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The Perfect Gift for Paper Lovers

March 28, 2013

I received a birthday card from a family friend last week that read, I only send e-cards now, but I know how partial you are to paper, so I’m making an exception.

It’s true: I love paper. In fact, I even owned a short-lived stationery company. (Turns out Omaha was not the market for high-end letterpress invitations.) And because I don’t write as many letters as I should, I have an ample supply of beautiful note cards and preppy paper stashed away in my office. I have a hard time resisting the urge to buy new stationery, especially letterpress greeting cards and to-do list note pads.

In addition to paper products, I also love receiving mail. Now, I don’t get quite as excited as Levi when I see the mail truck drive away, but I always hope I’ll find something unexpected in my mailbox.

My affection for stationery and snail makes me the ideal OliveBox customer! OliveBox is a new subscription service that delivers delightful paper goodies and lifestyle products to your door each month. Each themed box (past themes have included “Paris” and “Celebrate You”) is filled with hand-picked objects that have been “transformed by the beauty of paper,” such as cards, artwork, books, and gifting ideas.

Grace Kang, a former buyer for Bloomingdales and the founder of OliveBox, told me that the upcoming April box is her favorite yet but wouldn’t reveal what’s inside–each monthly theme is a surprise!

Want in? The deadline to sign up for the April box is March 31st, and I have a exclusive discount code just for Bunny & Dolly readers. Enter bunnyanddolly10 now through March 31 to receive 10% off your order. Monthly, three-month, half-year, and yearly subscriptions are available, and you can even buy an OliveBox subscription as gift for a friend. (Hint, hint…)

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Chips

March 5, 2013

While I’m celebrating the arrival of baby Max with my family, I’ve asked some friends to fill in for me on the blog. The first of three guest bloggers this week is the lovely Ciera Holzenthal, a talented graphic designer I met at Alt. Like me, she doesn’t do much of the cooking in her household, but she has a super easy snack recipe to share with us fellow non-cooks. Take it away, Ciera!

Hey y’all, I’m Ciera from Ciera Design, here today thanks to the lovely PJ! While the focus of my blog is design, photography and DIY, I also love to post about my everyday life, including cooking. My boyfriend is usually the cook in our house, but when I want something sweet, I take over! Today, I’m sharing a recipe for cinnamon apple chips which may be the best thing I have ever made! The light dusting of cinnamon and sugar over the fresh apples makes this the perfect sweet snack!

Ingredients: 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 2 large apples.

Directions: Preheat oven to 250°. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Using a knife or mandoline, thinly slice two apples. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheets; sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake the apple slices, turning every half hour, until dry, about 2 hours. Remove and transfer to racks to cool.

Please stop by and say hi on my blog, Facebook or Twitter, and let me know if you make these cinnamon apple chips! And thanks again for having me, PJ!

Recipe modified from Rachael Ray.

My Orange Bathroom

February 27, 2013

The first thing that JB and I did when we moved into our house almost four and a half years ago was paint. We started with the first floor, turning the warm-hued rooms into cool living spaces. The kitchen had a cottage-like feel to it thanks to golden yellow walls but is now bright and airy in pale robin’s egg blue. Our living room and dining room were previously painted in a traditional taupe that we swapped for a more modern grey.

The one room we didn’t change was the powder room. Despite their preference for muted colors, the previous owners painted the small bathroom a bright tangerine — and it was love at first sight for me. I’m not typically one for loud or garish colors, but when tempered with soft white wainscoting, the orange walls of the powder room seemed to fit my style. In fact, they made me unreasonably happy!

I recently received a bottle of Method’s new White Nectarine Handwash Gel from their spring collaboration with Orla Kiely and immediately knew that the cheerful bottle would live in my orange bathroom. Plus, it also smells unbelievably delicious.

There’s no doubt that orange is happy color, but you may not feel inclined to paint a whole bathroom in such a bright shade. (Also, I wouldn’t recommend putting on makeup in a room with tangerine-colored walls!) In small doses, however, orange accents may be just what you need to put some pep in your powder room.

