it’s basically tzakaki on bread, but these are sooo good. my FIL has been making them every summer for years and i always look forward to it, so i realized i could start doing it myself!
it’s a super simple recipe, perfect for chill summer dinners or entertaining –but i promise it will impress all of them! my stepdad was over the other day and shocked how good they are.
cucumber and yogurt crostinis
Ingredients
- baguette
- olive oil
- 1-2 large cucumbers or a handful of english cucumbers
- full fat greek yogurt
- coarse sea salt
- fresh dill
Instructions
- finely dice up cucumbers and let sit in a bowl till you’re ready to serve.
- slice a baguette and brush olive oil top before grilling, toasting, pan frying or baking the bread. totally up to you how you want to crisp up your toasties, i’ve been using my balmuda.
- once your bread is golden brown and you’re ready to serve, mix the cucumbers with greek yogurt. start with about 2-3 heaping tb and add as you like it. you want it to be creamy but not dripping with yogurt.
- sprinkle your sea salt and some sprigs of fresh dill on top and serve!
i’ve always been obsessed with things smelling good – from asking my dad if i can wear perfume at wayyy too young, to hoarding half-used candles like they’re souvenirs, so i’m not sure what took me so long to get on the Pura train, but i’m never getting off now!
i am super sensitive to smell, and whenever i would come home being away, i hated the smell of our house and worried everyone that comes in notices how odd it smells. i’ve even worried i smell like a hamster cage lol. but not anymore! ever since we put Pura fragrance diffusers all over, people comment on how good our house smells.
i’m going to share my honest Pura diffuser review— a bit about my experience using one, my favorite fragrances, and how i set the timer. but before i do, they’re doing a sitewide Memorial Day Sale from 5/19 – 5/26. diffusers* and fragrances are 20% off!!!
a very legit candle replacement
i’ve always been one of those people who have scented candles burning in multiple rooms at a time, especially when we have company. but, i read an article about how burning scented candles was actually really bad for you, and i shuddered to think the terrible air quality of our house, all because of my unwavering love of fragrance!!
that was when I decided to try a Pura smart diffuser. the biggest selling point was that it’s recommended for anyone with children or pets (and they’re eco-friendly). and the smart features made it sound so easy!
i still burn candles, for the vibes, but i find myself doing it way less than i did before. my Puras do the heavy lifting instead!!
my favorite Pura diffuser scents
this is a very important part of your Pura “journey”, because there are thousands of scents to choose from and it can be super overwhelming at first. i tried many scents until i started figuring out my MVPs, which i now have on auto-buy!
and ps — while you’re figuring out your scent preferences (there may be some trial and error), Pura has a great fragrance return policy!! a really good way to choose is look for companies you already like and trust (a lot of my favorite candles i tried in Pura form).
here are the best Pura scents i’ve discovered thus far! be warned, i love the clean, coastal, citrus scents the most. i’m not into scents like vanilla, etc. but i might branch out more and update my favorites later!
Salt by Unify Co.: marine, cashmere, woody. my #1. i’m obsessed. very niche reference, but it smells like the northern california part of soarin’ at disneyland in the best way. clean, coastal, slightly cozy… it’s perfect!
White Bergamot by Studio Mcgee: citrus, floral, light musk. the floral note adds a soft, cozy layer on top of the musky base i usually go for. i thought it might lean too feminine, but it doesn’t!
Earl Grey Bitters by Apotheke: bergamot, black tea, amber. clean but a little moody, like citrus with depth instead of straight freshness.
Palo Santo by Brooklyn Candle Studio: palo santo wood, cedar, sandalwood. i’ve always loved the scent of palo santo, so i ordered this immediately. it doesn’t smell exactly like burning palo santo to me, but it’s a beautiful, relaxing scent — like a fancy spa waiting room.
Dew by Unify Co.: peony, green, eucalyptus. a perfect springtime scent, it’s crisp and refreshing and light.
