Christmas tree, O Christmas tree.

I wanted to share some photos from Stone and my Christmas tree excursion! Not quite the same as the last few years cutting down our own tree at Stone's family cabin, but, Home Depot did have a great selection I must say :) We found a nice 7ft tree and I trimmed it so skinny in order to fit in the small allotted space in our apartment (I will have to show you photos soon!). It is a model-type I say... tall and skinny!

Poppytalk One of a Kind Books.

My sister-in-law, Kelsey sent me a link to one of Anthropologies latest endeavor. She is always in the know on these kinds of things! These one of a kind books, handmade for Anthro, are so beautiful and would make a wonderful gift for a future novelist.

Below is what Poppytalk had to say about them.

As part of Anthropologie’s holiday line, the US-based chain store commissioned e Bond (a Poppytalk Handmade participant) to make a limited edition series of handmade journals for people who want to write, document or remember. The series, called 1000 Books, will be available this holiday season in four styles exclusively in Anthropologie stores nationwide.

The journals are part of Bond's ‘exposed’ collection of stationery, which deconstructs the book by paring it down to its essential form: boards, binding & paper. Bond then paints and prints directly onto each book, layering them with her love of words, reading and documenting the everyday. While each book is a work of art, Bond hates the idea of them collecting dust on a coffee table. "I would love nothing more than for the books to be written in often, and in whatever way works best in people’s daily lives.”

Inside each book is a hand-numbered bookmark that further illustrates how each journal is one-of-a-kind and was made to be marked up at the owner's whim. In this collaborative spirit, Bond is asking her fellow documenters to share a page from their books, so that the collaboration doesn’t end. Designs can be emailed to roughdraftshares[at]gmail[dot]com and will be featured on Bond's website.

Tuesday tunes.

Just found some of Lissie's music this morning and there are so many more videos and songs I want to listen to, I just don't have time before work! She also sings this song with my new fav Ellie Goulding. Enjoy!

xo.

Sneak Peek: Kaitlin & Richard Engaged!

Stone and I had a great time shooting these two around their new neighborood!

Check out more here.

Need fashion inspiration?

I am loving this Sartorialist-ish site with amazing style inspiration from Stokholm, who knew? Just another thing to add to your daily reads I suppose!

Go here to see more.

Weekend wrap up.

This weekend was perfect. Not only was it nice to have 4 days off, but this is always one of my favorite weekends of the year because now the Christmas season is in full swing. Stone and I were so lucky to spend Thanksgiving with our friends Patrick and Lacey and their wonderful family. Lacey and I spent the morning cooking stuffed mushrooms, roasted vegetables and corn casserole... The dishes all turned out incredibly and we topped it off with two pies (one chocolate walnut pie and one fudge pie... so delish).

One of the great things that their family does on Thanksgiving is to go around the room and share what you are thankful for that year. Well, as cheesy as it may sound, it was really special and a tradition that I would love to continue with our family. Stone and I have so much to be thankful for this year, on the top of our list always is our supportive families, our incredible friends, our health, our salvation through Jesus, and we are of course thankful for each other. Beyond that we are so thankful that our transition to California has been easy, we are thankful for the month and a half this year that we lived as roomates with Stone's parents and lastly we are thankful for all of our photo clients and for a successful business.

Back to our weekend...

Stone and I also went and got our Christmas tree! A real tree is definitely a must for me... Christmas just would not be the same without that pine scent. As Stone and I were picking out our tree, we overheard about 3 other couples having the same argument as us... All of the guys wanted to browse in the 3-5ft section and we were all begging for at least a 7ft tree, which I thought was typical and funny. So we have a large tree in our small apartment and even though it is a bit squished, it is perfect. We watched a couple classic Christmas movies while trimming the tree and decorating our place, and it looks great if I do say so myself (I will have to show you photos soon).

