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).

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...

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?!

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.

taco night

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

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

the show

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.

goes to washington

memorial day weekend was really fantastic. we arrived at bwi ("beewee") at 8am last friday and spent the entire, and i mean entire, day seeing monuments and memorials and museums. sensory overload hit around 5 o'clock so we headed to virginia where we stayed at sam (deborah's cousin) and brenda's home for a few days.

the white house was of course beautiful, and was of course surrounded by protesters. i got a peek at mrs. obama's garden and the gardener but the grounds were otherwise still.

there were plenty of veterans out and about (especially vietnam vets on motorcycles) paying their respects, and i couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and sad while wandering from memorial to memorial. although i was up to my eyeballs in tourists and pouring sweat (and i'm from california?!) it was difficult not to be swept up by the power of each quote or scene.

we spent a fair amount of time at the national gallery of art, where we ran upstairs to see ginevra de' benci by leonardo da vinci. that excitement came and went as trevor and i found a comfy couch to hang out on, as 3:30am wake up calls are not usually our thing. i could have easily spent a few more days concentrating on museums and galleries alone-- luckily that trip is just a short plane ride away.

wino forever

last weekend we went to deaver vineyards in amador county for some wine tasting. they are the makers of my most favorite bubbles, almond sparkling wine. not only was the wine fantastic, but the landscape was absolutely beautiful. bella, the resident pooch hung out with me while photographing the lake.

rummy

greg and alaire came over yesterday to hang out. after an afternoon of chili burgers, pirate's booty, and a movie, we sat around the table to play rummy.