under construction.

Please excuse any random links that don't work or things that may go missing in the next few days. My blog is getting a little makeover, and it's going to be a not-so-quick process. I'm doing it all myself (let's remember that I have absolutely no background in graphic design, coding, etc.) This is a learn as I go sort of experience mixed with the fact that I am a perfectionist and want it exactly how it is in my head.

This picture is my inspiration for the design concept. Look familiar? That's because you've seen it before in this post.

photo source.

graphics added by yours truly.

You may have noticed the new banner and navigation bar at the top. What do you think so far? I'm happy with how it's turning out, but want to know your thoughts.

weekend recap // street fairs and organizing

Yesterday was the Adam's Avenue Street Fair. Tumbleweed's Odd Shop is on Adam's, so we stopped by for a quick visit and to stroll the fair. I could stay in there forever looking through all of the goodies that Beca, Doug, and Shawn have collected. Also, I got to see these one-of-a kind pair of sunglasses that Doug recently crafted. They are amazing up close!

After the fair, we went home to clean and organize. We got rid of a ton of stuff that we don't need (doesn't that always feel refreshing?!). We aren't even close to being finished, but it was a great start. We need to clear extra space in our house, because we are starting a huge project that is taking over the entire downstairs. Philip is going to be selling some of his work through fab.com at the end of next month. That means that the two of us are making book lamps and pendant lamps almost everyday until that weekend. This was part of the reason that I closed my shop this week. In fact, I'm going to keep it closed for a little while longer while until we get things in order. It's just insane around here and I don't have enough time to give full attention to the shop.

This morning we enjoyed the cold weather while sipping coffee at Influx. We stopped by for some coffee and to talk out our game plan for the next couple of months. It was a refreshing way to start the morning. Now back to organizing! How did you enjoy your weekend?

just let it go.

source.

I've really been enjoying this "week off from worrying" (as I've been calling it). Normally when I'm not swamped with the pressure of making things, I'm stressed out about the house, laundry, blogging, our calendar, etc. I have not let myself worry about any of those things this week and it's been fantastic. The best part is that I find it really rewarding when I do one load of dishes, even if it's not the whole kitchen. My mind isn't exhausted from constantly thinking of my giant to do list that never seems to be empty. I'm just content with the day to day. Wait, did I just say content? Yeah, I did! So what was the magic formula that got me here? Simple: I just let things go. It's funny how hard that sounded last week and how doing it was actually easy. I wasn't meant to carry around all of these burdens and worries all the time, so I won't. I can't control them or change them, so I won't even try. God's given me an abundant amount of blessings in my life that I truly don't deserve. When I focus on all of that rather than what I think I don't have, it all gets put into perspective. Talk about humility.

So there's my rambling thoughts for you. I think it all makes sense. On a side note: I have been in love with this quinoa salad ever since I tried it while on a date with my friend Emily. I made it for dinner last night and tonight. We both loved it, so nothing wrong with that, right? :) Here it is, would you like to know what's in it?

quinoa, basil, chives, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, pecans, and feta, topped with a caesar romano dressing (from Trader Joe's of course)

It's amazing! We have definitely eaten it as a meal, but it's also a great thing to keep in the fridge as a ready-to-eat and healthy snack (lots of protein!) That's usually the key for me to make sure that I eat enough food during the day: have it ready to eat. Sometimes I will put off eating for a while and then all of a sudden, I'm starving. That's never a good situation for me or my husband ( I get beyond grumpy). I try to keep this in mind when I'm shopping for snacks during my grocery trips. What are your favorite snacks that get you through the day? I have a staple snack list that I'll share soon (i think mine's kind of funny).

need a breather.

Doesn't this little breakfast look like heaven? A few things pop into my head when I look at this: refreshed. breathe. enjoy. healthy. sit. I need more of this in my life. I have hit a breaking point and can't add anything else to my plate. In fact, I need to take a step back to let myself breathe. I decided to take a week for myself. I am going to do a lot of thinking, resting, prioritizing, reading, sitting, and reconnecting with my husband.

I decided that, during this week, the shop will be closed. I have 2 orders to send out tomorrow and then I need a break from making anything. The shop will re-open on Monday, September 26th. When it does, I should have quite a few new listings: yarn wreaths, hair bows, and necklaces.