Volcano by Capri Blue: tropical citrus, sugared fruit. sweet and punchy. not what i usually go for, but it’s really good — and totally different from the rest. best in a small powder room where you want a fun hit of scent.
how it’s changed the vibe of our house
this is the best part. you can fully set the mood of your house depending on the season or even the room.
around christmas time, we had a faux tree in the living room and a real one in the family room, so i got some christmasy Pura scents, and i swear the living room smelled better than the real tree. that pine smell wafting through the house was one of my favorite parts of our first christmas in connecticut!
post-holidays, i went all in on cozy, woodsy scents, and now that the seasons have changed, i’ve switched to brighter, citrusy ones. it really does change how the house feels.
my sister-in-law literally asked me if it was worth getting one “for her smelly house” (her words, not mine lol) and i was like… 1000%. i’m simply a happier person when things smell good. who wouldn’t be?!
how i set my schedules for my Pura home diffuser
i actually get this question a lot, so i figured i’d answer it here. it really depends on your routine, but since we work from home and are here basically all day, ours run more than someone who’s out 9–5. (and you can even use away mode so it won’t run when you’re not home!)
first — if you didn’t know, you control everything from the app. schedules, intensity, when scents are running low… all of it!
i basically set mine based on where we actually are during the day.
upstairs in our bedroom, i run it way less since we’re not there much. i’ll do a wind-down window (7:30pm–10pm) and then a little bit in the morning (5:30am–6:30am).
downstairs, i focus on the times we’re actually using the space. i’m not spending time in the living room mid-day, so i just do a morning block (6am–10am) and then again in the evening (5pm–8pm).
and then for rooms that need… constant help (our tiny bathroom, unfortunately), i pretty much run it all day but with breaks — like 40 minutes on, short intervals off.
depending on your sensitivity and preferences, you just gotta play around and see what works best for you!
 | Pura’s Memorial Day Sale runs until May 26 |
| Save 20% sitewide, including diffusers* and fragrances. | |
| BUY NOW At Pura |
*sale excludes the new Pura V5 diffuser.
mother’s day is may 10! lots of sweet + simple gift ideas for all the different moms out there!
aura
aspen digital frame
the most incredible digital picture frame — everyone in our family has one! use code “molly” for $35 off the aspen frame.
roan iris
hand block-printed tea towels
for the mom who says you can never have too many table linens (me)
rŌz
milk hair serum
this stuff is pricey but so good! i use it after washing and it makes my hair shinier, softer, and way less frizzy.
wildgrain
mother’s day brunch bundle
this brunch box would be such a treat (use code “MAKESPERFECT”) i love allllll their products and they bake straight from frozen.
school auction art a lot of times can be very corny, or something you may not actually want to bid on / hang in your house. if you’re in charge of doing the auction art for your kids classroom this year, i thought a post of beautiful projects would be very helpful!
in this post i’m sharing 20+ ideas for school auction art that are actually beautiful, doable and people might start a bidding war over! i tried to find easy projects but there are a few more advanced ideas in here depending on your level of expertise/ambition!
wait, what is school auction art?
some schools host auctions towards the end of the year to raise money for the school. each classroom is typically responsible for creating one piece of art that other parents hopefully would like to bid on and win for themselves.
the best school auction art pieces i’ve seen don’t cost much to create and also don’t feel too personalized with each kid in the classroom represented. if you want to create something that fellow parents would want to actually keep in their house, then something more generalized will probably be the most popular.
the best projects incorporate or represent a piece of each kid in the class.
1. van Gogh inspired flower collages
these van Gogh style art pieces look pretty incredible. as a group, students painted the background in tempera paint with mixed colors and large brush strokes. the teacher printed out a copy of an original van Gogh painting, cut out the vase, and adhered it to the painted background. then each student created a flower using crayons and water colors. the stems are made from tissue paper. i love!!
2. a flower collage art print
this is so beautiful! have students cut out shapes with paper in coordinating colors. then use gloss medium with paintbrushes to create the flowers. design a vase, arrange the flowers, and then frame!
