Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate chip muffins are probably one of my favorite breakfast treats (chocolate chip anything, really) next to scones :)These are really simple to make and delicious with coffee or tea in the morning!




recipe from food.com

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/3 cup  light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 11 1/2 ounce bag of chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (I left these out this time)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin trays with liners or grease cups individually (I used cupcake liners).
Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separately, mix together the milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla until blended. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add milk mixture, and stir just to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips (and nuts, if desired).
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for about five minutes and serve warm (best with butter!).

Have a wonderful weekend! Do you have any fun plans? I'm hoping to get some housework done (and maybe even some redecorating!)... I always feel so inspired in the summer! Don't you?

Enjoy!

❤Britt 

Chambray Stripes

This color combination is so summery! I love this chambray top because chambray is an all-season staple that goes with everything and because it is striped! I paired it with a punchy striped bag and a coral bubble necklace to add some color and neutral floral wedges to add some interest with pattern and to tie everything together.What colors do you love for summer?




pants- J. Crew, top- J. Crew (on sale), belt- J. Crew, wedges- Self Esteem (I love these Sole Society wedges too), bag- Anthropologie, necklace- BaubleBar, sunglasses- Ray-Ban, earrings- Tiffany & Co. (similar), watch- Fossil (similar)

I'm so glad it's finally Thursday! I don't know about you but I've been ready for the weekend since Monday :) I've had once of those weeks where I've just felt overwhelmed and frazzled every day, which makes me very scatterbrained and forgetful. So, I reach for my trusty notebook and start a to do list... and then another... and then I make a list of my lists.  It's really not in the least bit helpful because somehow I always end up making more for myself to do when I start writing it down which makes me more frazzled and overwhelmed... ugh, it's a vicious cycle! Anybody else feel this way?

❤Britt 

Lady in Red

Red is definitely a power color... and one that I've been really drawn to lately. It's one of those colors that can totally stand on its own and you don't feel like you need to add anything else. I love this red dress from Madewell with the neutral accessories I paired it with here (especially my colorblocked Vieta bag!).





dress- Madewell, belt- J. Crew, booties- Nicole (similar), bag- c/o Vieta Fashion, bracelets- J. Crew, Forever 21, sunglasses- Ray-Ban, lips- Stila liquid lipstick in beso

If you haven't already heard, Google reader is on its way out which means that we'll need to find a new way to keep up with all of the blogs we follow. Cue Bloglovin'. With this site, you can follow all your favorite blogs and it is really easy to use (I actually like it better than Google reader!)! If you don't follow me already on Bloglovin, you can follow my blog here! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

❤Britt

Leopard and Bows

I love this bandage skirt from BCBG! It is so flattering, and surprisingly comfortable! I also love the combination of navy and pink (and the sweet little bows on this blouse!)! I've always loved bright colors but I've been trying to be a little more bold with my color combinations lately, a perfect challenge for the summer! I'm really liking the aqua and mint with the bright pink anchored by the neutral navy skirt and leopard clutch. What color combinations have you tried lately or what are you excited to try this summer?

skirt- BCBG Max Azria, top- Ann Taylor Loft (similar), heels- Seychelles, bag- South Moon Under (similar), sunglasses- Ray-Ban, bracelet- J. Crew

Well, we made it through Monday (just barely for me)! Here's to a better Tuesday :)

❤Britt

Coral Baubles

I've said this before and I'll say it again, wear-ability and versatility is so important in a wardrobe! This navy Lilly Pulitzer dress is the epitome of versatile (it ranks right up there with my navy blazer... remember when I wore them both here?)! This dress is super easy to dress up or down, travels well, and is very comfortable (also, because navy is a neutral, it goes with everything!). Also, while I do love to layer, it is really nice to have a piece that can stand on it's own with just a few accessories... thank you summer weather!




dress- Lilly Pulitzer, wedges- Madewell (similar), belt- J. Crew, necklace- BaubleBar, bag- Anthropologie (also love this and this!), sunglasses- Kate Spade, bracelet- J. Crew

This pretty aqua jeweled necklace and this sweet yellow necklace have been on my mind lately! Both are from BaubleBar... if you haven't been to their site yet you need to check it out ASAP! They have the prettiest baubles, and they're really unique too! Which one is your favorite? I can't decide!

Happy Monday!