Goodnight.

weekend.

Before:

After:

My nephew turned 1 today! How did that go by so fast? I feel like I just wrote this post. I guess not. Jesse and Becky took these adorable pictures of him with a smash cake. It looks like he had SO much fun! :)

We are having a birthday party for him tonight. It will be fun to see him and hang out with my family. Tomorrow I get to have a sleepover with a bunch of girlfriends. Haha, yep. It's being hosted by my friend's husband (how sweet is that?). I feel like I enjoy sleepovers even more now that I'm all gown up. Maybe because I appreciate one after a long week of work...and a glass of sangria with my girlfriends ;)

What are your plans for the weekend?

hello, gorgeous!

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How stunning are these dresses?! They're from Oscar de la Renta's RTW for spring 2012.

let's talk about breakfast.

When I go to breakfast, I'm the annoying person that orders a bunch of sides as a meal. Luckily, my husband doesn't mind. I'v been noticing how much I do this at home now. I never make myself a full omelet, I'm never in the mood for waffles and my breakfast burrito from Saguaro's doesn't sound appealing anymore. Here's an example of my breakfasts (this is what I had yesterday):

1. The peaches from Trader Joe's are amazing right now!

2. Sprouted wheat toast (also from Trader Joe's- I love their bread).

3.Hard boiled eggs with mustard. When I nannied for a family, this is how the little girl ate her eggs. After smelling the combo so many times and taking tiny nibbles of hers every once in a while, this is the only way I'll eat hard boiled eggs.

4. Avocado goes with every meal and is my favorite snack.

I also have yogurt with my breakfast everyday, but with a little something extra added to it. (More on that later) Although, I'm not having omelettes and waffles for breakfast, I feel like my meals are pretty well balanced and enjoyable for me. If I have too many scrambled eggs a few days in a row, I won't eat them for a couple of weeks. I get sick of certain foods really fast if I have too much of them. These "snack plates" (as I like to call them) seem to keep my taste buds interested.

What do you usually eat for breakfast? Do you like small portions of a lot of different foods or bigger portions of a couple things?

farmer's market photo shoot.

A few months ago, Philip and I got to play bride and groom for a photo shoot and yesterday it was featured on the Wedding Chicks blog! It was a farmer's market inspired shoot at The Barn at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad. It was extra fun for us because we were originally going to get married there. We ended up having to change our venue (The Barn wasn't ready for events at that time). It's ok, we got pictures there anyway. Ha!

Leif Brandt took these beautiful photos. Being in front of a camera is super awkward for me, but it helps when your photographer is really fun and easy to work with. He was great at giving direction and making us feel comfortable all at the same time.

Katelyn Groth was our stylist. She picked out the prettiest outfits for me to wear. See the outfit with the pretty lace skirt and green top? Yeah, I still want to wear this everyday.

Nellie Chan was the event coordinator of the shoot and she did all of the floral design. It was my first photo shoot with her, though we've worked a lot of real weddings with her. It's amazing to watch her work- she is beyond amazing at her job. Not to mention, she has flawless taste. I love being apart of anything that she does!

Not so sound like a diva, but I don't like anyone doing my makeup except for Channing. Yeah, it's true. Lucky for me, she was our makeup artist for the day!

Cami is my hairstylist that I go to on a regular basis and she did my hair that day. (She even weaved thin pieces of leather into my hair.)

There's more! You can see the entire gallery here.

Here's a few pictures that Philip took behind the scenes:

This is my friend Azy just doing a little calligraphy. No big deal. Haha. (She has a bunch of sweet hidden talents.)

shop update: chalkboards and lamps.

Philip and I both have some new listings in the shops. We have been working like crazy fulfilling orders and when we do get the chance, we try to update the shops. I had a custom order for these chalkboards + the woodland chalkboard. It was really fun making something new- especially because it was something that we made together. (Philip cut and sanded the wood for me.)

Philip has had a lot of e-mails asking when he's going to have more book lamps in the shop. He's been so busy fulfilling pendant lamp orders, that there hasn't been time to make any. Well, there was time to make one and it's in the shop now.

I have the day off from the cafe so I'm sending out some orders and working on new ones. Yay! AND it's my brother's birthday today, so maybe I'll even get to see my family for dinner tonight. What are your plans today?

mini photo shoot.