3. kids sharpie art plate set
these are so simple but would be so cute to sell as a set! they would make for some really fun kids’ dinnerware. i also love this idea of kids each drawing their own fruit on a plate and then auctioning it off as a set.
4. glass magnets with kids art
a small one but so easy and cute. and something you might actually use. you just cut up kids’ art to the size of the magnets and glue them on.
5. a beautiful serving tray
so pretty!! for this one, kids used liquid watercolors, liquid diffusing paper and pipettes to create the circles. you could also try using coffee filters. then use mod podge to adhere to the tray. if you didn’t want to do a tray you could turn this into an art print, too.
6. make a quilt out of kids artwork
okay this one is a little more advanced but it’s SO PRETTY i had to include. very detailed instructions here!
this one is also so beautiful and easier! i feel like these quilts could look so cute in a kids room! step by step instructions here.
7. story quilts inspired by Huguette Caland
if you’re not into the real quilts, you could try “story” quilts. these ones are in the style of Huguette Caland and are really beautiful. you can buy the project pdf here. you could have students color in different parts of the art and then frame, or have them create a few prints as a group for a really special series of art.
8. flower paintings inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe
these are individual art prints but how pretty are they?? you could sell as a set or have each kid paint one flower for a large scale print. or even turn into a calendar!
9. paper mosaic art
for this one you could have kids cut out different colors/patterns of paper and then have them assemble into interesting mosaic pieces.
10. turn kids art into a calendar
this would be really simple (and so useful!) — have kids each do a drawing for one of the months (or do two to a month if you have more kids in the class), then upload to a custom calendar online.
i’m a big fan of artifact uprising and minted calendars if you’re looking for beautiful designs, and if you want something simple, i’d go with zazzle!
11. large scale collaborative painting
this project was done with tempera paint on a large piece of craft paper but i think you could get a large canvas and have them do the same. this would be great for kids of any ages really!
12. a nature wind chime or mobile
it would be so sweet to have kids collect things from nature and press into clay. combine them together to make a unique wind chime/mobile. you could also have them paint the discs instead.
13. grid collages of kids’ artwork
this is an expensive version of this idea BUT you could definitely do a cheaper version inspired by her work by scanning kids’ artwork and creating a grid-based art print.
14. diy shell ornaments
okay i’m a little biased BUT i think it would be so cute to have kids each make some shell ornaments and auction them off together as a set! here’s the tutorial!
you could also do this idea as a vase instead of ornaments.
15. fingerprint art print
a simpler project but could be great for younger kids. you could also have them do something like this on a platter. very very cute, simple and looks beautiful!
16. painting inspired by Paul Klee
kids did their own individual art for this project but you could do a large-scale print and have each kid paint a square. or have them each do their own smaller piece and add them all together.
17. cutout print inspired by Matisse
have each kid cut out Matisse-inspired shapes in different colors then assemble together into a cool print!
18. watercolor school auction art
for my sons kindergarten school auction art, i had each kid do a watercolor painting and then cut them up into small leaves, creating this flowy rainbow pattern which i glued down to a piece of thick poster board. this one took me many hours, but i’m so happy with how it turned out.
and there was a bidding war! i believe it went for over $600 !!!
19. checkerboard watercolor art
for my sons 1st grade class, again, i had each kid do a small watercolor painting, and then using a square puncher i created a unique rainbow checkerboard pattern. i glued onto a piece of poster board and framed. it took me very little time and it would look so cute in a playroom or bathroom.
20. tiny house collages
these beautiful collages are made by alexandra mathias! it would be so fun to have kids paint little houses like this and create a print inspired by their work. i’ve also seen similar projects done with butterflies and lots of other shapes!
i hope this helped inspire you if you’re in charge of creating the auction art for your childs school. and if there’s a bidding war, even better!!!
