Jewel Tones and Ruffles

I recently purchased this dress at Target for $10.  It's two sizes two big but I couldn't give up the color.  I am in love with jewel tones and I think all women everywhere should have a dress in either ruby, sapphire, emerald, etc.  Now, I just need a good tailor so that it will fit right... 

Don't worry, I got better shots with my friend's nice camera. These are just teasers after our photo shoot. Better quality pictures coming soon. I promise!

I got my hair cut and I'm having a mini bangs crisis.

But I am dang proud of my calves.

As you can tell from this gratuitous angle.

And, of course, a dancer shot.

Necessary in every Dancing Branflake outfit post.

Where else can you get dancing outfit posts?

Dress: Target, Top: Limited, Shoes: Madden Girl

Are you rocking the jewel tones this season?

(Rock... haha, get it?)



Clouds

Big, fluffy, puffs of flying cotton candy.

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For those who have endured many weeks of rain, 

I hope you get rewarded with beautiful clouds.  

You deserve it.

Smiling, Laughing, Swooning, Dreaming

~I am swooning over this~

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~I am sweetened by these~

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~I am laughing at this~

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~I am drooling over these~

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~I am smiling because of this~

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~I am dreaming of this~

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Happy Friday!

I hope you get a chance to smile, laugh, swoon, dream, be sweetened, and drool today.

PS... that mini grocery makes me so happy!  Anyone else here absolutely love grocery stores?

Oreo Truffles

In yesterday's post I mentioned the Oreo Truffles I made for the baby shower.  Here's the super simple recipe.

image via Bakerella

~Ingredients~

1 package regular Oreos (not Double Stuffed!)

1 eight ounce package softened cream cheese

Twelve ounces of melted white or milk or dark chocolate (or all three!)

Baking pans lined with wax paper.

~To Make~

~Combine all Oreos and softened cream cheese in a food processor.

~Form into balls.

~Put balls on baking pans lined with wax paper.

~Freeze until hardened probably 10-15 mins.

~Dip balls into melted chocolate. 

~Set back onto wax paper.

~Refrigerate to cool and store.

You can decorate any way you want.  Here are a few ideas.

image via The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

image via The Johnsons Cook

image via Better Homes and Gardens

image via Two Peas Blog

image via The Cupcake Social

These are terrific for a party on a pretty tray
or packaged nicely as a gift.
I used sticks because I was uncomfortable with rolling them and setting them down.
Just be sure to dip the stick in the chocolate first so the stick does not come out.
When Paula Deen dips things in chocolate she uses two forks. Smart!

Milk and Cookies

I went to the most fabulous baby shower Friday night.  All the ladies got together and had a mini spa.  A table in the dining room was set up with tons of nail polish and cotton balls and we had a ball painting our nails and chatting.  If we wanted it, a professional masseuse was there to massage our hands and feet in the living room.  We made our own brown sugar scrub and put them in cute little mason jars for our favor. 

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The best part was the food. Milk and cookies was the theme.

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A few of us brought cookies (raspberry meringues, chocolate and peanut butter whoopie pies, chocolate chip cookies, macadamia nut cookies, and Oreo truffles)

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and they served chocolate, strawberry, and regular milk in the cutest bottles from Ikea. 

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We ate the cookies on fine china and drank our milk in wine glasses. 

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So incredibly fun and unlike any baby shower I've ever been to.

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Do you want the recipe for the Oreo Truffles? 

Maybe I'll post it tomorrow.

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What is your favorite kind of cookie?

We Got Away

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This last weekend Mr. Branflake and I packed our weekender bags and headed out to our favorite getaway place.

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It's a place that's close enough to get to by car but far enough to be special, a retreat if you will.
Emphasis on treat.

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It's a place filled with photo worthy moments and gorgeous sunsets.

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When we are here we are forced to do nothing but relax, read and eat good food.

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My favorite part?  Shameless PDA with no cares in the world.

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Do you have a favorite getaway place? 

Romantic or non romantic?

By the way, our special place is Monterey.

We had a wonderful weekend with wonderful people.

Lace and Stripes: A Dress Made for Dancing

Did you know that horizontal stripes are banned for those who want to look slimmer?  I threw caution to the wind and just went for it.  This is the perfect travel dress- no iron needed and I can easily dance in it.  I can  see myself wearing it at the beach over my swim suit with a big straw hat.

  Dress: Target, Necklace: Banana Republic, Lace Tank Top: Old Navy, Corduroy Jacket: H&M

And now, I'm going to to grace you all with a ballet class in my new outfit.

(Whether you like it or not!)

I think we all need a dress we can take ballet class in. 

Ps... I am using my wonderful SIL's camera.  Take heart, I will find mine again. 

Be a Cupcake!

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"Always be the cupcake in a box of muffins."

~Status shuffle.

 I will take this one step further and say always be a stylish cupcake in a box of muffins.  

Have a cupcake kind of weekend!

 

Tables That Inspire

Here are a few dinner parties that I wouldn't mind attending:

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image via Tana Photography

I hope today you get to eat well, laugh often, and feel loved.

Happy Friday.

ps... Don't you just love having the books on the table?

An Easy Way to Tone Your Tummy- Without Even Realizing It

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If you're looking to tone your belly and increase core strength, the next time you're driving tilt the seat back a few inches yet keep your posture upright.  On Tuesday I drove for about two hours and woke up the next morning with sore abs and a tight tummy.  What a pleasant surprise!

Not slouching in general is a great workout because you are fighting that oh-so-powerful force of gravity.  Good posture not only gets you stronger but also makes you look slimmer, more confident, and happier.  

How do you keep your core in shape?

Exercise balls?  Dancing?  Pilates? Laughter?

PS... A special Thank You! to Brandi from Not Your Average Ordinary and Pizzelles and Lillian from Unstitched for sending the sweetest Valentine's Day cards in the mail.  I felt so loved and so honored to know these fantastic bloggers.  I might have gotten a little misty eyed but we wont go into that.

Can I Please Be Her?: Black and White

image via Emily Dahl

I am such a sucker for black and white,

especially with photography and clothes.

ps... I love how many brush-less bloggers there are!  And for those who asked, I don't own a comb either.

pss... Thank you for the amazing comments yesterday.  I want to tell the world, "No, really, if you met all my blogging buddies you would start a blog also.  They are fabulous!"

Are You Blog Conscious?: Thoughts from a Professional Athlete

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One of the people we hung out with in San Francisco on Saturday is a football player for the San Francisco 49ers (for those unaware, the 49ers is a professional American football team in the National Football League).  While eating lunch in the hotel's restaurant we got to talking about our jobs. He mentioned how he doesn't like telling people what he does for a living because he feels uncomfortable with the assumptions people might make.

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I wanted to say, "I know exactly how you feel!"  Maybe not for the same reasons that he does, but I always hesitate when I tell people I'm a dancer or a dance teacher.  When I broke my wrist and had to get x rays, telling the hospital staff that I broke it dancing raised more than a few eye brows.  The x ray tech actually asked while looking me up and down, "Do you still have to be skinny to be a dancer?"

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Then I got to thinking about the blog and how I hardly ever talk about my blog to people in person.  When I approach people about being interviewed I hesitantly say, "I...uh... I have a blog..."

Are you open about your blog to non bloggers?  

How do people react?  Do you get shy about it?

(ps... my dad is a HUGE 49ers fan.  Huge.  My night gown growing up was an oversized 49ers shirt.)