❤Britt

Peach Scones

So, this is what usually happens when I buy a whole bunch of fresh fruit hoping to eat it daily, as I never seem to be able to eat what I buy (unless it is in a baked good such as these delicious peach scones!).








recipe from two peas and their pod

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes (I used salted)
3/4 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup diced, peeled peaches *

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Drop the butter cubes over the mixture and cut in with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture is crumbly. In a separate bowl, combine the cream, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon just until blended. Be careful not to over mix. Gently fold int the diced peaches.
Form dough into a ball and transfer the dough to a floured surface. Flatten dough into a round disk and use a biscuit cutter to cut scones into circles or a pizza cutter to slice into wedges (I actually ended up making drop scones because my batter was super sticky and wasn't cooperating on my floured counter... this seemed to work well for me). Lightly brush scones with additional cream and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (I forgot about this step in my hurry to finish making these scones for our Saturday morning breakfast!).
Bake for about 15 minutes or until light golden brown (I think I baked mine for exactly 15 minutes, maybe slightly under that). Allow to cool on a wire rack before serving (we like our scones served warm so I skipped this step too).

*To peel peaches: place peaches in a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute. Remove from pot and drop into a bowl of ice water until the peaches are cool. The skin should peel off easily.

All in all, these were not my favorite batch of scones that I've made. Joe, however, really liked them. Don't get me wrong, they were very good, just not what I thought they would be. I think what threw me off was that, like the other scones I've made, I was expecting these to be somewhat sweet and they were not very sweet at all. I think that next time I will either add a little more sugar or throw in some white chocolate chips to sweeten them up a bit :) Let me know what you think! I'd also love to hear about any new recipes you've tried lately!

Enjoy!

❤Britt

Vieta Abroad

I seriously took this Vieta Fashion tote with me everywhere on our trip to Ireland. It was perfect because it was big enough to use as a carry on bag (it fit everything that I wanted to take on the plane with ease... which, truth be told, was a ridiculous amount of stuff) but it was also perfect to take for a night out or out for a day trip (once I took out everything I didn't need)! I also love the fact that it is tan and white... perfect for summer and the perfect accessory to my somewhat nautical themed outfit here. Their bags are also super affordable, which is really nice :)




jeans- Paige Denim, sweatshirt- J. Crew, blazer- J. Crew, flats- Sam Edelman, watch- Fossil (similar), tote- c/o Vieta Fashion, sunglasses- Ray-Ban, necklace- C. Wonder

Have a great day everyone! It's almost Friday :) Do you have any plans for the weekend yet?

❤Britt

Ireland, Part 4: Dublin

This is Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney, County Dublin. It was very cool (very castle-like) and also just a short walk from the town of Dalkey (which was very convenient for going out to dinner and catching the train into the city).

Dalkey Castle- we didn't get to go in for the tour because it closed too early for us to be able to make it but it was a pretty sight to see!

We had one of the best meals of our entire trip here at The Queen's Bar (we also had a lot of wine here because they had an awesome special all night: half off bottles of wine)!

Me and Tara at Trinity College in Dublin waiting in line to see the Book of Kells. Amazing. The history contained in this building was astounding. As an English major, I always love going into museums and libraries, especially old libraries, but to see this centuries old book still preserved was absolutely incredible. 

I asked Joe to take this picture while we were on the double-decker tour bus because of the gorgeous stained glass!

This is Christ's Church... it's huge... and really old and also pretty amazing! This picture was also taken from the top level of the bus on our way to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

This is the front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 1191 and restored by Benjamin Guinness from 1860-1865.


It was hard to get over the enormity of this Church! 


I forgot that, although I'm sure I learned this when I read Gulliver's Travels in high school, Jonathan Swift was the Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral for some time so his final resting place was really cool to see (if somewhat unexpected)!




At the Guinness Storehouse learning how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness! I think that this was one of Joe's favorite parts of the trip!




At the St. James's Gate outside the brewery.

This last batch was harder to edit because there were so many really cool pictures we took of St. Patrick's Cathedral... and it is so large that each picture was totally different and showed an entirely new aspect of the Church. However, as this is the last of my Ireland mini photo series (a bittersweet moment for me!), I hope you enjoyed the change of pace and scenery! I loved sharing it with you! Thanks for being patient with my posts and for following along!

❤Britt