Holiday Weekend

What are you plans for the long weekend?

 Mine include: cooking, working, spending time with my husband, 

going on a run to get ready for my first race (eek!), 

sleeping in, and planning for an upcoming trip.

I hope your weekend is lovely!

{photo by Terrain for Design Love Fest}

Banana Egg Pancakes

Today I get to share with you my favorite 

weekend breakfast: Banana Egg Pancakes

They are very healthy and easy to make!  

You mix together two eggs and one banana (per person). 

Pour small amounts into a greased frying pan over medium-low.  

You will want to keep an eye on them and flip as needed.

 If you have a thing for sweets like I do you can add a couple of chocolate chips.  

This is definitely a favorite for my husband too!

Enjoy!

{photo by Love and Lemons}

Calligraphy Chairs

I want this to be the next big thing.  

Instead of place cards you write everyone's name on their chair!

This. is. Genius.  (and gorgeous!)

 

This gorgeous idea came from the talented team of Karson Butler Events.

Their website is incredible and I would highly recommend taking a look.

 

~

Event: Karson Butler Events

Calligraphy: Laura Hooper

Photography: Jodi Miller Photography

I'm Off!

I'm off on vacation for a couple of days.

I'll be back next week!

{photo by me}

Wish List

1. This ring is beautiful but maybe we'll opt for an etsy version for our one year anniversary.  A girl can never have too many rings.

2. If I could design my dream purse this would be it.  The shape, the color, LOVE

3. I'm loving these fancy earbuds.  However, I tend to destroy, tangle, and loose mine so I just can't quite splurge on these...

4.  I'm loving wrap sweaters.  If you remember my old blog (here) you'll know that I have always loved ballet.  The sweater above is simply perfect for the winter time.

Summer Berry Picking

This weekend Justin and I had the best summer date.  

We drove 30 minutes outside of the city and into the mountains and ended at Bybee Berry Farm.  

We spent the afternoon picking blueberries in their quaint little orchard. 

We then continued our afternoon to a park next to a slow flowing river and picked blackberries.  

Our bellies were full of delicious antioxidants and tided us over until we got home 

and made a delicious cobbler.  I will share the recipe in a post sometime soon.  

Our summer is jam packed as we try and take advantage of this 

gorgeous Pacific Northwest weather.  Its warm and sunny so you can spend all day 

outside and not be too scorched.  

How have you been spending your summer weekends?

Champagne Cake

Bubbles, Butter, and Blooms.  I’ve never considered myself an excellent cook but I do love to bake.  Below is a recipe to one of my favorite recipes: Pink Champagne Cake.  I originally found the recipe here but I’ve tweaked it just a bit to make it my own. My favorite part is that it allows for a little extra champagne in the bottle so you can sip as you bake away! I hope you enjoy.   
   

Cheers!

Pink Champagne Cake

Ingredients:

       3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 egg whites

2 cups pink champagne

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two

9-inch cake pans (or cut parchment paper to fit).

*In a bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

In a mixing bowl beat butter and sugar 3 to 5 minutes

until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat in the eggs one at a time.

*Beat in flour mixture and champagne in three alternating additions,

starting and ending with flour to prevent curdling. Pour batter into pans and bake

35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

*Let cool and then frost the middle and top layer only.

Flower Class: Viburnum Berries

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite bouquet fills: Viburnum Berries.

The berries above add a touch of blue or purple and they help add a little depth and texture.

But they aren't always purple or blue because there are 150 different kinds of Viburnum Berries!

The purplish blue buds above grow in the Fall and can be found all over North America.

- This cozy Portland wedding is gorgeous and used lots of berries

- Beautiful coral colored berries

- Red & Orange Berries

- Green & Red (but not like Christmas) Berries

{Photos Above: 100 Layer Cake & Growing the Home Garden}

Like a River

This past weekend was full of summer bliss and a good life lesson.  

A group of eight of us and a dog decided to raft/intertube down the Snoqualmie River.  It was so beautiful and relaxing.  However,  I have some serious control issues so I insisted on taking the small lounger so I could feel in control and be able to steer more.  When the first set of "rapids" hit I realized that I actually had zero control and almost sunk my little lounger.  And when the sun started to set and we had no idea how much further we had to float we had no choice but to try and enjoy our surroundings and hope the next river bend would reveal the end.  But then I realized that the more I worried the less fun I was having so I let go and enjoyed the adventure.  And of course we have plans to do it all over again next Saturday and I can't wait!

{photo from here}

Grown Woman.

Happy Friday!  We've made it through our first week! To celebrate my first week of blogging on ALP I decided to share with you a song that pushes me to be a fearles, independent, grown woman.  This song gets me dancing everytime... even in very public places like the bus.  Get it.

Home

My home is where I can let my hair down and rest.  I love to decorate and organize and my home is a perfect reflection of me (and my husband but we'll get to him soon).  I look forward to snapping a few photos soon of our little home and sharing them with you.  But for now above is a little sneak peek.  Happy Wednesday xo

{photo by Krista Welch}

Flower Class: Magnolia

One love that I have in life is for floral design.  If I could I would spend all day arranging and playing with flowers, texture, and color.  One type of post you will see often on ALP will be called Flower Lesson.  In these posts I will teach about a new kind of flower, type of design, or simply an arrangement that is just plain beautiful.

Today, lets talk Magnolias.  They are one of my favorite flowers.  They can make a statement whether you use the flower or the leaves or both.  Magnolias are in season during the Spring and Summer months.  They are most easily found in the South growing on trees.  They look gorgeous in a bouquet, or as a stand alone flower.

More Magnolia inspiration here, here, and here.

{photo by Lene Photography}

Welcome

 Welcome to A L P!  This is my new creative outlet for all of the inspiration I have been storing, planning, and creating for the past three years.  You may or may not remember me from my old blog Decor Amor.  I want A L P to be similar but a little different and a little more grown up.  I've done a lot growing and learning over the past couple of years and I cannot wait to get this new adventure started.  Please visit again soon.

xo Ashley L.