His Birdie's Nest

Five for Friday

2012-01-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You're snuggle-able.

2 - You were my midnight kiss to ring in the New Year.

3 - You were going to stop and get me a Hadley's date shake even though you can't have one.

4 - You drive me home from work when I'm tired.

5 - You bought us new light bulbs for all our burnt out lights.

Five for Friday

2011-12-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You went to the store last night to get sugar when I realized we were all out and I couldn't make the Pecan Pie.

2 - You've cleaned up our dinner dishes every night this week.

3 - You bought regular Bisquick so you didn't use up all my gluten free Bisquick.

4 - You're warm when the bed it cold.

5 - You tell me my hair smells like cheese bread ;-P

WEverb11 - Travel

2011-12-09T11:13:00.001-08:00

prompt contributed by ME :)

You’d think if I contributed a prompt about travel I would have done it to brag about some awesome trip we went on this year. No. We take a couple of little trips, but nothing I’d consider “travel”.

We started off 2011 in Palm Springs, ringing in the New Year with our friends Tif & Jer and Felicia & Joe. A few short weeks later my sister & I drove out to Las Vegas for my SIL’s bachelorette party. Jen (my sister) and I stayed in the Bellagio for the first time, danced the night away at the Marquee in the Cosmopolitan, hung out in a lounge at the Comso and watched 2 guys attempt to play pool, took pole dancing lessons, dance another night away at Palms while DJ Jazzy Jeff spun, drank and ate tasty food… all while I was I getting over a NASTY cold.

In February, Hubs and I went to Petaluma, CA, to attended the wedding for the aforementioned bachelorette, his sister Linda to her new husband, Mark.

In May, I went back on the road with my sister, Jen, to Solvang, Los Olivos, Berkeley, and San Francisco. We visited our favorite winery, Brander,went olive oil tasting, met up with some Bees, and road the trolley.

A month later in June, Hubs and I headed back out to Las Vegas to stay at the newly renovated Tropicana Hotel. We spent a lot of time on the pool and ventured away from the Tropicana twice, once for a trip to the MGM Buffet and the other for drinks in The Chandelier at the Cosmopolitan. After spending two nights in Las Vegas we drove to St George, UT for a quick visit with Hubs’ mom & stepdad.

Hubs and I went back to Palm Desert in August to celebrate our anniversary and my walking for Graduation. Hubs booked us a room at the Saved By The Bell Marriott, aka JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa. Since our good friends Tif & Jer live in Palm Springs, we go out there a lot. This time we tried to make it more touristy by staying in a hotel and visiting the dinos on our way home.

At the end of August is we went back up North for Hubs’ grandmother’s 90th birthday and ~~we’ve~~ I’ve been home ever since. Hubs, on the other hand, was all over the US on business trips until mid November. I know it looks like we’ve done a lot of traveling, and we’re lucky in that we can go on a lot of little mini vacations, but our plan for 2012 is to take a big vacation somewhere we’ve not been before. I’m hoping for something tropical.

WEverb11 – Befriend & Favor

2011-12-07T10:03:00.001-08:00

prompts contributed by Jen with livingabrigherlife.

It’s taken me a couple days to address the prompt because I couldn’t think of any new friends I made… or remember if any new friends I have made we made in 2011 or 2010. I’ve become better friends with a handful of people and that has been great! Those friends impacted me 2011 by making me feel special, smart and loved :)

July – A lot happened this July. I finished the hardest semester of school ever, walked for graduation, went to my good friend, Tiffany’s, bachelorette party and was a bridesmaid in her wedding and turned 31.
I’m not usually one to chose my birth month as my favorite month, but July was a good month filled with celebrations, accomplishments and friends.

WEverb11 - Haiku

2011-12-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

prompt contributed by Tara at TwoWishes

I haven’t written a haiku in years. I would say since high school or even junior high, but about 5 yrs ago when I was my church’s youth group leader we did a scavenger hunt (of sorts) and the “youth” had to write a haiku at one of the stops. They were about a fountain and they were pretty awesome.

12/5 Edit
I’m sitting here laughing at myself because it’s been brought to my attention that my haiku is reverse. Would you believe me if I told you I did it on purpose? Me either.

Don’t worry Kira, I don’t think you’re a jerk AT ALL! Thank you for telling me, I would have gone around the rest of my life writing haikus incorrectly. Honestly, I probably won’t write another haiku for several years and would probably Google it again (or whatever we’ll be doing in several years to look stuff up).

So here’s my second attempt…

Haikus are hard y’all!

WEverb11 - Learn

2011-12-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

prompt contributed by Julie Jordan Scott with fivepassions.

To let go. The obvious reason, letting go of that house we thought we be moving into this weekend, but the less obvious reason is more personal… too personal for this blog, but I’m learning to let go of control over things. I like having control. I’m learning to let go.

WEverb11 - Listen

2011-12-02T10:35:00.001-08:00

This prompt was contributed by Bella of Bella on the Beach

I’ve posted about this song briefly before, it’s the first song I thought of when I read this prompt and when I went to find the video on YouTube.com to add it here, I played it for myself and couldn’t stop from smiling and singing along. I love it!

When “My Body” come on the radio in the car, I turn it up loud and sing at the top of my lungs… I may even dance around a bit and play the drums, that has probably happened. I’ve heard the song is about drug addiction, and I can totally see that, heck that probably is what it’s about now that I pay more attention to the body of the song and not just the chorus. Anyway, to me this song is about pushing myself outside my comfort zone and fears.

I really don't know how I could listen to more music in 2012 since I surround myself with music all day long. I listen in the car, in the office and often at home. I would like to attend at least one concert in 2012, I think I'll make that my music goal.

Five for Friday

2011-12-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You claim to not be a morning person but you're always extra cheery and funny in the morning.

