Petite Insanities

Lots of organizing and cleaning this weekend. Preparations for more painting, installing and decorating in the weeks to come. What are your plans for the weekend? Hopefully no matter how busy you are you will still find time for the sweeter things in life... like my No. 5.

It's difficult living away from our family and it's especially a bummer during the holidays we spend away from "home". However, working in the entertainment industry means we're not alone when it comes to being "orphaned" from our families. We've made friends from all over the country and even from all over the world, many of which have moved to LA like we have to find more work in our field. Therefore, we decided to have an Orphan Easter for those of us that were unable to make it home for the holidays. Ben and I dyed eggs together the day before which made for a lovely centerpiece on the table... We added mini, white carnations and vintage linens passed down from my family. The table is super small so we kept it simple. It was a perfect, intimate dinner for six and the food was fantastic! VEGETARIANS BEWARE... Ben and I made my dad's Greek lamb and potatoes. It's never as perfect as my dad makes it but it's prett

Christ is risen. Happy Easter everyone! Here's a sneak peak at our table set for our Easter dinner.  I'm so looking forward to having an intimate dinner with our closest friends. More photos to come including Ben and I making my father's Greek Lamb. xoxo

...you know you want 'em... Today I made Italian pizzelles for Easter. Tomorrow we're doing a Greek lamb (my dad's famous recipe) which we will be prepping this evening. My mom and I use to make pizzelles all the time and she recently sent me the recipe we always used. Apparently, I scribbled all over it when I was little one year while we were baking them. Over the years we've tweaked the recipe a little to perfect it but this year I wanted to do something different. Roll them up and dip them in DARK CHOCOLATE! (I used my new  measuring cups  and  spoons  too!) First, I made the pizelles... Then, we dipped them! (Ben helped... Cooper watched) Here's the recipe: Ingredients: 3 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted (I used margarine) 1 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon anise seed or extract (I used extract) sifted powdered sugar (optional) melted dark chocolate (optional) Add and beat ingredients tog

Don't forget to enter my  giveaway . Only two days left! I'll leave you with what I have to look forward to this weekend... This = Awesome. Hugs and kisses and have a wonderful Easter weekend.

...with these cups... My husband says I'll hit the animals in the face with my spoon. I love how each cup is a little different in style and shape. I must have them.

My project is finished! Some of you may have been wondering what I had planned for all of those  doilies  my mom sent me. Thanks to a fun idea from  Ashley Ann Photography  that I found courtesy of  The Ardent Sparrow , my dining room has that special touch you can only get from personal creativity. I love how this doily runner turned out! After finally figuring out exactly how I wanted the doilies arranged it only took a couple of hours to actually tack them all together.  I even have enough left to create another one.  And if I don't like it after awhile I can easily take it apart and create something new. That = awesome. Keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway I have planned that might just include one of these beautiful doilies. Of course, there was more baking this weekend. Ben wanted more chocolate chip cookies but that last recipe I used wasn't the greatest. Joan from  for the love of a house  came to the rescue a

Saturday 1. Design runner & bleach doilies (this is that little " project " I mentioned) 2. Buy over-the-range microwave... install ( coincides with to do #3 -  finally I can clear up some counter space for my mixer ) 3. Organize kitchen 4. Purchase succulent plant for my awesome new pot (which I can't seem to find a link for) 5. Buy raffia for said succulent plant (I was inspired by the below photo from for the love of a house . I absolutely love Joan's blog and can't get enough of her home renovation posts) 6. Buy remaining frames & select all photos for the dining room wall... hang them (this, along with the runner & plant, will bring the dining room re-design to a close) Sunday 1. Do all the crap I didn't get done on Saturday 2. Bake cookies or brownies for Ben (recipes courtesy of Joan♥ ) What are your plans for the weekend?

And I love it!  My wonderful mother sent me a special package that arrived yesterday. I asked her to send all the vintage doilies she could spare for a little  project  that I plan to do over the weekend.  Apparently, she can spare some. She sent me a total of 29 doilies, 4 potholders and 2 vintage Pyrex pie dishes in melon and spotted pink (my dad apparently fought for the pie dishes but she found more for me too). She really must love me. Buried under all of that color are quite a few that will be perfect for my project (which I will leave for another post). And I'm sure you will find some of the leftovers for sale in our  vintage shop  soon. Sécia P.S. Cooper loves monkey.

You know when there's that something you've been looking for for a really long time and then when you're just about to give up you find it? Well... I found it. (via: Rust Belt Threads ) Can't wait to add them to one of my new cubbies in the dining room.

it's time to reward my hard work with something special. and  trust me, i've been working really hard this last year.   it helps that this is actually FOR work so i don't feel as bad for buying it. i've been admiring  this messenger bag  from afar for a long time and after many disappointing bag choices it was hard to finally take the plunge for this one. i needed something that i could travel with that carried both my laptop  and  my personal belongings. that way i'm not stuck with a bag and a purse, but both of them in one. but what really sold me was all of the pockets. this guy has 10 pockets in addition to the laptop compartment and anyone who knows me knows that i'm a sucker for storage and a double sucker for organization. this seems like the perfect fit for me. and what bag is complete without a little pouch to store my tiny necessities? so i had to get this little guy too. you can find them both at  Stash  etsy shop in a variety of colors, shapes and

Rainbow gift tags added to my shop. Recycled from paper scraps. Buy them here ! Rainbow cupcakes for my honey. the batter... naked cupcakes... the frosting... yum. Thanks to The Dainty Squid for the cute inspiration. I'll list the recipe in the recipes section this week. The cake was a guick yellow cake recipe from my KitchenAid mixer cookbook (right after I baked these I realized there was an easy white cake recipe too so I think that one's next). The frosting was a buttercream recipe also from the book and it's a very yummy one. Oh, and where there's rainbows... Life is good.

...so I bought it. (via: Sparkly Pony )

Something I love about my puppy, Cooper: He plays catch with himself... by himself. Something I love about my carpool buddy, Christine: She takes a detour on the way to work and I get to look at the ocean on a gloomy day. P.S. Christine, onions & gas.

Room painted... check. Now for the fun part... making it "us". This is the dining area BEFORE. The appraiser took this picture (he was really tall). It's clean but drab. Here are some additions to the room on their way to their new home. A little flare to the wall creates a cool focal point. Ben likes the turquoise but I'm thinking a more subtle white. The walls are gray so either will look fabulous. Only $40 from byrdiegraphics . To display our vintage camera collection and other things. At  Pottery Barn for $129. Be prepared to pay major shipping and tax but I think it's worth it. I love this sideboard to store my linens & our special wines. It'll make a perfect buffet for our brunches too. We'll be picking this bad boy up from Living Spaces this week. Only $430! I'll post AFTER pics hopefully by this weekend when it's all finished. Sécia