Inspired By...

YELLOW!

Okay, so lately, I've really been into the color yellow. Don't ask me why because I couldn't tell you. I actually used to hate yellow. Again, don't ask me why. However, I've become obsessed with it; it's so fresh and vibrant. It's so happy too, literally always smiling. Try and find a shade of yellow that doesn't look happy, I dare you. My toes are so much happier now that their no longer the dark purple they had been, even though my sister and friends claim that they look like a fungus or that I have jaundice. And the lemon drops that are in all of my gardens are in full bloom. I even found myself buying a new nightgown, in yellow of course.

I hope you're all enjoying that happiness that summer and the sun are bringing. What inspires you?

Lamp Shade Restyle

This lamp has been in my sister's room for as long as I can remember. She recently redecorated and loved the base of the lamp, however the shade did not quite fit the new style (to say the least). For many months, we shopped around for a new shade, yet we were unable to find the right top. She needed one that just hooked onto the bulb but every one we found had to screw onto the lamp under the bulb. So finally, she decided she would just try to restyle to old one.

For supplies all that you'll need is a lampshade (obviously), a hot glue gun and glue sticks, scissors, and ribbon, we needed two rolls of ribbon. We also used relatively thick ribbon and I would recommend using thick ribbon but that's not to say you can use smaller ribbon, it just would be a bit more tedious.

1. For the first step, begin by measuring a piece of ribbon that is a couple inches longer than your lamp, and cut. 2. Then glue down the top of the ribbon on the inside of the lamp shade.

3. On the other side of the lampshade, glue the bottom of the ribbon. Don't use any glue on the outside of the lampshade because it will show through when the lamp is on because the ribbon is not very thick and can sometimes be transparent. 4. Then glue a second ribbon three fourths of the way on the previous ribbon at the top, however at the bottom, do not overlap, lay next to each other so that you can't see any of the lampshade. You'll need to do this because the top is smaller than the bottom and without this step, there will be gaps in the ribbon.

5. Continue around the lampshade.

Ta-da! You now have a "new-looking" lampshade.

If you lamp needs a little more help that just a new lampshade, I always suggest just spray painting the base white because everyone knows everything looks better in white :)

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins!

When I think of spring, I think of freshness. And what is more fresh than a lemon? Nothing, really though. So today, I am going to share with you the best way EVER to bake with lemons. Lemon poppy seed muffins. Now I know that many people aren't very big fans of lemon poppy seed muffins, or at least that's something that I've noticed, but, this recipe is so delicious that it will blow your mind. Literally, it is the best lemon poppy seed muffin recipe ever, and I would never lie. It's perfectly sweet, tangy, and lemony.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:
Yields: About 16 muffins

Muffins:
    3 large eggs
    1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    1/4 cup milk
    1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
    3/4 cup white sugar
    1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
    3 tablespoons poppy seeds
    13 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (I use margarine but that's because I prefer to bake with margarine rather than butter)

Lemon Syrup:
    1/4 cup lemon juice
    1/3 cup white sugar

Directions:
To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put cupcake liners in your cupcake pan. Now I always, Grease the liners because when you put on the syrup it becomes very sticky and the muffin will stick to the liners (don't say I didn't warn you). Next, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and milk. In a different bowl (this bowl being your Kitchen-Aid mixer if you plan to use one), and add the rest of the ingredients in except for the butter. Slowly add in the butter and half of the liquid mixture, mix, then add the remaining mixture. Beat for about thirty seconds in between.

Now put into the cupcake pan. Depending on how much batter that you put in these can change the amount of muffins you end up with (obviously). I filled them about half full just because i wanted my muffins to be a little bit smaller so that if you really wanted it would be acceptable to eat to :). But you could always fill them up more and then you would have probably only a dozen muffins. This would take just a few more minutes to bake.

Place the muffins in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. When the muffins are almost finished, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil in a small pot. Stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved in the lemon juice. This syrup is really what makes the muffins. Sometimes I catch myself pouring way more than I should just because it makes them so good!

When the muffins are finished, brush on the lemon syrup immediately. They should come out with lots of holes in the top, this may seem like it would be a bad thing but it is perfect because it lets the syrup seep into the muffins.

I hope that you give these a try! Enjoy!
-Julia

"It's the start of something new.."

First off, if you know what I was alluding to with the title of this post, I am glad.

Second, starting a blog is something that I hadn't thought about doing until recently...but somehow, yesterday my sister and I were on a walk and that's when the idea truly came together. Seeing as I know nothing about blogging or how to even write my first post, because (let's be honest) this is a little bit awkward... for both me, and you. For me, I have no idea what to say and I'm sure that I will change it a million times and I'm sure my whole family will mock me for everything I say here today and in the future. And for you, this should be awkward just because you either know me and don't normally know my thoughts. Or, you just happened to stumble across this and are reading a stranger's thoughts, you creep (that was sarcasm and you will need to learn about my extremely dry sense of humor, for these first few posts I might tell you when I am being sarcastic but after that, you'll need to figure it out on your own ;)) .
 But, on that note, I'm glad you have found me and hope that you choose to stick with me on this "journey". Again, I am very sorry for being so cliche and I promise I will try to keep that to a minimum.

Now as many of you know, or at least should know seeing as it's pretty obvious, it is now spring. And so, as spring is the birth of new beginnings, as one may say, what better time than now to start a blog. A little about what I hope a caprice creation to become, I hope it becomes a place where I'm able to teach you a few things or at least share my life with you and maybe you'll even teach me a few things (but that's being super optimistic because I'm the one typing out my life for random people to read). Okay, so maybe you want to know what will actually be on here other than random pictures I've taken and my thoughts..well I hope to post about fashion, beauty (mainly nails), home decor, some DIYs and vintage restyles, recipes, and whatever else comes to mind.

I'm Julia, and this is my caprice creation :)