Blog of the Month on Nothing But A Pigeon!

Taylor of Nothing But A Pigeon was kind enough to ask if she could feature me as her Blog of the Month this month. Of course I was excited and more than willing to do it! It's such an honor to be a part of this awesome and supportive community. Taylor lives in Austin, has a great vintage-inspired sense of style, and she's always surrounded by flowers! I love the locations she picks and always wish I could go to them. She also has the coolest round sunglasses that remind me of the 60s. I'm so flattered by her write up in this post. She said the sweetest things! You can check it out here!

Thanks again to Taylor! :) You can also follow her on Instagram and Facebook!

Stand Tall

When I saw this dress, I had to have it. A giraffe-print dress? Come on. Oh, and it's not the print of their coat, either. I find that when I search for giraffe print, that's what I get when really I want a print that has whole giraffes on it. It's not often you find something like this, so bravo, ModCloth!











A couple of weekends ago, we went to a local orchard for a day of free local food samples and I wanted to get pictures among the apple blossoms. Unfortunately, this year the blossoms didn't seem too blossomy. I think it has to do with the odd pattern of seasons we are having.Winter lasted until March, spring was on and off throughout April and May, and now it's basically summer. When it's 75-80 degrees and I no longer need to wear tights, I know it's summer. Or at least I think it is until the next day is 60 degrees and chilly. Oh, New England weather. I think it really messed with all the trees and flowers. My local library had beautiful blossoming trees on their lawn last week and when I drove by today, there were no more blossoms. Just green leaves. It's crazy!













I can't wait until the pick your own season starts at all the orchards. It's coming up with strawberries starting in mid-June. Picking fresh fruit is one of my favorite things to do in the world. I don't know why. I just love that it's fresh and I love the act of doing it myself. I like the hunt for the perfect fruits, too. I'd like to maybe work for an orchard one day, though I doubt it'd be anytime soon. It'd definitely be a seasonal side job if I did do it just to get some extra money, but I'd really enjoy it. Someday when I have my own house I want to have my own little mini orchard.











Life is forever busy, lately. It takes a lot of time and energy to work two jobs and an internship, plus do schoolwork, find an apartment, and run a blog. The blog is sort of taking a backseat as of late. I really only have one whole day free to myself now (Saturdays), and that's usually when Chris and I do our running around and photographing.

Dress: ModCloth//Shoes: Naturalizer//Tights: Hanes//Sunglasses: Lucky Brand//Lipstick: LORAC Cosmetics

I got lucky with this past weekend since it was a 3 day holiday weekend, though. I got in three photoshoots! I definitely have my work cut out for me in regards to photo editing. I have a lot of backlogged stuff that you will hopefully be seeing soon!

May Wishlist

I'm all about prints recently. I've always loved novelty prints, but I don't feel like I actually have that many novelty print items. I would love to add more to my collection, especially this fruit-themed dress from Sourpuss Clothing. I love fruit-themed items because fruit is awesome. I seriously wish I had a never-ending fresh fruit salad to eat forever. It'd have to have watermelon, for sure.

1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8

I love the nautical print of this Bonne Chance dress. It has little lighthouses on it. Lighthouses are so cool, and I'm really considering getting some sort of lighthouse tattoo, or at least something nautical in general. I have so many tattoo ideas, but no idea where I would want them on my body. I already got my top choices for placements done (ankle and wrist).

Lately, I've been wanting some good high-waisted trouser-type pants, but nothing too fancy. Just something pretty lightweight and comfy and good for spring/early summer. Ever since I saw this girl at Kennedy Space Center wearing polka dot high-waisted pants I wanted a pair. She just looked so comfy, yet still stylish. I don't want them to look too baggy, though. I don't want to look like I'm wearing palazzo pants or harem pants.

As much as I love dresses, sometimes it's just more practical to wear pants, such as when you want to sit or lay in the grass and not worry about any surprise peep shows occurring. I think these will be on the top of my list for what to keep an eye out for in the next few weeks if I have time to get to the mall. I'm nervous about buying them online just because I feel like it'd be something I'd have to try on. Hopefully a mall excursion can be fit into my near future!

We're The Aquabats, And That's That

Last week, Chris, Nadia, her boyfriend and I all went up to Boston to see The Aquabats! I was super excited when I found out that they were finally touring the East Coast. They haven't toured here in years! I saw them at The Bamboozle festival a few years ago, but it wasn't their tour and their set wasn't very long because of that. This time was definitely more awesome. I got tickets as soon as they went on sale and counted down the days to the show.









Once their tour actually started, I noticed that they were posting Meet and Greet events on their Facebook page. They weren't posting them very far in advance, usually the night before the show or the morning of. Of course, I stalked their Facebook page like crazy the day or so before the Boston show and when the meet and greet for the show was finally announced, I got tickets! I MET THE AQUABATS, YOU GUYS. I realize that some people may not be too familiar with who they are, but they are one of my favorite bands ever, and I was so excited.











We had to arrive an hour early before doors opened and then we went in and waited a little bit. The Aquabats came out and did a quick soundcheck and then they came down and met with everyone. Chris had them all sign his ukulele and I had them all sign my ticket. They were all nice and there were actually a lot of kids there to meet them since they have their show on The Hub. Some of the kids were dressed up like them and it was adorable. Because of the meet and greet, I decided to bring a camera with me to the show, so I just took my old point and shoot since I didn't want to have my big DSLR there.











