merry christmas!

christmas cookie time

today, rachel invited me over for some baking. we made these chocolate cookies, covered them in white chocolate, then sprinkled them with crushed candy canes. i'm not sure what they're actually called, but think peppermint bark and thin mint hybrid. so good!

ornament exchange!

so here is my little pineapple ornament. many hours of hand sewing sequins, but it was fun to give it away. time to get started on next year's ornaments!

(please forgive my less than perfect photos. i was running on stress and having camera issues yesterday).

new camera fun

well, december is like totally over but i have had some good fun. my birthday celebrations were great, and i've enjoyed spending the extra time with family and friends. my parents gave me this funky new camera from lomography that i've been experimenting with.

i'm almost finished making my ornament for an ornament exchange/cocktail party that is coming up tomorrow. definitely

posting pictures of that baby, if only to showcase how long it took!

though i've said it before, i'll say it again...i really truly am going to try to post more stuff soon. possibly the tea sandwiches for tomorrow evening as well?

october came and went

i've been terrible about posting but it's hard to tell if anyone ever reads this.

october is my favorite month and i had a pretty relaxing one. had some visitors from the east, threw a party, and have been doing my best to be a runner again.

hoping to share art and crafts and recipes soon...

ananacouture

please stop by rachel's new etsy site, ananacouture to check out her handmade stuff! she has some really adorable coaster sets, aprons, and bowls for sale.

we had a lot of fun on our photo shoots and i'm looking forward to more!

garden gnome greatness

this little guy made my day (and trevor did, too)! thank you, heal's for this amazing candle to add to the party decor.

getting excited...

more prints

garden party inspired

so, i may be a few seasons late with this idea, but the garden party is happening in a few weeks! my sleep patterns have been way off lately, hence my late night martha stewart binges and obsession with ditsy florals. i've found some really great ideas along my researching way...

1. the addy dress from anthropologie recently caught my attention-- i love the floral combo with the grey hues. it's not too dark and gloomy but isn't something i'd wear to a spring fling.
2. just found this adorable miniature tea cup ring by kacchan. it's definitely got the alice in wonderland vibe without being over the top. sometimes it's easy for me to get carried away with theme-y accessories, but this ring adds the perfect little touch. (she also makes miniature pastry and dessert cocktails rings!)
3. my friend rachel has offered to help me make these amazing lollipop cupcakes (by martha, of course). seriously, how perfect are these?! i am hoping to either make or find a tiered cupcake rack for these babies.
4. a party isn't a party without champagne! better homes and gardens has a simple recipe for champagne cocktails-- not sure if i'll actually attempt this, but it sure looks pretty. i've seen so many beautiful drinks that i don't quite know where to begin. what does everyone like to drink?

i'm still hoping to check out thrift stores in the area for tea cups, jars, bottles...anything that could hold a candle or flowers. my grandma gave me a funny set of bowls the last time she came to visit and i'm torn between using them as candy dishes or succulent homes. outdoor lights, pumpkins (?), miniature pineapple upside down cakes, a good playlist...

but what will i wear?!

happy birthday flowers

a friend is having a birthday celebration this evening and i really wanted to bring flowers. for this arrangement i used hydrangeas, stock, veronica, and bupleurum. the mason jar was leftover from my grandma's tomatoes. i love using these containers around the house or as gifts. reminds me of summers on my grandparents' little farm. i love this mason jar lantern on etsy.

fall is in the air

i love martha! i found some beautiful pumpkin carvings on her website whilst browsing for holiday ideas. i am not sure if i have the patience to tackle these lace inspired designs, but i'll definitely make a trip to the pumpkin patch to look for green pumpkins.

printing

last week i made some little van dyke photograms with hydrangea petals. i was inspired by these on etsy and thought the flowers would be appropriate for the invitations to the garden party. soon i hope to have some digital negatives made for other projects in mind. it feels good to be making stuff.

pineapple upside down cake

trevor made this for me today!

before we saw (5oo) days of summer, he spent some time this morning perfecting our dessert. i can't wait to eat it...

on a photo shoot

today i spent the day at rachel's apartment photographing her items for etsy. the area is surrounded by crops and various dirt paths and goes on for miles. i really love using rural spots like this as backdrops for photos-- so beautiful and interesting! we had some fun in the sun while showing off her handmade aprons and bags, then had a nice relaxing lunch at sophia's in the a/c.

poolside cat

jem likes to wander outside and pass out on the same deck chair every afternoon.

taco night

tonight we're eating marinated steak tacos with jalapeño something beans and mango salsa. mmm!

coveting in black and cream

sometimes it's fun to play with fake money. i have some "to gets" for my wardrobe and for our future apartment and the internet makes it way too easy...

