Oh, the macaron. To think that I was so clueless about your colorful little existence until just a couple years ago, when I had already lived some 20-something years without you. But since that fateful day at Jin, you have consumed my thoughts, sending me on a search to try delectable varieties throughout LA and even prompting a TOTALLY AWESOME dream of a macaron warehouse, that was stacked floor to ceiling with the pastel morsels of heaven. (Of course I woke up before I got to try ANY, because that’s how those things go.)

I’ve been meaning to create this post since the holidays, when I experienced an influx of macaron-ness in my life. It all started when I was “holiday shopping” at Urban, and as always happens when I’m “holiday shopping” a few too many presents for me made it into my basket. As I browsed the book section, my favorite part of the store, I came across this gem:

A book. ALL ABOUT MACARONS. I squealed, flipped through the matte & minimalist pages and hustled it over to the register, where I proceeded to totally confuse the salesgirl. “What IS this?” she said, staring at the cover. And then I got beet-red and suddenly starting thinking… who buys a book on JUST MACARONS? AM I THE ONLY ONE? IS MY OBSESSION THAT OBVIOUS?

And then she followed with: “are these tiny little hamburgers or something?”

…

And I realized it wasn’t that she was questioning why someone would buy a book on macarons, but that she didn’t even know WHAT THEY WERE. I wiped away a single tear of sorrow in remembrance of my pre-macaron life, and proceeded to explain frantically what amazing things they are. And having been converted, she packed up my book & sent me on my way,which leads us to Holiday Macaron Madness, Part II:

So all the reading and the talking and the thinking about macarons had then led to an unfortunate and acute macaron craving. I HAD to have one IMMEDIATELY, but I was at the Del Amo Mall in Torrance, far far away from LA and it’s slew of little macaron shops. And then I remembered that a little (okay, ginormous) chain of coffee houses had recently started offering macarons. So, hopelessly desperate, I went there, and I got these:

You can read reviews on the Starbucks macarons everywhere, but I’ll just tell you, for being mass produced, and flown across an OCEAN, and refrigerated for possibly days and days and weeks and years, they weren’t totally bad. Some of the flavors were better than others and they were chewier than other legit macarons I’ve had, but I like ’em chewy. Either way, I got my fix.

Now here comes Part III, which is, in my opinion, the most awesome part. Fast forward a few days later to my birthday. Scott and I are at home and I’m opening up my first gift of the day, the one from him. From your deduction properties, you can probably already guess that they were macarons. But did you guess that they were FELT macarons? Because that’s exactly what they were:

Oh. EM. Gee. As Scott intercepted me from trying to stuff them all into my mouth, he explained that he bought them from our friend’s Etsy shop, Little Fluff Stuff. Janelle is insanely talented and produces all sorts of general felt food & desserts goodness, that has you in a neverending dilemma between whether they should be cuddled or ingested. {Side note: those perfect blue cups were also part of the gift.. they’re vintage & I LOVE the bright color!)

And that concludes this round of macaron adventures. There will be more to come, especially since a little group of macaron-lovers has formed and we’ve been trying a few different places around LA. Stay tuned for our trip to Paulette!

Last week, in the midst of a nasty cold, I drove myself to the grocery store to pick up the one thing I had decided would make me feel better: tomato basil soup + an oozy grilled cheese. I planned to be in and out and back in bed in a matter of minutes, and did in fact blaze through the store in record time, but just as I was about to hit the checkout stand, a basket full of shiny autumn-colored goodies caught my eye. It was a basket of squash & gourds, in all shapes and colors and sizes – and so I spent the next 15 minutes picking out the perfect five. (I actually walked halfway to the register when I thought I had my perfect set, only to walk back to the basket because NO! it was not quite yet perfect.)

And it seemed that my squash spree set off a wonderful influx of decorating wonders into my life, because within the next 2 days I came across two more wonderful finds. The first was a bundle of Chinese lanterns, one of my favorites. I had a single bloom while I was in Japan that lasted the entire year I was there and have been coveting some ever since. Would these not be amazing in a bouquet (see a gorgeous option here in Martha Stewart) or a centerpiece? I may or may not have plans a-brewing to use them in a shoot…

(Almost everything in the above photos are from Etsy. The vase is by Jill Rosenwald and is one of my most favorite things in my home – I want to buy every thing in her shop!)

In addition, I know have this:

It is a yam plant that Scott’s mother had lovingly started. I’ve have tried to start my own before but seriously, if I can’t keep an already green and thriving thing alive, how am I going to convince something that doesn’t even exist yet to sprout?? I am absolutely fascinated by this yam and it’s pretty leaves – it makes me happy to glance over at it as I’m sitting and editing photos.

And of course, the gourds:

I think the prettiness surrounding me from all these goodies definitely helped me get over my cold in a jiffy! What fall decor do you love?

A couple weekends ago Scott and I drove down to San Diego for a fun double-wedding weekend. We spent Friday at an intimate backyard wedding in Chula Vista and Sunday at a beautiful wedding at The Prado (stay tuned for epic posts on both!) and were left with Saturday & Monday to run amok around the city.

And although there are tons of places to explore, we managed to visit one place twice. That place was Extraordinary Desserts. After rave reviews from pretty much every person I have ever met, you would have had to drag me kicking and screaming from San Diego without first trying this dessert phenomenon. We had tea and cake there on Saturday and then went back Monday morning for brunch (and, more cake, of course). Aside from the tantalizing eats, I also fell in love with the mod decor, the little shopping nook, and the general eye-candyness of the whole place.

Kokeshi dolls! <3

There were flowers in my salad. And they were DELICIOUS. Scott even thought the water was delicious:

And of course, the cake! A berry-loaded, white chocolate masterpiece:

At first glance the cake seems slightly pricey, but both times Scott and I shared a piece and still had a little bit to take home. (And we’re sort of heifers when it comes to eating.) Can’t wait to load up on more sugary goodness the next time we’re in SD!

On that note, stay tuned for more engagement and wedding posts on the way!