Fancy Friday - 7.22.11

I had the following Post prepared to run today, but it feels silly to finish it after hearing about the horrific events in Oslo today. My heart goes out to all the families there who have lost loved ones. I can't begin to imagine how frightening the scene must be at the moment. Luckily we've heard from our family and know that everyone is safe. 

Here's the original planned post...

I went into shock as I typed the date in the title of this post - how is it almost the end of July already? While the end of July can signal a close to summer for a lot of people, it's sort of just beginning around here. June and July tend to be foggy in the mornings...but August and September are really beautiful!! August is kind of my favorite month...and not just because it's my birthday. I have always looked forward to Fiesta and there's usually some pretty amazing concerts at the Santa Barbara Bowl to look forward to. There's nothing quite like that venue, I love it! It also marks Back to School - which is very exciting this year since both my littles will be now be in Elementary School. It's crazy to even begin to think about that!

Things have been pretty snoozy around the ole blog, apologies for that. We had a nice little vacation in Portland, full of eating and site-seeing and of course some rain. I always think I'm going to blog more on break, but it just never happens. I've spent the last week trying to get back into a routine, but I've really been just blatantly ignoring house work and stepping over piles of stuff. I'm hoping to get some house projects completed over the weekend and get my head put back on straight. 

Here's a quick little list of some things I fancied this week.

Saw Beginners last night. What a fantastic movie. Have any of you seen it? What are your thoughts? 

Had dinner at Clyde Common, the restaurant attached to the Ace Hotel Portland, over the weekend. Delicious! It was simple and inventive at the same time, with really fresh, local ingredients and great ambience and decor. 

Happy 113th birthday Alexander Calder!

A gorgeous dress I came across while searching for something to wear for an upcoming black tie wedding.

Kinda in love with the saturated colors of fall via J.Crew. 

Dreaming of sitting outside and sipping an agua fresca.

Has anyone checked out the sales on Fab yet? Today they are featuring some Penguin Books which would be a fun addition to anyone's book collection!

Happy Weekend everyone!

What are your big plans for the weekend??

xo,

chelsea

san fran by blur

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. We had such a great, but all-too-short time in SF. Here's a quick snap of all the sightseeing (and eating) we managed to get in!

xo,

chelsea

three squares

I had a rather busy weekend, and I will say that 1 day of weekend-time is definitely not sufficient. I did at least take full advantage of my one free-day. Sleeping late, snuggling, a biking adventure that ended with a broken chain at the furthest-away point, errands and cleaning were how I spent my Sunday. How was your weekend?


I'm still trying to play catch-up, but I've got a little bunny with a fever, a busy boy and a whole lotta work to do. 


Lucky for me, The Honey was home for the last week, which has meant I've been eating well. It's been so nice to enjoy the simple things like having lunch together or a cup of tea after the kiddos are asleep. Unfortunately, he's back to travelling so my lunch-dates are on pause for now.


Here's how I've been getting my 3 squares a day:

[breakfast of champions: ultrasimple smoothie, green tea, blogging]

[delicious salad with greens and radishes from our little community garden plot. deeelish!]

What are the little luxuries you appreciate most?

xo,

chelsea

fancy friday - almost May

Happy Friday folks!


I can't believe how quickly this week zoomed by. The Honey and I started the week off right with a little anniversary celebration on Sunday at the most amazing restaurant - Seagrass Restaurant. We went all out and got the 7-course tasting menu, which was just insane. 


I had quite a gruelling work-week that has left me in a bit of a daze. I'm looking forward to our Live Jazz cruise on the Double Dolphin this evening, soccer for the kids Saturday, a day of fun moonlighting at Consilience Winery and a day of rest on Sunday. Here's my little list of things I Fancied this week. 

1. I've been madly in love with my Polaroid 600 for many years. I'm loving the Impossible Project's re-release of all kinds of cool instant film. I just ordered the limited edition pack featuring package design by Maurizio Galimberti - who created the awesome collage above. 


2. I'm on the hunt for some Creme de Violette so I can sip on a purple-hued Fizz a la Violette. I love old-fashioned drinks and a pastel potion sounds right up my alley. 


