Wednesday, February 29, 2012

coral + yellow



I've always had a passion for vintage things, especially when it comes to dresses. I absolutely love taking classical silhouettes and modernizing them with bold statement jewelry. My two favorite brands that I believe represent modern day vintage garments an accessories perfectly are: ModCloth and 
Kate Spade. Today's style inspiration: coral + yellow. 


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

sweets n' treats

Vanilla Mini Delights Cupcake via The Hummingbird Bakery

Last week I had the craziest idea to give up all sweets [yes, ALL] for lent. Tomorrow will mark my first whole week without any type of sweets, but let me tell you it has been the longest week ever! [I literally have dreams of eating chocolate fudge brownies + vanilla bean ice cream]. I knew this was going to be a huge challenge for me, but I honestly never put into consideration how many sweets on a day to day basis are thrown at ya! Now, I've realized if I don't have any sweets in front of me [or hidden away in the house] it does get a little easier. But boy when you're at a restaurant and somebody in your party orders a delicious slice of pie or a chocolate lava cake drizzled with a raspberry glaze - I really just want to give up altogether. Period. So, I've decided to torture myself a little more with pictures of some oh-so-delicious treats from a few of my favorite blogs below. 

peace, love, pugs, & cupcakes... LOTS of CUPCAKES,
katie

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes via Annie's Eats

Various Chocolate Bars via More Design Please

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake via smitten kitchen

Baked S'mores via The Apron Gal


Thin Mint Cookies via Cupcakes and Cashmere


Toasted Marshmallow Shake via Cupcakes and Cashmere 


Monday, February 27, 2012

music monday: stephen gordon


Music Monday inspiration: "Fount it Yet" by Stephen Gordon. I absolutely love the sound of his singer/songwriter voice + the acoustics/strings of this song. Stephen is a truly talented an amazing artist and I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do! You can listen to/find out more of Stephen Gordon [here].

peacelove, pugs & cupcakes,
katie

Thursday, February 23, 2012

color inspiration: pop of melon hues

[photo credit via]

Creature Comforts is another one of my favorite blogs that I follow. She always has adorable color inspiration posts, DIY projects, and more. With the warm sunny days we've been experiencing on the Northeast Coast, I was inspired by the colors in the picture [above] she posted this past Monday and I just had to create a color inspiration post on it. A small pop of these melon hues really brighten the day. 

peace, love, pugs, & cupcakes,
katie



Wednesday, February 22, 2012

say what you need to say


There's always something about quotes & lyrics that always draw me in. I love listening to a song, or reading a book and becoming so inspired by the words/meaning. I especially love when lyrics/quotes are uniquely displayed in frames or paintings throughout the house. You can even create one yourself like the chalk board frame above, or simple type up your favorite phrase, print it out and put it in a unique frame!

peace, love, pugs, & cupcakes,
katie



via 



Monday, February 20, 2012

music monday: the middle east


Today's Monday Music Inspiration: The Middle East - singing 'Blood' - This indie Australian band is absolutely amazing and I can't get enough of their album "Recordings of the Middle East." You can listen to/find out more of The Middle East [here].

P.S. if you click on their website you can get a digital download of their EP on itunes through the band for $5 buckaroos! WOO! :)

peace, love, pugs & cupcakes,
katie

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

tri-color style inspiration

TrI-color inspiration

TrI-color inspiration by katiemaxwell featuring hunter boots

It's a cloudy/rainy [with patches of sunlight] Wednesday and I love taking advantage of days like these to wear something bright! Today's rainy day style inspiration: tri-colors.
peacelove, pugs & cupcakes
katie

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

heath bar bit buttercream brownies


This past weekend went by awfully fast, and I felt like I was constantly in a rush to get things done [specifically baking]. Which made me realize that sometimes you need a little help, instead of starting from scratch brownies [no shame!]. So for a delectable dessert after dinner one night I decided to doctor up these Betty Crocker Triple Chunk Brownies [so soo good!]. After baking [as directed] this batch of brownies I immediately added buttercream frosting [I chose this kind] and drizzled Heath Bar English Toffee Bits. Let it cool for about 15 minutes or so and enjoy! They turned out absolutely amazing and so delicious! Oh, and I almost forgot.. Happy Valentine's Day! :)




peace, love, pugs & cupcakes,
katie 



Wait . .  just one more picture. . . YUM. 

Monday, February 13, 2012

music monday: christina perri


With Valentine's Day coming up tomorrow I thought it was only appropriate to share a cute little love song for Music Monday. Today's music inspiration is "Penguin" by Christina Perri. The music video above is an adorable 'official lyric' of her song. You can find out more/listen to Christina Perri [here].

peace, love, pugs & cupcakes,
katie

Thursday, February 9, 2012

color inspiration: berry tones



Today's color inspiration: >> berry tones << 

peace, love, pugs & cupcakes,
-katie

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

diy valentine wish bracelet

[image via lovely indeed]

Just spotted this DIY Valentine Wish Bracelet by Lovely Indeed [one of my favorite blogs!] that I had to share because it was so cute! Dainty and simple, [two things I absolutely love] this bracelet is the perfect little Valentine's present. As I said in yesterday's post you don't need a "Valentine" to make this adorable little bracelet - make one for a close friend(s) as a little something to let them know you care! :)

Check out Lovely Indeed to see the full tutorial on how to make your very own DIY Valentine Wish Bracelet!

