Currently

Planning a menu for my Summer Solstice Party, so many things I want to make!
Rehearsing a presentation that I will give to one of the VP Staff Meetings at my company, nervous!
Stretching for one hour each day with P90X StretchX.
Getting ready for a California-long road trip. Driving 12 hours north for Fourth of July family festivities
Enjoying fig-infused balsamic vinegar
Looking forward to my trip to Hawaii to see Garrett and Jenny in September!

Summer Projects

I love June. New projects, New energy. Beach Days. Long summer evenings with iced tea and great summer reading. It still feels like school just let out and I have two months to be completely ecstatic about. 

One of my favorite authors, Sarah Ban Breathnach describes June the best in Romancing the Ordinary, "...Leave the back door open, turn the sprinkler on, and dare to be bare. Revel in the unfinished, the improvised, the gloriously imperfect. Dunk strawberries and romance your flaws. Linger in the twilight of a summer's day, dance with the fireflies, wink at the full moon. Believe in Midsummer magic...Let each day's brushstrokes reveal the incomparable beauty of your stilled life. Moments you once called ordinary now seem infused with grace."

Here are my top three summer projects and the inspiration that goes along with each one:

1. Summer Solstice Party--I'm throwing a fun backyard dinner party with some of my best girlfriends at my new place in Santa Monica. This is the first time that I've ever thrown a party to celebrate the start of summer, but I'm think this is a yearly tradition that I just might have to keep! 

Here is the invitation that I made

 
                       My inspiration for the table settings and menu:

 Love the unique ingredients in the water and lemonade!

 Love these color combinations and her big floppy beach hat! I think it is a must for the summer.

 What a fun way to serve veggies!

 I'm borrowing my sister's wedding party lanterns and some strands of white lights from my Mom. My Mom is also shipping me a gorgeous blue and yellow tablecloth that I had bought from the Amalfi Coast of Italy when I traveled there in 2005. It will be perfect for a backyard party with lots of citrusy, lemon-inspired dishes on the menu!

 An outdoor s'more buffet! I love it!

 pink and yellow are just so pretty together! Now I want to start searching for a cute yellow sundress! I do think yellow is my color of inspiration for this month.

2.  New Summer WorkOut Routine! I came across this new exercise routine called the "100" Workout, and have started completing two rounds of this each day! It has been the ultimate fitness challenge, but I feel so great afterwards once I make it through my last wobbly set of squats at the end. It has definitely made me drink more water and be much more aware of my hydration levels in order to make it through the workout. I will be sharing my tips and strategies each week, since that is always the part I enjoy doing the most at work to.

3. Finishing my Art Studio Area
The multiple moves in the last year have really made it difficult for me to settle in and put down roots in a place. This weekend I decided to start going through boxes of my art supplies and paper materials so that I can finally set up a Art Studio Corner. This will entail me buying a new corner desk and setting up a wide bookcase that can house some bins of art supplies as well. I cannot wait to get started on this project! I'm planning on looking for a used desk and bookcase that I can repurpose and repaint easily. My sister's desk project inspired me!

Coming Back

It has been over four months since I last wrote on my blog and the guilt has been following me around every single month. It was always on the never-ending to-do list to get back to posting, but it never was one of my top priorities this last spring. Now, priorities in my life have shifted, and have forced me to take a look at what I really enjoy spending time doing outside of the office.

I feel lucky to have a job that I'm absolutely passionate about, but the downside to that is spending far too much time at work and enough time in other areas of life that used to matter more. Writing creatively is one of those. Looking back over my posts from five years ago, I really miss my daily musings and documenting of Life. A very close friend told me something wonderful and very true, "Writing makes you exact." I haven't sufficiently captured a lot of special moments in the past year or two on here, and so it is time for me to return so that I can be exact in creating a wonderful collection of stories and musings about year that I know my Future Self will really enjoy reflecting back on.

So it is time to for me to spend a little more time writing here in my little corner of the web. I hope you will join me, even if my writing feels a little rusty and out of practice right now. I enjoy sharing the process with all of you.

7 Things I Love Monday

I have decided to start a new feature where I'll list 10 things I currently love each Monday. I have an entire folder devoted to just photos of inspiration on my computer, so I thought it would be fun to pick a theme each week and share the ones that I find most magical with you all.

1. Marie Antoinette--The Movie. The feathers, the lace, the eccentric headpieces--what's not to love about all of the French Court costumes featured in this movie. Every single frame of the film was eye candy.

2. I really do covet this fun little silver textured dress that looks amazing on Reese Witherspoon.

3. Love Jessica Simpson's great handbag! Perfect for an artsy day outing or an overnight bag. I think I could really put everything I needed for a weekend all in that one bag. Call me a backwards vegetarian--but I love the feel of soft leather!

4. Sorry I can't help but return to Marie Antoinette--the shoes!! I die. So pretty in pink--where can I order a pair?

5. I think I just love the white dress because she is throwing confetti while wearing it--I can't help but want the dress too. What if I announced my arrival at work with a handful of confetti just once?

6. The pairing of the coat and the boots-divine. And just pretending that I myself could be traipsing around in London today--even better. 

