Quiet Like Horses

DIY ribbon-accented necklaces

2012-02-15T02:30:00.000-08:00

{side view}

{front view}

I picked up this vintage rhinestone necklace months ago but rarely ever wear it because its short length makes it look much more formal than I'd like it to. Inspired by an idea I spotted in a Martha Stewart magazine, I decided to make it longer by using ribbon as extensions. It was the easiest jewelry project ever — just tie two pieces of ribbon to each end of your necklace and tie a bow in the back. Short crystal, beaded, or chunky chain necklaces would be great candidates for this. I used this bright persimmon-colored ribbon, but any ribbon would work, and you could even swap out ribbon to coordinate with different outfits. I wanted mine to add a pop of color to even the most basic outfits like my weekend white tee and jeans. When I wore this into the office, a few people came up to me and commented on the fun color accent. Amazing what a little bit of ribbon can do!

Desktop Chicken Coop

2012-02-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I saw a really cool modern chicken coop which set off a desire in myself I didn't even know I had to have my own chicken coop one day. It's funny to think about keeping chickens when you don't live on a full-fledged farm, but it'd be so homey having them in your backyard and just imagine how amazing it would be to gather your own eggs for breakfast each day. It seems like keeping your own chickens is growing in popularity though (or maybe I just never paid as close attention before) because I know at least 3 people at work who have them! I was telling my friend Lauren last week about how I wanted some chickens one day, and yesterday, she surprised me with my own desktop chicken coop complete with little chicks. Isn't she the sweetest? The little sign has a tiny calendar on the flip side. I love it! It's from Scout Creative's 3D Calendar of the Month Club (that's free!). She found it via this crafty blog.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T02:30:00.000-08:00

What are your plans for Valentine's Day? We don't have any which is totally okay by me. In my opinion, Valentine's Day awesomeness peaked in elementary school when everyone in class had to give you a valentine regardless of if they liked you or not :) My favorite parts of the holiday will always be the sweets, the hearts, and the colors. Here are some pretty pinks to brighten your day!

{top photo: a wonderful arrival from Etsy...more on that this week, middle photo: all the trees around here are in bloom!, bottom photo: vanilla mayo cupcakes}

A day at the beach

2012-02-13T02:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the weather was absolutely amazing: warm still air with clear blue skies. My parents wanted to take a trip to the beach so we packed some sandwiches for lunch and drove over the hill to Santa Cruz.

Of course, my sister never travels anywhere without Petrie...

...who is the bringer of joy and delight. Seriously, one time I was walking down the street with him and this lady rolled her window down and honked at us just so he'd be sure to see her waving at him.

The boardwalk was nearly empty. Something about a Super Bowl happening that day? But that was just fine with us. We got to take our pick of fortune tellers and rides.

Then we drove to Monterey because my dad wanted to see the man with the little monkey in the little suit who takes coins out of your hand in return for him having to wear the suit.

We couldn't find the monkey (and everyone we asked about him seemed to think we were a little crazy), but we did find a man with a cart of birds. I mean, they weren't wearing suits or any clothes at all, but they were a cart of birds. Just being pulled around town. That's gotta count for something right? My dad was not impressed.

As the sun started to set, we walked down the wharf and tried all the clam chowder samples before deciding where to eat dinner. We were all still wearing exactly what we wore that afternoon, without a jacket or anything. It's winter days like this that make me remember why I really, really love living in California.

Photo booth shenanigans

2012-02-10T02:30:00.000-08:00

This week was really busy, and it was fun spending so much time with friends and family, but then I got sick and could barely keep my eyes open past 8 (sorry for the inconsistent posting if you missed me!). That always seems to happen to me when I don't give myself enough time to rest, but it was all worth it. Last weekend Alan and I went to our friends' wedding and they had a photo booth at the reception. Since I recently realized that I have way more pictures of food than of me and Alan, I thought I'd share the ones we took, especially since we were so good at making faces for each frame. The one above, if you couldn't tell, was us doing our gangsta face.

{and this is what we look like on Saturdays when we decide to go for donuts!}

Chantal Guillon macarons

2012-02-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my sister Sophie and I walked all around San Francisco. First we toured USF, then we lunched in Hayes Valley, followed by a little shopping, before we walked back through SOMA to meet up with Alan. All that walking around put us in the mood for a treat, and since we were in the neighborhood, I knew just where to go. Sophie's never had macarons before, so it was fun taking her to Chantal Guillon, one of the cutest macaron shops I've ever been to. Her favorite flavors were the pistachio and espresso, mine were the red velvet and passionfruit. But really, they were all so good we could have sat there and eaten a few dozen more easy-peasy.

A story about two sisters

2012-02-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

My sister Sophie is coming to visit this weekend! I'm playing hooky Monday and Tuesday (but not really because I totally requested it off and talked about it with my boss, but I like the way "playing hooky" makes me sound spontaneous and cool) so I can go tour a few colleges with her. She's transferring this fall, and I'm so excited for her.

And, just because, here's a random sisterly story about Sophie: A few years ago she was cast in a Wii in-store video advertisement. A few weeks before the filming, she came to visit me in L.A. where I convinced her we should both get our hair cut at the Vidal Sassoon training school in Santa Monica where the haircuts are cheap (but also sometimes wildly unpredictable). Since she has thick, thick hair, they buzzed the entire back of her head leaving a fringe of long hair in the front and a few spiky tendrils in the back. Even though we were both slightly shocked, I must say she was very composed and rocked her rocker 'do for a long time waiting a good few years for the back to catch up to the front. And never once did she blame me for saying that I was sure that's where all the celebrities got their hair cut. At the filming, it turned out the on-set hair stylist was a genius at working with just a half head of hair and made it so you'd never know about her recent trip to Vidal. When the in-store video finally came out at Target and Best Buy, my dad and I would go and watch them with Sophie in tow, and I'd ask passersby if the girl in the video looked familiar which really embarrassed her to no end.

(image via The Life Styled)

3 Lovely Ways to Wear Hearts

2012-02-03T02:30:00.000-08:00

1. Around your waist

2. In your hair

3. Buttoned up

Are you wearing hearts this month? Yesterday in the lunch room, I saw someone wearing the cutest black and white heart print skirt. I don't own anything with hearts on it, but these are lovely ways to get in the valentine-y spirit, no?

Get the look: Hip, ballerina-inspired blogger

2012-02-02T02:30:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure my big wide feet and bad balance have ruled out any chance that I'll ever be a prima ballerina, but just because I'll never flutter across a stage on my tippy-toes doesn't mean I can't dress like I was meant to do exactly that. I've been wanting a tutu-esque skirt, but I kept thinking Where would I wear it to? Then I saw Natalie of Nat the Fat Rat wearing this crazy fun outfit at Alt Summit and I wanted a tutu skirt even more. This one by Asos would look so cute styled with a comfy, relaxed shirt, a few bold accessories, and lady-like heels.

Chambray top, $88

Mesh skirt, $32.23

Lookmatic Abby frames, $88

Shiseido lipstick in Dragon, $25

J.Crew printed scarf, $59.50

J.Crew peep-toe wedges, $228

p.s. The splurge version of the tutu skirt! Wouldn't it be so chic to wear to dinner while on a tropical vacation this summer?

(Image of Natalie by Moss and Isaac)

Funny pie charts

2012-02-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

We use a lot of pie charts at work (I think because they remind everyone of pie and almost everyone I know likes a nice piece of pie). Here are a few funny ones for your Wednesday morning. Happy hump day!

p.s. more funny pie charts

TOMS new ballet flats

2012-02-01T02:30:00.000-08:00

TOMS launches their new line of ballet flats today, and as someone who gets most of her exercise from walking, I couldn't be more excited. Everyone I know who owns a pair of TOMS raves about how comfortable they are. Some of the earlier styles never quite caught my eye enough to make their way into my closet, but these are so classic they just might be my new favorite shoe. (fingers crossed they're wide-feet friendly!)

British accents are contagious

2012-01-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

Speaking of people abroad, last week there was a British man at the conference named Oliver who, naturally, had a snazzy British accent. One night I was having a drink at the bar with my friend Brian when he struck up a conversation with Oli. I was too busy inhaling truffle popcorn to follow what they were talking about, but all of a sudden my ears perked up when I heard Brian's accent change. "It's quite excellent!" he said jovially in a fake British accent. From Oli's cool reaction you could tell it wasn't the first time someone had pulled an English accent on him, but from his one raised eyebrow, you could tell it definitely wasn't going to be the last. I almost choked on my popcorn when it happened, and afterward Brian said he couldn't help it--it just came out of nowhere. Do you think the reverse happens when Americans move to London? Do people there have the same compulsive urge to start their sentences with "Dude" when talking to us?

Would you ever live abroad?

2012-01-31T02:30:00.000-08:00

I've lived in California my entire life, but I think living abroad for a year or two would be so much fun. I'd love to live somewhere in Europe where I could eat buttery croissants and crusty breads to my heart's content. I've known a few people who took off from work and backpacked through entire countries, but I think it'd be just as interesting to live, work, and cook dinner "at home" in another country, just like all the other people who live there.

Have you ever lived abroad or do you want to? Where have you lived or where would you love to go?

(Photos from my friend Jennifer's trip to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam)

My week at Cavallo Point

2012-01-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

Spending a week working at Cavallo Point, a luxury resort in Sausalito, was so much fun. It used to be a U.S. army post, and the officers' residences have since been converted into guestrooms. I was excited to get to stay in one of the historic suites (vs. their contemporary lodging); they were so charming! It was crazy waking up and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge right in front of us every day, and the way everyone's buildings were spread out made it feel like we were at camp for grown ups.

What I'll miss the most, though, is the food! My favorite snacks to munch on were the truffle popcorn and truffle fries. For dinner one night, my team took a limo* across the Golden Gate Bridge to Kokkari where I had the best fish of my entire life! (Highly, highly recommend it!) Then, on the last day of the trip, a group of us ordered room service for breakfast and ate it in a sunroom. I've never dined in a sunroom before but it was something I could definitely get used to.

*It was my first time ever riding in a limo and I was stoked! Then I quickly found out riding in limos makes me car sick — how do those celebrities do it?!

(Kokkari fish image via)

The Secret Ingredient That Makes Everything Taste Delicious + Fancy

2012-01-26T02:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's not really a secret ingredient, but it does make everything taste amazing and fancy. It's truffle salt! On our first night at Cavallo Point this week, a bunch of us ate in the bar, and I had the black truffle salt and parmesan popcorn. It was out-of-this-world good, and I'm officially obsessed. I kinda wish I could eat in the bar for every meal during this trip just so I could order the popcorn, but I think my co-workers would start getting the wrong idea. Luckily, all you need is four ingredients (popcorn, oil, butter, and truffle salt) to make it at home or you could even get this Pop It Yourself (PIY) Kit to make it super easy.

Tip: You can buy truffle salt from Amazon or a specialty grocery store. I got mine from Beautiful Briny Sea Salt.

(Image by With Style & Grace)

Chalk installations

2012-01-25T02:30:00.000-08:00

The other day I was ordering office supplies and was considering which white board to get when I started thinking "Whatever happened to chalk boards?" I remember using them all the time in grade school, but they seem to be a novelty these days. Dana Tanamachi's large-scale chalk installations take me back to those good ol' days when I lived for recess, 50 cent popsicles after school on Wednesdays, and the joy of getting called on in class to solve a problem on the board. (read: teacher's pet with a sweet tooth and a penchant for tetherball)

Her bio says she is a full-time custom chalk letterer — could you imagine how fun it would be to say that at cocktail parties?

(via The Left Handed Calligrapher)

What's your favorite flower?

2012-01-24T02:30:00.000-08:00

Since I made my New Year's resolution of keeping a tidy coffee table, I have a whole new appreciation for how beautiful fresh-cut flowers look in the middle of it. At work, we're lucky to have this huge flower shipper right next door. On Fridays, they sell $5 bouquets and everyone walks over to see. If you don't like any of the pre-arranged bouquets, the people that run the place are incredibly sweet and will let you roam around in their back cooler where there are a gazillion different flowers to pick from. I've seen so many different kinds that I've never seen before, so it's kind of an exciting adventure every time I'm there.

