Lavender Short bread Cookies

Here's a quick, yummy and very buttery recipe for lavender shortbread cookies ♥

These were a hit at my school!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 or 1 1/2 tbsp. dried culinary lavender

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper (un-greased).

2. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture becomes light in color and fluffy.

3. Fold in the flour by hand. The dough will be soft and a bit crumbly. You can pack the dough together when you cut out your cookies.

4. Place a handful of the dough at a time on a lightly floured work surface. Use a floured rolling pin to press out the dough to about 3/8 inch thick. Do not use a lot of flour or your cookies will be tough and very crumbly. Short breads are known for being light and fluffy ♥

5. Cut out the short bread using any shape cookie cutter you like. With a spatula, transfer them to the prepared pans, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart (they will not spread, but they do puff a little).

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are just a very pale golden color. Slide the papers from the pans onto wire racks. Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in an air-tight container.

7. Brew up a mug of tea and enjoy your treats! The flavor may not be very intense, but provides a floral aftertaste. You may want to consider grinding up the florets next time if you want to experiment with the intensity of the lavender.  

Circus Pouch

One of my favorite/dream prints has always been Innocent World's Dot Jacquard Circus print. I've  scouring sales communities for years (and almost got it once, but the owner decided to sell it to her friend last minute last November :c ). Recently though, I was able to make a teeny tiny compromise. I found a square of fabric approximately 10x10" for $3.50 shipped on an old EGL sales post! I decided there wasn't much to loose and bought the fabric scrap. Well, the point of this post is to show off the but pouch I made with it today! I's about 8" long and has a pink satin lining. Not bad work for being rusty on the sewing machine (we have a nice one at school I get to use now) :)

Needs a little ironing and lint-rolling but I'm quite satisfied with it :) Maybe I can store my brand tags and small goodies in here ♪

Status Update!

Hello everyone, I offer a mandatory apology for my lack of posting. In hopes that you will forgive me, I'd like to share a few things that have been going on in my life.

Firstly, I got accepted to a few colleges and universities! Five to be precise. I applied to:

• The Cleveland Institute of Art (my top choice for Biomedical art)
• Maryland Institute College of Art
• St. Edward's University
• The University of Texas at Austin 
• Texas State University at San Marcos
• Kansas City Art Institute
• Rhode Island School of Design (my reach)

Phew! I've heard back from the first five and currently maintain a spotless acceptance record :) I should hear back from KCAI and RISD sometime in March. Oh, and I'm also pretty ecstatic that I got a big juicy scholarship from Cleveland T___T Thank you Cleveland, college is within my reach!

While I sent all of my applications before Thanksgiving, I've been busy with follow up activities, financial aid stuff and sitting back waiting for letter c:

Speaking of all these art schools, I keep my Flickr pretty current, mostly with pieces for my AP Drawing portfolio for this year. Please check it out! I'm pretty excited that my painting is going to state UIL competition this year ♪ Wohoo!

In other news, in case you missed the earlier post, my label/online shop Milk Thistle is now in business! I plan to add more items soon ♥

Also, look forward very shortly for a yummy lavender shortbread cookie recipe and some crafting and shopping updates ♫

 Also, would anyone be interested in any new types of posts, such as photo inspiration or brand spotlights? Are there any post series that I've neglected? I would really appreciate your input!

Stay tunes for more ♪

Loliweeks Blog Feature

Hello everyone! Several days ago I was flattered with a request from the lovely Delano of http://loliweeks.blogspot.com. She asked me to be featured in one of her "Blogs of Notice" series ^o^ I really enjoyed completing the interview and just wanted to say thank you again to her for featuring me!

Anyways, you can read her post here~

In other news the Milk Thistle shop is finally up! Yippee!

Lolita Love

Imai Kira

♥ This post will cover a few Valentine's Day ideas that you can do either with a partner or by yourself ♥

For the lone Lolita:

• Submit a Valentine about one of your favorite Lolita to Lolita Valentines ♥
• Decorate your space with freshly cut flower - make your own arrangement by purchasing several types of flowers and mix and match until you find something you like! Try even incorporating fluffy feathers, bows, lace or sparkly accent pieces 
• Cook a Valentine's Day breakfast with heart-shaped "looney eggs" (use a heart shaped cookie cutter on a piece of bread and fill the hole with an egg and fry it up), pink lemonade, heart-cut strawberries and rose hip jelly c:
• Have a conversation heart (or candy in general) themed photo shoot with your favorite Lolita pals
•  Make a garland out of vintage Valentines - you can usually find them seasonally at antique stores
• Visit your local drug store or super market and buy one of those big fancy candy samplers you know you've always had your eye on ♪
• Make Valentine's Day goodies bags full of candy for your friends or co-workers

For the +1 Lolita

• Create a romantic date look with fresh pink blush, luxurious false lashes and a cute subtle pink manicure
• Have a classic picnic in the park - don't forget your parasol and a bubbly drink
• If you can't meet in person, have a fancy Skype date! Order in tasty food, dress to the nines and place a vase of flowers in the shot
• If your loved one is away, send them a care package! Fill it with cutesy Valentines and confetti as well as goodies (my boyfriend is in college so his package currently consists of power bars, a box of Thin Mint cookies and 2 mix CD's, haha) 
• Have a dinner at a fancy restaurant - dress much richer than you are, make reservations under false names and if you're not married pretend that you are!
• Start an old-fashioned scrap book - include ticket stubs, cute letters or notes and even dried flower petals
• Plan a romantic train ride to the country side - dress in vintage styled clothing and pack a picnic lunch in a cute straw basket and remember to take plenty of pictures!

Here's to a wonderful Valentine's Day!

♥♥♥

February Lifestyle Ideas

• Start an indoor collection of seedlings to plant in the spring - try strawberry plants, sweet peas, pansies or herbs ♥
• Winter isn't over yet! Don't forget to treat your skin right and drink plenty of water and tea 
• Pearls are great accessories, why not add them to your beret, cardigan or scarf? Sew-on pearl beads and inexpensive and easy to use.
• Add some fung shui to your life~ Open windows, de-clutter and opt for natural materials like wicker baskets and light cotton.
• Take a nice warm bubble bath with fragrant salts, candle light and nice music. It's your time to relax after the hustle and bustle of the last few months.
• (Shameless self-plug ahead) stay on the lookout for my new shop! I will be adding items soon ♥
• Check out Kyary's silly karaoke videos.
• Sit down and draw your meal. Watercolors and pens work beautifully.
• Visit a cute bakery or cafe and take photos of the food and decor. Film and Instax-style cameras work especially nice. 
• Check out this cute (and translated!) daily make-up tutorial