The World

Just an random interesting chart, which shows what each country leads in. I love learning new facts, just cause it makes me feel smart when I can say "did you know that...", haha. Isn't that a great feeling? 

Do you agree with what it says about your country? 

Coveted Shoes

I have a long list of my future shoe purchases. 

But these are on the top on my list:

1. Leather ankle boots, which will stand the rain. I have a great pair of ankle boots but they are suede leather and are not waterproof. 

2. Penny Loafers. 

3. Grey suede pumps.

Images via: 1, 2, 3

DIY to Try

Some fun DIY to try,

1. White dipped baskets. There is no explanation on the link, but these are simple enough to make. You just need some nice baskets and paint. 

2. Hand painted dish towels. 

3. Color Dipped Pots

Which would you try? 

Fresh Beauty

I love fresh looking makeup, using makeup subtly to really bring out your true beauty. It is so refreshing to see an alluring woman with so little makeup. I started using makeup daily when I started my office job, until then I mostly wore only mascara. My workday routine is – minimal eye shadow, mascara and foundation only on blemished areas. I use this, MAC foundation which is amazing. It is really light and can be used for total cover or just for blemishes and it blends in wonderfully. It also has SPF which is great for freckled faces. Of-course there are certain occasion for heavier makeup, but isn't it just great to see a beautiful, fresh faced woman walking down the street?

What are your thoughts on light makeup?

Images via: 1, 2, 3

Homemade Tortillas

Have you ever made tortillas at home? Since I was little my mom made tortillas at home, with the exception of the years we lived in Mexico. After tasting the real tortillas I only buy tortillas if I am extremely lazy. They are so easy to make at home and are much more enjoyable this way. Of course these are not as good as real Mexican tortillas made in Mexico, but they are the best I can get here. 

Here is my mom's recipe: 

4 c. Flour (I like to use half whole wheat half white) 

1c. Warm water

1 tsp. salt 

1 tbsp. oil ( I use olive oil, but any kind of oil works) 

Mix all the ingredients together and form a ball. Make 6 balls out of dough. On a lightly floured surface roll out into thin tortillas. Warm up frying pan to medium heat, using a tiny bit of oil fry each side. 

That's it! Aren't these so simple? They are also much healthier than the store bought ones since you can add whole wheat and control the amount of salt and oil. I highly recommend trying them. They are best served warm as tacos or quesadillas. 

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

The weekend is here, and I am oh so happy! We had a tiring week with the move, especially since we did it all during the weekend and the lack of sleep just became worse as the week progressed. But thankfully we are all done! So this weekend we are just planing on being lazy! Aren't those the best weekends? We are going to buy some presents for Max's family for our trip next week, and other than that just read books, watch movies, eat goat cheese ravioli and drink wine! Here are a few fun links if you are planing on being as lazy as we are...

What makes salt and sugar so delicious together

A beautiful British Vogue issue

Pretty metallic pastel nails

Mini veggie pot pies

Lovely ceramics

I need/want this

Adorable pumpkin place cards

This dark chocolate peanut butter banana bread looks amazing

J. Crew duffle coat

Something every girl should hear

Hope your weekend is relaxing...

Dainty Rings

I'm in love with tiny delicate gold rings!! They are so feminine and soft. My engagement ring and wedding band are both really delicate and I wear another tiny ring on my pointer finger. I almost never wear any other rings, mostly because I forget to put them on. I would love to get a few dainty rings to stack on my pinky like the ones pictured above.

Chunky Scarves

We are going to Belarus in less than two weeks to visit Max’s family for the first time! I have never met his mom and little brother and am very excited to finally meet them and see where he grew up. I know, it sounds crazy that we have been married almost a year and I have never met them but it is so hard to get a visa! The visas were finally approved and we are flying for two weeks in the beginning of November. Since the weather there is much cooler, I have to prepare myself for the change. I haven’t been in temperature below 0 C. since moving from Canada five years ago and my body is definitely not used to the cold. Chunky scarves are the best way to cozy up in the winter while still looking stylish, and so I plan be using them lots to warm up while we are away. They look great over jackets, sweaters, t-shirts and really almost everything. 

Pop of Pink

I usually don't use pink in my home decor, I lean towards blues and greens; but I just love this wall. Wouldn't it be fun to have a pop of color like this? I am dreaming of the day we will have our own home and I could put some color on the walls. In Israel most homes have white walls in the main living areas; bedrooms are sometimes painted in a different color but overall the norm is white. There is something fresh about white walls, they have a peaceful and clean vibe, but coming from Canada I really believe a little bit of color can bring so much warmth into a living space. I am sure some of our walls will be white, but I would love to add a little color as well. I love the flamingos and the color is so much fun in this image.