adopt a pet lamp in tabby cat from modcloth: if i can't have a pet at least i can have a pet shaped lamp.
bustled shower curtain from anthropologie:
it's a bit luxurious. our bathroom will likely be tiny, so why not make it nice?
devereaux dress from anthropologie:
i'm a sucker for a black dress.
violet pump by pink studio (avail. at nordstrom):
these have been on my radar for a while and i finally just ordered them. can't wait!

this week has totally flown by. i am slowly getting myself ready to start printing in the backyard. still have some ideas to work out but i'm making progress.

watermel-oh

i probably eat two things most during the summer: watermelon and ice cream. i really can't get enough of it!

trevor and i helped my dad today at the lions club food stand at the yolo county fair. typically i try to avoid the craziness of the fair grounds, but we were there for a good cause. and the jumbo corn dogs.

this week really feels like it should be filed under meh. not sorry that it happened but looking on toward better things. at least there's project runway!

rosemary potatoes

for dinner tonight i utilized the fresh rosemary growing in my mom's garden. although we like to cook outside a lot during the summer, we were all in the mood for comfort food.

ingredients:
10-12 red potatoes
about 1/3 cup of olive oil (enough to generously coat the potatoes)
about a cup of rosemary (fresh or dry)
pinch of salt and pepper

how to:
after washing the potatoes, cut them into manageable pieces
in a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and toss well
evenly layer the potatoes in a baking dish
bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (or until the potatoes are cooked through and have some crisp edges)
voila!

sometimes i use minced garlic in this recipe but toned it down this time for trev.

lazy monday

this heat is pretty killer! today's high is supposed to be 105, so a dip in the pool may need to happen soon. or maybe just a nap in the air conditioning.

diy birthday card

in honor of a friend's upcoming birthday, i decided to get creative and make her a card. my inspiration was drawn from these little treats.

ingredients for the cupcake card:
scalloped scissors
card stock in several colors
good ol' crayola crayons
glue stick
regular scissors
stationary sized envelope

i really enjoy using different shades of the same color in projects. for me, it keeps the piece classic. the great thing about simple cards like this one is that it would be easy to tackle in numbers or in the case of a last minute gesture.

looking forward to more crafting...

sunflower mix

from the davis farmers market.

country roads

be back soon...

we are back in california (on a permanent basis) and things have been stressful/tiring/rough. needless to say, i haven't had much energy nor inspiration lately. i am in the planning stages with a few projects, and will post about them soon.

ordering photo supplies, working on an etsy site, soaking up all of this vitamin d, and spending some much needed time in san francisco. miss you.

hydrangea

jersey girl

what a weekend. trevor's aunt susie is turning 50 this week, and we drove to nj to celebrate with her.

in 36 hours, we drove down to palmyra (right outside philly), partied it up, and came back up through ridgewood (right outside nyc) for dinner at his aunt bitsie's house.

no more extended car rides for me for a while. oh, and these are some photos of susie's "yarden" and our delicious mid-morning mimosas.

the show

red, white, and blue

this morning we were treated to blueberry pancakes before heading to the traditional 4th of july parade in quissett. norah and cassie were classy band members (both on tambourine) while trevor, his grandmother, and i were onlookers.

after the parade, we joined the rest of trevor's family for a bbq with hot dogs, beans, potato salad, watermelon and pimm's cup. so good.

now i'm thinking of dozing off before round two.

rainy days and thursdays

720 miles in three days

we've had the longest few days ever!

after work on thursday (yeah, i have a job now!) trev and i began our road trip to philadelphia to see theresa and steve. we stopped at his aunt bitsie's one night, and on the way back stayed with his aunt susie. unfortunately we didn't visit with either aunt as long as we would have liked, but it was still really nice to meet them.

we didn't have much time together in philly, so we hit some major spots. one being the philadelphia museum of art, which had an amazing permanent collection. our two hour window in the museum went by wayyy too fast. and thennnn, we had to have a philly cheesesteak. it was heavenly. weirdo canned cheese (think nacho style) and finely chopped up meat and sloppy onions on a big roll. deelish.

to my great surprise, trevor did most of the driving while i tried to soak in as much of ct, ny, nj, and pa as i could. on our way back i caught a glimpse of manhattan and was excited to see lady liberty from a distance. next time, we'll get much closer.

waffle breakfast

trevor made this for me this morning.

cape cod weekend

we drove to the cape on saturday evening for some quiet time over the weekend. on the way to dinner, we stopped by the spot where trevor's grandma, nancy, lives and said hello. he had no trouble persuading me to eat at an italian restaurant up the street (nor did i have to convince myself to order prosecco mmmm). after dinner and some walking around, i made trevor watch a film noir with me while we ate decadent chocolates from a local candy shop.

on sunday we picked nancy up and went out for lunch. we parked at a beach nearby to soak in the view before heading to one of her favorite restaurants. it was right on the harbor (hah-bah) and luckily the sun came out as soon as we arrived. after lunch, we said our goodbyes and went for a drive. it was nice to eat lots of good food and have absolutely no plans to worry about.