These boots were made for walkin'.

So there was definitely a chill in the air today here, which makes me think that the nice crisp Fall weather will be hear soon! I have just a few (okay maybe a little more than a few) boots on my winter wardrobe wishlist (what? do you not have one of these? you should get started on your own then, soon!). And really, all roads lead to Frye. My husband has a pair and I think he looks so dang handsome when he wears them :) So, I think it is about time I get a pair of my own. Now, how do I narrow these down?

I like Frye because they last forever (my mother-in-law still has hers from forever ago!) and they have a little country in them, but not too much.

I will still need these in California... right? I mean, maybe they will not be as much of a necessity as they are here in Colorado, but still totally justifiable!

Tuesday tunes.

Stone and I have been listening to Jason Mraz's version of 'Spirit In The Sky' a lot lately and we really love everything about it :)

A belated birthday gift.

I just received a belated-birthday package in the mail yesterday from my sister. She cannot really keep secrets so I already knew what was inside :)

She sent me a copy of Creative, inc. The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business, and I just cannot wait to start reading it (but my husband ha taken it hostage and will most likely read through it before me). First of all, Stone and I are always open to new ideas of bettering our photography business. Also, I would love to get into graphic design and incorporate that into Stone Crandall Photography somehow, too! I have designed a few shower invites for friends over the past few years and have loved it, I just need to find time to actually pursue it.

And a fun note... one of the writers of this book is a blogger and I already read her posts daily and love them!

You can go here to buy your own copy.

xo.

Moving day.

Today was spent carrying boxes down three flights of stairs and then back up again, grabbing more boxes, and back down. Great work-out, but very tiring! Thankfully we had the help of my sweet father-in-law, Scoot, who probably carried more boxes than Stone and I combined! This is our first of two moves in the next month and a half (next will be to California!)! Whew, I am tired just thinking about it.

We are now settling into Stone's parent's home in Fort Collins and are looking forward to a good night's sleep.

By the way, Scoot was kind enough to point out my unfortunate misspelling of bowls on one of the boxes (and my husband was kind enough to take a picture of it!). This is what happens when you are packing at all hours of the night, and possibly distracted by the Emmy's on TV!

I will be back to my normal self again tomorrow.

Until then. xo.

Have a musical weekend.

Stone and I just got back from our hot date.

It was lovely :) We had an amazing meal in a beautiful setting at Beatrice and Woodsley. So delish! On our way home we listened to the burned cd in my car with mostly Glee songs and it made me realize two things... one: I cannot even wait for the new season to begin! Does anyone know when this is going to happen? two: I have now been listening to these songs on repeat for the last two weeks and I am still not tired of them. I just roll down the windows and sing my little heart out, I love it.

Tomorrow (and the rest of the weekend) we have to pack... like everything! It is going to take some serious time and work, but I am excited for the things we have ahead of us if only I could close my eyes and twitch my nose and everything would magically be in Fort Collins, oh well...

We also have a family photo shoot thrown in the mix this weekend and we just cannot even wait! Busy, busy.

Here are some fun little treats! xo.

A yummy recipe for your Sunday morning breakfast!

Some blingin' band-aids... I mean, why not, right?

Really great art installations by Federico Uribe.

Heart of gold idiom bracelet... love!

A helpful pastry board.

I wish I was headed here for the weekend!

I am loving all things with bows right now :)

Date 4 {Thursday} S'mores on our balcony

Last night we took a break from eating out and spent some time at one of our favorite spots in Boulder... our balcony. We made s'mores and coffee and just relaxed before the packing madness begins (it actually began this morning, we have WAY more stuff than I thought!). It was just perfect outside and we had a wonderful time :)

Our last date this week will be at Beatrice and Woodsley, it is a restaurant we both have been dying to try. Supposedly the atmosphere is just as incredible as the food and I cannot even wait. We will post about it on Monday so stay tuned!

Shel's Etsy picks.

I have to admit to something rather troublesome... I have never (ever) bought anything off of Etsy! I am always finding the cutest things and then I forget to go back and get it or think I will wait until I need to give it as the perfect gift to someone. Well, last night I spent some time looking around and I just think that the entire concept of this online handmade marketplace is absolutely fantastic! What a great way to support people with talent.

Anyway, every once in a while I am going to start posting my top Etsy picks, and believe me, there are a ton! I think all of these would make great gifts, or are even fun craft ideas to try yourself at home.

Embroidered hoops from Miniature Rhino.

Screen printed cloth napkins from Oh Little Rabbit.

Alphabet print from The Paper Nut.

Wooden people from Goose Grease.

'Let's Make Out' pillows from Alexandra Ferguson.

Enjoy! xo.

