fancy friday - inspirational stalking

This was a week that couldn't end fast enough. I'm lacking inspiration and perhaps I've already mentally packed and left for next week's vacation. Its times like these that I'm incredibly thrilled to know that any needed inspirational boost can be achieved just by peeking into my Google Reader.

Here's what I fancied this week:

Finding this gorgeous blog full of beautiful photos and this pretty lady: http://songoftheexile.blogspot.com/

This fun, springy project to brighten up my sandals: http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2010/4/22/whits-knits-fishnet-anklets.html

More obsessing over pretty macarons: http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2010/04/cherry-blossom-macarons-for-martha.html

Staying on the lookout for fallen trees so I can make these: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/entertaining/speakers-made-from-a-fallen-tree-113922

I'm hoping this weekend's jam-packed celebrating will bring me even more inspiration. 

I'm looking forward to:

1) a very merry un-Birthday for one little girl turning 3 1/2

2) a private little celebration of "us"

3) laughing, a whole lot. It is, after all, the best medicine

4) some private time crafting, creating, re-making, re-using

5) writing a short letter to the weather in the hopes that it will cooperate for our vacation plans next week

This time next week, I plan to be gazing at this:

(image found at flickr)

What are you looking forward to this weekend? 

XO,

Chelsea

i HEART Thursdays - Earth

Happy Thursday and Happy Earth Day to everyone!

Today's HEART roundup theme was a pretty obvious choice. Our Earth is pretty awesome and it wasn't hard to find some great images out there that not only showcase how beautiful Earth is, but also how many talented people are in this world we live in. Is it any wonder that HEART and EARTH have the same letters??

Without getting too soapbox-y, I just want to say that I am amazed and horrified by all the anti climate change propaganda out there floating around. Trying to deny that climate change is happening just seems crazy to me. Working in Renewable Energy I read tons of articles day in and day out about the people that are behind all these scare campaigns and its heartbreaking to think that they are denying the scientific evidence just to continue making billions. I'm far from perfect when it comes to saving the Earth but I know that if I make small adjustments, it does make a difference.

There. That's my rant. Now go enjoy some pretty pictures.

What are you doing to show the Earth some love today?

XO,

Chelsea

patchwork

This is actually an outfit and shots from last week. It was a really fun little photo shoot with the kids there to play, keep me smiling and of course, get their own photos taken too. This week's rain sort of eradicated any hopes of beautiful outdoor shots - seems to be sort of a theme around here. Spring rain on Tuesdays. In any case, I do truly love the rainy days and the extra injection of color that results from it.

I definitely felt the restlessness of Summer when I wore this dress last week. The chill in the air forced me to throw on a sweater, but I was still feeling the boho summertime vibe of the patchwork dress. And probably a premature anxiousness to get on vacation already! 6 days, 19 hours and 10 minutes until we are on a plane heading for more tropical climes. But who's counting??

Wearing my beautiful new ring from KDikio Vintage. I found her when JenLovesKev offered a giveaway, went on the site and couldn't resist this beauty. If you get a chance to check out KDikio - she's got a great eye and lots of amazing pieces!

Outfit details

Dress: F21 - old

Swing sweater - Banana Republic - hand-me-up from friend

wedges - Steve Madden - old

Sunnies - thrifted

Ring - KDikio Vintage - check her out!!

Of course the photo snapping wouldn't be complete if these two didn't get in on the fun

Little Miss Harper Lee, painted face and all, being Sleeping Beauty. I must have about 20 shots of her laying down like this. "My turn, my turn!!"

I would also now like to announce that I'm quitting my job to become a stage mom for this little ham. Seriously, where did he get this from?? He jumped up on those stairs and struck that pose. Way to work it little guy! Maybe Merl's Manfriend and Sutter can get their own Pouty Model Pose workshop together?

Happy Wednesday!

XO,

Chelsea

favorite things

Last night Carl made us an especially delicious homemade pizza. First attempt at making his own homemade pizza dough. The results were amazing! Its so incredibly easy that I seriously doubt we'll ever go back to store-bought dough again.

Carl's Curry Pie

Homemade pizza dough

2-3 chicken breasts (cut up into bite size pieces)

Curry sauce (we used a bottle of Trader Joe's Curry Simmer Sauce)

1 onion - sliced

Cilantro- a handful or two depending on your tastes
Mozzarella cheese - shredded

Pizza Dough:

we used a great recipe from The Kitchn

the ingredients are super simple and include:

3/4 cups (6 ounces) of water
1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast (if using instant yeast, you don't need to dissolve it during the first step)
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour (we used wheat flour)
1/2 tsp salt

Once you've made the dough, just roll it out, get it on a baking sheet or pizza stone and go crazy!!

For the curry topping:

Carl tossed the chicken pieces into a bowl and smothered them in the curry sauce

He then laid the chicken right on top of the dough (I was a bit skeptical about this one - I was WRONG!)