One day, in a moment of overwhelming flower-picking indecision, I asked the owner what her favorite flower was. She had to think about it for a few minutes, but then decided if she could only pick one, it would definitely be peonies. I don't have a favorite, but I like the idea of having one. It would make it all the more special when people surprised you with them. My cousin Denise loves dahlias, my sister loves daffodils and lilies. Do you have a favorite?

(Top photo by Oh Happy Day, bottom photo by Amy Merrick)

p.s. Isn't that bottom photo mysterious and magical? Like she is sneaking away to visit her groom for a quiet moment on their big day right before the sunrise.

Colorful-bottomed girls

2012-01-23T02:30:00.000-08:00

I've been on the hunt for a pair of colored denim pants but have been feeling a little shy about wearing super bright ones. Luckily, I found this teal pair that's a few notches brighter than regular blue jeans but not quite as bright as, say, these. I'll have to get them hemmed (dang you, 34" inseams made for people that look like Gisele!), but with a price tag less than $60, they're a steal! I plan on wearing these with black wedges and a simple white tee. [On a side note to all the wide-footed ladies: these wedges are awesome!] Even if it might not make the world go round, at least it'll help me ease into being a more colorful-bottomed girl.

And some pretty inspiration...

(left, right)

Have a fresh weekend!

2012-01-20T02:30:00.000-08:00

What are your plans this weekend? I'll be doing work and hope to squeeze in some blogging time to schedule some fun posts for next week since I'll be tied up in Sausalito for a work event. This whole month has been kinda crazy, and I can't wait until Wednesday — we're having a "free" afternoon with the activity of our choice. I opted for the spa day. :)

p.s. My dress giveaway with Shabby Apple ends Monday morning. If you haven't yet, enter here for a chance to win!

Summer Vacation Plans: Camp Wandawega

2012-01-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

This week my sister called from Oregon one night to tell me her car got stuck in the snow. Luckily, some nice people had a shovel handy and helped her out. And I thought I had it bad here in the Bay with my dry winter skin (but really, it's so dry!) All this cold has given me a serious case of summer vacation wanderlust. It must be happening to everyone else, too, because my most popular pin on Pinterest right now is of Camp Wandawega in Wisconsin. It's a magical lakefront resort where you can choose your own level of adventure. They have tents, cozy cabins, and — where I want to stay most of all — a huge treehouse. Can we all just pack up a duffle bag and go there right now? (And also have it be 82°, please?)

(via Unstitched)

p.s. How cool would it be to get married there?

Boccalone: Tasty Salted Pig Parts

2012-01-17T02:30:00.000-08:00

Alan starts a 5-week project up in San Francisco tomorrow, so this weekend we did a test run of how long it would take to walk from the train station to his office. (Just 10 minutes!) Afterwards, we walked down the Embarcadero to have lunch in the Ferry Building. One of my very favorite places there is Boccalone, seller of "tasty salted pig parts." (If that's not the best tagline ever, I don't know what is.) I highly recommend the soppressata, but if you're feeling indecisive, they sell mixed salumi cones so you can sample a few different kinds. Once you get your salumi, you can eat it right outside and watch the sailboats out on the Bay.

{mint green train—so cute}

Orange Nail Polish

2012-01-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

My mom gave me a bunch of nail polish colors for Christmas, and the one I've been wearing for three straight weeks is On the Same Paige by OPI. It's a retro orange that sometimes looks coral or red depending on the light. It's so bright and cheery and somehow matches the color of this necklace so closely that everyone at work thinks I'm an obsessive color coordinator (but I swear I'm not!) Refinery29 says orange nails are going to be big this year. What do you think? Would you try it?

Friday Giveaway with Shabby Apple!

2012-01-13T02:30:00.000-08:00

Dear readers, guess what? Quiet Like Horses is having its very first giveaway! I'm so excited to be giving away the Waimea dress from Shabby Apple, an online boutique of women's dresses. Doesn't it remind you of something straight out of Zooey Deschanel's closet? It'd be so cute paired with a grey cardigan and tights in the winter or worn with red lips and a chignon for a dreamy spring wedding.

For a chance to win, please leave a comment below telling us which Shabby Apple dress is your favorite and like Shabby Apple on Facebook. Please also leave a way for me to get in contact with you should you win. Entries must be posted by Monday, January 23rd at 9am PST. A winner will be chosen at random once comments close and announced at the bottom of this blog post. Good luck!

(Limited to U.S. residents only.)

Update: Erin Y. is the lucky winner. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Battlestar Galactica: The Stuff Compulsive New Year's Eve Marathons Are Made Of

2012-01-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

Remember last week when I said Alan and I stayed home on New Year's Eve to eat pizza and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon? When I went back to work on Tuesday, everyone was all abuzz with what they did to celebrate, and I felt a little embarrassed to tell them about our plans. Not because it sounds nerdy, but because... well, because we finished the whole entire series. I mean, we didn't watch all 5 seasons during the 3-day weekend (annoyingly, we did have to take bathroom breaks and go out to get more pizza from time to time—too bad we're not toasters!) but pretty close to it.

My co-worker sent me this clip from Portlandia which had me laughing so hard because it's so true! Alan had to convince me to watch the first episode because I couldn't believe that a show on the SyFy channel could be that good. But after the first one, I was hooked! Do you watch either shows? This clip makes me want to start watching Portlandia ASAP.

p.s. wow.

(Thanks, Suezinn!)

Desktop Tchotchkes

2012-01-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

When I'm feeling stumped at work, it's nice to have something calming to look at besides my computer screen. I keep a terrarium on my desk, but these handblown radiometers would also be really cool. They're powered solely by the sun or other light sources (yay for cube dwellers!) and I love their quirky shape. The vanes inside rotate when exposed to light, with faster rotation in more intense light and slower rotation in dimmer light.

Here's what they look like in action:

Pretty Wedding Dress

2012-01-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

Work is keeping me crazy busy (we're gearing up for our big national sales conference this month where we'll be staying here for almost an entire week!) and I keep bringing work home with me, only to get sidetracked by beautiful things I find on the internets like this amazing wedding dress. Isn't it gorgeous?

(Photo by Jodi Miller, dress by Melissa Sweet)

Kiss Me Coral Lipstick

2012-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

Where was I when Poppy King's perfect reddish-orange lipstick for J. Crew was released? I don't know, but I totally missed it. Supposedly it sold out almost instantly, and it's nowhere to be found online. Bummed, I asked my sister for help in finding a similar coral shade, and being the makeup whiz she is, she pointed me to Kiss Me Coral by Revlon. It's such a flattering shade and is fun and bright without being too scary. Whenever I wear it, I get lots of surprised reactions from people. It's kind of a mix between how people would react upon seeing a chubby baby and a really pretty statement necklace. I highly recommend it :)

p.s. taking pictures of one's self is hard!

(bottom photo via Chichi Couture)

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

2012-01-10T02:30:00.000-08:00

Lately we've been watching a ton of movies, and I've just discovered the most perfect movie dessert. It's simple and nostalgic and crazy good: salted brown butter Rice Krispie treats. Just like the kind you made as a kid, the main ingredients are crisped rice cereal, butter, and marshmallows. The secret to these more "sophisticated" ones, however, is to add just a pinch of sea salt and to take the time to brown the butter. The result is an even tastier Rice Krispie treat (and I didn't even think that was possible). I'm also a huge sucker for salty and sweet desserts, and the sea salt finish in these hits the spot.

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
By The Smitten Kitchen

Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan 
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows 
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners.

Let cool and cut into squares.

New spindle lamps + a story about resolve

2012-01-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went to Target to return something we'd gotten for Christmas that I knew we'd never use. (I realize this might make me sound like a horrible person, but before you start thinking that I'm a regular gift-returner, I should add that it was something we'd gotten in a white elephant gift exchange. So it's not like it was given to us with us, specifically, in mind and was returned, then, out of picker's remorse more than anything.) It had been sitting on our counter for weeks, and I knew if I didn't do something soon it would sit there forever. And since I had resolved to lead a simpler, less-cluttered life just last week, this weekend I decided to do something about it.

At the store, the clerk told me since I didn't have a receipt I could only get the current asking price for the item, which was $1. I looked to Alan for advice: take the dollar and be done with it or take the item home and try, no matter how desperately, to make it work? His eyes said take the item back, but my newfound less-clutter-is-better heart said take the dollar, which is what I did. Later, Alan told me he was going to write to the producers of Hoarders about me: the anti-hoarder. Never mind that that would be a terribly boring show — a show about someone who doesn't keep 50 cats or bags of used sanitary napkins next to their bed? Please. People have entertainment standards! — I think he was trying to tell me that I'm going a little overboard with the de-cluttering. But as a person who was on the verge of collecting years' worth of toenail clippings and who still can't let go of her pencil box from fourth grade, I took that as a huge compliment.

I don't think my house will ever look as simple and neat as this, but it's getting to a much better place. Now I can start focusing on adding in the things that I really like. We really needed new lamps for the living room (I knew my wire Eiffel Tower lamp from college had to go when Alan remarked that he liked how it was so very "steam punk") and these spindle lamps and chevron shades were less than $100 for the pair! They look a lot like my spendier lamp inspirations by Jonathan Adler and Neiman Marcus, but for way less. And luckily I already had an extra dollar in my wallet to help cover the cost.

Laid-back Weekend, Anyone?

2012-01-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend I have a bunch of down time planned, and I'm thrilled. On Sunday, Alan and I are having friends over for an afternoon matinee (I think we're going to watch this). And we're going to wear sweatpants and eat pizza. Can you imagine anything better?

(image via pinterest)

Whimsical Prints

2012-01-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit preoccupied these days with simple prints. Usually I'm drawn to solids, but prints — done right — can be so whimsical.

Left: Charlotte Taylor, Right: Estrid Ericson elephant fabric via Chez Larsson

Neighborhood Friends

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

Even though I don't know all my neighbors by name, I do know all of their quirks. There's the buff lady across the street who is always out either watering her lawn or washing her car. She has one black cat that is groomed like a lion and feeds about 10 other strays. There's a mom on the corner who is a smoker and who looks suspicious of everyone even though she sometimes leaves her baby out in the yard by himself. And next door to us, there's a woman who sits for hours in her front window typing out a long tragic novel. She also owns one cat (not groomed like a lion, just ordinarily groomed) and feeds the 10 neighborhood strays. I know less about the people further down the street and almost nothing about the people around the corner.

Sometimes I think about how fun it must have been when everyone knew their neighbors and block parties were a normal thing. (Didn't they look fun and full of good things like potato salad?) I'm so happy our friends Ali and Elijah live less than a mile away because they feel like the kind of good neighbors everyone should have. In the past few weeks, our neighborly activities have included: going on a walk, borrowing a hand saw, going over for coffee, and sharing treats. A few days ago, Ali left a package of cookies at our door since we weren't home. She texted me "enjoy your evening. p.s. 6 cats watched me drop it off and they slowly began circling in. I have no idea what'll happen between when I left and when you arrive." Sometimes those cats are the creepiest neighbors of all.

{late morning coffee at Ali and Elijah's}

{their fancy new Nespresso machine—isn't it pretty?}

{peppermint bark gift to thank them for their general jolliness}

(block party images via Colonial Hills History)

The coolest way to keep matches handy

2012-01-04T02:30:00.000-08:00

Jen Pearson makes the coolest reclaimed apothecary matchstick bottles. I picked one up from the Renegade Craft Fair this year, and my favorite part is the strike pad etched into the glass on the bottom. So simple and clever.

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-03T02:30:00.000-08:00

{Anthropologie top, skirt, and bag, Urban Outfitters tights and shoes, Lulu Frost necklace}

{the lettuce-y flower on my coffee table that's lasted over a week!}

Did you do anything fun for New Year's? Alan and I ordered in pizza and had a Battlestar Galactica marathon. Since we didn't get dressed up, I thought it'd be fun to dress up the next day and take some pictures. I've also been thinking about my new year's resolutions, and since I don't believe in making a ton of lofty ones I'll be bound to break, I've narrowed it down to just two:

1) Do a pull up. Just because I've never been able to! We just got a special bar that fits in our charmingly vintage (but absurdly difficult to find a pull up bar for) doorways, so now I have no excuses.