2 - We bought a 5 lb bag of Italian sausage.

3 - When I Tweeted about the sausage you asked me all night (and this morning) if anyone had commented on it.

4 - You danced with me to "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" in your car last night.

5 - You're taking me to Iva Lee's for a celebratory dinner, tonight.

WEverb11 - One Word.

2011-12-01T15:59:00.001-08:00

Yes, I’m starting something else before even remotely finishing the Interior Design Bingo I started. Why? We had to back out of our house and a couple of the posts I had lined up (in my head) were “that house” related. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t do it yet. However, I have now officially completed interior design school, so that won’t also occupy my blogging energy, AND I’m almost over not getting “that house”… meaning, I will be finishing up the bingo in December… either here or on my portfolio website. I did pay more than I like to for a blog to have my own url and fancy Squarespace account, so I should use it, right?

Moving on, WEverb11. Remember Reverb10? Yeah, it’s like that, only different. You can read about it here and sign-up here.

Last year my word was proud, not a bad word for a year and it’s wouldn’t be a bad word for 2011, either. I finished my senior thesis project, the hardest quarter or my college career (so far?), I walked for graduation, and then finished all my interior design classes. If it wasn’t for those 2 pesky general ed courses left to take, I could say I've officially graduated college. Seriously, there were times in my life I never thought I’d say that. I could be cheeky and make my word two words – “suck it” ;-) Suck it to all the people that talked cwrap about me when I dropped out of college the first time, suck it to my ex-boyfriend who didn’t think I’d say in interior design school, basically suck it to anyone who didn’t think I could do this… hack, suck it to the lady would made it virtually impossible for us to purchase they house we thought was our dream first house, forcing us to back out of our contract and continue our search. But, if any of you really know me, I’m not really a “suck it” encapsulating my entire year kinda girl. I try to find the positive spin on most all the I come across.

The word I’ve chosen to encapsulate the 2011, for me, is change.

Don’t worry, it’s not because I’m changing into someone who’s not positive! It’s because this year has bought on a lot of changes and those changes are going to lead to other changes in 2012. #1 Hubs got a new job with a nice pay bump, which opened up our house budget and THAT opened us up to live in a city we hadn’t even considered before and now can’t even imagine not living there. and #2 Guys, I don’t know if you heard, but I’ve got a BA in interior design now. Yep. I love my job, but now I can start exploring new jobs or doing residential design work on the side.

Are you participating in WEverb11? What is your word?

Five for Friday

2011-11-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You won't go get food trucks for lunch without me.

2 - You went to Fred's with me last night to get tasty Mexican food.

3 - You like when I the subjects of our daily email treads are words spelled in creative ways. (Example: FryDay)

4 - You got two songs suck in my head this morning.

5 - You have very little knowledge of Pop Culture and you get really excited when you know something.

Interior Design Bingo – Door, An Item Repurposed, Up Lighting, and Scale

2011-11-16T11:27:00.001-08:00

I came across this door today, linked through Twitter to House of Turquoise. This door is gorgeous and unlike anything I’ve seen before. If I could change my front door (and this would match our house) I’d be calling a contractor right now.

I love clever items, I think I’d told you this before. This is a light fixture found at The Dry Bar in Fashion Island, although I’m pretty sure they have at least one of these in all their salons. I think it would be super cute in a teenage girl’s bathroom or above a vanity.

The infamous up lighting. This square on the Bingo board has been the most difficult to address. Heck, I tried to find pictures online to define it and had little luck. You can imagine how excited I was to see these lights flanking the elevator at my Dr’s office today. Hideous 90’s mauve tile be damned, I was posting these lights!

These lights at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa (aka the hotel Jessie, from Saved by the Bell’s, Dad was married) are one of my favorite examples of scale. This space is HUGE and those lights are equally huge. This may sound silly but when I first walked into this space and saw those lights I froze. See, I love ceiling and lighting design and I loved this solution. There was no drop down ceiling or hanging ceiling clouds, they kept the open and grand feel of the space. I just love it.

Have you checked out the posts by the other participants?

Five for Friday

2011-11-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You're kicking butt on your business trip this week, even though you had to go alone.

2 - You managed to find a Chinese buffet in Georgia. It's funny you ate Chinese food the same night I made myself Mexican food.

3 - You're already planning on where we'll eat when I pick you up from the airport on Sunday.

4 - You make me laugh, even from the other side of the country.

5 - You look hot in a sweater ;-)

Interior Design Bingo – Outdoor Seating, Art & a Bathroom

2011-11-11T09:45:00.001-08:00

I’m so behind on my own challenge, it’s pretty embarrassing. My excuse is I’ve been under the weather most the week and really didn’t have the energy to write blogs posts… along with the 10 page paper I had due on Wednesday. The good news? A) I’m feeling better, I was able to eat solid food yesterday, TMI? B) The class with the paper met for the LAST TIME on Wednesday! I just have to finish my internship hours and I can check that class off the list! YAY! Okay, on to the Bingo…

Outdoor Seating

On our way up to LA on Saturday, to celebrate the beautiful Kinzie Says' birthday, Hubs and I stopped in Long Beach where there is a block or 2 of retro and antique stores. We found SO MANY things we ~~need~~ ~~want~~ need for the new house. (P.S. I should probably stop talking about this house because I kinda jinxed it posting about it last week). We were talking around the last antique shop when I spotted this outdoor cafe set. It’s way girlier than most things I’m drawn to, but there are daisies all over it (as you can see) and I am a bit obsessed with daisies. Since we have absolutely no where to put it right now, I just took a picture and freaked the guy in the background out.

