early morning Sunshine

Hey friends!

Happy Wednesday! We are half way there! ;)

So...my parents whom I haven't seen in about a year were in town for a visit the past two days. They stayed over last night...on a blow up mattress in the livingroom. The last time they were in this room it was a familiar mix of tans, reds, and navy blue. I know waking up here today must have been a bit of a "Where am I ?" situation. With candy colored striped walls, tiny pianos, and pink bunnies spying on them. My mom did comment that it was nice to see the house living a new life. My parents moved way upstate N.Y. and are building a log cabin. I've been hearing them talk about "log cabin kits" for about 30 yrs! They are finally living out that dream. I'm happy for them. Not sure when we'd be taking that 5+ hr drive to visit their neck of the woods, but I'm sure we'll make it a sibling road trip.

They hit the road pretty darn early...before we even got out of bed. It's a super sunshiney day so they should have a pretty nice drive. Speaking of sunshine...the livingroom was aglow this morning so I took a few pics for ya! Again, we are still chipping away and moving things around. Feeling things out. :)

Yes...more stripes! This aqua and cream striped wall mirrors the pink and cream stripes I shared with you the other day. It's fun to glance from right to left (while sitting in our aqua nook) seeing the room with an aqua backdrop...then switching to pink. It's so interesting to see how different items in the room pop with a turn of the head and change of background :)

A favorite Springtime treasure.

These incredibly darling altered prize ribbons were a gift from a super talented friend a few yrs ago. She was soooo ahead of her time! I adore these so so much! The vintage trims, glitter, and smile inducing centers featuring vintage dolls, millinery flowers, and ephemera! They just make my heart so so happy!

So hard to pick a favorite isn't it? They are just magical!

We have one wall left to figure out here in the livingroom. We are pretty sure it will be a shade of mocha. It's the largest wall...so it will be a challenge. We'll be keeping it simple but we do have a few ideas swirling around.

Ohh!... I really want to send a Big Happy Blogiversary to my sweet blogland friend annnnd Everyday is a Holiday sponsor, Miss Amanda of Cupcakes & Corsets! Amanda is not only a total sweetie..but oh my gosh! So so talented! You must check out her cookies! They are amazing!! And seriously delicious! She is having a big giveaway to celebrate 4 years of blogging! Hooray!! Pop over and say hi...and enter to win! Tell her Jenny Holiday sentcha! ;)

Okie Doke kids... be back soon!

xo Jenny

A couple more classic kitchen cut outs

Hi guys!

I'm so so excited to share our newest JUMBO diecuts with you!! I have had this super fun vintage vanilla extract bottle sketched on napkins and tiny bits of paper for years! I cannot tell you how happy I am to actually have the "real life" version hanging on our wall! Of course we had to include "Charlotte" in the company logo!.... teeny tiny polka dots ...pastel frosted cupcakes, ... And I love the pop of the red cap...like a cherry on top. :)

We really have to thank you all so so much for all of the incredible feedback on our diecuts! We are so excited to see them hanging in YOUR homes! So please please send us some photos! We'd LOVE to see your vintage kitchens and bakery inspired vignettes! :)

Annnd... a PINK retro mixer!! This is a different style from our Aqua and Red versions. It's more "Kitchenaid" inspired.

Both are now in the shop! We have lots more on the drawing board and we couldn't be more excited! So stay tuned!

And be sure to come back tomorrow for a super duper fabulous Giveaway!!

Thanks for popping in!

xo Jenny

Not your Mama's banana bread.

Ok so, Pinterest...I seriously cannot say enough. I cannot go a day without popping in...at least 5x! I kid you not. Even if for only 5 mins. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't have all night pinfests. It's just that good. And I'm sure I'm not the only gal in town who has put on the pinterest 10...much like the freshman 15. After pinning, one cannot just walk through life, let alone their kitchen without thinking..ohhhh what could I make! From organizing tips, to decor ideas, fashion wish lists, to Recipes! It's pretty much an addiction. So of course when I paused my pinning to walk to the laundry room to switch over a load I spied the bananas on the kitchen table..instantly flashed to the left over buttermilk from our Valentine's dinner recipe..and wizza wizza what..I was baking up a batch of these adorbs lil scrummy yummies before I knew it.

Ok, so our generation grew up eating banana bread when mom or grandma couldn't bare the thought of tossing out that browning bunch. It was never a planned, shopped for treat. Not that it wasn't yummy. Who am I kidding I don't think I've met a bread or cake I didn't like (read devour). But you know what I mean.

Ok so, I came across this recipe for buttermilk banana bread. Which

boasted being the best. It sure looked good. And seemed to be much more than an "only for salvadged nanas" recipe. I happen to own wayyy more baking pans than I should. all shapes and sizes. I'm a sucker for cutesy cakes. So I pulled out a mini loaf pan I had, and a cakelet pan (twinkie) from Williams Sonoma. Pulled together my ingredients, which were all pretty much staples, but for the buttermilk. Super duper simple! all dry in one bowl, all wet in the other...mix em up...pour in pans!

