I am sharing my latest baking find – pastel-colored kitchen utilities from RICE on Best Friends for Frosting. Check out the exclusive post I made to this wonderful dessert trends hunting website and see what kind of cute and colorful equipment makes me happy and thrilled in the baking world at the moment. Here’s a little teaser to get you excited and smiling too. Have a rice day!
Images by JoyHey for Best Friends for Frosting
This one goes to all of you wonderful women out there in the world! This is your day … enjoy! ♥
Image by JoyHey
Do you still remember when I told you about I was contacted by the amazing and super talented Selina Lake? Previously on the blog I reveled the cover of the book, showed you a sneak peek inside and shared a picture from Prima Magazine. But, can you honestly believe it, it’s already March and the month when Selina’s 4th book Pretty Pastel Style is released with my photography prints! Soon copies of the new book will be available to buy across the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. And it all starts with an official Book Launch event on 22nd March 2013, at Market House, Kingston-upon-Thames, London, Europe from 11am – 6pm. You’re warmly invited! In case you live near London or are willing to travel in order to see the fantastic launch party, you can tune in for more information on the event Facebook page. Also, now everyone of you around the world has a chance of winning a signed copy of the new book on Selina’s blog until 20th March 2013 when Selina picks the two winners names at random. So exciting!
Image via Selina Lake
I got featured on the spring shopping wishlist of Sequins & Shortbread. Thanks to Megan who added JoyHey‘s Rainbow Bubblegum iPhone case onto her must-have spring faves. What’s on your spring shopping wishlist?
In case you are into pastel-colored accessories and wildlife camping, take a look at Light My Fire that manufactures wonderfully designed and absolutely stunning camping equipment. From different-sized lunchboxes to spill-free cups and oh-so-handy sporks (i.e. combinations of spoon, fork and knife), these utterly magnificent utilities from a Swedish brand take picnics and outdoor life to a completely new level. Take a look yourself… what do you think?
My current Light My Fire wild kitchen collection entails a mealkit with two lunchboxes and a cup and lots of sporks in various fun colors, such as orange, pink, white and mint green. And I cannot help but recommend this stuff! Not only are items highly practical and durable but also I find them feminine enough. Actually, I might start hardcore camping one day for real instead of sitting neatly in the park sipping my afternoon tea from elegant porcelain cups with lace napkins. Luckily that was just a metaphor and I’m just kidding but the point is still that it’s all about the equipment, don’t you agree? Starting out with something ‘out of your comfort zone’ really requires the ‘best of the best’ equipment. At least this logic works for me in terms of motivating myself. And surely, without a doubt, my womanly eye rests in the aesthetic shapes and bright colors of these beauties. Nowadays I would go camping every day if I could. Yes, in real forests with real trees and stuff… you know! ;)
Images by JoyHey
There must be some charm to the old saying ‘something old, something new…” as I have been following this principle in all my doings lately – more or less with regard to home decor. There’s just something truly enchanting about combining old rugged items with clean, modern surfaces that makes me weak. Having lived in California for a year (yes, I was lucky!), I must tell you that I hunted the entire year for treasures, such as wonderful old rulers and massive rusted keys. From little, dirty, bad-smelling basement-like antique shops to massive, clean and sterile supermarket-like antique stores, I searched for one-of-a-kind items that would make my heart jump out of my chest and, to be honest, I surely managed to accomplish my task with pride and find some pretty cool and unique stuff. Perhaps I’ll share insights and findings on my antique hunting in the States some other time but moving back to the initial agenda, the purpose of this post was to highlight how easy and fun it is to put together pieces that don’t belong with each other – items that are not designed to look good together. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?
It is so rewarding to come up with original and creative solutions that will make people stop and say: “Hey, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be.” To me, that’s what decorating is all about: making an impact and doing things your own way. Of course, some inspiration found on Pinterest doesn’t hurt every now and then. Actually, it can boost the creative brainstorming process and lend wings to your out-of-the-box imagination. Okay, so by now you might be wondering what I am talking about…. and that was the whole point of this long introduction – to get you as excited as I am about combining something old with something new. As for my master idea, it has been to combine some worn-out vintage office/school items with modern transparent office equipment. And here’s the result. Ta-daa! What do you think?
Doesn’t the retro stuff just look dashing when put on diplay in this more contemporary surrounding? It really stands out, doesn’t it? Having bought the oh-so-charming clear Louis Ghost chair from Kartell just recently for my office, I decided to take this idea of having a transparent office even further by purchasing a see-through pencil box and paper holder from Finnish Palaset brand. Also, I am thinking about expanding my collection with the nearly similar acrylic office equipment sold by Danish Nomess Copenhagen. How do you like my office styling? Do you ever combine old with new?
