So Long, September!

As you may guess, I have an endless to-do list. Because of that, I've developed a bad habit of thinking of how much I have to do and then forget to think of how much I've gotten done and how much I've managed to accomplish. I found that this rung particularly true when I took a look back at September. 

I work for a business that gets incredibly busy around the holidays, and so I had hoped to build up a pile of posts to pull out around the holidays when I'm working 10 hours of overtime every week for over a month! Well, that plan went very poorly, and I've been beating myself up about it a bit. Silly, I know!

Well, I'm really glad that I took a chance to put together this round-up and take a good look back at September. It made me take a moment to appreciate how much great stuff happened in September and to recognize all the things I did accomplish!

So, let's get to it! Here's a look back at September:

Since the weather has cooled down quite a bit, I've been LOVING pulling out some of my favorite fall recipes, like my Homemade Chai. I've also whipped up some Curry Carrot Soup, and made some much needed Maple Bacon Waffles. I sure love seasonal cooking!

After posting stripe-y outfits all summer, I managed to not post a single one in September! I did, however, wear all the prints. I wore Foxes with Plaid, more plaid, Polka Dots and Ric Rac, and a pretty, printed mustard skirt!

I also dyed my hair! A fact I keep forgetting because I'm kind of convinced that this is the color my hair was meant to be.

I did lots of fun DIY projects, too! This one for a Honeycomb Stamp has actually been the most-viewed post of all time on my blog! I also used that stamp to make some Hand-Stamped Wrapping Paper, shared a tutorial on how to turn your collection of clip-on earrings into pretty Pendant Necklaces, and was asked by BuzzFeed (!!!) to create a DIY for some pretty Decorated Clothes Hangers.

On top of all that, I celebrated my 100th post, guest posted on Elana's lovely blog, Room 334, and put together a fun post in partnership with Hallmark UK & Ireland to help inspire you to throw a Cocktail Party!

Upon looking back, I'm almost sad to say, "So long, September!" But! October is going to be (and already has been) awesome! I've got lots of fun projects, recipes, and outfits in store that I'm looking forward to sharing with you guys.

And hey! If you want to learn a bit more about yours truly, be sure to stop by Kristina's awesome blog, The Eccentric Owl, to read her interview with me!

I hope you guys have a lovely weekend!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Periwinkle Nuthatch

Don't you love it when you stumble upon an Etsy shop and completely fall in love with it? Well, that happened to me a few weeks ago when I was looking for a necklace similar to one I wore in an outfit post. In my search, I stumbled across the Periwinkle Nuthatch shop and fell completely in love.

The Periwinkle Nuthatch shop is filled to the brim with beautiful earrings, necklaces, rings, and cufflinks featuring amazing animal designs. Emily, the designer behind Periwinkle Nuthatch, hand draws each piece onto shrink plastic, so she's making each piece she sells from scratch every single time.

My favorite pieces are the necklaces with the chevron animal designs. If I had pierced ears I would be all over all of the earrings in the shop, too!

I actually emailed Emily to tell her how much I loved her pieces and she told me all about her plans to update the photographs in the Periwinkle Nuthatch shop, which are now live and lovelier than ever! 

Emily was kind enough to send me this amazing Raccoon Necklace, which I am 100% in love with an have been wearing almost every day. The details are stunning, the design is adorable, and it's the perfect length to wear with the majority of my outfits!

Emily was also sweet enough to offer Ladyface Blog readers a special 25% discount to celebrate the shop's new look! How cool is that?

To get the discount, hop over to the Periwinkle Nuthatch shop and shop away! When you go to your shopping cart, apply the code "Ladyface25" before checking out to receive your discount on your lovely new finds from Periwinkle Nuthatch!

Happy shopping!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Fall Wreath

Hey buddies! Today I'm going to share a quick DIY tutorial on how to make a lovely, simple, fall wreath!

I wanted to put together something simple, yet colorful, that really made me think of fall. Since some of my favorite things about fall are watching the leaves change and watching the Black-capped Chickadees (yea, I'm a bird nerd) return to the bare branches, I decided to incorporate those two things into my wreath!

Here's how to make it:

As usual, the first thing to do is to gather supplies. Here's what I used:

Supplies:
- 1 med/large grape vine wreath
- 6 bunches of fake fall leaves

- 9 stems fresh Craspedia

- 3 fake Black-capped Chickadees suitable for use in floral design (like these)
- Scissors (or garden shears if you're me and they're the first thing you grab!)

1. Begin by pushing your "leaves" up on the "stem" so you can gather them together and make 'em pretty! Then, trim the "stem" so it's just 2"-3" long from the base of the leaf cluster.

2. Insert your bunches of fake leaves into the wreath, being sure to space them out. If you wedge them between the vines, they should be quite secure!

Ok! At this point, you should have something that looks about like this!

3. Next, trim the stems of your Craspedia to about 3" and insert them in bunches of three around your wreath.

4. Last, place your Chickadees around the wreath and secure them by wrapping their wire around the vines.

Voila! Wreath complete! Isn't is pretty? This legit only took me 10 minutes to put together, and I love, love, love the way it came out.

Now, just hang that sucker up and enjoy your handiwork!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Fennel Panna Cotta with Spiced Pears

Oh my gosh, you guys. This might be the most delicious thing I've ever made in all my years of cooking. Fennel Panna Cotta with Spiced Pears! Guys, it's so good. 

I spend so much time with my nose in a cookbook that I've been familiar with both Panna Cotta and Fennel for years, but I realize that may not be the case for everyone. So here's the lowdown!