2) End each day with a clean coffee table. This one is in line with my deep desire to live a more simple, less-cluttered life, and is one concrete thing I can do to help get me there. It's kind of like the power making the bed has in turning a messy room into a tidier one.

And that's it! Did you make any resolutions? Maybe we can help hold each other accountable. ;)

Buster the Silky Terrier

2011-12-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say hello and to share pictures of Buster, the small, silky pup I spent Christmas Eve with. Hope you all had a wonderful three-day weekend!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas is in just 2 days! What are your plans? My sister is coming for a last minute visit, and I'm so excited! I can't wait to show her the holiday lights in our neighborhood (my favorite house, pictured above, hangs huge stars way up high in all their trees), take her to the best donuts ever, and ask her how to pick the right coral lipstick (she's a makeup maven).

Wishing you all a very happy holiday! xo

A Dare and a Proposal: Trang and Long's Story

2011-12-21T02:30:00.000-08:00

When I think about people getting married, I always wonder what the proposal was like. Who proposed to whom? Where was it? Was it dramatic or simple and private? (And, while we're at it, does anyone ever really propose at a sports game via the Jumbotron or does that only happen in the movies?) However they happen, proposal stories are one of my favorite kinds because they're always so sweet and show lots of thought.

My friend Trang recently told me her proposal story — her longtime boyfriend, Long, popped the question while they were in Italy — and the way she described him made me laugh. She described Long as being as "straight as an arrow" and someone who's never even run a red light. It was funny to hear her say this because Trang's bold and endearingly cheeky — almost the exact opposite. Here's her playful story about how he proposed:

Long and I watched Love Me If You Dare, a love story about childhood friends that play an intense game of “Dare," a couple years ago. Later that night, we went to a sushi restaurant for dinner where I dared him to steal a decorative glass cat sitting by the cash register. He really tried, but in the end, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. After that, every time we went to the sushi restaurant, I would teasingly dare him to steal the cat. He could never bring himself to take it, and we would always leave the restaurant laughing about how nerdy he was. He declared that he was willing to give me anything I wanted as long as he didn't have to steal it. And I would insist that the stolen glass cat was all I really wanted.

This year, on our 10 year anniversary, Long took me to Italy. On our last night in Venice, we took a walk and stopped at a little square where kids were launching pretty flying ornaments that lit the sky, and a man was playing a guitar and serenading passersby in Italian. We stopped there and suddenly, Long pulled the glass cat out of his pocket, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was such a beautiful, quirky, funny proposal with a perfect gift that only meant something to the two of us.

Isn't that the cutest story?

The Anthropologie Smell

2011-12-20T02:30:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed the amazing way Anthropologie stores always smell? I finally asked one of the sales ladies what it was this weekend, and she told me it was this Capri Blue candle in Volcano. The description says it smells like tropical fruits and sugared oranges and is "redolent with lightly exotic mountain greens."

p.s. Have you seen anthro's tumblr, etymologie? I just found it, but I like it.

A few favorites from the SF Renegade Craft Fair

2011-12-19T02:30:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco holiday Renegade Fair this year was (once again) brimming with cuteness. I picked up a few really great gifts and a bunch of business cards because I love looking at all the creative logos and feeling the different types of paper. My favorite "business card" was this matchbook from type.lites, a line of eco-friendly candles. So clever!

And a few of my favorite vendors were:

Nosh This — Their salted caramels have adventurous mix-ins such as 12-year-aged balsamic vinegar, bacon, and black tellicherry pepper. I bought an assorted box as a gift, and I'm really hoping she shares!

ImagineNations — awesome decoupaged vintage globes.

Leafcutter Designs — They are masters of curios & projects and operators of the World's Smallest Post Service. They turn your custom messages into tiny letters the size of a dime and send it, along with a magnifying glass, to your recipient. Such a funny idea. You can see how tiny their letters and packages are here. (p.s. this rainy day activity kit made me giggle.)

It's-Not-Too-Late Gift Ideas

2011-12-16T02:30:00.000-08:00

How is it that Christmas is already next weekend? Thanks to the wonder that is the internet, I've knocked out a big chunk of my holiday shopping (all promised to deliver before the 25th!) This weekend I'm aiming to finish up the last of it so I can spend the rest of the holidays well-relaxed and with lots of cookies :) A few friends and I are hitting up the Renegade Craft Fair and I can't wait! Last year's fair was super awesome (hello, $1 letterpress cards!) If you'll be in or near San Francisco, you should definitely check it out. And for shopping inspiration, here are some fun gift ideas for all the other last-minute shoppers out there.

Pantone Christmas ornaments for the designer(s) in your life. (I work with 5 and am a total designer wannabe.)

Not Plastic Bottles, $30. Glass carafes that are as pretty as they are green.

iPhone pouch, $75. Hand-crafted from premium wool felt and fancy Italian leather. The clever pocket on the outside holds credit cards and cash — perfect for quick trips for coffee or pizza.

Cashmere undies, $45. Cashmere + right next to your tush = ridiculously luxurious. I hope everyone gets a pair of these this year.

Soledad Proano necklace, $48. This would be so pretty to wear with a t-shirt and jeans.

Chalk piggy bank, $85. You can write what you're saving for in chalk. I'd write "trip to Europe." What about you?

Leather camera strap, $75.99. Classic, old-school goodness.

Wood pens, $10. To make writing to-do lists more fun.

Heart signet ring, $1125. A splurge, but such a pretty one.

(Top photo by Allora Handmade)

Holiday Nails

2011-12-15T02:30:00.000-08:00

One of my greatest life pleasures in high school was getting my nails done — acrylic ones with over-the-top airbrush designs. For junior prom, I wore a simple silver dress with fuchsia nails airbrushed with a tropical scene complete with flamingos, palm trees and a fading sunset. Needless to say, the whole nail art revival is really speaking to me. I like the look of natural nails now over fake ones, but I still couldn't resist when the manicurist pulled out her jar of rhinestones to bling out my snowflake manicure.

p.s. pretty nails make typing at work so much more fun, don't you think?

(Photos by Nathalie)

May and Calvin's Garden Wedding

2011-12-13T02:30:00.000-08:00

Every other week, my mom finds a way to subtly ask (and sometimes not so subtly) when Alan and I are going to get married. I think the most horrendous thing she could ever imagine for me would be if I didn't get married before turning 35, but honestly, I just don't see what the rush is. We'll eventually get married when the time feels right, but until then, it's just not at the top of my list of things to do. But then, every once in a while, I'll see a wedding like my friend May's — which is amazing — and I feel like I might just change my mind. (Don't tell my mom!)

I love everything about May's wedding — the colors, her dress, all the flowers (by her talented mom!), and the crafty details. Isn't it the most beautiful day? She says, "We felt so lucky that all of our loved ones would be traveling from near and far to share our special day with us so we decided that what was important was to make it very personal and to spoil them with our favorite eats and treats." They had catering by RoliRoti, a San Francisco Ferry Building staple (known for his porchetta sandwiches), and instead of a wedding cake, they had a "cake" made up of three cheese wheels. I think the raddest part of the reception was the cigar and scotch tasting bar they set up for guests to enjoy.

To see more of her gorgeous wedding (and there are lots more pretty details to look at), you can check out the full post on Style Me Pretty.

p.s. Pictures from my friend Jennifer's beautiful, ocean-side wedding (she's May's sister!)

(Photos by James Moes)

The Ainsley House Holiday Tour

2011-12-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

After spending lots of time with family and friends and seeing twinkling lights everywhere, this weekend it finally felt like the holidays. My parents spent an entire afternoon teaching me how to cook Cambodian desserts, I played Just Dance for the first time (best party game ever), and I had tea at the Ainsley House in Campbell. It included a special tour of the historic house (which was built in 1925 and home to a successful Campbell business man in the canning business) all decorated for the holidays. I love touring old homes and imagining what it must have been like to live there so many years ago. Quiet evenings in the den listening to that radio must have been something else.

Sharon Montrose Animal Photography

2011-12-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

How awesome is Sharon Montrose's animal photography? Any of her prints would make a sweet Christmas gift. I've got my eye on the goose print.

p.s. Can you imagine trying to take pictures of full-grown lions and bears in your studio? Amazing.

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: Interview Questions

2011-12-08T02:30:00.000-08:00

One of my very smart and also very good-looking friends in college once got the weirdest question while at an interview for a top tier medical school. The interviewer asked her, "So, why does a pretty girl like you want to go to med school?" It made my jaw drop when she told me, but she brushed it off (which made me feel a little bit like we had traveled back in time to the 1950s).

I'd think about it from time to time, especially whenever I'd be getting ready for an upcoming interview myself. Sometimes I think about my friend and I imagine her sitting in this huge office on a velvet wing-backed chair talking to this faculty member — a good ol' boy with a pipe in one hand. I wonder if she was sweating (I'd be sweating). Sometimes I think about how I'd respond. It wasn't until this week that I saw past the question's chauvinistic exterior and saw it for what it really was: something to throw her off the trail.

This week we started interviewing candidates at work. I always drink lots of coffee beforehand so I can be sure that I'm focused — picking your new colleague is a big deal. You spend almost all your waking hours sitting inside next to the people you work with, so if you have a say in the matter, make sure you try to pick someone you think you'll like. But that's way easier said than done.

To me, interviewing candidates sort of feels like going on a blind date where you're both trying to see if you're compatible in the short time you have before the check arrives. The problem is that, just like on the first date, everyone tells you what you want to hear. I find the hardest part is getting them to tell me something different, something that tells me who they really are. We're interviewing a few more people this week, and in the spirit of getting to know these good people who have come all this way to talk to us, I'm considering asking them something different beyond the standard stuff. Now I don't want to scare them away with a bunch of atypical questions, so instead I've narrowed it down to just one:

If you had to watch a TV marathon of either MSNBC's Lockup or MTV's Teen Mom 2, which one would you watch and why?

The responses, I think, should be quite telling.

What's the craziest interview question you've ever been asked?

(Top photo via This Time Tomorrow, bottom photo via Pinterest)

Gift Ideas Under $25

2011-12-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

As much as I love giving gifts, somehow I end up being kinda terrible at it. I never buy things in time unless I happen to see something I think someone would like and buy it months and months in advance and hide it away in my closet. We have about 2.5 weeks left before Christmas so I'm hoping this year I can get it together. Here are some of my favorite gift ideas for under $25.

(clockwise from top left)
Travel bags for lingerie and shoes, $20 each: These bags are so handy for trips near and far. I use mine all the time.
Printed pouch, $19: For lipstick, spare change, pens and pencils.
Geo beaded necklace, $23.99: I love this. I got a set of these necklaces for my friend Jennifer for her birthday earlier this year, and she says they're her most-inquired-about accessories.
Thank You Notes by Jimmy Fallon, $9.60: So funny and has a cute guy on the cover. It's like what every coffee table book aspires to be.
Sushi dunk plates and chopsticks, $23.80: Perfect for friends who like to entertain or who just like their sushi.
Paris photography calendar, $24: Pretty pictures of Paris. All. Year. Long. YES.

Tesco Subway Grocery Shopping

2011-12-06T02:30:00.000-08:00

Alan and I carpool to work, but if we took the subway, shopping at this virtual grocery store would be the raddest way to wait for the next train. That's what these lucky commuters in South Korea can do. Tesco plastered pictures of their stores' products on glass walls in the subway, with all the "shelves" organized just like how they'd be in a physical store. To order items, shoppers just scan QR codes with their phones, and the items are delivered to their home that same day. Isn't that clever? Remembering to buy milk or toilet paper on those days you run out would be so much easier.

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

Do you bake special Christmas cookies this time of year? We've been eating nothing but persimmon cookies lately (with no complaints), but I'd also love to decorate some sugar cookies in festive shapes. I'm drawing inspiration from these cute cookies from Two Hearts Bakery — Russian nesting doll cookies and gingerbread boy s'mores, chocolate-dipped graham crackers with a marshmallow filling.

