Hi everyone! Still craving a little LOVE in your home after V-day? I thought it'd be cool to giveaway a few 8" x 10" Gold Love Prints for 10 lucky winners!!!!!

THE PRIZE:
(1) 8"x10" Gold Love print (10 winners)! That means we will choose 10 people to win!!!!  You're chances of winning are better here than the lottery. Ha!

HOW TO ENTER:
Must be a follower on my Twitter or Instagram or both (where the giveaway will be held)!

ON TWITTER:  
Retweet the image below.
No image, no possibility of winning. 

ON INSTAGRAM: 
#regram the image below! No image, no possibility of winning.
To regram, take a screenshot and post it with the hashtag. Or use the regram iPhone app.

MUST: 
Use hashtag #WANTGOLDLOVE on twitter or Instagram- so I can find all your entries! No hashtag, no winning. You can use either social media platforms, doesn't have to be both.

GIVEAWAY ENDS ON:
Tuesday, February 19th! We will choose 5 winners on Twitter & 5 winners on Instagram! Make sure to come back here, on the blog, and see if you've won!


-image by jen ramos



https://sexygirlspic79.blogspot.com/2013/02/giveaway-gold-love-print.html

Happy Valentine's Day! Lauren here, and I love this month since it's all about sweet treats & little love notes, celebrating our significant others and also our girlfriends. I usually package up these heart cookies around Valentine's Day, but this year I was inspired to use my mom's sugar cookie recipe to create something new. 

Inspired by Jen's LOVE prints and colorful paintings, these painted LOVE cookies send a sweet message to their lucky recipients. I am not a gifted baker, so I promise they're incredibly easy too...they'd even be fun to make with kids! Keep reading for the rundown...

Whoops: I had a little kitchen accident and dropped one of my Anthropologie bowls, filled with flour, all over the floor. So I made the most of my mess and just photographed my ingredients right where it landed! My favorite part of these sugar cookies is the lemon...the lemon rind and juice add a subtle citrus flavor that really kicks them up a notch. 
 

I ordered this set of alphabet cookie cutters to create my L-O-V-E. Another fun option would be to use X-O-X-O.
 

For the dough:
 

1 cup butter, softened

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

As you can see, things may get a little bit messy, but that's okay! It's time to let your inner artist come through and not worry about making these perfect. Experiment with layering different colors on the paintbrush and trying different.

brush strokes. I used the edge of a sponge paintbrush we had on hand, but I'd actually recommend using a smaller art paintbrush. Just make sure it's brand new and hasn't been previously used with real paint. 

For the icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

Food coloring

Paintbrush

The final touch: See-through boxes that ensure your painted cookies are perfectly packed for gifting to loved ones at Valentine's Day. 

Makes about 3 dozen.

Instructions:

1. Cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, lemon rind, then lemon juice. Add flour, soda and salt; mix until blended.

2. Divide dough; wrap each half in plastic wrap and pat into a disc. Refrigerate several hours until firm.

3. On a floured surface, roll one disc about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with letter-shaped cutters (ex. LOVE or XOXO).

4. Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven for 12-15 minutes, until barely browned. Cool on wire racks and repeat with remaining dough. 

5. To decorate, stir 1 tablespoon of cream into 1 cup of powdered sugar. Divide among small bowls and use food coloring to make intense shades.

6. Use a paint brush to paint the cookies with the icing, adding a little extra cream into the icing if needed to make it thinner. Wipe the paintbrush off in between, or even let a little color remain on the brush to overlap shades. Go back over each cookie with extra brush strokes.

7. Make sure you let the icing fully dry on each cookie, then stack into boxes.

-Recipe & images by Lauren Craig

https://sexygirlspic79.blogspot.com/2013/02/food-baked-with-love.html

My husband rocks. He is so passionate about cooking & even though he's not a professional chef, his meals really impress me. 

I'm always posting them on my instagram, so if you follow me there, you'll see what I mean. He made these amazing parfaits for the LOVE LETTERS/Cartas De Amor digital Mag we put together, they were delicious! Below he'll add the recipe in case you want to impress your significant other! You can view the entire Love Letters magazine here. 

Also a quick shout out to Holly of Decor8 for sharing the 'Love Letter' mag on her blog! Thank you!
 

Here he is prepping...

Parfaits:
Cake (any kind of sponge or regular cake like the pink velvet)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Berries - cut strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries

In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with a whisk attachment until it begins to peak. Add the sugar and vanilla and finish whipping - should be light, soft peaks.

Cut small cubes of the cake and place in the bottom of a parfait or tall shooter glass (if you don't have those, champagne or wine glasses also work well). Carefully spoon about 2 tsp of cream on top then gently knock the bottom of the glass to force it down. Add a layer of berries, then another layer of cream. Top with an exceptional berry, or even a nice bing cherry!


Stay tuned for a few more sweeeeeeet Valentine's Day recipes this week!

