Adventures

The weekend according to my instagram

Starbuck’s Valentine’s Day Cup warms me up inside and out.

A Saturday afternoon drive down the coast made me feel so grateful to live in this incredible place.

Some delicious looking goodies from Olive Grocer in Belmont Shores. We got an amazing pack of various olives. So delish!

A new straw purchase which made my iced coffee a little extra festive.

The yummiest pretzel bread, roasted duck breast, goat cheese, & mustard sandwich from the cheese shop at the OC Mix Mart. (More on that later this week)

Lastly, my man looking handsome on our way to dinner at Watermarc in Laguna Beach. Thanks Singer fam for the Gift Certificate!

Hope you had the loveliest of weekends and your Monday is starting off splendidly!

A Weekender

A whole weekend inspired by a bag? Yes. Not only is this weekender totally and completely AMAZING but I have created an entire weekend trip out of it. How cool would it be to pack up and drive off and sit on the lakefront with wine, food, & people you love. Ah it would be perfection.

1. Vintage Swiss Army Blanket 2. Summerby Sweater 3. Seven For All Makind High Rise 4. Xavia Bralette Set 5. Pearly Pebble Cascade Necklace 6. Lizette Natural By Charles Phillip

Last but certainly not least I bring you THE… Kate Spade Weekender

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

Weekend Warmup

I feel like every time the holidays come around our weekends quickly fill up with excitement. This weekend is our annual cookie baking weekend. My mom, aunts, cousins, and I all get together and bake lots of cookies. I mean LOTS, and all kinds. My contribution is my grandmother’s crescent cookies and toffee. Along with that we have sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies cups, lace cookies, chocolate chips, snikerdoodle, and usually a couple of new recipes. This year I am excited to try…

Spicy Ginger Molasses Cookies from Milk & Honey
about 2.5 dozen

INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup Crisco (vegetable shortening)
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg together until well combined. Dump in dry ingredients, stirring dry ingredients together lightly. Mix together until dough is combined.
3. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then generously coat each ball with sugar.
Place balls on a baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack.
Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool.

{source}

 

My mother has worked at the Sawdust Festival for many years now and when I was looking for a ring for Matt she talked to one of the artists at the festival about creating a ring designed by us. We had talked about what we wanted together and this past weekend we met with the artist and it was a truly amazing experience. The artist is the sweetest most intuitive woman. Not to mention extremely talented. She created my mothers 25 anniversary ring which is one of the most beautiful pieces i have even seen. We spent about an hour talking with Catherine, getting to know her and talking about our relationship, the wedding, and the ring. I encourage you to check her work out {here}. I cannot wait to see what she puts together. As an added bonus to all of this, I take great pride in knowing that we are supporting one of your hometown artists.

How fun are these! A fun way to pump up any table setting!
Colored Spoons Tutorial

Have a great weekend!

Our New Holiday Tradition

I have been meaning to share this with you all but haven’t quite gotten around to it. But I am now and that is what counts right?

While shopping at a local toy store on Small Business Saturday, I picked up Thomas’s very own Elf on the Shelf. I had heard of Elf on the Shelf before but hadn’t even seen it. Once I saw it in person I was SO excited to get it for Thomas and start a new holiday tradition. So we adopted our elf scout…

First we let Thomas get to know his new Christmas friend by naming her and giving her some of her own traits~

Name: Treepop

What is your Elf’s favorite cookie? Chocolate Peppermint Bark

What is your Elf’s favorite Christmas song? Christmas is here, a song Thomas is learning for his upcoming recital.

 

What is your Elf’s favorite Christmas present? Legos

 

What is your Elf’s favorite North Pole activity? Snowball Fights

 

Who is your Elf’s favorite reindeer? Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

 

A little bit about The Elf on the Shelf…

“The Elf on the Shelf Tradition”

 

Have you ever wondered how Santa knows who is naughty and who is nice? The Elf on the Shelf – A Christmas Tradition is the very special tool that helps Santa knows who to put on the Naughty and Nice list. This interactive holiday hide-and-seek tradition is perfect for children and families of all ages.

The tradition begins when Santa sends his scout elves out to Elf Adoption Centers. Waiting for their families to bring them home, these patient elves hibernate until their family reads The Elf on the Shelf, gives their elf a very special name, and registers their adoption online. Once named, each scout elf will receive its Christmas magic and become a part of the family’s Christmas each and every year.

Excellent listeners and even better observers, these scout elves are the eyes and ears of Santa Claus. Although they cannot be touched, or else they may lose their magic, the elf will always listen and relay messages back to Santa. Taking in all the day-to-day activities around the house, no good deed goes unnoticed; these scout elves take their job seriously.

Each night, after the family goes to bed, the scout elf uses his magical Christmas powers to fly back to the North Pole. Once there, the elf will make his or her daily report to Santa and visit with elf friends where they will tell stories about their beloved families, play with the reindeer, and of course, sneak some of Mrs. Claus’ cookies!

Before the family awakes each morning, their special scout elf will fly back to their home from the North Pole. However, since these elves like to play games, don’t expect to find them in the same spot!  While some like to hide in the freezer (probably because it reminds them of the North Pole) and others prefer to sit on the fireplace mantle or hang from the chandelier, these elves love to play hide-and-seek with their families.

