easy as 2, 3, 4

i had the pleasure of changed plans on monday night. tacos and time with some of my favorite little people, then to yoga. except it snowed, AGAIN, and yoga was cancelled. but that's okay when you learn the most delicious and simple brownie recipe instead. melissa is one of the most amazing women ever, and a little extra time spent with her is always sweet. 

so, i give you melissa's 2,3,4 one-bowl brownies!

2 sticks of butter - melt

3 cups sugar (2 cups brown, 1 cup white) - stir

4 eggs - one at a time

1 t vanilla (we used double dutch!) - overpour

1 cup good dutch processed cocoa - mix

1 1/2 cups of flour & 1 cup chocolate chips - stir until flour is combined

line 9x13 pan with parchment paper

bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes

(don't cut until ready to serve so they stay moist!)

or you can just follow the pictures above.

told you. easy peasy. 

inside scoop on saturday

[photo by melanie linder]

oh haiiiii (my new way to say "hey" like the tween i am.don't hate.) hop on over to turtlebunnylove and check out ms. melanie linder's pretty post on our DIY project party and my clay covered face! (it's worth the click just for that!)

weekend wonders

i don't have one word to describe this weekend, just that it was exactly what i needed. each day packed full of things and people i love, countless hours outside, early bed times, amazing food and gratefulness. grateful that it fulfilled me and grateful that i have created a life (and a person) that i love and will fight fiercely for. 

- 50 degrees and footloose friday after work for some trial time, followed by pizza, bourbon and the decendents with the bestie and her hubs. 

- spent saturday shopping, donuting, photoshooting, hanging, drinking, laughing, face-masking, editing and overall hustling with the lovely melanie linder. what. a. blast. oh, and lu got her very first designer duds from heidi merrick :) AND she held her bottle with two hands, boom.

- snow meant white trails on sunday, times two. green carnations for dad on st. patrick's and a "clubhouse" hang out after our afternoon trail romp on mt. penn, complete with irish soda bread.  

farewell fields and french hens

..until we meet again! it's a bittersweet weekend at the market - melanie is closing her stand, but not closing up shop (don't worry!). she's going to take some well deserved time off and i'll keep you posted as to when she is up and running again, baking amazing goodies that make our tummies and hearts happy. her stand was an amazing catalyst for me, throwing me into the direction of good people, good ideas and good community. it is my hope that the spirit of her stand lives on in all of us touched by her talent, and we carry if forward in all that we do as active, kindred-spirits in berks county.

so last week the girls (plus a new one!) made their usual thursday trip to the market to sample what succulent goodies melanie baked up. of course they were all to die for - we ooohhed and ahhhed over luella how light the cheesecake was, how deliciously dense the walnut and fig cake was, and for moments like these i can never thank melanie enough for doing her thang. she is truly a blessing. rock on sister, we're excited for what's next for you!

weekend wonders

bloom where you are pop-up shop this weekend was in full force - lovely people, products and a pretty place to host it! thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support. this is truly a dream come true! plus, saved by a grilled cheese from say cheese! and head over heels for this black cat by dentelion!

serious fiesta throw down on saturday night, not a dish left unfinished! (the best compliment to the cook ever!) coming up, the recipes for my two taco topping musts: cliantro lime yogurt and jicima and radish slaw.

centre park christmas house tour was incredible! these pictures don't even begin to do it justice people. make sure you put this on your holiday to-do list for next year, you will be blown away by the beauty and creativity in these amazing homes. (i have the BEST neighbors!) 

and the most rad poinsettia leaf ever, i had to buy him!

make your list and check it twice

come visit me at our bloom where you are holiday pop-up shop tomorrow at hello bluebird! we promise you'll find the perfect present for everyone on your list - and yourself of course! can't wait to see you people!

Join us this weekend for our annual Holiday Open House!

We can't wait to see you this weekend! Join us Saturday & Sunday for sweet treats, great local artists and handmade gifts, prizes, gift wrapping and more! Three "Pop-Up Shops" will be hosted on the 2nd floor, featuring local favorites such as A Little Sparkle jewelry by Kerry Rorbach, Dentdelion upcycled and eco-friendly childrens' toys by Dasha Gardecki, and Bloom Where You Are's favorite local finds (with Christin Kelley, Melanie Linder, Phoebe Canakis). Enter in-store to win one of 3 gift bags full of awesome handmade goodies! PRINT OR MENTION THIS EMAIL FOR 10% OFF OF YOUR PURCHASE (downstairs only).  Good through Sunday, December 9, 2012. HOLIDAY HOURS: (week prior to Christmas TBA) NOW OPEN MONDAYS, 12-4pm Tuesday 11am-6pm Wednesday 11am-6pm Thursday 11am-7pm Friday 11am-8pm Saturday 10am-6pm Sunday 12pm-4pm

Copyright © 2012 Hello Bluebird, All rights reserved.

good press.

[the spread the love nursery collection | image via melanie linder]

[phoebe's pure food new logo | image  and design via melanie linder]

[the bloom girls at hello, bluebird | image via melanie linder]

it seems like everything's coming up melanie these days - and for good reason! my uber-talented, sweet as pie, pretty as a peach and fun as all hell miss mel has a lot going on - a birthday, an anniversary a baby, launching bloom with us, doing double dutch and oh yea, her full time gig over at spread the love. obvs, i could go on and on about her for days (and sometimes i do) but i invite you to just take a look at what she's been up to. (um, that logo is to DIE for) and who she is (this will make you love her MORE, if that's even possible). so join me and let's just celebrate the hell out of this little lady because she totally deserves it. here's to your happy month, and year,  my lady bird!

banana pancakes.

