Links to Love, Volume I

Happy Friday lovelies!

Let's start the weekend off right, shall we? Here are some of my favorite things flying around the internet right now:

1. This little girl will completely warm your heart and make you want to create something of your own!

2.  Dude, you've got 99 problems and none of them are real. An awesome article on problems & happiness (thanks to Alyssa for sharing!).

3. Snail Mail is BACK people! My girl Ashley is creating a postal revolution- want to be a part of it?

4. Oh my goodness. Ricotta + Carmelized Pear Raviloli. I die. 

5. This drawing of all the Oscar dresses every worn by Best Actress winners. Epic.

6. These pad printed bowls from West Elm are just too pretty for words!

Anything fantastic on the internet that you've seen this week?

Share away!

xo, lp

layering etiquette (a 9th & Elm love story)

I'm here today to talk layering. No- not in terms of clothing- which I am an expert at from living in the Midwest thankyouverymuch- but in terms of jewelry- a little bit more fun, no?

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I remember in high school the jewelry rule was "before you leave the house, take one item off".  It was the days where we all wanted to be Jennifer Aniston- with dewy makeup & sleek straight hair. 

These days it seems like the trend is the exact opposite. Crack open any J.Crew catalog and it's a bunch of pale thin ladies yelling LAYER UP! Baubles on baubles on baubles.

While I'm not totally opposed to this-- I'm more of a fan of layering simple necklaces over the big sparklers. I've been searching for the perfect gold monogram necklace for a while, and this one from 9th & Elm is just mah jam. Delicate, ladylike, and easy to layer. Proof I love it, via Instagram:

 WAIT! STOP! I know you're going to say- "Laura- a lot of places offer gold monogram necklaces. SNOOZE". Well calm yourself. I know that. How many of those places offer said necklaces for only $40 and ship them in a week? I ordered this one and got it a week later. Yeah. Most places (not naming any names here) tell you it'll take them 3-5 weeks to personalize. If you're a fan of immediate gratification & great quality, this necklace is for you!

Now that we've got the neck area down, let's talk wrists.

I refuse to say "armparty" because frankly, I think it sounds pretty dumb. Maybe it's not actually bad- but because it's so overused and overhashtagged? 

I digress.

My usual wristwear is a big gold watch, and 1-2 bracelets. Worked into the rotation has been these Lily and Laura bracelets. These bracelets are made with Nepali women- and are a bunch of tiiiiny crystal beads that layer perfectly! They stack together really well, and have a little bend to them so they sit up nice and snug to your watch/other bracelets!

Once again, Instaproof:

So how do you layer, friends?

Are you more of a simple gold monogram girl, or a colorful lily and laura bracelet wearer?

xo, lp

*the pretty powers that be at 9th & Elm sent me these baubles as a thank you for writing this post. i don't post about companies or products unless I dig them, and you can have my friends/coworkers attest to the fact that I ACTUALLY wear these pieces regularly. no lies here, buds.

BAKED CRANBERRY & BLUE CHEESE WONTONS.

It's been a little bit since I've shared a recipe on this here blog, so I figured I'd start the end of a hiatus off with a bang- with THESE:

If you've hung out at this blog for a while, you may remember me sharing this Pecan/Cranberry/Blue Cheese Spread a while back. The other day I had some wonton wrappers to use so I figured- why not make this spread into a wonton? Is there anything that DOESN'T taste good in a crunchy wrapper? I think not.

Plus, you need just a few ingredients:

What you'll need to make it happen:

- Wonton Wrappers

- 8 ounces of cream cheese

- 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped pecans

- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

- Olive Oil Spray

How to make it happen:

Watch out- these are suuuuuper tough:

Step 1: Mix in your cheese, cranberries, and pecans into your softened cream cheese.

Step 2: Take 1 Tbsp of your mix and fold it into your wonton- pinching the corners in to seal.

Step 3: Spray lightly with olive oil spray and put onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Step 4: Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, checking every 5 to make sure they're not burning! Bake until golden brown, let cool slightly, and enjoy!

These wontons have so much flavor there's no need for a dipping sauce at all. They're salty and sweet and creamy and crunchy. Best of all the worlds!!

I love these wontons because they're completely unexpected - if you want to totally mess with your guests heads - don't tell them what's inside and let them guess! I mean...unless they have a nut allergy. Then, geez- please tell them.

Any other blue cheese lovers out there?

If you're a blue cheese fan, try this dip, and if you're just a wonton fan, you must try these!

xo, lp