 
-images by jen ramos




https://sexygirlspic79.blogspot.com/2013/02/pink-velvet-berry-parfait.html

Hi everyone! Alison from Heart of Gold & Luxury blog! I'm here with my first post for MadeByGirl!  I am excited to share with you an impossibly romantic dessert to enjoy with your sweetie this Valentine’s day.  The Napoleon is a classic dessert that combines layers of flaky puff pastry, luxuriously rich pastry cream scented with almond and vanilla, topped with plump ruby red raspberries and finished with a dusting of confectioners sugar.

This dessert might look intimidating but it is incredibly easy - you just have to use your creative eye to assemble this confection. This is one recipe that will impress your other half, not to mention your friends and family. In fact, you just might have them wishing that this day filled with roses and chocolates would come around more than once a year.

Ingredients:
16 ounces puff pastry, dethawed
2 cups whole milk
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
¼ cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
½ pint fresh raspberries or strawberries

Equipment: Heart-shaped cookie cutter (optional)

 
For the Pastry Cream:
Combine 2 cups milk, ¼ cup sugar, almond extract, vanilla extract and pinch of salt in a small pan. With stovetop on medium heat, allow for mixture to come to a simmer. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine 4 egg yolks, ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup cornstarch. Slowly whisk in the warm milk mixture to combine.  Pour mixture back into pan and return to medium heat, stirring constantly.  Pastry cream will begin to thicken rapidly.  Once mixture is thickened remove from heat, add butter and stir until combined.  Pour into a heat-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Be sure to coat the top of the pastry cream with the wrap, otherwise you will have a film that forms on the top.  Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.

 For Napoleon Assembly:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Unroll puff pastry and place on lined baking sheet.  Pierce holes with a fork all over the dough.  Place a heavier baking sheet on top (a Pyrex pan is perfect) and allow to cook for approximately 25 minutes. Pastry is done with it is golden brown.  Allow to cool completely.  Once cooled, cut out pastry into hearts if desired.  Place pastry cream into a sealed plastic ziplock bag.  Cut the tip off and fill one side of the pastry with cream, top with raspberries and then place another piece of pastry on top. Finish with a dusting of confectioners sugar. 

*Makes about 3 to 4 servings depending on size of cookie-cutter

*Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart


https://sexygirlspic79.blogspot.com/2013/02/food-heart-shaped-napoleon-with.html

Welcome back everyone! With Valentine's Day around the corner & all these  heart & lip shirts popping up everywhere, I decided to jump on the trend! There are so many options available, but I ended up buying this one which was super affordable - you can find it here at Forever 21.

So, tell me, are you liking this heart & lip trend? 

1. im in love
2. chinti and parker
3. shop the trend
4. forever 21
5. asos
6. forever 21
7. markus lupfer
8. wildfox
9. Jcrew
10. markus lupfer




https://sexygirlspic79.blogspot.com/2013/01/10-lovely-tops.html

Are you in LOVE??  I know I am. I'm so grateful to have a wonderful & loving husband.  I'm looking forward to being with him this February 14th sharing a special dinner & exchanging gifts.  I'm very much into romance & all things 'LOVE', in fact it's one of my favorite words, can you tell?? 

By the way, when I was single..... I used to get buy myself a Valentine's Day gift - I know, it may be a little odd, but it was my way of letting myself know, that I loved me! But NOT in a vain way....

With that said, here are 20 cool picks for Valentine's day. Which ones do you like best??

1. diptyque candles
2. coin purse - paper source
3. je t'aime gold lips - MadeByGirl
4. lingerie - anthropologie
5. mast brothers chocolate
6. shakespeare 
7. mini mon amour by Louis Vuitton
8. gold feather pilow- Jayson Home & Garden 
9.  macaron lip gloss - paper source
10. the perfectly imperfect house book
11. valentino
12. sugar free recipies by babycakes
13. your/mine glasses
14. nutella cupcake - billy's bakery nyc 
15. v-day cards paper source  
16. gold heart earrings via cwonder
17. Jcrew Darling cashmere sweater 
18. what i love about - via paper source
19. mast brothers chocolate
20. heart sticky notepads via paper source 

 


https://sexygirlspic79.blogspot.com/2013/01/20-picks-for-valentines-day.html

A few weeks ago, my guy surprised me with tickets to the Broadway show "Once" which I'd really wanted to see since we both LOVED the film. 

To say the least, the show was fantastic & I can't wait to see it again!

My husband told me he got the tickets through a site he'd found called HowAboutWe (for Couples). This super cute site is basically for dates...NOT to find a date but to go on one. 

I mean, have you ever been clueless about where to go on DATE NIGHT with your husband or wife? Well, this site will guide you with that.

The homepage of the site isn't all that interesting, but once you get inside...WOW, what a difference! The site has a whole bunch of ideas for dates...from samplers at restaurants to pottery classes to wine tours. Talk about cool date ideas!

It is a subscription site - for $22 a month, you get some major discounts on some pretty cool stuff. Those "Once" tickets, normally $125 each - but my husband scored them for $80 for the pair on How About We!

And the site is really well done. You can "wishlist" dates as a reminder, or book them. Once you book a date, they send you an email and you provide the best days for your date...then go!  

We already have our next date set up...

images via how about we

https://sexygirlspic79.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-about-we.html