Lavender and Limes giveaway!

A big thanks to Christine at Lavender and Limes for hosting a Nimbus giveway. Our Year Round calendar is up for grabs! Mosey on over and sign up to win.

Also, she has a lovely new blog design! Here is a sneak peek..

TNF Freebies #7,8,9,10: Sweet Labels

For those of you who still need a little somethin' somethin' for your V-Day gifts, then you're in luck! We have a lovely slate of label designs looking for a new home on your wrapped packages, boxes of sweets, or one of those free valentines you may have received from a certain Nimbus Factory! Enjoy!

Download your choice of design below:

Happy Valentine's Day (upper right)

Love Birds (upper left)

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (lower left)

Love Floats (center)

S.A.D - Single on Valentine's Day?

Credits (top to bottom)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabes/
her0in_chic on Xanga
http://www.buzzfeed.com/drakesan/fml-qut
http://www.ohhellofriendblog.com
(unknown)
Natalie Dee

happy valentine's day <3

The sweetest thing

Priscilla Ahn's cover of John Lennon's song "Love"


Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

V-Day Inspired Color Palette #3: Bright red & blue

Here's your cure for the winter blues...just throw some bright colors on and seize the day :)

3 days & counting!

make a trip to the postal service so your valentines make it in time for monday!


photo cred here

reminder: if you haven't sent us your mailing information for your free valentine, please shoot us that info, along with your choice of valentine to thenimbusfactory@gmail.com so we can get your valentine(s) out by this weekend and hopefully in your mailbox by valentine's day!

romantic date hair

(photo by jamie beck)

this simple side ponytail seems just special enough for your valentine's day date, or any other date type occasion! i might give it a whirl myself next monday!

see the full hair tutorial at a cup of jo.

simple sentiments

(photo via ache)

TNF V-Day Freebies #4,5,6: More Beautiful Tags!

To round out our collection of gift tag freebies, we're releasing three beautiful tag designs for your gifting pleasure!

To download (from left to right), just click on the applicable link!

Happy V-Day | All You Need Is Love | Where We Love Is Home

Love & the silver screen

Photo Love #3

(photo via art for amy)

a little something classic -- bogart and bacall :).

Photo Love #2

robert doisneau

kiss by the hotel de ville, 1950

Photo Love #1

(photo via ache)

Just wanting to share some lovely little photos of random couples today. I actually don't like ScarJo very much, but what a beautiful picture!

Friendly Reminder: Get your FREE Valentine while they're hot!

(image via herekitty)

Hello everyone!

Just a reminder that we still have a limited amount of FABULOUS free valentines to give away to you wonderful, lovely people :). Just click on the banner at the top of our blog or HERE to leave your comment and email address after you follow us on Google or Facebook!

For those of you who have already shared your sweet stories and received an email from us but haven't yet responded with your mailing info, please remember to do so as soon as possible as we'd like to get these out to you before Valentine's Day. And if for some reason you didn't leave an email address (there may have been one or two), go ahead and leave another comment or just email us directly at thenimbusfactory@gmail.com.

Thank you all!

xoxo

The Nimbus Factory

Superbowl Ad Love (from last year)

I know this ad is so 2010, but it still reigns as one of my favorites. It reminds me of the movie Love Actually when Colin Firth's character tries to learn Portuguese for his love, Aurelia. Google executes everything so perfectly here. Enjoy this blast from the past.

Valentine's Day Recipe #3: Homemade Nutella

(photo from david lebovitz)

i'm not sure if there is anything better than nutella except for maybe homemade nutella. everything always tastes better when homemade, don't you think? this recipe, from one of my favorite food bloggers david lebovitz (better known as the guy who wrote one of THE go-to books on ice cream making -- the perfect scoop), seems like a cinch to make once you gather all of the ingredients. and what an amazingly simple gift it would make for valentine's day!

-----

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

by David Lebovitz, adapted from Encyclopédie du Chocolat

1/3 cup (40g) whole almonds

1 1/3 cup (160g) hazelnuts

1 3/4 cup (400g) whole milk

7/8 cup (60g) powdered whole milk

3 tablespoons (40g) mild-flavored honey

pinch of salt

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

5 ounces (140g) milk chocolate, chopped (use one that’s at least 30% cacao solids)

1. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet, keeping the almond separate, and toast the nuts in a 350ºF (180ºC) oven, stirring a few times, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the hazelnuts are browned.

