Archive for September, 2011

antiquing in los alamos, CA

September 29th | adventures, decorating, inspiration

a couple days ago {on the way back from blog sugar} my mom and i stopped in los alamos for some quick antiquing and lunch. it’s about halfway between santa barbara and san luis obispo.

i’ve driven through before–and it’s tiny, but stopping to check out some shops made me look at the details. it’s such a cute town!

that coat above is about the right size for a seven year old–so sweet. i wish it was my size!

we each found a little treasure and we had a delicious burger at charlies.

my burger had pickles, grilled onions, tomatoes and thousand island dressing on it. i’ve come to realize that i love thousand island dressing. and while it might be somewhat off topic, i can’t stop thinking about that delicious burger i had in los alamos! what do you like on your burger?

what i wore wednesday

September 28th | what i wore wednesdays

it’s wednesday, which means i’m linking up with lindsey at the pleated poppy for a little fashion inspiratiion!

above, dress from anthro {a gift from a couple christmases ago}. boots and belt, also from anthro. tiny twig necklace, my shop.

david was making me laugh in these pics. and then matthias cracked me up when he told me i looked like a ‘fancy woman’. ha!  above, skirt and top both from primark in england. boots from anthro. floral pin, gift from a gilded lifedevoted bracelet from my shop.

all i want to wear are dresses and boots for fall–but yesterday was 85* here! what’s the weather like in your part of the world?

blog sugar

September 27th | blog friends, events

sunday was blog sugar! about 200 women {and a few men, too} gathered in southern california to get inspired.

even standing in line i got to talk to amazing women, like denise from victory road and kristen from idaho mom and erin from eating my way back.

sarah markley shared insights–her spoken words are just as lovely as her written words. i loved hearing her speak!

there was plenty of sugar–not good for south beach diet, but since it was a special occasion, i splurged a little!

and so much pink and orange. the place was decked out in loveliness! i also got to hear lindsey, maggie and meg speak. they all did a fabulous job.

and i got to hug and talk and dream with so many sweet girls. a highlight was getting some extra time to chat with miss ashley. it was a very inspiring evening!!

attending conferences is so fun and so time consuming. i’ve been traveling waaaay to much lately and i am happy to be home and relax some! have you attended any blog conferences? do you plan to attend any this year?

hello monday {link up}

September 26th | hello monday

Hello driving back from LA

Hello meeting new friends at blog sugar

Hello messy house that needs some serious attention

Hello star of the week (matthias is the star in his 2nd grade class this week!)

Hello fall (it’s officially begun!)

Hello new week, I’m not quite ready for you yet!

What are you saying hello to on this brand new Monday morning?

max & gracie {capturing the everyday}

September 23rd | an everyday moment, inspiration, photography

the other day my sweet friend, jen, asked me to shoot some pics of her kiddos. our kids play together a lot and so we just kept it simple and met right near our house.

the kids were just out of school, a little tired and probably a little grumpy. so we just relaxed, told some knock knock jokes and started to play a bit.

they cheered up and i was able to capture their sweet faces {and their sweet smiles}

right now these pics are just simple, every day moments. but some day they’ll look back at these pictures and remember being little, being together and being silly.

i brought that pretty necklace for gracie to wear–and she loved it. her face lit up.

there are no pics of it–but i had max showing me some lightsaber tricks with a big stick we found. it really helped him to relax.

have you used your camera to capture some everyday moments lately?

machine gun preacher, beverly hills premiere

September 22nd | adventures, events

last night was an incredible experience. it was my first time attending any kind of hollywood event like this and i wasn’t sure what to expect–it was a lot of people, a lot of cameras, a lot of waiting, a few celebrities and an intense movie left me with a lot to think about.  i’ll have more to tell you about the movie but i need to process a little. you can watch the trailer here. {that’s gerard butler in the middle pic above}

lisa leonard designs partnered with machine gun preacher to create this necklace to raise awareness for the children in east africa. everyone who attended the premiere was given a necklace. it’s the shape of the sudan with the message behind the movie.

i have more to tell you and lots of pictures to share from the evening–soon. enjoy your thursday friends!

what i wore wednesday

September 21st | what i wore wednesdays

it’s wednesday and i’m linking up with lindsey {the pleated poppy} for some fashion inspiration!

for the above outfit i’m wearing a dress i got a couple years ago in LA layered with a vintage slip from ruby rose. so simple and fun. the boots are from anthropologie. final touch–the key to my heart necklace.

above, black top from primark in england layered with a camisole from a local boutique. jeans, anthropologie. wedges, target. bracelet–devoted. necklace–made myself {but not available in our shop, at least not yet!}

steve and i are heading down to LA today to attend the hollywood premiere for the movie machine gun preacher with gerard butler and michelle monaghan. crazy! there’s a lot behind why we are attending–and i can’t wait to tell you all about it.

moonlight and late night chats

September 20th | adventures, blog friends

one evening at hilton head, we stayed out on the beach until very late. just talking and eating dessert and enjoying the warm night and moonlight.

my first instinct was to get up and go inside, but i told myself, no just relax. enjoy these moments. there is nothing to rush off to do. i need to sit here in this moment and just be. and i’m so glad i did.

i had the loveliest chat with emily {have you seen her new book? you can read the first chapter here} it was the kind of conversation that goes deep to the hard places that i sometimes don’t want to think about, let alone say out loud.

and while we were chatting i set my camera on the sand and turned the autofocus off. i let the shutter take forever to capture the image–of the soft moonlight, the waves rolling in and sarah and the gypsy mama running and spinning circles on the sand.

such an amazing, magical night. i feel like i can still hold those moments in my hand.

have you taken time lately to just sit and be and not rush off? have you taken time to linger and really be present in the moment?

special breakfast

September 19th | decorating, DIY, family

On Saturday morning I made our usual chocolate chip pancakes, but this breakfast was extra special because I set the table for fall and used these darling chalkboard placemats.

Leslie sent me a set and they are so fun! The chalkboards are so smooth and erase nicely. I drew a different fall-ish picture on each placemat.

In the center of the table I put a few pumpkins, apples and fresh flowers. Super simple, but it made it feel special–and it made it feel like fall!

I know kids would love to decorate their own placemats too. So fun!

You can buy your own chalkboard placemats here. Love it!

Do you have any special dishes or traditions to make a meal feel special every now and then?

hello monday {link-up}

September 19th | hello monday

hello disco powered batman {matthias’ creativity at work}

hello toys everywhere and just letting it be

hello david deciding to climb everything in sight–on to chairs, tables and the fireplace hearth

hello friends who are literally growing up with my kids–so fun

hello last minute photos session and capturing some great moments

hello bare feet and warm fall afternoons

hello cute fall table setting and pancakes and coffee {yum}

hello lingering around the table as long as possible

hello still going strong on the south beach diet {except for a little slip up here and there}

hello magical weeds waiting to be wished on

hello trying to get in to the doctor’s office today {i’m still not feeling well}

hello, wait what day it is? oh yeah, monday! i’m gonna need a lot more coffee today.

what are you saying hello to on this brand new monday morning?

{link up in the comments below and i’ll hop over to your hello monday post!}