1. the flavor of summer., 2. Frittilary, 3. One day last summer, 4. King of the summer

A very happy Friday to you all! What a beautiful day it is here. The sun is shining bright, the weather is nice and warm, and I am busy working out plans for my picnic tomorrow afternoon. I think I am going to get as much of the food together today, refrigerate it, and then heat it up before we leave for the park tomorrow. I can’t wait, I promise to take tons and tons of photos!

Well here are some of my favorite things this week:

♥ Anyone want to make me this Blackberry Jam Cake?

♥ These embroidery collages are absolutely incredible. I wish I had the skills to do that!

♥ Read Zen Habit’s article; The Ultimate Guide to Motivation-How to Achieve Any Goal for some wonderful and alway needed inspiration.

♥ Ivy posted a fun little article called How to Release Your Inner Sex Kitten.

♥ Look at all these incredible tea cups. That is one thing I am definitely missing in my collection of odds and ends…note to self…look for teacups!

♥ I know I am posting a lot of food this week…but look at these Blueberry Hand Pies…yum!

♥ Check out the incredible art of Bethany Marchman. I love her style.

♥ I may make a batch of this sundried tomato hummus for my picnic tomorrow…it sounds incredible!

This is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs in the entire world.

Well, what are your plans for the weekend? I hope you guys have picnics in your schedules! Whatever you do, have a wonderful time!

xoxo,
Cedar

Happy Wednesday darlings! I can’t believe that we are already half way through the week. Time has just been flying by for me, and I really think it ought to stop, so I can have more time to enjoy it!

Well it is time for us to make our wishes! My wish last week came true right away, this one probably won’t–at least not today!

Outfit Info

I wish that I were wandering row upon row of a strawberry field. I would stop and pick only the finest ripe red strawberries. I stop and eat a few along the way, but save most for the strawberry pie that I plan on making when I get home. I take my time, and enjoy the smell of the fresh berries, but look forward to gobbling up my pie with lots and lots of ice cream!

Now it is your turn. Where do you wish you could be right now? What would you be doing if you could get away from the stress of every day life?

Well darlings, the first weekly challenge has come to an end! I had planned on getting this entry posted a lot earlier in the day, but honestly, I had such a hard time putting together an outfit! A lot of you voiced your opinion about feeling a little intimidated by the first challenge, and I totally understand why.  Choosing an outfit you would want to be photographed for a blog is hard–very hard!

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After much debate about what to wear for this photo challenge, I realized I should just wear this jumper. I have been practically wearing it since I bought it from the thrift store a couple weeks ago.

Jumper: Thrifted $2.95
Shoes: Thrifted $2.95
Belt: Thrifted $1.95
Hat: American Eagle $??
Sweater: Thrifted $4.95

Here is the gorgeous Jfer:

Taken in my super cool backyard, the outfit is all Ebay and thrifted, the shoes (I wish you could see them) are rainbow snakeskin with a gold overlay. Heck Yeah!

And the way too cute Liina:

Casual, for a leisurely afternoon canoe ride. I feel great in this outfit, and I love the bold color & pattern of my necklace & scarf in contrast to the very pale color & subtle pattern in my tank top. Shoes, pants & bag are old, worn out, and functional - the words that best describe my day-to-day fashion philosophy!

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This weeks challenge is a lot less intimidating, as there are no photos necessary, though if you want to take pictures do–you can never have enough photos of your life!

Go on a picnic!

Do it after your busy day, on the weekend, or on your lunch break during the week. Make the food as simple or complex as you want, make it the night before, or pick up some sandwiches from the deli. Invite your best friend, coworker, significant other, or go solo. Find a nice park to lay out your blanket, bring a book, your iPod, some cupcakes, or a sketch book. Enjoy the outdoors and your surroundings. If the weather is bad, move your picnic indoors, or under a covered patio. Live in the moment, and enjoy every single bit of your picnic.

Once done come back and report here! Take pictures to share with us, let us know what you ate, and tell us everything you did. You can even use this space to plan and ask for menu advice! Just have fun with it!

Hello darlings! I just wanted to post a little reminder about the Indulgences Weekly Challenge. Now that it is the weekend, I hope you are all getting your stylish selves out in the streets and snapping some photos!

I will be posting photos probably around midday on Monday. You can post the link to your photo here, on the post about the challenge, or email them to me at Cedar@MissCedar.com

I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

xoxo,
Cedar

Recently I mentioned something about looking at the thrift store for vintage aprons. They are usually incredibly easy to find, located near the linens, and almost always cost around $3-$5. However, if you aren’t having good luck in the apron department, here are a few of my picks from vintage stores online.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Now that you know where to look, go put that apron on, pour yourself a glass of wine, and start making cupcakes!

xoxo,
Cedar

1. Way out., 2. In my Box, 3. sketch, 4. teddy please make me remember

A very happy Friday to you! I am so happy this was a short week, I really needed it. I have been feeling a little under the weather the past few days, and am now starting to feel better…just in time for Friday!

