bits from our trip -part 1

 

traveling

husband + i are on our way to washington! sooo looking forward to this time of visiting family + watching a couple of his gigs live! ... but getting up at 4 was not fun.

these bring me much happiness right now ..

1. fresh baked biscuits w/ fresh whipped cream
2. black tea w/ sugar + milk
3. finishing all my errands for the day (i think ..)
4. striped maxi dress i wore while running the errands
5. mini-vacation w/ husband to washington (woohoo!)
6. knowing that i'm almost done packing
7. short + dark nails
8. finding 2 long lost rings (2! .. tell me i'm not lucky?!)
9. fresh contact lenses (thank you optometrist)
10. the remaining lazy + quiet afternoon reading + drinking more tea

It has come!

i adore gwyneth paltrow .. so to finally get her cookbook in the mail was such a joy, can't wait to make the "whole roasted fish with salsa verde" ... it looks amazing. 

homemade chicken noodle soup

my love for soups will never end ... never ... ever ...
  i'm making chicken noodle soup for our dinner tonight. (even if it's 80 degrees outside right now)
 i can't remember how i got this recipe ... but i've made it a few times now .. and it never fails me.  soup is the ultimate comfort food. yum.  

the seasonings

ingredients 

chop up veggies 

about 1 cup each

grill chicken breast

sautee veggies with butter + olive oil 

slice the grilled chicken after you let it sit for a bit

add hot water + chicken stock + spices ... simmer 

i add the egg noodles 20 minutes before eating ... otherwise they get soggy and it'll ruin the soup.  

i'm looking forward to this meal tonight w/ husband ... as i am already drinking too much of the soup "just to make sure it tastes right".  

bits from our weekend

husand + i went on a nice drive Saturday to a beach near our house ... it was relaxing and made for an enjoyable saturday.  

the small things in life

these pretty flowers bring me life + happiness. amazing.

eats + wants

the scarf, the blazer, the scalloped skirt. everything.  

vintage handbags-inspired nail colors

Beard Papa's vanilla cream puff(s)

(photos EmersonMade, Essie, Beard Papa's)

"of course you are disappointed .."

The human heart has an infinite capacity for happiness and an unending need for love, because it is created for an infinite God who is unending love.  The desperate turn is when we bring the aching abyss of our hearts to one another with the hope, the plea, "Make me happy. Fill this ache."  And often out of love we do try to make one another happy, and then we wonder why it never lasts. 

It can't be done.

You will kill yourself trying.

(Love & War - John + Stasi Eldredge) 

"The only person that can satisfy the aching abyss of the human heart is Jesus Christ."  Oswald Chambers

mango + pineapple

wow .. had this very creative ice-cream over the weekend. it was delicious & comes in a real fruit cup! (the coconut flavored one was in a coconut shell! & the pineapple one was in a small pineapple shell!)  
of course, I ate 2 of these ... my taste buds were quite happy!

lunch w/ mama

mom is in town visiting!! & we went to lunch + shopping yesterday. we had delicious dim sum ... being down in LA always makes me miss authentic Asian foods!

sweet treats

paradise cove

we went to a little early birthday dinner celebration over @ paradise cove in malibu.  man do i love that place.  it's right on the beach + the food is really yummy.  it's always so nice to go out to eat & have someone else cook + clean for you.  

i LOVE this picture of us

the guys shared the gigantic seafood ice tower.  yea. it was gigantic (!!!)  w/ a cute little lobster on top.  

the escapist

i keep changing my mind ... and i think it's due to the fact that i have an insane amount of free time right now.   a couple days ago i posted the little fun DIY project i wanted to do for our bedroom (see post here) ... but i decided to do something simpler because: 

 a. i don't want to spend extra money buying more paint & paper

 b. i don't want to spend extra money framing them.    

c. i don't want to spend extra money. 

d. i want something less cheery & less colorful.  (i know ... weird. but i like the idea of a calm + peaceful bedroom)

so i used the paint colors that i had, the paper that i had, and the pretty frame that i had & created a simple artwork using the line from me + husband's song ... coldplay's the escapist (have a listen here).  

i printed the font in the size i wanted + i exacto-knifed the letters

then i painted over them ... just as you would a stencil.

husband + i both love that the letters aren't so perfect.  and that's what makes it hand-made + original.  

a simple + non-overpowering piece of artwork for our bedroom. 

small changes

i had the urge to re-arrange the artwork in our living room ... and also replace the wine-stained pillow (ok ... the stain is barely visible, but it's a good enough reason to buy a new pretty pillow case)

such a beautiful pillow .. isn't it ? see more here

dinner + jam session = fun night w/ the boys

2 great things happened last night ...


1. i made ( these ) chicken tacos for the first time.  they were delicious & made me oh-so-proud.  and made the boys oh-so-happy.  


2. the guys transformed our living room into a make-shift studio + filled it w/ great sounds & lots of laughter.  so much laughter.   needless to say, i had a wonderful night. 

love

had a hard day yesterday ... nothing really happened tho, which made the emotions even harder to battle .. but ... 

today is a brand new day & his mercies are new every morning.  i believe it. 

 i am thankful for a good husband who can make me laugh when the blues are flooding my soul.  and i'm thankful for good music + itunes.  and no lines at the laundry unit. 

 and art.   

kinda makes you wanna cry .. doesn't it?

(artwork by being brazen, coulson macleod (genius!), + anonymous)