Today I’m loving pops of bright, neon hues paired with neutrals. This petite citrus side table with fuchsia hydrangeas is perfectly accented by the silver vase and wall.

What bright colors do you have in your home? I’m just dying to add some neon hues somewhere in our house!

Color palette by me / Image via My Attic

Ok, I know what you’re thinking… someone else is talking about kale chips! I too have heard so much talk about kale chips that I caved in and finally gave it a try. I must say, they are as addictive as potato chips. I’m not a big fan of super salty foods so I decided to try adding sriracha—it was amazing! I’m a big fan of sriracha and put it on just about anything so I thought why not kale chips?

They are extremely easy to make and so delicious. I thought there was just a ton of hype going on about these chips, but everyone was right, they are that tasty!

If you’re having friends over and need a quick appetizer (or just want to snack on something, like I did), give these a try!

The chilies from the sriracha stick to the greens perfectly adding so much flavor.

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Sriracha Kale Chips Recipe

Ingredients:
• One bunch of kale (I used Lacinato kale, get whatever is fresh/your favorite)
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tbs. sriracha
• Coarse salt (kosher or sea salt) to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300º. Using a knife, remove the tough center stems of the kate. Then cut into smaller bite-size pieces.
2. In a large bowl, whisk olive oil and sriracha. Even though this seems like it’s not enoght to coat the leaves, it definitely is! If you add too much oil, the kale won’t be crispy and chip-like. Add the kale pieces and toss to coat.
3. Spread the kale out on a large baking sheet. Season with salt, to taste. Bake for about 35 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it, as the leaves can burn. Then enjoy!

{Photos and recipe by me}

I can’t believe it’s already May! Here’s a wallpaper I made that you can download for your computer with or without a calendar. You can even take it with you on your phone or iPad. Enjoy and happy May!

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Hi friends! I hope you had a lovely weekend! Here’s what I’ve been up to the past two weeks. I made polenta cakes with roasted asparagus and mushrooms. The recipe is from the new Everyday Food Light cookbook. It was so, so good!

My super talented brother was came up to visit me while on a break from the Lady Antebellum tour. His visit consisted of eating (lots). We had lunch at Yellow Dog Eats. If you are ever in central Florida, you must give it a try! Awesome sandwiches and a great selection of craft beer.

I got back in the saddle for the first time since I hurt my feet last summer. I was a bundle of nervous but Justin (my horse) was calm. I’m taking baby steps to get my courage back!

Last Sunday we grabbed the picnic blanket and beach towels and headed to New Smyrna Beach so I could be baptized! It was gray and cloudy, and even rained, but the clouds disappeared quickly and it was a gorgeous evening. Here’s a little video that Summit Church put together to recap the day.

On Thursday we went to Maryland to visit Kevin’s parents. While there, I spent a day with Jen, my dear friend and college roommate. We went into D.C. for the annual French Market. We indulged on French pastries, coffee, sandwiches, and sweets.

I finally had the chance to go to a Madewell store. I was smitten with all the lovely spring fashions. I loved these eclectic bracelets!

We had a great time visiting Kevin’s parents. They just moved into a beautiful townhouse and this is the view outside. They day I took this photo, I woke up to a rooster crowing.

Hello there! I’m back from another blogging hiatus. I’ve been keeping busy with several design projects (you can see some recent projects here) and unfortunately haven’t had the time to keep up with my blog. I am going to try my best to post at least 3x a week, so as a “hello again, let’s get reaqusinted” post, here’s a lovely, bright color palette!

This color palette palette is inspired by washi tape! Here MT tape (the Japanese company that makes the original washi tape) used it as an amazing art installation. I love how the beach ball like spheres and an organic rhythm to the space.

Color palette by me. Image via Hello Sandwich.

I hope you had a Happy Easter! We had a very relaxed Easter, which I am very thankful for. The photo above is our Easter dinner spread. The menu was from this month’s Everyday Food magazine. I can honestly say the cheddar chive buttermilk biscuits were the best I’ve ever had.

Here’s a few more photos from my Instragram feed to update you all on where I’ve been the past couple of weeks. I’m starting with the most recent photos at the top.

My parents came up for a quick trip this weekend. We had a great visit which mostly consisted on eating. Does your family do that too? The next photos are proof of how much I ate!