The show was good and they played a lot of my favorites. The only odd thing about the show was that because there were so many kids and the band wanted a safe environment for them, the older crowd couldn't go completely nuts during the songs. In fact, a security guard came and separated Chris and I when we were facing each other and skanking around. I felt like I was at a middle school dance. We were able to dance around and stuff, but we weren't able to go wild like we normally would, which was sort of a bummer, but I still had a great time. They put on a fun show that included a guy dressed up in a chicken suit, a quick fighting skit with some villains, and they even had inflatable pool toys for the crowd to pass around when they played Pool Party. Funtimes. We were staying with Chris's friend who also went to the show, so afterwards we just went back to his place and hung out until we all went to bed.











We spent the next day in the city, which is when I wore this outfit. We got awesome chili at New England Soup Factory and took a walk down Newbury Street. Later on, Chris led us to Mike's Pastry which is known for their really amazing cannoli. It was my first time trying them, and they did not disappoint. I told myself I would only eat half of it since we were going to have dinner soon, but I couldn't resist eating the whole thing. We had dinner at Fire & Ice, which is a crazy restaurant where it's buffet style, but everything is raw. You pick what you want to have cooked, along with what sauces and spices you want and then you bring it to this giant flattop grill and they cook it for you. The reason I say this restaurant is crazy is because it's all you can eat, which means you just want to lay down and die afterwards.

Dress: H&M//Jacket: Gap (thrifted)//Shoes: H&M//Jurassic Park Pin: Thrifted//Belt: Forever 21

How awesome is my Jurassic Park pin, by the way? I got it at this weird vintage-esque pop culture store for like a dollar or two. I was so excited when I saw it! Anyway...I went to a couple of consignment shops, but didn't really find anything. We went to Newbury Comics and a couple of coffee shops too. I had a good time just walking around and eating awesome food, even though the weather was pretty chilly and a little rainy. It was still a great little mini vacation! :)

Beauty and the Beast Cake

Every year I make my mom's birthday cake, so I always try to think of different ways to decorate it special for her. This year, I decided to go with her favorite Disney movie: Beauty and the Beast. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen it already when I posted about it there! I knew I didn't want to get too crazy with it since I don't have the time and I'm not too advanced in the decorating department. Luckily, I remembered that the logo from the Broadway show is fairly simple and pretty much just line work. I decided this would be perfect for what I was looking to do.

Even though this cake is really simple, it still took quite some time to actually make and decorate. I think I made the frosting a little too thick this time so it took longer to apply evenly. I also had an egg crisis that took me about 20 minutes to move past. I only had 5 eggs left, which was exactly the number I needed. Of course, I ended up breaking one of them and it was late in the evening, so I didn't want to go to the store. I ended up substituting 1/4 cup of vegetable oil after some quick Googling and the cake came out fine. Problem solved.

The actual design was my favorite part to do. I specifically bought a #1 Wilton decorating tip for the job. I already had some disposable decorating bags in a cupcake kit I had received as a gift. I bought a coupler, but didn't end up using it. I didn't have the patience to figure out how to use it. Just the bag and the decorating tip worked fine, though. I just cleaned the decorating tip between frosting colors for the design. For the green, I used canned icing since it was only a small amount that I needed. I had the picture of the logo up for reference as I drew it so that I could follow the line strokes. I drew it by hand with pencil before even deciding to make the cake just to be sure it would look decent.

Beauty and the Beast Cake (Fluffy Vanilla Cake)
Source: Sweetapolita

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
2 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes

For the Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb. powdered sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk (depending on how creamy you like your frosting)
Wilton's Icing Colors, in rose petal, brown, and red

For Decorating:
Wilton #1 Decorating Tip
2 decorating bags
Betty Crocker Decorating Cupcake Icing in green (optional if you don't want to use the buttercream frosting and green dye for such a small amount)

Directions:

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the pan and set aside. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine and stir the egg whites, 1/4 cup of milk, and the vanilla. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients together on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and remaining milk, and mix on low speed until just moistened. Increase to medium speed and mix for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg mixture in 3 separate batches; beat on medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition.

Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly. Bake 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes clean when inserted into the center. Be so careful to not over-bake. Check cake at 20 minutes, but not before, and once you feel it's almost ready, set the timer for 2 minute intervals. If you're going to take the cake out of the pan, let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes before loosening the sides with a small metal spatula, and invert onto greased wire racks. Gently turn the cake back up, so the top is up. If you want to leave the cake in the pan, then just set it on a potholder or rack and allow it to cool. Let it cool completely before frosting it.

If you plan on baking ahead of time, wrap the cake tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days, refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months. It is best eaten the same day as baked.

For the Buttercream Frosting:

Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth. Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more.

If you want your frosting a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture. Separate a small portion of the frosting to use for the design and an even smaller portion for the rose in the design. Use rose petal (pink) icing color to tint the frosting. Use brown for the larger of the separated portions and red for the rose portion.

For the Beauty and the Beast Design:
Put the #1 decorating tip into the decorating bag and fill the bag with the brown frosting (You will have to cut a little but off the tip of the bag to make the decorating tip sit right). You might want to test some lines on a paper towel before actually starting on the cake just to make sure everything is coming out right and so you get the hang of it. I started at the top with the Beast's mane. Carefully draw the outline of the Beast, following the picture of the Beauty and the Beast logo as a guide. Once the Beast is done, continue using the brown frosting for the stems of the rose.

Once you have done all of the brown parts of the design, take the decorating tip out of the bag (I used scissors to cut the bag open) and clean it out. Once it is clean and dry, put it into a new bag and fill the bag with the red frosting. Draw the rose part of the design, including the falling pedal! Use your choice of green frosting/icing to draw on the leaves, and then you're done!