Date 3 {Wednesday} Osterio Marco

Last night we headed down to Denver to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Osterio Marco. Stone and I rarely go all the way to Denver when we go on dates, so this was a special treat! The restaurant is in Larimer Square, which is one of the cutest little areas in Denver with amazing restaurants and fun shops (and year round Christmas lights, which I love).

We started with their amazing house crafted mozzarella, pesto, and ciabatta bread! And wasting no time ordered a pizza with house sausage, garlic and mozzarella. All so delicious with a perfect atmosphere!

And of course we did save some room for dessert... I went for the flour-less chocolate cake (it was heavenly) and husband had the peach cobbler, which he devoured in seconds!

Alright, so, I have a small obsession...

...with this website. I don't know if I am just a little late in the game to just now be finding this blog, but I did not go to bed until the AM because I was too busy reading all of her perfect posts. It is eye candy for the modern girl and I am so happy to have discovered it. I could make a shopping list a mile long from her creative and fun discoveries.

Anyway, I had to share because I knew you would love her little blog as much as I do!

Below are a couple of her posts... are they not so perfect?

The Cricket Camper.

I just recently came across this Cricket Camper! How sweet is this?

I have to tell you small secret... I really (REALLY!) do not like camping. I love being at home in my cozy bed and being able to take a nice shower, but this I really think I could handle. Complete with all of the amenities of a hotel room, just maybe on a smaller scale. I love the shower too! Plus, it is way better looking than an big 'ol RV. And they are made in Texas, what more could you ask for :)

IF (and this is a big if) I ever slept outside in the wilderness on a camp trip I would definitely invest in one of these sleeping bags. Then perhaps I could be friends with all of the mountain lions and bears that would normally want to eat me for dinner.

Date 2 {Tuesday} Chipotle on Pearl

It was our last 'Chipotle Tuesday' yesterday... and actually, kind of sad for us. A lot of the Chipotle crowd has disintegrated, but, the Crandall fam is still as strong as ever there. In years past we could have as many as 20 people at Chipotle. I recommend this to everyone, because weeks can get hectic and your plans to hang out with your friends can be put off, over and over again. But, everyone has to eat dinner, so why not a burrito with friends once a week?

Stone and I have so many great memories from Chipotle Tuesdays. Stone has been going for SIX years by now (in other words, he has eaten over 312 burritos!). We will also, especially miss the crew that works on Tuesdays at the Chipotle on Pearl Street. They were always so happy to see us and every now and then even threw in a free one :)

Hopefully we will continue the tradition with friends in California!

xo.

The Romantics.

Have you seen the newest JCrew catalog?

They had the cast of a new movie coming out called the Romantics model their clothing. I thought this was such a great idea since we all feel like we know famous people (What? You don't feel like you are best friends with Katie Holmes? Well, maybe that is just me then...) to see them wearing clothes that we can also easily buy makes the clothing that much more desirable. Good marketing plan JCrew... you got me sucked in for sure!

Also, I have an even bigger girl crush on Katie Holmes after seeing these ads. She is so dang cute!

Go here to see The Romantics movie trailer.

Workin' on it...

So, one of my New Year's resolutions was to improve my handwriting. I know, I know... this is something that parents make their 6th grade children do, but another one of my resolutions was to learn to swim and I should have had that down by sixth grade too! I am just a little behind. Stone has been giving me swimming lessons and I have improved a lot, I just need to get my legs and arms to coordinate in the breaststroke, they seem to forget what they are supposed to be doing.

Anyway, my next challenge is to change my handwriting. Most moms that I know have pretty handwriting, and since I want to be one of those some day I need to have a pretty script too! Plus, I would not want my kids teachers to think that they forged their parents 'out-of-school sick' notes on account of my bad handwriting.

I just need to figure out a method. My sister is an architect and she had to change the way she writes when she was in school, I would love to write how she does. It is precise and clear with a little architect funk thrown in. I want to find an alphabet that I can print off and just trace over.

That's the plan for now... I will keep you updated :)

A BIG announcement.

Well folks, husband and I have decided to make a move from the mountains to the ocean (i.e. we are headed to California!). This is something we have thought (and dreamed) about for a while now, it has taken some serious prayer, and we know that this is the right next move for the two of us. Stone has always loved the ocean, he cannot wait to spend his weekends surfing! We both are itching for some change and adventure and cannot wait to see what the future will hold for us. I also am excited to bring you all along too as we explore our new home.

So this brings me to my next announcement... our lease is up on our condo, which is bitter sweet. Bitter, because this was our first home together as a married couple and we have had so many wonderful memories here in Boulder. Sweet, because we are beginning a fun new chapter of our lives and like I said we are ready for a bit of a change. We are moving out this Monday, however Stone has booked weddings and shoots through mid-October so we will be sticking around until then. For the next month-ish we will be living at my in-laws home in Fort Collins! We are so thankful and blessed that this was an option for us, and I think it will be fun to call them housemates for a while!

