Rose and Lavender

Spring is in the air and with flowers everywhere in full bloom it's hard to resist picking them all! We'd all agree those gorgeous blossoms are stunning additions to any garden or bud vase, but have you ever thought about incorporating these intoxicating scents into tasty treats straight from your kitchen?

I love the idea of baking with flowers; they add such a delicate and sophisticated layer to even the simplest of sweets. Two of my warm-weather favorites are rose and lavender, both deliciously fragrant and well suited for baking. Not only does each have an incredible depth of flavor, essential oils responsible for their heady aromas have some pretty amazing medicinal benefits. Rose is chock-full of antioxidants as well as Vitamins A, C and E while the soothing effects of lavender have been shown to help lower blood pressure and regulate digestion. In order to reap the full benefit of each flower's medicinal properties it's best to use a mix of food grade essential oils and dried herbs/flowers-- you'd literally have to eat one hundred rose petals to get the same punch as one drop of rose water.

There are so many ways to work floral notes into desserts, but my all time favorite vehicle is butter and at Eat Sweets Pastry we're all about rich, buttery shortbread. With only four simple ingredients to contend with, the warm floral notes of Spring will shine right through and add a wonderful sweetness and depth to the cookie. Bite into one, take a nice hot sip of tea and let your thoughts drift. You'll have a smile ear to ear, promise.

Rose Shortbread 1C Butter 2C AP Flour 1/2 C Confectioners Sugar Pinch Sea Salt 1/8 tsp Rose Water Dried Roses

Cream butter until light and fluffy, add rose water and beat for ten seconds. Add confectioners sugar, mix until well blended. Add AP Flour, rose petals and salt, mixing until dough comes together. Turn onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/2" thickness. Cut out and chill for at least an hour before baking @350 until edges start to brown. Dip in white chocolate and garnish with rose petals.

*Alt Recipe: To make lavender shortbread, simply substitute food grade lavender oil for the rose water. Before baking, top with crystal sugar and dried lavender flowers.

Story and Recipe // Megan Driscoll of Eat Sweets Pastry

A Mother's Day Brunch

We over at Paper Fox LA and the Granny Girls (Amanda Crew and Amber Borycki) have been planning to do some sort of collaboration this year and finally decided to do a Mother’s Day Brunch together. As we were going through the details, we realized that the majority of our moms lived far away and we probably wouldn’t be seeing them this Mother’s Day! I was bummed that we would be planning such a beautiful event that our mother’s wouldn’t get to enjoy, until I remembered that Amber of the Granny Girls was pregnant and going to be a mommy just before Mother’s Day. So, obviously, we threw her an early Mother’s day celebration!

Paper Fox LA is all about blending bright, modern colors palettes with soft details. For this event we decided wanted to bump up the traditional soft, mother’s day floral look with an edgier color scheme, paired with giant paper flowers and geometric shapes. I loved mixing the natural birch branches with the surreal watercolor color painted flowers for our centerpiece. My favorite detail of the event was our tassel garland backdrop. I just adore seeing the bright paper in a rustic, natural setting like this!

The Granny Girls whipped up their most amazing Blueberry Buttermilk Scones for the event and looked beautiful on our bright CB2 yellow appetizer plates. And they tasted ah-mazing, of course. They also made these gorgeous dip-dyed napkins for the table setting, for which you can learn how to make on their blog!

We had so much fun celebrating Amber and drinking our Blood Orange Mimosa’s. We hope these photos inspire you to throw a Mother’s Day event for the mother’s in your life!

If you don't feel like making any of the pretty paper decorations, they're also available for sale at the Paper Fox LA shop!

Keep your eye out for more DIY posts from this event right here on Zooey and the Granny Girls! For now, we hope you enjoy this little sneak peek of all that is to come.

Story // Lauren of Paper Fox LA Photographer // Andrew James Abajian Dresses // JUNIM Los Angeles Jewelry // Katie Dean Jewelry Furniture // Etablir Vintage Event Rentals Location // Haley Solar of JUNIM Los Angeles

Roundup of Spring Colors

When the weather starts brightening... So does our wardrobe! We took a look into our past shoots, and decided to do a roundup of pastel-colored outfits that might just inspire you for this current beautiful season. Aren't you itching to shop for some colorful pieces now? Whether it's a blouse or pants, you just can't go wrong with a splash of color in your day-to-day style.

Kiernan Shipka (2013, Dawn DiCarlo) in the prettiest shade of lavender.

Julianne Hough (2012, Derek Wood) in a pastel-coral, which went so perfectly with a white top! Kaley Cuoco (2012, Derek Wood) in all pastel... from top to bottom. Aren't you just in love with this? Her outfit can be worn in the office or an afternoon outing!

Amanda Setton (2013, Isaac Sterling) in a light blue top - and we adore the fun design! It really gives it such a great pop even with the striped shorts. You can bring this look from spring to fall! Nikki Reed (2012, Derek Wood) and our favorite heels ever. Pastel isn't just for clothing... It's essential in accessories too!

This oh-so-dreamy dress on Mary Elizabeth Winstead (2013, Dove Shore) was spot-on for Spring. Pastels and floral? Count us in! And like we just said, pastels isn't just for wearing - it's for sporting in your hair too! Would you dare to dye?

Claire Julien (2013, Vince Trupsin) in the prettiest light-blue silk blouse - both light in look and feel. Liana Liberato (2013, Isaac Sterling) wears a gorgeous party dress with pastel-colored designs. C'mon, if this isn't a must-have... We have no clue what is!

Jessica Lowndes (2010, Michelle Moore) in cream... An essential color to own! Bethany Joy Lenz (2012, Vince Trupsin) in her own light-blue dress that can be worn solo or with layers!

And...this is our own palette of the season... What's yours?