Catching Up…

This past Memorial Day weekend went by too fast! I didn’t do any of the things I should have done, but definitely all the things worth doing. For so many years when Ricardo was in school, I spent many weekends doing thing by myself. Now that we have weekends to spend together, each one is like a mini adventure and oh how I LOVE them! We thought about going away for the long holiday, but after so many busy weekends…we decided to stick around with the bullies.

Sometimes, we have visitors that unexpectedly show up in Southern California, but rest assured…we will always find a way to keep them entertained. Confession – we’ve been on both the TMZ Bus Tour and the Hollywood Stars Home Tour. Both were awesome.

I’m really loving this undone french braid beachy waves look. I braid the night before and let them go the next morning  with a spritz of hairspray for some texture. For extra kinky waves, try it with two french braids. You can also steal some of the hubby’s fancy hair pomade to work through the ends. In honor of beachy waves, we took the doggies for a sunset walk along the beach. We learned that Rambo likes the water and Joe is deathly afraid of the waves.

Summer is finally here and to celebrate…I picked up a pair of fun Seychelles sandals.

I just finished Mindy Kaling’s book and this popular trilogy. If you love The Office, then Mindy’s book is a must read. I’m tempted to start this risqué trilogy…should I?

Three Hundred + One

Hi everyone…so sorry for the light posting in recent weeks. I feel like weekends are always too short and before you know it, they’re gone! I’m not sure how I missed my 300th etsy sale this week…but we’re up to 301 sales! Hippo Hooray is all I can say! The shop needs some major updating so maybe the long weekend will help get me in the mood. Hmm…I feel like celebrating!

Need For Speed

What do you do for the hubster who has a need for speed? You get him a pass to drive a real Nascar car and let him have at it!

Lost and Replaced

One year for my birthday, the hubby gave me a necklace that I loved from one of my most favorite shops in town (seen below in our engagement photos). I remember visiting the shop that week and they told me how sweet and nervous he was picking it out, not knowing if I would like it, but wanting so hard to pick me something that would make me happy. The story from the shop was what really put me over the moon about the necklace so I was completely devastated when I realized it had gone missing one day.

If you know me, I like everyday jewelry so the necklace I received was pretty perfect. It was nothing fancy, just a small square silver pendant inscribed on both sides with a sweet Confucius quote. I searched for it high and low, but it never reappeared through the years so I gave up. I can’t tell you how excited I was the other week when I checked my email and the jewelry designer came up on Gilt. I couldn’t believe my eyes…this was my chance to replace the necklace! Unfortunately, it wasn’t available in the Gilt shop, but there was another one available with the same quote. After waiting patiently for weeks, it finally came in and I almost love it as much as the original. I kind of like that it’s not exactly the same as before, but still similar enough to remind me of the one the hubby gave me. Hopefully, I won’t go losing this one too ♥.

Celebrating 50 Days with Joe!

Have you ever wondered how far a little bit of tender, love and care could go? I know many of you have seen photos of Joe (our foster bulldog), but not many know what he really looked like when he first arrived. Joe was in really bad shape the day we took him in. His hind legs were very weak and every little noise startled him. He was covered in scabs, missing hair, and skin rubbed raw…it was as bad, or worse, as you’re imagining. I remember thinking to myself that if he can get through this much and still be here…then surely I could bring him back to good health, always optimistic.

Today is special because we’re celebrating 50 days with Joe! It’s amazing how far he’s come along and I look forward to his progress every day. He’s starting to look like Rambo and they’ve become really great playmates. He’s slowly gaining weight, starting to be protective, cries for attention, and snores like a tugboat for a such a small bully. We really don’t know how much time we have with Joe, but we’re enjoying every minute of it. Happy 50 days little guy!

Bulldog Buddies

People often ask us how well our resident dog (Rambo) gets along with our foster dogs. You see, Rambo thinks he’s human…an old man to be exact because he really doesn’t care too much for other dogs. He tends to ignore them when he knows he has to share his environment. It took him a few weeks to warm up to our foster dog, but he has slowly been letting Joe into his personal space. Just the other day, he let Joe snuggle up with him on the couch and since these occasions are so rare, they’re really quite sweet when you catch them in action. Although, whenever I try to snuggle with the hubby, Rambo finds a way to squeeze in right between us…I think he’s trying to tell me something.

Going Bananas

My most favorite dishes to make are the ones that kind of come on a whim. As my brother was on his way over visiting with my niece, I quickly sliced some strawberries and placed them inside a ramekin. I use ramekins for almost everything – they make for great portion control. I also sliced some bananas and stuck them upright on a thin layer of cookie butter smeared over some toasted coconut thins (all from Trader Joes). I call these little babies “Banana Wheels.” They’re super simple and full of unexpected flavors. I was a little hesitant about the cookie butter, but it seriously tastes like gingerbread and the sales girl really worked her convincing…you must give it a try!

p.s. I don’t generally buy ranunculus, but these blooms were calling my name.

Nice and Neutral

As much as I love a pop of color, I also really LOVE neutral tones…maybe because they go with everything and make everything around them look so clean and crisp…especially in the home. I’ve been holding on to a bunch of decorative orbs I picked up not too long ago, but I didn’t know what to do with them until I found this tall glass dessert stand! I’m still left with a whole bunch of orbs so I’ll need to find a new home for them too.