So, as we are saying goodbye to Boulder we have decided to spend our last week here hitting up some of our favorite spots around town. Every day we have planned a fun little date to go on....

Date 1 {Monday} South Side Walnut Cafe

When Stone and I were dating in college he would always bring me to the South Side Walnut Cafe on the morning that I was leaving to head back to Texas. Since then we have loved going together, we do not go often because we love to spend the mornings in our PJs at home (okay, maybe that is just me in my PJs, but, whatev).

Stone had a breakfast sandwich and I devoured their french toast... YUM indeed!

Tasty snacks.

I am not a big lunch eater, I love my other two meals each day so much more. Also, working at a boutique there is not a ton of time during the day to sit down to a nice lunch. But, I need to keep my energy up throughout the day and that is when snackity-snacks (isn't snack a funny word? It looks weird to even write it) come into play. Forever ago, I got a Real Simple mag, which had 24 healthy snack ideas... how perfect is that! Real Simple is always there to help out when you need it. Anyway, I love all of the creative things that they came up with and would be happy munching on any of them as a lunch replacement. Go here to see more of their ideas and just to browse their website, it is pretty great!

Top Bunch: Almonds with Dried Cherries, Apples and Almond Butter, and Edamame.

Second Bunch: Multigrain Cracker with Ricotta (part skim) and Honey, Hard-boiled Egg with Pepper, Endive Leave with Ricotta (part skim).

Third Bunch: Greek Yogurt with Walnuts and Honey, Melba Toast with Low-Fat Cream Cheese and Dried Cranberries, Air Popped Popcorn with Dark Chocolate Shavings.

Tuesday tunes.

Photos taken by my one and only.

The Brown Sisters.

There is this exhibition that I have seen a couple times now (once at the Fort Worth Modern and once at the San Francisco Modern) it is a series of portraits of these four sisters taken once a year over a period of thirty-three years. At first I thought, 'this is not art, it is just family photos'... but for some reason I keep coming back to look at the photos online. After spending the past week with my sister I am so thankful for the small bit of vacation we are able to be together once a year together, which we have been doing with our family for 22 years now (if only we had thought to take portraits, perhaps we could have made it into the museums!).

From these portraits above, each year seems to tell a different story. It is almost like a glimpse into their lives between one year to the next. I just love the concept.

California chic.

I'm loving the fun and flirty looks coming from designer Heidi Merrick. Reminds me of easy breezy California-style... which I will need to be learning more about in the near future (will explain more on that exciting news soon!).

Check out her new fall line here.

Enjoy!

Week wrap up.

We had such an amazing time in Crested Butte this past week with my family. It was so nice to take a break from the computer and just hang out. We brought Stone's grampa's SX70 Land Camera (basically a very old Polaroid camera... very cool). We actually found film for it here and got some really fun shots during our trip. Once the film has totally processed it still has this really vintage look to it!

Here is a little list of things we did this past week on our trip...

- Hiked 6 miles up Mt.Crested Butte to the top with hopes of coming down on the chair lift, however, we quickly found out that the chair lift stopped running after 2:30PM (we were a good hour late) SO we also hiked the 6 miles back down... whew!

- Brought a picnic and spent the afternoon playing on Long Lake with inner-tubes, kayaks and canoes!

- Had dinner at Brick Oven Pizza! Sooo yummy.

- I went on two runs, which has inspired me to keep at it... hopefully I can stick to it this time!

- Played lots of late night Chicken Foot, of course.

- Met with this woman of Eidolon Press and got to see all of her beautiful letterpress work as well as her equipment! Hopefully we will be ordering business cards from her soon!

- Had a fun spontaneous photoshoot with my sister and brother-in-law.

- Read.

- Slept in.

- Enjoyed time with the fam!

xo.

Have a colorful weekend.

Well, I am headed off for a little rest and relaxation this coming week. Which means, I am leaving the laptop behind. I won't be blogging this entire next week, so I have found a few extra links to keep you entertained while I am gone. My family is coming in town and I just cannot wait to see them, it has been months! Anyway, I will have lots of great updates when I return, but, until then, have an incredible week and I will see you on the flip side : )

xo.

Above photos from the Favela Painting Project in Rio de Janeiro.

Daily Drop Cap... love them.

I am kind of into these fun colorful watches.

A creative and interactive Save The Date.

Oh delish... Honey Fromage Blanc.

A baby announcement for the bike enthusiast.

Remember this YouTube video? It still puts me in a good mood.

