My baby brother is getting married!

Congratulations, Josh and Micca!!! I'm so excited for you both! Marriage is incredible and amazing. Wonderful and comforting. And ... yeah, just the best thing ever.





Photos by Adrien Evans

It's so sweet to see your guys' love for each other. I'm so excited for you to be my new sister, Micca!!
May God bless you guys and grow your hearts together!

Loooooove,
Talia

Feel free to congratulate the happy couple!!!

Also. It freaks me out just a tiny bit to see my brother kissing. Normal?

DIY Basket Makeover

I'm a sucker for wicker baskets. So is Phil. It's sorta dangerous when we go thrift-store shopping together and we come across a pile of wicker baskets. We have to hold ourselves down not to find reasons to bring home the whole lot! Phil brought this one home one day on his lunch break. It was the perfect washing basket and we immediately cleaned it up and put it to use. We've used it ever since but recently one of the handles broke. We still used it with one broken handle, but it was awkward to use. So I set to work on giving the poor little basket a makeover and gave it new life!

The best part is that it's easy as pie. I had all the supplies on hand and I got to use up some of the fabric scraps in my bucket. Win-win.

You'll need:
Basket
Fabric
Scissors
Knife (If you're removing the existing basket handles)


Carefully remove the basket handles with the knife if you are removing the existing handles. One of the handles on this basket was broken so I finished removing the handle then removed the handle from the other side.

Cut fabric strips into 2-3 inch widths and 18" in length. Tie any shorter length strips together if you have shorter scraps.


Tie three of the strips to the basket where you want the handle to be.

Begin braiding and add in the rest of the fabric. Braid it nice and loose and fluffy! Think so it'll be nice and comfy in your hands when you're picking up the basket.


Continue braiding until you've reached the length you desire for the handle. Tie the loose ends of the braid to the basket securely.

Repeat for the other side.



Now you've got a pretty new basket with some extra personality!

Easy as pie. I did this in a few minutes while the baby was up. I rarely craft when the baby is awake because it's too much chaos. She even tried to help.*

xoxo
Talia Christine





*I don't recommend babies playing with scissors... Err..

Today I'm...

Experimenting with pretty braids in my hair. I'm loving it. New favorite hair-do! 

Baking like a madwoman. Testing out recipes and learning new decorating tips!
(Oops on the cracked cupcakes. I perfected the cupcakes in later batches!)


Doing lots of washing...


Editing photos and working on a pretty new DIY!   
I'm going away on a girls weekend and I'm working really hard to clean the house up and prepare a few blog posts in the meantime! I'm super excited. Can you believe that I've never been away on a girls weekend. Like. Ever? Ridiculously excited. I was originally going to take Audrey (and the portable crib, and the stroller, and figure out a portable high chair... and sleeping arrangements...) But Phil offered to keep Audrey over the weekend. Which means that I will be baby free! AMAZING! I can't even think about how much I'll miss her. I've never spent a night away from her (And I HATE being away from Phil), but a girls weekend is just too enticing! PUMPED! 
 ♥♥♥ 
  xoxo Talia Christine

How To: Pickled Jalapenos

Pickled jalapenos are one of my favorite condiments. I mean, they're right up there with ketchup, mustard, and mayonaise. We eat a surprising amount around here so it's no surprise that we prefer to pickle our own.

It's super easy too!

You'll need:
Fresh jalapenos
Jars
Vinegar
Water
Salt



1. Wash and slice your jalapenos. TIP: Wear gloves during the slicing process! The oils from the peppers can linger on the skin for hours. Trust me on this one. Wear gloves.

2. Sterilize and prepare your jars and lids in boiling water for 5 minutes. In another pot, bring your vinegar, water, and salt to a boil. You will use a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water, and a pinch of salt (to your liking).

3. Pack the sliced peppers into your clean, sterilized jars.

4. Pour the boiling vinegar sauce over the sliced peppers and fill to the top, leaving only a small space. About 1/4-1/2 inch space. Give the jars a nudge to remove air pockets and place the lids on immediately.

5. Check jars seals before storing. If there are any that don't seal, refrigerate promptly. Age a few weeks before eating.



Simple as that! And delicious too.

xoxo
Talia Christine

Snapshots In Time

A few weeks back our good friend Dave snapped some family photos for the whole van der Wel clan.