3. A great way to use up old fabric scraps and perk up kids (or my) sneakers for spring - braided laces


4. The new S/S Stella McCartney kids line is so adorable - I'm wishing it came in mama-size.


5. Bodie and Fou owner Karine Candice gave readers a peek inside her London home last Friday and it is to-die-for. Her leather sling chairs, taped up mood board and simple white walls all add up to a beautiful, modern space. I picked up the Feathers poster so I can recreate some of that goodness in my own home. 


It's sort of a wimpy list this week, but there hasn't been much time for blogging with work being crazy, The Honey working from this week, milestones being reached,  and me forcing myself to get to bed before 11 this week. Next week is sure to be one of catching up and carving out some me-time. It is Mother's Day after all, and I plan to milk it for all it's worth! 

What are your weekend plans?

xo,

chelsea

Fancy Friday - 3.25.2011

Happy Friday everyone! I, for one, am extremely happy it's Friday. Not for any particular reason other than I'm excited to relax and create this weekend. I'm not sure how most people are, but it takes me some time to get in my creative groove - but then once I'm there I feel like things really flow. Now I see why people in creative jobs come up with amazing things. Carl says the same is true for coding. You need the music right, the mood right, food at the ready and a solid chunk of time. In any case, I'm hoping to "find the zone" this weekend.






Here's some things I fancied this week...

Some great around-the-house uses for vodka, if you're not drinking it that is.

Peach and mint never seemed so good together. I've been obsessing ever since I saw this pairing.

I made this pretty garland today and I love the way it turned out. Simple but sweet.

Thank goodness for Google Translate! Now I can read Annaleena's Hem without dragging Carl in the room to translate. Her home is beautiful and chic and her DIYs are perfection.

This Pantone magnet DIY is fun and cheery. Perfect for spring's colorblocking madness.

A fun ode to brown-baggin' it for lunch.

Is anyone else as obsessed with Pinterest as I am? Find me here.

Besides my get-creative plans for this weekend, I'm also excited for Spring Cleaning! Is that weird - that I look forward to cleaning? It's calming for me and always makes me feel like it's easier to get through the week with an organized (if not full to the brim) home. Plus, spring is time for changing things up around the house and making things feel shiny and new!

What are you up to?

XO,

Chelsea

ultrasimple eating

Hi folks. I suppose, yet again, it's been awhile. Try as I might, life just seems to be getting the better of me lately. I can't keep up with it and posting at the same time. I'm changing that now. For reals. Lots of changes are happening in fact. Starting with my dietary habits. I'm feeling more energized than ever thanks to some cleaner eating habits.

I put my honey and I on the UltraSimple Diet and I honestly haven't felt this great in a long time. I know everyone and their mother is doing a cleanse, detox, whatever right now, but I love that this is real food, real eating, real changes that make for better habits. I tried it about 2 years ago, when Harper was about 2 and my metabolism was just at a standstill. It was amazing what it did for my body, my mind, my energy and my skin. These days I'm looking for some added energy - being a full-time working mama of two can wipe you out! And the slimmer waistline won't hurt either.

Last night's dinner was the end of week 1. There isn't technically a week two, but lots of tips about how to make the transition off the cleansing portion. We had butternut - coconut soup which I adapted from a Clean Eating recipe for pumpkin coconut soup. Unfortunately the soup isn't on their website so I thought I'd share it here!

Butternut-Coconut Soup

1 tbsp Coconut oil
1 chopped onion
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp chile powder - I used this amazing ancho chile powder we bought yesterday!
1/2 ground cumin
pinch nutmeg
3 cups low-sodium broth (I used veggie even though the recipe said chicken)
2 - 12 oz packages diced butternut squash (or real squash if you can find it!)
1 cup coconut milk
fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
raw pumpkins seeds to sprinkle on top

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion until softened. Add the butternut squash and saute lightly. Add the spices and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to coat the squash. Add the broth, cover and simmer until the squash is cooked through. Transfer to a blender, or use a stick blender, to blend the soup. Bring it back just up to a boil and then remove it from heat. Stir in the lime juice, the coconut milk and salt and pepper to taste. Serve it up into your bowls and garnish with some pumpkin seeds. Deeelish!! This soup was so great I had it a second night in a row, although I swapped out the pumpkin seeds for pistachios and that was even better!! I served it all up with a side of Moroccan Roasted Carrots and Chickpea Quinoa Salad, which is a mouthful of a name but an amazing dish.