Easy DIY Advent Calendar

2011-12-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about Christmas are the advent calendars. This year I made a really simple one from paper treat bags I found at Michaels. I used stencils to outline numbers on each bag from 1 to 25. Then I carefully painted glue over the outlined numbers and sprinkled glitter on top. I strung them all up on the mantel using a bit of twine and clipped them on with mini clothespins.

Alan and I are taking turns filling each bag with a surprise for the other person. I'm taking the odd days and Alan's taking the evens. On the first day, I hid some of his favorite cookies inside. On the second day, I got a handwritten poem and...software! Sweet and practical at the same time :)

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: Dog People

2011-12-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

The other day my mom was telling me stories that involved a Frenchman. "The Frenchman would have come too, if we'd had more time to get ready," she said. I'd never heard her talk about a Frenchman before, and I wondered if my parents had made a new neighbor friend, someone who'd just moved from Paris perhaps. "Oh, I felt so bad when we left. He knew we were leaving him too. He sat by the door and barked and ran around us. That Frenchman, he's a smart one." It dawned on me that the Frenchman was not a baguette-eating neighbor after all. He was my sister's maltipom, Petrie.

To hear my mom talking so affectionately about a dog these days is a bit shocking. Growing up my mom was the complete opposite of a dog person. Actually, she was anti-pets in general. Our hamsters Brownie and Fluffy mysteriously "ran away to the forest" even though we lived in the middle of a bustling city with shopping malls and freeways for miles and miles around us. When I'd see a kitten and reach down to pet it, she'd warn that the cat might scratch my eyes out, as "cats are often known to do."

But then, when Sophie brought Petrie home one day, everything changed. All of a sudden my mom had a new grandson, whom she talked openly and warmly about to everyone. She had nicknames for him that corresponded to his personality traits and his different moods. Contrary to everything I had known about my mom and her feelings towards animals for the past 20 years, she had become... a dog person.

I've always loved all kinds of animals, dogs especially, but I'm still not quite sure if I could ever have my own dog. I wonder though, if I did one day get a dog, if I'll ever become as extreme as some of the dog people I've heard about. Like the friend of a friend who sends her dog to doggie daycare so he can socialize and who rushes home the second she drops him off to watch him play with the other dogs via online streaming video that the daycare sets up. I swear it will never happen to me, but I guess that's what everyone says. After all, I never thought I'd hear my mom telling stories about a Frenchman.

What do you think about extreme dog/cat people? Are you one of them? Did that surprise you?

(second photo by Jamie Beck)

Where Christmas trees come from

2011-11-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

This year, Alan and I cut down our own Christmas tree! Because neither of us had ever done it before, I ~~fantasized~~ pictured that we'd drive up to a mountain somewhere and chop down a few trees like in a SUV commercial. But it turns out that that's illegal, so instead we went to a Christmas tree farm where everything's all very organized and there are trees everywhere.

Our friend Scott, who's an expert at chopping down Christmas trees, helped us scope out the best ones. He said to pick a tree surrounded by light, that way it would have even branches all the way around.

I got a little carried away practicing for the big chop.

We picked a really nice tree (the biggest one we've ever had), and cutting it down was a lot easier than I had imagined.

It's all about the saw action...

And yelling "timber!" as the tree falls.

That evening we came home and set our tree up in the living room. The entire house smelled like fresh pine; it was pretty wonderful. Now that we've seen our tree's original surroundings, it's fun and odd to see it standing indoors next to our non-naturey TV and books. He definitely needs some lights and tinsel.

This polka dot sweater...

2011-11-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

...has me smitten.

(Sweater and photos from Madewell)

Rival Schools

2011-11-29T02:30:00.000-08:00

I recently got a new cube mate at work who's a USC Trojan (UCLA's top rival!). Even though I'm not the biggest college sports fan, our schools' rivalry makes poking fun of each other a daily treat. One day I saw that he had put up a school pennant on his wall, so the next day, to show my own school spirit, I wore my favorite UCLA t-shirt. It made me feel smug, even if no one else noticed but me. I always think it's funny when people take their schools' rivalries ultra seriously.

Who's your school's biggest rival? Do you have lots of school spirit?

Happy Post-Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

Did you have a good Thanksgiving weekend? My mom and dad were in town so I spent lots of time with them. We ate dim sum, went for walks, and I made everyone stop to admire all the pretty foliage. Four-day weekends feel like mini vacations to me.

Two great movies to rent during Thanksgiving weekend

2011-11-23T02:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already time for Thanksgiving again! Since we have such a long homey weekend ahead of us, I just wanted to recommend two really great movies you can rent and watch from the comfort of your own couch: Beginners and Win Win. Beginners is quirky and touching, and Win Win —starring Paul Giamatti; I love him! — is super funny. Neither is Thanksgiving-centric, but I can guarantee they're both thoroughly entertaining. We just watched Beginners this past weekend, and I'm still thinking about it.

(bottom photo via IMDb)

Grandma Furman's Persimmon Cookies

2011-11-22T02:30:00.000-08:00

Alan's favorite cookies of all time are these persimmon cookies his grandma makes. I was reminded that I had the recipe recently and made a batch this weekend, and now they're one of my favorites, too. Alan describes them as tasting like mini muffin tops — they have a wonderful soft texture — but the rest of it's hard to explain. It's got the warm spices of most pumpkin desserts and a little bit of heartiness like that of an oatmeal cookie, but so much better than both overall. I was planning on making this brown butter raspberry tart for Thanksgiving this week, but I think I'm going to make more of these. What are you bringing to your Thanksgiving dinner(s) this year?

Grandma Furman's Persimmon Cookies
(aka Alan's Favorite Cookies of All Time)

1 tsp baking soda
1 stick of butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1 egg, beaten
1 c persimmon pulp (I used the hachiya variety)
2 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c chopped nuts (I love walnuts in cookies)
1 1/2 c raisins

Sprinkle baking soda over pulp and let stand. In a medium-sized bowl, cream butter. Add sugars and beat well. Add egg and persimmon pulp. Mix well. Add sifted dry ingredients, nuts, and raisins. Mix until just combined. (Mixture will be sticky.) Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Have you ever been kissed by surprise?

2011-11-21T02:30:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been kissed by surprise? I never have, but I think they're one of the funniest kinds of kisses — they turn a (usually) intimate moment between two people into something completely goofy. My friend Stacy was once kissed by surprise, and there's even the greatest photo booth pictures of all time to go along with it! Every time I see it, it makes me laugh. Here's her story...

My husband Robbie has this crazy tradition where he kisses the groom each time a friend gets married. It started a couple of years ago when he was a groomsman in his good friend’s wedding. After the wedding party walked out of the wedding, they all gathered in a private room to celebrate while guests exited the church, and Robbie planted a big, fat, wet one on his friend! The groom was surprised, the rest of the wedding party was surprised, and I would say that even Robbie was a little surprised.

Since then, he has decided to make it a tradition to kiss his (groom) friends on their wedding days. He’ll even go so far as to inform people it’s a compliment when they're kissed, because of course this means he considers you a good friend. When our good friends, Alison and Elijah, got married last year, the tradition hadn't changed. Before the wedding, someone spilled the beans and gave Elijah warning about what to expect on his big day. This made Robbie’s mission a bit more challenging.

Elijah spent most of the day dodging kisses from Robbie. He swiftly avoided him while he was talking to his grandparents, he blocked him from sneaking up on him from around a corner, and he escaped an “almost trapped” situation in the kitchen. At this point, Robbie probably sounds a little bit like a creep, but I do want to provide the disclaimer that this specific situation had turned into a battle of wills. Elijah was determined to avoid the kiss and Robbie was determined to plant the kiss.

Meanwhile, us ladies were having a blast. We were dancing, mingling, and taking part in the photo booth they had set up. Since Alison and Elijah would be moving in with us after the wedding, we thought it would be a great idea to take a roommate picture in the photo booth. We gathered up and decided on what theme each of the four frames would include: official, silly, crazy, and improv.

We all looked great for the first frame. I made sure to do my usual angry face and threatening choke for the second. Sarah and I leaned in to give Alison cheek kisses on the third, and that’s when it happened. I had my eyes closed and lips puckered facing Alison. All of a sudden I felt lips pressed against mine and they were not Robbie’s. Alison had planted a big, fat, wet one on ME! I was in complete shock and couldn’t stop laughing at the same time. After “the kiss,” Alison explained that since Robbie wanted to steal a kiss from her lover so badly, she decided to steal a kiss from his.

Aren't the photos priceless? Robbie's face in the third frame cracks me up. And I love how surprised Stacy looks in the last frame and how Ali's totally flipping her hair back like "Gotcha!"

Thanks for sharing, Stacy!

(Top photo via pinterest)

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: Conversations Between Couples

2011-11-17T02:30:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder what couples talk about when they're alone? I imagine that just like the kinds of conversations you have with your mom or your best friend, the heart-to-hearts you have with your significant other are different from the talks you have with anyone else. Alan and I talk about all sorts of things. There are a lot of random things and then there are things that carry over from conversation to conversation. Last week, we talked about what we'd want the other person to read to us if we ever got diagnosed with locked-in syndrome. (We both agreed on David Sedaris.) Alan talks a lot about the faults of our couch; I talk about finding a rug to pull the room together. We both somehow bring up a basset hound topic at least once a day (their walks, their sausage shape, their silly personalities... we could really go on).

Sometimes though, the most telling conversations are the ones that couples don't have together. Like the ones between my grandparents. They've been together for over 60 years, have raised 11 children, and have ventured across the globe from Cambodia to California to start a new life together. They're barely ever apart. Once, my grandma shared the benefits of marriage with us as she saw them. She said there were two great things: 1) that you only have to make half of the bed in the morning and 2) that you have someone to share a few words with each day. Just a few. In all the times I've seen them together, they're never particularly chatty.

This weekend my grandpa was hospitalized. We all feared and suspected it was an unstoppable cancer even before the biopsy came back, but no one dared tell my grandma until there was absolutely no denying it. But she knew. Somehow she knew. On the first day of his hospital stay, our huge family filled his room. We all tried to talk about other things. I talked about the cat slippers he had brought from home. Someone else talked about the hospital food. My grandma didn't say much. Mostly, she sat and watched him, like she was afraid he would disappear any second. I wondered if I'd ever know what they talked about alone in their apartment.

At one point, my cousin and I stepped out of the room for a break. Grandma followed. The door shut behind her, and all of a sudden she was saying everything she felt in their decades of life together without saying anything at all. She cried and cried, in the the most terrible soul-gripping way. There was nothing anyone could say. And after, she wiped away her tears, went back inside, and our hearts hurt.

(Image by devil_smile55)

Your Perfect Day

2011-11-16T02:30:00.000-08:00

My best girl Nat once took a class where her professor posed this simple question: What would your perfect day be like? Where would you go? What would you do? Who would you be with? What would you eat? What would you smell? What would you see?

People said things like: go to the beach, sleep in, go on a hike, snuggle with my kids, meditate in the morning, be in nature, eat a big meal with friends and family, read a book. There were a lot of answers, but none of them were terribly extravagant. In fact, almost everyone's answers involved simple everyday activities. So he then asked, "How many of you have done any of the activities that you just described today?" No one raised their hands.

"Why not?" he asked.

People said that they had to work or that they didn't have enough time. He asked, "How much time would it take to read your book or to meditate in the morning?" People gave ranges of time, but some were as short as 15 to 30 minutes.

The point he was trying to make was that so many of us have these simple things we could do that would make us happy — would culminate in a perfect day even — that we never seem to get around to. So why don't we try to do them more?

I know I have a lot of days where I feel like I'm rushing from one thing to the next and feel like I have absolutely no time for things on my "perfect day" list. I'll get to bed later than I'd like and spend the rest of the week feeling like I'm playing a losing game of catch-up. I hate feeling so frazzled and am always looking for balance. I just read this really great article about the power of doing less. The author says, "But do what you do with complete and hard focus. Then when you're done be done, and go enjoy the rest of the day." Doesn't that sound like a great idea? I'm going to give it a try and see if I can squeeze in more time for walks, reading, and chats with friends and family.

What would your perfect day be like?