2. While they are roasting, warm the whole milk and powdered milk in a small saucepan with the honey and salt just until it starts to boil. Remove from heat.

3. In a clean, dry bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, or in a microwave oven, melt the chocolates together until smooth.

4. Once the nuts are well-toasted, remove them from oven and use a spatula to place the warm hazelnuts in a clean tea towel, then fold them inside the towel and rub them vigorously to remove any loose skins. They don’t need to be pristine; just try to get as much off as possible.

5. In a food processor, grind the warm hazelnuts and almonds until they’re as fine as possible. You may not be able to get them completely smooth, depending on your food processor. (I have a brand new one and even after five minutes, there were little bits of nuts in mine, which is normal.)

6. Add the melted chocolate and continue to process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the work bowl, as necessary.

7. Once the mixture is smooth, add the warm milk mixture and process until everything is well-combined.

8. Transfer the mixture into two jars and refrigerate until ready to use.

Storage: The Chocolate-Hazelnut Paste will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

see the original recipe, recipe notes and more photos here!

In Love with...BHLDN

(photos from anthropologie, originally posted at anthroholic)

Is this silly to admit? Especially since those wedding bells are far behind me :)?

For those of you who aren't familiar, BHLDN is Anthropologie's brand new wedding line, set to launch on Valentine's Day. Given the Anthro-style wedding trend that's been in full swing the past few years, this is probably a financially brilliant move on Anthropologie's part, but for brides getting married this year and beyond, I'm sure it'll also be a convenient and glorious wedding inspiration mecca. Color me jealous! I can only imagine what romantic perfection is around the corner when the line is officially launched :).

TNF V-Day Freebie #2 & #3: Sent With Love Label and Tag

Here's another downloadable goodie for you! This post contains a love "Sent With Love" striped label with a matching patterned tag! Perfect for snail mailing!

Click here to download the label template and here to download the tag.

Enjoy :)!

V-Day Gift Guide #2: For your little munchkin

a few sweet ways to bring some valentine's day spirit into the life of your little one!

1. je t'aime tee (found here) | 2. boo boo heart plush (found here) | 3. organdy flounce skirt (found here) | 4. heart shaped blackboard (found here) | 5. love birds onesie (found here) | 6. hugs & kisses baby cap (found here)

V-Day Inspired Color Palette #2: Deep red & hot pink

Unusual Animal Couples #2: Peg + Gup

It was a crisp, October eve when Peg and Gup met,
She knew it was love when the sun began to set.
Peg was sampling a delicious pinecone when she saw Gup from afar,
His chiseled forehead and squishy blonde tummy made her nearly drop her jaw.

The hills were alive as they jogged to meet halfway,
through the creek and beyond the brush she waited for him to say
those few sweet words every squirrel dreams to hear,
"I'll be seeing you after hibernation and you'll be mine all year, my dear."

Valentine's Day Recipe #2: Heart Cake

being pregnant and entering my third trimester, i (unfortunately) have very little ambition to spend my time in the kitchen baking a four layer cake, so any valentine's day sweets i have this year will most likely be in a restaurant. but for those of you with a little more time and energy, and want to present a little showstopper to your friends or significant other, i hope you give this marvelous looking heart cake a try. just go here to view the recipes and tutorial! and if you do make it, enjoy a slice for me!

(from i am baker via black eiffel)

TNF V-Day Freebie #1: 'LOVE' Gift Tag

administrative note: don't forget to tell your friends about the nimbus factory's FREE valentine giveaway! just click on the pink banner at the top of our blog to go directly to the giveaway post :)! we'll be contacting those of you who already submitted your comments later this weekend!

in addition to those lovely valentines we cooked up for our giveaway, we wanted to give those of you with a craftier, DIY spirit some beautiful freebies that you can use to embellish your valentine's day cards and gifts! today we start things off with our lovely gift tag designs!

this 'love' tag would be the perfect thing to scribble a quick note to a close friend or loved one and attached to a gift with a bit of ribbon or twine.

Unusual Animal Couples #1: Oswald + Dorothy

Oswald stormed in when he heard her in distress,
Poor Dorothy was unsure of how she got herself in this mess!
It began with a piece of cheese- a tasty slice of Havarti,
she loved it when her owners had their late night jam parties.