Please feel free to share any great recipes, I'm looking to build up my recipe box.

Here's to happy, healthy eating!!

XO,

Chelsea

Yosemite Turkey Day Trek

In a moment of what I'd now like to refer to as brief insanity, I agreed to spend our Thanksgiving weekend camped out at Yosemite. We spent last Thanksgiving camping in Big Sur and although it was chilly and rained a bit, we have great memories with the kids from that trip. This year, the kids were spending Thanksgiving with their dad. So a romantic weekend in a tent sounded harmless and fun.  A great time to get away, connect with nature and each other, get in a few hikes and come home rested and rejuvenated.

The sign of snow on the side of the road and the required chains warning should have been my first clue. Lets keep in mind that I am a born-and-raised California girl. And although I spent a few seasons living in Lake Tahoe, I certainly didn't spend my days and nights seeking out the cold. A long (almost 10 hour) drive later and we arrived at Camp 4. There was snow. Everywhere. Carl could not have been more thrilled. I, on the other hand, was in total shock that we were actually planning to sleep in this stuff. There was only one site left that was shoveled out (yes, there were actually other people with the same crazy idea!!) so we picked our spot and set up camp. At 1. In. The. Morning. Setting up went fairly quickly and as soon as I regained the feeling in my toes and put on my layers - one pair of silk long john, flannel pj pants, two pairs of wool socks, a thermal shirt, a fleece, a hooded sweatshirt and an earflap cap - we climbed into our ONE sleeping bag and snoozed away.

Waking up was beautiful. The sights of Yosemite are breathtaking. And even though it was still freezing-buns cold and there were trails of yellow snow from our neighboring campsite, I was still excited to get in a great hike. Just as soon as we both climbed back in the tent, in our jackets, for another hour of sleep. Or two.

A belated campsite breakfast and we were ready to trek up Yosemite Falls. 3.5 miles in the snow. It was beautiful and sketchy, but well worth the view.

Lets keep in mind that this picture was taken 30 seconds after Carl stated that it looked like things were flattening out. Riiiiight.

And this is after the trail where other people had hiked ended and Carl decided that we should make our own tracks. In thigh-high snow.

That road came to an abrupt end when we could no longer tell what was rock and what was snow that would give way to nothing underneath.

Unfortunately, our trek back down the falls wasn't nearly as pleasant. Melting snow turned to ice as soon as the sun started its ascent down the sky.

Carl was certain to keep a weapon on hand in the event that we met with any bears or mountain lions.

Promises of a hot shower soon turned to tears when the showers we did find were closed for the winter. We took shelter in the laundry room where we quickly changed into dry clothes under the watchful eye of a bat that kept swooping closer to us. Believe it or not, I could've cared less about the shower and was far more interested in what awaited at the Lodge. Thanksgiving dinner. A well-earned turkey dinner. We waited in line for what seemed like an eternity. I threatened to swipe a cornbread muffin to nosh while we waited in line. I thought it was my imagination and hunger that made it seem as though the line wasn't moving. In fact, it wasn't. There were about 20-30 people actually waiting, WAITING, for stuffing. As soon as the man called out, "anyone who doesn't want stuffing line up here!" I bolted. Carl actually gave me a look as if to say, "but I really want stuffing", but I'm pretty sure I shot daggers at him so that cleared up that pretty quickly. I was literally shaking from exhaustion, cold and hunger by the time we sat down to eat. I almost lost both my milk and my chocolate mousse from shaking and trying to walk with my warped food tray.