(top image by Sunday Photo, bottom image via i don't bite)

New favorite burger place: Naglee Park Garage

2011-11-15T02:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend I (finally!) watched The Princess Bride — which is as good as everyone says it is — and discovered my new favorite burger place in San Jose: Naglee Park Garage. Alan and I are always on the lookout for a good burger, and I'm ecstatic we found this place because it's so close to home. I've probably driven by it a good number of times, but it's so tiny I've never noticed it before. Their burgers are perfect: big and juicy with a side of thick-cut fries. So perfect for a Friday night! For dessert we ordered the vanilla bread pudding but forgot to wait for it and got up and left after eating our burgers. I realized halfway home and made Alan turn back. The restaurant was so happy I'd come back for it, and after tasting the whipped cream, so was I.

(Top and bottom photo from Yelp, middle photo c/o my iPhone)

Pomegranates!

2011-11-14T02:30:00.000-08:00

It's pomegranate season! I loved pomegranates as a kid because the seeds inside reminded me of lost treasure — all these glistening rubies just waiting to be found. Nowadays, I love them because they remind me of the holidays. Using the seeds to make festive ice cubes is one of my favorite party tricks.

Using a sharp knife, cut a pomegranate in half from top to bottom and then use your hands to carefully pick out all the seeds. (Tip: Don't wear a white shirt!) Drop a few seeds in each ice cube compartment, fill with water, and freeze. Even a simple glass of water looks like it's ready to have a good time :)

And two other pomegranate party ideas I love:

Pomegranate place cards

Pomegranate-fontina rice balls

Scallop: Feeling Edgy

2011-11-11T02:30:00.000-08:00

Scalloped edges are on my current list of favorites. They can make almost anything look whimsical, don't you think? I got this black skirt to wear to holiday parties and because it makes me feel like I'm wearing a piece of a gingerbread house (of course, only in the good way). Here are a few other pretty pieces with this lovely subtle border.

1. Madewell silk scallop-wave dress

2. beaded headband

3. Anthropologie scallop pencil skirt

4. vintage stud earrings

5. Asos scallop edge bra

Anthropologie's Holiday e-Cards

2011-11-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

How cute are Anthropologie's holiday e-cards? You can find a whole gallery of them here, and spread some holiday cheer!

p.s. I know everyone complains about how Christmas gets here earlier and earlier every year, but I have to admit I'm totally smitten — I've already listened to A Very She & Him Christmas album a few times through!

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: Business Trip Adventures

2011-11-10T02:30:00.000-08:00

The career fairs I'd go to my senior year of college felt really exciting. Everyone would be wearing suits and looking all professional (a big change from the sea of jeans and flip flops you'd normally see around campus every day). I'd talk to recruiters and try to impress them with the modest things I thought they might find impressive on my short resume, and in turn, they'd try to impress me with their glossy brochures and official-looking business cards.

The best part was when recent graduates were there to represent their current employers. These people had jobs. Which meant that they were the people I wanted to be. My favorite question to ask them was "What's a typical day like for you?" And my favorite response, the one I got a lot, was "It's hard to say — every day is different!" Of course, now I know that most people's work days aren't that remarkably different, but back then, boy, I thought this meant that I'd be sealing million dollar deals one day and jumping out of planes the next.

Working in a stable office environment has taught me to embrace the small things that make each day unique: cake on somebody's birthday, a particularly satisfying lunch, a tiny bit of water-cooler gossip. For me, the king of these small indulgences, the thing that really shakes things up, are business trips. I've only been on a handful here and there, so I definitely haven't tired of them yet, and I could see how they wouldn't be fun if you had to do it all the time or are forever going for no-fun reasons, but almost every business trip I've gone on has been pretty neat. Two of my favorites are the time I went to prison and the time I went to Tennessee to eat at Wolfgang Puck Express.

I didn't know I was going to prison until a few weeks before the trip. We were going to visit the remote inside sales team we worked with (which I had always assumed worked in a nice air-conditioned office space somewhere in Phoenix) that turned out to be a team that operated out of the state prison. I called my parents to try to get them to worry about me — I told them I was going to prison. I had been waiting a good few decades to spring something like this on them, and I waited anxiously for their outrage, their delayed concern. But it never came. Maybe they just didn't understand what I was saying or maybe because they know me too well, but they didn't think my going to prison was that big of a deal. When I finally got there, I saw they were right. The visiting room was filled not with the faces of hardened criminals, but with ladies wearing pink lipstick who had voluminous, freshly curled hair. They were eloquent and chipper and found our presentation interesting and useful. It was definitely not like everything you see in the movies.

My other favorite business trip was one of the first ones I'd ever been on. We flew to Tennessee to help Wolfgang Puck Express understand how to attract more customers. My genius boss (who reminds me of Donald Draper for his creativity) decided we'd do this through a focus group on wheels. So a group of strangers and I drove around in a van for an entire day eating at Wolfgang Puck Express and their competitors' restaurants and talking about what we liked and what we didn't back in the van. It was amazing!

Do you travel for work? If so, do you enjoy it? What's one of your most memorable business trips?

(image from Up in the Air)

Denise's Bow-Themed Surprise Party!

2011-11-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend was my cousin Denise's surprise birthday party! My cousins and I have been secretly planning and crafting for it for the past few months, and it was so fun to surprise her with it all. It was bow-themed, which meant...

...everyone wore bows!

We set up a cake buffet table with jars of candy and a big happy birthday banner.

For guests that didn't come already wearing bows, we made lots of extras for people to wear in their hair or clipped to their shirts.

Our centerpieces were cans we spray painted one of Denise's favorite colors: Tiffany blue.

The cakes were amazing. My friend Ali made them, and they were a huge hit. I love the bow-covered cake she created just for our party.

One last fun party detail: right before the festivities began, but before she knew what we had up our sleeves, we gave Denise a bow-themed outfit to change into. She arrived at the party wearing this sparkly bow dress that was just perfect on her.

Here's a picture of our cousins, boyfriends, and friend Sean — at one point we all worked together at the same company!

Guest Post on Unstitched Today

2011-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Lillian of Unstitched has a great bookshelves series where she asks bloggers to share a glimpse into their lives through a photo of what's on their bookshelves. She asked me to take part in the series today, so please check it out if you'd like to see the story behind the book above. Her blog is also a daily fun read — she has a serious love for food and travel and is currently posting wonderful gift giving ideas.

Two Beautiful Things

2011-11-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

Two beautiful things to brighten your Tuesday morning: 1) This "You Are Beautiful" mirror from Urban Outfitters. Wouldn't it make an awesome Christmas present? (My friend Roy says he's holding out for the men's version which would say "You Are So Draper." haha!) And 2) Mona Simpson's eulogy for Steve Jobs. Just a word of warning — I read it at work last week and had tears running down my face. So sweet!

Chicken Soup with Lime and Cilantro

2011-11-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, for my birthday, I got this book called For the Love of Soup. When I got it, I was in the middle of a tea party where everyone was drinking hot tea and sweating at the same time, but I was excited to have a cookbook dedicated to soups nonetheless. This chilly weekend, I finally put it to use and made a chicken soup with lime and cilantro. What made me excited about the book — the simplicity of the ingredients and recipes — was what also made me a little skeptical about it. I thought the soup might be a little boring, but it turned out fantastic. The lime brightens it up, and the chicken is nice and savory. My favorite part was the crunch of the corn. Next time, I might use a touch less lime (it was pretty zingy) but other than that, it was simple, quick, and delicious.

Chicken Soup with Lime and Cilantro
Slightly adapted from For the Love of Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili powder
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces, diced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (I might try cutting this in half the next time I make this)
small bunch fresh cilantro sprigs, tied together with kitchen string
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 4 minutes. Add chili powder and chicken and saute for 2 minutes longer.
2. Add stock, tomatoes, corn, lime juice, and cilantro sprigs, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove and discard cilantro sprigs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve garnished with fresh chopped cilantro.

Little Black Stripes and Dots

2011-11-04T02:30:00.000-07:00

I don't wear very much black, but I'm loving these festive stripes and polka dots. Both would be so fun to wear to a holiday party.

(1, 2)

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: Misheard Names

2011-11-03T02:30:00.000-07:00

Every visit to Starbucks is remarkably similar. It's the intentional consistency of the ordering process, the drink menu, the pastries, and the green aprons that's converted me. But for all of those similarities, I can almost always count on there being a small twist to every visit: the name given to me on the side of my cup. It's always some sound-a-like version of my real name, but it's just different enough to keep things interesting. For example, as Sobrina, I'm just your typical multi-city library card holder. But when I order a latte and find my name's been changed to something exciting, something like Subarenah, I transform! I become a person who knows about things like raves!

This Misheard Name Phenomenon happens all the time, and not just at Starbucks. My co-worker Brian who ordered an empanada for lunch became Barney. Ordering Thai takeout on the phone, I become Lina. And it never gets old, I crack up every time!

My co-worker Amanda told me about the misheard name she gets most often. She said when she orders at restaurants, she'll give her name as Amanda, and the name repeated back to her is... Fernando. It even happens when she orders in person despite her being a very cute girl! Isn't that the funniest, most unexpected misheard name ever?

Have you experienced the Misheard Name Phenomenon?

p.s. I love this episode of How I Met Your Mother where Barney experiences it and gets dubbed Swarley. And a tumblr dedicated to this very topic!

(image by Urban Muser)

Word as Image

2011-11-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ji Lee, Facebook's Creative Director, has released a book of word-images where the challenge was to create an image from a word, using only the letters contained in the word — and using only the shapes of the letters, without adding extra parts. A really cute and creative project. It also reminds me of those word games I played as a kid where you'd see something written out like this...

mind
matter

...and have to guess what idiom it was. Did you play that game?

A few shots from Halloween

2011-11-02T02:30:00.000-07:00

Did you guys have a good Halloween? Our celebration at work was pretty intense with parades, costume contests, and pumpkin carving. My favorite part was the skits different departments performed. I dressed up as Social Bricks (one of our products). Other cool costumes included homemade sushi and Edward Scissorhands. My team dressed up in beards, glasses and slacks to be John Murphy (the guy in the middle). Can you imagine everyone wanting to be you for Halloween? He must have felt like a rockstar.

Mini Pumpkin Spice Donuts

2011-10-31T02:30:00.000-07:00

Every fall it seems that pumpkin works its way into every dish possible. From pies to soups to risottos, the list goes on and on. I thought I'd seen it all until I came across this recipe for mini pumpkin spice donuts. They remind me ever so slightly of Donettes because they're baked and more cake-like than fried donuts, but that's not what's important. What's important is that after they come out of the oven, they're dipped in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar, and they taste like all your favorite parts of fall. (Mine tasted like the sound of crunching leaves underfoot, the warmth of a well-blanketed bed, and the coziness of wearing comfy pants all weekend.) I popped one in my mouth while I was sugaring them all, and it was pretty wild.

p.s. Happy Halloween!! Have a good one :)

Have a spooky weekend!

2011-10-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Halloween is almost here, and I'm so excited! Coupons.com takes Halloween pretty seriously, and almost everyone dresses up (compared to Halloween at my last company where only two people dressed up — me and Stacy). I stayed home sick today, so this weekend I'll be willing this cold away, putting the finishing touches on my costume, and watching The Walking Dead. I heard it's spooky and suspenseful which sounds absolutely perfect for getting in the Halloween spirit.

p.s. My cloud computing costume was featured in Mashable's tech-themed Halloween costumes slideshow today!

(pumpkin carvings by Ray Villafane via Design Taxi)

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: Corporate Bathroom Etiquette

2011-10-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of tricky things to navigate in the corporate world, but a lot of it seems to be unspoken common knowledge. Like never being that person who takes the last cup of coffee in the morning and who doesn't make a new pot. But when it comes to corporate bathroom etiquette, it seems that anything goes.

In my mind, bathroom time equals private time — there's really no need for anyone else to know what's going on in your stall. Of course, everyone knows what's going on in your stall because everyone goes to the bathroom, so it's mind-boggling to me when some people act like they don't know. In my experience, I've known these people to come in two types: the conversationists and the lingerers.

