Fill Your Well

this blog is on hiatus

2011-11-29T15:16:00.000-08:00

thanks everyone for being such fantastic readers and a truly beautiful community of people.

i may be back someday, but i have no idea if that will be next week or in five years. i'm really not a planner, so we'll see. i hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and please take care to fill your wells each and every day.

hey everyone...

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

happy thanksgiving!!

a holiday devoted to being grateful, eating really good food, and hanging out with loved ones? god bless the u.s. for inventing this one. i hope you are all having a delightful holiday, and if you're not from the u.s., well, i hope you too will be inspired to embrace a sense of gratitude today.

ps - if you leave the house after midnight tonight, don't forget your helmet and elbow pads. safety first, even when shopping.

holiday survival guide

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

let's be practical. as much as you may love your family and friends, the holidays are some stressful times. it's hard to escape the craziness for self-care, but it's precisely these situations when you need to do self-care the most. here are some tips for taking care of yourself during the holidays.

the best way to get some alone time during the holidays:
be honest - tell your friends and family you need alone time, ask them to respect your needs even if they don't understand it, and encourage them to do their own self-care during these stressful times.

but let's face it, there are people out there who won't respect your boundaries, so if being honest won't work with certain individuals in your life, feel free to set boundaries in more creative ways.

for immediate privacy:
go to the bathroom - "i have to pee," or "i think i have something in my eye," or simply shout "bathroom!" and you can be sure no one will follow you.
fake a very important phone call - "this is my friend over seas! excuse me," or "uh-oh, i think this is my boss, better go see what she needs," or "my friend is having a really tough time right now,
i better give him a call to check in." then go practice some deep breathing.

for longer-term privacy:
get sick without really getting sick - "i'm starting to feel run down, i'd better lie down so it doesn't turn into a full-blown cold," or "my lady times is really bad today, better skip going to
the mall with you," or simply come down with a migraine which requires quiet solitude.
spend the rest of the day in your room with magazines, good food, and your laptop.

make up very important appointments - "i have this thing on my... you know what? it's not something i want to talk about, but i'll be back in an hour." then go to a favorite spot in your city.
run such a horrible errand that no one will want to join you - "sigh...i'm going to have to go to
wal-mart." but please, don't actually go to wal-mart. go somewhere wonderful and fun.

if you're traveling to a different city:
make up a friend to visit - "i've got this friend two towns over i want to visit. i'll be back later tonight." then look up all the fun things to do in that area and go nuts exploring for a day.
...unless of course you actually do have a friend two towns over, in which case you won't be lying.

for therapists, our busiest time of year is around the holidays. while we like to describe the holidays as the most wonderful time of the year, the reality is that for most of us it's the most overwhelming. people feel pressured to spend large amounts of money on gifts, make elaborate dinners, schmooze with acquaintances at various holiday parties, and spend large amounts of time with family. now as much as you may love your friends and family, the truth is that spending time with them brings back a whole lot of complicated dynamics. stress-ful! so when you can be honest with family and friends about your needs, do so. but if you can't, well, it's okay to lie. it's good for you.

{photo}

psst!

2011-11-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

i'm over on unstitched today sharing my philosophy on gift-giving.

head on over to check it out, and while you're there,

have a look around lillian's fantastic design/travel blog {one of my favs!}.

gratitude

2011-11-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

experimental baking

having a head full of new ideas

becoming a meat-eater again and feeling so much healthier

my education {dear U of San Francisco: you were wicked expensive, but you prepared me better than most other people i've met in my field. thanks for being more than worth it.}

working for a clinic that required us to dress up in costume for our meeting {fun!}

winning several prizes at said work meeting {double fun!}

taking one very giant huge step forward

watching my to-do list shrink to nothing
this video {for all the dog lovers}

my morning pages

quiet times

that's what i'm thankful for this week. how about you?

{you can buy this beautiful print from yelena bryksenkova}

sweet solitude

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

days are grey and short.

a cold chill brings raindrops and snowflakes.

the world turns inward toward fireplaces and piles of blankets.

cozy inside, pouring hot tea,

pulling on warm woolies,

and curling up with a furry loved one.

time has slowed now.

even as the world races on with shopping, parties, and family gatherings,

you have escaped, found solace.

this is the time to be alone, to feel, to sit quietly, to dance in bare feet.
all is allowed, and all is for you.

alone in november by kuyla lah on Grooveshark

{photo}

holiday gifting ~ new uses for old sweaters

2011-11-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

it's official - tis the season for holiday parties and gift-giving! and wine is a great choice for bosses, hosts/hostesses, and your wine aficionado friends. i spotted this DIY gift wrapping idea recently and thought it was such a brilliant way to spruce up those wine bottles. for these warm, fuzzy bottle covers you can use the old sweaters in your closet or pick some up at the thrift store. then after you remove the sleeves, you can use the vest part for ugly sweater parties! i know, i'm full of great ideas.

DIY wine bottle gift wrap found on grey likes weddings.

{you can find more elaborate instructions in the link above.}

turn that {monday} frown upside down

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

it's yet another monday! some people dread this day, but i like to give it the benefit of the doubt. i mean honestly, sometimes saturday is a real asshole and monday is the super nice one, so

i don't want to make any assumptions. but just in case,...

here are few suggestions to turn a bad/boring/stressful {mon}day around:

1. pick up a bouquet of pretty flowers from trader joe's {or steal some from your neighbor's yard},

fill your bathtub with hot water and smelling salts, then sprinkle in all the petals from the flowers.

enjoy with your favorite music. ah, bliss!

2. dance with reckless abandon in your living room {elaine impressions encouraged}.

3. color, play with clay, and/or finger paint.

4. take some dog/cat treats to your local spca and share some love with new furry friends.

{you'll be making the animals' monday great too!}

5. turn off all your electronic devices {including cell phones} and go outside.

once you're out there try taking a walk, climbing a tree, playing with dogs, or swinging on swings.

6. drink rum and sing sea chanteys {this is seriously fun, trust me}.

7. play dress up. put on something silly or incredibly fancy and head out for ice cream

{it should be noted, this works best when you're not alone, but you know, do what you gotta do}.

8. go to anthropologie and buy the boulangerie "sweet vanilla cinnamon" candle.

oh heavens, it smells amazing!

9. build a fort out of pillows and blankets. once inside you can curl up with a good book or movie.

10. cook or bake something you've been wanting to try for a while.

11. [insert whatever fills YOUR well here]

{awesome print: inspired by kurt vonnegut, created by blanca gomez. buy it here.}

i hope your monday is a fantastic one, but if it's not,

i hope you take the time to do something extra special for yourself.

you deserve it!

gratitude

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

gingerbread lattes

husbands {especially mine}

grey days

an amazing work review

kissing and cuddling

cute new clothes

day dreams

music

realizing the holidays are here

reminders of how lucky i am

great friends

safety

inner strength

quiet time

dancing

sleep

these are just a few of the things for which i am thankful this week.

how about you?

{photo}

ps - merry 11.11.11!

it's the perfect reason to dance and jump in leaves and celebrate, don't you think?

leap

2011-11-10T00:10:00.001-08:00

holy mother, this is amazing!!

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

those crazy frenchmen!

as terrifying as this is, i am completely inspired. of course it also gets me thinking about all the times i've avoided taking that leap. but it looks so freeing doesn't it? there's something inside me which greatly longs to catapult myself with all my might off the edge of a giant cliff. imagine how amazing life would be if we did this, be it literally like these guys or figuratively with our choices. yup, scary stuff, but that fear is just an indicator of how badly we want something. so why not go for it?

the full length documentary is about 40 minutes and will be streaming live {for free!} on
the blog sebmontaz this friday {11.11.11.} - i can't wait!

a homemade holiday

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

have you flipped through the adorable holiday magazine from ruche yet?

in addition to a few of their pretty dresses, this online magazine is full of beautiful decorating ideas, delicious recipes, and other cute DIY projects perfect for the upcoming holidays. check it out:

Open publication - Free publishing - More arts

dance, dance, dance

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

"there are short-cuts to happiness,

and dancing is one of them."

- vicki baum

{photo}

dancing is so good for you, and all of us can do it. no seriously! all you need is to move your body. that's it. sure, it helps if you have music, but then again, the beating of your heart is music, isn't it? so there you go. no excuses. dance when you wake up, dance when you survive morning traffic, dance when you get your first cup of coffee, dance when the clock strikes 2:30, dance when you think of someone you love, dance, dance, dance!

happy monday.

gratitude

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

another friday has come,

another week behind us,

and plenty of new reasons to be filled with gratitude.

this week i'm thankful for:

sparks of inspiration

my countertop dishwasher

more fresh flowers from the mister

leftover halloween reese's peanut butter cups

awesome things to look forward to next week

my very first anthropologie purchase {thanks sales rack!}

seeing the first of the red starbucks cups, meaning it's officially holiday season

new job prospects for the mister {fingers crossed please}

laughter, even when life feels overwhelming and hard

reminders that i made the right decision

that it is now november

my electric toothbrush

reminiscing

friends

i hope you all have an amazing weekend full of love, adventure, and relaxation!

{photo}

PS - does anyone have a good recommendation for candles that smell like baked goods? i want my house to smell like cinnamon rolls and/or pie at all times over the next couple months and i don't think actually baking a pie once a day is good for my health. any brands that truly scent the whole room? thanks friends!

what are you thankful for this week?

life

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

{photo}

well yes, this could be read in a way that suggests one must replace cozy sweat pants with restrictive formal wear, top off a hot cup of tea with laxatives, and fully remove that protective personal bubble. of course, this could also mean you aren't truly living life unless you're facing challenges, taking risks, facing fears, embracing the unknown, and giving honor to all of your various emotions. i'll go ahead and let you decide which way you'd like to be inspired today.

cinnamon roll cookies

2011-11-02T00:30:00.000-07:00

last week i mentioned baking cinnamon roll cookies, which were delicious!

several of you asked for the recipe, and since i just so happen to think sharing is nice...

{borrowed from bakers royale}

cinnamon roll cookies

{i adapted the cookie portion from this bakers royale recipe. the recipe below is exactly what i did.}

yield: about 2 dozen

1. combine the following dry ingredients and set aside:

1 cup + 1 Tbsp flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2. in a separate, large bowl, combine the following and beat well:

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3. add the following to your sugar mixture, continuing to mix thoroughly:

1 1/2 Tbsp egg whites

2 Tbsp applesauce

1/2 tsp vanilla

4. fold in the flour mixture from step 1 {note: do NOT over mix}. roll the dough through enough flour to dust the outside, wrap in wax paper, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

5. while your dough is chilling, mix the following:

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

6. once your dough is chilled, flour two pieces of wax paper and roll the dough out between them until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

7. melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter, remove the top wax paper, and coat the top of the dough thoroughly with the butter.

8. sprinkle the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture from step 5 over the buttered dough {you may not need to use all of this, depending on how rich you want your cinnamon roll cookies to be}.

9. roll the dough into one long, tight, roll. wrap it in wax paper and chill for another 30-40 minutes.

10. after your dough is chilled, cut 1/2 inch slices out of your roll with dental floss. place each slice on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 10 minutes {or until lightly browned}.

11. optional - slather with chai cream cheese frosting.

chai cream cheese frosting

{this is the same ole recipe i've used for years, but this time, i added a bit of chai tea concentrate. yum!}

1. soften about 1.5 oz cream cheese and 2 Tbsp butter.

2. mix in the following to your cream cheese/butter mixture:

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp chai tea concentrate {tazo or oregon}

pinch of salt {if you feel like it}

3. beat until your mixture is smooth and creamy.

****

so there you have it. i almost always modify my recipes and play around with things until they feel right. this recipe is just what i did, but feel free to make changes however you see fit. my philosophy on baking and sharing recipes is pretty much the same as my philosophy about life in general - we all have our own path and we should each do what is right for ourselves.

happy baking friends!

good deeds ~ rad poster art

2011-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

this is so true! and a beautiful poster.

but what's even better about this particular work of art?

if you buy it, 40% of the proceeds will go to charity!

i found this on help ink, a poster shop dedicated to making the world a better place.

each week they showcase a new poster by a talented artist. when you make your purchase, you get to choose from a list which charity you would like your payment to go towards {heifer international, charity water, etc.}. so there you go. art = great for your living room and the world!

happy november everyone!

happy halloween!!

2011-10-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

pumpkins! costumes! princesses! superheroes! monsters! creepy! children! creepy children!
ah! they're at my door! what do they want?! they're pointing at my bowl full of reese's!
NO KIDS, THOSE ARE ALL MINE!!!

****

macabre food art to adore - cuddly rigor mortis art series by kristin tercek
{click the link for tons of more awesomeness like these}:

{clockwise from top left: no s'more, that boy sure does love his butter, sweet lobotomy, happy birthday, pimento mori, citruside}

****

and how about some awesome halloween music
{in addition to ryan gosling's spooky music that is}:

****

or a list of movies perfect for watching on halloween night... with the lights off of course,
since you've decided the giant bowl of chocolate your husband bought should be for you, not the neighborhood kids:
psycho, edward scissorhands, ghostbusters, silence of the lambs, beetlejuice, coraline, the shining, shutter island, any mystery theatre 3000 movie, rocky horror picture show, or the goonies
{because when is the goonies not appropriate?}.

****

as for me?

well, last year we had a few friends over for pumpkin carving and a beheading {you know, the usual}. this year, however, i think we're laying low. and by that i mean, the mister and i will probably engage in an epic battle of strength and will over the fate of our giant bag of reese's. "oh husband darling,... climb aboard the murder train!"

gratitude

2011-10-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

fresh flowers

giant, cozy comforters

an evening out with a dear friend

cinnamon roll cookies with cream cheese frosting

a sweet husband who makes me biscuits and egg gravy

a sweet husband who gives me rides on hot days {yup, same husband!}

comfort food {have you noticed the theme here?}

packages made and ready to go

boots, blazers, & scarves

mulled rum cider

movie night!

these are a few of my favorite things!

well, at least this week that is...

{photo}

what are you thankful for today?

question: what's more fun than the shake weight?

2011-10-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

answer: capturing photographs of dogs mid-shake!

a couple days ago i discovered "shake," the most hilarious photography project ever {thanks to the nimbus factory}, by photographer carli davidson. have a dog and a bucket of water? well you better get your camera ready... or at least that's what carli davidson did.

the results?...

hilarious!!

and a little gross,
but that's what you get when you mix inertia with jowls.
i guess it's just the laws of nature.
thank god someone was there to document it!!

dead man's bones

2011-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

what's beautiful, has emotional depth, and is packed full of talent? if you answered "ryan gosling" then you are correct! but more than just ryan gosling, it's ryan gosling's two-man + children's choir band* that i'm talking about - dead man's bones.

it's a great mixture of eeriness, beauty, and fun.
i've been listening to them nonstop, especially late at night whilst reading my spooky books.

here, have a listen:

what a deep, dreamy voice. sigh...

you should also check out their band website.
it's pretty awesome!

* those kids you hear are local neighborhood kids from here in silverlake. the choir is a part of the silverlake music conservatory, a non-profit started by flea {of red hot chili peppers} to provide musical experiences to kids who otherwise wouldn't be exposed to such opportunities. lots of local musicians from the neighborhood get involved, including mr. gosling. i wonder if 29 is too old to join the children's choir...

books to read under the covers

2011-10-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

around this time of year i get the urge to read spooky books, watch tim burton movies, and listen to
music fit for a new orleans funeral. there's something about the creepiness factor of halloween that i find thrilling and fun. over the past week i turned my attention to some of my favorite books for the season. i'm drawn more to the macabre than the typical horror story. even though my favorites don't involve murderers or demons, they still possess the eeriness necessary for a good halloween read. i find it's best to turn the lights down low, listen to the wind howl out your window, and curl up with a blanket big enough to
hide under with your flashlight.

{that's right, i put the computer away for some spooky reading time}

my top picks...

st. lucy's home for girls raised by wolves by karen russell

this collection of short stories is equal parts creepy and beautiful. the stories are magical, mystical, and at times, heartbreaking. mostly, though, they make you feel like you're wandering through a sparkling swamp surrounded by ghostly spirits {which is actually the case in one of the stories}.

miss peregrine's home for peculiar children by ransom riggs

this book is in no way connected to the st. lucy's book, despite the similar sounding titles. miss peregrine's is a fantastical coming of age tale full of peculiar children with special powers and mysterious monsters who hide in the shadows. it's a simple story, easy to read in a short amount of time, but intriguing all the same.

the melancholy death of oyster boy & other stories by tim burton

original short {and i mean short} stories and drawings from the brilliant mind of tim burton. some are funny in a devilish way, while others are tender and emotional, but all completely dark and creepy.

the gashlycrumb tinies {or anything really} by edward gorey

edward gorey is the master of macabre and i've always been a huge fan. the gashlycrumb tinies walks the reader through the abc's of how children die - amazing! any of his other books, really, would be just as appropriate for halloween as well.

those are my picks.
do you have any favorite halloween reads?

good deeds ~ bicycles

2011-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

bicycles are awesome!

here are just a few reasons why:
+ you get to exercise while you commute,
+ you don't need gas {when i first started driving gas only cost $0.86. sigh...},
+ you don't need insurance {other than health insurance that is},
+ you look adorable, especially if you have a cute bike with a basket and/or saddlebags,
+ you can repurpose your worn out bike tubes into cool earrings,
+ you won't pollute the environment,
+ you get to bypass all the cars stuck in traffic,
+ you'll make all sorts of fun discoveries and see your city in a whole new way.

{1, 2}

but did you know the most important benefit of a bicycle is that it saves lives? that's right, without a bicycle hundreds of thousands of kids in impoverished countries have no way to get to school which are often in villages miles from home. without an education, these kids are never able to attain good jobs as adults and are forced to rely on others for their care, which means many end up in slavery or abusive marriages.

some people can only be saved by a top brain surgeon or a million-to-one odds of a miracle, but a simple bicycle? if it's as easy as two-wheeled transportation that saves a life, then shouldn't we all be contributing what we can to get bicycles into the hands of those who need it?

{photo borrowed from 88 bikes}

here are some ways you can help:
- upgrading? donate your old bike!
- sponsor a bike through a church, school, or club fundraiser.
- help fund the cost of shipping bikes/bike parts overseas.
- donate bicycle repair kits.
- spread the word.

there are lots of organizations that are working hard to deliver bikes to those who need it.
here are a few i've found with a variety of services, collection times/locations, and donation options
{you can also ask at your local bike shop for donation opportunities}:
88 bikes
wheels 4 life
pedals for progress
bicycles for humanity
bikes for the world

gratitude

2011-10-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

a night out with friends

getting new books

receiving fun packages in the mail

the grand selection of clothes in my closet after laundry day
all the autumn recipes i've found {can't wait to try them!}

cooler weather

lots of good laughs

great conversations

late nights reading in bed

knitting {i'm working on leg warmers - eee!}

fun plans for the weekend {we're going apple picking!}

{isn't this photo gorgeous?! it was taken by the talented anya of anya adores. i thought it was a perfectly glamorous take on the halloween season.}

those are a few things i'm thankful for this week.

what are you thankful for?

let's get on to the important stuff

2011-10-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

you know, the stuff that matters...
...like what you're going to be for halloween!

there's only 1.5 weeks before the big night. crazy isn't it? the other day i was reminiscing some of my favorite halloween memories from when i was a kid. i always loved this holiday. what's not to love about dressing up in creative costumes, wandering around with your friends late at night, then eating a bunch of chocolate when you get home? and now that i'm an adult, i get to throw in dance parties and spiked cider. yup, puh-retty fun!

so okay, let's get down to business. what are you going to dress up as?
or are you having trouble coming up with ideas? in case you need a bit of inspiration, here's a little help...

{diy rag doll costume using yarn, felt, & hair combs.}

personally, i'm a fan of the clever homemade costume. one of my ideas is to have someone dress up like a giant elephant to follow me around everywhere, only we would never ever talk about it. if people inquire about the giant elephant, i would quickly change the subject or beat around the bush. "oh, um... yeah... hey look over there!" dannon's idea is to go as complimentary colors. he'd be blue, i'd be green, and we'd walk around saying things like, "i just love your costume!" and "you are an awesome dancer!"

{diy owl costume made from a pillowcase. decorate a mask from the craft store to complete the look.}

of course, there's also the route of classic characters, like fraggle rock or jem. one year we went to bay to breakers as the beastie boys from the sabotage music video {yes, i went in drag}. or there's the barely-any-effort-at-all costumes. perhaps wear a lampshade on your head and call yourself a one nightstand {get it?}, or throw together any of jim's costumes from "the office."

{rosie the riveter - such a simple but classic costume.}

you could also get creative with clothes you already own. one year i put on all the striped items i could find in my closet and made a crazy name tag with "Dr. Seuss, PhD." i attempted to solve people's emotional problems with silly creatures and rhyming. another idea is to wear all black, attach socks and
underpants all over your clothes, and frizz up your hair to be "static cling." funny right?

so those are a few of my ideas.
how about yours?

a handy tip for the easily distracted

2011-10-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

do you find yourself easily distracted? are you often doing 4 different things at once, none which are the things you need to be doing? are you longing for freedom? you are not alone, and there is help.
here's a handy tip for the easily distracted:

{Miranda July: The Future on Nowness.com.}

pure brilliance right?! i laughed out loud when i first saw this. funny, because it's true.

i'm a huge fan of miranda july. everything i've heard her say about art and the human condition has been pure brilliance, so i was excited to find this clip working its way around the blogosphere. this was a deleted scene from miranda july's newest film "the future," which i'm pretty interested in seeing. has anyone seen it yet? have any other handy tips for finding freedom from distractions?

happy productive wednesday!

chai tea s'mores

2011-10-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

oh yes, you read that right, today i'm sharing with you the recipe for chai tea s'mores. i came across this
on design*sponge over the weekend and jumped up and down in my living room i was so excited!
and when you're that excited about something, you want to share it with the world.

so world - in case you missed it, click here for the chai tea s'mores recipe!

the recipe looks a teensy overwhelming at first, but totally worth it if you have an afternoon free to do nothing but listen to records and bake {which just so happens to be one of my favorite ways to spend my
alone time}. in this recipe, the chai tea is infused with the graham crackers and they recommend using whimsy & spice cardamom marshmallows, although i'm sure it wouldn't be terrible if you used
regular marshmallows either. seriously, can you really go wrong when making s'mores?

i can only imagine how magical these treats taste.
who doesn't love chai? and chocolate? and melty goodness?
plus, they look like fun home baked gift ideas, or a fall party contribution sure to wow the masses.
i think this needs to be next on the list for a lazy day baking extravaganza.
so friends... who wants one?

good deeds ~ have you laughed today? {part II}

2011-10-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

a few months ago i posted about the benefits of laughter {there are tons!}, and after the past couple of weeks i needed to do a little laughter therapy myself. so i took to the interweb and gathered up some funnies. here are a few of my favorites:

of course i also watched numerous "it's always sunny in philadelphia" episodes,

and i spent some time reading these hilarious cards. it feels so darn good to laugh doesn't it?

how about you? have you had a good laugh lately?

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

gratitude

2011-10-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

oreo milkshakes

my incredibly sweet and supportive husband

sleeping in super late on my days off

having days off in the first place

staying healthy when everyone around me is sick [knock on wood]

midnight bowls of cheerios

finding a/c on 100 degree days

the songbirds who sing in the middle of the night

cool autumn days which i know have got to be just around the corner

shopping sprees with leftover birthday and christmas money

finally finishing a project i began last halloween

the beautiful bouquet of flowers the mister gave me after a rough day

trader joe's brownie bites with sea salt {mmm!}

successfully managing yet another week

{yay!! print by jon klassen}

it has been a very, incredibly, ridiculously busy week for me, and the busyness will likely continue through the weekend. there are, however, so many wonderful things amidst the chaos of life for which we can be thankful. these were just a few from my list, how about yours?

the irrational girl's guide to actually relaxing

2011-10-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

finding time to relax can be really tough, but it's absolutely necessary for your sanity.

here are my tips for all of us busy gals who need to fit a little more down time into our lives.

{this may work for boys too, but i have not confirmed this seeing as how i'm a girl and all.}

the irrational girl's guide to actually relaxing:

1. collect any to-do lists you've created recently and hide them {stuffing
them in the back of the freezer or down the shower drain are good places}.

2. if you have kids, set them outside in a small, fenced-in area with a locked gate.

provide protective padding, water, and shade, then go back inside where it's quiet.

3. do a quick 5 minute cleanse of your environment by packing everything into large trashbags then piling them into a closet or under the bed {you can go through them later}. include things around the house that you think are really ugly, but which your partner/roommate loves {you don't need to deal with ugly things when you're trying to relax}.

4. have multiple bags of your favorite chips {all natural cheetos anyone?}

and mix up a family size box of annie's mac n cheese. eat ALL of this in one sitting.

5. consider pulling out your single girl sweats with the worn-out
elastic {perfect for gorging yourself on cheese-related products}.

6. ignore your phone. if it keeps beeping at you, chuck it as hard as you can into

the forest, or if you're a city gal like me, drop it into a large pot of boiling water.

7. watch whatever you want, read whatever you want, dance as spastically as you want, sing as

loudly and as out of tune as you want, and hold multiple out-loud conversations with
yourself {you don't even have to claim that you're talking to the cat}.

8. barricade the door with several extremely heavy objects so when your
partner/roommate comes home they won't be able to get in and judge you.

9. when you're finished with your relaxation time, don't forget to hide the evidence of empty cheetos bags and x-large sweat pants {fyi - rice cookers and covered litterboxes are some other good hiding spots}.

10. remove barricades, bring in your children {see? they were fine}, and go about your business as usual.

viola!

yes, you are welcome!

{and when in doubt, ask yourself, WWTFD?}

i'm sure you all have a new found sense of appreciation for the sort of irrational behavior the mister has to deal with on a daily basis living with me. luckily i have the whole cute-as-a-button-puppy-dog-eyes down like a pro.

25 ways to wear a scarf

2011-10-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

i'm going to go ahead and embrace my denial about the hot weather we're STILL having in LA, and move on with all things autumn. it's going to be nothing but hot cider, gourds, and cozy sweaters from here on out, even if that means packing said sweater with bags of ice to keep me cool.

one of my favorite things about fall {and something i miss most about living in san francisco} is the ability to wear scarves every single day. some girls love shoes, some love handbags, but not me. my heart belongs to scarves {yes, i may have been just a little crazy to think i could live in the desert}, so i was excited to
see this video making the rounds in blogland, sharing 25 different ways to wear a scarf.*

see? informative and fun! the gal behind this video is wendy, from wendy's lookbook. she's a fellow bay

area lady, and in addition to having a killer style, she is actively making the world a better place through her job supporting incarcerated youth, helping them receive a good education and a second chance at life. yay!!

is it getting cold where you are?
sigh...

* yes, it does look like two of them are the same, but they aren't. see wendy's explanation of the difference between them in the info section here.

365Q

2011-10-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

by now we've probably all seen these posted around the interweb. they're all part of a 365 days photo project by photographer and graphic designer julian bialowas. 365Q is not your ordinary photo project though. here's what julian has to say about it:

"What makes 365q different from most 365 projects is I don’t take a photo a day.

I instead recreate one of my own on a daily basis.

To inspire. To motivate. To get you out there."

i am completely in love with this project {which ended at the beginning of 2011}.

as a lover of nature, adventure, and unceasing personal growth, i find these absolutely inspiring!

lately i've even begun to use some of these as a jumping off point for my morning pages,
and it has been amazing to ask myself, how can i live out these sentiments in my life?

{one of my favs! how often do you have great ideas, but never act on them?}

there are 359 more gorgeous and inspiring photos where these came from,

and i highly recommend taking your time sorting through them all.

if you're looking for more inspiration and beauty, you can also check out julian's latest project,

a collaborative magazine entitled 16 hours, devoted to art and exploration of the world.

what are you finding inspirational these days?

{all photos borrowed from 365Q.}

gratitude

2011-10-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

knitting

butternut squash with wild rice

the cold, dark, rainy couple of days this week

seeing the tim burton exhibit {that man is brilliant, and we have the same b-day!}

the gorgeous sunsets over LA {i love the colors of fall!}

having lunch at a diner with a friend

sleeping in nice and late

walking in the rain

my macbook

these are just a few of the things i'm grateful for this week.

how about you?

{photo}

happy weekend.

it's okay to be afraid

2011-10-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

"fear not"

"don't be afraid"

"let go of all fear"

how many of these types of sayings have you heard, read, or even repeated? this sentiment is everywhere in our society, being thrown around from person to person, generation to generation. now i know these sayings are meant to empower us, but in reality, they teach us that fear is a bad emotion which should be avoided or removed from our lives - as if it's that easy to stop being afraid, and as if getting rid of our fear will make everything else better.

i have a huge problem with this, because it sends people in the completely wrong direction!

i know a lot of people mean well when they say to let go of fear, but the truth is this: fear is not the problem, it is our interpretation and response to the feeling of fear which we need to focus on changing.

fear is an extremely valuable emotion. it's telling us all sorts of information we need to pay attention to, information that's trying to teach us what our deeper uncertainties are, and in turn, teaching us just what we care about most in our lives. when we experience fear, we should face it, feel it, give honor to its purpose, and understand what it's trying to tell us. most people skip these steps altogether and simply react through avoidance.

if i were to tell you not to think about elephants, the first thing you'd do would be think about elephants... and the second thing and the third thing. in fact, the harder you tried not to think about elephants, the more you would think about elephants. it's the same with unwanted emotions, like fear. the more we try not to be afraid or tell ourselves to let go of fear, the more fear holds its grip on us. if we can muster up the courage to face our fear, we'll be much better for it. it's amazing how much easier it is to take empowering risks and make healthy decisions after we've really listened to our

inner voice when we experience fear.

so what are you afraid of?

and what is that emotion trying to tell you?

{photo is from our trip to death valley, taken by the mister, quote added by me.}

free recipe cards

2011-10-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

well we have officially entered into the holiday season, and you know what that means? it's time to dust off your kitchen appliances, pull on those aprons, and get to cooking, baking, and mixing those drinks! and what's a great way to make the process more fun? having a box full of cute recipe cards of course!

if i'm going to be completely honest here, i have to admit that up until now, i've jotted recipes down on everything from scraps of printer paper, to the backs of receipts, to old worn out napkins. historically, i tend to grab the closest thing resembling any form of paper product, which doesn't always fit nicely into a little wooden box, but i think i've finally come to an age where i'm ready for all that to change.

so i took to the interweb on a search for sweet recipe cards and found these

clean, modern, free printables {yay, i love free!} from a place for twiggs:

{download: cover}

{download: cards}

if those aren't quite your style, check out these links for a couple other free recipe card printables:

cute and whimsical owl cards on my owl barn, and fun flag buntings with divider cards on heartmade.

and if you have the spare pennies, might i suggest checking out some that aren't free?

like these gorgeous wooden recipe cards from in haus press,

these cross stitch cards from mink letterpress,

or any of the recipe cards by rifle paper co.

recipe cards full of favorite recipes also make pretty incredible gifts! i've seen stacks of recipes given as housewarming gifts, wedding gifts, and i'm thinking they'd make fabulous holiday gifts as well.
it's easy on your budget but has all the warmth necessary for a perfect heartfelt gift
{just go ahead and file that away for the upcoming months}.

so how about you?

have any favorite recipe cards to share?

{all photos from a place for twiggs}

october intentions ~ old things fall away

2011-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

autumn.

it's the season of endings.

like the leaves of a tree, now is the time for old things in our life to fall away,

preparing us for the changes which come in spring, after a time of winter rest.

october has always been a time of slowing down, reflecting, and allowing myself to sit with all sorts of emotions. while i've always hated routines, october tends to be a month when i am content to settle down into one. it's comforting to have quiet structure in the midst of changes, transitions, endings.
after the past year full of struggles, i am ready for a little peace and quiet in my life.

so for my intentions this month, i hope to take the time i need

to slow down, reflect, say my goodbye's to the things which are ending.

through the month of october i will:

- bake more.

- use alone time wisely.

- take time to slowly sip hot drinks.

- acknowledge and honor all of the feelings i've been neglecting.

- journal in my morning pages about areas in my life on which i'd like to improve.

- allow more quiet time for reading, writing, and thinking {turning off distractions}.

- express my thoughts and feelings through creating more art.

- cleanse my home of things i no longer need/use.

- be patient with myself.

{photo found on j'adore}

do you have any goals for this month?

good deeds ~ 826 national

2011-10-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

where can a pirate find necessary supplies like designer peg-legs, planks for all manners of creatures to walk, and scurvy medication? why the pirate store of course! yes you can find plenty of booty and more! like trustworthy pirate advice, a fish tank theatre {but please, do NOT judge the fish}, and dangers lurking behind trap doors. you may think i'm joking about all of this, but i assure you, i am not. for a small pirate girl from treasure island, this shop was my heaven! {if you ever visited me in san francisco, i probably took you there with evil plans to get you mopped. it even made an appearance in the great proposal treasure hunt of 2010!}

now you may be wondering what the pirate store has to do with doing good deeds {no, i'm not going to ask you to sponsor a pirate. although my imagination had a pretty fun time with that thought}. the pirate store is actually just a front for 826 valencia, a non-profit dedicated to providing free writing workshops and classes to kids ages 6-18. i know, so cool! as a writer, former teacher, and lover of providing underprivileged kids with awesome opportunities, i am especially excited to share this pirate-themed shop with you.

826 valencia {named after its street address in san francisco} was started by a teacher and dave eggers {yes, that dave eggers} in the early 2000's. they wanted to start a program where kids could gain a love of literature and have access to creative-minded adults who would help them grow as readers and writers. the hilarious-themed shops became a fun way to promote their non-profit and fund all the good work they do.

the pirate store was wildly successful, and soon other 826 shops opened all over the country, each with a different theme. we actually just so happened to move in a few blocks from one in LA, the travel mart {dedicated to everything one would need for time travel}, which made us feel a littler closer to home. other stores have opened in seattle, new york, chicago, ann arbor, boston, and washington d.c. if you live near any of these cities, you must go check them out in person, you won't be sorry!

826 does amazing work for kids all over the country, and since many of us in blogland
are writers, it's a cause i think we can all agree is extremely important.

here are some ways you can help:

* donate directly to 826 national online.

* volunteer in the writing labs of any of 826's locations.

* purchase hilarious books, t-shirts, posters, and helpful products for pirates, superheros, robots, etc.

* pre-order your she & him christmas album {yup, that counts! zooey deschanel & m. ward are two of the biggest supporters of 826, and they're donating portions of their christmas sales to the cause.}.

who doesn't want to hear she & him all christmas long? and now you'll be helping
underprivileged kids all over the country grow a love for writing. win-win!!

{all photos & funnies were found at 826, with the exception of the she & him photo,
which was found at she & him's place of interweb residence.}

gratitude

2011-09-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

truth be told, it has been tough to get back in the swing of things after our getaway. it was just so awesome to relax and explore and not work even a little bit. but i have a full weekend of therapy to do starting today, so i'll be diving back into life full force. to give honor to the past couple weeks of
vacation, i've been sitting with a great sense of gratitude.

here's what i'm thankful for:

beginning our week deep in the woods above santa cruz, supporting some friends as they made life-long commitments to each other. one of my dream wedding ideas was to rent a camp and spend an entire weekend with our loved ones doing all sorts of fun wedding events out in nature. that didn't work out for us, but it was precisely what our friends did. it was beautiful! every moment was overflowing with love, more than i've witnessed at most other weddings. leave it to two creative writing majors to make you laugh and cry,
through vows and toasts and goodbyes. sigh...

{btw, those fabulous earrings were a birthday gift from brandi, from the shop branchbound.}

this nutella sandwich cookie recipe. i tried for days to experiment with cookies, but made multiple batches of substances to which even dogs would reply "um... no thanks." i just found this nutella cookie recipe though and i'm hoping to redeem myself. when i told the mister of my plan he replied "more cookies?!
i am completely fine with that." fingers crossed!

and a few other things...

sleeping in late, reading in bed, and new magazine day.

a clean house, freshly folded laundry, and a record on the record player.

daydreaming about the future, epiphanies when you least expect them, and deep conversations about life.

and all the great new music out there {feist, st. vincent, gotye, beirut, zee avi - so much!}.

this weekend is the eagle rock music festival. sadly, i have to work and won't be able to go. blerg! i have such fun memories from last year. we had literally just arrived home from our honeymoon in thailand. we were exhausted but decided to head back out for the awesome free concerts and it was quite the crazy night!
if you're an eastsider, go enjoy the festival for me will you?

have a great weekend everyone!
goodbye september and hello october!

minimalism

2011-09-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

sometimes less really is more.

and my absolute personal favorite

{discovered thanks to having cool friends on twitter}...

that's right, it's the muppets!

can you name that muppet?

it's okay if you get stumped, here's the cheat sheet:

row 1: kermit the frog, fozzie bear, swedish chef, scooter, waldorf, statler, rizzo the rat

row 2: dr. teeth, zoot, sgt. floyd pepper, janice, animal, bunsen honeydew, beaker

row 3: sweetums, sam the eagle, gonzo, camilla the chicken, miss piggy, rowlf the dog

****

also, i've been looking into laugh therapy for some of my clients, but i need a little ice breaker.

seen anything especially hilarious lately? something suitable for ages 16-35.

minimalist posters found here, here, & here {where you can find a whole bunch more}.

muppet poster discovered here.

spoke too soon

2011-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

okay, well it waaas feeling cooler when i wrote yesterday's post, but as it turns out,
summer is still going strong. gah! i guess i'll have to be patient for a little while longer.

...but hopefully not too much longer, okay seasons? okay?

i think maybe it might help if i start setting my boundaries.

...ahem...

dear summer:

i don't mean to sound harsh, but sheesh! get a clue. it's over between us okay? maybe in a year we can be friends again, but for now, i just need my space. it's not you, it's me. i'd like to try spending time with other seasons. i mean, we're both still so young... or at least i am... compared to you and your billions of years on this planet. there are just so many things i want to do in life, and i just feel like i can't do them if you're still in the picture. sweaters? mulled cider? roasting things in a fire?! i know, this may hurt, but i just don't want to beat around the bush anymore. it's not fair to either one of us. so summer, please move on. maybe you can look up that australia country? she always seemed so into you.

best wishes,

kim

****

on the bright side, if you're looking for something delicious to do with those end-of-summer blueberries in your fridge, how about an open faced blueberry, arugula, ricotta sesame baguette with olive oil
drizzled on top? oh my heavens! you can always count on sunday suppers to offer the
most beautiful food inspiration. if you've never read it, go have a look.

have any final summer plans?

are we there yet?

2011-09-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

for most of september it had been really ridiculously hot in LA. elsewhere in the country, september is the time when things begin to cool off, when summer comes to an end and autumn floats in on the breeze. but here in california, september can still be one of the warmest months of the year. in fact, the hottest day ever in LA happened last september {luckily we were in thailand at the time, but my poor chloe cat had to
be rescued from our hot house}. san francisco was the same way - if one was ever
to bare a bit of skin, it would likely only happen this time of year.

but things seem to have cooled off here in LA since we've been back, and all i can think about is autumn.
it's finally here! and while it's still a little too warm, i can't wait to wear my favorite scarves,
cozy up in my wool socks and long underwear, and let my hair down.

i can't wait to mull some apple cider, sip chai tea lattes, and put pumpkin in everything i make.

i can't wait to watch the leaves change, cuddle up by the fire, and feel my cheeks get rosy.

and i can't wait for all the change in life that comes with a new season. things seem to slow down, settle in. there's less energy than in the spring and there's something really nice about that, relieving even.

while it may still be warm in LA, i have high hopes for autumn to grace us with its wonderfully chilly weather soon. and maybe, just maybe, a few trees with changing leaves! or is that too much for an east coast girl to ask of LA? whatever the case, i am so excited it's that time of year.

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

the great anniversary getaway!

2011-09-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

we're finally back from our adventurous getaway to the san francisco bay. there were some amazing experiences and also some really tough challenges. but it's the hard times that teach you just how strong you are, and which make the good times shine even more brightly. so all in all, it was a pretty fantastic trip!

{sweet city fun!}

highlights

* being back home in our favorite city in the world.

* amazing indian, thai, brunch, & ethiopian food at some of our favorite restaurants {mmm!}.

* hiking in the thick fog surrounded by coyotes and herds of elk {it was so magical!}.
* learning whole heaps about ourselves, life, and relationships.

* seeing some of our favorite people from our past.

* attending our friends' beautiful wedding.
* hearing the elk calls.

{hiking to the end of the world... or at least the country.}

{deep in the fog, we couldn't see. but often we would hear an elk call. as the fog broke just slightly, we would see the dark outline of a great beast with large antlers keeping watch. magical indeed!}

{the elk in a clearing outside the fog.}

things i learned

* short trips back home means you won't get to see nearly as many loved ones as you'd like to,

so make sure you enjoy every second with the few people you do get to see.

* wine can be a suitable backup plan for self-medicating terrible ocd triggered panic attacks.

* always take your car repair manual, plus extra money in the budget for car repairs.

* and on a related note, miracles are totally real, particularly ones wherein you have to spend a whole afternoon replacing two car tires, but you don't mind because your life was spared and it could have been much worse.

* red bull + a very long playlist of 80's favorites is the best recipe for driving back to LA at 3 am.
* we'll definitely be moving back to san francisco one day, it's just a matter of time.

* love is a crazy, mysterious, wonderful, and powerful force.

{brunch time!}

as usual, it felt like way too short of a trip, but it was great all the same. we spent almost 2 days in the city, running errands and seeing friends, followed by several days at a cabin up in the woods of pt. reyes national park. we enjoyed long evenings by the fire and roamed the edge of the country, above the crashing ocean waves.

we both miss san francisco so much and it's pretty clear we'll end up there again. but for now we're trying to enjoy what LA has to offer and be content with our mini getaways back home from time to time.

signing off

2011-09-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

today we are leaving for our big anniversary getaway up the coast to northern california!

it will be a mix of business and pleasure, stopping in san francisco for some doctor/dentist appointments, then immersing ourselves in nature for a few days at point reyes, followed by a wedding in the wilderness near monterey.

this is a really special trip for us, so we've decided to leave all our electronics behind. i'll be checking out from blogland until next monday. i hope everyone has an amazing week and thank you so much for all your sweet comments over the past few days!

sweet memories

2011-09-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

it's funny what stands out to me exactly a year from that whirlwind of a day.
here are a few of my favorite memories from our wedding:

{+}

sneaking off to grab breakfast with the mister the morning of our wedding, not telling anyone
where we were or what we were doing. it was just us, hidden from the entire world during that hour.

{++}

i don't remember much from our vows except that dannon promised to take care of
any and all spiders for me. and really, isn't that the most important thing anyway?

the sidewalk chalk path of doom which one had to survive before reaching
"kim & dannon's sweet-ass wedding," courtesy of one of my favoritest friends ever.

watching my grandma rock the bocce ball. seriously, she could not be stopped!

dancing at the "alter." instead of walking down an aisle, dannon and i decided to come in together and greet all of our guests {who were sitting on picnic blankets} on our way up to the front. afterward, we ended up with some time while our friend sang the seu jorge cover of david bowie's "rebel rebel," so we shared a sweet dance.

the kazoo sing-a-long! i've said it before and i'll say it again, hearing 50 people play along on kazoos to the tune of "i'm a believer" and "when i'm 64" was pretty much the most fun thing ever! and what was even more fun was how into it all our loved ones were. i had made up a booklet of 5 songs from which we could choose, thinking we'd only do a couple, but our guests wouldn't have it. we sang them ALL! and with such enthusiastic energy.

even with all eco-friendly, biodegradable table wear, and without any metal forks or glasses to
bang against, our friends still found a way to make us kiss whenever they wanted us to {usually
someone would just shout "kiss her!" and then everyone would start kazooing.}.

seeing all of our loved ones from different phases in our life come together on one small lawn.
we loved everyone that was there, and knew that if they all had the chance,
they would love each other too. it was truly beautiful.

{+}

the rubber chicken.

the sharing of the picnic baskets. we made up picnic dinners to be shared with 6 or 8 people,
so our guests would have yet another opportunity to mingle and connect.

hearing dannon play the violin with our wedding band and dancing with my mom.

dannon whispering in my ear as we danced "ready? let's get out of here," to which i replied "yup, let's go!" and off we ran from the dance floor shouting "bye! we love you!" we then hopped on our bikes and rode off into the distance.

{+}

how ALL of the hard work, late nights, and tears over the previous month planning our wedding came together that day. i wish we could have spent so many more hours enjoying everything with our loved ones!

{+}

thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me over the past week. if you'd like to read
more about our non-traditional ceremony and celebration, click on the "love & adventure" tab,
or you can scroll through all of my wedding posts by clicking here.

{right: ++}

{all photos by nataliya cole, except photos with {+} were taken by crystal, and {++} was taking by a dear friend.}

let's be honest {wedding outtakes}

2011-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

let's be honest, when you have 50 million photographs taken of you within the span of a

few hours, you're bound to end up with some hilarious outtakes.

so if we're just going to be honest here...
it looks like i'm hanging out with my friends,...

on my wedding day,...

completely naked!

and let's be honest... i don't like taking formal photos,
and when i'm forced to... well, i tend to act out.

let's be honest... it's my wedding and i can fist pump if i want to,
especially when i'm being serenaded by kazoo renditions of herb alpert songs.

let's be honest... if you're going to invite a rubber chicken to your wedding,
you best be okay with it getting more kisses than you do.

let's be honest... kazoo's and dessert were never meant to be friends.

and let's be honest... no matter how carefully you plan your wedding,
sometimes you still get chased by zombies when riding off on your wedding bikes.

{last photo by crystal, all others by our wedding photographer nataliya cole}

the pre-wedding party!

2011-09-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

there were several things we had to keep in mind when planning our wedding festivities. the first was that many of our family and friends were flying in from far away. we hadn't seen some of these loved ones in years, and we knew we would only have a couple *busy!* days to divide up between them all. second, dannon and i have always made very close friends with people of the opposite sex. that meant that i had to have my guys with me at whatever sort of bachelorette party we threw. third, dannon and i also happen to have a ton of the same close friends from college and san francisco, which meant there was no way we could divide them up between the two of us in the same night.

so the mister and i used our strategizing strengths and planned one night devoted to our families {allowing them to get to know each other, as well as spending long awaited quality time with us}, and a second night devoted to all our friends {in lieu of a bachelor and bachelorette party}.

the night before our wedding we threw one great big pre-wedding cocktail bash with snacks, spirits, and all of our friends in our private courtyard. i made several stations around the yard: a box where people could leave us advice, a table where people wrote their dirtiest jokes {we had a contest later in the evening with a very special prize for the winner}, and a peep show which i had made by drawing naked stick figures behind little doors. we sang our most risque sea chanteys and i seem to recall real life interpretations from "the position of the day" book... hmm... it was such a beautiful night laughing and catching up with our favorite people.

{this was the peep show. i had it set up under a drape so people could have a little privacy. :) see the red tabs? underneath are some very sexy stick figures. oo-la-la!}

i was so glad we decided to throw one big party with everyone. not only was it a blast for dannon and i to have our friends in one place without the adults {er, wait, how old were we last year? 28 and 30? oh right.}, but it was also a great chance for our different groups of friends to meet and mingle before the wedding day. many of them still keep in touch, even though they only met in person once during our wedding weekend. helping awesome people form meaningful connections? what could be a better bonus to a wedding?!

credits: these fabulous photos were all from my dear friend devon... at least, these were the ones i could share here. ;)

love in all the details

2011-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

there are so many great things you can do with a backyard wedding when you put in a little creative elbow grease. we saw it as an opportunity to fully portray in every detail who we are as people. going by the book {tablecloths, specific colors, etc.} was not important to us in the slightest. we prefer to embrace the uniqueness of who we are, so we pretended we had never been to a wedding before and made everything up from scratch.

it's all about the little things that made our wedding cozy & unique:

as we made our promises to each other, our friend wrapped our hands in a long chord made up of scrap fabrics sent to us by all our friends and family. it was a beautiful symbolism of all of our past experiences and support group binding us together, literally tying a knot.

for the music, we asked our talented musician friend to perform "queen bitch" and "rebel rebel" by david bowie, as covered by seu jorge in "the life aquatic with steve zissou." yup, david bowie songs sung in portuguese. most people probably had no idea what those songs were!

since our ceremony was so short and unique, we didn't need to have programs. i wanted something, however, to let people know what to expect that day and to thank those who helped us prepare, so i made up a wedding map. on one side i had a conceptual map of all the things our guests could enjoy at our wedding, and on the back i had thank you's, our list of vendors, and our families' names. everything, including the writing and the doodles, were hand drawn. there's nothing like real handwriting to give it that charming feel.

i had multiple stations around the yard where people could find cute or interactive things like a "living room" setting with books that i made about our love {a comic book about our love story, a flip book i made one valentine's day, and a book of favorite photos and love poems}. another station had cute love cards that people could take and share with a loved one {downloaded for free from kind over matter}.

some of the other things i made myself were: blankets and pillows for the picnic ceremony, cute paper fans to keep our guests cool, labels for all the food and drinks, menus and tags for the picnic baskets {which is how we ate dinner}, signs for all the different stations, hanging paper bird garland, poms strung above the yard, the hanging backdrop for our wedding ceremony, embroidery loops, and other miscellaneous decorations. dannon made all the desserts {cake pops, mini pies, and cobblers in jars} and the drinks {ginger limeade, passion tea lemonade, and sangria}. our friends and family made the picnic dinners {grilled veggies, grain salads, and cucumber cream cheese sandwiches}, and my dad chopped down some trees so i could have cute pieces of sliced wood to use as platters and decorations.

we really wanted everyone to have a good time. it was a celebration after all! so we planned plenty of fun. we set up a couple lawn games {badminton and lawn bowling} and had a blast dancing the night away!

instead of a regular ole guest book, we laid out tons of art supplies and blank pages. our guests made us all sorts of art! if was funny and sweet and beautiful. we love to laugh, so in another station, we put out a pretty typewriter with a variety of scrap cards and asked our guests to type us their favorite jokes. after the wedding, we compiled them all into our first coffee table book!

{"when you are married remember that love is a verb and it can conquer almost everything. except rent. make sure you pay that. oh and it doesn't do anything about STD's but that's why you're getting married. so good thinking."}

i decided to make the wedding favors interactive too. one of our favorite things to do is mull cider on a crisp autumn evening. we provided all the supplies for DIY mulling sachets with the idea that we would continue to share in an experience over the fall season, even though we all lived far apart.

most of our friends are big into swing dancing, so we hired a fantastic band {noto d}
to play through the evening. dannon even jumped in on a song!

for the whole weekend, i made gift packages for our guests staying at the house complete with granola bars, tea, post-plane ride yoga cards, and a cute hand-drawn map of the neighborhood where they could find coffee shops, restaurants, etc. i wanted our guests to feel right at home, even if they had just come from across the country.

these beautiful photos were all taken by our friend crystal of crystal chanel photography. check her out!

a backyard wedding

2011-09-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

this weekend will be our one year wedding anniversary! the excitement of surviving the first year has brought with it lots of reminiscing, time spent with our photos, and a few traumatic flashbacks to that week-before wedding stress {if you've had a wedding already, you probably know what i mean}.

dannon and i were only engaged for about 4.5 months, and the month before our wedding i graduated from grad school and we moved from san francisco to LA. we had done a teensy bit of planning in those first 3 months of our engagement, but for the most part, we planned, booked, and made everything during that last month before the big day. one of the few things we had done ahead of time was book a beautiful rental on the coast of malibu, only to have it fall out from under us four weeks before our wedding. that meant even our venue had to be put together at the last minute! stressful? yes. busy? yup. possible? definitely!

we ended up finding a big vacation rental house with a beautiful backyard in the hancock park neighborhood of LA. now i know a lot of brides who prefer to let the venue handle everything, and that's fine. i, however, loved having complete control over the space. i also strongly believe there's absolutely NO reason to spend thousands of dollars on that one day. it's all about your love right? and money can't buy love. which means, going the route of a backyard wedding was conducive to saving us thousands of dollars AND providing an intimate environment in which we could celebrate our union.

reasons i loved having a backyard wedding:

- we had our venue for an entire weekend {3 days} at a mere fraction
of the cost of what other venues charge for 6 hours.

- our families and friends could stay at our wedding house for free, saving everyone money on hotels.

- we had plenty of time before and after our wedding day to set up/take down the decorations.

- we had access to beautiful furniture that we could set up around the yard, giving it
a cozy feel without having to buy vintage pieces for that one day.

- we had access to a full kitchen where we could store and prep wedding food
{we saved money by doing it ourselves, no caterers}.

- the yard was surrounded by gorgeous flowers {even lavender!}, vines, and trees, which meant we needed very few extra flowers from the market {saving more money - yay!}.

- it was completely private, no worries about strangers wandering in, having to be out at a certain time for the next group, nor dealing with other people needing to access our space.

- no need to deal with venue rules {liqour licenses, music constraints, required vendors, etc.}.

- we were able to make the best use of our space with lawn games, a picnic area, multiple photographic settings, and dancing!

- i had complete control over the environment we wanted to create - cozy, intimate, creative, and
most of all fun! {things that are often missing at other venues}

over the next couple days, i'll probably share more from our wedding. it's sort of a shame that all that hard work and fun was only experienced for one short day, so i'm going to relive it all again here. okay? okay.

ps - aren't these photos great?! they were all taken by our friend crystal of crystal chanel photography. she wasn't our official photographer, since we wanted her to enjoy our wedding as a guest and not be working all day, but she's a fabulous photographer and available for your wedding! i'll be posting more of her photos from our special day, so stay tuned.

DIY t-shirt tassel earrings

2011-09-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

have you noticed the recent trend of long tassel earrings? i love them!! and lately i've been getting pretty crafty in my spare time, now that i no longer have to worry about a job search {i'm still not over how awesome it is to finally have a great job!}.

after a little experimentation, i discovered that it's so easy to make your own tassel earrings! you can use leather, beading, or any other material your heart fancies. i happen to have a lot of old t-shirts lying around, so i decided to make mine out of that.

here's what i did...

what you'll need

t-shirt

earring hooks {i took apart an old pair of earrings}

scissors

pliers

thread
fabric glue or hot glue

{before: an old dusty t-shirt in need of a new fabulous life}

instructions

step 1
lay your shirt flat, cut off the bottom hem, then begin cutting horizontal strips about 1/2 inch
wide all the way across the bottom of your t-shirt. cut 10 strips total.

step 2
once you have all your strips cut, gently stretch your loops until the t-shirt curls, and trim off the two side seams. you should have 20 long, curled pieces of t-shirt when you're finished with this step.

step 3
divide your t-shirt strips into two piles and thread each pile through the two
earring hooks, stopping once the hook is in the very center.

step 4

tightly wrap your tassel just below the earring hook with thread and tie a knot.

step 5

wrap a small piece of t-shirt {which has been stretched} several times over the thread {hiding it}.
use a dab of fabric or hot glue to hold the ends in place at the back of your tassel.

step 6

finish by making sure the earring hooks are closed tightly with a pair of pliers
{no gaps in the loop}, and trim your tassels to a desirable length.

step 7

put them on and look cute!

{after: who knew an old, worn out t-shirt could look this good?!}

self-soothe

2011-09-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

life has been hard lately. exhaustion, end of life for dear loved ones, mounting stress catching up with us. it seems that this sort of experience always comes at the end of the summer season, doesn't it? it's as if the whole northern hemisphere is dying, ending, preparing for a long season of rest before change comes in the spring.

in many ways this aspect of the changing seasons can be incredibly beautiful. we can use it as an opportunity to reflect on things in our own lives, seeing where we would be better off if we let certain things go. in the big picture, i think it's a healthy, natural part of life. still, it's important that we take care of ourselves during this time of universal melancholy.

life can be big and hard, so how do you soothe your soul? one of my favorite projects to do with clients in therapy is to create a self-soothing kit. we brainstorm all of the things that the client finds incredibly fulfilling, whether it's relieving stress, recharging the spirit, or wrapping the person up in a proverbial blanket of emotional warmth. it can be anything really, so long as it's meaningful to that person. after brainstorming, they build their kit, placing in a box or bag everything from their list. whenever they need a break from the world, they give themselves permission to spend an hour {or whatever time they choose} with their self-soothing kit, allowing no distractions to invade this sacred time {that means turning off cell phones, communicating with others about their unavailability, and finding a quiet spot}.

i can't tell you how powerful this can be in times of stress, sadness, or overwhelming feelings. i like to think of it as another form of meditation, in that you're taking the time out of your busy life to care for your true self.

if you would like to create a self-soothing kit of your own...
here are some suggestions to get you started
{i find it's easier to brainstorm if you break your list down into the different senses}:

feel: soft sweater, blanket, socks, eye mask, heating pad, nail polish,

face scrub, finger paints, back massager, lotions

do: journal, sketchbook, pens, paints, coloring books, markers, jewelry making supplies,
other DIY project supplies, skirt for twirling in, recipes for baking

see: magazines, books, compilation of favorite quotes or spiritual passages, funny comics, art, photos

taste: tea, chocolate, fruit, oatmeal, granola, lemon echinacea candies

smell: candles, bath salts, essential oils, lotions

hear: sound machine, musical instruments, a mix cd, or list of playlists stored
online or an ipod. to get you started, i included one of my favorite self-soothing playlists here:

what would you put in your kit?

{all photos found on the fantastic tumblr page le petit bijou}

gratitude meditation

2011-09-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

in addition to conducting therapy, part of my job is also to lead the patients in meditation right before bedtime. this is quite possibly my favorite part of the job - i've gotten so into it! sometimes i use a prepared meditation, but often i just make it up as we go along. one thing i always try to include, no matter what, is a component of shifting the focus toward an attitude of gratitude {it even rhymes!!}. there's tons of research out there, both from scientists and religious organizations, which link cultivating a grateful heart to overcoming life's struggles and maintaining a greater sense of happiness. and if anyone has ever made gratitude lists in the midst of a hard time, you know how powerful it can be {as opposed to just trying to be happy, which can make you even more upset}.

****

here's a sample guided meditation i wrote about gratitude:

sit in a quiet, comfort place and take several slow, deep breaths.
as you breath in, feel your belly expand like a balloon, and as you breath out, feel it deflate all the way.
focus on your breath, and if your mind wanders, gently bring it back to this feeling of breathing in and out.

after a few minutes focusing on your breath, shift your attention to your mind's eye.
imagine yourself in a beautiful place - maybe you are on a beach, maybe you're at the top of a mountain, by a cool stream, or lying in a field of flowers. wherever you are, spend a few minutes soaking in this beautiful place with all of your senses. what do you see? what do you hear? what do you smell and taste? and what do you feel? what are you doing in this place? are there any animals or loved ones, living or dead, there with you? spend some time simply enjoying your beautiful spot.

this beautiful place is here, just for you. it's yours and is waiting to welcome you with open arms no matter what, no matter where you are in life or what you're thinking or feeling. when life feels overwhelming you can stop and return to this place, allowing it to wrap you up in warmth, comfort, beauty, peace, and love.

allow your heart to open up with gratitude for this place. if you are not already doing so, open your hands, palms upward. straighten your shoulders, physically opening your heart to the world as you also do so with your emotional heart. look around your beautiful place once more with this sense of gratitude for all that you see there. {pause} now, with the same grateful heart, begin to see all the things and people which you are grateful for in the real world. be patient and allow this gratitude list to come to you. if something which you are not grateful for pops up, acknowledge it and gently shift your focus back to that for which you are thankful.

as we end, silently thank all of these things for what they have done in your life. give these things a kiss, a hug, a high-five, or whatever is most meaningful. thank your heart for taking the time to acknowledge these things and ask it to bring your sense of gratitude with you as you return to the real world. when you are ready, open your eyes and come back to the present.

****

of course, if you're not into meditation, it's just as good to write a list or create art around the things you're grateful for. and if you're thankful for certain people, it's especially wonderful to express that gratitude to them directly. today i'm thankful for:
- brandi! for her friendship, encouragement, and most recently, all her help with my new blog.
- my patient, hilarious, multi-talented hubby.
- my increasingly cuddly kitty.
- haystacks {sort of like mexican salads}.
- cleaning out the house and reorganizing.
- our fan, ice cubes, any/all air conditioned places we've found this week {it's been 100's of degrees here!}.

what are you thankful for?

{all photos from luna~nueva}

awesome people hanging out together

2011-09-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

i just discovered this tumblr the other day - awesome people hanging out together.

i don't think i really need to say anything more. i'll just let the fabulous photos speak for themselves.

wes anderson & sofia coppola {two of my favorite filmmakers of all time}

bob dylan & johnny cash

dave grohl, kurt cobain, frances bean cobain, & rupaul

salvador dali & alice cooper

roald dahl & ernest hemingway

charlie chaplin & helen keller

oh to have eavesdropped on some of these conversations, or better yet,
to have created art with some of these brilliant minds!

tartlets

2011-09-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

earlier this year brandi, dyan and i got together for a picnic brunch in the park. we each brought a selection of food to share {oh boy was it a delicious spread!} and my contribution was savory tartlets. they turned out well and i've wanted to make them again ever since. I'm now thinking of making some to take up to the cabin for our romantic getaway in a couple weeks, and as promised, i'm delighted to share my recipe for the tartlets with you all {i modified this recipe from one i found online, but i don't remember where i found it now. whoops! but this is what i did...}.

{nope, these aren't mine, but they do look pretty similar.}

savory breakfast tartlets

ingredients
~ phyllo dough
~ 1 egg
~ 1/3 cup + 3 Tbls egg whites
~ 2 Tbls milk
~ feta cheese
~ mushrooms
~ onions
~ spinach
~ 1/4 tsp salt
~ seasonings to taste: basil, oregano, garlic powder

recipe
1. thaw 6 sheets of phyllo dough at room temperature for 1-2 hours {no longer! or they will dry out}. freeze the remaining dough.
2. dice mushrooms and onions into tiny pieces {i ended up using about 1/4 cup of each, maybe slightly more}.
3. shred about 4 handfuls of spinach and lightly fry {just enough until the spinach shrinks}.
4. in a medium bowl, whisk together 1 egg, 1/3c + 3 Tbls egg whites, and 2 Tbls milk.
5. add 1/4 tsp salt, additional seasonings to taste, vegetables, and spinach. mix well.
6. layer the phyllo sheets with a layer of pam or light brushing of oil between each sheet.
7. after the phyllo sheets are layered, cut 3 long strips lengthwise {4 1/4 inches wide}, then cut 4 strips {4 1/2 inches wide}, so you have 12 squares total.
8. mold each square into a baking tin {if you use cupcake cups, make sure you spray them with oil so the dough doesn't stick to the paper}.
9. pour egg/veggie mixture evenly into the 12 cups.
10. bake at 375 for about 15 minutes.
11. sprinkle each top with feta cheese, loosely cover the pan with foil, and bake an additional 3-5 minutes.
12. cool and enjoy!!

modification:
if you want yummy dessert tartlets instead, simply replace the veggies and savory spices with a little cinnamon, nutmeg, and a drizzle of honey. pure heaven!

****

these yummy, bite-sized goodies are perfect for sharing, and super easy to modify if you like other sorts of flavors. as long as you have the egg and milk mixture down, you can really add whatever you want to change the flavor to your liking. mmmm!!!

a few love letters

2011-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

dear love,
thank you for dancing with me, even when we're the only ones doing so.

dear love,

thank you for burning the bottom of my shoes for me after i had to walk on a super disgusting floor in a public restroom. i don't know many other people who would be willing to destroy germs with fire for me.

dear love,

remember that time i confessed a certain set of old movies which i really wanted to see and you not only didn't make fun of me for it, but also got really excited to watch them with me? that was really awesome.

dear love,

i love that you can draw really really awesomely adorable elephants!

{this was our wedding announcement postcard that dannon drew and calligraphied himself.
yup, everything you see here, other than my name, was hand drawn by dannon.}

september will be a special month for me for the rest of my life.

yes, this is the month when i lived with elephants, but this is also the month my

best friend and i promised to be together forever ...and i'm so glad we did.

gratitude

2011-09-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

it's been a long, busy week.

today i am just focusing on breathing...

breathing out all the stress and any negative energy within,

breathing in all of the peace and magic that exists in the world.

{photo}

a large part of this breathing process involves cultivating a healthy dose of gratitude.

this week i am thanking my lucky stars for:

- silly late night movies.

- accomplishing a whole bunch of stuff on my to-do list.

- sweet memories, both from the past and the ones i'm making now.

- deep conversations, even those that require great courage.

- the flowers that dannon bought me.
- homemade biscuits.

- shopping for vinyl.

- new discoveries.

- gelato.

- hiking with jo.

- relaxation.

- hearty laughter.

- cute kitties.

what are you thankful for this week?

the answer to all life's problems

2011-09-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

the answer to all of life's problems {other than duct tape and a hot glue gun of course} is definitely ice cream. please, feel free to include gelato in this category. i'm happy with all of it so long as it's
creamy, flavorful, and life-changingly delicious!

earlier this week i had one of those days - the kind of day that was filled with a giant happy surprise, but the sort of surprise that will bring with it lots of busyness and challenges. i was promoted this week at my job which is a huge compliment for being at such an early point in my employment {hooray!}. my boss sees something in me that she likes, and values the work i do with our patients. it feels so great to experience this, especially since i've been doubting my talents as a therapist in the post-graduate school world. it's definitely something to be celebrated. at the same time, i will no longer have work-free weekends. gone are the days of meeting up with friends on friday and saturday nights to hang out {unless of course people want to hang out with me after midnight. remember those youthful late night adventures? oh to be in my early 20's again.}.
so as happy as i am to get this promotion, i'm also grieving a bit of a loss.

what's a girl to do? why take her handsome hubby out to the record store and ice cream shop of course!
i don't know about you, but i tend to think that ice cream on a hot august day is exactly the right kind of
self-care for a crazy week! in just two scoops of madagascar vanilla with almond espresso
chip goodness the emotional rollercoaster seemed a little less stressful.
ah, sweet ice cream!

photos are of carmela's ice cream, which you can find in pasadena or the hollywood farmer's market.
i went there a few weeks ago and the brown sugar vanilla bean with honey lavender ice cream was phenomenal!

{1, 2}

happy radio

2011-08-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

it's no surprise {if you've spent any amount of time on my blog that is} that i'm a massive music-lover. oh no, sorry, i don't think i said that right. what i meant to say was, i must have music playing at all times if i am to get anything done, remain a happy person, and not pass out on the floor in a melodramatic fashion.

now when i'm at home, i have my grooveshark playlists, wonderground radio, and eclectic 24 to keep me company at my computer, but i'm in a whole world of trouble in the car. i'm not sure if you're aware of this, but it's really hard to find a happy radio station outside of the interweb. this has always troubled me, especially now that i live in LA, a city full of frustrated drivers who could use a positive influence.

{having fun at kusc}

ever since high school i was surrounded by radio hosts. several of my best friends {holler brian!} worked at our local classical music station and i would spend countless hours in the booth, even working the buttons after the boss went home {shhh! don't tell}. so i suppose it's somewhere in my blood to have a strong desire to start my own radio station. only i want mine to be one that is ridiculously happy and fun... a radio station that takes the airwaves on a trip to the petting zoo, buys it an ice cream cone, and plays hopscotch with it. sadly i don't have a real life radio station {and am not likely to have one at any point in the near future},
but what i do have is this blog and an extremely active imagination.

so step on up folks and push play. delight your ears with the sounds of my pretend real life happy radio station! a station that reads uplifting quotes instead of commercials and reports only good news stories {this just in, a little girl in oregon has been happily reunited with her lost puppy!}.

what's your favorite happy music?

romantic food

2011-08-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

scones, with fresh preserves and clotted cream.

fresh baguettes with herbed goat cheese, {fake} meat, and veggies.

savory breakfast tartlets.

fruit, crackers, and various fancy cheeses.

quinoa with grilled veggies, feta, & tofu.

tea, lemonade, and a bottle of wine.

if you follow me on twitter, you may remember my call for romantic food ideas. for our getaway up the coast in a few weeks, the mister and i will be fairly secluded from civilization. we won't be eating out at restaurants, but we also won't have a full kitchen to work with in the cabin. that means we'll need to take food with us which is easy to prepare and i don't want just any ole boring food. no, i'm determined to make our
menu just as romantic as stargazing over the ocean {which we will definitely be enjoying!}.

any other favorite romantic foods?

ps - i just so happen to have a delicious recipe for the savory breakfast tartlets,
which i will share here in the coming week.

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

embrace your true self

2011-08-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

" everybody is a genius.

but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a

tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

- albert einstein

i read this quote a few weeks ago and it has been haunting me ever since.

i wish so badly i could convince everyone in the world of this truth.

for some reason, many of us have the belief that we must be just like _____ [fill in the blank: actors? models? whatever your peers seem to like? musicians? whatever your parents told you to be? rocket scientists? quarterbacks?]. whatever or whoever it is that you think you must be is not
necessarily who you are nor who you were meant to be.

just think, what if rosa parks had decided she needed to be something other than herself?

or what if albert einstein listened to his critics who thought he didn't fit the mold of an intellectual?

and what if you, because of your belief that you're not good enough in some way, never live out the extraordinary things you were born to do in this life?

{photo}

it is my sincerest hope that we can all embrace our unique gifts, abilities, and life paths,

regardless of what anyone else {especially our inner critic} has to say about it.

thank you!

2011-08-26T11:11:00.001-07:00

a huge thank you to everyone for all your birthday wishes, phone calls {and not calling me :)}, texts, emails, and letters! last night i met up with a bunch of dear friends at alcove bakery to celebrate the
big day - delicious food, a beautifully warm night, and lots and lots of laughs!
a pretty great way to welcome in another year.

{my friends tried to steal our table number for me - no. 29 - but it was snatched up before they could swipe it. i love friends who are willing to steal on my behalf.}

i collected a great stack of books that i will donate to milk & bookies, which will then be distributed to kids in my neighborhood. i am also happy to say, i finally {FINALLY!} got my toms shoes!! dannon left a shoe-box sized package with my name on it sorta hidden in the house before he went to work. i held out for a few hours but eventually climbed to the top of the bookshelf and pulled it down. turns out, it was a decoy! no gift inside. he knows me all too well. :) later he handed me the real package with my new toms. as it turns out all the gifts i got are making the world a better place. thanks to my toms, a kid somewhere out there will now have their own pair of shoes. also, brandi sent me the most gorgeous earrings from branchbound {i had always drooled over a pair that brandi had from the same shop}. the lace used to make my earrings was purchased at a fundraiser where all the proceeds went to benefit a homeless animal rescue organization.

hooray!!

today

2011-08-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

today is my birthday!

which means i'm either 29 or 30, depending on how you count birthdays.

{this has always been a very complicated calculation for me. i mean when we finish 8th grade we are immediately called a freshman, but when we finish our 29th year of life, we still call ourselves 29? i would just like some consistency please. so, just to be clear, i'm beginning my 30th year of life, which most people in the US call "turning 29." whatever.}

{photo}

looking back over my life, i feel grateful for so many things!
so i've decided to share my gratitude post with you today instead of tomorrow.

after 29 years of life, i'm thankful for:

* the 80's.

* the 90's.

* yeah, the 2000's aren't bad either.

* reese's peanut butter cups.

* my wonderful, large family.

* all the amazing groups of friends i've had at each stage of life {isn't it fantastic how people impact you forever? even if you haven't seen them in years, a little piece of them lives on in your life}.

* music and all of my experiences with it.

* growing up in the country and a teeny tiny town.

* moving to the big city.

* swear words {i love swearing so fucking much!}.

* becoming a therapist.
* the goonies.
* getting my first tattoo {notice my usage of the word "first"} :)

* every single minute i spent living in san francisco.

* the way life brought dannon and i together {by the way, if you missed it, you can read the story of how we got together over on charlotte's blog}.

* all the heartbreak, fear, confusion, struggles, challenges, and bad times. without them, i'd be so boring {and not very wise at all}.

* all the giggles, late night movies with friends, perfect moments when everything fell into place, taking risks, and all my other amazing memories.

* outdoor adventuring.
* surviving my teen years {phew!}.
* that i never have to go back in time and relive a certain high school haircut.

* being raised by a family who encouraged me to be fiercely independent, to have an open mind, and to search out what was right for me in every aspect of life.

* and you didn't think i'd forget this did you? the elephants!!! best experience of my life, by far.

****

also a tremendous happy birthday to all of my dear ones who's birthday is also today!!!
{i have 12 friends & family members with my birthday, plus 5 previous co-workers and acquaintances - yup, popular day to be born.}

reminiscing.

2011-08-24T00:00:00.001-07:00

around this time of year {being the day before my birthday that is} i stop to think about my life.

here are a few of the highlights:

* learning to do the moonwalk from my 16 year old sister when i was 6.

* living with a bunch of friends in a giant haunted house without adults in my teen years.

* surviving multiple tornados, earthquakes, and getting struck by lightning.
* having an up-close encounter with a black bear in the wild whilst backpacking.
* every single amazing concert i went to.
* getting my first tattoo.

{i love how dannon's art vest matched my shoulder tattoo.}

* sneaking away from my class to explore on my own during our senior class trip to NY city.

* watching a meteor shower from a mesa in the middle of the grand canyon.

* almost dying on the edge of a cliff in the grand canyon.

* riding in the back of a police car all the way to the jail cell {yup}.

* the four times i ventured out in public in my underwear {just another tuesday in SF}.

{oh you know, just me and some friends waiting for the BART in our undies.}

* stopping a kid from committing suicide.
* getting into a fist fight with some guy who was rudely hitting on me... and winning {be proud dad!}.
* the night i bought my one-way ticket to san francisco.
* totally starting life over from scratch in san francisco as an independent woman.
* taking care of the elephants!

yeah, there have been extremely high highs and extremely low lows
and even extremely mediocre mediocres, but all in all, it's been an amazing past 29 years!

summer sips

2011-08-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

last summer the mister and i experimented a lot with some sweet concoctions to serve at our wedding. since we had a picnic wedding out in the sunshine, we wanted to be sure to provide a variety of refreshing, celebratory, and beautiful drinks. here are a couple of the recipes we came up with. please note that these recipes are to make several pitchers at a time, perfect for sharing at your next gathering.

{photo}

~ K+D's summer wedding drinks ~

passion tea lemonade

ingredients:

+ tazo passion tea

+ lemonade

+ sugar

1. brew 8 cups passion tea {using 7-8 tea bags} for about 3-5 minutes {as you usually would with tea}.

2. remove tea bags and set aside to cool.

3. mix in 16 cups lemonade.

4. add 1 Tbsp sugar and stir.

5. refrigerate until cold & enjoy!

for two servings, brew 1 mug of tea w/ one tea bag for a few minutes. remove bag and split into two glasses of lemonade. refrigerate until cold. {the ratio is 2:1 lemonade to tea, plus a bit of sugar to taste.}

****

ginger limeade

ingredients:

+ 2-3 whole ginger roots

+ limeade

+ sugar

1. cut off all the branches of your ginger and line up until you have about 12" of ginger end to end.

2. slice all 12" of ginger and add it to a pot of 11 cups of water.

3. steep for about an hour, until the water has simmered down to about 9-10 cups.

4. remove from heat and mix in 1/3 cup sugar until dissolved.

5. add 5 cups of limeade for every 3 cups of ginger tea/sugar mix.

6. refrigerate until cold and enjoy!

for single servings, follow the ratio 5:3 limeade to ginger brew tea, plus a bit of sugar to taste.

****

oh so good!
and we all have that fabulous mister of
mine to thank for coming up with these blends. yum!!!

good deeds ~ milk & bookies {giving up my birthday}

2011-08-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

remember when i shared the "good deeds" post on paul rudd giving up his birthday to a charity and encouraging others to do the same? i found that completely inspiring, and since this thursday is my birthday, i've decided to ask my friends to give children's books, instead of gifts, which i will donate to milk & bookies.

milk and bookies is an organization that teaches kids the beautiful act of giving by collecting books and donating them to other children who don't have access to books in your home town. it's a really beautiful way to impact your own community and teach the joy of giving. i love this adorable video explaining how important it is that children get books. as a former teacher i've read all the research that links childhood reading {including reading to children} and later life successes. providing books and stories to kids is absolutely vital.

if you are in the LA area i would love to see you this thursday as i celebrate my final birthday of my 20's!! that's right, i'm not a kid nor do i have any, but i am a lover of my inner child. as adults i think it's extremely important to experience the act of giving to others. if we think it's a valuable lesson to teach children, then we should certainly be living this out as grown-ups as well.

i'll be at alcove bakery between 7:30-10:00p on august 25th.
stop by if you can to:

- give me a birthday high-five,

- grab one of alcove's famous desserts or hot chocolates,

- drop off a book for a needy child.

if you're not in the LA area i highly encourage you to:

- donate books directly to milk & bookies,

- donate books to a library, school, or other agency in your area,

- throw your own milk & bookies party to collect children's books!

{if this idea sparks an interest in you, i recommend contacting a local bookstore to team up with. they can help you advertise to the larger community and provide the space for fun activities. you could do a book reading with one of the donated books, offer free milk & cookies to everyone who donates, and provide cute bookplates where the donators can leave a message for the child who will read it.}

ps - erin!! you should especially check this video out. ;)

gratitude

2011-08-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

fresh flowers the mister gave me,

seeing photos from our friends' wedding {which we were unable to attend},

trying my very first nectarine {oh they're so delicious!}

a 7 day pass to a gym {i miss the gym so much},

allowing some of my talent to shine,

making a positive impact on others,

the end of a very long {but still great} week,

finally hearing music by the mister's band,
finally, a day off {that's today!},
jonathan safran foer,

my morning pages,
dead man's bones,

ice cream!!!,

and

iced coffee from my local coffee shop.

these are just a few of the things i'm thankful for this week.

how about you?

{oh this picture has nothing to do with
anything, i just really like it}

a few small words

2011-08-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

{photo}

what are you built for?

and will you sail beyond the harbor?

guess what?!

2011-08-17T00:00:00.001-07:00

that dreamy partner of mine is in a real live band!

i present to you raised by wolves:

{check out that handsome man on the far left. recognize that vest?}

they're still an emerging band so they only have a couple finished songs recorded,

but they are extremely talented! and i'm not just saying that because my husband is the

violinist {and helped write out the string parts might i add}. after all those nights practicing and writing music, i was floored to hear the results. here, have a listen to these two songs:

amazing right?!

i'm so proud and i can't wait till they have their full album to share.

they just started a kickstarter page for those of you who want to pitch in a buck or two. all the proceeds will go to the making of their record as well as travel costs for playing at SXSW next year. {by the way, you should check out the prize for donating $500. it's pretty awesome, and they already have a backer for it. although i have a feeling they're going to be writing a song for one of their moms.}

yay!!!

where is my mind?

2011-08-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

i'm gonna be honest. all i've been able to think about lately is our anniversary trip to northern california. yes, it's still over a month away, but i can't help it. there will be so many of life's simple pleasures during that getaway.

a road trip, preferably along the coast with dozens of farmer stands,
cute beach towns, and pretty views of the ocean.

san francisco, where i left my heart,
along with so many of my favorite places and people.

***

nature! redwood forests, ocean cliffs, beaches, hiking, stargazing, animal-sightings,
and maybe {if we're brave enough} swimming. i am a total city girl, but i
need me some nature, and i can't wait to escape to the great outdoors!

cheese! a visit to the cowgirl creamery in pt. reyes for an official cheese-tasting
{this may just be at the very tippy-top of the list for things i'm most excited about}.

***

time with loved ones. we have several really close friends that we'll get to see,
including celebrating one of their weddings, and maybe {hopefully} a meet-up
with a certain favorite blogger friend.

so you see, as far as i'm concerned, september 21 really can't come soon enough!

{although don't ask me when my actual anniversary date is. i know it's a few days before we leave, but i don't remember which date specifically. failure to remember important dates is something the mister has always known about me, so it's okay.}

{romantic getaway photos found here}

4 questions

2011-08-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

when i was in grad school to become a therapist, i learned a lot about cross-cultural healing. in many ancient and tribal cultures, if a person was sick, unhappy, or stuck in life, they would visit the village elders. the very first thing the elders would ask were these 4 questions:

1. when did you stop singing?

2. when did you stop dancing?

3. when did you lose interest in stories, particularly your own?

4. when did you become uncomfortable with silence?

i love these questions because they speak to something which brings so many people into

therapy - healing your inner child. think about it. children are pretty passionate about every single one of those topics - singing, dancing, stories {particularly their own story}, and while they may make a lot of noise themselves, they are certainly not weirded out by silence the way adults are {i've had several clients under the age of 12 who spent many of our 45 minute sessions in perfect silence}.

there's something that happens between early childhood and adulthood. we make all sorts of assumptions about ourselves and the world around us, which in turn, teaches us to close ourselves off from our feelings, from taking risks, and consequently, from true joy. think about those 4 questions again. each of those topics asks us to embrace an attitude of openness toward experiencing all that comes with living a full life, and often times these experiences involve facing our inner critic. how many of you read the first question and thought "oh but i can't sing!" or something along those lines? that was your inner critic. if you'll look again, the question is not "when did you stop singing well?" it doesn't matter one bit what you sound like! singing benefits ALL of our souls.

the good news is, we can heal our inner child. we may have learned faulty lessons when we were young that caused our inner child to become wounded, but we don't have to wait to unlearn them in order to embrace these 4 joys of life. by choosing to sing, dance, tell our story, and sit in silence, new beliefs will replace the old. don't wait until you FEEL like taking action - that may never come. but acting despite the lack of feelings will transform you into a new person... shiny happy people dancing! and all that.

who's going to sing today?

who's going to dance?

who will tell their story?

who will take time for silence?

i will. care to join me?

{dance, stories, silence, sing}

gratitude

2011-08-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

say what?! it's friday already???

has this come as a shock to anyone else, or is it just me?

i have had a fabulous week full of great friends, great work, and great fun! but would you believe it, i spent so much time playing that i forgot to snap any photos. it's a shame because on two eventful evenings this week the mister and i {and friends} got all dolled up in masks and steampunk and 20's garb. ah well, i'm sure we'll dress up in all that stuff again soon {knowing us and all}.

here's what i'm thankful for this week:

* attending my friend's dubstep premier at a fancy hollywood club {they were awesome and we were all so proud! this was also a masquerade party where we got to wear fabulous masks we made ourselves.}.

* quitting my other miscellaneous job {it was great as far as a random job goes, but it's time to focus on my career full time now. plus the simplicity of only having one job to worry about is heaven sent!}.

* accomplishing a huge to-do list for our little apartment {and soon we'll have our cabana!}.

* meeting up with one of my dearest friends {who lives all the way on the other side
of the country} at the edison for a little whiskey and blues dancing.

* this playlist over on for a life inspired full of awesome covers {there are old favorites *heartbeats, such great heights, where is my mind* and some new discoveries *my boys, animals, i'm on fire* ...it's so good!}

* finally making some progress on my new blog design {i couldn't find a designer to work with, so i'm doing it myself, learning along the way. this html stuff is crazy!}.

* reading this amazing article, discovered on exquisite banana {thanks kayla!}.

* gaining a bit of inspiration with food.

* reading for fun {yay!}.

* discovering this beautiful tumblr, luna~nueva, where i found this sweet photo:

happy friday!!

what are you thankful for this week?

and do you have any fabulous plans for the weekend?

my birthday wishlist

2011-08-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

here it is, my fabulous birthday wishlist. since this is my final year of my 20's, i want to make it a good one. that includes good gifts too!

+ i have asked for toms shoes every single christmas and birthday for the past 4 years and still have never owned any. i've informed the mister that this year i will be getting a pair... grey, size 5. you're welcome shoeless child in an impoverished country who will also be getting a pair of shoes for my birthday!

+ a really cute watch. have you tried looking for watches? it's really hard to find nice ones, at least nice ones that match my style. a watch is a pretty essential thing to have when you're a therapist though. so far i've found these two which i spotted on ruche. aren't they sweet and feminine? they'd match all my warm therapy outfits.

+ more vinyl for our collection. for some reason, listening to records at night is highly associated with autumn and winter. since summer will be coming to a close in a couple months {it doesn't really end in CA until october}, i've been feeling the cravings for vinyl. i'm thinking the new beirut album, the black keys, or the national. yay music!!!

+ yellow curry with tofu and a thai salad with peanut sauce from banana house in san francisco, my favorite restaurant ever. i used to eat there once a day when i worked around the corner, but now i only get it when we take trips back home. since a 12 hour roundtrip drive is probably not going to happen on my birthday, i am hoping someone will package it all up in amazingly secure containers and overnight it to me.

+ jewelry isn't usually a big deal to me, but i've fallen pretty hard for the sweet delicate pieces from upper metal class. Love!

{by the way, 100% of the proceeds for the bracelet will benefit japan, and it's customizable so you don't have to get it in red}

so there you go dannon... i mean, blog readers. :)
also the other day someone asked which day my birthday was on - it's the 25 of august {holler!}.

art for the soul

2011-08-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

remember the imaginary museum i built behind my dream house? well sometimes i like to think about building a second museum, this time at my future private therapy practice. it would hold the most moving, emotional, deeply beautiful pieces, perfecrt for personal interpretation.

last year, at the holiday renegade craft fair here in LA, i met catia chien and fell head over heels in love with her art. it's absolutely perfect for a therapist's office, especially if that therapist happened to work with kids {except don't we all have an inner child? and isn't a wounded inner child the thing which brings us to therapy in the first place? so it works for everyone really}.

and one that i especially related to:

aren't they all magical?! love, true love i tell you!

there are so many other great pieces so please go check out her website for more.

but those aren't the only pieces i'd want in my therapy museum. our very own gracey, a dear blog

friend from the other side of the pacific, is also an amazingly talented artist.

gracey's art speaks volumes of emotion and depth. see?

oh! amazing!

you can find more of her work on her blog paper aviator, and her portfolio.

a walk down memory lane

2011-08-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

last week i was tagged by the lovely lynn from the actor's diet with a really fun series: the 7 links project. if you've never read lynn's blog you should go check it out. there's all sorts of great stuff about food, LA hot spots, adventures as a working actress, and experiences overcoming an eating disorder. talk about the benefits of blogging! lynn has definitely used her's as a way to help others, and in real life she's as sweet as can be!

i'm so excited to play along with the 7 links project. the idea is to join with other bloggers in sharing some lessons i've learned and highlighting some of my greatest posts from the past. there are 7 categories, as listed below.

my 7 links:

1. most beautiful post
i totally think my happiness truck post was the most beautiful. not only did it include beautiful photos from the most beautiful shop in the world, but it also encaptured my beautiful dream for making life really really ridiculously beautiful for everyone. that's 4 whole "beautiful's!" {also, dictionary.com informed me that i completely made up the word "encaptured." i hope you don't mind.}

2. most popular post
the most popular one was by far the post on my mental illness. for those of you who don't know, i have clinical ocd. it is a daily struggle for me to cope in a world full of germs, which i perceive to be extremely "dangerous." it was a pretty big leap for me to talk about this part of life in a public forum, but i'm so glad i did - i received so many emails and comments from many of you sharing your own struggles and thanking me for helping them understand loved ones with mental illnesses.

3. most controversial post
i really thought this was going to be the post where i shared my husby's & my decision to do a domestic partnership instead of a legal marriage. as it turns out though, you all were very supportive of us saying no to marriage, and my most controversial post turned out to be the one where i shared how much i dislike food. you all thought i was crazy and i loved reading all of your comments {don't worry, everyone was nice even if they did get all riled up}. the ironic thing is, i now work at a residential home for people with eating disorders, where i have to eat meals with the patients and model a healthy relationship with food. oh life.

4. most helpful post
i'd say this was also my ocd post. i'm so glad my honesty was able to help so many others understand mental illnesses better and feel like they aren't alone in this world. however, since i've already given the link to my ocd post, i'd say one of my other most helpful posts was the busy girl's guide to staying healthy. in a busy world we could all use a few more ideas on how to stay healthy and sane, am i right?

5. a post with surprising success
my most surprisingly successful posts were often the ones i wrote out when i was feeling a wee bit cheeky, like the post where i wished for ridiculous yet awesome things and made reference to skee-lo. apparently you guys like it when i write late at night, whilst feeling slightly bitter and especially sarcastic. good to know.

6. a post that didn't get the attention it deserved

our kazoo sing-a-long! we worked hard to count out 60 kazoos by hand at the party store, but it was all worth it when we handed them out immediately after tying the knot. 50 people playing kazoos as our first act of celebrating our union? best thing ever! plus, i died laughing while typing the kazoo song books, complete with special kazoo translations which went like this:

7. a post i'm most proud of

ok, i'm going to cheat a little bit, but all of my posts about my wedding were ones i'm most proud of. dannon and i were only engaged for 4 months, and we only used the one month before our wedding for the actual planning. i was never one of those girls who planned her wedding growing up {i was never even sure i wanted to get married ever}, so we definitely came up with everything in a very short amount of time. sure there were things i might have done differently had we more money, but i'm pretty freakin proud of all the creativity, hard work, and meaningful experiences we included in our wedding. we did a hand-binding, kazoo sing-a-long, picnic basket dinner, lawn games, dancing, and i threw a rubber chicken instead of a bouquet, just to name a few of things i loved about our special day. it was a ridiculous amount of fun, which was exactly how we wanted to kick off this new phase of our relationship. i can't believe it was almost a whole year ago!

so those are my 7 links!

aren't you all proud of me for not mentioning the elephants? :)

and i would love to pass this sweet walk-down-memory-lane project to the following 4 fantastic bloggers, just because i hope to see some of their top links from over the years too:
+ brandi of not your average ordinary
+ tiffany of dancing branflakes
+ erin of pughs' news
+ lillian of unstitched
+ and anyone else who wants to play along!

remember when?...

2011-08-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

amongst our friends of 30-somethings, we like to play a little game
called "things the kids today don't know anything about."

yeah, it's a terrible name, but stick with me. the point of the game was partly to poke fun at the
over-technologied kids who stare blankly at us when we mention the rotary phone,
and partly to reminisce all the crazy things that we grew up with which no longer exist.

such as...

- home telephones {i was so jealous when my best friend's family bought a cordless phone - LUCKY!!}

- life before cell phones in general {remember when you couldn't reach someone if
they weren't at home? i know, it was weird.}

- typewriters & word processors {you know, life before any of us had computers}
- juno {the email-only internet service, not the diablo cody movie}
- the zack morris cell phone {aka - the brick}
- dial-up internet {eeeeeee-rrrrrrrrrr-ding!ding!ding!rrrrrrrr}

- floppy disks
- pagers

- 8 tracks

- atari

and a few other non-technology things for good measure:

- pee wee herman, back before... you know... [ahem] ...
- when "the simpsons" were simply a short on "the tracey ullman show"

- the very first "reality" show ever
- USSR & yugoslavia
- the berlin wall
- fraggle rock

and if that's not enough, here's an awesome video along the same lines.
it's funny, because it's true {especially the very end}:

isn't it crazy how drastically the world has changed over the past 30 years? this weekend was the 20th anniversary of the world wide web. only 20 years! my entire childhood was spent without the existence of the internet, cell phones, and home computers. now i'm sure every generation gets to adulthood and amazes at the historical changes throughout their lifetime, but i feel like the changes which my generation experienced seem to be so much more extreme. thanks to the boom of technology through the 80's and 90's, the world is completely different from when i was young. crazy right?!

gratitude!

2011-08-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

another week has come and gone, and a new month is upon us!

this week i'm thankful...

+ that it's august {yay!}.

+ for discovering that the barn owl who lives in our tree is actually
an entire family of barn owls {with two babies!}.

+ getting my awesome textbooks early {no i'm not in school anymore, but i am apparently still a total nerd}.

+ reserving the cabin in the woods up at point reyes for our 1 yr anniversary trip.

+ planning out the rest of our anniversary trip {we'll get to eat at all our favorite restaurants back in SF, see some dear friends, attend a cheese tasting at the cowgirl creamery, attend our friends' wedding, and spend several days in the wilderness along the coast - i can't wait!}.

+ that she & him is coming out with a holiday album this year.

+ finally feeling like i'm a therapist again {i had an existential crisis for a while
there, but things are feeling much more aligned now}.

+ receiving not one, not two, but THREE fun packages this week: the fingerless gloves i won from decoybetty {i can't wait till it gets cold!}, armenian cucumber seeds i won from kathleen {the first thing the mister & i will plant together}, and these fun feather earrings i won from micaela's giveaway by the soaktree. jihee, the talented gal behind these earrings, is a total sweetheart to work with and takes great care to choose the best feathers she can find. go check out her shop and all the other fun items up for sale!

what are you thankful for?

kinfolk

2011-08-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

thanks to a very helpful reader the other day, i was finally able to relocate kinfolk, the most beautiful food magazine ever {although i still don't remember who's blog i originally discovered it on - sorry!}.

kinfolk is a grand source of inspiration for the art of building connections and creating meaningful experiences around food. there are ideas for small gatherings, sweet food dates for two, and even for when you're on your own. everything involves food and meals, but the focus is very much on the bigger picture of life - beauty, reflection, intentionality, growth.

oh and the pictures -- {The Pictures!!} -- just gorgeous.

as someone who longs to rush through every meal, it has been a big deal for me to connect with this magazine. now that i work at a residential facility for eating disorders, i've been making the extra effort to get to know food in a whole new way. thankfully, kinfolk came at the perfect time to make things just a little easier for me. i may still hate to cook, but maybe, just maybe, i can find ways to use food as an excuse to spend time with loved ones, practice mindfulness and gratitude, and get to know myself a little bit better.

my apologies for this post

2011-08-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

so not many people know this about me, but in addition to having clinical ocd and synesthesia, i also have adult ADD {can you see why i don't want to procreate?}. usually my ADD results in me having to heat whatever's in the microwave 6 times before i actually remember to pull it out while it's hot, or starting about a million different tasks at once only to spend a total of 45 seconds...

anyway, yesterday i began writing 4 different posts with the intention that one of those posts would go up today. i didn't finish any of them. instead, amongst all the attempted blog writing, i managed to:

sing "lola" over and over while the mister learned it on the mandolin,

tried to write a blog post,

heated up some tea,

read one paragraph from "the eating disorder sourcebook,"

looked at all the photos from the holiday LA renegade craft fair from last december on flickr,

tried to write a blog post,

wandered outside to watch the baby barn owls in our tree,

remembered i had heated tea but never drank it,

reheated tea,

tried to write a blog post,

read another paragraph in the "the eating disorder sourcebook,"

DANCE BREAK!!!

googled "encaptured" to see if it was a real word or just one i made up,

tried to write a blog post,

looked at my "funny" board on pinterest and laughed for a solid minute at this one,

got a glass out to make tea,

remembered i already had tea,

went back outside to watch the owls,

tried to write a blog post,

tweeted about hearing satie's "gymnopedie no. 1,"

looked up erik satie and got sucked into the vortex that is wikipedia,

tried to write a blog post,

remembered that 3 days ago i wanted to look up the lyrics to "lisztomania" once and for all,

read the criteria for ADHD in the DSM-IV,

finally looked up the lyrics to lisztomania once and for all {girls going crazy over franz liszt is pretty funny, however that phoenix song is pretty freaking stupid},

finally wrote this post.

i think i need cereal.

random pretty photo found on pinterest:

{there... humor, honesty, & a pretty picture - all the essential components of a good blog post}

hopefully today will be much more productive.
happy wednesday everyone.

august intentions ~ yippeeee!

2011-08-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

each month i come up with a new set of goals or intentions, which is my own alternative to a new year's resolution. i mean really, who sticks with their new year's goals throughout the entire year?! okay, some of you are great at that, but not me. my needs change from month to month, so i like the flexibility to adapt to those changes. i skipped last month, giving myself a break from any new goals while i got settled into my jobs.

but it's a new month!
and the month of august is a pretty special one because it's my birthday month!! i'll be turning 29, which technically means i'm beginning my 30th year of life. august also means it's been an entire year since i finished grad school and moved to LA with the mister. this time last year we were unpacking boxes while simultaneously planning our wedding {we planned the whole thing in just one month}. yup august was a pretty crazy month last year, and it's amazing to see how far we've come.

{photo}

so my goal for the very special month of august is simple
but incredibly important -- to have a whole bunch of fun!!
that's right, after a full year of overwhelming stress i'm going to enjoy life with all my heart.

i will...

* carve out time to do fun things each week
{i will have 3 days a week when i'm not working, so NOT work is just what i'll do}.

* say yes to random fun opportunities that present themselves.

* sing, dance, & play the ukulele.

* get out in nature on some hikes.

* eat way more gelato.

* check off some of my summer goals, like attending more summer concerts,
visit the tim burton exhibit, & have a picnic at the hollywood bowl.

do you have any goals for august?

****

UPDATE: found that online magazine, thanks to a very helpful reader. phew! a few weeks ago one of you posted on your blog about an amazing online magazine devoted to food. it wasn't just any old food magazine though, it was more focused on making connections with other people and sharing food-related experiences. it was also gorgeous! i can't find it anymore, and i can't remember which of your blogs i discovered it on. i've tried googling all sorts of things to find it, but with no luck. if you know what i'm talking about, or have some ideas of what i might be thinking of, please leave me the name/link in the comments. thanks you guys!

good deeds ~ what anne frank & dr. seuss know

2011-08-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

"how wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world."

-- anne frank

"unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing
is going to get better. it's not."

-- dr. seuss

what do anne frank and dr. seuss have in common?

for one thing they both know the great importance of making the world a better place wherever you may be right this very moment. so stop right there! look around you. what can you do right now? smile at a fellow coffee shop patron? ask a coworker how he/she is doing? take care of that thing your roommate/partner dreads doing around the house? or perhaps clean out the litterbox for your very patient kitty?

great! that's a solid start. now, can you go a little bigger? check in on a loved one maybe?
volunteer at your child's school? deliver treats to your neighbors?

{photo}

there are so many things we can each do that take anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours, but which are overwhelmingly powerful to those around us. just think what this world would be like if we all partook in these "small" selfless acts on a regular basis!

ps - happy august!

pssst!

2011-07-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

hey, guess what.

i'm over on project simple life sharing my honeymoon today.

and by "sharing my honeymoon" i mean sharing really awesome pictures of me and my beloved

elephants.

thought i was going to mention the mister didn't you?

yeah, he's maybe in a photo or two... standing right behind my love for elephants.

happy saturday!

gratitude!

2011-07-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

i've had such a great week, and have so many things to be thankful for!

* i started my new job at the residential home for individuals with eating disorders and i absolutely love it! it feels so good to be diving back into my career {aka - what i'm really passionate about}, and this particular job is such a fulfilling niche within the field of psychology. in a lot of therapeutic situations you don't get to see people progress in such powerful ways in such a short amount of time, but here you do.

* i'm also grateful my job will be motivating me to form a much healthier relationship with food in my personal life. i don't really like food, i think it's a huge inconvenience to have to stop in my day to eat, but here i sit through meals and snack times with the patients and model healthy eating behaviors and attitudes. ironic? yup. good for me? probably for sure.

* other things i'm really grateful for about my new job: it's paid!! i'm building a great network of other therapists here in LA, there's a lot of room for growth with the clinic, the co-therapists are really fun, and i get free meals by an award winning chef.

{you can buy this and other beautiful prints from life through the lens}

i'm also grateful for...

* sangria saturday.

* having some much needed alone time.

* finally getting a bed frame {no more mattress on the floor!! we're finally real grown ups!}.

* date night with the mister watching rubber {which i thought was hilarious and wonderful. if you are a fan of art, an existentialist, a relativist, or just appreciate the absurd, you should definitely see it.}.

* attending my first real hollywood movie party, for the film, "the man who shook the hand of vicente fernandez." the writer & director is my amazingly talented friend elia petridis {who's about to marry my other dear friend this weekend - so many happy things!}, and of course you all know my handsome hubby, who worked in the art department. there were several other friends who had roles in the making of this movie, and i am so proud of every single one of them. i cannot wait to see it, which should be in january of next year {don't worry, i'll keep you all posted}. we danced, we mingled, we heard amazing ghost stories {the hospital where they filmed the movie was definitely haunted}... pretty much everything you'd expect from a hollywood party.

what are you thankful for?

raise your hand if you're going on vacation!

2011-07-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

oooo, me! me! i'm going on vacation!!
we've tried several times over the past couple months to do the vacation thing, but with new jobs and no spare money, we've had to sit tight. come september, however, and we're off on our very own mini vacation {"mini" in that we'll be sticking to parts of the state that we know very well}. the plan is to take a week off just after our 1st year wedding anniversary. half of that time will be spent somewhere just north of san francisco, where we can relax by the ocean, roam through the headlands, and preferably soak in a hot tub/hot springs at night. we've had a pretty rough past year so we decided we deserve to soak up the joys of doing absolutely nothing! the other half of that week will be spent with friends in san francisco and a weekend wedding near santa cruz. yup, an entire week full of love!!

{photo}

while i've been planning this trip, i've been thinking a lot about vacations in general. they're so necessary aren't they?! and for those of us who are no longer in school {nor work at a school}, we don't get multiple breaks built into our yearly schedule. in the post-school world, we might get a couple days off in december, or maybe we take a couple days off in the summer, but is that really enough? if you ask me, we would all do a lot better if we continued to take multiple vacations - april! september! the end of january!
be wild and crazy and go nuts with some self-care!

{photo}

what i've learned...

take plenty of time for your vacation. it takes most people a couple days to destress and forget about work, so make your vacation long enough to get over that hump and fully enjoy the time away. you'll be far more energized if you take a week or even two {two? you're so wild!}.

include one day before and after your vacation to be at home. you'll have a much better time on your vacation if you had a full day off from work to get ready, and a full day off to settle back in at the end. you don't ever want to feel like you need a vacation just to prepare for and catch up from your vacation.

embrace the almighty staycation. can't afford to travel? still take that time off from work and regain a sense of sanity. explore all the places you've never experienced in your area {hikes, museums, restaurants}, pamper yourself {long baths, reading in hammocks, play with homemade scrubs and masks, paint your nails}, or take up a new hobby you've never had time to do {painting, sewing, bird house making, tai chi, cooking. you can look up workshops/classes at your local community center or library, or check online for free web classes}.

protect your vacation with all your might. remind everyone you will be gone and out of reach, set up those out-of-the-office messages on all your technology, ignore calls and emails, even lie if you have to. your vacation, including a staycation, is sacred time away, so set those boundaries to actually have time away.

so there it is.
vacations are really good for you and you should take them,
even if you are no longer in school, even if it's not december, even if you are super poor.
go ahead, you deserve it!