[penn state career fair | united way day of caring | golf tournament | bloom where you are launch]

That's how things have been lately - luckily the good outweighing the bad. So a few images to get you up to speed on what's been happening over here! Happy Monday :)

weekend wonders

Perfect summer weekend. Running, relaxing, dancing, painting and eating with wonderful people. And Mexican Street Corn was attempted and devoured by Double Dutch. Oh. my. god. It's heaven.

pretty pickin'

To say the weather lately has been unbearable would be an understatement. Who wants to go stand outside in soupy humidity and pick blueberries, FOR FUN? Exactly; no one. (But yes, let's def run lots of miles, that sounds more reasonable.) Needless to say, our Double Dutch blueberry pickin' date has been cancelled and rearranged quite a few times. And then last night the storm came, the clouds broke and Melanie and I had a good hour, just the two of us, picking the last of the blue crops while enjoying the cool breeze and beautiful sunset (or maybe the just have REALLY great weather in Shoemakersville and we should move there?). Now...what to make with our harvest?

Life's a s'meach!

So, the s'meaches turned out even more spectacular than we ever imagined. The combination of the sweet and spicy was literally to die for and they couldn't have been any easier to make (and messier to eat)! Since there is currently a burn ban around here since it's been so dang hot and dry, we improvised and used the grill which turned out to be the best improv ever because we just made one large batch and baked them over the flames. Thank you Linder's for an incredibly lovely evening relaxing by the pond, stuffing our faces with s'meaches and listening to endless Jerry. xx!

Ring of Fire

[photo via the kitchy kitchen]

Double Dutch is celebrating Friday with s'meaches this evening! We are so excited about this summer take on your typical s'mores (and ADORE the instructional video). We'll be back with results of the taste test on Monday!

Ladies Who Lunch (and Launch)

Head on over to Melanie Linder's blog for some lunch time eye candy and see what Double Dutch and Phoebe's Pure Food have been cookin' up!

Burn run.

Okay, the title of this post has NOTHING to do with the actual post, besides sharing the word "Burn", but I like it and I think it's funny, and it's not Friday, yet, (ah!) so work with me okay?

Posting a happy little custom Double Dutch order for you to ogle over. Looks pretty awesome with my Ikea fur throw and hand-knit blankie, right? Well, sadly it can't live there because it's off to Bernville to surprise a very pretty and lovely lady just in time for Mother's Day! (Her hubs is the tops, seriously, and I'm so excited they are giving one of our signature Double Dutch pieces a loving home! On a farm no less.) So a big, bourbony, hug and kiss thank you for the order! We are psyched we could dutch up your day!

Organized.

[photo by Melanie Linder]

We've done a little spring cleaning over at the Double Dutch Facebook page and organized our Must-Haves for the season! What do you spy that are my favorites?

Plus we've added what we consider a spring wardrobe essential to the shop - perfect for the chilly mornings and evenings of spring!

Hip, hip, hooray!

weekend wonders.

[French Fry & Slider Bar at SSM's 80th]

[Dirk Quinn Band performing at Jazz on the Avenue]

[Bourbon Banana Bread from my Sunday morning bake session]

[Double Dutch Infinity Scarf - finally finished! Stay tuned.]

And I'm coming up for air! Hello, April! Whew! What a whirlwind March has been. I spent the entire month preparing for events planned for the last week. It's been race>company's 80th Anniversary party>Jazz Fest event on Penn Avenue - and now it's over! (what shall I do with all this free T I M E ;)

I must say, although totally wiped out, everything went off without a hitch! And I was lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing friends and family the entire time, making the success of my events that much sweeter.

So today's lesson: You really can do anything you put your mind to. If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough.

Tomato Pie Thursday

[photo found here]

After my introduction to Tomato Pie this past weekend (OMG how I have lived this long and NEVER had it AND live close to Philadelphia = EPIC FAIL on my part) I can't get it out of my mind! SO to the food lab of Double Dutch we go this evening to try our hand (well, more Mel's hand) at recreating this "Italian Hippie Food" (as it was so eloquently described to me) masterpiece. We already knew to start with a homemade Sicilian crust from Salino's (my contribution) and Mel's taking it from there! Stay tuned for a Tomato Pie tutorial should everything turn out awesome!

The Secret's Out!

[photo by Melanie Linder, cookie by Fields and French Hens, Arrow by Karen Stanford]

Double Dutch, my pretty little side project with the ever-amazing Melanie Linder (her post about DD is pretty awesome too!), is up and running! Woohoo!

So go check it out and let us know what you think ( and be kind please :)! We're so excited and have amazing ideas to share with you.

First up, for those of you who know your lady would scoff at heart-shaped jewelery for Valentine's Day (duh.) give her the arrow to your heart instead. Just what your one-of-a-kind woman wants. Trust me. Or, ladies, if your girlfriends cupid turned out to be stupid this year - an awesome arrow is the appropriate gift in times like these.

Happy shopping everyone! We heart you!