Okay, let me start by saying, holy cupcakes batman, these look stupid. Ridiculous stupid! I found this amazing blog via Hither and Thither, one of my fabulous daily reads.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon and Meringue

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Sour Cream Fig Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting

...for all my savory friends out there - Cornbread cupcakes with Goat Cheese Frosting and Bacon
 :)

Now for the hard part....which ones to make?

xo tash

Hair there and everywhere!

Today was one of those days where I found myself trotting all over LA. Lunch at Lemonade, hair appointment at Byron and Tracey Salon with my ridiculously talented friend (I mean, seriously, there's no one better), moving furniture around, cleaning my house, dinner at my favorite farmers market  and all topped off with an exercise class at Cardio Barre (a torturous ballet/fitness hybrid). PHEW! I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

This weekend the mister is off to Vegas for a Bachelor party so I'll be spending my days milling through my cook books and my nights testing the recipes out on any willing girlfriends, followed by a few cocktails, of course!

This cook book is one of my all time favorites and I'm yet to make something from it that doesn't fly out of the kitchen still piping hot!

I also recently picked up the Big Sur Bakery cookbook and can't wait to try a couple of these recipes out so stay tuned my darling bloggers! I will be sharing it all with you!
xo tash

welcome home!

There's nothing like coming home after a short stay away (or a long stay for that matter). Suddenly the space you were once feeling stifled in suddenly feels comfortably familiar. The smell, the furniture, the nooks and crannies, it all feels like home.  That's the feeling I got today when I walked back into my cozy hollywood hills cottage.

Although it's barely large enough to swing a cat in (sorry cat lovers) it's accumulated all the things that I love. The flea market finds, the hand me downs from family and friends, my shameless attempts at art, for better or worse, it all spells out the life that my love and I have created.

Though I can't deny that after spending some time on Design Sponge, I found some spaces that I'd also feel really comfortable coming home too...

This is my type of pantry! Everything in beautiful Jars like some kind of old fashioned food apothecary. Gotta love that rustic over head lighting too!

 Love these rustic shelves. I also love collecting rocks from different places I've travelled to. I have a fun little collection from all over the world.

This is an outdoor vintage tent ideal for leisurely outdoor entertaining. It's also has a beautiful daybed for sleeping the day away after one too many bites or sips of that desired cocktail... swwoooooonnn 

I love the idea of sneaking art into every moment of your life.... even the moments you'd least expect!

Bedrooms are to me, one of THE most important rooms in your house. It's the place we all usually gravitate to, to rest or heal.   It's super important to me that these spaces are clean and peaceful and allow me the tranquility to rest up in order to be energized for the day ahead!

xo tash

Full Moon!

It always made sense to me that the word "lunatic" centered around the word "lunar"... I grew up hearing stories of ER's overflowing with patients and my Dad's warning of "be careful tonight kid", was like clockwork during a full moon.  This weekend was quite the moon! Hope you all had a delightful weekend gazing up at that glowing beam of light.

Candy Darling...

Enjoying all that San Francisco has to offer is a full time job! I've been coming here regularly for almost four years now and I'm still finding things that I love about this city... Today I was delighted to indulge in one of my favorite past times, sugar! For those of you that have passed through these parts more than once, you'll notice my sincere affinity for all things sweet, like here, here, here and here (just to name a few!).

So when I heard about Candy Darling, from Gwyneth Paltrow's blog GOOP, I couldn't help but make the short trip to check it out for myself.

I must admit that when I arrived I felt an immediate pang of sadness as I was sure that they were going out of business. Fortunately this was not the case! The almost empty store front laden with boxes was nothing more than their onsite manufacturing operation bursting at the seams.

This boutique family business is filled with enough charm and high quality chocolate to have you coming back for more. While their selection was not wide the customer service was delightful and they did express plans to have the store filled by Christmas time! I told the owner that I'd be back to test all the new products.

...and I am a woman of my word :)

Til next time, Candy Darling.

xx tash

Take Me Out

...to the baaaalll game!

Whilst we do have baseball in Australia, everyone knows that it's one of America's most treasured past times.  After being in Los Angeles 5 years, I've only just experienced my first game at San Francisco's Giants AT&T Park. Oh boy was I spoiled, this stadium is absolutely stunning and if you're like me and not always the best follower of sports, you can gaze off into the surrounding bay, get lost in the sail boats and just join in on the fun parts like cheering and eating! :) 

Apparently if a player hits a ball into the glove, the coke bottle pops open and someone in the stadium wines $1 000 000!... Mind you, that's yet to actually happen!

....as always, thanks for stopping by xx

Oui Oui!

Tonight we had dinner at one of my all time favorite French restaurants which happens to be in San Francisco.  Garçon is packed with French charm and enough accents to have you believing you somehow avoided the pesky international airport and arrived somewhere in the Parisian district all within a short car ride through the Mission district.  With the delightful option of a Prix Fix menu, Executive chef Arthur Wall will truly make your taste buds dance! I'm so sorry about the quality of photos, once the wine was flowing and the lights were dimmed, I put down the camera to partake in some enlightening intellectual debate and dabble in the chocolate lava cake, creme brulee and blueberry sorbet... Oh how very French of me!

Copain, Syrah, 2007 'tous ensemble'

Seafood chowder

Grilled Asparagus and deep fried egg with rocket salad

Big Sur... Yes Sir!

Today was the day that we travelled to my favorite place in California, Big Sur.  We stopped by my favorite Bakery aptly named "Big Sur Bakery" and devoured some of their finest cuisine.  The food is absolutely delicious and always lingers in my memory long after the blissful sojourn in this redwood, hippy town.  Unfortunately the same can't be said for the employees of this delightful hideaway. I have a feeling they've seen one too many tourists in their day and have lost the 'free love, we're all in this together' attitude that seems as though it should be the currency of this town.  If you can put their misanthropic attitudes aside and enjoy the culinary delights of this hot spot, I promise you won't be disappointed. 

Strawberry Strudel 

Mixed Green Salad