The paper bag swooped over her head as she reached for the slice,
at least there was a hole so she could breathe (which was quite nice).
Oswald made it there and one glance was all it took,
he saved his feline love with just one passionate look.

A Love-ly Playlist

Songs inspired by the ups and downs of love & relationships

{brought to you by the love-ly gals at The Nimbus Factory}

Download on itunes

*warning, some songs may have explicit content--listen at your own risk!

V-Day Inspired Color Palette #1: Cream, coral, taupe, & blush

V-Day Gift Guide #1: For your four-legged best friend

because your pup could use a little love on valentine's day too!

1. natural burlap dog toy (found here) | 2. letterpressed valentine's day card by bonvivant press (found here) | 3. chocolate covered strawberry toy (found here) | 4. heart shaped dog biscuits (found here) | 5. la vie en rose dog pillow duvet cover (found here)

Valentine's Day Recipe #1: Chocolate Cracked Earth

I'm going to share a recipe my roommate and I made earlier for our birthdays. I should probably clarify by saying that my roommate made it and I ate it.
At the time, we had a surplus of eggs in our fridge - more than 30 - and I was completely overwhelmed. Each day at work I set aside time to research quiches, egg casseroles, frittatas, and other egg-consuming dishes. While I found some frittata and quiche recipes asking for as many as 6 eggs, nothing came close to this chocolate cake. It requests a whopping 9 eggs! Regardless of eggs needed, it really was quite delicious, rich, and dense. If you ever have so many eggs that you're starting to feel stressed and your boyfriend wants to throw them at a wall so you can finally stop talking about egg recipes, I would highly recommend this cake.

It's Tyler Florence's Flourless Chocolate Cake, featured on foodnetwork.com.

Cook Time : 25 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 stick unsalted butter*
9 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cups heavy cream, cold
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs - this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate - then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

While the cake is cooking, whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.

Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners' sugar and topped with whipped cream.

TNF Valentine's Day Giveaway!

so we're pretty excited to announce our first nimbus factory blog giveaway and you know what's even MORE awesome? everyone is automatically a winner.

that's right, we whipped up some sweet treats for you all, and we're starting out with the best -- your choice of two different valentines designed with a lot of love, and ready to be shipped to your door and given to your favorite person this year (or keep it for yourself if that floats your boat!).

so how do you make sure you get one of these lovely pieces in your mailbox before v-day? simple! become a follower of this blog (just use our 'follow us' widget in the righthand sidebar) and/or like us on facebook for your FREE valentine. then leave us a comment on this post and let us know which one you've done (if you already follow us or like us, then let us know that too!), along with your email address and we'll contact you by this weekend for your mailing info. if for some reason one valentine just isn't enough, you can earn another FREE valentine by sharing your favorite valentine's day memory!

we can't wait to give these away to you! and so much more in the next 12 days...:)

note: we have a limited amount of each design in stock so get your comments in as soon as possible :)! thanks!

Heart Shaped World Part 2

Love is in the air! Today's post is dedicated to hearts found naturally all around us =)

vintage valentines

(via wvu libraries collection)

i have quite a weakness for charming paper ephemera and these vintage valentines definitely hit the spot. also, a valentine built around a love for pie? absolutely priceless.

Heart Shaped World Part 1

So Valentine's day is in the air, and we all know that we love our heart-shaped foods. This year, I'm trying to cut down. You know, I'm watching my womanly figure. So I'm going to pick one edible heart-shaped item and enjoy it wholeheartedly. The question is ... what shall it be?

First on the list to consider are heart-shaped cookies, chocolates, and donuts. They're just so yummy and cakey!

But suppose this year I want more than just the typical heart-shaped fare. I want complicated things! Like heart-shaped macaroons with raspberries stuffed in the filling, powdered sugar heart sandwiches with jammy filling, and heart-shaped pancakes!

On second thought, I think I'm more of a savory person. Shall I have an egg fried in a lovely heart shape? Millions of tiny heart-shaped pasta? Or hopefully not-so-burnt toast cut out to the shape of a heart?

I've found it! This is it - my one heart shaped food pick for the year. It's a pizza. Yes, an entire heart-shaped pizza. It's so beautiful.