Recipe:

Mix together:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

In a separate bowl combine:

3 eggs

3/4 cups softened butter

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

4 large mashed bananas

I added 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine dry & wet ingredients. Mix well.

Pour into greased mini loaf pans.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-35 mins. Till edges are golden.

BEST results if baked in mini loaf pans! :)

But here is where the chubster in me had to take it to the next level...

Once these cuties are cool...

Slice in half, spread with cream cheese and blackberry jam! Ahhh! Yes! This is the stuff that makes mouths happy. And they are pretty darn adorable aren't they? They'd be the perfect afternoon tea party treat! Served wrapped in large cupcake wrappers, you know hugging them like a blankie. Maybe a light sprinkling of powdered sugar too. They make me feel British when I eat em. I love those Brits and their sweets. Geez... and their kitchen "dressers", which we call hutches. They always stock them with stripey bowls and jugs, and polka dot plates, and cutesy egg cups.

Much like these:

(source)

(source)

(source)

Pure cozy cuteness huh? Alright, I'll be snacking on these sweet bits for the next few days. Who's gonna join me?

Be back soon! Enjoy your weekend!

xo Jenny

They're here! They're here!

Hey kids!

Just want to thank you guys so so much for all of the super sweet words here on the blog and over on facebook about the new Jumbo diecuts! So happy you like them! We are really just so excited about them. We spent most of today finishing up photographing and listing the first batch in the shop. It is quite hard to pick a favorite. At first I thought the chocolate layer cake was it...gosh, then when we hung the aqua mixer, my face squinched up, and my heart raced a bit.. So for today...it's the mixer. Tomorrow may be the cherry topped cupcakes on a plate. (still to be photographed)

We have 4 in the shop and hope to have 4 more listed tomorrow. Including a BIG Charlotte doll head, and a Chocolate Rabbit! :)

If you'd like one of your own pop over and check them out! They are made to order and will ship in about 1-2 weeks. (unless we get mega orders...which wouldn't be a bad thing.)

Hope you guys have a GREAT weekend!!

ooh oooh....before I go...The Walking Dead comes back tomorrow night!!! YAAAAAY!!

xo Jenny

A girl can dream...

Like I said a million times...the kitchen is the heart and soul of a home. And I promise that you'll get re-acquainted with that idea if you ever move into a new place. Me and Aaron just moved and it was just so utterly essential to get the kitchen in living/working order before even getting all of our boxes over to the new place. We've already had all of our bigger discussions around the table, celebrated a birthday, ate a holiday meal...and now we're trying our best to stock the cupboards with our New Year's resolution diet foods.

Today I took some pics in the new kitchen...just a couple sneak peeks of our new Jumbo solid wood cutouts of sweets. They're on half inch thick wood, super sturdy, heirloom quality... And they are BIG. Great pieces of home decor. Pictured here is our chocolate cupcake and our three layer cake. But these are the mere tippy tops of the iceberg. We've got dozens in progress...including a slice of cake, a large Charlotte doll head, tray of cupcakes, ice cream cone, chocolate bunny, pink paper mache rabbit, and a couple versions of vintage stand mixers...including a fantastic RED one...which peeps have been requesting left and right. The mixers are so fabulous...very big statement pieces for the home...or business for that matter. These will be available very soon. And what we're really thrilled about is that our carpenter is my little brother Walt. He's been working away at making his workshop a visually awesome space...he really had in his mind that his shop would be for tinkering mostly with engines and various greasy objects...but we instantly invaded his space with saws and the requisite sawdust. He's more than thrilled to be our woodcutting machine...but he's gonna need a new shop-vac for all the dust.

We hope to have most of the collection photographed and listed in the shop this weekend! So stay tuned! And for up to the minute news and SALES like us on facebook! :)

Ok, well being that I'm in a kitchen state of mind...and vintage/retro is the only way I go...I wanted to feature some amazing "new vintage" appliances from SMEG! For many years I've had tear sheets of these beauties pinned to my cork board. The colors are so dreamy and creamy...the streamlined/chunky designs are right out of my fantasy sketchbooks. I'm so in love with British kitchens...and that's where I spied SMEG fridges and stoves most often. Buying all those import magazines used to be so expensive but Pinterest certainly solved that financial obstacle. You can get these kitchen cuties on-line here. It's a super fab source for all your SMEG needs. Customer reviews for all of these pieces are stellar. My dream kitchen will certainly come to fruition one day...and there will be SMEG appliances for sure. I love the chunky hinged door handle especially. Heck, for years I've been wanting one of their refrigerators for our bedroom! We wouldn't plug it in...just use it as a dresser for sweaters and other warm clothes. A girl can dream...can't she?

Alright, just thought I'd check in from my corner of the kitchen. I'll be back really soon with more pics and links for shop listings of our brand new solid wood cutouts.
xoxo, Jenny

Scroll down for more SMEG eye candy!!


(source)

(source)

(source)



(source)



(source)