The dip my mom made was so simple and so delicious! It’s a blue cheese spread and all you do is combine 4 oz. of blue cheese, 4 oz. of softened cream cheese, and about 1/2 c. of toasted chopped walnuts. It’s perfect with crackers and a glass (or two) of wine.

We took them to 4Rivers Smokehouse because they had never been! If you live in Orlando, or know anyone who does, you’ve probably heard about this local bbq institution. Everything is amazing. Seriously.

We had breakfast at our new breakfast spot, Order Up Cafe. They have pumpkin bread French toast… I know, I know couldn’t believe it exisits! Yep, it’s every more delicious than it sounds.

My horse, Justin, celebrated his 20th birthday this past week! To celebrate, I picked up some organic carrots with the leafy, green tops for him. He absolutely loves the carrot greens.

Two weekends ago Kevin and I took a much needed post-Playlist, post-crazy first part of the year weekend getaway to Vero Beach. We both had never been to that beach before, but now that we have, we will definitely be coming back!

My office is a disaster right now. I’m kinda embarrassed to show this photo because it’s usually so neat and organized. Darcy, our dog, loved to sleep under the desk. It’s pretty much her doghouse where she spends the days while I’m home working.

Last week I cooked dinner for our Summit connect group. We had such a crazy past couple of weeks that we hadn’t seen our group in nearly 3 weeks! As a kinda, “welcome back” I cooked us a simple meal of comfort foods. Kevin grilled burgers, I made a salad with a herb vinaigrette and fresh croutons, homemade mac and cheese, and these little cups of sweetness.

The recipes is based on this recipe from Everyday Food. It’s so simple, and a perfect compliment to the sweet Florida strawberries. If you live in the sunshine state too, you must pick up some strawberries as they are in season right now. They are perfectly ripe and sugary sweet.

Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cups packed fresh mint leaves and stems
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 pint of fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water until dissolved. Add the mint leaves and let it all simmer for about 15 minutes. Then remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool. Strain the mint mixture into a bowl. Discard the mint leaves.
2.  Use a whisk attachment on an electric mixer and beat the whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Then use a spatula to fold in the mint syrup.
3.  In individual serving dishes, layer the sliced strawberries, then some of the mint whipped cream. Repeat with another layer of strawberries and whipped cream. Garnish with a mint leaf and enjoy immediately!

Whipped Cream Making Tip:
For quick, and perfectly whipped whipped cream, use a metal mixing bowl. Place the metal bowl in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes before you want to make the whipped cream. This helps the cream thicken and hold together.

Enjoy!

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know that I’m crazy about washi tape. I stick it on just about everything in our home (candles, invitations, wall art). Last month, I hosted a Crafternoon and wanted to create some cheap, quick flower vases.

I headed to our recycling bin and grabbed a bunch of cans (we have a tons since we adopted our dog, Darcy). I washed them out, then painted them with a white satin spray paint. Once they dried, I wrapped each can with one piece of washi tape. In about 30 minutes I had 10 adorable, up cycled flower vases! I loved them so much I decided to move them into the house. Here’s a peak at where I placed them in our home.

I reused a candle tray I got from Ikea that I used during the holidays to hold my washi tape candles. It makes a perfect tray for the flowers!

I placed one in the den, on the tray that sits on the glass coffee table. And yes, I heart great design books. All of the ones shown in this post are wonderful, inspiring reads.

I placed one on the side table in our living room. Aren’t these gold chevron lamp shades awesome? I found them on clearance at Target a few weeks ago.

Then I placed one on the sink in the guest bathroom. Seeing flowers in nearly every room in the house just makes smile. If you make these, I would love to see them!

It’s that time of the month again! This time we will be glittering shoes and purses! I covered a pair of pumps with gold glitter for the holidays, and since then everyone has been asking me how I made them. So if you’re in the Orlando area and want to craft and make new friends, you can find out more details and RSVP here.

Here’s some inspiration!

These lovely, inspiring images are by 1. Make It Make It / 2. Be a Stainer / 3. She is Red

Happy April! I hope your day wasn’t full of too many April’s fools jokes! Here’s a new wallpaper I made. It was inspired by this amazing cake. You can download it for your computer with or without a calendar. You can even take it with you on your phone or iPad (in the new retina display resolution). Enjoy!

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2560 x 1440 with calendar
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1920 x 1280 with calendar
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1280 x 800 with calendar
iPhone
iPad