Art

At the same antique stop I spotted this birdie print at the cash register while they were ringing up Hubs’ finds. (We found some awesome barware!) I convinced myself I needed it and planned the whole guest room around it, I checked the price and realized it was $600. I don’t really have $600 to spend on bird are right now when we’re trying to buy a house. The saddest part is I can’t read the artist’s signature. Do you have any idea who did this?

Bathroom

I chose this bathroom because it’s so different than anything I would think to design, but it’s so clever… and I LOVE clever design. Using the basket to hold towels? I LOVE IT! I love finding things like this, they totally inspire me to think outside the box or outside my comfort level.

Have you checked out the posts by the other participants?

Five for Friday

2011-11-04T10:26:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 – You were so extremely excited when we got trick-or-treaters. Even if there were only 3 of them and they came at the same time, you were so happy.

2 – Our jack-o-lanterns.

3 – You give the best hugs.

4 – You tell me when the scary scenes of American Horror Story are over so I can lower my pillow. That thing in the basement freaks me out!

5 – You’re on board with painting our cabinets aqua.

The End of October Photo Challenge

2011-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Day 28 of the October Photo Challenge was flowers.

My bestie, Felicia, gave me this super cute and colorful purse for my birthday. She said it looked like me because it was colorful and made from recycled plastic bags. She was right, I absolutely love it and I get a ton of compliments on it. It has the perfect amount of pockets so my stuff doesn’t get lost in my purse.

Day 29 of the October Photo Challenge was black & white.

This is the view from outside our apartment front door. We love our little pond and all the trees, which are a rarity in our area.

Day 30 of the October Photo Challenge was another self-portrait.

Here I am at work with my November calendar in the background. Good-bye October this challenge was fun.

Interior Design Bingo – Kitchen

2011-11-03T14:33:00.001-07:00

…or the post in where a lot of you will probably think I’m crazy.

As I’ve talked about briefly in a couple Five for Friday posts, Hubs and I are in the process of purchasing our first home. It’s been quit a roller coaster so far, so haven’t posted any pictures or anything because I’m afraid to jinx it. Don’t worry, at some point I will blog about the whole process, show pictures, etc, I promise. But, today I’m just going to show you the kitchen.

The ~~house~~ bungalow was built in 1953 and remodeled in 2006. That’s when they added the bamboo floors, dark wood cabinets, black granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. It’s nice, I know that. It’s just not our style, entirely. Our stainless steel refrigerator is going to fit in perfectly and I really like the glass fronts on the upper cabinets. The lower cabinets (that you can’t see) are actually large drawers which I am SUPER jazzed about because it makes storage so much more efficient. Also, can we talk about the cabinet on the outside? Genius! No space was wasted.

So, why are we possibly crazy? This is our inspiration picture for the first phase of the kitchen remodel. The first phase is what we want to change about the kitchen before we move in.

Yes, we want to paint our cabinets aqua/teal/Tiffany blue. I love it! It’s so bright and cheery :) Eventually, we’ll replace the countertops (hopefully after I find a place that recycles granite countertops, because we do feel badly just throwing them away) and put a fun light in. (Don’t get me started on that ceiling fan in the dining area).

Have you checked out the posts by the other participants?

Interior Design Bingo Definitions

2011-11-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

Mid Century Modern – A style of design that began after World War II and continued into the 1960s, that is marked by simplicity, clean lines, organic forms, and materials such as wood, metal, and plastic. Though color is used quite a bit in post-war design, mid-century modern is typically less cutesy than the more pop-art offerings of the later 1960s. (source) Think Mad Men.

1, 2, 3

Scale - The size of one object and how relates to another or to the space in which it is placed. For example in the pictures below: #1 the tables and sofas are all lower to the ground have the same slender scale; #2 is an example of a lamp on a whimsical scale but still fitting with the scale of the room; and #3 all the legs and structures of the multiple table are on the same scale.

1, 2, 3

Vignette – A grouping of accessories, photos, end table, and/or chairs.

1, 2, 3

Let me know if there are any more terms you want defined :)

Interior Design Bingo - Ceiling

2011-11-01T15:00:00.001-07:00

This little ceiling accent was on the ceiling of Hubs’s and my room at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. The Tropicana had recently re-modeled their entire property when we took a vacation there in the Spring. I loved this detail they added to make the ceiling just a bit more interesting and it’s totally something you could add to any room in your home to make a plan ceiling a bit fancier.

Interior Design Bingo

2011-11-01T09:15:00.001-07:00

It’s November 1st which mean it’s the start of Interior Design Bingo. I’m so excited several people signed up to play along.

ABC: Life from the start of the Alphabet

Bien Living Interiors

Bricolage

Forty Twenty Four

Heart the Day

Letters from the Heart

Love and Renovations

The So-Called Wife

Sugar and Spice

Talking and Sleeping

I can’t wait to see the inspiration these ladies post throughout the month. It isn’t too late to sign-up, just comment below and I’ll add you to the list.

Day 27 - From a Distance

2011-10-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

Day 27 of the October Photo Challenge is from a distance.

This picture was taken a month or so ago (am I cheating?) at a food truck meet-up Hubs and went to hosted by the Food Network, featuring the Seabirds Truck. In all honesty I couldn’t find something interesting today to take from far away and I liked this photo because it shows how long the line for a vegan truck can get in Southern California…. a vegan truck given out free food paid for by the Food Network. Seriously though the Seabirds Truck is one of my favorite trucks, they make great food :)

Five for Friday

2011-10-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 – When you flew back from Houston on Wednesday you stopped by my office and took me to lunch before you went home, even though you’d basically been awake since 1:30 am PST.

2 – You get colder at home than I do you try to trick me into turning on the heater.

3 – Our pumpkins :)
4 – You brag to your friends about me.

