Things We Heart

Friday, September 19, 2014

Donut Worry 'Bout A Thing..

So let's talk a little bit about the best little things in life...nope we are not talking about kids (although they really are the best little things in life...even when they are not...they still totally are) we are talking about the gift of the culinary gods (actually devils).

The sweet, fluffy, rounds of yummy baked or fried dough drenched and dripping in sugary glaze or gooey chocolate perfection...the deliciously perfect dessert that can make even the worst days better..like a sweet doughy hug.

Ladies and gentleman over the past year we have posted a few pictures of our homemade donuts and the response was unreal. We found out that our love of all things sugary and doughy is shared heavily amongst our readers... see we really are a perfect fit.

Before we go on can we just wax poetic about how incredible this food is? I mean what other item can be a breakfast item, sweet treat or dessert? Ok..yes..pizza is too but donuts are so much more fun! Like a party in every bite...

Now in order to make donuts you need 1 of 3 things...

- A deep fryer (we bake ours for health reasons and who the F has a deep fryer and if you do what a pain in the A to use it..)

OR

- A donut pan (and an oven)

OR

- A donut iron...much like a waffle iron only way cuter! We love this one for so many reasons...

Oh and LOTS of sprinkles!!! Michaels crafts, Whole Foods, Target are all great places to start the sprinkle extravaganza.

Ok...let us begin. Here are our top 3 recipes for the sweet lil guys

Vanilla Donuts go here for the recipe!

Chocolate Donuts

For the donuts

3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

For the frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter or dairy free butter - melted
2 tablespoons milk or unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

For the donuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your donut pan with nonstick spray.
Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Add oil, vanilla and water and continue to stir untl smooth.
Pour into donut pan and bake 10-12 minutes.

For the frosting

In a bowl using a hand mixer, mix together powdered sugar and butter until creamed well.
Add milk, cocoa powder and vanilla and continue to mix until creamy and well combined.
Once donuts are cool, dip them into the frosting to cover the tops.

Now for the ones that have every friend we have begging for more...(and we promise we will deliver soon!).....

Baked Vegan Doughnuts

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. (scant) nutmeg
1 dash cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Egg replacer for 1 egg (or 2 Tbsp. cinnamon apple sauce)
¼ cup vegan margarine

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk to mix thoroughly. Combine the wet ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat and mix until the margarine is just melted. This mixture should be just slightly warm to the touch.
Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix until just combined. It should form a very soft dough.
Using a tablespoon, scoop dough into an ungreased nonstick doughnut pan. Smooth out the top of each dough with your fingers―this will make for more even, prettier doughnuts but isn’t crucial.
Bake for 12 minutes. They should not be browned on top, but a toothpick will come out clean. Invert the hot pan over a cutting board or cooling rack to release the doughnuts. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
Top with a glaze, melted chocolate, and/or sprinkles if desired.

Ok last thing... I love to double glaze mine! Glaze is crazy easy and fun to play with.

To make a great easy glaze-

Powdered Sugar- 1-2 cups depending on your double or single glaze desires

Real Vanilla Extract- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon

Soy Milk- 2 tablespoons (add more to desired thickness)

Mix with a wire whisk or hand mixer and dip, dip, triple dip away!

Apply sprinkles, coconut, mini chips, sugar and cinnamon...or what ever makes you happy just after dipping to encourage a strong bond between toppings and glaze

Can't get enough donuts? Neither can we.

Much like the hellion that is The Beibs we got our hands on this irresistible pool float. Just try not to jump in the pool when this is floating by

Want your kids to be oh so Kawaii? Give them one of these handmade crocheted rattles!

And how in the world can you have donuts for breakfast with out coffee? So you probably need this mug...

Please let us know how they turn out! Tweet us pics

xoxo- TWH

cute art

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

New York Fashion Week 2014- Nothin like a lil mom brain (and jealousy - the good kind) to inspire us

Well hello there! How are you? Loooooong time no talk.. We missed you just as much as you miss us. Wanna know how much? So much we stayed up just to write this for you...(and us)

With 5 babies between us it has been really hard to get to sit and write. Inspiration is everywhere but at the end of the day a glass of Rosé, a soft pillow and a yummy man seems to call us so loud we can't quite get to write to you. SORRY!

But the good news is... this NYFW has given us a kick in the ass. It was SO good this season we had no choice but to tell Rosé to join us and keep us company. SO cheers!

Ok this dress was the reason for everything...a reason to breathe, write, get married, drink, sing...you name it! You had us at hello Carolina Herrera

Um, hi Ohne Titel...who are you and how have we never met?? You are chic..like sleek chic.
Are you sportswear? swim? day? We can't get you but we love everything about you.

This dress is incredible...one day...maybe after more Kayla.