We needed to take some pictures of a new product tonight and Patrick needed to go on a walk. We took all of our stuff and our little pup down to the balboa trails. It was a nice little outing before we locked ourselves in the house to work the night away. We're still crazy busy. I actually forgot today was Monday. I thought it was Tuesday or Wednesday because we worked all weekend. Haha. How was your Monday?

PS..new product photos coming soon :)

late night inspiration.

source.

We had a wonderful day of much needed rest and now we're working the night away. We got to visit Tumbleweed's Odd Shop tonight for it's grand opening! It looks amazing and we're so excited for Beca, Doug, and Shawn.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend ♥

summer loves.

Fall is approaching! I'm very excited about it. I love the shnuggly weather, hot drinks, spiced flavors, and sweaters. However, I am a little sad to see summer go. I'm hoping that we may be able to make a trip to Palm Springs work sometime soon. (Probably not, but it's fun to dream). Here's some trends that I absolutely loved this summer:

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The good news: Just because summertime is leaving us, doesn't mean that all of these things are too. What were your favorite trends this summer? (I practically lived in cut offs)

PS- Fall inspired post coming soon!

macha has stolen my heart.

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I can't get enough of this jewelry. Everything Macha makes is just to die for! If I didn't already have a wedding ring, I would seriously consider anything from the Rockwell line. It's such a great twist on the traditional wedding rings. Bernice Kelly is a genius!

thug life.

Good morning. I found this via Kyle's Pinterest board. I thought it was pretty amazing and wanted to share it with you.

pinterest picks: delicate wedding

Left to right (starting from the upper left):

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All from my Pinterest board

Cailen is going to be my sister soon (!), so I've been having fun talking wedding ideas with her. I am especially loving all of this delicate inspiration.

I hope you are enjoying this week. I am getting sick from not stopping (or sleeping). Sadly, tonight's not going to be any different. Jake and I played at the Farmer's Market yesterday. It was definitely a learning experience. It was super super hot yesterday (and humid)! Being outside in the heat all day, singing for 4 hours straight, and standing in one spot for so long was physically exhausting. I felt like a train had ran me over by the end of the day. Also, we got pretty burnt out after having to play our set a few times. However, it was still fun. I have never felt that comfortable performing before. I wasn't nervous at all (yay!). Hopefully we will play another show soon.

Time to get back to work! Hopefully, I will be back tomorrow :)

coffee and a new shop.

His and hers coffee beverages.

His: Iced double vanilla latte | Hers: Double cappuccino

We went to Influx after church this weekend for brunch. I LOVE going out for brunch and we don't do it very often, so I was pretty excited about it :)

Today, Jake and I are performing at the PB Farmer's Market. I'm excited and really nervous. We're going to be there for 4 hours! The longest set we've ever played has probably only been a little over an hour, so today will be a little challenging for me. I worry about things like: what if I get hungry? (This is usually the first thing that I worry about when I know I'll be in one place for a long time) What if I have to go to the bathroom? What if my legs get tired from standing in one place for so long? What if I forget the words? There are a million other things that I worry about, but I won't bore you with all of them. I know it will be fun overall, so I t'm trying not to think about my silly fears.

I'm really enjoying the little bit of rain that we're having. Do you like the rain? Yesterday, Philip and I were both talking about fall, blankets, pumpkin flavored things, warm drinks, and christmas music. I love how cozy cold weather is. It's almost a shame that we're way to busy to lay around and enjoy it. Soon we shall catch up :) Speaking of catching up, I am no where close to being as busy as these guys:

Beca, Doug, and their friend Shawn are opening up a shop here in SD! It's in a perfect spot on Adam's Avenue in Normal Heights. I am SO excited for them! I have never known anyone to work as hard as they do. They seem to be working round the clock on making sure that orders go out, getting ready to open the shop (this includes renovating!), blogging, and taking care of their 3 adorable pups. (I seriously don't know how Beca finds time to blog.) Their shop is going to be vintage and handmade goods. I was so honored when Beca asked me if I wanted to sell my stuff in their new store. (Heck yes I do!) You should come to their opening party this Saturday! (all the cool kids will be there).

Happy Tuesday!