Images by JoyHey
My love for the wonderful home decor and kitchen products of Riviéra Maison (RM) has lasted already for ages. Yet, only just recently I have been really falling for their items! Perhaps it has to do with their introduction of new, more modern shapes and even whiter tones instead of the more traditional look with creamy hues and romantic appearance. Being a big fan of all things simple and clean, I am really fond of the plainness and pure lines that are largely present in their contemporary products.
I personally consider the Riviéra Maison interior style to be timeless and aesthetic. Their dishes and home accessories are exactly the kind of items you wish to keep and cherish for many years to come – and even grow your collections with time. With many of the items and parts being made by hand, the products are perfectly imperfect and highly unique with quirky details. Hailing originally from the Netherlands, the RM accessories have a European design feel yet coupled with a hint of American dream. In my mind, I see how these items could be used in some beautiful little French café that serves baguettes and coffee. On the other hand, walking into one of the stores of Riviéra Maison resembles my experiences with Pottery Barn to a great extent.
My current dish collection includes a citrus fruit squeezer, six big spoons for appetizers or soup, a small fish dish and two mini espresso cups that I bought particularly for Valentine’s Day. What do you think about these items? Could you see some of these in your own house or is your style completely different? Confessing to a bit of a shopaholic myself, any recommendations for similar shops are also highly appreciated.
Images by JoyHey
My pastel-colored Rainbow Lollipop photograph got featured on the 20 year anniversary edition of Finnish Häät wedding magazine. I am super happy to have my picture of the colorful lollipops on this beautiful magazine that’s filled with lovely inspiration and fascinating summer wedding ideas,. The gorgeous candy canes are available at a Finnish sweet shop – Karkkikauppa Sweetheart – for which I did a photoshoot last summer. Don’t they just make such a great addition to a wedding candy buffet? Also, they can serve the role of wedding favors too. So fun!
Images by JoyHey
I shared a sneek peak photo of our sweet Sundae Cupcakes from Valentine’s Day on Facebook and promised to share the recipe on the blog too in case someone gets interested in making these cute mouth-watering treats… and I must warn you, these are some pretty fantastic cupcakes! So, here you go – a heavenly recipe to a set of 12 pastel cupcakes that are filled with moist cream cheese and topped off with dreamy cream. Voilá, all served with love!
Ingredients:
For the filling:
For the frosting and topping:
How to make cream cheese cupcakes:
Make the basic dough. Froth sugar and butter. Add eggs. Add flour, baking powder and vanillin sugar similarly with milk. Now the base is done and leave it aside for a while. Next, you’ll make the filling for the cupcakes in a separate bowl where you put cream cheese and add sugar and vanilla sugar according to what you feel appropriate.
When both are done, use a spoon to put the dough and filling into baking cups. Put approximately one tea spoon per cupcake so that you first add dough, then filling, then dough etc. In the end, when you are finished, you can still add a bit of left-over cream cheese and use a spoon to mix it a bit with the layers underneath. Bake in 225ºC for about 15-20 minutes. In the meanwhile, you can make the topping for the cupcakes by mixing cream cheese, sugar and vanilla sugar in a bowl. Only when the cupcakes have cooled down entirely, you can add the topping so that it does not melt. Finally, add fun (even colorful) sprinkles and plump cherries to give a finalized look to your cupcakes. You can even add whimsical straws as a decoration. Enjoy!
Images by JoyHey
It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air! What could be better than starting the day with having a steaming hot cup of espresso that’s made with love. Coupled with some dreamy desserts and treats to pamper the sweet tooth (basically my morning started out with loads of candy! *giggle*) and freshly-squeezed lemonade to calm the thirst for love, my Valentine is all about refreshing drinks, delicious bakings, bright happy colors and big red hearts!
This is the day when you’re officially allowed to act a bit goofy and lowey-dowey. Isn’t that just something? Oh, and don’t forget those soft velvety roses to make the day even more special (note to self!). Hope everyone is enjoying their Valentine with friends, family or a special sweetheart. Remember to cuddle a lot, give long warm hugs, say nice things and savor all of those darling moments. Maybe you can even surprise your dearest with something out of the ordinary… just to remind them how much you love them. Smile big and keep on loving! Ta-ta for now! XO
Images by JoyHey
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