June 21, 2016

Out & About: Aspen, CO

Last Wednesday I flew to Aspen, Colorado to attend the Food & Wine Classic with my maj.

Joy was on assignment for American Express and I got the opportunity tag along. (YAY MAJ TIME!!!) It was an incredible trip. There were moments of relaxation, mixed with work, altitude wooziness and non-stop laughter. Oh yes…there was also FOOD AND WINE.

But mostly, there was pause–pause from my everyday life. There was time to reflect on my life and what my current sense of home/place is. There was time to myself- something I don’t think I’ve had that in a really long time.

Ummm….I had 7 hours in a hotel room all to myself…with no one talking to me or needing anything from me.

HELLO, INTROVERT TIME. Sorry to rub it in but OMG IT WAS AMAZING.

Honestly, traveling is sometimes scary for me because I get anxiety about packing and getting to the airport on time. I get hung up on checking bags and not checking bags and then I always take a smaller suitcase to challenge myself to pack lightly but then I forget things… There’s a lack of control in traveling that’s both good and bad for someone like me. I’m a person who is early to the airport and loses my plane ticket every 5 minutes because I don’t put it back in the right pocket. Traveling is annoying and cumbersome at times, but being away from home and experiencing something new is so good for my soul. It’s important for me to step out of my comfort zone, so I can have a deeper appreciation of my everyday life. Being away makes me miss my routine. It also recharges my creativity, which is something I have been struggling with lately. So YAY, VACATION. Even more YAY that I was able to have girl time with my best friend.

Aspen! Here’s what I experienced:

Inspiration

June 20, 2016

Summer Bucket List 2016

It’s Summer Bucket List TIME!! Here’s what we plotted out on our bucket list last year. Remember that?

This year I had Cooper sit down and write his own bucket list with me. We talked about the summer, about our intentions, and what we wanted to do. Hopefully we can get it all done this summer and add a few more things along the way. I always love going back and seeing what we did together as a family during the summer.

Mine:

Beach adventures
Outdoor movie nights
Read 2 Books (I’m open to suggestions!)
Trip to Tahoe
Make recipes with Cooper (excited because he actually wants to!!)
Make stop motion videos (with Cooper)
Go through Cooper’s closet (I need to purge!)
Cuddle cats (Ella’s sister will be coming home with us soon-squee!)
Weekly library visits (especially the Mill Valley library)
Last minute road trip (Oregon? Santa Cruz? Idaho? Who knows….)
Art class with Cooper (we’re planning on taking something on Creativebug together)
SFMOMA visit
Create laundry room shelves
BBQs at our house
Baseball game (go Red Sox!)

Now let’s take a look at Cooper’s:

Read (love that it’s #1)
Make stop motion videos (he’s really into making them with his legos on our iPad)
Have a lot of playdates
Go to the Beach (yes!)
Baseball camp
Make recipes (he spelled it resipes- SO CUTE)
Make home made ice cream
Go to Scandia
Play golf in a golf cart (hehe)
Go to Circus Circus in Tahoe (it’s in Reno, boo)
Go to Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland A’s game
Go to Discovery Museum
Go to Benny Hannah (Benihana) (I love when kids misspell things)
Go to Hooters (he spelled it Hotters and OMG Casey took him and he LOVES their hot wings! HA!)

Hope this inspires you to write down your own list of what you plan to do this summer!

my everyday life, Photography

June 19, 2016

My Everyday Life: Week 24

Saw my maj this week in ASPEN! IT HAD BEEN A YEAR.

Ella loves the laser pointer.

One of the only family dinners I made this week 🙁

Breakfast sniffer.

I’m currently typing this at the airport. I can’t freaking wait to see my family and squeeze this little nugget.

Chopping broccoli. Are you singing that in Dana Carvey’s voice? No? Just me then.

Purple potatoes being smashed for crispy smashed potatoes

June 17, 2016

I love lists

Welcome to I Love Lists! Let’s surf the internet together:

For when you’re having a bad day. Thanks HJH.
Ahhh there was a FNL reunion!
Can Seattle keep its soul?
Dresses over pants. Discuss.
Online class that looks cool- Indigo Dye Class
Very clever food photos
Pantone color names vs. what color they actually look like
My new sandals
If you want to eat healthier….
OMFG yes.
This is good for me + my hikes!
Maybe I’ll make a candle or two for outside this summer.
This is 2016.
I’d like to have a moment in Joshua Tree sometime.
Cooper and I have to make homemade pocky this summer!
I didn’t really know what ghosting was. I haven’t dated in 17 years.
We’re all about dramatic comedies in my household.
A list of really good parenting hacks that are borderline genius.
5 ways to add more play into your work + life
Stray Cats of Tokyo
Made these turkey burgers a few weeks ago and loved them.
Sushi donuts are a thing now. Not mad at it.

Things that caught my eye:

All of this fabric
This would be a fun summer project
A tool roll
How all of this jewelry is styled. Layer love!

Summer Reads:

I Feel Bad About My Neck (just finished this!)
Better than Before (still working on this)
The Creative Habit
Do the Work
Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

recipes

June 13, 2016

Chilaquiles

This is the first time I’ve made chilaquiles at home and I’m kinda kicking myself for not doing it sooner. My college roommate, Riley introduced me to them and I’ve been ordering them FOR YEARS whenever we go out to breakfast but it never really dawned on me to look up how they were made and make them for myself. Ummm. It’s so easy. Like…ridiculously easy.

If you ever have some leftover corn tortillas, this is a quick and easy way to use them up. Also good if you have some extra enchilada sauce hanging about.

This is JUST THE BEGINNING. I hope to make chilaquiles with mushrooms and roasted zucchini next and maybe with a pumpkin situation in the fall. Let the games begin!