Yesterday I got two incredible cookbooks in the mail from Amazon. I got Veganomicon and 5 Spices, 50 Dishes. As you can guess, the first is a vegan cookbook, and is absolutely amazing. I made a recipe from it last night, and am totally in love. The dishes are simple, realistic, and without a huge list of ingredients. The second is an Indian cookbook, which I haven’t tried anything from yet, but the pictures are absolutely mouth watering. Tomorrow I have a friend coming over in the afternoon, we are going to find something to make, shop for the supplies, then come home and cook, cook, cook! I can’t wait.

Here are the links I love this week:

♥ If you have ever tried to cook Indian food, you know there is a long list of spices…some of which are completely foreign. This is probably the best guide to Indian spices that I have found to date.

♥ Learn how to make infused vodkas. I have some basil leaves that need to be used up…after I post this I’m going to go make a batch of basil infused vodka!

♥ This is way too cute for words. If you are the crafty type check out how to make a pleated collar.

♥ Not into making clothes? Try this adorable Tin Can Cover.

♥ With the price of gas the way it is these days, we need to make an extra effort to save money in every other way. Read 5 Tips for Saving Money on Food.

♥ Growing up I spent my summer vacations at my grandma’s beach house in Northern Florida. I grew to love, and even crave boiled peanuts. It has been years since I have been back, I may just have to make them at home!

♥ Planning on having guests any time in the near future? Check out these tips for simple and quick bathroom decor.

♥ Call me crazy, but I think every man should have a mustache. Not the creepy child molester mustache that was common in the 80’s and 90’s. I like a mustache with character. Here is some good mustache inspiration-if you really need it!

One of my absolute favorite singers, the incredible Louis Prima….

What are your plans for this beautiful weekend?? I sure hope it’s a good one!

xoxo,
Cedar

Outfit Info

I wish I could spend the entire day in the front yard with my paints and canvas. In the afternoon a friend would come over and join me. We would paint and talk about devising our own get rich quick scheme, and possibly make some bloody marys. We would paint all day until my husband got home from work, when I would take a small break to cook dinner.

Oh wait, that wish is coming true today! I doubt though I will carry a purse or have shoes on though, so the outfits not 100% realistic!

Your turn! What are you dreaming and wishing for right now? Where would you rather be? What would you rather be doing?

This is actually yesterday’s outfit.  I spent the evening over at my dad’s house eating pizza.  Instead of cheese I had zucchini on mine–incredible!  I didn’t even miss the cheese.  The zucchini provided sort of a creamy rich flavor on the pizza!  Anyway, here is what I wore!

Sunglasses: Thrifted $2.95
Dress: Thrifted $4.95
Shoes: Thrifted $3.95

♥ Write a short but sweet quote or love note on some paper bills before going shopping.

♥ Spend some time in the library. Spend a day in the library reading the novel version of your favorite Disney film.

♥ Look for vintage aprons in the thrift store. Dinner is so much more fun to cook when you can get dressed up for the occasion!

♥ Take yourself on a date. Go to the museum, see a movie, or go get lunch. Enjoy what a wonderful person you are!

What do you know, it is Monday already, which means that it is time to reveal to you the big surprise I have been talking about all week! I present to you….

Photo by Saotin

When I started this site back in December I had one main goal in mind. I wanted there to be a strong focus on each of us feeling fabulous and striving for the best life we can live. With that in mind, about a week before my 200th post I started thinking about new directions I wanted all of us on Indulgences to head in. I love what we have here already, but I would like to see Indulgences begin to grow even more as a community and see us all make positive changes in order to live the most indulgent and creative life possible.

I notice in my own life that I make a lot of plans to do really great things for myself and for others, but more often than not I end up scrapping the idea because of excuse X or reason Y. Usually the reasons are unimportant, but something just comes up. Tuesday Tips for Feeling Fabulous are by far the most popular posts here on Indulgences, and I thought, wouldn’t it be fun if we had a new challenge every week (similar to the T.T.F.F.), to keep us motivated in taking time out to make our own lives more celebratory?

Each Monday I will announce a new challenge, as well as do a roundup of the previous week. These challenges could be any number of things, from fashion related, to baking cookies, to completing an art project, to making breakfast in bed for someone you care about. Throughout the week you can post your pictures and stories about your challenge results here, as well as on your own blogs.

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So here is your first weeks challenge: Using what you already have in your closet put together a street style photo. Take some time to plan your perfect outfit, grab a buddy and go out and take a few photos of yourself (and your friend if they want to participate!) similar to those on the The Sartorialist or Face Hunter. Do keep in mind that they are professional photographers, so don’t be upset if yours isn’t quite at the same level of quality as the ones on the sites.

When you are finished, come back and tell us about your outfit and the location, post a picture link, and anything else you want to tell us about it. I will post all the photos in one huge post next Monday, along with my own challenge results, when I announce next week’s challenge!

xoxo,
Cedar