Leaving the warmth of the Lodge was a pretty difficult task, but my aching body needed to be in a horizontal position. I fantasized about the great night of sleep ahead (how wrong I would be, more on that later!). We capped off the evening with a warm mug of Tuaca and apple cider, packed our goodies away in the Bear Box and tucked into our one sleeping bag. Yes, one sleeping bag. I was feeling very thankful for that one sleeping bag at the end of my Thanksgiving.

The rest of the trip for tomorrow's post.

How was your holiday?

XO,

Chelsea

fancy friday

So, it would appear that the weeks are slipping past me and the only posts I can manage are about what other people blogged about this week.

So be it.

Here's what I fancied this week:

Hilda's book clocks are pretty high on the GOTTA HAVE list right now. Go visit for her awesome book clocks, stay for her breathtaking photography.

Maria over at Lulu Letty looked so incredibly fantastic in her 70's nod, that I had to scoot on over to asos and pick up that cape pronto. I went for the camel version, though.

Hot chocolate on a stick?  Done and done.

The H&M Spring 2011 Lookbook is all kinds of pretty. Part Halson, part day-glo Mad Men - I'm smitten!!

Liberty London and Apple team up to make some awesome laptop bags and sleeves. I'm feeling the sleek embossed leather versions.

This shot from a mountain cabin in Kvitfjell, Norway has me eagerly anticipating our holiday trip. We'll spend some time at a friend's cabin in Norefjell, and I just can't wait to see Norway in the winter!!

This weekend we're looking forward to spending some time cozied up inside since the forecast is calling for 4 days of RAIN! We get to spend Saturday eating, drinking and nodding out in a turkey-haze thanks to Friendsgiving. Sunday will be reserved for recovery and recovering. I'm assisting a friend with a little re-upholstery project and I can't wait for a craft day!

What's your favorite rainy-day activity?

XO,

Chelsea

fancy friday

So, um, oops. Its Friday. As in, I didn't post all week, had a million ideas rolling around in this head of mine, the days rushed by and nows its Friday. A rather hectic week indeed with the kiddos being out of school on Veteran's Day, my office moving to a new office upstairs, a friend's fabulous new job and us prepping to start P90X (YIKES!!!!!!!) this Sunday.

So here I am, on Friday, rounding up my favorite "fancies" of the week. First. Post. Of. The. Week.

Sad. But I just have to chalk it up to life being, well, life. Pinky swears that next week will be more fun around here!

I may have not been posting, but I've been doing some reading. Does anyone else's Google Reader constantly say 1000+? I just cannot seem to catch up on all the wonderfulness that's out there in bloggy world. I did, however, manage to round up some things I fancied this week:

Check out this super cool Venice surf-pad, which has me dreaming of outdoor showers. We had one across the street from our little house in Laguna Beach when I was a baby.

Everything Vanilla Sugar whips up is mouth-watering, I-need-it-right-now delicious. I've got a can of Organic Pumpkin just waiting to make these fancy pop tarts.

Bromeliad posted an awesome DIY knotted necklace from the fabulous ladies at http://honestlywtf.com/.

A beautiful and inspiring little roundup about branch centerpieces has me almost wishing I was cooking a Thanksgiving meal this year. Almost! Instead, we'll be taking in the beauty of Yosemite.

I've recently become obsessed with The Brick House and every fabulous thing in that house. Here's a fun terrarium DIY for anyone itching to get in on the trend. I've done one myself, but I'm totally in love with the cool succulent version!

I've been dying to find a cape ever since last fall when I stumbled across a fabulous one that was unfortunately too big. Seeing Julie nail this cape and plaid look has re-invigorated my craving.

Mr and Mrs Globe Trot have me seeing green with envy. Their photographs are breathtaking and their story is totally inspiring.

Miss Modish's new kitty photo Friday has me missing having a kitty in the house. Babe, are you reading this???

ps - here's some fun little press snips from our gig as Dream Angels for the Dream Foundations benefit last Saturday. We got to pose with David Archuleta and Andrew Firestone and his gorgeous wife. We saw Dan Akroyd, Rob Lowe, Bill Paxton, Priscilla Presley,  Kimberly Locke, and David Crosby. It was so fun to be a part of something so amazing.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend planned. I'm working. And attending a baby shower. For which I need to whip up some sort of fantastic homemade gift.

