enormous champion

Super cuteness by Enormous Champion. Love the colorfully painted sides and modern interpretations of animals. Quirky and fun! The kangaroo reminds me of my Australian adventures.

via enormous champion

in a jam

Ever since the strawberry post I've been craving homemade jam and have been perusing the web for homemade recipes. And then I came across a new blog via Style Me Pretty called Sunday Suppers, which features great recipes and food styling and there it was. This post had me drooling over buttermilk biscuits. But the thing about the biscuits that really had me going was the super simple recipe for the accompanying jam butters. Just mix jam and good quality butter and voila! You've got yourself a sweet breakfast. Pictured here are strawberry, apricot, and blueberry butters. Such beautiful summer colors. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

And almost as if they were reading my bloggy mind, they also posted a menu with zabaglione and strawberries.

image via sunday suppers

letterpress art

Letterpress is an art in itself, but I love when it is done as an actual art print. These lovely prints are available in limited editions at Sycamore Street Press. I love the whimsy and color combinations in both of these. Baby blue and red? Cute. And the blue and green gradient on the second print is beautiful and saturated.





via sycamore street press

naturally occurring awesomeness

Sometimes it just astounds me when I see patterns and intricacies in nature that seem absolutely impossible to dream up. It makes me very certain that there is a God out there, and he's crafted us so carefully and wonderfully ... with finely drawn lines and beautifully chosen colors. I came across these shells that are sold at this online shop (it has an ironic name, however), and they were just so indicative of the creativity of our Creator! Brilliant!

And wouldn't these photos make great prints? I'd love to hang them in our bathroom.

all images via evolution store

wonder foodie: zabaglione at home

When the hubba and I want to go on a date night, one of our favorite places to go is a local Italian restaurant. And when we go, I always get the Zabaglione with mixed berries. It's a light, delicious, and slightly nutty custard made with eggs, Marsala wine, and sugar.

It seemed pretty simple, so I wanted to try to replicate it at home. We had a post-Memorial day dinner yesterday and I gave this recipe a try, adding a little less of the Marsala to cut down on the alcohol flavor. And it was a success, though I think I'll add even less Marsala next time. But it was a nice combination of sweet blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries with the smooth zabaglione and freshly whipped cream. Mmmm, summer is coming! I can feel it. Two berry posts in a row! Parting fact: the french word for zabaglione is sabayon!

wonder foodie: sweet strawberries

I truly enjoy shopping at the farmers market on Saturdays. It's something of a guilty pleasure when I get to go, usually I sleep in a bit and slowly get ready for the day. We hop into the car, bring the dog with us, and decide on the way there where we'd like to eat afterward. Perusing the stalls is a feast for the eyes, even though some say our market is smaller than others they've seen. Some of our favorite things to purchase are oranges, fresh herbs (like mint, parsley, chives, basil), roasted corn, fresh naan bread, and strawberries. Oh, the strawberries.

I recently discovered a farm stall that is now my favorite - they specialize in berry varietals, and strawberry is a major crop. And it shows. Yerena Farms, or FeNella Organic has the sweetest strawberries I've tasted. And the best part is that they sell all over the Bay Area, even at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. The thing about fresh food that is so inspiring, is the hard work and knowledge that it took for that taste to be delivered to our mouths. To hear about some of the ins and outs of farming, check out this audio interview with Poli Yerena of Yerena Farms.

My appreciation for farmers grew even more after visiting our friend's farm. So as I enjoy berries this week, I'll be reminded of the labor of the farmers that picked them. And aren't the berries just plain beautiful in the spring sun?

Forgive the missing basket in the photo above, that was due to the one I bought!

a little soundtrack: floating feist

I'm digging this sweet song by Feist - it's worth it just to watch the first minute and a half for the magical little touches. Toast with wings, drawing on a necklace, flying out windows, floating on air - then after that it gets really catchy and fun! I couldn't resist a song called Mushaboom ... I'm the self-proclaimed queen of making up words after all.

This link has moved, watch the video here

wonder boards: inspiring interiors

I've wanted to redo our master bedroom for a while, but since we aren't sure how long we'll be staying in our place I've decided to wait. Until then, here are a few ideas floating around in my head for the color palette and look of our room.

I've been collecting these photos for a while because I'm really drawn to the gray, caramel, and cream colors. The overall lightness of these rooms is so soothing. And that's definitely something I'd like to have for our room in the future. Currently our bedroom has a dark navy accent wall, which is great for sleeping, but doesn't make me want to relax there. We also have a black bed frame with a chocolate brown pleather headboard, which adds to the dark mood. Hope I'll get to do this makeover project soon and get my chillaxin' on!

spiros

Many times in the middle of the night, I'll lie awake and all these great ideas will come to my mind. Then I'll jot them in my notebook, so I won't lose them.

One of my recent ideas reminded me of spirographs, from when I was a kid, remember those? The graphic patterns they made as your pen or pencil went around and around the pieces? Sometimes if you drew too fast, the spiros would get all messed up, and you'd have to do it again. What a great toy it was. Hope I get to show you what I plan to do with these fun geometric shapes!

image via wikipedia

best little buddy

I haven't introduced my dog on this blog yet, even though he's a big part of our lives. We rescued him almost a year ago from the HSSV and now he goes with us as many places as we can take him. He goes with me to work everyday, rides with us to visit my parents, and to the Saturday Farmers Market. My favorite time is sitting with him while we eat at a cafe outside, and he can watch the world go by. He makes life a little happier, and really causes me to appreciate the simple things. Warm sun, freshly cut grass, playing outside - oh, the life of a dog. Happy Friday, everyone!

yo, yo

I was browsing around one of my favorite Etsy shops, and saw these sweet hand-printed yo-yos. I mean, who doesn't love a little "walk the dog" or "around the world?"

by Something's Hiding in Here

beaded fun

I saw these fun necklaces that were in the spring lookbook for Madewell, I want to try to make them myself sometime for the summer. They have a handmade feel that reminds me of this necklace I convinced my mother to buy when I was around 8 or 9 years old.