5 – Your robot dance moves aren’t jerky enough, but you’re working on it ;-)

Interior Design Bingo

2011-10-27T15:43:00.001-07:00

With the October Photo Challenge coming to a close in a few days I decided to invent a challenge for November to help me jump start my interior design blogging skills, as a gear up to start my portfolio blog for school. With these 30 interior design ideas to keep in mind during the month of November, I hope it will inspire me in school and in other design projects.

Unlike the photo challenges, I’ve decided to lay this challenge out as more of a BINGO idea, because I know finding some of these things may be more difficult. You can find a few in one day or go an whole day without finding any. Just a picture to and post them on your blog. The goal is to find all 30 by November 30th.

I hope you’ll participate with me! Please comment below if you are so I can link to your blogs on November 1st.

---------------------
I thought I’d clarify a couple things since a couple of you have brought this up…
1 – Don’t worry, you’re not meant to find ALL these in your own home. It’s meant to help us become more aware of the designs in all the spaces we’re in – restaurants, shops, friend’s homes, offices etc.
2 – On Tuesday, the start of the challenge, I’ll define a few of these more “interior designy” terms. If you have something specific you’d like me to define, please tell me in the comments below :)
3 - It's not a competition, just a challenge, you have the whole month of November to get all 30. Just have fun.

Days 21-26

2011-10-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I skipped day 20… I may attempt it later ;-)

Day 21 of the October Photo Challenge is a faceless self portrait.

This past weekend my dad, sister and I went to San Francisco for the weekend to see Cal beat Utah at AT&T park. The football tickets were my sister and my birthday gift to my dad. Here I’m wearing the Cal shirt I purchased from Old Navy with a pair of WH/BM jeans.

Day 22 of the October Photo Challenge is hands.
I’m so proud of myself for starting my Christmas shopping early and snatching up these super cute, and very reasonably priced, oven-mitts for my besties.

Day 23 of the October Photo Challenge is a sunflare.

As part of our trip to SF for the football game, we left before the sun came out on Friday morning to drive up to Half Moon Bay in time for my dad to make his 12:50 tee time at the Ritz Carlton golf course. My sister and I wondered around downtown Half Moon Bay and drove up the coast for the afternoon before we met our dad back at Ritz for drinks at sunset. We sat outside and listened to the bagpipe as the sunset, which is where I caught this awesome sunflare on my sister’s phone.

Day 24 of the October Photo Challenge is an animal.

This is Chirpy Bird (aka Sir Chirps-a-lot or Chirps). I gave Chirpy Bird to Hubs on our first anniversary when he totaled his car and needed something to make his new car more his. Also because I wanted Quackers back, who he’d been borrowing in his rental car.

Day 25 of the October Photo Challenge is something pink.

Same trip to SF – the night after the football game (which was actually day 21) we went to this awesome BBQ place my dad had read about in Airways Magazine on his way back from Maryland a month or so ago. It wasn’t completely what we had expected, but it was well worth the effort it took to find parking. Seriously, if you’re in SF (or Venice or Hollywood) GO GET BBQ at Baby Blues BBQ!

Day 26 of the October Photo Challenge is close-up.

These corks made up a bar top (with glass over them, obvs) at a crepe restaurant in Del Mar, CA. I want to make a table out of wine corks now… I best start drinking more wine ;-)

Five for Friday

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - We're buying our first house!!!

2 - You try not to brag about all the cool food you get to eat while traveling for work, even though I tell you I want to hear about all the cool stuff.

3 - You change your shoes when you want to be more casual... not your whole outfit.

4 - You stayed awake late with me on Saturday night when I was too scared to fall asleep from watching American Horror Story.

5 - You stay up late when you're on the East Coast to talk to me when I get out of class.

Days 12-19

2011-10-20T09:08:00.001-07:00

Day 12 of the October Photo Challenge is sunset.

I take a lot of photos at gas stations. This was taken while pumping gas on my way back from Jazzercise in San Clemente on night. This picture doesn’t even do the sky justice, it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen.

Day 13 of the October Photo Challenge is yourself with 13 things.

Is this a cop out?

Day 14 of the October Photo Challenge is eyes. This is out front of an old Bob’s Big Boy in Downey. I loved his eyes, like he couldn’t wait to eat this burger and was just willing it with his eyes not to topple over.

Day 15 of the October Photo Challenge is silhouette.

This is the same palm tree from Day 6, from a low angle. I took this photo on the same day I look Day 6's shot, hoping to get a sun flare, but ended up with a pretty cool silhouette.

Day 16 of the October Photo Challenge is long exposure.

Would you believe me if I told you THIS was my best long exposure picture? It looks like a fuzzy sighting of a lake monster.

Day 17 of the October Photo Challenge is technology.

This is a picture of my Polaroid camera, taken with the Xolaroid 2000 setting on the Retro Camera App on my Android Galaxy S Phone.

Day 18 of the October Photo Challenge is your shoes.

Confession, I wear these shoes pretty much everyday. Hubs is really tired of seeing them, but I just love them. I wear a LOT of black and they’re comfortable while still looking cute and giving height.

Day 19 of the October Photo Challenge is something orange.

This past weekend we drove up to Cal Poly Pomona, Hubs’ Alma Mater, to pick out a pumpkin. The first year we celebrated Halloween together we got our pumpkins at the same place, but HOLY MOLY there were FAR less people. Also, I’m pretty sure they grew the pumpkins themselves that year, so we felt justified driving all the way to Pomona to get a pumpkin because it was a real pumpkin patch. This year it was crazy busy, there were shuttles, a petting zoo, food vendors, a pancake breakfast and these pumpkins most definitely did not grow here. We made the most of it though :)

Days 8-11

2011-10-11T13:53:00.001-07:00

Day 8 of the October Photo Challenge is a ~~bad habit~~ guilty pleasure.

