12.16.2011

Happy Friday

Happy Friday!


I hope your weekend is filled with lots of adventures. 


{taken at Santa Barbara's butterfly reserve}

12.15.2011

Creative Connection: San Diego



Thanks to the wonderful world of Twitter, I heard about a great local event called Creative Connection. The national group offers an outlet for creative women in their prospective cities to get together, chat, eat, drink and conceptualize.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be part of San Diego's second ever Creative Connection USA event, hosted at Splash Wine in North Park. I met some amazing women, gathered some business card splendor and hopefully made some lasting creative connections - especially the genius behind LimeLife Photography (thanks to her pictures above!)

Not going to lie, at first I was pretty nervous to attend this type of event alone. But the women were so receptive to new people, especially the group's organizer, and I was ecstatic to learn a little more about interior design, wedding planning and a new food magazine Savor San Diego (totally jealous of this lady's job!) 


12.14.2011

Baked Potato


Ever since we got truffle oil from Europe, I've been itching to try one making one of my favorite indulgences - truffle potato fries. I've made fries in the past, but this time I used my mandolin to slice up perfectly thin slices of russet potatoes to create truffle chips. Using a simple Martha Stewart recipe, we were able to enjoy a bit of a restaurant favorite right at home. 



Ingredients

  • Vegetable-oil cooking spray
  • 2 pounds russet potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil* 
  • Coarse salt
  • Freshly ground pepper 
  • *I substituted one tablespoon of olive oil for my truffle oil

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray; set aside. Put potatoes, oil, 1 tablespoon salt, and the cayenne in a large bowl; season with pepper. Toss to combine.
  2. Arrange potato slices on prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1/4 inch apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until potatoes are crisp and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Spread out potatoes on parchment paper; let dry 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, if desired.

12.13.2011

Rainy Day


Maybe it's the rain, maybe it's the month, maybe it's the work. 

Whatever it is, it's just not my day today. 

12.12.2011

Christmas Cards


The Glitter Guide is a constant source of inspiration/ jealously on my part, and since I started following them throughout all of their various online platforms I couldn't stop drooling over their Christmas card post from tinyprints.com

Isn't it just so sweet? 

I can't find nearly anything as cute in my personal pictures, but I'm hoping something will pop up before the end of the year.

12.09.2011

Christmas Music




I don't usually listen to Pandora at work, but this week it's been exceptionally frosty for San Diego, so it seemed necessary to turn on some Christmas tunes. I love the bizarre mix that the "All I Want for Christmas" station comes up with - from movie classics to timeless ones, it's finally starting to feel like the holidays. 

PS. Check out a picture of my Christmas tree!

12.08.2011

Beckman Winery





While home, we had a few extra hours to see bits beyond Paseo Nuevo - so we headed to the wine country. One of our favorites is Beckmen Vineyards, a small winery and vineyard that gained quite the international attention when President Obama choose it for his inaugural dinner. Far from the glitz like other wineries (ahem, Firestone), Beckmen has but one small outdoor patio that resembles something your friends had in their home growing up, a few simple benches and lots of grassy space. Simplicity at its best. 

12.07.2011

Easy Salad Dressing

Over the holiday, my mom snapped together an amazing dressing and it inspired me to come up with one of my own. Here's a simple salad dressing from items you probably already have in your kitchen. 

How to: Champagne Salad Dressing
You will need:
2 Tbs Olive Oil  

1 tsp champagne vinegar
1 Tbs honey
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar
  
1. Mince the garlic until it is extremely fine.

2. Put all ingredients in a closed container, shake vigorously. 

3. Pour over any type of salad {picture above includes romaine, endive, cucumbers, mushrooms, green onions}

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!


12.06.2011

Familiar Friends

 the table from above
 Crate & Barrel pumpkin
 farmer's market flowers
 our wine selection
the new tradition - pumpkin soup

Once a year, my mom's special china comes out - her Thanksgiving dinner is one of the best meals I've ever had {I've been to a lot of great restaurants}. Her friends talk about the meal for weeks, some even claiming they look forward to it all year. Not only is the delivery exceptional, so is her table. She starts setting it a day or more early, dusting off her mother's china from a cabinet passed down generations, placing empty platters in the center with notes to remind her of where goes where.

12.05.2011

Everywhere Hair



I usually don't do much with my hair, but after becoming obsessed with Pinterest over the last few weeks, I couldn't help but notice a lot more hairstyle options than ever before. Considering my hair remains flat and lanky, I don't think curls will ever actually hold past the hour, but it's always fun to dream. What's your favorite go-to hairstyle?

{images via pinterest}

12.02.2011

Happy Friday




Happy Friday! 


Words from Refinery29 local editor: "I completely believe in the transformative power of a gorgeous room, a witty object or a beautiful garment."


This completes my first week of posting everyday - after getting a few compliments while visiting my parents over Thanksgiving, I figured that it couldn't hurt to really try on the blog. So I picked a few favorites to get inspiration, and this week has been relatively easy in trying to find some great posts {it also doesn't hurt that I haven't been crunched for deadline at work}. Here's to several more weeks of this! 

ps. the delicious cupcake posted above is from Corner Cupcakes, a San Diego based food truck that won on the Food Network show "Cupcake Wars"!

12.01.2011

Reality Check


So I finally entered into the 21st century with a Smartphone. But not just any Smartphone...the iPhone 4S. Siri is quickly becoming my friend, but after reading some of my daily blogs, I realized that my little white iPhone is naked. Oh my! So I've gathered up a few of my favorites {hint, hint Joshua} to compare and decide before my new toy makes her debut - and complete my iPhone outfit.

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