]]>for a very easy way to swap your frame tv art without having to use the app, i have a tutorial here.
click on the images in the collages directly to shop!
print your oscar ballot here! the 2026 academy awards are happening on march 15th this year (does it feel like it gets later every year?!)
and as always, i made a printable ballot for your oscars viewing party!
the way i like to use it : everyone marks their predictions in one color, then fills in the actual winners in another. at the end, tally up who got the most right… and that person wins absolutely nothing! just bragging rights! but putting down $5 would actually make it so much more exciting.
i’ve seen a whopping 3/10 best picture noms this year!!! GO ME! (bugonia, sinners, and one battle after another) of those three OBAA was my favorite for sure.
i would totally see marty supreme when it’s streaming for free and i will not be seeing hamnet (so not my thing!) what’d i miss!? what’d you love?!
click here to download the oscar ballot
for best results, download to your computer and print the file directly vs downloading from your browser window.
printable is for personal use only, redistribution is prohibited
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before moving out of los angeles, i was obsessed with the japanese sweet potato soup from goop kitchen! i craved it constantly and have missed it since leaving and it getting cold outside — so i searched all over for a recipe but couldn’t really find one anywhere! so i tried my best to make something similar, and frankly i don’t even know if it tastes the same, but it was good and that’s all that matters right?!
ps i wish i’d taken a better photo for this!
japanese sweet potato soup with crispy brussels sprouts
Ingredients
Soup
- 4 japanese sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 cups broth i use water + bouillon always!
- 2¾ cups water divided
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tb soy sauce
- 2 tb white miso paste
- olive oil
Brussels Sprouts
- brussels sprouts trimmed and halved
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 tb soy sauce
Optional
- chili crunch oil for serving
Instructions
- heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium, add onion. cook, stirring often, for 15 mins, until soft and caramelized. add garlic and cook for a couple more mins.
- add broth and 2 cups water to the pot. bring to a boil over high heat. add sweet potatoes and boil until fork-tender, about 30 minutes.
- turn off heat. use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
- ass you’re blending, add in salt, garlic powder, and remaining ¾ cup water (or more for thinner soup)
- next add soy sauce and miso paste until fully disolved.
brussels sprouts
- toss brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp soy sauce.
- air fry at 400°F for 13 minutes, shaking once halfway, until browned and crispy.
- set aside about ¼ cup for garnish.
- stir remaining brussels sprouts into the soup and warm gently if needed.
- top with crispy brussels sprouts and chili crunch oil, if using.
Notes
here is the dutch oven i have, immersion blender and my favorite MILD chili crunch!
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i’ve made some printable valentine’s in the past, but i thought some simple fill in the blank cards would be fun for this year– easy prompts for little kids who say the darndest things, and short enough to keep their attention too!
click here to download the printable
printables are for personal use only, not for redistribution of any kind.
for best results, download the file to your computer and print versus printing from your browser window.
this is the first year i’ve actually made arlo valentines for his classmates — and i’m so happy with how they turned out. a follower told me she was using temporary tattoo paper and suggested it for arlos art and i loved the idea so much i actually made it happen in time for the holiday!!
(ps if you’re less ambitious, i did round up lots of cute valentines to buy here!)
this was surprisingly easy with the materials i got, but i tried two kinds of tattoo paper and the first was waaaay superior to the second (and way more expensive), so i guess it’s worth it to get the nice one if you want them to look their best.
these would also make really sweet custom birthday party favors — i might do it again who knows!?
temporary tattoo valentines
materials
temporary tattoo paper
scanner or scanning app
printer
scissors
a scraper tool or even a credit card
printable valentine cards (printable is for personal use only)
washi tape
paper cutter (optional)
instructions
01. have your child draw something they love and scan it. i use a scanning app on my phone called “scannable by evernote”.
02. i scanned arlos crab and then sent to my photoshop to size it, duplicate it and mirror it– your design needs to be backwards for a tattoo. because the tattoo paper only comes with two sheets, i had to make sure to fit a lot on one sheet (enough for all his classmates and some extras, so i made them smaller than i originally planned but i like the size for little arms!)
03. follow the instructions of your tattoo paper and print accordingly! you’ll print on the glossy white sheet and then let the ink dry before the next step.
04. once the ink is dry, add the clear glossy sheet on top, and carefully rub out the air bubbles using anything you have on hand.