The conversationist is the person who happens to be headed to the bathroom at the same time you are and who strikes up a friendly conversation. If the conversation ended as you entered the bathroom, it wouldn't be so bad, but the conversationist will likely keep it going even after you've both entered your respective stalls. And then will keep it going... as she flushes ...as she washes her hands ... as she fixes her hair ... as she waits for you to come out so you can walk out together. Why does the conversationist do this? It's awkward, and I wish the conversationists would stop.

The lingerers like to linger, and lingering in the bathroom is no different. Now, there's a time for lingering — like over dessert or the sweet words of a lover — and there's not a time for lingering. Like in the bathroom. If lingering in corporate bathrooms was encouraged, I would expect there to be plush couches (like the ones Nordstrom has in their bathrooms), but these are always nowhere to be found. Lingerers, true to their name, pull out all the stops. I once worked with a bathroom lingerer who had an entire 10-minute process she'd go through of flossing, brushing her teeth, and gargling with Listerine for a full two minutes. In these situations, the silence is deafening and distracting, and you almost wish you had a conversationist in the room.

Sometimes though, neither the conversationist nor the lingerer is to blame for awkward corporate bathroom experiences. Sometimes it's the fault of those who constructed the bathroom. In my current office, one of the bathroom stalls has gaps between the walls that are so wide, I once looked through it while in the stall and made eye contact with someone else waiting on the other side. Eye contact. Think about that for a second.

I used to think it was just me who had these issues, until I told a friend who said that she can't go to the bathroom at all if there's even one other person in the room. If she really has to go, she'll go to a Starbucks because all of their bathrooms are the same and single stall.

I know everyone's different, and I definitely know some people who have no problems whatsoever using multi-stall corporate bathrooms (although these people are usually conversationists). Once I saw a woman so comfortable with the bathroom that she actually placed her bagel and cream cheese (albeit on a paper plate) on the stall floor in front of her. I guess that's true corporate bathroom liberation, but I haven't gotten there yet.

What about you? Do you have issues using bathrooms at work or are you a conversationist or lingerer?

(Top image from Lonny; second image source unknown)

Milk + Cookies: Glittery Place Cards-and-Favors-in-One

2011-10-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

Dinner parties are one of my favorite things — they combine food and chit and chat into one fun evening. I'm a firm believer that no matter how small or casual a dinner party is, adding just a few thoughtful details can make it feel extra special. I think place cards are a classy touch, and I love the idea of sending guests home with a little gift. So I created this easy project to make place cards and favors in one: stamped initials on paper straws help guests find their seats, and inside each glittery milk carton is a sweet cookie treat. Many of the necessary craft supplies can be found at your local craft supplies store or online at shops like Factory Direct Craft.

Craft supplies you'll need: clean empty milk cartons, paint, glitter, straws, glitter paper, cellophane bags, a stapler, and cookies.

Step one: Paint the outside of the milk cartons in any color you'd like. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle on like-colored glitter. Let dry completely. (I covered my milk cartons in pretty white glitter, but couldn't get it to show up on camera :(

Step two: Cut out strips of paper and stamp your guests' initials on each one using a glue pad. Sprinkle glitter over glue while still wet. Let dry completely and attach each paper strip to a straw with tape.

Step three: Package cookies (make sure they're small enough to fit inside the carton) in cellophane bags and staple glitter paper over the tops to seal.

Step four: Place cookies inside each milk carton and staple milk carton closed. Place straw in the milk carton, and you're done!

Tip: If you can't find little half pint milk cartons anywhere, Whole Foods sells half pint cartons of cream.

(This post is in partnership with Factory Direct Craft.)

Do you do sexy Halloween costumes?

2011-10-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that women fall into two Halloween costume camps with minimal cross-over: those that do sexy and those that don't. I always thought I did sexy, but this week Alan informed me otherwise. I guess dressing up as a slice of pizza is only hot and steamy to some. Speaking of hot and steamy, the evolution of sexy Halloween costumes by Jillian Tamaki made me giggle. I am especially loving the sexy smelly old gym sock, and I dare Alan to say the perfect soft-boiled egg is not sexy as hell.

How to Frost Sugar Cookies the Easy Way

2011-10-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

I made frosted sugar cookies this weekend for an upcoming project (more on that later this week). It was my first time working with royal icing (which dries hard to the touch), and it was so fun. I'll have to experiment closer to Christmas with the piping and flooding technique, but for those looking for a quick way to frost, this is what I did:

1) Place a generous amount of frosting in the center of the cookie.
2) Using a butter knife, push the frosting out from the center to the edges, stopping a 1/4 inch from the edge.
3) Smooth frosting over in a circular motion.

It's definitely not the most precise method, but it's very fast and easy. For the white accents, I just filled a sandwich bag with frosting and used this tip. I think making tiny pearl borders was my favorite part of the whole thing.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Barely adapted from Blonde Designs

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour

1. Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy; add sugar and mix.
2. Add egg, salt, and vanilla; mix well.
3. Add flour. Be careful to not overmix. Wrap dough in plastic and chill several hours or overnight.
4. Roll out on floured surface and cut out cookies (keep on thicker side). Bake on ungreased sheet at 375 degrees until edges begin to barely brown. Cool completely and frost.

---

Royal Icing
From Martha Stewart

2 large egg whites, or more to thin icing
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or more to thicken icing
1 lemon, juiced

1. Beat the whites until stiff but not dry.
2. Add sugar and lemon juice; beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add more egg whites; if it is too thin, add more sugar.
3. Add food coloring if desired (I am partial to this icing color gel which produces the most vibrant colors by using just the teeniest amount). The icing may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Camel This + That + Bright Shoes

2011-10-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

{Urban Outfitters shoes, Therapy skirt, H&M sweater}

The bright purple shoes in this otherwise all-camel outfit from J. Crew (below) kill me — such a perfect, playful balance! I put together my own version of the look with an oversized, elbow-padded grandpa sweater from H&M. It's warm and slouchy and super comfortable. I can't wait to wear it on brisk walks or while eating soup inside on a rainy day.

(Photos by Alive by Shooting)

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: The Moment You Know It's Not Going to Work

2011-10-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

For some people (and for art gallery owners in movies), there is an exact moment when they know the person they’re dating is the one. Before Alan, I’d always been much better at identifying the exact moment when I knew the person I was dating was definitely not the one. My senior year of college, in a very cliché moment of life, I started seeing a guy named Sam. He didn’t go to my school, but he was in a band and had cool band-guy hair. Those two things alone were his most memorable attributes, and I let it slide that we had almost nothing in common. After all, his hair – the cool hair – and my appreciation for it, seemed, at the time, like the building blocks of a solid relationship.

After a few dates, however, I began to wonder if we’d be able to make it work. Our evenings of eating pizza together were oddly quiet, but he was a nice guy, and in a college world full of frat guys, you could do a lot worse than eat pizza with a nice guy in a band.

Halloween rolled around, and in a moment of costume brainstorming, I had a brilliant idea. “I know,” I said feverishly, my excitement growing by the second. “I’ll wrap myself in aluminum foil, stick Al on my back… and be an element!” I beamed at him. When he kept looking at me blankly, I went on, “You know, like on the periodic table.”

Finally, in the most telling moment of our humdrum relationship, he said, “What’s the periodic table?” And in that moment I knew we would never work. He pushed a lock of hair off his face, and I watched it spring perfectly back into place.

We stopped seeing each other soon after, but I always thought it'd be funny if we had made it to Halloween if he matched my costume by covering himself in salt and being the element sodium.

Have you guys had moments in your relationships where you definitely knew it was going to work or not? What happened?

(Top image source via All Women Stalk)

Painted Cross-Stitch Pumpkins

2011-10-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

For the past few years that I've carved my Halloween pumpkins, I've never been quite happy with the result, so this year I painted them instead. I made simple cross-stitch patterns using a little bit of craft paint and a skewer to create the x's. They were so much fun to make and way less messier than carving. (Though, I'll admit that I'm still smitten with these intricately carved pumpkins).

Did you decorate or carve pumpkins this year? If so, what did you make?

Heirloom Tomatoes from Stacy's Garden

2011-10-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Stacy has a sweet vegetable garden with heirloom and cherry tomatoes, herbs, and zucchini. Next year she wants to grow corn! I'm always so impressed when people grow their own food, especially since it seems impossible when I try to do it. I've been babying a tomato plant for months and months and finally, just yesterday, one of my hard green tomatoes ripened!

{my one precious tomato I successfully grew}

Brown Butter Raspberry Tart

2011-10-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I found myself with a fridge full of raspberries. Costco was selling them at some ridiculous price, and I just couldn't help myself. I wanted to start testing out recipes for the holidays with them. The idea was to make something beautiful, something a little bit fancier than your standard pumpkin pie, but also something simple that wouldn't make the holidays crazier than they already are. This brown butter raspberry tart nailed it. Aside from it being super pretty, it tastes amazing — the richness of the brown butter complements the tartness of the raspberries really well, and the shortbread crust gives every bite a nice cookie crunch ending. When I asked Alan if he wanted a piece, he said he wasn't a big fan of tarts, but politely said he'd try a little. He ended up eating half of it in one sitting. Needless to say, this is definitely a front-runner for the Thanksgiving dessert table.

Brown Butter Raspberry Tart
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Crust:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries

For crust: 
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Using rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto sides and bottom of pan.
Bake crust until golden, about 11 minutes (crust will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling: 
Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Cook butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6 minutes. (Tip: When browning butter, use a saucepan with a light-colored bottom so that you can gauge the color of the butter.) Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

Arrange raspberries, pointed side up and close together in concentric circles, in bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over berries. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet. Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan on rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

Remove tart pan sides. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

Sessun Fall/Winter Collection

2011-10-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

I am loving the Sessun fall-winter 2011-2012 collection, or le collection automne-hiver, as the French would say it. Colorful and girlish, I want to wear it all, especially the plaid coat and blue dress with berry-colored tights.

(All images via Sessun)

Life (with Cancer) After Cancer

2011-10-13T02:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was standing over a co-worker's computer talking to him about the redemption rates of digital coupons when I saw the news break that Steve Jobs had died. My hand shot up to my mouth, and we looked at each other. He said, "Well, that's not surprising."

When I picked Alan up from work, I asked if he had heard the news, and he said, "Yes. And I don't really want to talk about a guy who died from cancer." We switched topics and talked about something else the rest of the way home.

In this week's My (Mildly) Roaring 20s post, I'd like to talk about what life with Alan has been like after his own battle with cancer and the one lingering thing I thought would go away but never did.

When Alan was first diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2009, we were given heaps of tri-fold brochures and thick packets of information to read about what we could expect in the coming months. Alan felt overwhelmed staring at the stacks of paper, and for a while they sat on our coffee table untouched. I began reading through them and putting things in folders labeled: "cancer resources," "financial stuff," "what to expect when you're expecting cancer." We barely went back and referenced any of it, but I remember reading about how we could expect his hair to fall out from the chemo. I remember how amused I was when, contrary to the popular image of the bald headed cancer patient, he maintained his thick head of hair throughout treatment. They talked about how his skin would dry and how his nails would crack and turn yellow. (It turned out his nails were fine, but they were right about his skin, which grew rough, like sandpaper). And there were 24-hour hotline numbers printed on the back of all the brochures for those desperate moments, I assumed, when he'd need someone, anyone, to talk to. I pointed these out to Alan in case he ever felt the need, but he never called those numbers. I guess those numbers aren't for everyone.

{In exactly 1/2 of the pictures I take of Alan, his eyes are closed. Here is proof.}

For all the preparation we received, there was one thing that no one ever mentioned: that after it was all over (the chemo, the radiation, the deep-seated fear, the blood tests, the scans), it would never really be all over. Of course, some of it is long gone, but the fear, the thing that I assumed would disappear when he got better, never went away.

It’s gotten better over time, but for a while, every week there’d be a new crisis: this weird pain in his left shoulder, this dull ache in his leg. To him, they all signaled the return of his cancer. It seemed that the better things got in life, the more he had to lose and the more paranoid he became of his body’s impending betrayal. When he'd start to worry, it would be intense, keeping him up at night and weighing him down.