PS: Raise your hand if you hoarded cleaning supplies the last time Method collaborated with Orla Kiely! (I totallllly did!) If you love Method + Orla Kiely, be sure to enter this amazing giveaway on Method’s Facebook page. Five lucky winners will win a stylish Orla Kiely handbag filled with the entire limited edition spring collection, valued at $230. (Mobile users click here.)

{Orange bathroom in collage via Elle Decor}

Today’s post was brought to you by Method. As always, all opinions are my own.

How to reheat French fries

February 21, 2013

I’ve discovered the secret to bringing leftover French fries back to life. Want to know what it is?

First, the backstory: When my parents were in town last weekend, we wanted to go out for a steak dinner. When in Omaha, right? Since we couldn’t get reservations at my favorite restaurant for steak, The Drover, we decided to try Johnny’s Cafe, Omaha’s “original steakhouse since 1922” (with decor that hasn’t been updated since the 1950s).

The strip and ribeye steaks we ordered were tasty enough, but they couldn’t top The Drover’s whiskey steaks in terms of flavor. However, Johnny’s French fries were delicious. My family always orders our fries extra crispy (my grandpa started that trend!), but restaurants typically don’t prepare them well-done enough for us. When eating well-done fries, your dinner companions should be able to hear you chomping, and I’m telling you, the fries at Johnny’s made an audible “crunch” when I bit into them.

We packaged up our leftover fries and decided to eat them with sandwiches for dinner the next evening. To reheat French fries, we usually pop them in the toaster oven. Sometimes we’ll nuke them in the microwave first, and if we’re warming up a large batch, we might bake them in the oven. Although they warm up nicely, they’re never terribly crispy.

Eager to bring back the crunch from the previous night’s dinner, we tried something new — and it worked. If you’re reheating leftover French fries, try cooking them on the stove. Yep, the secret is that simple! We tossed the fries around in a non-stick frying pan sprayed with some Pam, although you could also use a bit of olive oil in a saute pan. Voila!

It’s also worth nothing that besides French fries, Johnny’s Cafe made some outstanding Oreo cheesecake that we also enjoyed as leftovers. Is that not a thing of beauty?

PS: Curious about how my parents deal with long-distance grandparenting? Well, I interviewed my mom all about it for Lifetime Moms, and you can read it here.

Words of Wisdom

January 8, 2013

How do you feel about motivational quotes? Do you find them inspiring or meaningless? They don’t often speak to me, but when they do, the message is loud and clear. I even have a Pinterest board of my favorite inspirational quotes to refer to when I need some food for thought.

Here are some of my favorites:

I don’t have any words of wisdom hanging on my walls as art, but that may soon change. Sarah Tolzmann of the blog Note to Self just launched her first Society6 store, The Print Shop, with art prints, framed art prints, stretched canvases and more.

I’ve long been a fan of Sarah’s work — she has a simple yet sophisticated graphic design style and a personal aesthetic I admire — and her “Words of the Week” posts are a favorite blog feature of mine. She’s turning some quotes from her popular series into art prints to sell on The Print Shop, starting with this great one from Thomas Edison on opportunity.

To help inspire one another at the start of the new year, please share your favorite motivation quote or image in the comments below!

{image sources: Lisa Congdon, Inspired to Share, Urban Outfitters, Bee of Design, The Print Shop}

Nursery Inspiration Board: Transit Authority

December 21, 2012

They say it takes a village to raise a child, so I’ve invited some fabulous bloggers to share their thoughts on motherhood. This week they’ll be discussing everything from pregnancy to newborns to baby gear for first-time moms. When I was designing Levi’s nursery, buymodernbaby was one of my go-to blogs for inspiration. Now, I’m happy to call Esther one of my blogging friends! Here is a very special inspiration board she created just for Bunny & Dolly.

I’m excited to be posting here this week during maternity/baby week. PJ asked if I would do a nursery inspiration board for her sister who is due in March and I was thrilled with the challenge. It’s always fun to put together a nursery board for someone else because they pick items or a theme that you wouldn’t necessarily gravitate to.

