Petite Insanities

Yes... you read that right! BIRTHDAY. CAKE. PANCAKES!!! These are crazy delicious and crazy sweet ! Perfect for my hubby who loves all things Birthday cake. I stumbled upon the original recipe awhile back and knew I had to make these for his Birthday. We made them together and changed it up a bit to create what we think is the best Birthday concoction EVER! Cake Ingredients 1 1/2 cups flour 2/3 cup yellow cake mix 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs pinch of salt rainbow bead sprinkles Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add milk, egg and vanilla and mix with a fork until smooth. TIP : you might want to start with only half the milk and gradually add the rest as needed to make sure the batter doesn't become too runny. Different cake mixes vary in moisture. Sprinkle in the rainbow sprinkles and swirl them into the batter. Heat a pancake skillet over medium heat on the stove with a touch of butter so the batter doesn...

What cool photo traditions do you have?! xo Sécia F O L L O W   U S   O N   I N S T A G R A M   ::    @seciasophia

Santa Monica can be a nightmare to navigate on the weekend but this little gem is off the beaten path just enough to get in without a reservation or waiting for a lifetime. Blue Daisy is not only super cute, the food is also to die for! They put us in a little, intimate corner (hence the low-lit photos) which was perfect for some sweet Sunday time with my love. Just look at those figs and goat cheese breads, drizzled with honey... and those zucchini hash browns with poached eggs and a side of horseradish and cream cheese sauce... OMG I'm craving them again just dreaming about them! There's my honey and his yummy Bloody Mary (topped with a slice of bacon, of course). Don't worry, he's not two-fisting it, that's my mimosa! Yum! xo Sécia LOCATION & HOURS Blue Daisy 609 Broadway Santa Monica, CA 90403 8AM - 10PM Check out more from our Brunch Love series here ! F O L L O W   U S   O N   I N S T A G R A M   :: ...

The amazing Crystal of Crystal Cartier Photography captured my love and I in the sunshine the other day. I love photographs composed of pieces that cause you to focus on the little things and appreciate them even more than you did before. She's awesome and I always have fun with her when she makes me stand (or dance or be goofy) in front of her camera. Check back soon for the yummy second half of that day in the sun. xo Sécia F O L L O W    U S   O N    I N S T A G R A M   ::    @seciasophia

Late last night we decided to bake pie. Okay… we decided to bake  three  pies! Ben wanted pumpkin, his dad wanted cherry and I had to have pecan. Have you ever tasted pecan pie followed by a sip of coffee? Only the most orgasmic of flavors ever! Thanks to Ben's mom {because moms are great} we were able to whip these babies up in no time. It all started with the crust... :: The Crust :: 2 2/3 c. un-bleached flour 1 tsp. salt 1 c. crisco 8 Tbsp. ice water In a small bowl combine flour, salt and crisco. Use a fork to mash in the crisco but make sure to leave chunks to create a lighter, flakier crust.  Add the ice water and work between your hands to create the dough. Separate  half of the dough and mold into a ball.  {note: the other half of the dough could be used as a pie top if needed. Otherwise, why not just make a second pie with it?!} Flour a dry surface and begin rolling crust with a rolling pin. Flip and re-flour surface and crust continually...

a gloomy, Sunday bike ride along the coast is just what we needed.  Venice Beach to Santa Monica enjoying the warm air, snapping polaroids, people watching and each other. (and trust me... there are plenty of "interesting" people to be seen in this part of LA for sure) a perfect afternoon. xo Sécia F O L L O W    U S   O N    I N S T A G R A M   ::    @seciasophia

Did you know that one ton of confetti is dropped on Time Square on New Year's Eve? One word to describe the experience of NYE in NYC... A-ma-zing! There were so many people it was insane! Even more unbelievable; as soon as that ball dropped, the people scattered within the hour and all that was left were cops (omg so many cops!) and debris as far as the eye could see. Is it weird that I was looking more forward to experiencing the chaos that was left behind rather than what caused it? Yeah, I'm kinda into that sort of thing... Hope your New Year's Eve was equally memorable. Wishing you all a fabulous year in 2013! xo

{flash!} A most memorable evening ( surrounded by dead people! ) watching one of my favorite flicks. A palm tree lined sky, prosciutto, wine and cheese and True Romance . The Hollywood Forever Cemetery has become one of my favorite LA spots! It was a total blast laughing and cheering my favorite scenes with the crowd.  The perfect way to say goodbye to brilliant director, Tony Scott, with not only an introduction to the film by his wife but also a special surprise at the end when a teary-eyed Patricia Arquette made an unexpected speech. Ben had only seen the movie once years ago when we first started dating so for him, it was like watching a whole new film and it was super-cute witnessing his reactions.  A personal highlight for me... his tapping me on the shoulder in the middle of the movie and gesturing to a brightly-lit  statue , the tombstone of Johnny Ramone. I freakin' love this town. He caught a little video snippet of Patricia too! xo