When friends and family ask me how Alan’s doing these days, I say he’s doing great — because he is — but I never tell them about the fear. For the longest time, I couldn’t really explain it. I didn’t know how to put it into words that wouldn’t sound silly. Then my friend Irene sent me this xkcd comic (above) with a note “thought you should see this” and it was like ah ha! This explains it exactly.

When the fear sets in, all I can do is reassure him that that weird pain — a pain that would simply be a nuisance to anyone else — is probably nothing and that he’s going to be okay. And, also, to not talk about Steve Jobs.

Wise Words for Creatives

2011-10-12T02:30:00.000-07:00

As a blogger and a writer, I'm always looking to improve. I want to take better pictures, write more compelling stories... the list is endless. Some days, I'm more optimistic about my progress than others. On the bad days, I feel like I'm not doing enough — not enough, not better, not faster. It can be a catty, catty game that drives me crazy. But then I read or hear something that really inspires me. One person's work that I really admire for knowing how to captivate audiences so well is Ira Glass's. My friend Stacy got me totally hooked on his radio show, This American Life. He's an amazing storyteller. Since I'm a fairly new listener, I'd assumed he'd always been a genius storyteller, so it surprised me when I read this (slightly paraphrased) quote by him on how he thought his work sucked for years when he first started and how this is normal for creative people who create great work. In this videocast series where the quote is from, he talks about how he thinks he still sucked after he'd been broadcasting for eight years! If he can struggle for nearly a decade and be as great as he is, there's hope for the rest of us.

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through that."

— Ira Glass

5 Ingredient Wheat Bread in 5 Easy Steps

2011-10-10T02:30:00.000-07:00

For a long time, this no-knead bread was my go-to recipe whenever I wanted to make bread at home, but then Ali shared her wheat bread recipe with me and now I have two keepers — they're both so good. The no-knead recipe makes a more rustic, bakery-like loaf (great for impressing the host at your next dinner party), while this wheat recipe makes a good everyday loaf for things like toast and sandwiches.

Aside from the fact that this recipe takes about 4 hours to make (don't worry, most of that is just rise time), it's virtually foolproof. The first time I made it, it looked like a gloopy, sticky, unformable mess. After the first step, I set it aside in a bowl and forgot about it because I had written it off as a lost cause. When I came back in the kitchen 2 hours later, it was practically overflowing in the bowl, but looked more like dough should. I decided to heck with it, followed the rest of the recipe, and out came two mighty fine loaves.

Now, this is a sticky dough. There's just no way around it. But the trick, I've learned, is to not follow the measurements too closely. Just keep throwing flour in the bowl until it looks a little less gloopy, sticky, and unformable. After combining all the ingredients and kneading for 5 minutes, my dough looked like the above.

After the first hour-long rise, the dough should look smoother (and lots more friendly, don't you think?) My favorite part is folding the dough in on itself.

Since this recipe makes two loaves, it's perfect for slicing up, sticking in the freezer, and pulling a few slices out in the morning for breakfast throughout the week or for dinner in the evenings. Having fresh hot toast with a slather of butter and blueberry jam in the mornings beats cold cereal any day.

Easy 5-Ingredient, 5-Step Wheat Bread

Adapted from How to Sew a Button, as told to me by Ali

3 overflowing cups whole wheat flour

3 overflowing cups bread flour (all purpose will work, too)

3 3/4 cups tepid water (2 1/2 cups cold + 1 1/4 cups boiling)

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 teaspoon yeast

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Knead until dough comes together into one collective mass. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for one hour.

2. Oil a large bowl and set aside. Remove plastic wrap and transfer dough to oiled bowl. Fold dough in on itself, bringing the bottom edge up to the center, the top edge down to the center and then both sides into the center. Cover and let rise for one hour.

3. Dump dough onto a floured surface (or floured parchment paper if you want to avoid cleanup). Split dough into two pieces. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

4. Form each piece of dough into a rectangle and fold in thirds, then in half, and then roll to the length of the loaf pan. (I found that the dough was too sticky to do any sort of folding, so I just sorta rolled it and then plopped it into the pan, and it still turned out fine. If you've never folded/rolled dough before (like me), you might find these step-by-step pictures helpful.) Place dough in greased pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. After 1 hour, the dough should rise to the top of the pan. If it doesn't, let it sit for 30 minute intervals until it does.

5. Bake at 425 degrees in the center of your oven for 20-25 minutes. The top will be golden brown. Remove bread from oven and immediately dump loaves out of pans and onto cooling racks. Let sit for 1 hour before slicing. (Or, if you can't fight fresh home-baked bread either, eat right away, preferably with salted butter).

Sweaters & Specks of Gold

2011-10-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

This week has been rainy and cold, and (surprisingly!) I found that I really enjoyed the brisk weather. It makes me want to get cozy, drink lots of coffee and hot tea, and listen to holiday tunes. Since it's a little too early in the season to break out my Christmas cds, I'll settle for thick knits and pretty splashes of gold.

1 J. Crew bright purple sweater

2 Edor asymmetrical gold necklace

3 KraeO chunky knit scarf

4 Pedlars porcelain milk cartons

5 Hygge & West wallpaper

My (Mildly) Roaring 20s: Living with Boys

2011-10-06T02:30:00.000-07:00

(img via TBI vision)

Remember last week when I said I wanted to start writing more? Well, I've been thinking about it, and I would love to write something like Joanna Goddard's weekly blog series on motherhood. She has a 1.5 year old and always has funny and touching insights to share on her experiences as a new mom. I thought about what I could write about that I'm an "expert" on. After many conversations with myself in the shower, I decided that being in my eighth year of my 20s, I am sort of an expert on things that can happen to you during this exciting decade of life. (Okay, that is kind of a vast overstatement if I ever heard one, so let's just say that at the very least, I have lots of stories to tell from this span of my life.)

Now that I had the topic squared away, I needed a title for the series. Something catchy (Joanna's series is aptly titled "Motherhood Mondays"). "My Roaring 20s" sounded fun but also made it sound like I live a life like Beyonce's — all glamorous and private planes and mini bar indulgences — so I toned it down a little to make it more accurate. And there you have it: the whole story on how this little series came to be. For my first post, I'd like to talk about living with boys and having a platonic boy roommate, which I did my senior year of college.

In my senior year of college, for a few reasons that left me without a place to live a few weeks before school began, I found myself living with three boys named John, Lawrence, and Keith in a spacious (relatively speaking) 2-bedroom apartment. Keith and I shared a room and Lawrence and John shared the other. If you were to ask me today if I could share a room with a boy with whom I had a non-romantic relationship, I'd probably say I couldn't. That I liked to be in my underwear too much and all that kind of stuff. But back then, it didn't feel weird at all to be sharing a room with a guy I barely knew. This could have either been because they were all in the engineering department (Keith was even in a fraternity named Triangle) or because they were just really nice guys. It was probably a little bit of both.

Keith and I arranged our beds along opposite sides of the room and placed our desks so that they faced each other. We often did our work there in the evenings and would take breaks to share a story from our days. As we became more comfortable with each other, it also became okay to put on headphones to indicate to the other person when we wanted to be alone, even when we were just a few feet apart. In a shared living space where you are almost never alone, this was greatly appreciated.

Our schedules were such that we often made dinner together. Keith would make one of the four things within his repertoire — bean and cheese burritos, pasta, a bowl of cereal, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich — while I would make one of the three things within my repertoire — frozen pad thai from Trader Joe's, soy tacos, or a bowl of cereal — and then we'd sit down to eat while discussing all of life's greatest matters. He would tell me about how much he liked his girlfriend, and I would tell him about the incredible nap I took in the library between classes. Sometimes I'd ask his opinion on the current boy I was dating, and he'd always tell me honestly if he thought they were duds (most of them were).

I wasn't as close to the other boys in the apartment, but we still got along well. Sometimes we'd all go to Triangle's frat parties as a sort of roommate bonding event where we would drink keg beer and solve differential equations. (Just kidding. About the beer.)

It was a different dynamic than when I'd lived with girls, and each situation had its own pros and cons. In some ways, living with the boys felt like less of a competitive environment, and I never heard any of them calling any of the other guys fat (which, sadly, I witnessed one of my previous girl roommates do), but I still missed having women around and getting their perspective on my thoughts and ideas. I wonder if I didn't live with Alan now if I'd choose to live with boys, girls, or a mix? Or maybe alone?

Who do you live with and do you have a preference?

For the Love of Food Styling: Tabletop Construction

2011-10-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about our place is the kitchen which is way bigger than any of the kitchens we've had in the past. It even has fancy granite-top counters which is amazing for making things like bread, soft pretzels, or pie crust. The one down side to granite counters is they don't really provide the clean white background I like to have in my food photos. At first I tried using foam core as a backdrop — snooze. Then I tried white tablecloth — better. Still though, I wanted something that looked rustic and more kitchen-like. What I really wanted was an old whitewashed farm table, but even though our kitchen is bigger, it's definitely not huge.

I'd been thinking about a few different solutions, but they all involved building things with tools (which is not my forte) or winning the lottery. Then I went over to Ali and Elijah's house and realized Elijah is quite the carpenter — for fun, he made a baking cabinet for Ali to store all of her cake supplies in. So this weekend, my super handy and awesome neighbors helped me build the next best thing to a table: a tabletop made up of one 2x4! It fits right on my counter, stores easily, and makes for the perfect food photography backdrop. It took a just few hours to put together and to paint and cost $20 for all the materials. I haven't been this excited about taking food photos in a long time! It looks quite table-y, don't you think?

My First Layer Cake — Banana with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-10-03T02:30:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm in a bakery, there is always one thing my eyes are drawn to and that my heart completely fawns all over: the tall, beautiful layer cakes. Then my brain kicks in and reminds me that being in my apartment with an entire cake in my fridge would probably be a bad, bad thing, so I always end up staring longingly through the glass and going home with a cream cheese croissant. I've thought about making one myself, but the thought of making a layer cake has always intimidated me.

Luckily, my new neighbor just so happens to be a professional cake baker! I brought over 6 really spotty, mushy bananas, and together we made the banana cake that I had at my birthday. Ali walked me through the steps on how to properly cut cakes in half, how to create a crumb coat, and how to end up with smooth frosting over everything. (A video tutorial will be coming shortly!) The cake was incredible and tastes so much like the banana cake at my favorite bakery Icing on the Cake. If you love banana desserts, go get some spotty bananas and make this asap!

Banana Cake

(source unknown)

Note: The recipe below makes one 8" cake. We doubled the recipe to make two 8" cakes for one 8" 4-layer cake. (Layers are so fun!)

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3; the riper/mushier/spottier the better)

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup shortening (we substituted shortening for butter because shortening kind of freaks me out)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease one 8" round cake pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add bananas, buttermilk, shortening (or butter), and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Add eggs; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; cool thoroughly on racks. Frost with cream cheese icing.

Fall Favorites

2011-09-30T02:30:00.000-07:00

Fall is officially here, and even though the Bay Area was still really warm this week, I can't wait until the weather cools to get bundled up and cozy. For me, fall revolves around dressing in warm sweaters, scarves, and boots with either simple gold jewelry or big, fun statement pieces to balance all of fall's earthy tones. Here's what I'm looking forward to doing the most and the pieces that would be the perfect way to usher in this new season:

*Making soups and homemade bread and having friends over to eat it with. Perfect host outfit: these cheerful flats and pretty drusy bracelet.
*Painting pumpkins. Last year, we carved pumpkins and they quickly (and sadly) turned into mush. This year we're skipping the carving altogether and painting our pumpkins instead. This tweed blazer and dainty gold ring from ShopNBC would be fun to scope out pumpkins in at the pumpkin patch.
*Getting ready for the holiday season and dressing in bows, sequins and pearls.
*Catching up on good books, drinking pumpkin lattes, and wearing wool shorts, tights, and bold cocktail rings.

What are you most excited about this fall?

(This post is in partnership with ShopNBC. However, please note that I choose to feature only those items that I truly would enjoy wearing myself.)

