BHLDN

BHLDN is here.  By here, I mean today.  Valentine’s Day.  Today marks the official launch of the newest addition to the Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters family.  BHLDN is Anthropologie’s answer to bridalwear in “heirloom quality” bridal gowns and “mix and match frocks” for bridesmaids.

I will start by saying that to my Canadian girls who are wonderstruck by this new brand and dying with anticipation to know whether BHLDN will ship to Canada, the answer is: yes BHLDN does ship to Canada.

The gowns and designs are just stunning and in addition to wedding gowns, BHLDN offers lingerie, jewellery, shoes, accessories, amazingly fashionable bridesmaid dresses with the lookbook quality and art direction that you come to expect from Anthropologie. What’s even better about the brand is that dresses are available for overnight delivery as no one should have to wait months for a dress and with each order comes a free return shipping label. So that means you can order as many dresses as you want, try them all on and return them risk free.  But that’s not all.  As of May, BHLDN will offer decorations, tableware and favours and come fall, it will introduce separates. This is going to be huge guys, it’s going to be huge.  Feast your eyes on a couple of my favourite designs but the true beauty is showcased on the site itself.   More brand details including launch details can be found here.

via its katie win

via aisle dash

via modernpr

via laura virginia

via almalus place

achatz pie company

I wrote about my trip to Michigan back in the summer.  My purpose of driving the three hours was to find decent bedding for the condo which I achieved.  My other purpose was to explore all the cool bakeries, grocery stores and restaurants in and around the Sommerset Collection and to be creatively inspired.  I finally go to enjoy one of my “finds” this past week.  I had friends over last weekend for dinner (my first official dinner party in the condo) and decided to break into the pie I brough back all the way from this pie company I read about. 

My other great find on my Michigan weekend was the Achatz pie company.  Located in a strip mall not too far away from the mall, branded with the phrase, “Pie runs in their blood after 17 years of pie making in downtown Armada,” I was pretty excited.   While in the bakery, I sampled a phenomenal slice of peach pie while my bf sampled the ever-decaden coconut cream.  The company even makes “wedding pies” that they will ship to you. 

Not content with just a sample, I decided to drive a freshly baked Michigan berry pie back over the border that I could freeze and serve at a later date.  I was a bit skeptical that freezer pie would not have the same taste/deliciousness as in-store but boy was I wrong.  I served it this past Saturday night and it was a little slice of Achatz heaven in my books.  Light, not too sweet, a fabulous crumble on top and within a day or two, it was gone (another reason to drive back to Troy and visit Achatz).  What I later found out was that Achatz was rated one of the 10 best pie companies in the states according to Bon Appetit magazine.  Can’t wait for my next trip back.

via michigan 1001 daily photos

via bargain mom

via delish

via achatz pies

via bouille

cleaning

The dreaded part of entertaining at home is always the clean up afterwards.  Some people choose to attack it right after the last guests leave soaking, scrubbing and vacuuming until the wee hours of the night.  Others leave everything until the next morning.  I usually split doing big things like dishes, vacuuming and soaking at night, and then putting everything away in the morning.  On the topic of cleaning in general, I am only two months into living in my condo and have been exploring different methods, processes and manners of cleaning the unit.  It’s funny, because I’ve noticed on certain tasks, I find myself googling how to clean things properly with no clue how to approach the task.   Seeing that you don’t take a course in cleaning the house at school, I am on the hunt for good, reliable information to guide me through the cleaning tasks of the domestic realm.  For those of you like me who struggle how to get your sink clean, your mirrors streak free, what type of products you can use on wood floors and how often you should be cleaning period, I found a great check list on blog Hip Hostsess that came from magazine Real Simple that may be of interest. 

Cleaning To-Do List

Every Day
Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
Wipe down the counters (one minute).
Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).

Every Week
Mop the floor (five minutes).
Wipe the cabinets, backsplashes, and appliances (10 minutes).
Wash the dish rack (four minutes).
Wipe the switch plates and phone (one minute).
Wipe the inside of the garbage can (one minute).

Every Season
Empty and scrub down the inside of the refrigerator (30 minutes).
Empty and clean the insides of the utensil drawers (15 minutes).
Scrub down the cupboard exteriors (30 minutes).
Clean the stove-hood filter (10 minutes).
Perform “Shiny Sink 101” (below)

Shiny Sink 101
1. Fill sink to the rim with very hot water; add one cup regular bleach. Soak for one hour.
2. Drain and rinse thoroughly.
3. Scrub with Ajax, Bon Ami, or baking soda.
4. Be sure to rinse thoroughly.
5. Shine with Windex or another glass-cleaning spray. Dry thoroughly.

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 98,000 times in 2010. If it were an exhibit at The Louvre Museum, it would take 4 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 121 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 275 posts. There were 438 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 215mb. That’s about 1 pictures per day.

The busiest day of the year was July 7th with 707 views. The most popular post that day was Wedding Cupcakes.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were search.aol.com, facebook.com, en.wordpress.com, crowdspring.com, and supermama.lt.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for wedding cupcakes, cupcakes, whoopie pies, brunch, and wedding cupcakes pictures.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Wedding Cupcakes July 2009

The next big thing: Whoopie Pies October 2009
2 comments

Tissue Paper Pom Poms July 2009
2 comments

Textiles and Cake March 2009
4 comments

Candy Aesthetics February 2009

Happy New Year

via amy atlas

via the sweetest occasion

via hostess with the mostess

via martha stewart

buddha bowls

via flavour design

via flavour design studio

via flavour design

via flavour design