Week in Photos: Week 13

We started the week off with a trip to Collingswood, NJ...






...to eat some grilled cheese sandwiches (and ice cream) at The Pop Shop!






My two favorites.






New salt & pepper shakers! Which you've already seen here.






I made chocolate chip cookies and then sandwiched chocolate ganache between them.






Foil-baked salmon with asparagus and brown rice for dinner to celebrate my new job!






Just another trip to our local brewery.






I learned how to make sausage rolls at work! They look so darn delicious.






Speaking of work, I have to keep my hair covered now...
since I don't wear baseball caps I've been experimenting with head wraps!






I also made petit fours at work. They look really cute but they're incredibly sweet; too sweet for my tastes.
(By the way, more work photos will be posted this week!)






Rolling around on the floor with this cutie.






This is what bed-head looks like when you're in the midst of growing out your hair. Yes, it's snarky.






Went to J.Crew. Found a French-cliche shirt. It made me think of Erin from like/want/need.






The most content cat I ever did see. Hard to believe this guy was ever a stray!






I made s'mores cupcakes. Maybe I'll post the recipe this week. I've been on a s'mores kick....






Then I made sausage rolls and mashed potatoes for dinner - so much yum!






They're like miniature beef wellingtons!!


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I hope you've had a splendid week!

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Fun Finds Friday #54

My links this week were primarily articles, so I tossed in a few Etsy finds to add some photos to this post :)

I love this pizza shirt!



This desk is amazing.



I want this Barney Stinson quote above my desk.

+ I enjoyed reading Elizabeth's post about the Iditarod; makes me want to visit Alaska!
+ An interesting view on what it means to be a grown up.
+ 82 facts about cats; enough said.
+ Also, Shawn and I spent almost a half hour watching all these videos about cat breeds.
+ We've been re-watching Parks and Recreation and I can't get this song out of my head.

Happy Friday!!!
I'm looking forward to my first 'real' weekend!

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Salt & Pepper

Apparently I've only posted about my various collections once before. I was under the impression that they had been brought up much more often, but I guess I was wrong. Well, if you follow me on Instagram, you'll already have seen the newest addition to one of my collections.

I started collecting salt and pepper shakers a few years ago, and the collection has been growing quickly since then. I even have a few vintage ones and some that have traveled from afar. The rest I've just been attracted to in passing. My salt and pepper shaker collection also ties into two of my other collections: elephants, and gnomes - I have shaker versions of both!

The squirrels and elephants are my most recent finds. I walked past those squirrel shakers on my way home from the grocery store the other day, and it was love at first sight! I actually did a double-take and turned around to buy them. They look vintage, but they're not! And the elephants are from Anthropologie; I just thought they were cute. Looks like I'm going to need more space if I find any more shakers though!

My other favorites are the hippies, the spotted dogs, and the dinosaurs. They were all gifts from people I love :)

I should post about my other collections, if you're interested. You can actually spot one of them in these photos - my smurf drinking glasses. Perhaps I'll work up some more posts like this one... I have a lot of collections!

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Week In Photos: Week 12

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Lloyd's new favorite perch before.





Came home to some donuts from the local farmer's market, courtesy of Shawn :)





This is how we did St. Patrick's Day - mashed potatoes, italian sausage, and irish soda bread.
At least I got one part right.





Easter candy! I can't help myself this time of year.





FAIL.





I will never get over the cuteness.





Seriously, look at those paws!





This cat is livin' the life.





No, really.





Lloyd and Rory having a stare-down... I think Lloyd won.





I bought so many candles at Anthro before I lost my discount; this one is my favorite scent of all.





Favorite perch - what did I tell you?





Oh, just catching the beautiful hues in the sky post-sunrise on an early morning.





I spent Friday wandering downtown with my friend Sam, we checked out the new Tria Taproom; it was awesome, as expected. I love that company so much. (Photos courtesy of Sam!)


