Weekend wrap up : Out on the town.

Even though I felt totally sick all weekend, Stone and I kept ourselves pretty busy with friends and fun meals out! We went to two new restaurants this weekend Union and Fish 101. Both had wonderful food, but Fish 101 is definitely more of our scene. It had a casual outdoor patio with picnic tables, twinkle lights and fish tacos. Nothing beats that right?

To be honest, this is always one of our biggest battles. Stone and I love trying new restaurants and of course hanging out with friends, but we hate to look at our end of the month budget and realize how ridiculously overboard we went in the 'food' department (we have recently started to use Mint, it just gives you a very specific breakdown of where you are spending your money). We are planning on starting a cash system for this, and I am excited to see how it goes. Whether it is spending money at the grocery store or going out to eat, we need to cut back. Have you ever tried using all cash to help you stay on a budget? Any suggestions for how to do it?

Okay... back to our glorious 3 day weekend. Along with the wonderful restaurants and fun time with friends we got to spend time on the beach reading (I just started The Help and definitely recommend it), playing games and taking walks.

OH I ALMOST FORGOT... the biggest news of all we got a new mattress! We have been sleeping on Stone's parents old mattress, which we have predicted is at least 20 years old. You can literally feel each individual spring in the mattress, needless to say we were MORE than ready to get rid of it. Have you ever slept on a pillow top mattress? Life changing. It is like a four-star hotel every night. Now it is just that much harder to get out in the morning. Humphhhh.

So, despite getting a crazy cold, it was a perfect weekend and I hope for many more like it this summer. I hope you had a lovely weekend as well! xo.

Have a great weekend!

Hello all. Stone here. I hope you've had a great week. What is your weekend looking like? Anything fun? This weekend here in beautiful Southern California it looks like we may get to trade in the grey weather we've been having for sunshine and 70 degrees. This weekend is also one of the rare few for us when we don't have any type of work obligations ... so if you need us, we'll probably be out playing some bocce ball or smash ball on the beach. Please come and join. Tonight I am especially pumped as Shel and I are meeting up with some friends at a new restaurant here in Encinitas called "The Union Kitchen + Tap." It seems to be pretty hoppin' every time we walk by it, so hopefully that's a good sign.

Alright, that's all from me. Hope you all are well. Here are a few links to munch on:

I posted it on twitter yesterday. But this song is still playing in my head.

On that note, get yourself some Local Harvest honey.

Make yourself some homemade lemonade this weekend.

Know a coach? Check out my buddies iPad app perfect for coaches.

An old church turned AMAZING house.

No matter where we're traveling, I always do this.

Humbling images from the storms in the mid-west.

How about we take a vacation & stay here.

PATTERN and POP!

Wear this stripy PATTERNED dress and add a POP with a sunshine yellow clutch for the perfect date night combo!

Food to Love : Date Smoothie.

Okay, I know we have all made smoothies, so you are wondering why I am doing a post about this. Nothing new right?

Well, I just wanted to tell you about a new ingredient Stone and I have been using that has taken our smoothies to the next level... DATES!

First of all they are full of antioxidants, dietary fiber, potassium and iron. Who knew? I had never eaten a date in my life until last week when I sent husband to the grocery store and he came back with a ton of random stuff (such as dates) and not much of what we really needed. Needless to say, I had to go back to the store the next day :) (I love him for trying though).

You can also put dates in oatmeal or eat them alone. I really want to chop them up and put them in homemade vanilla ice cream! So yummy.

In our smoothies we put strawberries, banana (just 1), mango, greek yogurt, honey, dates, oj, and ice. We switch it up all the time though. Smoothies make the best lunch on a hot summer day!

Enjoy!

Inspiration board : Gone surfing.

So, really husband is the expert of all things surf... I am mostly pretending (since I STILL have not been surfing since we moved out here). But, I figured in keeping with the theme of our Tuesday Tune I might pull together some inspiring surf-y things. I also think I should come clean about something, I am terrified of sharks. They are up there with mountain lions, you don't find either in Dallas, Texas so up until 3 years ago that is what I was used to.