Celebrity Crushes

2011-09-29T02:30:00.000-07:00

While we're on the topic of girl crushes, do you have a celebrity girl crush? Mine would definitely be Keri Russell. She has such a natural, friendly look. (Is it weird to describe someone's look as friendly?) I've loved her since Felicity, so it was a pleasant nostalgic surprise to find that Netflix is streaming all four seasons of the show. I'm re-watching from the very beginning, and at first I thought it might feel like a guilty pleasure, especially since I started watching the show when I was a freshmen in high school, but I can say for sure that it's still one of my favorite shows ever. I love the music, the quiet, moody way it's shot, and how exciting it makes NY look. Not to mention that looker Scott Speedman! (When my friend Jennifer used to live in L.A., she'd see Scott Speedman at the coffee shop down the block from her apartment, and I'd always feel giddy when she'd text me about her Scott sightings).

p.s. Alan has a devoted man crush on Matthew McConaughey ;)

(second image via Lily Lemontree, bottom image via people.com)

Girl Crush: Ali + Her Anthro-esque Apartment

2011-09-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

This might sound kind of weird, but the other day I was writing an email to an old friend whom I admire when I realized that I have a girl crush on every single one of my friends, each for their own unique reasons. It made me happy to think about because aren't those exactly the kinds of people you want to surround yourself with? Well, in an attempt to share what makes them awesome, I'm starting a new series to feature all of my girl crushes. And I hope you'll like them as much as I do!

Kicking off the series is my friend Ali who just recently moved into our neighborhood (lucky us!) She lives in the cutest apartment with her husband Elijah and her cat Greg. Walking into her place feels like walking into an Anthropologie catalog — and who doesn't want to live in an Anthropologie catalog? It's vibrant and artsy but relaxed and homey at the same time. (Sometimes I joke that I want to live there too. And that I could just fit right under the kitchen table. And then everyone laughs. But really I'm being serious.)

Here's Ali's home tour and her wise words on home style. Thanks, Ali!

1) How would you describe your decor style?

It's eclectic and undone. Lots of colors and patterns, and lots of visibly stored things, like stacks of dishes in the kitchen, piles of books everywhere. These past few months I have LOVED pretending like I live on an old farm somewhere (the constant buzz of cars on the freeway tends to disappear into the background noise after awhile). Our old creaky floors and vintage kitchen really do add to the imagination!

2) How does your apartment reflect how you live?

When my husband, Elijah, and I moved in a month ago, I had the week off of work; talk about a decorator's dream! I spent the week putting things away, propping up photos, and organizing what I could. As the month progressed I saw our habits, like piling books and electronics and pretty much everything that fits within a 2'x4' space on our coffee table. I know this isn't going to change, and I don't really want to allow style to take priority over comfort, so I had to find a way to work with our habits. I neatly stacked the 22 books/magazines on our table in 5 piles, added a basket for remotes and mail, and voila!

3) What is your favorite room and why?

The kitchen, I tell you, THE KITCHEN!! It's my favorite room in our home for so many reasons. This is the room my imagination gets carried away in most, and I often need to remind myself it is NOT the 1950's, I am NOT a housewife, and we do NOT live on a quaint dairy farm in the middle of a beautiful field out yonder, as much as I do wish we did. I love to cook, and I bake professionally, so those are the practical reasons why I love the kitchen. But it's more than that. I love our collection of dishes and cloths, which makes setting the table, even if for just me and my lover, so fun and sweet. I love that what we use is what we see. I can cook an entire meal and never have to open a cupboard for any utensils or pots/pans. In the kitchen, these are the decorations: pots and pans hang on the wall, strainers on the side of the cupboard, utensils sit in buckets, and our everyday dishes look so crisp in stacks in our door-less cupboard. The kitchen is a place where I can serve my friends and family, and there isn't much that I know of that provides more comfort than the expectancy of a meal with those you love.

4) What inspires you?
I have a few things that always inspire me, such as the store Anthropologie, or my favorite Swedish organizer at chezlarsson.com. And then there are those special finds that unexpectedly send me on a surge of creativity or productivity. The most recent find occurred while watching one of my favorite movies (and book) The Help. Did you see it? Do you remember the scene where Skeeter is sitting in Aibileen's kitchen with her and Minny and they stay up all night recalling stories? Well, I went home that day, and I had all new hopes and dreams for our kitchen. This is where the 1950's farm house comes in. I loved that the kitchen was used, and comfortable, and easy. Things were where they are handy, and it didn't feel like Aibileen was hiding any fancy china behind closed doors. This makes me happy because I don't have any china. But thats beside the point. What inspires you?

5) What are your favorite places to find pieces?
My favorite places to find pieces are places that are cheap or free. For example, the side of the road, garage sales, thrift stores, even friends. At all hours too. My favorite dresser (which has been banned to the porch for lack of inside space and is now transformed into a makeshift planter) was found on the side of the road in Capitola one cold fall midnight. Our couch came from a church that was giving it away, and we are borrowing our desk from our friend's basement (she knows). I don't take things I won't like, BUT I do have to think creatively about furniture and home decor I see. Can it be painted or covered and be just what I was looking for? Sometimes I take free things just to experiment at home in hopes of liking it. After all, I can always give it away if I change my mind.

6) What's your advice to people who are trying to create their own beautiful space?
I can give decorating advice on how to create your own beautiful space, but only if your beautiful space has the same style as mine. What I mean is, I'm not an interior designer, but I know what I love, and what makes my home enjoyable to my husband and me. You must do the same. Think of those who spend time inside your home, including yourself, and make a list of what you want out of your home. A place to entertain? A place to take off your shoes and put your feet up? How about a place to display your crazy penguin collection? Once you decide how your space will be truly used, you know what you can be looking for to fill it with. A beautiful space will come out of enjoying your home.
As for advice on how do do some fantastic organizing and decoration? You really should check out: www.chezlarsson.com.

Weekly Ponderings Coming Soon

2011-09-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog almost 4 years ago, I used to write a lot of stories about what was happening in my life. And then about a year ago, I moved away from that for a number of reasons, but one of them was because writing a new story — a good one that I'd want to post — every day was stressing me out. Lately though, I've been wanting to get back to more writing, so hopefully once a week, you'll find a post here on the other things I think about besides good food, charming things, and beautiful clothes. Like life and work and relationships. I hope you'll read and enjoy and let me know your thoughts. :)

(top image from honestlywtf; bottom image by snap a booty)

The Spaghetti Bolognese of My Dreams

2011-09-26T02:30:00.001-07:00

In our neighborhood, there's a cute Italian restaurant that has an all-you-can-eat-spaghetti special on Wednesdays for something like $7 a person. Alan and I passed by it a few times before one day, on a whim — a crazy, carb-fiending whim — we decided to try it. While we waited, my hunger grew, and with it, my hopes and dreams for this pasta. I hoped it would taste out-of-this-world, unlike any spaghetti I'd ever had, but when it came, over-boiled noodles and watery tomato sauce and all, I realized that it was actually just like all the other bowls of spaghetti I'd ever eaten. It shouldn't have surprised me because, like all disappointing relationships, I had built it up in my head despite its lackluster track record, only to be let down once again.

I thought maybe that I would never find the spaghetti sauce of my dreams, and I started getting used to the idea, until last month when I had the best lasagna of my life. Made up of both bechamel and bolognese sauces, the lasagna was gut-bustingly decadent. But alone, the bolognese sauce is flavorful and hearty enough to make a really amazing bowl of spaghetti. We had it for dinner this weekend, and this is the one! It's also pretty simple to make with a straightforward list of ingredients, which is my preferred level of cooking involvement.

A few notes:

*This recipe requires grated carrots. Who knew that would taste so good in a spaghetti sauce?

*Not to be brand snobby, but I recommend Barilla spaghetti as a sauce accompaniment. It's my favorite for cooking perfect al dente pasta.

*If you'd like to watch a video on how to make this sauce before you get started, go here. Or go there anyway because I love the way Gordon Ramsay says oregano "aura-gone-o."

* Don't forget the freshly grated parmesan!

Bolognese Sauce

As adapted from Gordon Ramsay

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 large onion, peeled and grated

1 large carrot, grated

4 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

2 pinches oregano

~.6 pounds ground beef

1 tbsp tomato puree

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp red wine

1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in your frying pan over a moderate heat.

Place the grated carrot and onion in the pan to soften. Softening will sweeten the onions and carrots and keep them moist. You want your onion to become translucent. Softening is different from frying — if your onions start to brown, you are frying them, so remove from the heat immediately.

Crush in your garlic and add in the dried oregano and bay leaf and stir.

Now you're ready to add the ground beef. Make a well in the center of the pan and add it in. It's really important that you don't have large clumps of beef. Take a wooden spoon and stab the pan to break up the meat. Carry on repeating this motion until the ground beef is fine. Now season the beef with salt and pepper and fold it through the vegetables to incorporate everything together. Breaking down the ground beef means that every bit of beef can be equally infused with all the flavors.

Create a well in the center of your pan and add the tomato puree. Allow the puree to sweat off for a few seconds, letting the tomato puree cook a little which helps remove the acidity. Then stir through the beef, carrots and onions. Make sure that the onions, carrots and mince are all coated in the tomato puree. You can see this as this happens — everything takes on a slightly red color.

Then add the wine. Reduce to a simmer to allow it to reduce slightly so that the alcohol flavor is cooked out.

Then add the chopped tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce and stir through. Finally add in the milk, this will enrich the sauce and add some sweetness.

Allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes.

Top with a generous serving of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Let's Polka (Dot)!

2011-09-23T02:30:00.000-07:00

Polka dots are huge this fall, and I must say that I love it. They strike the balance between simple and classic but still a little quirky — just my kind of combination! I'm also so happy that bow blouses are everywhere (because they are my favorite, even though Alan hates them). I think they are more my favorite now than ever because we just finished watching four seasons of Mad Men in one month (I know, what is wrong with us? Oh yeah, that's right, that show is amazing!) and Joan and Peggy sure know how to rock their bow blouses.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Goat Hill Fair and Farm

2011-09-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my friend Ali invited me to go antiquing with her at a fair in Los Gatos. It was called Goat Hill Fair because it was held at an actual goat farm (pictured above). The couple that lives here bought the property years ago and inherited all the goats with it. Now their grown children and grandkids all live on the farm too, and together they run a goat business. Isn't that straight out of a book? It's quite a spacious farm with gardens (filled with plump tomatoes and corn) and pretty overlooks — I think it'd be a really neat place to get married. It kind of blows my mind to think that just a few miles away from all the high-tech techiness going on in the Silicon Valley there can be places like this that hum along at a much slower pace.

{I never knew I wanted a hill full of goats until this weekend}

{the vendors all did cool things with their spaces, like putting in a makeshift swing}

{a cake stand I didn't get but am still thinking about}

{cute idea for Christmas — starfish Santas}

(second from top image credit: Abundant Picnic)

Best Response to the Introduction of Qwikster.com

2011-09-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

Are you following all the shenanigans surrounding Netflix lately? They recently announced a new pricing structure which certainly riled a few feathers, but late Sunday their CEO Reed Hastings sent out an email to let everyone know they're splitting up their streaming and DVD by mail service entirely. Their DVD by mail service is getting completely re-branded and will now be known as Qwikster.com, while their streaming service will still go by Netflix. But the best part, and perhaps the most maddening of all, is that the sites won't be integrated. From the 21,857 comments posted on Reed's blog post (the one above made me laugh), no one else seems to get it either. Since I'm a total movie junkie, I just downgraded to streaming movies only, but I wonder how many people will be canceling their Netflix subscriptions altogether. Do you subscribe to Netflix? What do you think about this new change?

p.s. a really funny comic on this topic (thanks Sarah!)

Beautiful Food Styling + Photography

2011-09-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

Some beautiful food photography from the always amazing Cannelle et Vanille to brighten up your Monday morning. I've been enamored with her blog ever since a friend introduced me — her styling is so, so gorgeous. Anytime I meet a new photographer friend, I always ask them to give me tips on how to take better food photos like Aran's, but now something even better. She's teaching a workshop at The Makerie — a creative retreat in Boulder, Colorado. I'm so excited! Would you ever want to go? I'm off to work to get my vacation request on. Have a delicious day!