With dogs in the house, I’m always on the hunt for yummy smelling candles. I generally stick with neutral colored candles because my favorite scents fall in the almond biscotti flavors, but I recently picked up a candle for a friend at this cute shop in Venice Beach and I loved it so much…I ordered one for myself. I couldn’t resist it’s hints of oatmeal, vanilla and vetiver! These Barr-Co. candles can also be found at Anthropologie. It’s not overpowering at all so its subtle scent is perfect for the most sensitive nose.

Their Biggest Adventure Yet!

After I left for college, I managed to stay close to a handful of friends from high school and one of them was Melissa. I can’t remember what drew us so close together, but I think it was her sense of adventure that was really infectuous. It was our senior year and we started this list of 101 things to do that would make our year memorable and we had to document as many as we could. We took a photo on a firetruck wearing firemen gear and I took my first motorcycle ride on the back of a Harley Davidson because of her. Those were definitely good times!

The wonderful thing about Melissa is after all those years, we always pick up where we left off no matter how long we go without communicating. She’s now engaged to Craig, who is wonderful and a Laker fan so you really can’t go wrong. He also proposed at the top of Machu Picchu {swoon} –> I’ll always be a hopeless romantic. They have a great deal of fun together and know how to make each other happy so I am genuinely over the moon that they’ll be getting hitched!

I received their LOVELY Save the Dates this past week, a collaboration between her creative self and designer sister, Kristi. I especially love the kraft paper and simplistic, yet playful font types.

{Side Note} I actually have a funny story about Kristi that I never even told Melissa! We were trying to be creative and were making cards at her house one day in high school. We were looking for materials and she decided to steal/borrow some of Kristi’s crafty eyelets. I had never seen an eyelet in my life and I just thought they were the neatest craft invention ever so as soon as I got home, I ordered every eyelet color known to mankind online. Flash forward 10 years later…I still have my collection and I know exactly who to thank for my lifetime supply of eyelets ♥

Taking the Leap…

I spent last Wednesday night at a Leap Year party hosted by the fabulous ladies from Utterly Engaged. I met the lovely Lucia and super sweet Henny who are extremely down to earth and truly know how to throw an amazing party. I’m sure they’ll be posting up photos of their soirée soon. They encouraged us to be a part of The Leap Year Project, a community of people taking action to change lives, communities, or our world for the better in 2012! This got me thinking just a little bit…

I’ve always been a fearful person, mostly for my fear of failure, but the hubby has really helped me with that these past few years. He’s encouraged me to take new risks and that I’ll never know what I’m missing out on if I don’t give things a chance. He’s the one person that’s 100% supportive of all my ideas, even the crazy ones, and I can always count on him for an honest opinion.

This made me think of last year and the exciting business projects I was able to work on. One big project was with Jenny who hosted a chemistry themed bridal shower for a close friend and had asked me to help with all of the paper goods. Since my own wedding, this was one of the bigger projects I had taken on and I really enjoyed the many different parts it entailed. I think the most fun part of working on a project like this was the different vendors who all came together and made a unique contribution that pulled the entire event together to complete Jenny’s look. Who knew that she’s not only a talented photographer, but also a great event planner?

Featured on: {Style Me Pretty} and {Utterly Engaged}
Photographs by: {Alders Photography}

Not long after that, I was blessed enough to host my best friend’s baby shower. I wanted it to be as unique and special as she was so up until the night before the shower, I was up until 3 am finalizing all of the details. My problem is that I never truly have a clear vision of my end goal. I have visions of my many little projects and then I cross my fingers that they come together. For the most part, I’ve been really lucky. My goal this year includes finding more ways to grow my etsy business and in turn, that would help me find more ways to give back to the community. Here’s to more pretty parties for 2012!

Featured on: {On to Baby}
Photographs by: {Megan Tsang}

Meet Joe, Our Newest Addition.

When Ricardo called me from the vet’s office to tell me about Joe, I bursted into tears. He was found in a field all alone and scared, but I know he’s super smart because he had built himself a little den to stay protected. Joe isn’t quite ready for adoption yet because he’s in really bad shape, but we are determined to bring this little fellow back to good health. We think he’s about two years old and we’re not sure if he ran away or was abandoned, but you can tell he’s been through a whole lot. He has the sweetest face and demeanor, but is completely covered in scabs and has patches of missing hair all over.

They’re always so shy and timid with us on their first night, but he quickly found his way around the house and even claimed his sweet spot on the couch. He is going to need lots of love and care the next few weeks. As he progresses along the way, we’ll be sure to keep you up to date. Until then, meet Joe…the newest addition to our foster family.

A Very Happy Valentine’s Day!

We made a rule that we would make our valentine’s day gift this year so I was thinking of what I could possibly come up with. I loved  the dog blueprint I found on Uncommon Goods, but the bulldog they had pictured didn’t look like our little hambone and frankly…I couldn’t afford the print and wait 2-3 weeks for delivery. I also wanted to customize the print with his name and actual measurements so I attempted to design one for the hubby. It took me a few tries to take the perfect profile picture of him, but I managed to get one that would work and had a friend turn him into a line drawing. I’m happy to say that Ricardo completely loved his gift so now we just need to find a home for it.

Ricardo actually broke the rules and bought me a lovely gift, but it came with the sweetest card from him and Rambo…complete with Rambo’s paw print signature that he dipped in ink pads found in my craft box. Don’t worry, no english bulldogs were harmed in the process ♥.