Maybe for a bathroom or girl’s room, until then I’ll keep dreaming.

Image from Society Social

Coffee Lover

Are you a coffee lover? I definitely am! I love my two mugs of coffee a day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. I have a routine four-o’clock coffee break, which I am quite strict about and if for some reason I must skip it, my whole day feels ruined. I usually have my coffee break with a little something sweet, whatever I have on hand it really doesn't matter as long as I have good coffee. I even kept this routine during my mandatory years in the military, and to this day my friends from the army like to make fun of my “rule” of having a coffee break. Of course since then my breaks are much more eloquent with French pressed coffee and not instant which is the best we could make in our impromptu kitchen. 

How do you drink your coffee? I use a French press, which I love. It makes great coffee; I also like filter coffee but I find that the French press makes coffee with a dark rich texture. Have you ever tried it? It’s really great and easy. Of course, one of the most important things about coffee is the mug you drink it in. It makes all the difference if you drink from a beautiful mug, doesn’t it? Here are a few mugs I am loving right now.

Love these natural tones

Mociun - amazing shop I just discovered

Paper and Clay

Happy Weekend!!

The weekend is here!! We are moving this weekend!! Urgh...that's how I feel about it. What are you guys up to this weekend? Here are a few fun links to brighten up your weekend, if you are in the blog reading mood....

Fall florals 

Can emotional intelligence be taught

Cute DIY table runner

These stuffed baked sweet potatoes are amazing, I tried them with a few friends they are perfect for a girls night. 

A beautiful organic wedding in Norway. 

These cookies look perfect with a cup of coffee. 

Beautiful smoldering smokey eye how-to. 

Dutch house tour

Love this hairstyle

Wish I could spent a week here, or a month 

Hope you have a great one...

Brown Butter Dark Chocolate Cookies

As I already mentioned, I love brown butter and anything that is baked with it - especially if there is dark chocolate involved. My favorite cookies are these brown butter coconut dark chocolate cookies. I didn't have coconut at home so I decided to try a different recipe and am I ever glad I did!

What makes these cookies great - other than the brown butter of course - is their chewy and soft center along with the toasted pecans and of course the sea salt. I just love the combination of dark chocolate with a little sea salt, amazing!!

I used this recipe from Joy the Baker, I didn't have molasses so I just left it out and I used less granulated sugar (1/4 cup) since I prefer my cookies to be not super sweet. I also added white chocolate chunks to the request of my husband who loves white chocolate and pretty much begged me to add it. I personally prefer dark chocolate but the combination of the two turned out great.

Vamped

My favorite nail polish this summer was this soft lavender, and I still love it but I felt the need to change up the mood with the colder weather. This butter London nail-polish is the perfect color for colder days; it’s my go-to color in the fall and winter. I think nail polish can really add to the overall look; and I for one really notice it. This color is sexy yet the rich mixture of what seems like part brown, part purple makes it deep and sophisticated as well.

What is your go-to color for colder days?

Apple Crisp

One of my fondest childhood memories is my 8^th birthday when my mom took me out for dinner (just the two of us) and I got to choose my favorite dessert – the most perfect apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Before we went to the restaurant my mom told me that we are going to the place with the best apple crisp in town, and so of course I had been dreaming about it all day long. Their apple crisp did not disappoint and I can still remember the amazing combination between the crispy topping, soft apples, cinnamon and brown sugar.

At home my mom made apple crisp quite often, and since I was her baking helper I took part in baking many of these delicious desserts, but I had never attempted to make it by myself until now. I used this recipe from A Cup of Jo. It really is the best apple crisp I have ever tasted, even better than the one from my childhood memory.

The addition of brown sugar (which I absolutely love in sweets) and the vanilla bean makes this apple crisp unique and oh so delicious. I didn't have bourbon, so I guess I will just have to make it again as soon as I get some.

Images by Monique from Ambitious Kitchen, via A Cup of Jo

DIY Magnets

Yesterday I was looking at our fridge, and thought to myself realized how ugly the magnets make it. So I decided to do a little DIY and make them pretty. It’s really simple, and makes a great difference on your fridge. All you need is extra fabric scraps, glue, and some thick paper.

This is what I did:

I took all the magnets we had and cut them up into different sizes. I then covered them with thick paper, this way nothing could be seen through the fabric.

I collected a few different fabric scraps that would go well together, and cut them up the same size as the magnets.