Lastly we had Thanksgiving dinner round two with a bunch of friends on Saturday, and who can complain about another dinner of turkey and sweet potatoes?! It was so strange to be able to have a Thanksgiving dinner outside, and it is not dumping snow on us. The jury is still our on how I feel about this, I love the snow, but usually when I am in it I am complaining about it :)

I hope your weekend was just as wonderful, spent with friends and family! xo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to tell you that Stone and I got rid of our cable about 2 weeks ago... which has been completely fine so far. There are so many other options these days and we are happy to save the money. However, I woke up this morning with a terrible thought in my head... "what if I wont be able to watch the Macy's Parade?".

Well, it would have ruined my day completely. I have never missed a parade and I was not about to make today the first time. Thankfully I found it online to watch (whew!), they even have a live chat going too (for all of the diehard fans of course) and it is pretty funny because there are only about 4 people contributing to it.

I hope you are snuggled up in your robe this morning watching the parade too. I now have a loaf of pumpkin bread in the oven and cannot wait to spend the day with Stone and some of our friends filling up on turkey and pie :)

Have a wonderful day. xo.

Have you seen this?

I am in love. With both Glee and Gwyn that is...

Shel's Etsy picks.

I have found two shops on Etsy recently that I have wanted to tell you about. The first on I love for gift wrapping this Christmas (and year round) as well as decorating. I think that this garland would be a great addition to your Christmas tree this year or a fun spice to liven up your mantle. Either way, the garland comes in beautiful colors and designs AND to top it all off she is having a big sale! Can't beat it.

The second is a beautiful furniture and textile store that finds all of their fabrics from Asia then creates their one of a kind pieces. Of course, I am in love with all of the pillows and lampshades, but what I am really eyeing is the sette... of course the most expensive thing on the site!

Garland by Kristina Marie

Furniture and Textiles by Material Recovery

Some ideas for your feast.

I put together a list of Thanksgiving dishes (traditional and non-traditional) that I have seen lately that all sound pretty incredible! I will be making a couple of them myself this holiday and cannot wait to share with you how it all turns out. On Christmas my family sticks to traditions when it comes to our meals, everything is exactly the same as the year before and years before that. But, Thanksgiving is always open for new dishes and experimenting, so here's to that, and good luck in your kitchen this Thursday :)

xo.

Cheesecake-stuffed Pumpkin Cupcakes by Dish Towel Diaries

Stuffed Portabellos with Herb Sauce by Sprouted Kitchen

Parker House Rolls by Pioneer Woman

Wild Rice Mushroom Pilaf with Cranberries by Real Simple

Brownie Pecan Pie by Bakerella

Brie with Roasted Cinnamon Plums by The Kitchn

Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese by Martha Stewart

Spinach Pie with Goat Cheese, Raisons and Pine Nuts by My Recipes

Pumpkin Creme Brule by White on Rice Couple

Homemade Twix Bars by Not Without Salt

Roast Pumpkin with Cheese Fondue by Gourmet

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Rosemary Rolls by White on Rice Couple

Tuesday tunes.

I am still listening to Ellie Goulding and still loving her. This cover of Bon Iver 'The Wolves' is so soothing and beautiful. Enjoy!

Sneak Peek: Jenny and Josh Married!

Such a beautiful couple and wedding! Fall in Vail could not be a make for a more incredible setting. Go here to see more.

Weekend wrap up.

My brother in law left yesterday, and, it is so sad because basically the moment his plane took off the sun decided it was time to finally come out. It was a pretty rainy and chilly weekend, which I did not mind because it finally felt a bit like Fall outside! It just would not be right to celebrate Thanksgiving with 80 degree weather! Anyway, we were able to play a game of chicken foot, take him to one of our favorite pizza places and Stone took him out surfing.

Yesterday, after church we headed to Honey's, which is a really great breakfast spot with never-ending coffee (that is the way to my heart!). Our friends Chris and Laura have just bought some cruisers so we decided, in celebration of the sun coming out, that we should head to the beach and ride. I have never gone bike riding on the beach, but I loved it! Such a cool experience :) If you ever come visit the west coast, I definitely recommend it.

Hope your weekend was wonderful. xo.

Have a relaxing weekend!