On Christmas Eve, the scout elf will listen for Santa’s bell and then fly back to the North Pole until the next season, wishing every girl and each boy a Christmas of peace and a year full of joy.

Find more {here}

Sunday Breakfast {Serious Blackberry Smoothie}

As a family, we just joined the Y. Dun…dun…dun….

With all that has been going on it our lives, taking the time to work out has gotten the short stick. Seriously, it’s crazy. So after a great recommendation for one of my BFF’s Courtney (i love you woman) I went for it and started a family membership at the YMCA. And I am SO glad I did. It has been great getting back into a good routine. Family fitness days are fun.

So as a result I am trying to be more stringent in eating a healthy breakfast. Insert this delicious Blackberry Smoothie…

Ingredients

  • 2 cups frozen blackberries
  • 1 banana
  • 1 1/2 cups plain, non-fat yogurt
  • 1 cup regular oats, soaked overnight
  • honey, to taste
  • oats as garnish (optional)

Directions

Soak the oats overnight in 1 cup of water and a little bit of lemon juice.

Add the frozen berries, the banana, the yogurt, and the oats to the blender.  Blend until the mix reaches the desired consistency.

Sweeten with honey, if necessary.

Fill into glasses and sprinkle a few oats on top.

 

YUM!!!!

Weekend Warmup

~ Tonight is Laguna’s Annual hospitality night. Which is one of the greatest nights for this little town. Santa rides through downtown to city hall to light the willow tree, all the stores stay open and offer drinks and treats, kids line up to see santa and explore the candy baron. Overall it is one of the town’s best traditions, for all ages. I remember in junior high this is the night when your crush would ask you to meet them at Jonny Rockets to share a milkshake. Ah the nostalgia.

Tonight is extra special because our very own Laguna Beach High School Football team is up against our longtime CDM rival in the CIF semifinals. Needless to say tomorrow has got spirit for this wonderful little town of ours and my family and I plan to revel in it.

~ Next is some fun wedding crafting and getting ready for a meeting with our wedding planner! Here is a inspiration board I threw together…

~ Lastly, a fun weekend look I put together. I am now shopping for the perfect leather jacket… if only I looked good in black…

Leather Jacket

 

 

Bonne Weekend my loves!

p.s. who wants to braid my hair this way?

Giving Thanks ~ An Inspiration Board

I am cooking the majority of our Thanksgiving dinner this year, for the second time & I definitely intend to learn from last years lessons. Most of all, I am getting a good head start on cooking the big items. We are cooking two turkeys, one 12 pound & another whopping 18 pounder. Which mean brining began last night & this morning. I am extremely excited with the recipes I am using and hope they turn out well enough to share. Until that time here is my inspiration board for this years feast.

 

 

Thanksgiving

 

 

I would have to say I am thankful for taking my time with this holiday. It saddens me when Black Friday & Christmas take over. I love being able to slave away in the kitchen on a lavish mean and sit down right before sunset with the wonderful people in my life and be thankful that we can be together.

Related Posts~

Holiday Plates

Weekend Warmup

To start the weekend off I want to tell you all just how much I want to be wearing this outfit as I walk through a Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market.

Market Fresh

 

 

Next, I am extremely excited to have one of Matt’s greatest guy friends/groomsmen over tonight and we are going to drink some yummy beer and play….

Matt had been talking about this game non stop for months. I cannot tell you how many times we watched the videos of real play. SO I was extremely happy to the game for him for his birthday.

Also, I am making a bomb brisket, recipe to follow. It’s one of my specialties.

and last but not least…

I was asked by one of my co-workers to make a birthday invite for her daughter’s spa/sleepover. I had a blast putting this together and it is only the beginning of some great things to come.

Brooke Spa Party 2

 

Happy Weekend Loves ~

Weekend Warm Up

A couple things that make me smile as I look toward the weekend. . .

 

~ A fun memory of last weekends festivities {Champagne & my favorite snacks}

~ A view from our hopeful wedding venue {fingers crossed}


~ A Simple Casual Friday Look

 

Casual Friday

 

Happy Weekend : )

My Plans This Weekend. . .

Starting at approximately 5:30 tomorrow morning I begin the most exciting girls trip EVER. I am lucky to have five really stellar ladies in my life who have agreed to be by my side through the next year before our wedding. So I created an itinerary for this weekends trip.

First a bit about us. . .

 


 

And the trip details. . .

As you can imagine I am beyond excited and extremely grateful! Can’t wait to share the rest!

 

Happy Weekend Loves!

A Honeymoon Must. . .

I’m in love of the idea of creating one of these as a keepsake for our honeymoon. It would be such a great way to chronicle each adventure.

Created by the cutest Etsy Shop {The Hive}. These are Customized Vacation Posters designed as a way to document your vacation/travels in a whimsical, unique way.

This is a serious must.

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Weekend Warmup

~~Watching Adele stroll through Paris while belting Someone Like You

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0[/tube]

 

~~Inspiration for this weekends activities

~~ A treat for a very special {birthday girl}