I literally had a dream just last night that I was in a boat that capsized in the ocean and I had to swim to safety. I was trying my hardest to swim without looking graceful like a seal so the sharks would not think I was dinner. I survived :)

Anyway, I AM going to try surfing. This Summer. So here is some inspiration, if you ever want to visit us out here on the west coast. Enjoy!

1 : I saw these at Patagonia and wanted to get them, just so I could play the part of a surfer girl.

2 : The Beach Boys. Classic tunes for your ride to the beach!

3 : I still have not grown tired of this movie, so cheesy and so good.

4 : Husband has a terrible tan line from the neck up. It is a wetsuit tan, and it is pretty funny, but good sunscreen is a must! Apply and then apply more.

5 : I love my beach mat. After your finish attempting to surf, it is the perfect surface to lay down and take a cat nap.

6 : Encinitas longboard. Fact: (well, it may not be true, but I like to think it is) sharks are not as attracted to longboards because they don't look like seals from below like shorter boards do.

7 : Tickets to Hawaii, because if I am going to try surfing I may as well try in some warm water :)

8 : Havaiana flip flops. For the, sometimes rocky, walk down to the beach!

9 : Underwater housing that Stone is hankering for so he can take some sweet surf photos! One day...

Tuesday Tunes : A Monday surf.

Good morning and happy Tuesday!

Ever since we moved here Stone has been dying for an underwater camera. The problem is that these things usually cost around $4k and with our ever growing work camera collection it just seems like an unnecessary expense at the moment. So, this weekend Stone built a small contraption that included an OtterBox, foam, and his iPhone. Viola! Underwater camera for $0. He took it out yesterday to 'test' it while surfing... knowing full well that if his contraption failed that would be the end of his new iPhone.

Well, it did not fail and he came away with some fun footage of he and our friend Chris hanging in the ocean. Hope you enjoy!

Music is 'Boy Lilikoi' by Jonsi

Look of the Week : Oh, Gwyn!

Gwyn has always been my girl. While most of my friends' favorite actresses are Angie or Jen (or somewhere in between) I have remained faithful to Gwyn. And she has only gotten better and better. With her blog GOOP it is so easy to love someone with a great taste in clothes, traveling and food! Plus, who did not love her in Emma? I mean really...

Anyway, she just posted her top outfits for Spring/Summer and has me buying lotto tickets hoping to be able to afford at least one of these outfits. Truthfully you can find similar looking items at stores such as H&M or Forever 21. While they are not going to last as long, they will help you keep up with the trend of the season :)

For more of her post, go here! Enjoy.

Shop Look One.

Shop Look Two.

Shop Look Three.

Weekend wrap up : May gray.

Good morning!

When we moved out here to California, everyone warned us about the months of May and June. California is supposed to be sunny and 70 all the time, right? Well, there is this little saying here 'May Gray and June Gloom'. Sounds like fun right? It's true, ever since we got back from Colorado, while there are spots of sunshine here and there, it has mostly been completely overcast. The bad news for me is that I am quickly losing any sign of color I had from all of my glorious beach days. The good news is that the light outside when the clouds are hovering is perfection for a photographer. Yes, yes, we do not get the beautiful golden hour, which we also love to shoot in. But, the foggy grey makes for pretty romantic looking photos I think.

Stone and I had such a fun engagement shoot this weekend! It is such a great surprise when a couple hops in front of our camera and is totally natural and comfortable. Plus they came armed with jokes, which is always a positive!

Location scouting for these shoots is always a bit tricky, but Stone has found Google Earth to be quite helpful! That is how we found the location for our shoot this past weekend... we saw open space with a bit of green, a bit of texture and of course the ocean and we thought, perfect! Below are some photos Stone snapped while we were checking out the place beforehand.