Soooo, I read what I wanted to on this challenge and remembered it as a guilty pleasure instead of a bad habit. Oops. Since the only real bad habit I can think of is popping zits :-/ you’re welcome. My guilty pleasure, or at least one of them, is 80’s music. I love me some 80’s jams.

Day 9 of the October Photo Challenge is someone you love.

Any guesses on who is driving this Saab? If you guessed Hubs, you’re right ;-) I snapped this shot Monday morning when we were exiting our apartment complex on our way to work. Oh, and look I got a sun flare too! I just noticed that.

Day 10 of the October Photo Challenge is a ~~bad habit~~ a childhood memory.

I honestly cannot believe I am posting this picture on the interwebs for the world to see. As I’ve shared before, I work with my Dad… or for my Dad, whatever. Anyway, this loved picture (along with many others of my sister & I) is set-up in his office for everyone to see and comment. Why did my Mom style my hair like that for every fancy picture? My sister and I had a LOT of matching dresses growing up, and unlike lots of children, I LOVED them. Yes, I loved this dress.

Day 11 of the October Photo Challenge is something blue.

My ink color of choice is blue and my doodle of choice is the heart or many hearts. I doodled this little jem today while on the phone for something… I can’t remember what though. I taught myself how to draw hearts like that when I saw Madonna do it in her signature on something MTV aired a when I was in Jr. High. I didn’t want to be Madonna or anything, I just though drawing hearts without lifting your pen was way cooler than drawing one half and then the other and I needed to be cool like that. Totally!

Five for Friday

2011-10-07T13:59:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 – You ate more than your part of the quiche.

2 – No business trips this week meant you were home all week.

3 – You found us a movie to watch last night. It was fun watching a movie in the middle of the week.

4 – You text me when you find fun food places on your lunch break.

5 – We’re getting serious about buying our house crush :)

Day 7 - Fruit

2011-10-07T09:16:00.001-07:00

Day 7 of the October Photo Challenge is fruit.

Hubs has been sick since last Saturday and since I get sick easily I’ve been taking my vitamins and getting my daily fruits and vegetables. I’ve found recently that these things work the best for me in avoiding getting sick and getting over a cold quickly.

Day 6 - From A Low Angle

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Day 6 of the October Photo Challenge is from a low angle.

I kept my eye out for a great photo to take from a low angle yesterday and I just wasn’t happy with anything I found. Then this morning while I was pumping gas I noticed this palm tree, with the sun behind it, from across the lot. I may have gotten a few odd looks from the other gas station patrons, but I don’t care because I’m pretty happy with how this picture turned out.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Donuts

2011-10-06T14:33:00.001-07:00

My Aunt, Uncle & cousins on my Mom’s side got me a Babycake donut maker for my birthday this year and sadly this weekend was the first opportunity I had to try it out. (My birthday is in July… it is now October. I really need more donut making time in my life).

Sunday, still enjoying our lazy weekend I decided to finally break-out the donut maker and what better thing to make at the beginning of Fall then pumpkin spiced anything. I didn’t even have to go to the store because luckily we still had to cans of organic pumpkin for last year.

I was surprised at how great the consistency of these donuts were. They were similar to muffins, which I'm okay with because I feel like I'm eating something healthier.

Have you made any Fall foods yet?

Day 5 – From a High Angle

2011-10-05T13:56:00.001-07:00

Day 5 of the October Photo Challenge is from a high angle.

It’s still raining here in “Sunny Southern California”. It’s kinda fun, since we don’t get rain all that often, and I really like my umbrella. It’s a Totes umbrella with the Open/Close function. The Open/Close function is the best invention since sliced bread, it makes getting in and out of my car SO much easier! I bought this multi-colored polka dot beauty a few years ago at Target because I knew it would match most of my outfits. Yes, I like it when my umbrella matches my clothes and since I wear a LOT of black with punches of color, this works perfectly :)

Day 4 – Something Green

2011-10-04T15:03:00.001-07:00

Day 4 of the October Photo Challenge is clouds.

Everything is green around me. It’s not cold enough for the foliage to have died off yet… or it doesn’t get the cold around here anyway. Our street signs are green, shoot most of our signs are green. It was hard to find something not completely obvious that was green. I tried to think of something ecologically smart as something “green” or something new, but I couldn’t think of something clever enough. Yes, that’s right. I may not have the photo skills of other people in this challenge, so I’m trying to be clever, sue me… but please don’t.

Anywhoodle, I had to take a different route to work this morning because it was raining and my windshield wipers are were broken. Broken in that they were so old and worn the blades had fallen of the the holders. Ghetto, I know. So I stopped by the VW dealership on my way to work to purchase new wipers and have the parts guy replace them for me in a covered area. You guys, new wipers are AWESOME! They clear off the water so well, it’s like magic. On my way to work from the dealership I have to take the 405 freeway, which was bumper to bumper the whole way. I stopped by this exit sign for a bit and decided it was my “something green”. I liked it because the sign is very “Southern California” or what a lot of people think of when I tell them where I live. “Do you know the kids from Laguna Beach?” (No) However, it’s raining, which is very NOT “Southern California”.

Day 3 - Clouds

2011-10-03T13:34:00.001-07:00

Day 3 of the October Photo Challenge is clouds.

This is my view by proxy, so to speak. This is the view from my co-worker, Yolanda’s office, and I sit right outside her office. There is a window in the wall between use, so I can see her view. They really did it so Yolanda could see anyone who came into the office from her desk, but I like to think it was so I could have a view too :) She just came back from the restroom to find me taking this picture through our binds. I said, “I’m doing a photo challenge this month for my blog and today is clouds.” She didn’t question it and just said, “okay”. I think she is used to my shenanigans.