I start my new job tomorrow - I'm so excited! Guess I should get my recipes organized and get a good night of sleep. We'll see how that plan goes! Regardless, I am so ready to start. Bought some new pants since I got rid of my old ones; now I just need a few cheap t-shirts to wear and I'll be set. I traded all my 'scrubby' clothing in for Anthro clothing, so now I have nothing to wear in the kitchen! That's a really small problem to have though, and an easy one to fix as well.

Have an awesome week!

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Fun Finds Friday #53

Would you swap clothes with your grandparents? I don't think I could fit into my grandmother's clothes!



I love the colors and shapes in IKEA's newest collection!



Maps made out of food - pretty neat!



Gabrielle transformed her kitchen from drab, to fab. And she's a renter! This gives me ideas.

+ Kelsey always writes so eloquently and honestly.
+ An imaginary town becomes real, and then not.
+ Allison ponders the idea of what makes a person feel 'at home'.


Happy Friday!!

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If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

glasses: Tortoise & Blonde / sweater: Anthropologie / dress: Maxmara / boots: Palladium
I'm referring to my winter uniform of a cardigan, dress, tights and boots, of course! This is the last of the 'what I wore' shots I took back in January... so I guess I should take some more recent photos of what I've been wearing. I've grown tired of having to put on tights just to go outside, so there's been more pants-wearing as of late. When will this weather start to warm up? Regardless, I got a lot of compliments on my 'skirt' the day that I wore this... but nope, it's actually a dress! I suppose I've only recently learned to start wearing dresses as skirts... and I love it, and I'm going to keep on doing it. Why didn't anyone ever tell me getting dressed was so easy? That is all.

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Week in Photos: Week 11

On Friday I mentioned that I hadn't had any days off this week... but let me elaborate. I actually had Monday and Thursday off from Anthropologie, but I spent those two days working somewhere else. For the past few weeks I've been looking for other part-time jobs to help supplement my income. I had recently applied for a baker position I found through craigslist, and after the initial interview, they had me come in and 'trail' for a few hours both those days. (A trail is pretty much a trial working period - most kitchens won't hire you without seeing how you work and fit in there first, for obvious reasons.) I felt really good about my chances after my two days in their kitchen.... and on Friday they called me to offer me the job!

So the good news is that I accepted, of course, and I am going to be the full-time baker for a British tea house in the Philadelphia suburbs! I'll be making a ton of scones, petit fours, small desserts, and a few savory dough-wrapped items as well. The staff is small, there will be four of us in the kitchen total and I'll be the sole baker. The even better news is that my work-hours are primarily going to be Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.... I've been wanting a 9-5 job for years, I just didn't want it to be a desk job. I am so excited to be back in a professional kitchen, expanding and honing my skills. I can't wait to start! I'll miss my colleagues at Anthro, (and the discount!), but after a much needed 7-month break, I'm back to doing what makes me feel most at home.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Enjoy this week's photos of mostly Lloyd, since I didn't have time to do much other than drive to and from work this past week.

Started the week off with a big bowl of popcorn and some beer.






"Yes, come rub my invitingly fuzzy belly... so I can subsequently grab you with these paws of mine!"






I asked Lloyd to pose for a photo...






...and then I asked Shawn to do the same.






Oatmeal for breakfast is my latest habit- this one had strawberries, coconut, and brown sugar.






"I'm ready for my close-up!"






Every time I've approached Lloyd with a camera this week, this has happened. He gets all up in it.






Overlapping patterns in the ceiling; my attempt at an 'artsy shot'.






Does anyone think there's a market for cat boudoir photography?
(That link is not particularly work appropriate.)






Photo-bombed by Willy the killer whale.






My celebratory work-break-room lunch, post-good news. What? You don't celebrate with Wawa mashed potatoes?






I came home to a cat on the couch and a man on the floor. Lloyd clearly owns this place.






His latest stance is to stare out the window, half on the scratching post, half on the sill.




I hope your week was awesome! I'm looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

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