Amanda Catherine Designs

One of my favorite finds so far since I've been in the process of moving has been Amanda Catherine Designs, a shop on Etsy that makes affordable prints. There are a million and one shops on Etsy that print cute quotes and pictures, but there was something whimsical and sweet about Amanda's shop. What I loved so much about this particular shop compared to others, was that I could customize each print to match the decor in my room. Since I'm sticking to a navy, grey, and white color story, I had Amanda change up color combos on the prints that I selected, and as soon as my basic white rectangular frames arrive, I plan on putting these on shelves above my bed...I think it will be a nice stark look against my blue/grey walls. When I'm settled in, I'll give you a sneak peak into my bedroom to see how my prints turned out, but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite pics off of her site!

Wardrobe Wesnesday

The weather has been so wishy-washy here in New York, and I can't quite figure out how to dress. As much as I love the fall, September and October are always the in-between months where a dress and bare legs are comfortable one day, but a sweater and a trench are necessary the next. I like consistency, and so does my closet!

Since it has been dreary and muggy out, I opted for a dress that I actually forgot I had (one of the perks of moving...finding clothes in the back of my closet that I forgot I owned!). The silky fabric makes it super comfy and easy to wear, but the 3/4 sleeve makes it still wearable for fall. I love when I can take pieces from season to season!

Here's a glimpse at the fabric pattern. A little patriotic, don't you think?

Enter Here

With moving on my brain (and in progess!), I've realized that there's something super refreshing and unconventional about a painted entrance way. Front doors, garages, back doors, gate entrances...they all look so much better with a little hit of unexpected color. It doesn't have to be an over exaggerated neon pink either, a pale blue or lacquered black have the same effect. I think it makes the exterior of a house look interesting and cool, and I'm loving all of these that I've found on Pinterest. Would you ever paint your front door a crazy color?

Friday Happiness

taken from here

This week is finally over and the chaos of moving starts this weekend. Im going to pick up my keys tonight, and then I'm finally going to start getting stuff settled in! My mom and I are going to paint on Sunday and then hopefully on Monday I'll be able to start putting furniture in. I'm so excited to share my space with you once it is all set, but be sure to follow me on instagram (marlahorenbein) for a play-by-play of my moving experience! Happy weekend everyone!

-oxblood is my new fav color for fall-

-my stack this week- 

-so excited to light this thing in my new apartment!-

-the prettiest roses at the ralph lauren showroom-

-view of tuesday's outfit from the train platform-

Aunt Dubby's Apple Cake

My mom is an amazing chef and baker. She can literally come up with something from nothing. Seriously, dinnertime is a coveted event in our house...people always want to eat over and have my mom's cooking. Definitely something that I am going to miss when I move out (I'm sure I'll be stealing plenty of leftovers though!).

As I've gotten older, I've realized that I should probably start learning my mom's recipes (she can remember so many from memory!), so that I too can carry on the ever so special trait-my great-grandmother Nana Molly is where my mom learned all of her tricks-and what better time to learn than the Jewish holidays?

One of my all-time favorite desserts is an apple cake that my mom only makes during the high holidays (Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur). When I was away at school, I used to wait by the mailbox for my special package of apple cake. It's really that good. This particular recipe is actually from my dad's side of the family, which my mom quickly adopted, and I'm so glad that my great-aunt Dubby is such an amazing baker too! With apple picking season in full gear, this is the perfect recipe to try out!

Ingredients:

10 inch greased tube pan

6 granny smith apples

1 tbs cinnamon

3 1/4 cups of flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

4 eggs slightly beaten

1 cup oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tbs vanilla

1. Peel and slice the apples and put in a large mixing bowl. Add cinnamon and sugar. Mix and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Create a well in the center of the mixture.

3. In a third bowl, mix together eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla. Add to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix well.

4. Pour half of the mixture into the pan and then top with 1/2 of the apple mixture. Layer 1/3 of the rest of the batter on top of the apples, and then spread the rest of the apples on top. Cover the apples with the remaining batter. Bake at 375* for 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Oxblood

Wine, burgundy, oxblood, merlot...call it whatever you want, I'm obsessed with fall's hottest color. Red is one of those tricky colors too wear: too cheery around the holidays, and you look like a walking Christmas card; too much red at once, and you look like fashion roadkill. It's gotta be the right shade, on the right person, with the right pieces. Which is why I love this dark wintery shade...it looks great on redheads, blondes, and brunettes alike, and looks fab when paired with color (like teal or yellow), or super polished when paired with black or white. I'm particularly liking the way it looks on my nails, and with a couple of gold rings...ah-maz-ing!

elizabeth & james pump, miu miu clutch, equipment blouse, miu miu skirt, gucci beanie, lulu frost for j.crew necklace, opi nail polish, valentino loafers

Apartment Wishlist

A week from today, I'll officially be moving to Hoboken! Time has flown so quickly since we signed our lease back in August, and I thought that a little over a month would be plenty of time to gather everything that we'd need for our new space. Clearly I was wrong. I feel like I'll be scrambling to get all of our last minute things, and decorating seems to be a never ending task. Since I'm living with a friend, our common space will reflect both of tastes, but I'm super excited for my bedroom.

I've been wanting to redecorate for a while (2 years to be exact!), so I'm excited to get into the space and make it mine. I'm obsessed with navy blue, white and grey, and my room is going to reflect that. I purchased this douvet cover from West Elm, which was the starting point, and I'm so in love with it. I also recently purchased some prints from this super cute Etsy shop, and can't wait for them to come in so that I can frame them. The room is going to have a very strong nautical influence (surprise, surprise), but I still want it to look girly and sweet, so I'm looking for some softer pieces to accent the strong lines of my furniture and the grey/blue walls that I'll be painting.

Here are some of the items that are currently on my wishlist...

ikat pillow, navy pillow, cable knit throw, zinc letters, tray, pouf, foot stool