This shop makes me want to travel to Paris even more!

They draw and cook.

How cute is this site? You can submit drawings of your favorite recipes for them to post. I think it would also be fun to pull the recipes off, print them and make little recipe books for friends. The family that came up with this little blog writes about their inspiration...

Found via.

Sneak Peek: Breanne and Brett Married!

Go here to see more photos of this pretty (and very rainy) wedding!

Enjoy!

Gotta get two beers and jump.

First of all, I secretly think that Steven Slater is kind of awesome. I know, maybe it was not the most responsible way to do things... but, sometimes being responsible is overrated.

Second of all, Jimmy Fallon is hysterical.

Choc-Oat cookies.

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 cup of butter (yup, that is two entire sticks)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 1/4 cup of flour (add 1/4 for high altitude)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

1 1/2 cup of Quaker oats

1 package of chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375

Mix butter (softened), sugars, and egg together well.

Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt gradually (oops, clearly from the photo I did not stir these things in gradually, but they still turned out perfectly!).

Stir in chocolate chips and oatmeal.

Make inch round cookie dough balls and place on non-stick cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes and let them sit on the pan for a few minutes before taking them off (this is a lesson in self control).

And dig in! Husband loves these cookies :)

(By the way, baking is so much more fun with a cute apron on!)

Introducing: The Crandall

I have written about my friend's (Billy) ties before. Really, I just discovered his blog a couple months ago and then while reading it, found out that he makes these great skinny ties for men (or women, I suppose that look is kind of in right now). Anyway he made one for my husband, who is also a friend of Billy's, and he is calling it 'The Crandall'. I love it, and so does Stone, he could not be more excited!

Here is another example of Billy's ties. I am trying to convince him that he should sell them... maybe on Etsy? Maybe on his own blog? Either way, I think they are awesome and way better than any JCrew tie I have ever seen :)

By the way... Ralph Lauren started his business by making ties at home by the name of 'Polo'. This could be the beginning of something huge!

Check out Billy's blog here, he is also a really talented photographer.

Fantasy factory.

Stone and I do not watch a lot of tv... so for me to actually write or talk about a show means it must be pretty good. Seriously, if you do not catch an episode of Fantasy Factory from time to time you are sorely missing out... the guy is absolutely hysterical. I laugh out loud... every time... without fail.

Some fun blog lovin'.

We got an email from a friend of ours today telling us that we had a feature post on this blog! How fun is that :)

Check it out here.

The Love Letter Project.

Have you heard of the Love Letter Project? Basically, it is public art project for anyone that wants to join in. It is turning these old building walls into something beautiful with sweet little postings that just make you feel happy. I love the idea... check out more here, and read below what they had to say about the project.

Love Letter is literally a love letter painted on the walls facing the Market elevated train. 40 local and international artists will paint the walls in August and the letter will be on view for one and all starting as early as Labor Day

The project will encompass 50 painted walls between 63rd and 45th street on Market Street, a documentary film with scripted elements, a sign school and shop that will provide training for area youth and free signage for businesses on the market street corridor, and 2 books documenting the project. One of the books will be a small paperback that will be distributed to area businesses free of charge, for them to sell to visitors. The other book will be a larger hardcover bookthat will document not only the artwork, but the neighborhood and the inspirations of the Love Letter Project.

Love Letter is an unprecedented public art project by Steve Powersand The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. It is funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative.

I should have thought of that: Weddings

Our wedding was a party (big time!)... the dance floor was packed all night (this was mostly because of our amazing band!) and when the wedding was over at 11:30 at night, most of our guests were still around and continued on for more! One thing I wish we had thought about was continuing the wedding even later and having a yummy midnight snack to keep the energy up for a couple more hours of dancing. It is only one time in your life that you get to have a wedding, and why not have it be a party and keep it going as long as you can. The day felt, to me, like it flew by and I definitely enjoyed every second of it, but would have loved even more time.

Some fun things I have seen lately being served as little after dinner snacks are doughnuts with milk or sliders. Both great ideas to keep people happy and enjoying the night :)

Design inspiration: Anthropologie

So, earlier this summer I got to go to the much talked about 3-story Anthropologie in San Francisco. One of my favorite parts of this store was in the back of the third floor where they actually sold their furniture. I know, in most stores, they have bits and pieces of their furniture for sale... but this was different. It felt like I had stepped into a really amazing vintage furniture store. Anyway, I have always loved the designs that come out of this company, whether it is clothes, nicknacks, or of course their beautiful home goods. Such unique fixtures and furniture with great character. My favorite is their lighting :)

P.S. I made a really big shopping cart online while I was looking through these things... I do this a lot and then I don't buy any of it. It is always nice to dream though...