Frame Me

I have a Pinterest board called "Frame Me" dedicated to pictures of art prints and paintings I wish I could frame and instantly hang on my wall! I have a gallery wall in my room at home, but as I'm starting to think how I want to decorate my room for next year, I know I want a lot of art and paintings hung to give off inspiration. I plan to keep my room pretty white and basic, so I want to create a focal point full of color. I recently discovered Evelyn Henson and I can't help but adore her work.

Her work consists of floral paintings, map prints, lucite trays and other darling art prints. She is a young artist who turned her hobby into a career. I've always admired young business women and I'm constantly inspired by girls like Evelyn. 

Meet Evelyn. She first started painting after attempting a picture of a floral bouquet for a Mother's Day gift. She enjoyed it so much she pursued other paintings, studied art history in college and then started selling her work in May of 2013. Since then, she has been featured in Matchbook Magazine, Girls of Lincoln Park, The Abroad Guide and Southern Views Magazine. You can purchase her work from her website or on Etsy. 

My favorite pieces Evelyn does, and what originally made me discover her, are her map prints. She has various cities that she customizes to include notable landmarks of each place. I've been stalking DC bloggers as I anxiously await this summer and came across someone who instagrammed a gallery wall with the DC map print. *hint hint birthday present idea mom!* Above are some of my favorite cities that Evelyn has illustrated. 

Make sure and check out Evelyn's site to see more of her work. Also take a peek at her blog. She posts fun DIYs, tips on styling her paintings, and free printables like these adorable Mother's Day cards.

Annie

all images via www.evelynhenson.com

Bites of My Life

It's Sunday night and today officially marks the one week till summer and the one month till my 21st birthday countdown! I finish up with final tests and presentations next Monday then it's summer break...I'm sorry, hi and bye junior year, you just flew by. 

So much is happening and changing in the next few weeks, but I'm more excited than ever. After I finish up classes I'll tearfully have to move out of the sorority house that has been my home for the past two years. I'll then go home to pack up my childhood room to move into my parent's new house. I'll make another move into my senior year house, then finally pack up again to jet set to DC for the summer. 

After all the packing and moving I get to round out the month of May by turning 21 in my new city for the summer! Change is a good thing, I firmly believe. I can't way to keep you updated on all the new bites in my life! Before I get ahead of myself let's take a bite into last week. 

-Kappa Kupcakes was a success. I loved getting to bake and eat cupcakes with some of my favorite people for a great cause!

- It's ridiculous how excited I get for almond versions of traditional peanut flavored things (cue-Snickers with almonds). The Kappa house used to always be stocked with the Peanut Nature Valley granola bars, but because of my allergy I could never have them and we just didn't have a good alternative. When I went to grab a snack last week the word "almond" caught my eye and I had a minor freak out. Nature Valley is now rolling out an almond version of their Sweet & Salty Nut bar and it is even coated in a layer of almond butter. It was just one of those little things that really put a pep in my Thursday. 

-So much fun on Friday getting to take a little adventure to Tulsa for a night of dancing and celebrating with some of my best friends!

-Saturday included a trip to the "Jungle" then a much needed/extremely early bedtime.

Now off to bed to watch re-watch old episodes of The O.C. I seem to always get into a TV show during finals week... 

Annie

Kupcakes with a K

My favorite event of the year came and went last night. Each year my sorority puts on the beloved philanthropy event, Kappa Kupcakes. It's all you can eat cupcakes donated from local bakeries and made by girls in the house. The proceeds from the event benefit Norman families at the Center for Children and Families Inc., CCFI.

I'm partial to this event because it combines two of my favorite things, Kappa and baking. I'll be honest and tell you, I bookmark recipes all year long when I think they might be Kappa Kupcake worthy. With a busy week and mom cleaning out the pantry for the move, I passed by my bookmarked recipes and came up with some flavors based on the ingredients I already had.

Ready for a secret though...my cupcakes came from a box. Yes I'm a little ashamed, but they turned out so good and could not have been easier! I took a white and yellow cake mix then just spiffed them up to give them a gourmet taste!

I did an almond cake with dark chocolate almond frosting garnished with sugared almonds then a lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. The best things don't always have to be homemade!

