On the Run

Do you remember the last time we had a full five-day week? Maybe I'm just lucky. But all this time off  actually has me scrambling to keep up!


image via patterson maker

The full week next week is going to be quite the rude awakening. Hopefully I'll be back on top of my game by then! In the meantime, I wanted to be to check out my guest posts this week.

You'll now be able to catch up with me regularly on the Rue blog. You can see my inaugural post and the great finds of the entire team here.

You can also find out more about what's on my mind these days over at Sterling Style. Taylor's new series is going to be divine. I can't wait to see who is up next!

Happy Friday luvies!
*Mrs. E

How Do You Hibernate {stephmodo}

Well, today it is officially back to reality and I am completely in denial. Luckily, on this first Tasty Tuesday of 2011, I have a few taste treats to share with you.

First off, below you will find the darling and talented of Stephanie of stepmodo's mouth watering answer to the question How Do You Hibernate?

And then, if you're still hungry for more, you can head over to the Rue Blog, where I feel incredibly privileged to join the dazzling group making up the Rue blogging team. You can check out my debut post here!

Finally, if you haven't entered our Happy New Year giveaway, there's still time (but the clock is ticking!).


How Do You Hibernate? {stephmodo}

Right now hibernating sounds like a lot of fun...and with the holiday season now behind us, I'll be participating more actively in this alluring activity :)

I think most people like to curl up to a great book and I admit, I love that too. Or a great magazine...like the latest Donna Hay or Sunset. However, I find that I'm more prone to baking and cooking when it's cold, windy and gray outside. Making great food and yummy treats puts a smile on everyone's face, despite the gloomy weather, and this encourages me to put forth the effort and stay active in the kitchen. Below is a recipe for one of my winter favorites - Cranberry Orange Bread.





all images by stephanie

I also enjoy decorating and finishing up home projects during the winter.



The dismal weather presents an excellent opportunity to stay inside and analyze what you love surrounding yourself with. I'm a proponent of surrounding yourself with pieces you love, while considering budgetary limitations. Cozying up to Craigslist on a winter day is my idea of a good time too :) You can check out a recent tour of our home here.

Stephmodo's Cranberry Orange Bread
makes 1 large loaf or 4 mini-loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon good salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (about 3 oranges)
zest of 3 large oranges (about 1 Tablespoon, packed)
1 egg
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 350°. Sift all dry ingredients together. Cut in butter until the mixtures resembles coarse meal. Over a plate or parchment paper, zest the oranges using a microplane zester. Set aside. Cut the oranges in half and juice. In another small bowl, combine the fresh orange juice, zest, and egg with a whisk. Add the orange juice mixture to the dry ingredients all at once. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chopped cranberries and nuts. Spoon the mixture into one greased loaf pan or into four greased mini-loaf pans. If you make one large loaf, cook the bread for 1 hour. If you are making the mini-loaves, set your timer to about 30 minutes (you’ll want to start watching it at 25 minutes as ovens are all different). Once out of the oven, cook the loaf pans on a wire rack for ten minutes. When the bread is slightly cooled you can tap the loaf/loaves out of the pans carefully and place them on the wire rack for additional cooling. Enjoy!

A huge thank you to Stephanie for joining the How Do You Hibernate series! My stomach is now growling.

Ok, maybe getting back on this horse isn't so bad :)

Cheers luvies!
*Mrs. E

Happy {Give Thanks} Weekend

Well my loves, this is it. The holiday season has officially arrived. Did it catch you by surprise as much as it did me?!

Life seems to have been roaring by so fast and furious lately that I'm definitely looking forward to the break, and to bread with our nearest and dearest.






I'm also planning to use the extra time to put the finishing touches on some new projects of my own. You may have caught my newest endeavour - styling, which was just featured in the latest issue of Rue Magazine. Here's a peak of my suggestions for dressing for your family Thanksgiving dinner.

(Spoiler alert!) I plan to bring those services to you, dear readers (and mass general public who have yet to hear of me), very very soon. So do let me know if you have a problem closet because I am your fashion fairy god mother.

You can check out my tips for your office holiday party and New Year's Eve looks in Rue here, but I can't wait to start offering solutions to your styling dilemmas!

Finally, I have to reiterate how thankful I am for Apartment 34 and the world of blogging. I want to thank our latest blog sponsors, fab fashion line Lesley Evers, favorite Seattle-area boutique Promesse, gorgeous jewelry designer Wendy Mink and Canadian style setter Dace. I love featuring great design and looks I love and these are all at the top of my list.

I hope you have the opportunity to say thank you to someone special in your life this weekend. I got the chance to do that in a guest post at Create Girl today. We shouldn't need a holiday to force us to pay attention to the people that matter to us, but hey, we could all use the reminder now and again!

Happy feasting - till next Monday luvies!
*Mrs. E

Credits: Thanksgiving montage pics via eddie ross, studio patro, and dress design decor. Rue Magazine spread shot by Kim Bamberg, styling by me!

Happy {Rue Sneak Peak} Weekend

My dears, I've had a little secret I've been keeping from you. Well actually, it's a ginormous secret, but now the cat can be let out of the bag.

You may have already caught wind that Rue, Issue 2 is coming on November 21st. I am particuclarly over the moon excited to see the next round of gorgeousness because...the Rue girls so thoughtfully asked me to contribute!

I won't tip my hand entirely but I just couldn't wait any longer to share a tiny peek of what you'll see! Let's just put it this way - if you're worried about your wardrobe this holiday season be sure to check out Issue 2.



images by la vie photography, styled by me!

Thank you so much to Rue for including me in the fun ~ I know what I'll be pouring over this Sunday! And I can't wait to hear what you all think.