Panna Cotta is a dreamy, creamy dessert. The flavor and texture are very similar to a custard, but it's SO much easier to put together. Practically foolproof even! Now that I've got you interested, I'm going to put it plain: Panna Cotta is basically an Italian cream Jell-o. Truth. It's cream that's been lightly sweetened, and has just a touch of gelatin in it to hold it together in this dreamy, custardy texture. Trust me, it's amazing.

Now fennel, on the other hand is a beautiful flowering plant. They grow quite tall, have lovely yellow flowers, and smell AMAZING. You'll find them all over during the spring and summer months. You can use fennel seeds, fennel pollen, and fennel bulb in cooking. In this case, I'm mostly using fennel bulb, which has a lovely, incredibly mild licorice flavor. When added to the Panna Cotta, it imparts a subtle, sweet, almost herbal flavor that really makes it something special. Yea, technically it's a vegetable. But trust me.

The Fennel Panna Cotta is delicious on its own, but is made even better with the addition of spiced pears! There are lots of lovely, subtle flavors to this dessert that, not to brag, make it totally stunning. I'm in kind of in love.

Ok, tooting my own horn aside, here's how to make it!

Fennel Panna Cotta with Spiced Pears: Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Fennel Panna Cotta:
- 2 cups half and half (or 1 cup whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream)
- 1/2 of a bulb of fennel, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (not pictured)
- 1 1/2 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin

For the Spiced Pears:
- 1 tbs butter
- 2 pears, diced (about 2 cups)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt

1. To make the Fennel Panna Cotta, begin by combining all Panna Cotta ingredients, except the gelatin, in a medium sauce pan.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, being sure to stir occasionally so the cream doesn't scorch.

3. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, cover, and let sit 20 minutes. This will infuse the cream with the flavor of the fennel and the fennel seed!

4. After steeping for 20 minutes, make sure the mixture is still warm to the touch, and then strain the mixture using a fine mesh sieve. Be sure to reserve the cream and discard the strained fennel and fennel seeds, not the other way around (we've all been there!). I like to strain directly into a measuring cup to make pouring the cream neat and easy!

5. Add the gelatin to the cream, being sure to stir constantly as you add it. Mix with a fork or whisk until the gelatin is thoroughly mixed into the cream.

6. Pour the cream mixture into 4 cups or ramekins, being sure to divide it evenly between the 4 vessels. (Really, Becca? Vessels? Sigh.)
7. Put the cups into the refrigerator and let set for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Now we're on to the Spiced Pears! You can prepare these ahead of time and refrigerate them until you're ready to serve, or you can make them about half an hour before serving!

8. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

9. Once the butter is melted and the pan is hot, add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.

10. Cook the pears over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the pears are soft, and they've gotten a bit saucy. They should also start to be looking like a pretty golden brown!

11. Once they're ready, remove from the stove and let cool at least 15 minutes before serving with the Panna Cotta.

12. When your Panna Cotta is nicely set, remove it from the refrigerator and remove it from its cup and onto a plate! This is easy to do by gently sliding a knife around the edges, or by just wiggling it a bit with your fingers. Once it's loose, invert the cup over a plate, and there you have it!

13. Spoon some of the Spiced Pears next to the Fennel Panna Cotta, and then for good measure, put some on top, too!

Now you are ready to serve up this delicious dessert and impress the heck out of your guests (or yourself)!

If you don't want to get quite so fancy, it is also totally cool to leave your Fennel Panna Cotta in the cup and spoon the Spiced Pears over it. It will taste just as good that way.

So there you have it! Fennel Panna Cotta with Spiced Pears. It's amazingly delicious and so, so easy to put together. I hope you guys get a chance to try it out soon. It'll definitely impress the pants off of whoever you serve it to!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Weekly Wardrobe: A Very Blustery Day

Glasses: BonLook; Top: Anthropologie/Similar; Necklace: c/o Periwinkle Nuthatch; Belt: Anthropologie/Similar; Skirt: Anthropologie/Similar; Tights: Nordstrom; Shoes: J. Crew

Well, it must officially be fall in Seattle because it is damn blustery! Katie Marie V and I set out to Discovery Park on Sunday and thought we would be totally fine to do a photoshoot there since it had been a pretty dry morning. We were there for all of 15 minutes when the wind picked up, the rain started pouring down, and we realized we had perhaps been a bit too optimistic! We essentially ended up being blown away and were soaking wet by the time we were done. My skirt kept flying up, too, so there were lots of free peeks for my fellow park goers. Sigh. At least I was wearing tights!

Well, we powered through, and then bundled the hell up and took ourselves out for pumpkin spice lattes and some sale shopping at J. Crew! I found a super sweet, cozy wool sweater that I'm in totally love with for like, $30 (I love J. Crew sales!). I'm sure you'll be seeing it soon!

I'm trying to really enjoy the fall season while I can. Fall and winter in Seattle tend to be very similar weather-wise, but our days get incredibly short in the winter, so I'm trying to drink in all the daylight I can during this lovely season.

As crazy as it may sound, I love these blustery days. I think there's something about just having to let go and laugh as your hair is flying 8 different directions, you're soaked to the bone, and your umbrella has turned inside out 5 separate times. Why fight it? 

Blustery days also make me think of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, which was hands down one of my favorite things to watch (and read) as a kid. I even made a diorama of it for school when I was 8 or 9! It was real cute.

Are you guys enjoying the fall weather in your neck of the woods?

Til next time!

-Becca

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