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes
yields 12 regular size cupcakes or 30 minis

Ingredients:
1 box Jiffy white cake mix (Jiffy is a family favorite, but any white cake mix would work)
2 tsp. almond extract, half for the cake, half for the frosting
store bought dark chocolate frosting (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tbsp. sugar

Directions:
First line your cupcake tins with paper liners. Preheat your oven and prepare your cake mix according to the directions on the box. Add 1 tsp. almond extract to the batter. Depending on your cupcake size, fill your tins 2/3 of the way. An ice cream scoop is the perfect amount for regular cupcakes and a cookie scoop is perfect for minis. Bake and then let cool completely before frosting. 

For the frosting: While your cupcakes are cooling, empty your can of frosting into an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Add 1 tsp. almond extract and fluff up in the mixer. 

For the sugar almonds: Place your almonds on the stove in a pan over low heat. Add the sugar and stir around until they are slightly toasted and caramelized. Set aside and use to garnish. 

Frost, decorate and impress your friends with these easy cupcakes they'll think you slaved away on!

Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
yields 12 regular size cupcakes or 30 minis

Ingredients:
1 box Jiffy yellow cake mix
2 tsp. lemon extract
store bought or homemade cream cheese frosting (my go to cream cheese frosting recipe, just sub the vanilla extract with lemon)
lemon zest or yellow sprinkles to garnish

Directions:
First line your cupcake tins with paper liners. Preheat your oven and prepare your cake mix according to the directions on the box. Add 1 tsp. lemon extract to the batter. Depending on your cupcake size, fill your tins 2/3 of the way full. An ice cream scoop is the perfect amount for regular cupcakes and a cookie scoop is perfect for minis. Bake and then let cool completely before frosting. 

For the frosting: While your cupcakes are cooling, either make your cream cheese frosting r mix 1 tsp. lemon extract into a can of store-bought cream cheese. 

I used sprinkles but fresh lemon zest or lemon peels would be perfect to garnish these cupcakes. 

Kupcakes for a cause, what could be better?

Annie

Orange and Olive Oil Coffee Cake

I first saw the recipe for this coffee cake on Rue a year ago. I have been wanting to make it since and Easter seemed like the perfect occasion. 

The original recipe called for blood oranges, but after calling and searching multiple grocery stores I found out they are out of season. Plan B. I went to whole Whole Foods thinking they would for sure have the glamorous blood oranges, but I struck out again. The man helping me asked if I had ever tried a cara cara orange. No sir, I have never even heard of those. He whips a knife out of his pocket (slightly terrifying) and cuts a little sliver of the cara cara for me (great customer service Whole Foods). He described them as a mix between a navel orange and a grapefruit. They were tart and juicy, and were slightly bolder than a regular orange. I threw four in a bag and headed home to start baking.

The combination of the citrus from the oranges and the richness of the olive oil made this cake full of flavor and kept it super moist. I made the cake on Saturday so we could enjoy it as an afternoon snack, after dinner dessert and for breakfast Sunday morning. This is clearly a versatile dessert. 

Orange and Olive Oil Coffee Cake
yields about 10-12 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp/ baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, about 3-4 oranges (you can use any kind of orange too! blood orange, navel, cara cara etc.)
zest from two oranges
3/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
1/2 cup milk
1/4 powdered sugar

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the inside of a round tube or bunt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside

In your mixer, combine the sugar and eggs and light and foamy. Add 1/2 cup of the orange juice, half of the orange zest and the olive oil. Mix until combined. Slowy mx in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk then finish with the other half of the flour mixture.

Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 30-40 until a toothpick comes out clean and it is slightly brown. 

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. In the meantime combine the remaining 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle the glaze over the cake then serve with a sprinkle of orange zest and powdered sugar! 

Annie

When Life Gives You Lemons

On Saturday morning, I had a huge lemon thrown at me. Not literally, but when I say lemon I mean Lululemon. After Barre3 Rise & Dine they gave out goodie bags and had a drawing for a free Lululemon outfit. I have to mention I don't ever win anything, but Saturday must have been my lucky day because this little girl won herself some new lulu! 

Timing was perfect because I have been majorly crushing over all their new spring gear. Below are some of my current faves.

clockwise from top left corner:

gray tank/pullover/white tank/crops/shorts/leggings

After our barre class was over, I made a b-line to the Classen Curve Lulu. I think I tried on half the store, but happily walked out with the Breathe & Flow tank and Sun Salutation pants. Mark my word when I will most likely wear these leggings everyday this week. They have pockets and that's enough for me. 

Annie