05. cut all your tattoos out!
06. print out your valentines, whether you’re using the ones i’ve designed or your own. then cut them all out.
07. add the tattoos with a little piece of washi tape and let your kid write their friends and their own name
i’m so happy with how these turned out! would love to see if you do them yourself
as always, my printables are for personal use only. resharing and redistribution is prohibited.
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embossed tin ornaments! made from recycled takeout containers!! these are so hot right now, i’ve had them on my list to make and am so happy with how easy (and addictive) they were to make!
and i’ve made so many — i’ve used them as decorations, ornaments, a garland and as gift toppers and they all look so special!
but now unfortunately i have a massive pile of takeout containers i’m hoarding in the corner of the house lol. sharing how i made them, plus my supplies below!
step 1 : cut the tin sides to flatten
cut the sides to flatten, and then smooth out the texture with a plastic tool or rag (i used a butter spreader and it was perfect), i believe a wooden spatula would work well too!
step 2 : draw your design
use a soft surface so you don’t scratch up your table (i used a sketchbook). draw your design right onto the tin (you can erase by re-smoothing but the more you do it, the more it’ll get dented up). you can sketch it out with pencil first, or trace right on top. i used an embossing tool but you can also just use a ballpoint pen!
step 3 : cut and add ribbon
once you’re happy, cut out with scissors, punch a hole and add ribbon! they would also look so cute with some beads to embellish but i couldn’t find any!
ps. you could also use disposable foil pans
pps. should i have made templates for designs? would you guys prefer that?!
SUPPLIES I USED:
a very cute and easy way to spruce up your plain gift wrap, OR the packaging paper that you get free in packages!!
every year i collect all the kraft paper from our packages for about a month before the holidays and then use to wrap our gifts — but i really wanted to spruce them up this year.
so i made some potato stamps and did patterned wrapping paper this year! i cut out shapes in potatoes to make the stamps, but obviously you can skip a step if you already have cute stamps. i then brushed on some acrylic paint and spent the next few hours stamping away like a jolly little elf!
i did a simple square to do an irish chain pattern, a quirky star and a fish of course.
i made some tin gift toppers too and my gifts look so special now! (you can see how i made them here)
why spend money on gift wrap that’ll be tossed immediately after opening!? save that pretty gift wrap for paper chains instead!
and if you don’t want to make your own i found a couple cute rubber stamps and more wrapping supplies that should arrive in time!!
cute wrapping supplies:
i wasn’t sure where to put my holiday cards last year but then i had the idea to use this pretty brass garland i had from a few years ago and i think it looks so cute!!
sadly this garland is no longer sold but since it was so popular with you guys, i thought i’d look around for other card display ideas. i haven’t seen too many pretty options you can buy, but i did come across a lot of really cute diy ideas so i thought i’d round up what i found for you! the best part is a lot of these ideas involve things you probably already have around the house and don’t require much effort at all. hope it helps!
1. clip cards to a garland
so cute and easy if you already have your garland up somewhere! kelly of studio diy used pretty brass metal clips to attach to her garland but i’ve also seen people do it with clothespins too.
studio diy
2. roll out some ribbon
if you don’t have garland, just tape up some pretty ribbon and attach your cards with clips. so simple and cute. also really easy to just run the ribbon down a door or wall!
lesley graham
3. adorn cards on a wreath
same idea as the garland but with a wreath! great option if you don’t have too many holiday cards.
heathered nest
4. decorate a mirror
tape them around or on the sides of a mirror. bonus points if you use some festive washi tape.
lemon thistle
5. hang them on a ladder
if you have a pretty blanket ladder around this is such a cute idea. tie some string to it and then attach your cards with — you guessed it — clothespins or clips.
tatertots and jello
6. display them in a pretty basket
also makes it fun for you or for guests to look through them.
sunset
8. string them across a window
this could be so sweet in front of a kitchen window. all you need is some string and more clothespins.
country living
9. create a card tree
use string and clothespins to create a christmas tree on the wall. you could also simplify even more by just taping the cards to the wall in the shape of a tree. this would be so fun to do with kids!
design improvised
10. attach to string lights
just use any string lights you might already have!
pottery barn
11. diy wreath chandelier
this is a bit more ambitious but looks so cute, and even cuter with holiday cards added. see the tutorial here.
treehouse threads
hope that helps inspire your holiday card display!
