Wednesday, December 7th

Any guess where i'm heading today? :)

donuts! again! still delicious!

yeah....this recipe is completely from martha stewart.

entirely.

i literally just copied and pasted it here.

but it's pretty good.

ESPRESSO-glazed donuts?

yes please.

p.s. cincinnati has still yet to yield an impressive donut. the search continues.

Espresso-Glazed Donuts

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk (about 60 degrees)
• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
• 2 tablespoons good-quality instant espresso powder (www.thecoffee.com)
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Espresso Glaze

Directions

1. Stir together milk and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add egg, sugar, flours, and salt; mix on medium speed until dough comes together, about 6 minutes.
3. Add butter and 1 teaspoon espresso powder; mix on medium-high speed until combined, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Raise speed to high, and mix until dough forms a smooth ball, about 1 minute more.
4. Reduce speed to low. Add remaining 5 teaspoons espresso powder, and mix until just combined. Shape dough into a smooth ball; cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Using a 3/4-inch round cutter, cut out center of each round. Gather together scraps, reroll, and cut out. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cover with a dry kitchen towel. Let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Heat about 5 inches of oil in a large, heavy stockpot until it registers 360 degrees.on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches of 4 to 6, fry doughnuts, flipping once, until golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon or kitchen tongs, transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with paper towels. (Adjust heat between batches as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature.) Let cool 10 minutes before glazing.
7. Whisk glaze. Dip each warm doughnut into glaze, turning to coat completely. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with parchment; let glaze set, about 20 minutes. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment until ready to serve (up to 8 hours).

the new wave of pumpkins

thank you, martha stewart

red glitter shoes

i bought this dress from modcloth a week or so ago (mainly because it's YELLOW, and it's AMAZING,) and have been toying with ideas to accessorize it perfectly.

because, honestly, if i can't reach perfection, then what the hell good am i? :P

it was really killing me, what shoes to wear with it. let's pretend that i want to wear this dress to the midpoint music festival. and i totally wan to rock loose hair and red lips with it. well, shoot, what shoes make it perfect?

nudes are too nude. nude and yellow is kind of blah.

green would be fun. but then i'd really need another accent so i didn't wind up looking like a sunflower. orange or brown or red, somewhere. and i'm weird about my greens anyway.

blue would be the best, and i really loved this ampersand heel, but of course, it's 130 dollars and already out of stock.

black kills me. i mean, black is great for everything, but it really has the power to suck the vivacity out of an outfit, if you know what i mean.

and then, red. red would be fine. especially if i paired with a red belt, red lips, right? but it's still lacking the VA VA VOOM that i want with every outfit i throw together.

 and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Red. Glitter.

of course! how could i have missed it?! red glitter shoes ALWAYS make the statement i'm going for. :)

so i started researching red glitter heels, and they all look pretty trampy. This isn't a sexy dress, by the way. Not the kind of sexy that requires a four inch heel and a platform toe. and i don't want to sex it up that much, anyway. i'm a casual-sexy kind of lady--don't kill me with pornstar-esque bullshit.

so maybe i'll make my own. :)

i love the $39 urban outfitter suede pump, and as much as i hate diy-ing up a perfectly good pair of shoes, i'm totally into this red glitter idea (which i've done before,) and I'm more than happy to go all out to be able to keep this pair of shoes in my shoe arsenal.

i'm living with a pair of freaking designers now, i'm certain they can give me some advice. :)

and i already know i love the martha stewart tinsel red (which i've used before.) it's glittery without being GLITTER. shimmers. the kind that you can use on your nails and lips too, if you so desire.

which, let's be honest, i probably do. ;)

how would you guys style this dress? i'm more than open to ideas and suggestions.

love love <3

Martha's Country Wedding

Martha Stewart has a whole 12-page slideshow on what she'd suggest for a rustic, country wedding.

Sumptuous bouquets, tied with velvet ribbon, nonetheless (which i do indeed love)

perhaps tomatoes down the middle of a rustic table


or baskets of fruit looking sweet and perfect




and takeaways of strawberries and scones. this is too cute!

Confetti Influence

Martha Stewart threw out some ideas for a confetti-themed wedding recently. I love confetti, and I love simplicity, so these are kinda awesome for me.

The last ones, especially, the dougnut holes. How could I not love them? :)

Martha recommends asking your caterer to roll them in colored sugar...

...i think a girl could find a way to DIY it herself, indeed.

ettiquette

i like pondering things i do not yet know.

luckily, i have a wikipedia for that.

martha stewart brings on the delicacy and finery of place settings.