Victoria Beckham... I mean come on?!? You have the man...THE MAN, the cutest kids (except for a few we know), the bod, the girls (spice style) and now you have the line that keeps getting better and better. It was polished and chic like always with a beautiful twist of quirky. Thank you. We will need it all sent to our house.

Oh and this sweater belongs on our bodies all day/all night.

And we can never say no to a good slouchy pant. They are like our day wear, night wear...everything wear and no one this season did a better one then the sparkly girl herself, Gwen Stefani for LAMB. She and her designer, Paula Bradley knocked it out of the park this season... with their Spring Revival deliciousness.

Oh and to go along with those bright pieces? They were lucky enough to get their hands on one of the best Makeup Artists in the game, Mr Gregory Arlt. His gorgeous bright liner pared with perfectly glowy skin was stunning!

Oh Phillip...you break our hearts (and banks) every time. Your bright, light and architecturally perfect collection for 3.1 Phillip Lim was a breath of fresh amazing.

This white on white ensemble is so chic.

Hands down one of the most talented designers of our time is Prabal Gurung. He continues season after season to deliver NEW, unstoppable, innovative and gorgeous clothes. He knows no trends, only beautiful silhouettes.

He can do this perfectly beautiful (yet different) dress that we all NEED

then, oops..oh whats that? you need an AMAZING sweater that you can have forever and ever and everyone will cry and drool as you walk by...Ok, here!

Not enough? Here you go... look on and gasp at the ethereal beauty...

Until we meet again...soon...we promise

Thanks for having us!

Friday, January 31, 2014

I am a 90’s Bi*ch

Just before the new year I had a rare moment when my husband and all three of our little kids were out of the house.

I settled onto the sofa to watch a cute movie on Netflix called Last Waltz with Michelle Williams.
So there I was, enjoying being snuggled up with a movie and some chocolate... When the shower scene happened.

Now let me make a quick disclaimer here. I am all for a good shower scene and I’m totally mature enough to handle some full frontal nudity with hardly a giggle. What caught my attention about this scene was the bush. Three young women in a shower, with full bush.

Not like medium landing strip bush, these gals had full on, hair pie, bush.

I sat watching this, all alone. The questions started to swirl around in my brain.

Michelle Williams is super cute, and she is single... And younger then me by at least 3 years.
What was she doing?
Was this the new thing?
Was this what was happening in the young singles world these days?
Michelle Williams is amazingly stylish and hot.
Was she setting a new trend?
Was she following a trend?

And if this is a trend how did it not even come onto my radar?
My mind whirled.... I jumped on the computer and started googling away...

Wait a minute, Gwyneth Paltrow claims to be “working a 70’s vibe down there”?
Gwyneth is defiantly a little older then me, but definitely always ahead of the pack sartorially speaking.

Maybe I just missed this cultural shift because everyone is keeping it “under wraps”.

I started digging deeper, and found super models embracing the look.
Daira?
Naomi?
I’ll admit it, these chicks are WAY cooler then I am. They wouldn’t look bad in anything and they look better in nothing.

I also discovered American Apparel ignited controversy when they ran an ad with a model in lacey panties exposing a subtle dark shading of pubic hair. (This image is pretty sexy)
How do they react to this attention?
They continue their bush loving ways by adorning the windows of their stores with ridiculously large muffed mannequins. Like, ridiculously large muffs. (This image did NOT feel sexy to me)

This move gains American Apparel tons of press and they make a statement about how they are “Supporting the movement towards a more natural state.”

Then came the straw that broke the camels back... Gabby Hoffman’s AMAZING turn on this season of girls as Adam’s equal parts messed up and incredible sister Caroline.

I mean... Spoiler alert, but that HAD to be a merkin right? RIGHT?!?

After a month or two of investigating and digesting all this, it hit me like a slap in the face.

Oh my god;

Was my pubic hair, or my lack thereof, aging me?

I am a straight up product of Los Angeles in the 90’s.

I was single and young in the days when 19 and 20 year old girls lined up around the block to see Cindy at Pink Cheeks in the Valley.

It was like brazilian or bust in the late 90’s. The balder the better was the mantra.

In 2000 how was a girl gonna go out dancing to “Ghetto Superstar” in her super-low-waisted Frankie B jeans if she wasn’t perfectly groomed super-low-style? I was on top of my game in those days.

But now in 2013, is my naked kitty basically the equivalent of “Mom Jeans”?

What the Hell is going on?!

I can’t help but wonder.... Is a landing strip as dead a giveaway that a girl is more “90210” then “Pretty Little Liars” as say, a Tramp Stamp?
I am also guilty of that 90’s moment, and yes, I do fear the day my sons grow up and learn that term.

It doesn’t actually have any baring on my life, what the "kids are doing" these days, my 1990’s husband and I are happily stuck in my waxing ways thank you very much.