Her sister already selected the Transit Authority Crib Bedding from The Land of Nod, so I started this board with that as my inspiration. This bedding naturally begs for a transportation theme, but I made sure not to go overboard with it.

1- Hangin’ Around Lamp in Dark Blue from The Land of Nod- $100

2- Up in the Air Mobile from Petit Collage- $66

3- Simple Wood Wall Clock from West Elm- $40

4- Transportation Signs from The Land of Nod- $65

5- Skip Changer Dresser from babyletto- $400

6- Skip Convertible Crib from babyletto- $400

7- Storytime Rocker from Nurseryworks- $650 & Fauna Terrier Pillow– $40

8- Slink Rug from CB2- $350

9- Transit Authority Crib Bedding from The Land of Nod

I hope she likes it and congrats PJ on your upcoming aunt-hood!

Thanks, Esther! I had no idea I’d love two-tone wood furniture as much as I do in this inspiration board. I might have to buy my nephew his very own Fauna Terrier pillow so he and I can have matching pillows (go BU!).

Shooting Stars and Rocket Ships

November 14, 2012

My little sister is having a baby in March (my first nephew!) and starting to think about decorating the nursery. Since she doesn’t have a particular color scheme in mind, she thought she’d start by looking for crib bedding. When I came across DwellStudio’s new Galaxy crib bedding, I knew I had to share it with her–and with you. I love its cosmic print of hand drawn stars, planets and rocket ships rendered in modern grey and white.

What I also love about the Galaxy crib bedding is that it’s sold as separates, meaning you don’t have to waste money on a set that includes a crib bumper you don’t intend to use. Brilliant!

When deciding on your baby’s nursery decor, which came first: the color palette or the bedding design?

PS: Do any of you city moms have parenting advice for my NYC-dwelling sister?

Time to make the donuts!

November 12, 2012

Let’s play a quick game of word association. Ready?

Veterans Day

What was the first word to pop into your head? Military? Soldiers? America? Old people? Yes, those words come to my mind, too, but the very first thing I thought of when JB reminded me that he would be helping out at the Veteran’s Day parade this past Saturday was…

Donuts

Yes, the very first thing I asked JB when he told me about the parade was, “Will there be donuts?” Isn’t that random? Why I associate Veterans Day with donuts is a mystery, but clearly I have a problem. Or a crazy donut obsession.

(By the way, donuts are the new cupcakes. You heard it here first.)

Because there isn’t a Dunkin’ Donuts in Omaha (yet), our donut bakery of choice is Winchell’s. Their apple fritters and coffee rolls are crazy good. Oddly enough, the closest Winchell’s to our house is located next door to a Krispy Kreme. The first time I remember hearing about Krispy Kreme donuts was when I interned at a technology PR firm in New York City the summer before my senior year of college. My co-workers were obsessed with getting hot Krispy Kreme donuts–maybe the Penn Station Krispy Kreme store had recently opened? Anyway, I think Krispy Kreme donuts are too light and airy, although I know that’s the reason why people love them.

In case you don’t have a Dunkin’ Donuts or a Winchell’s or even a Krispy Kreme near you — or if you’re just more adventurous in the kitchen than I am — here are a couple of donut recipes that look really delicious.

Clockwise: 15 Minute Donuts, Bella Cucina Basic Donut recipe, Spiced Sweet Potato Donuts, Old Fashioned Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze

On a more serious note, I’d like to wish all members of our military — past and present — a heartfelt thank you on this Veteran’s Day. That includes you, too, JB.

PS: Today is Levi’s 16 month birthday! Perhaps we’ll share a donut to celebrate.

{top image source}

What I bought at IKEA

August 7, 2012

Since several of you asked, I thought I’d share some of my IKEA purchases. I challenged myself to create a collage in Photoshop. Yikes! I wonder how much faster an actual graphic designer could put something like this together…

clockwise: plant pots // fake plant // more fake plants // plant pot // colorful frames // colorful straws // storage boxes // corkscrew // set of 3 containers // step stool // basement storage // living room storage // pillow // pillow