Stone and I spent the day in LA meeting with clients, which was so great, the drive back from LA, however, was so exhausting. 3 hours of exhaustion to be exact. Either, way it is great to meet with new clients and I so love hearing how people from all over the world end up meeting each other. He is from Sweden and she is from LA, but, they met in New York. So incredible!

We are laying pretty low this weekend. My brother in law is in town and so we spent the night having pizza, catching up and playing chicken foot (of course).

I am really loving these Silhouette pendants.

A good stocking idea from the NY Times!

The Mrs. Lilien Holiday Shoppe could not be any more cute.

Ban.do shoe clips are fun to spice up some flats :)

Cupcakes and Cashmere has put together some fun guides under $25 and under $100.

I am pretty excited to see this movie... you have to love a romantic comedy, and one with Reese Witherspoon!

Sweets in a jar. Could it get better?

WTF? posters, pretty funny. I personally like the one with the sharks.

Have an relaxing weekend! xo.

Anthology Magazine

I definitely love a good printed magazine. Secretly, I spend hours at bookstores just sitting and reading through them so I don't have to buy them :) Don't tell anyone, though.

However, these days, now that reading blogs and news online has become a part of my mornings, it is nice to have the option of online magazines (even if it is just bits and pieces from the full mag) as well. Anthology is a new magazine that has just launched and will come out quarterly. The mag is filled with beautiful photos, design ideas, articles and much more. You can also get the full print version as well as reading a couple of the articles which are available online. Best of both worlds!

Because, let's all be honest... nothing is better then actually being able to dog-ear pages that you find inspiring. Here is what the founders of Anthology have to say about it:

[Anthology is] A new quarterly shelter and lifestyle print magazine that takes a narrative approach to its coverage of home décor, travel, design, entertaining, and culture. We envision the magazine as a collection of stories shared with readers.

Go hear to read their blog and go here to start flipping through pages online.

Music by Andrew Zuckerman

'The music project features dynamic portraits of over fifty musicians of all ages, from across genres, who provide their perspective on one of the most universal and yet unexplainable art forms. Music is available as a book, which includes portraits and interviews as well as access ti a feature length film.'

Andrew Zuckerman Music Trailer from Andrew Zuckerman Studio on Vimeo.

I should have thought of that: Weddings

One of our favorite wedding blogs to look through, Green Wedding Shoes, posted recently about the idea of having a 'DIY Cupcake Topping Bar'. The photos from this one in particular look incredible and let's be honest, wedding cake is rarely that amazing. This also gets your guests involved and gives them a fun thing to do during the reception! I also love the entire set up of the bar with the vintage drawers and hollowed out pumpkins. So creative!

Looks absolutely incredible! It is making me want to throw a cupcake party of my own.

Lauren Moffatt

I first read about this designer here and have just fallen in love with her beautiful collections. Her clothes are so whimsical and fun... I would want to wear everything in her collection from the 70s inspired dresses to the motorcycle jackets, it is all perfect! Below are just a few of my favorites for Fall, but you can go here to see all of her looks... AND she is having a sample sale today in NYC so if you live there, you are in luck :)

Going to sample sales in NYC (which I have never been to) remind me of that scene in Shopaholic where there are hundreds of woman tumbling over each other and fighting over boots... yikes!

Also, she has another beautiful line (below) that is called the 'Honeymooner' collection! Love it.

Nestrest.

Good morning. Are these not the coolest reading nooks you have ever seen? It is a beautiful day here in California and I wish so badly that I A. owned one of these and B. did not have work so I could spend all day reading in it!

Seriously, these have been added to my 'list' of awesome things that I would love to have in my future home. Everyone needs a Nestrest :)

Tuesday tunes.

I love this cover of Elton John's 'Your Song'. I think this British singer, Ellie Goulding, has a very fresh and unique voice. I feel like I could listen to forever and hope to hear more!

I first heard about her here.

A to Z

I am in a rut.

