When I found out that the infamous stair car from Arrested Development rolled into town, there was no way I could skip out on it. So on Sunday, John, my brother Andy, and I headed down to Santa Monica for a Bluth mobile sighting and a walk around town. The beach, the buildings, the Bluths…what more could you ask for on the day of rest? (Ummm…how about more parking?)
The countdown to the BIG PREMIERE is on! George Michael, I’ve missed you so…
A few weekends ago, John and I decided to venture up north and take a little day trip to Ojai. Can you believe that in the twenty-plus years I’ve lived in Southern California, I had never visited this amazing town before? That’s just crazy to me now that I’ve experienced the wonder that it truly is. Everything about Ojai (well, except maybe the overuse of Papyrus…I’ll try to look past that – ha!), is perfection. We spent the first part of the day exploring the main street, dining at an awesome Mexican food joint, and strolling through the park. As the sun began to set, I knew we had to head up to Meditation Mount (after reading this post!) and take in all the soft colors and citrusy smells from the top of the city. My instincts proved correct…it was spectacular.
Ojai, you’ve won us over. Well done.
P.S. Hey locals! Any ideas for adorable SoCal towns that I need to visit? I would love to hear your suggestions! xo
While in Salt Lake last week for a lighting-fast business trip, I had every intention of taking lots of photos of all the things that I miss most about living in Utah. The snow-capped mountains. Waking up to fresh powder outside my window. Rows + rows of thrifty goodness at the DI (oh, the DI). All of my amazing friends whom I miss terribly. The reality? I filled up my memory card with TONS of images from my breakfast at Eva’s Bakery in downtown SLC. I mean, I couldn’t help myself! Everything about this place is what designer dreams are made of, from the blue and yellow patterned flooring to the calligraphed labels in the bakery case to the gorgeous menu typography. I was in heaven (literally…this is Utah, after all).
Oh, and the food? DIVINE.
xoxo
When Saturday rolls around and John and I are looking for a fun way to spend the afternoon, Ventura often seems to top our list of places to go. And why not? It’s such an underrated little beach town so close to where we live. The weather is always nice, the parking is always plentiful and FREE (take note, LA!), and there are so many fantastic thrift shops on Main Street that we could spend hours wandering though. Oh, and we’re totally getting married there in October! Needless to say, we love it.
On the way home, we stopped at our wedding venue to see what it looks like at night. Despite my previous concerns that the lighting wouldn’t jive with my vision, I am happy to report, it looks SO GOOD! Warm, cozy, and ready for an all-night fiesta! Am I killing you with the wedding stuff yet? My apologies friends, but we’ve got a loooong (but not that long – ahh!) way to go! And speaking of wedding stuff, lately I’ve been sending e-mails with potential vow material to myself whenever a poignant thought crosses my mind. This includes, but is not limited to, grabbing my phone to write out my thoughts in the middle of the night while still half-dreaming (nightmaring?) about arriving at the ceremony only to realize that I forgot to write any vows…! (P.S. I woke up the next morning to some surprisingly decent work!) I am LITERALLY writing these vows with my eyes closed. If only the rest of the wedding planning could be so easy!
xoxo
Colorful notes to friends. Taking time to smell the roses. Lots of time spent soaking up the sunshine. Clean desk (well, mostly). New maxi dress + cheery yellow bag. Knitting projects galore. New candle making my space smell like a chic boutique. JT on replay, all day, everyday. Lots of planning, organizing and writing in my journal. Setting goals + making things happen. Happy Spring!
xoxo
On Sunday, I convinced John and my brother Andy to go with me to Disneyland, partly because the weather was springtime perfection, but mainly because I wanted to test my new 50mm lens in the most colorful setting possible. Mission accomplished.
As far as camera equipment goes, this macro lens is such a steal considering just how fantastic it really is! The sharp depth of field blows my mind every time… even if does force me to stand a mile away from my subject to get more than just their nostrils in the shot – ha!
xoxo
Last week I got a fun e-mail from Urbanic letting me know that I had won their giveaway from The Cream…! I can’t even tell you how excited I was, especially about this wedding planning binder that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time. The truth is, I didn’t even get a good look at the prize while I was at the event, but as a matter of principle, I always throw my name in the hat if Urbanic is hosting a giveaway. Always.
While I was down in Venice, I decided to wander around a bit, pick up a latte from Intelligentsia (even if I do feel entirely uncool while I’m there), stop by Firefly (another great little boutique!), and take a bunch of photos before the braving the 405 at rush hour. Totally worth it.
xoxo
An oceanfront room overlooking La Jolla Cove. Shopping at Typo + Paper Tales. A trip up to Julian for pie + coffee. Breakfast on the roof of our hotel every morning. Rain + sunshine followed by more rain + sunshine. A walk around Balboa Park before heading home. And the real clincher: wedding venue hunting! We found two possible contenders, but are definitely in the market for other options. If you know of any great locations (anywhere in Southern California!), I would love to hear about them!
xoxo
Could not be more thrilled and excited to marry this boy.
2013 is going to be an amazing year, I just know it.
xoxo
PINK PAGE // If this page looks an awful lot like the previous page, then you would be…correct. Ha! Originally, I planned on inserting a different colored paper in the backside of the glassine bag, but I loved the way the hot pink looked so much, I decided to keep it as is. The pink patterned paper on the outside of the bag is actually a postcard I purchased from Cotton + Flax at Renegade and the gold screenprint on top of that is from Life Love Paper. I also bunched up a little bit of this faux-tinsel yarn
TEAL PAGE // First of all, I was so psyched when I saw this free printable on Pinterest (from the new-to-me and super inspiring blog, A Pair of Pairs) because I knew instantly that I wanted to print it on teal vellum for my book! Love when that happens. To preserve as much of the printable design as possible, I kept my embellishments to a minimum: a photo, a few strips of washi + American Crafts Glitter Tape
Random sidenote: I feel like I’m always chasing daylight when it comes to photographing my projects these days – I just can’t seem to stay on top of it! And the thing is, I love more nighttime than daytime in the winter, but I have totally been struggling with it over the past few weeks. These photos were shot on the end of the driveway (of all places) with approximately five seconds of natural light to spare – gah! When and where do you shoot your photos?
xoxo