Till Monday luvies!
*Mrs. E

Happy {It's My Party} Weekend

Well my dears, I haven't wanted to make much of a to-do this year but it is, in fact, my birthday weekend. We're keeping things nice and low key this time around though.




image {1} amy claire images {2},{3} by elizabeth messina, {4} rue magazine

I will take advantage of the excuse for toasts with bestest of friends, spa dates and general birthday-girl laziness with the huz. Oh and as an added birthday bonus I'll be working on a special little project involving a certain online pub...more on that soon, I promise!

And of course I can't resist sharing the birthday joy with you, so be sure to check back first thing Monday - the party will still be going strong!

Till Monday luvies,
*Mrs.E

New York Weekend Recap {And A Jo Handbag Giveaway!}

Our jaunt to NYC flew by so quickly, I can hardly keep track of everything that went on. In a mere 48 hours I think I saw all of lower Manhattan while networking my little blogging butt off.

The festivities kicked off with an uber-glamorous dinner party thrown by the uber-glamorous lifestyle expert Kelley L. Moore. The lady outdid herself on the tabletop, I'm tellin' ya. Did you spot the personalized pop-art place cards?? Bah-nanas!



photos by me!

Not only was the whole Rue Crew and Cassandra there, but I also had the pleasure to meet Will of Bright Bazaar and Julie of Create Girl. Let me tell you, when bloggers get together, the good times flow ~ I've even got video to prove it!

On Monday, I had the privilege to go to HGTV headquarters for a hosted lunch with an even broader contingent of design bloggers. The best moment was listening to Melissa, the brilliantly hilarious mind behind the Lil Bee read her birth story to the whole room. It includes going into labor while in the midst of an HGTV interview!


design star emily henderson, rue mag founder crystal, melissa of lil bee

After lunch it was time to get gussied up and off to the Rue Magazine launch party! Another fabulous opportunity to put faces to blogger names. Here I am with Coco+Kelley and High Heeled Foot in the Door! I was also so thrilled to meet Mackenzie of Design Darling and Brook of Fabulous Doodle, among others.


 high heeled foot in the door, cocokelley and me, dress by Meme shoes from Aldo!


Caitlin and i, and the required shoe shot!

The husband and I did manage to squeeze in a romantic dinner at Mario Battali's Otto Pizzeria before we jetted back home.

Sadly, I didn't do any shopping in NYC for myself. However, I did pick up a giveaway for YOU, dear readers! New York based Jo Handbags have graciously provided my absolute favorite Niko bag to give away to a very very very lucky Apartment 34 reader.




So, run, don't walk to leave a comment on this post my dears. Be sure to include your contact info. Tweet about the contest and you'll get a second entry!

A winner will be chosen at random at 9:00 am on Monday, September 27!

So Totally Rue-d Right Now

My dears, I made it  back safe and sound from an absolutely spectacular stint in and around DC immediately followed by a crazy 3-day whirl wind through New York City.

I've got so many stories and great pictures that I so cannot wait to share with you, but the 20 hour travel marathon I'm currently on is greatly impeding my ability to form full sentences. Even in my exhausted stupor I have to at least say a huge congratulations to the Rue Crew though.


photo via cassandra

This pic says it all. The hard work paid off and the ladies enjoyed a well desereved party hosted by the New York Design Center Monday night. I was so thrilled I got the opportunity to toast to Crystal, Anne, Caitlin and Alaina in person.

And of course I couldn't come home empty handed. I snagged some great fashion finds - perhaps even some for you luvies. So check back in a bit. I promise you'll be glad you did!

Happy {Dancin' Shoes} Weekend

I must say being on vacation is rather grand. I'm so loving lazy days, warm temps and catching up with family and friends. But we'll really be kicking into high gear this weekend as we head to NYC! I've got a ton of resautaurants to choose from (thanks to your wonderful suggestions), more friends, new and old to meet and greet, and then there's the main event: getting all gussied up to celebrate...


images via everything fabulous and cherry blossom girl

...the launch of Rue Magazine! I've been pouring over every page since it's debut yesterday and could not be more impressed. I'm so excited I get to congratulate the Rue ladies in person!


images via Rue Magazine

You can expect a full report of all the fun next week!

Till Monday luvies.

*Mrs. E

Happy {Ready to Rue!} Weekend

Well luvies, another week has come and gone. And even with only four days, I found this one to be a doozy. Did you? But maybe it's because I'm in the middle of packing up for a whirlwind week back east! We'll be running all over the place and I can not wait for some quality time in the big city.




images via haute design & blueproof road

So apologies in advance if next week's posts are a little sporadic. Our days are going to be filled with nonstop family and friends, all topped off with one of the hottest parties of the year - the Rue Magazine launch party in NYC!



I'm so excited to support the brilliant team behind the new mag, finally meet so many blogger friends in person and end the wait for the first issue! Even if you aren't able to join us, you can download your very own Rue button right here. What, don't know about Rue yet? You can check out my sneak peak on Style Me Pretty here. I'm confident you'll love what you see. And I promise you'll get a full report from NYC.

And finally, before I go, I just have to say a huge thank you to everyone who left such sweet comments on my new Confessions of a Blogger feature. In the midst of the rat race, it just hit me that real life is worth appreciating too and I'm so thankful (relieved!) so many of you felt the same way. Check back for future confessions, when I'm feeling brave enough to reveal another one of my bad habits!

Happy weekend luvies. I'll be checking in on you during my travels next week.
*Mrs. E

Note to Self

brian attwood and badgley-mischka pumps, image via plush palate, quote via the neotraditionalist

“Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.”

~Bette Midler


I don't know about you, but I'm banking on these words being true!

Anne and Crystal are seriously living up to it with Rue Magazine. If you haven't already, be sure to check out my exclusive sneak peak of the forthcoming mag on Style Me Pretty!