I have about 20 recipes (if that) in my repertoire and that is about it for our options when it comes to dinner. That is why I was so excited to read about this new cooking guide called A to Z! But, even more then recipes, it has a full list of ingredients that you may or may not use on a regular bases. For instance, I have always wanted to make dishes with artichokes, but, it is not something I ever have on hand or that any of my recipes call for. So, you can go to the menu, choose artichokes, read all about them and then see recipes that include that ingredient.

AND, one other thing I have to tell you about! Real Simple has put a section on this site to find fresh ingredients in your area, just enter your zip code and you will be sent a list of great areas near you to buy organically.

Are you Christmas shopping yet?

When do you start shopping for Christmas gifts? I usually am pretty slow to get started, but I know some people who are constantly thinking about what to get others for Christmas and will shop year round! If you are like me, and secretly do not like the whole Christmas shopping experience (long lines and crowded parking lots) then you are probably happy, too, with the emergence of so many great online 'one stop' shops! I found this one called Twine, this morning and feel like it is the perfect site to find gifts for all of the girls on my list. Above are just some of the great things, go here to see more.

There are also sites like Etsy and Terrain that you can explore for Christmas, too!

Enjoy! xo.

Weekend wrap up.

Well, our weekend flew past us, as it alway seems to do! I have a habit of making lists, and always seem make a rather extensive one for the weekends... mostly errands to run, people to call or see, and chores that need to get done around our home. More often than not these lists are so long that even if I did dedicate my entire weekend to completing everything on them, I would still not have enough time. This weekend I feel like I got nothing done from my lists other than the loads of laundry that just had to be washed because the pile was taking up our entire bedroom! But, on to a new week and an entire different set of lists... of course :)

Our weekend was spent hanging out with friends, however, which was way better than doing chores around the house. We spent yesterday watching two of our friends run the Silver Strand Half Marathon on Coronado Island... they did an amazing job and smiled throughout the entire run, seriously, I have never seen two people so smiley while running 13 miles! It was awesome and we were so happy to be there to cheer them on. We then went to a really popular restaurant here in Encinitas called Swami's, it was so delicious and such a fun atmosphere, and definitely lived up to the hype.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Hope you have had a fabulous Saturday so far! Stone and I have just caught up on sleep last night and this morning made the most delicious breakfast. Other than that our plans are to meet up with friends tonight for dinner, then tomorrow we are waking up at the crack of dawn to go cheer on two of my girlfriends who are running a half marathon on Coronado Island. Maybe they will inspire me to train for one.... maybe.

Here are some great websites referred by the staff in this month's InStyle mag that you may want to add to your weekly read!

Go to Smitten Kitchen for delicious recipes, like the ones pictured above.

Find free downloads of new music at Rcrdlbl.

For fun tidbits and news information you can visit Reddit.

My Milk Toof, is a witty blog about two baby teeth and their adventures.

Need some gardening tips? A Way To Garden has the answers.

Going to Lenscratch makes you feel like you just stepped into a modern photo museum exhibit!

xo.

Pesto Sandwich.

I have to share this lunch idea with you all. I have had this for lunch the past couple days and it is absolutely delicious! I am not a big lunch person... I love breakfast and dinner the most, but could even skip lunch entirely if it did not make me lose energy. Anyway it is simple to make and I know you will enjoy it.

2 slices of sourdough bread toasted

hummus

homemade spinach pesto

goat cheese with herbs

Spread a thin layer of hummus on the toasted bread, then a pretty thick layer of pesto. Lastly sprinkling with goat cheese. Try it today, you will not be disappointed! xo.

Design Inspiration: Mountain living.

In spirit of the upcoming winter season I wanted to share this incredible Norwegian mountain home (Just in case any of you were struggling with decorating your own Norwegian mountain home... of course). It looks like it jumped right out of an Anthropologie catalogue, with the eclectic charm and attention to detail. One of my favorite parts about this home is the lighting, each one is different and completely awesome. I also would love a huge unfinished wood farm table like that, although, not quite practical for our 500 square foot apartment, it would take up half of our space!

