cuter caffeine

When i think of cute coffee, i think of ceramic cups and latte art. In the boring world, that's not always an option. But a simple way to make your takeout coffee cuter is to order a "short" size. If eight or ten ounces doesn't have enough caffeine for you, you can always add a shot or two of espresso. Anyway, the best lattes i've ever had, the Alaskan lattes, were double shorts. And they came in plain white paper cups i could decorate however i wanted, and cute stickers to cover the hole in the lid. And you buy them from tiny little roadside huts, each uniquely named and decorated. (Or, of course, at your favorite car wash.)

If you must have a bigger coffee, get a cute travel mug. My friend Julie got one from Target for my birthday -- it's white ceramic with a pink silicone lid and "sleeve." Really cute and simple.

crafts for our closets

Last spring, padded hangers really caught my attention. Wouldn't it be dreamy to have a closet full of clothes on gorgeous, padded hangers? I think that'd be good for my wardrobe too, since my clothes would really have to live up to their hangers. Also they take up more space, so i'd have to simplify a bit.... not that i have enough room even now!

I bought a bright yellow jacket at a neighbor's garage sale because it was on a silky padded hanger; i'm not even sure the hanger was for sale, but i insisted. When Hannah was on vacation, she got one for me at an antique shop as a souvenir. That brought me up to me to two lovely hangers and dozens of boring plastic ones -- plus a few supermarket-style hangers with the size marked, several ancient wire hangers, and one nice wooden one for taking sales photos.

Now I can't remember if i decided to actively look for a way to make padded hangers, or if i just stumbled across the idea, but i did find this at notebook magazine. I think i may have stumbled on it while actively looking for a particular photo associated with that magazine. And from there, i found another idea -- beaded hangers.

The padded hanger recipe requires sewing -- not much, but plenty enough to discourage me from getting started on making some right away. The beaded hanger recipe seemed much more suited to me. Plus, i already had wire hangers. I would have had to buy the type needed for padded hangers.

I had to buy a few things after all. More glue. And a lot of the beads i had wouldn't fit over the curvy part of the hanger, so i had to get some that did. But i love the way they look! I never thought i'd actually want MORE wire hangers, but i'll need them if i'm going to have a closet full of these.

I have seen them on Daiso before, but you have to buy them by the case. They don't seem to have any right now, except kids' size.

Hannah's Cute Style

From time to time other various Cookies Club members will write articles for our blog! Our first dear guest is a surprise Hannah ♥ If you want to write for our blog, let me know in a comment or email me.

I, like Melissa, have different styles. I label these "Sleepy Style", "I'm in a Band Style", and "Subtle Sparkle Style".

1) Sleepy Style.

Ever since I started college this past Autumn, my new friend is yoga pants. I refuse to wear these outside, except for yoga class and maybe run out to get the mail. So while I'm around the house, I usually wear yoga pants and t-shirts/sweatshirts. I don't really want to admit to people that I dress in Sleepy Style, but I suppose we all do.

2) I'm in a Band Style.

This style is pretty basic. This is a cozy, but more put together look than Sleepy Style. This style consists of jeans and big knit sweaters or t-shirts I've picked up at various shows. I try to make this style cute by wearing lots of jewelry (my signature, you could say), cute shoes, and various accessories. I'm not a particularly daring person, but I love to accessorize.

3) Subtle Sparkle Style.

This is what I wear when I'm not sitting in classes or at my house. This consists of jersey dresses, tights/skinny jeans, and cardigans mostly. My style isn't that different from everyone else's, but like I said before, accessorizing is my specialty.

Things that make me feel special and lovely are mascara, heels, and nail polish. Besides mascara, I’m not very good at making these a part of my regular wardrobe. I only wear heels once a week or so and my nail polish is always chipped. So I think to make my style cuter, I should practice using those items more. I also want to be more daring with my hair. I’ll do multiple different styles when I’m at home, but as soon as I’m ready to walk out the door, it’s just normal Hannah-hair.

I also think I should splurge and buy more new underwear, but I promised myself I wouldn’t talk about underwear on the internet. (*cough*but I love it*cough*)

JELLYBEAN SHAKE

Introducing the JELLYBEANS SHAKE! It's sweet, and appropriately named, but it's as healthy as salad.

This morning i was flipping through a dessert cookbook i have. In the back there are some smoothie recipes. The "Green Veggie Shake" called for celery, but i didn't have any. I did have fennel stalks, which LOOK like celery... and i had no idea what to do with them. (I already roasted the "bulb".) Maybe i could substitute them for celery in the smoothie?

It worked just fine! Don't be scared by the spinach; this is really the best way to eat it, since all you can really taste is apple and honey. It's very springy, the color of a maccha frappe. And the fennel has a slightly licorice-y taste, just like black jellybeans -- hence the name. And as i took my first sip, Grandma was sitting at the table looking at the big container of jelly beans she bought today. I tried to use those as a garnish but it just looked weird. Oh well. Spring is coming!

JELLYBEAN SHAKE

• 4-5" fennel stalk, trimmed and chopped
  
• a handful of spinach leaves
  
• 1 small apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
  
• 1 Tablespoon honey
  
• 1/4 cup milk, or however much you need to blend it nicely
  

Put everything in a blender and blend it really well. Pour it in a pretty glass and garnish with jellybeans (if you can figure out how to do it cutely), a violet, whipped cream, or a fruit slice.

Now what am i going to do with the fennel leaves?