A little taste of France

A couple of weeks ago I was checking out one of my favorite blogs. The post of the day was on macaroons and I was hit with my deep love of these dainty cookies.

I'd never had a treat so luxurious and sophisticated in my life until was on a school trip to Paris.

So that blog post reminded me of what my life had been missing. For the past weeks I've been trying to find an area bakery that sells these delicious cookies. I never found a local place but I found the next best thing at Trader Joe's.

They are almost as good as the ones I had at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

Be still my heart

I love heels, and I've always wished I was that girl who could wear them all the time. But I suppose it's time to face reality - I cannot wear heels every day of the week. I can suffer through on special occassions or days when I trick myself into wearing them to work, but flats are always my go-tos. They're much more my style.

This is why I am insanely excited for the spring launch of the TOMS ballet flats. I love TOMS, and I love ballet flats so honestly I can't think of a shoe line that would fit my personality better. Plus, you're helping people in need when you purchase a pair. I can't think of anything more awesome.

So despite the fact that there are already three pairs of TOMS sitting in my closet, you best believe I signed up to be notified as soon as the ballet flats are available for purchase. There aren't a lot of details available about the line just yet, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. I know I won't be.

UPDATE: I just received the email that TOMS ballet flats are now available! Go here to find a pair that fits your style.

TGIF — The Crazy Ones

Just found this poster of a greatly designed quote by Steve Jobs. So cool.

Perfect for a Happy Friday moment.

Weekly tune-up

Music I'm loving right now . . . The Way It Was by Parachute

Listen to while . . . driving around with your sister. Or your best friend. Or yourself.

(As always, there's a little more after the jump)

Love Letters

Found these beauties on Etsy last week and couldn't wait to share them. I've always been a fan of letter jewelry but there is just something about font of these.

Now, I just have to decide on the letter.

Where burgers come from

My parents took me out to dinner Saturday at a place in Akron called The Rail.

I'm already in love. I love their branding and the space - both were clean, minimal and well-designed. Oh and of course, I loved the food. Not only that, but The Rail prides itself on "keeping it local," which I also love. Their burgers are made from Ohio-sourced beef and their menu features beer from local breweries such as Great Lakes, Thirsty Dog, Lagerheads and The Brew Kettle.

I ordered "The Tourist" burger which comes with avocado spread, spinach, red pepper mayonnaise and red onion. My mom had heard that their milkshakes were worth getting too so I ordered a strawberry one, and my parents and I also split an order of their homemade fries. I was not disappointed by a single thing I ordered.

Don't be put off by the small appearance of the burgers, they really fill you up and they're absolutely delicious (I highly recommend The Tourist). The hand-dipped milkshake and the chips were the perfect compliments to the burger. Their prices are a little on the high side for burgers and milkshakes (their burgers range from about $7-11) but this spot is definitely worth multiple return visits. In fact, I plan to be back for their beer class in early February . . .

Check them out
Location: 3265 W. Market St. Akron, Ohio 44333 (at Summit Mall, right by P.F. Chang's)
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
They also do carry-out orders - their phone number is (330) 864-RAIL (7245)

This is the last time, I promise.

So two weeks ago I posted all my favorite calendar ideas for 2012 but I just found this one that really takes the cake — so I thought I'd post it before the end of the month.

It's from bubblecalendar.com, and yes it's a calendar with a bubble wrap bubble to pop for every day. Doesn't that sound amazing?

TGIF

I have a bad habit of dropping phones. My last phone broke apart on my apartment floor/the sidewalk/my office floor too many times to count. So when I ordered my iPhone, I immediately jumped on Amazon and got the sturdiest case I could find. While I do feel a lot safer with my OtterBox, it is lacking in the design area - it's a bit bulky and not overly attractive. Here are a few of the iPhone cases I've been coveting lately . . .

I really love Society6's selection of iPhone cases. Sadly I don't really want to pay $35 for a phone case so I'll be sticking with my OtterBox for now.

Grouplove

The band Grouplove is one of my new loves for 2012.

NPR raves about them and their top song sounds like everyones recount of of adolescence.

So give them a quick listen.

Kitchen redemption

Abbie and I finally made up for the grease fire we started while trying to make churros a few months back, and we did it with the help of these delicious pierogies . . .

Photo from momofukufor2.com

Okay, ours looked more like this . . .

Not as pretty but still, I was impressed with us. They took longer than we thought they would, but they weren't overly work intensive so there's a good chance I'll be making them again. Plus, it doesn't require a lot of ingredients and most of them we already had on hand. Oh and did I mention this recipe makes about 40 of them? Take a look at the original recipe at momofukufor2, and check out our modified version of the recipe after the jump.

Owl City

The owl fad, though it has been around for a while, is really starting to show up everywhere.

I not going to lie, I'm really digging it.

Here are some of my favorite finds:

Urban Outfitter

Francesca's

etsy

etsy

Give Ohio a little love

Despite the cold temperatures, snow and freezing winds that have finally announced wintertime in Ohio, we still love our state. We also love finding creative ways to show our love for the Buckeye State and this is the latest one I've come across (thanks to my sister Caitlin).

This darling print is available in Rooted In Paper's Etsy shop, and the state and stitching colors are customizable to your liking. Plus if you have a friend moving to another state, you can either remind them of their love for their home state or see if Rooted In Paper has the state they're going to call home.

For $10 (plus $3 for shipping), this would be a great piece to add to your decor.

TGIF — It's so cold

So the weather here in the OH is getting cold and icey.

In the pursuit of trying to find some "cold" TGIF finds I stumbled upon this awesome.

Yes, alphabet ice cube trays!

Happy Friday!

Thinking spring thoughts

With the weather the way it's been lately in Ohio, it's been hard for me to not be thinking of spring. You can all thank me when the snow starts tonight/tomorrow, I will accept full responsibility. But for now let's keep those spring thoughts with the new spring colors from Essie - due to hit stores in February so you can get a jump on spring.



Photo from style.com

Clockwise from top - To Buy or Not to Buy (lavender), A Crewed Interest (pink/peach), Orange, It's Obvious (orange, just in case I had to say), Navigate Her (light lime), Ole Caliente (watermelon red) and Tour de Finance (fuschia).

I really like the review of the new colors on Style.com's Beauty Counter blog, it gives a good description of how the colors actually show up on your nails. I can't wait to add a couple of these colors to my nails next month!

The Maple Munchies

I don't know if I've ever expressed my love for maple things but it's about to happen.

I love Maple for a lot of reasons — I'd also like to note my love for Canada here too.

But I think my true obsession with the flavoring began during a trip to Vermont to see the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory. At a rest stop some where in that great state I bought a box of maple candy and my life was never the same.

There nothing better than pure maple sugar melting in your mouth.

I have recently discovered a brand of Trader Joe's cookies that are phenomenal.

When I'm not in Vermont these cookies will fill the need left by my maple candy addition.

Weekly tune-up

Music I'm loving right now . . . El Camino by The Black Keys

Listen to while . . . you do anything. And everything.

(There's more after the jump . . .)

We're Back!

It was nice to have some time off but the girls from Ohio is 4 Lovers are back and ready for a 2012 full of our favorite things in food, music, design and style.

I know that we're already nine days into January but I'm still looking for a really cool calendar for 2012.

Here are some ideas I found on Etsy: