monday pick-me-up :: a wedding in wine country!

...and not just any wedding. the wedding of my brother in law {my husband's twin} and his lovely bride!!! jules and andrea have known each other for about 7 years, dated for about 2 1/2 years, and engaged for the last 2 months. needless to say, we have all been anxiously awaiting this moment... and it couldn't have been more amazing... i don't think there was a dry eye. i can't even describe the beauty and perfection of that gloriously happy day... so i won't try, i'll just let the photos speak for themselves. :)

i was given the honor of creating their wedding invitations and chalking the ceremony details on their handmade blackboard! maybe i'm biased, but they are by far my favorite invites i've had the privilege of making.

venue :: ponte winery, temecula ca
photography :: ryan garvin photography
dress :: vera wang for david's bridal
cupcakes :: truly madly sweetly
email me if you're in need of some hand-drawn invitations! {shameless, i know}

happy monday!!

monday pick-me-up :: banish your winter cold

last week, i was stuck at home with the worst cold i think i've ever had. i couldn't breathe. i couldn't sleep. i couldn't move. i could not stop blowing my nose!! it was horrible... but honestly, made me really thankful for my normally good health, which i've realized i take for granted.
i don't normally take anything when i'm sick, i'm one of those people, i guess. my mom always turned to home remedies whenever us kids were sick, and they always worked. so i've carried that with me - i drink lots of water, eat homemade soup, rest rest rest, and i'm usually better within a couple days. not this time. by day 5 of feeling like i had been kicked in the face, i finally decided to help my body out. with a hardworking husband in crunch mode with a recording project and a mom hundreds of miles away, i picked my pitiful self off the couch and went down to the store to get some drugs. ugh, i even hate saying that... but i was desperate.
i made my way to the odwalla case, grabbed a few bottles, then headed to the Emergen-C and Airborne aisle and... i... couldn't do it. i couldn't resist turning the box over and checking the ingredients. it sealed the deal... i couldn't bring myself to buy something that had fructose and natural citrus flavor {which i hope you all know, is NOT natural at all, it's sneaky wording to hide unnatural flavor enhancers... think about it, if they used real orange, they would boast about it... ok, getting off my soapbox...}. so i put the Emergen-C box back on the shelf and went straight to the vitamin section. i studied the bottles then finally chose one and headed to the check-out.
as soon as i got home, i threw back a bottle of odwalla, ate some soup and took the vitamin supplement. i'm not joking, within a couple hours i was feeling better. i wasn't ready to run a mile or anything but i felt noticeably better... even the husband noticed a change in my sickly appearance. by the end of the night, i could finally breathe through my nose; the next day, i didn't blow my nose once, i didn't feel achey, and i was feeling well enough to clean the kitchen {mostly}.
so i thought i would just list a couple things that helped me get on the road to recovery, in case you're battling the same thing. :)

1. lemon + fresh mint leaves makes a simple but great tea to help ease those congested sinuses 2. odwalla superfood  {which aren't from concentrate, don't add sugar, or any sketchy ingredients - it's truly natural! and so delish}... look for it on one of the aisle end caps. 3. classic chicken soup {super easy recipe at real simple's site} 4. b-complex {which has most, if not all, the same cold-fighting vitamins as Emergen-C}

wishing you a healthy monday! :)

monday pick-me-up: easy, hearty tortilla soup!

mmm... there is nothing better than homemade soup on a cold, snowy night! especially if it's an easy soup... which is what i'll be sharing with you. most soups on the internet call for cups of chicken broth, which i don't like to use because i have yet to find a chicken broth/stock at the store without msg, natural flavorings (which are not natural at all!), and high amounts of salt... all of which are so bad for you. so i've been making soup without it, just adding water instead to avoid all those unhealthy ingredients... and it tastes great!! husband was raving about this one in particular. :)

recipe
(i use all organic ingredients- they always taste best!!)
  1/2 lb. of organic ground beef
  3/4 jar of salsa
  2 celery stalks (chopped)
  1/2 onion (chopped)
  3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
  3 tbsp. olive oil
  1 cup of brown rice
  1 can of black beans (strained)
  1 jalapeno (finely chopped)
  tortilla chips + cilantro for garnish
  salt + pepper to taste

   1. saute chopped garlic, onion, and jalapeno with 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large pot (over medium-high heat).
   2. once the onion looks translucent, fill pot 2/3 with water, bring to a boil.
   3. add rice, salsa, celery and black beans. set timer for 45 minutes.
   4. in a separate pan, cook ground beef in the remaining olive oil then add to the soup, reduce heat to low, so that the soup is simmering.
   5. once the timer goes off, serve and garnish with tortilla chips and cilantro! if the soup isn't as spicy as you thought it would be, just sprinkle some crushed red peppers on top {i did it and tastes great!}.
{p.s. refrigerate the remainder of the soup}

enjoy! :)

monday pick-me-up: pumpkin {bouchon} muffins

'tis the season to bake!! i don't know about you, but i've been in a baking flurry ever since the calendar read november 1st. and i have no complaints or regrets for my recent convection obsession (and i don't think the husband does either!). i found a great recipe from one of my fave bloggers - roost - for butternut squash bouchons (which, if you didn't know, are sort of like muffins but a little taller and a little skinnier) but i don't have little bouchon baking cups so i just used a good ol' fashioned muffin pan... they turned out great and i was immediately inspired to make some pumpkin bouchons (or muffins... i just like using the word bouchon as much as possible!) so i changed up the recipe a little bit and am completely happy with the results!
i feel like i should warn you fellow sweet-toothers: these are not cupcakes, they are not super sweet, nor will they leave you feeling guilty after partaking... you'll notice the recipe doesn't call for butter or oil, or cups upon cups of sugar! so, if you'd rather have something more decadent for dessert, you could save these for fall mornings paired with your morning cup of caffeine . :)

recipe
   2 1/2 cups of GF flour {i'm sure normal flour would work fine too}
   2 cups of pumpkin
   1/2 cup of applesauce
   1/4 cup of honey
   1/3 cup of brown sugar
   2 eggs
   1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
   2 tsp. cinnamon
   1/2 tsp. salt
   1/2 tsp. baking soda
   chopped walnuts + raw sugar for sprinkling {optional}

{makes 16 bouchon muffins}

• preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• whisk dry ingredients together {flour, spices, salt, baking soda}.
• add the other ingredients and stir until combined.
• drop into parchment paper lined muffin pan.
• sprinkle with chopped walnuts + raw sugar {optional... but highly recommended!}
• bake for 30-35 minutes
• enjoy!

layer upon layer: a painting story

i've recently been into painting with watercolor... which is funny because when i first started playing with it years ago, i made up my mind i didn't like it, i felt like i couldn't control it enough - like i could with pencils or acrylic paint. but lately i've really been taken by it. i love the color gradient and how free it all feels (ironic, right?). this is my first real, serious stab at it so i thought i would share it {and the process} with y'all.

first we have the tools.

{your basic watercolor set and my three favorite brushes of all time. i literally use them for everything! it must be a comfort thing...}

next, the bare bones.

{most of the time, i will loosely sketch out what i'm going to paint, just the bare minimum - a skeleton if you will - just to get a basic idea of where it's going to go and then start with the layering! i always start with the sky and work my way up to the front.}

then, fleshing it out.

{this is where it really starts to get fun... it actually starts to look like a painting! i just get the basic coloring and shading on there, slowly covering the blank space.}

and lastly, the final layer.

{this is my favorite part! this is where i get to go in and add lots and lots of detail shading. i could probably let myself indulge in this step for hours, but at some point i just have to tell myself to stop...
and voila! it's done!}

hope you enjoyed my short story and i really hope that it inspired you to do something that you love doing! :)

monday pick-me-up: dcfc's new music video!

monday pick-me-up: happy august!

"it's august first everybody!" i announce with excitement.
nic pauses then asks, "what does that mean?"
"it's the start of a new month!" i answer happily.

here's to the start of a new month everyone! cheers! :)
p.s. i'm waist-deep in writing a book so the above narration is second nature at this point.

oh... and here are just a couple images that pop up when you search the word "august"...

monday pick-me-up: blog redesign!

ahhh.... it's like a breath of fresh air around here. i've been wanting to update this site for awhile now and i finally made the time and just did it! i've also redesigned my twitter page to coincide with the blog... i feel so much better... it's all cohesive! yay!
hope you like the new look and feel...
happy monday y'all!

monday pick-me-up: inspiring companies

i know we all feel like we spend wayyyy too much time browsing around the ol' worldwide web... but i thought i'd share some of my recent company obsessions - these people are so talented and their websites are sure to quench your need for some creative inspiration today. :)

first up, i'd like to introduce you to illustrator extraordinaire skinny laminx ... absolutely adore her work!

since my dad is a ceramics-jedi-master, i've been able to see firsthand how much care a potter puts into his work... and the guys at heath ceramics are no exception -  their stuff is absolutely gorgeous and is definitely neck-and-neck with dad's stuff. :) {p.s. they're local! anyone want to take a trip to their los angeles or sausalito studio? road trip!}

...and i would loooove a good excuse to take a trip to texas because i'm dying to stay at the minimalist-friendly hotel san jose. i love their site, i love their vibe, i love their bike and polaroid rentals, and i love the simplicity of the overall design.

i'm not a huge fan of online shopping but sometimes it's necessary and super convenient so i do occasionally bite the cyber bullet. the beautiful terrain website, however, pushes all those hesitations aside and makes me want to fill up every inch of my virtual shopping cart...

speaking of shopping carts, i wish i could push one down the aisles of B H L D N and bring their whole inventory home! so many dreamy dresses and accessories... wish i could get married all over again!

happy monday!

monday pick-me-up: color!!

color (noun): a phenomenon of light or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects; the aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources. (thank you merriam-webster)

i love that first phrase: "a phenomenon of light"....... color is a phenomenon and i take it for granted sometimes... so on this semi-gloomy day, i thought i would share some cool, colorful items that will hopefully pick you right up. :)

....ok, so it's actually tuesday now so i guess this could be considered a tuesday pick-me-up... either way, hope you're inspired for the week!

goodnight... and good morning. :)

monday pick-me-up: bryan adams

i decided to kill two posts with one stone and combine my friday finds {which was actually a saturday find} and monday pick-me-up because my find has seriously made my week!!
when i showed up on the last day of an anaheim estate sale, i had zero expectations because this place had been practically cleared out. i took a gander through the house and found 3 boxes of records... so i started flipping through the old LPs and to my utter astonishment and excitement, there lay a bryan adams record. for those of you that don't know {which is probably most if not all} - i have always looooved bryan adams. and i am not ashamed. he's awesome. everything i do, i do it for you? heaven? summer of '69? please! he's awesome. aaaand since it was the final day, everything was half off! so, i purchased the record for $.50! woohoo!

happy monday :)

monday pick-me-up: feeling french!

for some reason, the french culture has always inspired me and usually helps me get out of my creative lulls... so for today's pick-me-up, i thought i would share a few of my favorite frenchy fixes to fuel some inspiration for the week - 

1} nothing transports me quicker than the lovely sounds of carla bruni

2} this is my favorite candle and just so happens to have a french name :) - caprice de la mode

3} soft, breezy scarves always make me think of the french & this one is insanely inexpensive but feels super luxurious {$4.50 @ forever 21}

4} observing art is always a good pick-me-up and i especially love the work of french artist, edgar degas

5} a good cup of espresso {love this stovetop espresso maker!} paired with a chocolate croissant always reminds me of those quaint french cafes... 

6} i absolutely adore the work of french photog, robert doisneau... doesn't he just capture the essence of romantic paris? 

7} and how could i not include julia child's amazing french cookbook?! she has been a culinary inspiration to me since i was in high school- when my sister and i would watch her tv show on the weekdays and try to get as many cooking/baking tips as we could!

8} but if you'd rather just watch someone else cook up those amazing french recipes, then i suggest watching julie & julia - so many great elements set in the heart of today's destination :)

happy monday!

monday pick-me-up: movie recs

the husband and i were both home sick yesterday - so we both camped out on the couch in our sweats and decided to watch a couple of our faves:




....great characters, doubly great music, iconic elements - a restaurant in the heart of paris and, let's be honest, we've all wanted to travel through time in that awesome delorean - and seriously fun stories. love it!

if you're needing a pick-me-up, i highly recommend watching either (or both!) of these movies tonight. i'm sure you've already seen these but they are so good even the tenth time around. :)