Gluten Free Quiche

2011-10-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

Anyone who has tried to feed my quiche in the past 15 years is looking at the post stunned. I don’t like quiche, I don’t eat quiche, I am not a fan. And, while it’s still not my favorite dish, I did enjoy this quiche this weekend, so I will probably not turn my noise up at the idea of quiche if someone else tried to feed it to me.

When we woke-up on Saturday morning Hubs felt like he was coming down with a cold. I suggested we lay low all day, watch movies and I’d make soup and grilled cheese. Well grilled cheese turned into paninis and paninis turned into quiche. He was sick and has been working so hard lately I couldn’t say no, when we asked for a quiche.

I was just going to make the quiche for him, using a pre-made crust still kickin’ it in my freezer, but once we’d purchased all the yummy veggies (zucchini, cremini mushrooms, and onion) it started to sound more appealing. Then once I’d researched how to make the crust from scratch and thought, “I can totally do that!” it was on.

Here’s how I made it…

(Click recipe to enlarge)

What food do you usually refuse to eat? Would you try it again?

Day 2 – What you wore today…

2011-10-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the October Photo Challenge. Since I had SO MUCH trouble taking a picture of myself yesterday, I decided to interpret today's challenge a little differently than I think it was implied. Today (and pretty much everyday) I wore Lolita Lempicka perfume.

To take this picture I used the "The FudgeCan" in the Retro Camera App, on my Android phone.

Day 1 – Self-portrait

2011-10-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

Oh look, another 30 day photo challenge! Remember this photo challenge Nellie at Our Wire Lives and I started? Well, it starts today. Can you believe it’s already October? I can’t. I’m extra excited for this photo challenge because there are SO MANY other fabulous bloggers participating. If you’d still like to participate it’s not too late. Here’s the list of photos below, from White Peach Photo, take a picture of yourself and let’s get this thing going!

Seriously, THIS is the best self-portrait I could take of myself! I think part of my problem is I had to take this with my cellphone because the cord to hook my point and shoot to my computer is at work. Excuses, excuses I know, but I did figure out that I could take my picture in the medicine cabinet. Go me :)

Five for Friday

2011-09-30T10:46:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 – You tried to find me Diet 7up last night when my stomach was really upset.

2 – You do little dances in the morning… and when I get home from class.

3 – When we carpool to work in the morning you stop and get me Naked Juice.

4 – You email me throughout the day.

5 – You went with me to Freshii yesterday and got healthy food.

Sept 30th - End of September Portrait

2011-09-30T09:17:00.001-07:00

Special thinks to my buddy, Jeannie, for taking this picture of us at school the other day. Here I am with 2 good friends I’ve met through school, Jeannie and Dani. We’re ~~stalling~~ waiting to go to class, one of our last courses in school.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 29th – A Look

2011-09-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

My Mom bought be this sheep about 7 years ago. She is one of the few personal items I keep on my desk at work. My Dad (who I work for) used to steel her jacket or hid her in my desk, but since I moved desks a few years I ago she’s been safe because I can hide her under my shelf. I chose to use her for today because she has a sophisticated “look” for a sheep ;-)

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Guest Post on Kimberley Michelle

2011-09-29T10:20:00.001-07:00

In case you missed it, I’m on a guest posting roll! Last Saturday I guest posted on fellow Weddingbee blogger, Lemon’s, blog, kimberlymichelle.com. Kim is off on a fabulous vacation in Mexico with her good friend and Weddingbee Editor in Chief, Mrs Penguin.

Kim’s Fonts of the Week are one of my favorite of her posts, besides the ones of Miss L, of course. My favorites of those posts are when the fonts are FREE. Who doesn’t like free stuff, right? Well, I’ve decided to share with you my favorite free fonts, I’ve found on the web. Check out the rest of the post here.

Sept 28th - When I Wake-up...

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, 6am. Some of you may wake-up earlier than that and for that, I’m sorry, and some of you may think that is way to early and to you I say, “Yes, yes it is.”

When do you wake up?

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 27th – What I Drank

2011-09-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

It’s been pretty chilly in the mornings here lately so I’ve been taking advantage of our office Keurig. I use it to brew hot tea because can’t drink (and don’t really like coffee – I know!). My SIL, Linda, gave me this super cute heart mug for the first Christmas we celebrated together.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 26th – Closed Space

2011-09-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Since I’m pretty much doing this whole challenge on my phone’s camera AND my phone’s camera doesn’t have a light. (Dumb) I can’t really take a picture in a closed space without windows, unless I want a completely black photo. Then it hit my when I got in my car, this is a closed space!

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 25th – Sunday Morning

2011-09-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

This morning Hubs went down to San Diego to spend the day at a car show with his dad and I went to breakfast with one of my oldest and bestest friends, Jane. I saw these beautiful purple roses on our way.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 24th – When Night Falls

2011-09-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Hubs & I went to out to dinner with our good friends, Jeremiah & Tiffany, for Tiffany’s, birthday. I took this picture while sitting in the backseat of Jer’s Chevy Camaro… we were going pretty fast, if you can’t tell. The good news? We made it to dinner on time ;-)

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Five for Friday

2011-09-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You picked me up and drove me home from work last night because I wasn't feeling well.

2 - You watched the season premiere of Big Bang Theory with me last night, even though you watched it twice on your business trip last week.

3 - You promised not to watch "our shows" without me anymore, no matter how bad the TV is in your hotel.

4 - You've been eating chocolate chips with your red wine.

5 - You make fun of how early I go to bed, but most the time you go with me.