I carmelized the sliced onions

He chopped some fresh cilantro from our herb garden

Keys to a great pizza:

Put on your toppings first - no cheese

Cook for about 5 minutes, rotate 180 degrees (to make up for the oven's hot spots)

Cook another 2-3 minutes, THEN add your cheese

Cook another 3 minutes and VOILA - its pizza time!

 And don't forget that glass of Sangiovese...

Carl enjoying some of his favorite things: homemade pizza, glass of good red and favorite T-shirt

More favorite things from this weekend

Watching this awesome drum group banging it out:

These kids were amazing. Check the head-banging they've got going on.

A fun little walk downtown, with a quick pit-stop in front of our amazing Museum of Art

And a very necessary pit-stop here for some delicious gelato

More sweet goodness from here

Its always a must when I work up in Los Olivos

How could I resist these sweeties?!?!

Coming home from work, my honey waiting with a cocktail (sort of a necessity after the lame-o day I had) and our amazingly talented friend, Rusty Lindsey there for an evening serenade in our front yard

If you get a chance, please check out Rusty's site. He's awesome, and if you live in the SoCal area there's a good chance you'll be able to check him out live!

And finally, enjoying some craft time

Hope your weekend was filled with favorite things as well. 

XO,

Chelsea

fancy fridays - filling in the blanks

I decided that I would play along with Lauren's FITB. Strangely, enough, I realized that I would probably just copy most of her answers since they are pretty much EXACTLY what my answers would be, minus the reality TV. Then I realized that I would probably sound like a crazy person, so I had better think up my own answers. So, without much ado, I'm filling it in...

1.  The first thing I do in the morning is  hit the snooze button....three times   . This is Lauren's answer, but seriously DITTO. Really.

2.  Every night before bed  I   set my alarm on my phone and kiss my honey goodnight. Provided of course, that he's not on the road .

3.  My favorite thing to do when I'm having a bad day is  well, run. I guess its not my favorite thing since I have a love/hate relationship with it, but its like instant gratification-therapy for me. I always come back with a clear head and happy heart.

4.  Something that makes me cringe is people that try to hard to be something they are not. I wish they would just realize that they are beautiful and need to let their freak-flag fly, whatever that may be.

5.  Social situations   are when I'm at my best. I love playing hostess, entertaining and bringing people together.

6.  I like to collect  pretty much everything. I seem to have a random collection of chairs at the moment. Three of which are living in the garage. Sorry, honey.

7.  Weekends are for   getting outdoors, enjoying the awesome town we live in, crafting and spending time with the ones you love. 

If you want to play along, head on over to the little things we do and link up. Or feel free to post yours in my comments. 

 

 

Happy Friday to all!!

 

I can't wait to enjoy this weekend. Even though I'm working tomorrow, I get to wake up to two little snuggle bunnies, have a lazy breakfast with my loves and even adventure out to the Farmer's Market beforehand. Sunday has been deemed craft day and I can't be more excited to get stitching, sewing, crocheting and creating. We might even sneak in a bike ride or a hike.

What will your weekend be filled with?

XO,

Chelsea

i HEART Thursdays - all made up

Yippee! Its Thursday again!!
I was super productive over last weekend and I really think that has led me to have such an easy week.
I'm looking forward to watching the sunset at the beach tonight with my sweetie and wrapping up the work week tomorrow. Sort of. I'm actually working at the awesome Consilience Tasting Room on Saturday. But its super hard to call that work. Its more like throwing a party and getting paid for it!!

On to today's heart post.
Well, I still have yet to see Alice in Wonderland, which just breaks my heart.
The movie has certainly inspired a lot of Queen of Hearts looks all over the place, and I'm loving the personalized takes floating around out there. I love makeup. So much that I even got my Esthetician license so I could play with makeup all day. I don't practice anymore, but I still love to ogle over the makeup counters and I could seriously spend all day in a Sephora. Sadly, its mainly just window shopping since I don't really wear much makeup in my day-to-day life. Maybe I was a drag queen in a past life?

Here's a little smattering of all the "made-up" hearts kissing their way across people's faces these days

 

(sources: weheartit and flickr)

What movie were you dying to see, but missed in the theater?

XO,

Chelsea

old faithful

This outfit is my standby.
Something I know always looks good.
The dress and ankle boots combo is one of my favorites and it never fails to make me feel great all day.
Sunshine and blue skies doesn't hurt either.

Funny things happen when you are running around taking pictures. A guy walked by when I was out in this field and asked if I was taking self-portraits. I lied and said I was testing camera settings. Then he asked if I had any tips for shooting into the sun. Um, no. Clearly, I barely know how to use the thing myself.

Another beautiful week and the first day back to my workouts after the detoxification last week. Tomorrow will be the first run in over a week. Fingers crossed that its an easy transition back because I've got to start training for the Nike Women's Half in San Fran. So excited for that race!!

Happy Hump Day!

How is your Wednesday?

XO,

Chelsea