Would you not want to spend the entire winter season cozied up in this warm nook reading book after book? Yes please.

And lastly, I love all of the restored furniture in this house (like the bedroom door, or the guest room bed footboard). It is funny to me that items like these will sell for outrageous amounts at furniture stores these days when really it will take a little maintenance and time wondering through flea markets, but you can find them for bargain prices.

Stone and his grandpa recently rebuilt the top to an old steel desk (I will show you photos soon!) that we bought for $25 at a surplus store and have seen multiple times since selling for up to $500 at vintage home stores... so crazy!

Photos found here.

I have a plan.

You can purchase these calendars here on Etsy!

I read about this a long time ago in a Real Simple magazine and since then have wanted to try to do it myself. Now, since moving to California it seems more vital than ever to my friendships to make a genuine effort each day to stay connected. The idea is that you would purchase a calendar and on each day write the name of a friend of family member, then on that day send that person an email, handwritten note or give them a call. So that is my plan! I am very excited about this, as I am not the best at staying in contact and now with friends and family living all over the world it makes it harder than ever. I thought I would share the idea just in case any of you are like me and need some help in this department :)

xo.

Sneak Peek: Carly & Marshall Engaged!

We had such a fun time with these two... they were super relaxed and up for anything!

Go here to see more of their photoshoot.

Capturing color.

Okay, so there are probably only a small handful of people who think that this is cool... I happen to be one of them. Pantone has developed a product that you can use on any type of surface, fabric, or material. I love decorating, so this type of tool is right up my alley. I mean, have you ever stayed in a hotel room or eaten in a restaurant and thought I love the color on these walls (okay, probably not many of you have)? But, it is handy for matching a specific color in your pillows to paint for the wall. Unfortunately it will cost a pretty penny.

So, as you can guess, it is iPhone to the rescue. Instead of spending a ton on a device (even though it is way cool) that you wont use that often. You can download this app, then when you take a photo the app will give you Pantone paint colors to match! Brilliant.

Tuesday tunes.

Photo taken by Stone.

A nice little tune to wake up to. Good morning :)

Inspiration: Fall

I love Fall. And I won't say that I am not missing the crisp chilly Colorado mornings or snowy nights, because I am. Fall also happens to be a season where I get a serious urge to shop. I think it is because I love the colors so much. Here are some of the things on my list of Fall favorites:

Row 1: Feather wreath from Anthropologie, Daisy Pillow from DIGS, Emilie Henry Ruffled Pie Dish from William Sonoma

Row 2: Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake Mix, Brass Bells Garland from Terrain

Row 3: Gingerbread Candle from Anthropologie, Lambswool Throw from Terrain, Coffee Stencil from CoffeeStencil.com

Weekend wrap up.

I am back! Last week I got this terrible head cold that has just stayed with me for over 7 days now, and I am finally starting to feel better. I never get sick usually, and this was the kind of sick that would wake me up every hour to cough. Anyway, all that to say, I was not up for blogging, or much of anything.

The weekend here was perfect, though. It kind of cooled down and I spent some time at the beach while Stone surfed. I have not tried surfing yet, but I am excited to. I just figure I need to go out with another girl at some point. The rest of our weekend we tried out a new sushi place (good sushi, but terrible service!), went to church, met with a new client, finally hung things on our walls and watched a couple of movies. Hope your weekend was lovely.

I am excited to be back to the blog world, there are so many things I want to post!

xo.

2 years of marital bliss.

Today was our big TWO year anniversary... unfortunately we spent the majority of it in a plane, but at least we were together :) We love remembering parts of our wedding, it was such an incredible day and an experience like no other. We always tell people that being married is the best thing ever, and we whole heartedly believe that. It is difficult and challenging at times, but well worth it. I am so blessed to get to experience life with my best friend and as Stone likes to say 'partner in crime'.

Stone, I love you so very much and cannot wait for the many more years and memories to come.

I would love to share more photos of our wedding day, but, like I said, the traveling today has taken a bit of a toll and we are exhausted! So I will make sure to do that soon! xo.