Studio Kiekje

A good weekend

Right now I'm sitting in front of the computer with a cup of delicious hot chocolate which Sean made for me.

We had a lovely date this weekend, to the Barnes Foundation. It's a strange museum, with HEAVY security. (Seriously, we had to get past four security check points before we could get inside the place.) They will be moving to a new location in Philly soon, so I will be interested to see what it will be like in the new place.

I have many strong opinions about it, but I will keep them to myself for now :)

The Barnes has an arboretum too, so Sean and I enjoyed the last bits of summer outside.

 

In other weekend news, I got an excellent gift from my parents... an Iphone!

I never expected to have an iphone, so I'd never paid much attention to all the things you can do with one. So far I've used a few different apps - the Pandora app, the New York Times, Flickr, and the Weather Channel. I'm still learning! I'd welcome any suggestions or tips.

I took some pictures of the new apartment, so I'll be posting them later this week!

(Incidentally, these pictures were taken with the iphone. The camera quality is very good! Ok, enough geeking out about my new toy...)

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday to Sean

Today is my sweet boyfriend's 26th birthday.

 

Happy Birthday dear Sean. May all your birthday wishes come true! (Especially if they involve giant cupcakes.)

xoxoxoxo times a million,

Kiekje

weekend tally

My weekend in numbers:

* Loads of laundry washed, dried and folded = 3

 

* Croquet games lost = 1

* Ticks removed with tweezers = 2 (GROSS)

(On a related note, I am now paranoid about Lyme Disease)

* Pizzas baked with chorizo from the farmer's market = 2

* Viewings of "Demolition Man" = 1 (Once was enough, thanks.)

* Magazines read at Borders = 2

A pretty good weekend, for the most part! I suppose it's not really over yet - I think we will partake in some Memorial Day grilling today. (Although I think I will understandably be worried about creepy-crawlies for a little while) 

I hope you all had a lovely, tick-free weekend.

This past weekend...

... I became a Master of Arts.

 

Check out the snazzy hood!

I'm back, and I'm older!

I'm back from end-of-the-semester land, and I'm ready to devote some more time to Studio Kiekje. It's been a busy few weeks - I handed in my thesis, presented a paper, and took a 4 hour exam. But, it's all been worth it because now I have my M.A! Yes, I am Kiekje, Master of Arts in Art History.

During that time, I also turned a year older.... I have now reached the ancient and advanced age of:

 

25!

A whole quarter century!

I had a lovely and relaxing birthday - which ended up becoming several days of celebrations. 

I made strawberry cupcakes which I enjoyed with some of my friends. (I even got to blow out a candle.)

And you can see a sneak peek of one of my amazing birthday gifts which I'm wearing around my neck. More on the necklace to come....

Thank you to my friends and family, and especially to my gentleman-friend for their support while I was working, and for celebrating with me when I was done.

And thank you, Studio Kiekje visitors, for stopping by!

Sweet and sassy Spring break

This past week was my Spring Break, although what with the usual work-load and some obligations I didn't really notice it was a vacation. I did get to have a couple of fun dates with Sean, including a trip to Delaware to see the school where he teaches, and then hang out and have lunch and wander around. And then, at last there were cupcakes.

 

I heard about SAS cupcakes (Short for "Sweet and Sassy cupcakes") on Food Network, and when I saw that they were in the town where he teaches, I thought they might be a fun place to visit.

Look at that picture - definitely a good choice. That's two raspberry cupcakes on the left which were amazing. They even had a thin layer of raspberry jam between the frosting and the cake which just made the raspberry flavor even better. (Must remember this idea...) Then on the top right is a S'more cupcake, which the guy who worked at the shop recommended. It was pretty good - a bit too much frosting though. And on the bottom right is a Cinnammon toast cupcake which was very good. 

The people who worked there were very nice too - very hyper, which I imagine I would be too if I worked around delicious cupcakes. (Also, they complimented my outfit, so I am biased.)

We pride ourselves on being dessert connoisseurs (or at least I do... and Sean is my apprentice).

So did we approve?
Let the pictures be our evidence:

 

Yes. We did.

xoxo,

Angelique

Valentine's Day

Hello all! A very Happy Valentine's Day to you - I hope it was a good one. I'm not a big fan of the "dozen roses held by a stuffed bear" holiday, but I am a fan of flowers, chocolate and hand-drawn valentine cards. I know some people feel sad on this day, but I was single for several years before I met Sean (I am a choosy lass), and I still enjoyed buying flowers and drawing cards for my very best friends. Plus this day was totally made for avoiding restaurants and ordering Chinese food while watching movies instead (It was the Princess Bride this year!)

What did you do?

This year was especially fun because a dear friend of mine and her fiance visited us for a lunch that ended up lasting many hours (the best kind!). Sean made a delicious beet soup that was the appropriate holiday red.

 

Here's the table set up before they arrived. I forgot to take any pictures during the fun, because, well....I was having fun, and I forgot. But look at those snapdragons! And also, you can see my spontaneous heart paper-cut which I hung up on the light fixture. Very professional :)

 

In addition to the soup, we served this chocolate torte which I made from this recipe from Design*Sponge. It was delicious, although I added a bit of cayenne pepper for a kick. I put down a doily and sprinkled some confectioner's sugar and then removed the doily to get that cool pattern on top. I can't claim that this is an original idea, but it does look pretty doesn't it?

 

And a blurry sweetheart picture. I look goofy, but I chalk that up to the fact that this boy still makes me weak at the knees.

Sappy, but hey, it's Valentine's Day. I think I get a pass :)

Stone-y admonishments

 

"OMG! You're going to do WHAT?!?"

 

"Have you considered what this could do to your teeth, young lady?? Furthermore it could RUIN your appetite for DINNER. "

 

"Well, at least there is fruit involved. We wash our (stone) hands of you, missy."

(These two guys are sculptures on the exterior of a local church. They crack me up every time I see them. And that was my first caramel apple! It was delicious.)

October-y Forest Wanderings

On Sunday there was some chill in the air, but not too much. We decided to take an October-y walk. There is a little wooded area near the school where I am currently a student and Sean used to attend. Most of the students don't know about it, so it feels quite secluded. And, as you will see, it hides a secret...

 

First we made our way to a random bench which is about halfway into the mini-forest. It faces out over a little ridge which somehow always has the most beautiful view. Next to it is a tree where various people who know the secret of the mini-forest have carved their initials. And look! It is the first appearance of Sean on this blog! (He is not usually this small, but he is always this cute.)

The view. Even more beautiful than this picture shows. You can almost forget that you are a few minutes walk from a college campus.

 

Of course we had to leave our initials. In a very elegant hand I might add ;)

A little bit more of a walk uphill, and we came across the aforementioned secret of the mini-forest:

A very old private graveyard. We could just barely make out the date on the big headstone as 1797.

Ivy had grown all over the yard, hiding me from the ankles down, and obscuring many of the gravestones, most of which are sinking anyway.

For many of them the inscription is completely obscured. I spent a lot of time wondering who these people were, and what their lives were like 200+ years ago.

I hope you have a lovely week, and perhaps get a chance to go enjoy the Fall like we did.