7. Another lovely winter ensemble--great cut of a coat paired with white tights and wedges.

My Weekly Habits of Health -- Week of January 30

1.  I love the picture above because I've been working on making my kitchen and eating spaces as cozy and inviting as possible lately so that I enjoy the process of slowing down and cooking more.  I would love to sit down at this table and have breakfast each morning. I just can't get enough of freshly cut flowers and plants all around the house. My goal is to pick some out to bring home to my kitchen this week. Just a side note: World Market has the cutest little indoor herb garden kits out right now! All of these ideas just inspire to keep eating fresh and to spend more time cooking homemade, comforting meals.
2. Preparing my meals on Sundays for the week ahead. This is such a huge help and has really become a therapeutic process for me. Today I made the delicious winter soup below that was featured on Cannelle et Vanille, a blog that you really must start following. She will inspire you to get into your kitchen and start chopping! This Lentil and Root Vegetable Soup recipe made an enormous pot that will make for some great lunches and dinners for me this week. Today I also bought myself a set of new knives (much needed!), so that I could tackle this recipe with the ease of chopping vegetables with good quality cutlery. So glad that I did! 
3. Wake up happy! My goal this week is to go to bed at a reasonable hour each night so that I can actually wake up feeling well-rested. This morning was the first time in a very long while that I slept that deeply the entire night! I want to feel that awake and energized every morning. I need time for tea and journaling my morning pages in my favorite nook in the house. I've set my desk up so that it faces a fantastic sunny window and so that it also looks out to the backyard where I can see the new grass and flowers shooting up. My goal this week is to wake up and immediately write five things for which I am thankful each morning. Having gratitude is such a powerful way to begin our days.

(photo source)

4. Look to exercise to complete my day. I feel completely recharged and at peace with my typical stressors after a great workout, and yet I still try to cheat myself out of my work-outs. I have to remind myself of how much clearer my mind becomes and how much lighter my feet seem after a heart-pumping visit to the gym. I absolutely love running along the beach right after work! This week I'm really looking forward to taking the 7 PM circuit training and yoga classes at my gym.

5. A new pet is such great medicine. After much deliberation and thought, I finally caved in and adopted a little 6-month old cat named Petunia from the local shelter. I can hardly wait until Tuesday afternoon when I can actually bring her home and get her settled in. Lauralen and I had so much fun shopping for all of Petunia's accessories on Saturday Night. Furry Mice Toys--Check. Collar--Check. Plush cat bed--Check. Litter Box and More--Check. Adorable Cat food and water dishes--Check. Too much fun!

I just might have to get Petunia a friend :)

IFC's Portlandia--"Put a Bird On It!"

If you haven't already seen this...Enjoy!

My Weekly Habits of Health -- Week of January 23rd

 

Blue and White-Washed Mornings

Listening to: "My Moon My Man" by Feist

Hello!

I was spoiled with gorgeous weather this weekend in LA! It was my three-day weekend, and I was completely giddy about getting to sleep in a bit on Friday morning. After some journaling and an americano in the neighborhood Starbucks, I drove up the coast a little ways to Santa Monica to enjoy the ocean and meet up with Michael. We were trying to pick a fun half-way meeting spot and decided on meeting up in Malibu for an afternoon at the Getty Villa--one of my favorite art museums of all. This was my second visit and Michael's first--so we sat on the cafe's patio for hours and just talked and talked. And then when we came upon a pause in our thoughts, we decided it was time to take a look at the actual art. Soaking up the sunshine in the Villa's gardens completely inspired me to buy lemon and verbena lime trees of my very own. I also decided that I most definitely want to buy a little water fountain for my office.

Wedding dress-gorgeous. Hair piece-adorable! Reminds me of cotton candy.

 Do you love magazine clippings as much as I do?

What a sweet and dreamy photo! Love all of the extra light that they captured in the frame.

This photo reminds me of the time I drove down the beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy. Absolutely love how they stylized this photo with beautiful fashion yet lightened it up with some playful balloons.

Saturday Morning Eye Candy

Who doesn't want to throw a little fun brunch or dinner party on the weekends with a lovely table setting like these?

I love throwing dinner parties and have actually been known to flip through Bridal magazines for new ideas on fun table arrangements and colors. I absolutely love Rebecca Thuss' of color palettes!

I think my next theme will be a seaside buffet--I live so close to the beach now (2-3 miles) that I can't help but want to incorporate more seaside themes into my decor. It's so soothing to look at whitewashed walls, clear hurricane lamps full of seashells and white pebbles, and foamy blue accents.

Weekend Love

I'm going to spend this January weekend:

• enjoying my new chai tea mix
• deep cleaning my bedroom: new sheets, scrubbing the hardwood floors, reorganizing my closet, and sorting my art supplies
• Going to the beach with my best friends: Lauralen and Heidi!
• Planning our girls getaway weekend to Monterey for this spring
• Dressing up and going out to dinner somewhere in the Beach Cities--Manhattan or Hermosa
• Meeting up with Lauren for a Sunday morning brunch and scrapbooking sess up in Sunland. Poor Lauren was sick with the stomach flu! 
• Spending some more time with the Artist's Way--I've fallen behind on my morning pages!

Wishing you all a beautiful and relaxing weekend ahead!

Pure Photography Inspiration for Today

Such lovely photos on Anna's and Melanie's sites: 
Anna Malin: http://heltenkelthosmig.blogspot.com/
Melanie Acevedo: http://www.melanieacevedo.com/

I absolutely loved browsing through their gorgeous portfolios this evening.

There are certain days when I just love my job with so much. Today was one of those days as I was able to climb up on enormous F-18s to take a look at what was causing some of our employees to get injured on the job. Crawling all over fighter jets had me beaming from ear to ear, I just couldn't help it. 

2011

(photo source: unknown)

Here I am again and it feels so good to be back writing here! I will be writing up a storm in 2011!