These photos instantly became really special to me. It's a snapshot in time of our little family. Kind of like this brief moment in time. This exact time in our lives will never happen again. It's here and gone in an instant. Photos like this capture the moment and remind me how good we have it. How beautiful our life is. How precious Audrey is. And how quickly she is growing. How much I love my handsome husband. And just how our family is right now.

It's good to have these snapshots in time. And it's good to look back on old memories.
It's all a part of the journey and I want to savor these moments.

xoxo
Talia Christine

Wardrobe Wednesday: Spring in My Step

I'm wearing:
Lace top: Thrift store find. $4
Skirt: Anthropologie
Moccasins: N/A

This week I am inspired by Spring!

It may be heading into cooler weather now that Autumn is here, but my heart is still in the Northern Hemisphere. In my mind it's April. It's Spring!

Pastels and lace. Bare legs. Layers to keep the ebbing chill off. This outfit is all about Spring and how inspiring it is to me. Spring always brings me hope. That it won't be cold forever. That Summer is coming. It brings me flowers. Freesias to fill my garden and my yard with their beautiful scent. Spring gives me that extra spring in my step.

It's awhile yet until Spring is actually here in New Zealand, but until then I'll just dress like it.

What inspired you this week?

xoxo
Talia Christine


Play along and link up!

Macarons

Macarons.

Sweet. Soft and crunchy. Gooey insides yet light as air. Heavenly bliss.

I thought: Why not try and bake macarons? You only live once. Plus, how hard can they be?

Well, kinda tricky I guess, but not all THAT hard. I invited my pretty friend, Petra, to come over for a baking adventure. And you know what? I think we did pretty well. We're determined to perfect and hone our macaron baking skills. Because sometimes you just need pretty cookies in your life.

Well, at least I do.











We baked three trays in all. Our first tray cracked and collapsed mostly. Our second, we switched things up a bit and had more success. Our third tray was picture perfect.

We baked a raspberry cookie and made a raspberry buttercream filling. Divine.

I searched the internets high and low for a recipe that I felt comfortable trying and landed on this one. It's excellent. The recipe worked out well for us and there are GREAT troubleshooting articles on the website. Brilliant!


Pretty pretty Petra

It CAN be done, folks!

Go on, give it a try. Conquer your baking fears.

Edit: I posted a link to recipe in the blog post, but a lot of people have been asking me for the recipe...

For those of you that missed it the first time:

http://bravetart.com/recipes/Macarons


xoxo
Talia Christine

Spring Onions: Regrow, Reuse

Did you know that you can regrow the spring onions (also known as green onions) you buy in the store? You can re-use them! How's that for being green? I learned this trick from my good friend, Inti, who was sprouting some in her kitchen when I came to visit.

Here's how:

1. When you use your spring onions, save the white bit at the ends with the roots. You'll want to save an inch or so.



2. Put the ends roots down in some water. After a few days the chopped bulbs will begin to re-sprout!



3. Now you're ready to plant! Find a bit of soil and pop them into the dirt spaced a few inches apart. Give them a little love and some water, and they'll be sweet! ;)


4. Let them grow and mature into the desired length. Don't forget to water!

Brilliant! I love this new trick. I now have a sturdy little crop of regrown spring onions.

How does your garden grow? Are you gardening this season?

xoxo
Talia Garduna

Edit:

Inti (the most brilliant person I know. actually.) commented this after reading the post:

actually tal, i just thought once you plant them, why not just cut them and leave the root in?! then you can just keep cutting and regrowing! Also, they can be called scallions, as i'm sure as an american you know ;)

SO BRILLIANT!

Wardrobe Wednesday

I'm Wearing:
Shirt: Handmade by me
Pants: BDG. jeans
Shoes: Urban Outfitters

The theme for this Wardrobe Wednesday is "inspired". I think it's a really fun theme and can be interpreted in many ways!

I sewed this shirt from scratch! I just finished it on Saturday and I've been madly in love ever since. I picked up the fabric from the dump shop for 1 dollar. I was inspired and drawn to the color and simple print. I knew that I had to make something for myself out of it. I love the simple design of the shirt with the classic peter pan collar. It's a new favorite in my closet for sure.

For those wondering, I used the Violet pattern by Colette Patterns I love their patterns. They are packaged beautifully and easy to follow. Check them out!

Wanna play along with Wardrobe Wednesday?
Link up!



xoxo
Talia Christine