Then all that's left to do is glue the fabric on the pieces, wait a few minutes for it to dry and decorate your fridge. 

That's it! Isn't it really simple? But believe me it makes a big difference on your fridge.

Fall Fashion

I love fall, especially in Israel the cool air is such a relief after our smoldering summer. The sun is still out every day with blue skies but the cold breeze lets you know that summer is departing and fall is here.

For this kind of weather sweaters are still a little bit warm, so I love light outfits that have a little "winter is coming" in them.

Shorts with long sleeved top. Wearing pants and a jacket is still too hot, that is why this outfit is perfect and it is always fun to have a chance to mix up your wardrobe.

Light-weight with light colors. This is the perfect outfit for a sunny day with cold breeze. It covers you up, but the light weight of the fabrics and the light colors are still perfect for the sun.

What are your thoughts about these outfits? I would love to know what your favorite trends are this fall...

Images from Vanessa Jackman, and Man-Boss

Cinnamon Rolls

There is something about cinnamon rolls that feels cozy and warm. The smell in the air, the delicious combination between baking dough, gooey caramel and cinnamon always brings back great memories of wintry afternoons spent with good friends or family.

This recipe is from a wonderful friend from Canada, with whom I have spent many such afternoons enjoying these wonderful rolls. These rolls are great for a cold day (or any kind of day actually) in the afternoon with a cup of coffee or for breakfast the next morning.

The most delicious part of these rolls is the gooey caramel bottom! 

Here's the recipe:

Makes 11-12 rolls (depends how you cut them)
In a 9x13 inch pan

Ingredients:

For the rolls-
1/4 c. warm water
1 Tbsp. instant yeast
1 Tbsp. white sugar
3/4 c. lukewarm sour cream
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. table salt
1 large egg
3 Tbsp. soft butter
3 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Caramel sauce:
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cold butter
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/3 c. cream
Dash of salt
Walnuts if desired (or any other kind of nut)

For the caramel sauce:
Put all sauce ingredients in small saucepan (leaving the nuts out), turn to medium heat and stir constantly. Bring to boil while stirring, let boil for 3 minutes until the mixture forms into caramel sauce. Take off heat, add nuts if desired.

For the rolls:

In a medium mixing bowl dissolve yeast and 1 Tbsp. white sugar in 1/4 c. warm water. Let rise for 10 minutes; add the sour cream, remaining white sugar, baking soda, salt, egg, 2 Tbsp. soft butter and flour. Mix thoroughly until dough becomes a ball-like shape. Turn dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for two minutes. Roll out into rectangular shape, spread remaining soft butter on dough. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon (for filling) together and sprinkle over dough. Roll up dough tightly into a pinwheel and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 rolls using a sharp knife..

Pour caramel sauce into pan, spread sauce so it covers the whole bottom of the pan. Place rolls in cake pan. Let rise for 1 hour. 

Turn the oven on to 190 degrees Celsius, bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for 5 minutes and then turn upside down on a tray making sure to get all the caramel sauce out.

DIY Coasters

I love simple DIYs, the ones that are just fun and easy. These DIY coasters are just that.  They are simple, but can add a touch of color to your home really quickly. Our rental has white walls, and since we do not plan on staying here for a long time there is no point in painting the walls. So I try to add color to the space using small details such as this.

Here is how I did them:

 I bought wooden coasters at the hobby store and used the acrylic paint I had at home which included different shades of blue and gold

I painted all the borders of the coasters gold, as I wanted something to make then uniform. I choose different patterns for each one - chevron, stripes, square pattern and ombre.

Starting with the stripes, I drew diagonal stripes and added the paint using two different colors.

To make the chevron pattern, I used a ruler to pencil in the template since I wanted all the points to be in the center of the coaster. After that I used to different colors to fill in the pattern.

For the squares pattern, I measured the size of the coaster in half, and then divided each half by three. Since it is a square coaster I did nine diagonal lines and nine horizontal lines. I really wanted to have a lot of different shades in this one, so I mixed the different blues I had and filled in a few small squares with each shade. I didn't worry about being exact since you can cover up the mistakes you made with the next color.

The ombre coaster is by far my favorite and it was the simplest one. You don't even need a pattern for this one; I just started with the darkest shade in one corner and went up using lighter shades of blue.

Welcome!!

I am really excited to start this blog, where I will be sharing about the little things in life that inspire me and make me happy! I hope to inspire you as well with my love for food, fashion, beauty, our home and some other random. Hope you will stay a while and get inspired.