Pretty epic (that word is borrowed from husband's vocabulary). Cannot wait to share the photos with you all. Until then, have a great start to your week! xo.

Have a creative weekend.

FINALLY.

I figured out how to do a high bun. High, but not too high. While, I like the look of the huge bun high atop girls' heads, that high is just not for me. So the other day I was playing around and viola! So happy to have learned it because my hair is getting insanely long and I need some new do's.

Hope you all are gearing up for a fun and relaxing weekend. Stone and I finally finished unpacking last night (I threw a small fit to get him to actually put up his clothes) so now I have NO chores to do this weekend. Hooray! Always a good feeling. We are headed it a friends birthday party tonight and considering her event planning talents I am sure it will be perfection. I cannot wait for the day when I can throw a big beautiful dinner party at my house... I suppose I just need the right house (or a tleast one bigger than 500 sq ft) to throw it in :)

Stone and I then have a day of shooting with a bride and groom in La Jolla! Engagement shoots are our all time favorite. The shoots are just totally relaxed and fun, they are more of lifestyle shoots, which we both really love and feel we can be creative with. Hopefully sometime this week we can find time to go see Bridesmaids (I have heard great reviews from friends) and replant some of the plants on our porch that have ALREADY died. Ooops.

Here are some links to love. xo.

I am in the market for some land so I can have a FlatPak of my own (well and maybe I will share with husband too)!

The perfect maxi.

Fun idea for your guest book... later it will be perfect art for your home!

A scarf I can share with husband :)

Great craft for your weekend.

PATTERN and POP!

Instead of a coffee table use this beautiful PATTERNED ottoman and add a POP of color with a photo book by Pinhole Press that you created yourself!

That's a wrap : Sarah and Roberto.

Stone and I felt so fortunate to be asked to shoot Sarah and Roberto's beautiful DC wedding a few weeks ago. Our communication leading up to the wedding weekend was purely through email as Sarah and Roberto both live in India. Our time zones were quite different, but through much correspondence we got to know these two so well and felt like close friends by the time we saw them. This is the type of couple Sarah and Roberto are, they make everyone feel comfortable, included and loved. This feeling filtered into their wedding day on a rainy Saturday morning their friends and family came to see the two of them wed in the most decorated and ornate Catholic church that we have ever been in. It was a fun change of pace for us as we don't often get to shoot in beautifully decorated historic churches.

And the gorgeous decor did not stop with the ceremony, their reception venue was perfect with large farm tables for their family style fajita dinner, rows of colorful wildflowers and a singing mariachi band to top it all off.

We had a wonderful time and YES we are always available to travel :)

Hope you enjoy! See more here.

Inspiration board : FOOD.

For some reason lately I have been in the mood to cook. And not just to cook my 'go to' recipes, but to branch out a bit and try some new (and healthier) options! Perhaps it is because we have been traveling so much that it makes me really desire to be in my own kitchen cooking my own food. You know the feeling. After you have been traveling and you just feel blah. Well, Stone and I have felt really bad about the way we have been eating, so it is time to make a change (plus my skinny jeans are feeling just a little TOO skinny)! So... forget the burgers, burritos and pizza. It is time to have veggies and lots of 'em. Husband better get used to it ;)

My inspiration folder on my desktop has been filling up with amazing looking recipes that I just cannot wait to try and I thought I would share a couple with you. Get in the kitchen and enjoy! xo.

1 : Ribboned asparagus salad with pine nuts, lemon and Parmeson.

2 : Garlic butter roasted mushrooms with lemon and parsley.

3 : Spiced cod with broccoli quinoa pilaf.

4 : Sausage thin crust pizza topped with crispy kale.

5 : Tagliatelle pasta with bacon, pine nuts and fresh corn pesto.

6 : Grilled corn with homemade herb butter.

By the way, have you heard of Gilt group? They sell clothes at a discount... well now they are selling quality, organic foods as well! Check it out here.

Poster found here.