What are your plans?

XO,

Chelsea

feeling dilly

My posting has been back to the bare minimum this week. Fighting a cold and working full time is no picnic in the park! I did have a great weekend and the joy of that has carried me through this week and moving full-steam ahead in preparation for next weekend!

Last weekend we had a great trip to the Farmer's Market. I love when the seasons change and there's a fresh crop of new goodies to explore!! There are still some remaining signs of summer - and I snapped up some cucumbers after recalling a quick pickle recipe I recently spotted.

I'd never made pickles before and I figured it was now or never.

I did a little internet research for a recipe I liked. I had some criteria: it had to be easy and it had to incorporate what I already had in my pantry. Lazy much? Yes.

What I wound up with is my own recipe based on various others found online. Keep in mind that I wasn't really exact with my measurements. Again, lazy. The following recipe made me 4 - 8oz. jars of pickles.

Quick Dill Pickles


Jars, rings and lids
6-8 small cucumbers
4 small carrots
handful of beans - I used dragon's tongue beans, a fave in our house
fresh dill

peppercorns

head of garlic

3 cups water
2 3/4 cups white vinegar (I used a combo of rice and brown rice vinegar, but use what you have)
pinch or two of sea salt
sprinkle of celery salt


Prepare your jars rings and lids. I did this by boiling the jars and rings in a shallow pans of water. The lids just need to be dunked in some warm water so I waited for the water I had used on the jars to cool down and plopped the lids down in there for a few minutes.

Slice up your garlic - or leave it in whole cloves. Its entirely up to you! Place the garlic cloves, along with some of the peppercorns down in the jars. You could also sprinkle in some chili flakes for heat or chopped chilies for more heat!

Prep your veggies. I cut the end off my cukes and carrots and sliced them in spears. My beans I just cut the ends off. I did not cook my beans, but I'm thinking that I maybe should have. Once you have all the veggies sliced, assemble them in the jars. Pull off a handful of the fresh dill and stuff that in with the veggies.

Boil together the water, vinegar, salt and celery salt. You could also add fennel seed, cumin, coriander or celery seed. Once the salt is dissolved, distribute evenly amongst your jars leaving about 1/2 inch at the top. I used a ladle to pour in my liquid but you could also use a funnel just as easily. Put on your lids and rings then allow the jars to cool a bit. Once they are cool enough to handle, pop 'em in the fridge and try to resist sampling them for about 2 weeks. I failed that test and tried one the next day. They seem to be coming along quite nicely!

I was totally in love with this entire process and hope to do some more pickling in the future!!

Have you ever tried pickling anything? 

Please share any favorite recipes or experiences with pickling.

XO,

Chelsea

Happy National Waffle Day

That's right, folks, today in 1869, marks the day of the first US patent on the waffle iron.

I love waffles. They are amazing in their ability to be both crispy and soft at the same time. 

 (source)

Yes, this is an entire post dedicated to the deliciousness of waffles. 

 (source)

If I wasn't sitting at work, I'd be whipping up a batch of waffles right this minute to enjoy as an afternoon snack.

My waffle-maker is by far one of the favorite gifts I've received.

I life to put rainbow sprinkles in the mix because they melt into very fun tie-dye blobs. Although blueberries are pretty darn tasty too. 

How amazing does this chocolate-dipped waffle-pop look?

(source)

I foresee waffle-coffee-ice cream-nutella-sandwiches in my very near future. 

How about you?

Are you a waffle or a pancake person?

How do you like your waffles? Drizzled in syrup or spread with jam?

XO,

Chelsea

oh how I love...

Brinner! 

Brinner = Breakfast for Dinner

Easy, fun and a great way to clear the fridge

The kids love it...and so do I!

Last night's "brinner" was some whole grain toast, broiled with bruschetta and buratta (say that 5 x fast!), topped with a fried egg and sprinkled with basil. 

Do you make brinner? 

What's your favorite brinner recipe?

XO,

Chelsea