peace, love, pugs & cupcakes
-katie

[image via lovely indeed]
[image via lovely indeed]
[image via lovely indeed]
[image via lovely indeed]

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

comfy, cozy valentine's day inspiration


Valentine's Day is coming up next week so I created a comfy/cozy V-day inspiration [via my new obsession: polyvore]. Instead of the traditional 'going out' look, I thought a nice stay-at-home Valentine's Day this year is the perfect way to spend time with your lovey! Even if you don't have a significant other, a night in with your family and/or friends eating sweets and watching movies is the perfect way to celebrate V-day. Pair an oversized graphic tee with black leggings an add a touch of red and gold accents for a stylish [but super comfy!] Valentine's Day.

peace, <3, pugs & cupcakes
-katie

Monday, February 6, 2012

music monday


The more I listen to Lana Del Rey's album: Born to Die the more I love. One of my favorite songs from her album is 'Video Games' [shown above]. You can listen to/find out more of Lana Del Rey here


peace<3pugs cupcakes
-katie


Friday, February 3, 2012

super bowl soft pretzels


 I am so excited because this Sunday is Super Bowl XLVI  and my favorite NFL team [NYGiants baby!!] are playing! Not only am I excited about that, but the hilarious commercials and tons of food I will be consuming [YAY for food coma all day :)]! This year, I decided to make homemade mini soft pretzels and I followed this recipe. Let me tell you.. these mini soft pretzels are the perfect game day snack and super easy to make. I am a huge cheese lover so I paired my soft pretzels with TOSTITOS Smooth and Cheesy Dip [YUM]. 
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, oh, and  G O  G I A N T S!!






peace, <3, pugs & cupcakes
-katie

Thursday, February 2, 2012

'oh baby!' part 2


After a week full of crafts & baking the baby shower was complete! On the day of the shower we woke up to a ton of snow but that wasn't going to stop us. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I designed the baby shower invitations and wanted to follow that same color scheme.

 I created a trio of centerpieces at each table that consisted of: Mason jars wrapped with ribbon and raffia with a touch of yellow button pom flowers and baby's breath; 'About to Pop' textured Chinese cartons filled with popcorn; and mini 'Sweets' Chinese cartons filled with pastel colored melt away mints. For both the 'About to Pop' and 'Sweets' containers I cut out square and rectangular card stock [that followed my color scheme] and used my Cricut [personal electronic paper cutter and absolutely awesome] for the tiny lettering cut-outs. I glued the lettering on white parchment paper [to add a see-through effect] and clipped all the layers of paper with mini clothespins!

Around the baby shower walls of the complex I made DIY paper pennants with the same card stock I used for the centerpieces [plus additional colors/patterns/textures]. I simply cut out about 4''x6'' triangles [you can vary the size depending on how big or small you want them] in various colors, patterns, and textures of card stock. I then punched out two holes on each end of the top side of the pennant. [Save the punch outs too! - I used the punch outs to sprinkle over each table to add a little something!] Next I cut out long pieces [again, varies on how long you want it] of raffia looping it through the punch holes of the pennants. Then to finish it off, I spaced out the pennants and then taped the raffia to the back side of each pennant so that they would stay in place.


As for the cupcakes and cookies, my sister, mother and I dyed white frosting to match the color scheme. We used different frosting tips to create different textures to each cupcake. For some we added white chocolate morsels and flipped them upside down into the frosting to create a polka-dot look. Others we created different textures and added the word 'baby' to mix it up! For the cookies we added little details with contrasting colors to make each of the shapes pop out.


Oh, and I can't forget about the baby carriage + balloon thumbprints! I've seen this idea for weddings and even baby showers so I thought it would be a perfect little piece to add to the baby shower for each guest to leave their thumbprint. That way at the end of the baby shower, I could put the finished picture in a frame for my sister-in-law to keep! I have passion for drawing and I love art so I decided to find a few baby carriages online that I liked and sort of combine all the parts that I liked most and design my own. I drew the baby carriage on an off-white 8x11.5 colored card stock. I used pencil first [just in case I needed to erase and start over!] then colored in the baby carriage + balloon strings with pen! Super easy & cheap! :)


 Overall the baby shower was a success. My sister-in-law absolutely loved it and was so happy! I have to give a big thanks to all my family and friends who helped me [and put up with me too! ;) ]!
Below are a few more pictures of the special day! :)






peace, <3, pugs & cupcakes
-katie

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

'oh baby!' part 1

'Oh Baby!' Baby Shower Invites  

My brother's wife is having their first baby an I'm beyond excited to become an Aunt!! After finding out the awesome news several months ago, I knew I wanted to take on planning/decorating the baby shower. So to start off, I designed these simple/cute [gender neutral too!] 'Oh Baby!' baby shower invites.  And NO, that is definitely not me having the baby! - Did I mention my sister-in-law and I share the same name? Pretty cool stuff! After designing the invites, I decided to take on the color palette, patterns, and texture an add it throughout the baby shower [bring on the craftiness!!]. Below are the beginning stages of creating a DIY [not to mention affordable!] baby shower.  [Followed by 'Oh Baby!' Part II tomorrow!]

Ribbon + Raffia + Chinese boxes
Clothespins
Baby Carriage Thumbprint Balloons
Great Grandma's Sugar Cookie Recipe + Cut-Outs

peace, <3, pugs & cupcakes
-katie