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want to make the sweetest and most meaningful gift for someone you love?! make them a custom plate of their house!!!!
i made this to commemorate our new home for the holidays, but it would also make such a beautiful gift for someone! AND it’s so easy to make too!!! i also sort of regret doing it in red now so i may have this one be our holiday plate and do another one in blue!
if you want to make your own, i’ve shared all the steps and supplies i used below!
step 1 : trace your house with a pencil
using a photo of your home (you could also just use your ipad), trace your house with pencil onto a piece of white tissue paper.
step 2 : draw your house onto a plate
tape the tissue paper onto a white plate and then trace over the house again with black sharpie. it will bleed through the tissue onto the plate. if you’re not confident with your drawing, do it twice!
then go over the design with a ceramic paint pen. i used this red color but blue would’ve been pretty too. don’t worry about it being perfect — it ends up looking so charming no matter what!
step 3 : add your finishing details
add embellishments, text, whatever special touches you want. if you don’t like something or mess up, you can erase with rubbing alcohol!
step 4 : bake your plate
bake according to the marker instructions — and once it’s done baking, i left mine to cool down in the oven.
it’s not food safe, i made this just to display!
ps. you can watch a video of how i did this here.
supplies i used
what’s cuter than a cute letter to santa?! a fill in the blank version of course! i love giving prompts to my kids because i feel like it inspires way more creativity and cute responses. i’ve already shared a free printable letter to santa, but i felt like making a new one for my own kids, so obviously i thought to share with you too!
if you’re looking for a simple, cute way to help your kids write to santa this year, this free santa letter template is perfect. if your kids write a wishlist every year, i think doing it in this format is the best – not only are they forced to be gracious and polite about it, but there are only three lines so they can’t ask for 17 things either lol.
(but also, let me know if you want a backside version with extra lines for more gift requests!)
we print ours out and fill them in at the kitchen table with eggnog (always) and christmas music.
scroll down to download your free fill in the blank letter to santa printable!
fyi, i printed mine onto colored cardstock but you can obviously just print on regular white copy paper as well!
click here to download the printable
for best results, download and print versus printing
directly from your browser window
printables are for personal use only
redistribution is strictly prohibited
if you’re looking for more free christmas printables for kids, i have a bunch more linked here!
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in case you want one big list of all the gift guides we created this year, here it is — hope you find lots of special gifts for your loved ones!
click on the guide you want to shop
for the entertainer
always one of my favorite gift guides to make because i loooove pretty hosting things even when i barely host anyone at all! lots of different easy gifts for the host or hostess in your lives!
for the in-laws
i feel like in-laws are especially hard to shop for because you may not be comfortable asking them what they’d actually want, or maybe you don’t want to spend a ton of money but still want to give them something meaningful — so i found lots of different types of gifts at different price points!
for the cook
for all your loved ones who are always in the kitchen, i gathered a bunch of unique, stylish finds in all different price points that would make such good gifts if i do say so myself.
for him
this is always the hardest gift guide for me! i try to find things that aren’t all cliche “guy stuff” but still be… guy stuff ?! i think i found lots of cool things that i know my husband and brother would for sure like!
for her
i made sure for this gift guide for her that i would only choose things that i would want, so i hope you like it too!! lots of different price points for gifts for your sister, wife, mom, aunt, girlfriends … anyone, really!
for the little kids
all kinds of adorable play things for the little ones!
for the big kids
for the older kids! i even made an effort to include some tween gifts!
for the babies
babies don’t need much — but a little special something is always fun because who doesn’t like cute baby things!!?!
stocking stuffers
lots of ideas for grownups and for kids!