Sept 23rd – Unusual Object

2011-09-23T09:50:00.001-07:00

About 5 years ago we inherited this binder dealy thing from our office neighbors. They were going to throw it out and for some reason we thought we’d use it. We haven’t. Not once. It just sits on my co-worker’s file cabinet and collects dust. Lots of dust. Oh, and it’s SUPER heavy.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 22nd – My Diary

2011-09-22T14:17:00.001-07:00

Yes, yet another picture of my computer monitor. I wish I had a diary to take a picture of, but I’ve never been very good at keeping a diary… insight into why I’m not a very wordy blogger. This is my diary. Not in a I-tell-it-my-deepest-darkest-secrets kinda way, but in a I’m-documenting-my-life-kinda way. Especially, in the context of these photo challenges.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 21st – Something That Comforts Me

2011-09-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

Okay so the real challenge for today was “Sunday Morning”, but seeing as how it’s Wednesday, I decided to trade Sunday’s challenge with today’s. You tracking?

Is that bad? ;-)

Photo Challenge originally found here

Staying Fit and Being Healthy by Five Feet of Spice

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to welcome my VERY FIRST guest blogger, Victoria from Five Feet of Spice. Victoria is a fellow Weddingbee blogger and amazing girl. She’s working full time, going to school full time, all while still finding time to blog. I know how hard that is with part-time school, I can’t imagine how busy she must be. This post is truly inspiring me to get off my rump and get back to Jazzercise.

Hi Everyone! My name is Victoria (also known as Handbag on Weddingbee) and I am so excited to be stealing a spot on this fantastic blog!

Growing up I was always super thin and petite (don’t smack me!) and I used to always try to gain weight. Then I graduated high school and continued to eat like a truck driver; pizza, pastas, sweets of any kind, you name it, I ate it. I moved out into my own place and found my love of cooking. Growing up Italian, pasta was an every Sunday kind of thing. You can’t eat pasta without bread and you can’t have those two, without wine. Before I knew it I was at 140lbs on my little 5’ frame. You may be thinking, that is not fat, and your right. But it is way too much weight on such a small person.

What did it for me was my best friend’s wedding. She posted the pictures on Facebook and I cried. I had no idea that I looked that big, even though I felt it. I was the MOH in her wedding and I couldn’t even save the pictures. After sulking for a while, I joined Weight Watchers; went to a few meetings, felt uncomfortable but learned a lot about food. I was eating a ridiculous amount of calories and not burning any of it (I hate to work out).

I dropped about 15lbs on Weight Watchers but had a hard time sticking with it. It was so hard to not eat the foods that I loved on a regular basis. So I gave myself the “treat” system. Stay on track all week and then eat a “treat” meal on Sunday. Of course, this was pasta, bread and wine. But I noticed that after eating so well all week, I was becoming sick on Sundays. The food was just too heavy for my stomach that had been trained to eat healthy.

So then I started to alter the pastas, Smart Taste Ronzoni Pasta (half the calories and fat but the same taste), homemade sauce with less parmesan cheese, 94% lean meat, and reduced fat mozzarella cheese on the bread. One glass of wine instead of 3. This worked.

Then a coworker told me about this gym that she went too that included all fitness classes with the membership; Zumba, hip hob abs, body pump, spin, etc. I am the type of person who despises working out. I hate the gym, but I love to dance (even though I am so not coordinated). I signed up with her and started going to Zumba and I.was.hooked. It is 50 minutes of a high cardio dancing routine. Our gym has a Zumba room where they turn down the lights, turn on the strobe light and blast the music. It feels like a club. I.love.it. and the best part about that, they offer it 6 days a week.

I started going twice a week. Just to give myself a start. I continued to eat healthy and on days that I worked out, ate more protein (chicken, eggs, etc). Then I started to love it so much, I upped my times to four times a week (3 during the week and on Sunday).

Now you are probably thinking to yourself “I don’t have time to go to the gym 4 days a week!” you’re right, I don’t either. I work full time and go to college full time. 40hrs a week + 17 credits a semester and it makes for a very tired girl. But I always say to myself “You won’t regret going, but you will regret not going” and when I get frustrated with not seeing results right away (I am an instant gratification kind of girl!) I always say to myself “It took time to put it on; it will take time to get it off.”

I have drastically changed the way that I cook/eat as well. Days that I don’t go to the gym, I fill myself on fruit, yogurt (Chobani strawberry!) and salads. If I want a snack throughout the week, I like to eat Weight Watchers Ice Cream. It is really good and I don’t feel guilty about it. Also, I love to bake. Flour is not so great on the hips. So I switched to Wheat flour and also only use Splenda. You can’t taste the difference.

Being fit doesn’t always mean being “skinny” (I hate that word). It is about finding that balance between eating healthy and living your life. You can still enjoy the foods you love, but just alter the ingredients. Exercise is something that none of us like to do, but it is great for our bodies and it will thank us for it. You will have more energy, more confidence, better self esteem and you will feel great.

We only have 1 body, let’s take care of it!

My go to recipe guide for healthy foods that I love is Skinny Taste! What is yours?

For more inspiration, please stop by Victoria’s blog Five Feet of Spice! Be sure to tell her you found her though this post :)

* If you’re interested in guest blogging here on His Birdies’s Nest, please feel free to email me :)

Sept 20th – Tea Time

2011-09-20T09:28:00.001-07:00

Luckily for me, and this photo challenge, our company bank rep, Troy, brought my co-worker, Yolanda, and I Starbucks this morning. My drink of choice at Starbucks is Passion Tea, hot or cold, depending on the temperature. Side note: I wish we had tea time here in the states. One of my favorite things about visiting England was Tea Time. Plus the whole tea service would have made for a much cooler picture.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Sept 19th – Where I Feel Good

2011-09-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

I don’t normally feel bad. I try to have a positive attitude, most of the time. Of course, like everyone else, I get in bad moods. Who doesn’t? So, I found this day a little difficult to figure out. Where don’t I feel good would have been any easier thing to take a picture of. Then I saw this patch of flower on the center divider near my apartment and it hit me. I always feel good around flowers. They make me happy and it’s kinda like the calm me.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Sept 18th – What I wore today….