We were at the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale, which is like a gigantic yard sale and antique show, and I came across this colorful necklace which was made of all different wooden beads and various seeds and nutshells. It was pretty eccentric now that I think about it, but she still bought it. I saw it in her house the other day and couldn't believe she still had it.

Can you imagine what a fun project this would be? The necklaces are completely unbalanced, slightly off-kilter and perfectly imperfect.

bring may flowers

This sweet calendar caught my eye while I was browsing one of my favorite sites, Madewell Clothing. It has hand drawn details and quirky little comments for each day of the month. Click to see it larger.

Isn't this one for May 28th great?

Every night this week in our calendar is filled, I wonder what it would look like if I drew it all out.

a little soundtrack: from the hubby

This great little ditty was sent to me by my dear hubby. In this day and age, you can find us IMing each other on occasion when we're at home (funny eh?). So he sent this to me because he knows I love new artists and acoustic and catchy music. Gotta love this girl, and her new album was just released on iTunes! Here's a music video for a song called "Bitter Heart" by Zee Avi from Malaysia. I love the Super 8 quality it has, and her cute vintage dress near the end reminds me of this one. Enjoy! I hope it brightens your day as it did mine.



This video is no longer available, hear the song here

companies with a conscience

The other day I saw this great TED talk about - tribes and leadership by Seth Godin (the techy blogger), He spoke about how groups of people can make change happen and lead movements. It was inspiring, and in the "I can make a difference" kind of way. As a side note, if you haven't listened to any TED talks before, you should!

And it made me think about the awesome drive and commitment of companies that feed more than our desire for beautiful things, but also our desire to help those in need. Because, really ... we're all in need of something - whether it's food, a home, someone to love, a life purpose, or even a sense of belonging.

That's why I love these pictures below from TOMS. Toms sees a need and meets a need! Toms was created by Blake Mycoskie, and for each pair of shoes sold, another pair is given to a child in need around the world. And if you purchase their shoes, and wear them on your feet, those shoes tell a story. I just love the innocence and joy of the children in their photos (taken on their shoe drop trip to South Africa). And the red-orange stripe on that shoe - so stylish!

And who wouldn't love these bright blue ones for summer? Or a sweet madras print. Buy 'em here.

Another company that seeks to do good unto others is Rosa Loves. This t-shirt company screen prints enough shirts to meet a specific need, and sells that entire edition of shirts until the goal is met. 60% of the price of the shirt goes toward the needs, and the other 40% goes into operation and goods. The shirts are designed with the need in mind, for instance, a recycled bike project is represented by a modern seafoam green shirt with a graphic bicycle print. My favorite is called "From the Heart" and is the classic Rosa Loves tee.

Companies like these are great examples of how to take creativity and make it truly impactful.

sheep's milk

In my bathroom I have this funny sheep container that I use to store cotton swabs - a friend gave it to me, and every time I look at it I just get a kick out of it. I think it's the pun-lover in me that likes it so much. 

I mean, do you remember sticking cotton balls onto construction paper sheep as a child? Fun fun fun! Purchase it here.

So when I saw this milk container, it just made so much sense. A glass ... of milk! Half-pint actually. Who wouldn't love to use this in the morning? Or stick a flower in it. Find it at Fred Flare.

via happy mundane

what a clever idea!

I saw this adorably cute shirt dress tutorial for little girls on Sweet Juniper's blog from Dana Made It - and I am now convinced more than ever that I need to learn how to sew before I have kids! This tutorial takes a man's dress shirt from this:

And turns it into this super sweet little dress:

Perfect for birthday parties, the county fair, or even church. I love it. Look at this super preppy one made with the cuffs of the shirt, so lovely.

See the other dresses that have been made from this tutorial at the made shirt dress flickr pool.

Oh, I hope I have a girl ...

images via dana made it

aussie adventures

Here are a few more lovely pics from our adventures down under. I forgot to mention that we also spent a few days in New Zealand as well, trekking around in an RV. It's pretty amazing to be able to park your car/RV by these wondrous views and have some lunch. I'd say we were spoiled!

finally back again

It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry that I've been neglecting this blog, I've really been busy with life - our family was struck with some news that has been pretty difficult to swallow, so our time has been spent with each other and sorting everything out.

But I do have to say, all in all, I feel blessed. I always feel that I'm being shown wonderful things every single day and it's a privilege to realize that and take it all in. Our Australia and New Zealand trip was a good example of that, and I hope to recount some of the experiences so I can remember them for a long time to come. The whole trip was filled with good friends, good food, and spontaneous moments. We knew what we wanted to do, but didn't make a set itinerary. We really just planned our trip from day to day. And it was perfect that way.

Three words that I'd use to describe some of the trip: seafood, smoothies and ice cream. Yes, all of those were food. There is so much more to tell, but the food is a good start. This first photo is of the smoked salmon and prawn salad from James Squire Brewhouse on Darling Harbour, the second is the hubba enjoying his breakfast sandwich and a tasty mango smoothie, and the third is homemade honeycomb ice cream.




Can't wait to share more with you - it was an inspiring trip to say the least.