This isn’t about not being down with The Blue Lagoon look it's more about me realizing that the years have been racing past me so fast I can’t even keep up with something as simple as lady-part grooming trends, You know?

I don’t have any judgement, it’s more amazement.
In fact, I find this turn of events super liberating. Be free girls! Do your thing! What I would have done to give up all those painful waxing appointments!
What was smokin’ hot in the 70’s is bound to be smokin’ hot again. That is the story of fashion. Things always come back around. Embracing your body and loving the feel of being a woman. I get the whole sexuality of realness. It is amazing!

But I can’t help but obsess on it. I keep questioning all my friends about it, I think they are getting uncomfortable how much I ask about their "hair styles" these days.

Am I alone? Am I the only 36 year old woman out here that can’t stop wondering if Beiber is getting beaver?! Are the One Direction boys, up to their mop tops in muff? Is Bruno Mars resting that pompadour on someone else’s pompadour?

20 year olds! Talk to me, is this really what is going down? Pun totally intended.

Let me hear what you think in the comments.

XOXO- Things We Heart

Monday, May 6, 2013

The good the bad and the um WTF its the Met Ball??- Met Ball "Punk Chaos to Couture"

Ok a few things (disclaimers) before we begin....

1. The hardest thing to do is dress up a pregnant body for a night out let alone a black tie affair and super let alone the METBALL so we do understand....trust us...we've been there

2. Just because you are wearing a rad/famous/expensive designer dress...doesn't mean you are event appropriate...fire your stylist or grab a new pair of balls

3. You are not at the Oscars, Emmys or a movie premier...you are at the MET BALL thrown by VOGUE MAGAZINE (UM ANNA WINTOUR ANYONE??) and the COSTUME INSTITUTE... meaning costume...dress up...Anna..Vogue...every girls dream!!!!!

Whew... and now we can begin...Let's start with the bad news first.

When we say bad we don't mean ladies who took a chance and it just didn't pan out because if you took a chance at the Met Ball good for you...that's exactly what you should have done and we are sorry it didn't go as you planned it to go.

We are talking about the girls who just forgot where they were going or were too scared to try...

Emma Roberts- Huh??? You are young, cute and "hip" Por Que??

Heidi- Heidi? The oscars in 2005 called and they want their odd satin dress back

Beyonce- Oh no you don't BeyBey...NO you don't! You may not wear brocade and leather a'la 1992 with brocade thighhighs a'la 2010 and think you own the carpet...no you may not. Oh and we LOVE her so we must be right

Now for the Kates-

Kate Upton- WTF? Much confused...like MUCHO

Kate Beckinsale- Maybe you didn't see the invite but it is the MetBall...thrown by Vogue and the Costume Institute asking for Couture Punk...not a boring Emmys dress with boring shoes

Katie Holmes- See Kate Upton

Now for the horrible news.. Kim...Kim...Kim... we are so so so sorry! We are here to help. We know how literally exruciating it is to dress a big ol pregnant body. It aint fun!

But PLEASE for the love of fashion, style and Vogue...FIRE. YOUR. STYLISTS. So far this whole pregnancy you have really gone array...

no need to wear maternity but you are insanely famous and wealthy you can have anything you want and desire..why did you desire this 80's grammy's couch fabric mess for the Punk- Chaos to Couture Gala? It doesn't even hug your gorgeous belly correctly!

Ok that is off our chests...now for the good news! Congrats gorgeous gals who gave a rats tush where they were going...who threw caution to the wind and said "WTF! I'm here, I'm famous, and gosh darn it I'm gonna have a blast"

First up is our friend and lover Gwen... Gwen..bless you lover lips..bless you. You nailed it back and forth and side to side. Its perfection..through and through..

A. Its F**KING Margiela!!!
B. Its perfect for the Met Ball and for you
C. Amazing...jealousy style amazing

Rooney! We love it..thank you for not wearing black! You look amazing!

Except 1 teeny tiny thing...those shoes... hmmmm lets rethink them...

And now for the models...ugh yup they do look amazing in EVERYTHING but these did it and did it just right...like Goldilocks

Doutzen

Cara

Ps MAJOR girlcrush going on with you...shhhhh

Coco

PS All pics lovingly "borrowed" from Just Jared thanks!!!

Who were your faves? Not so faves?

Feel free to send this to everyone you know and don't cuz Things We Heart is comin back baybay...

xoxo things we heart

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Love them, or leave them alone...

Chances are if you are anywhere around my age, give or take a few years you once owned a pair of overalls. OK, Ok, chances are if you are anywhere around my age you owned a pair of Cross x Color overalls.

Don't judge, I looked fly.

You may have been dreaming of being T-Boz from TLC or maybe you were dreaming of being David Silver's date to the prom on 90210... He could really dance you guys!