESE through pinterest, and was in love.  And the lovely sugarbelle even shows you how to use a template to make piping shapes easier, so I decided to give it a go!

First you'll need cookies!  I used our favorite sugar cookie recipe, and used a simple circle as the base.  If you are using a template, make sure that your moustaches will fit on the size of circle you choose!  I used a cup since I didn't have quite the right size of cookie cutter....and it worked great!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter

3/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

1 TBsp Milk

2 cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

Directions:

1)  Cream butter - add sugar, vanilla, egg and milk; beat hard.

2)  Add flour and baking powder to cream mixture and beat again. 

3)  Roll onto a floured counter and cut into shapes.

4)  Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-6 minutes.

Royal Icing
Ingredients:
1 egg white
Icing Sugar (approximately 1 cup and a few teaspoons)

Directions:

1)  Mix in icing sugar with your egg white until the desired consistency has been reached.

2)  Just add a (very small!) amount of water to adjust the thickness.

3)  Keep covered until you're using it or else it will start to harden!

For royal icing, it's easiest to first outline your cookies with a slightly thicker icing (when a spoon is drawn through the icing, it should take about 10 seconds for it to become smooth again).  Once your outline has set, thin out your icing using a tiny bit of water, until it only takes about 5 seconds for the icing to settle.

It also works well to use a ziplock bag and an office clip when piping!

Once your icing has completely set (this will likely take several hours), you can use an edible writer to trace a template onto your cookies, or just freehand it!  I chose to use a mix of black decorating gel, and brown royal icing for my moustaches.  The downside to gel is that it never sets, so if you need to transport your cookie, royal icing might be a better choice!

If you'd rather use butter cream icing, or if you have actual moustache cookie cutters....stay tuned for part 2!

Happy Movember!  

p.s. ♥ kelsey

p.p.s. If you don't know what the heck Movember is....click HERE for more info.

weekly wrap-up : discovering the arts

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I decided to treat ourselves to a wonderful new housewarming gift: a Crosley record player! We got so excited that we've been decorating our place while listening to Christmas carols on it =] It's definitely become one of my favourite pieces of "furniture" in our place!

Despite buying a record player, I couldn't help but purchase this CD by Of Monsters and Men...love these guys! 

We also had the pleasure of going to watch a dear friend of mine in this deeply moving and challenging play: Mad Forest, which is a play about the Romanian Revolution of 1989. If you ever get a chance, I would definitely recommend that you go and watch it!

Caleb and I also went out on some wonderful dates and had these incredible desserts! Tiramisu, carmelized deep fried bananas with gelato, and a delicious pecan walnut tart...mmm.

I participated in Movember by making these lovely DIY sharpie mugs that can be found here...

I also had fun setting up a little jewelry wall in our place with a DIY earring frame and an adorable key necklace holder that was gifted to me from Kelsey!

 & lastly, I've been working hours on a wedding that I shot back in October to finish the photos by this coming week! All in all, it was a week full of the fine arts: soothing music, beautiful acting, delicious foods, jewelry diys, and editing photos. 

Hope your week was as lovely as mine!

p.s. ♥ clara