2011-09-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

I am SO not experienced at taking pictures of myself in bathroom… not.at.all. But here I am in my new Gap Top, Steinmart Skirt, and 3 year old Ann Taylor Loft wedge sandals.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Sept 17th – In the mirror…

2011-09-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

This morning I actually made it back to Jazzercise for the first time in too many weeks. The weather may not have been the cheeriest, but I felt amazing after my morning workout.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Sept 16th – In the bathroom…

2011-09-16T09:43:00.001-07:00

Our bathroom is black and white and I grew-up with Westie’s as pets, so when I saw this and TJ Maxx Home Goods, I HAD TO HAVE IT! We have a tiny bathroom and it fit perfectly above the towel bar.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Five for Friday

2011-09-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You've been out of town all week on business, but you've a had chance to see where I went every winter to visit my family. I've been trying to convince you for a couple years, you have to see Baltimore. Now you get it and want to go back :)

2 - You let me call you when I go to bed even though you're 3 hours ahead.

3 - You ate crab cakes for me while you were in Baltimore.

4 - I can hear how excited you are to talk to me in your voice.

5 - You come home tonight!!

Guest Post – Married up with Wine

2011-09-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Today I’m guest posting on Mandy, aka Mrs Socks’, blog Married up with Wine. Mandy and her husband, Mike, are on vacation in Spain, drinking Spanish wine and exploring there soon to be NEW HOME! Can you believe they are relocating to Spain for Mike’s job? I’m totally jealous, I would love to move to a new country for a few years.

I honor of both Mandy & Mike and Hubs & my love for wine, my guest post is all about other people’s “go to” wine. Please stop by and share your “go to” wine, I’m always looking for new wines to try.

Sept 15th – Today’s Small Pleasure

2011-09-15T13:54:00.001-07:00

Today is a Sister Day, meaning I’m getting to spend a lot of time with my sister. We got food trucks for lunch and she’s coming over tonight for fro-yo and a movie. We’re going to watch X-Men first class because we’re a bit obsessed with X-Men movies and we haven’t seen it yet.

These are the tempeh bacon tacos we shared, along with some organic pesto fried rice, (all gluten free) from the Seabirds Truck today. It’s a small pleasure because it was time spent with my sister, plus we were eating organic food, purchased and made locally by a group of awesome women. I love being able to support local businesses, especially ones with a business ethic I respect.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

October Photo Challenge

2011-09-15T13:31:00.001-07:00

Okay, so we all know I’ve been doing a daily photo dealy here for the month of September. It’s fun, it’s getting me in the blogging groove again, I like it! And, from the comments I’ve received, I think you like it too :) Where am I going with this? If you can’t tell by the title of this post, I’ll be participating in another photo challenge in October.

Source: whitepeachphoto.com via Merissa on Pinterest via Our Wired Lives

Many of the photos really do look like a challenge. I might actually have to use my point and shoot camera, instead of my phone’s camera. Are you interested in participating in this challenge too? Let know Nellie, over at Our Wired Lives, know by commenting in her post here :) We’re tying to get a list together so we can all link to each others blogs throughout the month of October.

P.S. I’m planning on an design photo challenge for November, but I’m still working that out in my head. Would you be interested?

Sept 14th – The Weather

2011-09-14T09:10:00.001-07:00

The news keeps saying we’re supposed to have thunder storms and rain, but I just don’t see it. Perhaps it’s happening in LA, but not down here in Newport Beach? I don’t know.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Sept 13th – Today’s News

2011-09-13T09:28:00.001-07:00

What’s the news this morning? Target is selling out of the Missoni stuff like CRAZY! In other news, this isn’t even my picture, I stole it from Busy Philipps, who I like to pretend remembers me from college, but I’m pretty sure she has no clue who I am.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Sept 12 – Daily Routine

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Every morning when I turn on my computer (at work or home) I have to check these four websites – Twitter, Gmail, Facebook & Weddingbee.

Photo Challenge originally found here

Sept 11th – What Inspires Me…

2011-09-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

The ladies I’ve met through Weddingbee inspire me. They are all such creative, intelligent, considerate and fabulous women, who inspire me to be more creative and strive for my best.

This photo isn't actually mine... I stole it from Facebook. It was taken at a Weddingbee party, I wasn't able to attended, in NYC a couple years ago.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 10th – Today’s Mood

2011-09-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today I’m happy :) Hubs came home from his first business trip Thursday night and I have him all weekend until he has to leave again on Monday… but I’m not focusing on Monday. I’m happy, today!

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Five for Friday

2011-09-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 – You text me fun pictures while you’re away on your business trips.

2 – You found this packet of sugar from our honeymoon and left it for me to find the morning you left for your business trip.

3 - Your excited that Ruby’s has gluten free buns so I can have burgers with you.

4 – You are researching the cwrap out of trying to find us a place to live closer to work.

5 – We got to carpool to work this morning because YOU’RE HOME… and Betty is in the shop.

Sept 9th – Lucky Charm

2011-09-09T08:46:00.001-07:00

This is Quackers, my Mom gave him to me for Easter about 5 or 6 (or 7) years ago. Quackers drives around in Betty with me and watches her when I’m not around. They keep each other company :)

On my way home after work yesterday, during the power outage, Betty overheated. Right now Quackers is keeping Betty company at the Chevron service center, that was LUCKILY right across the street from me, at the time.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 8th – On My Plate

2011-09-08T13:24:00.001-07:00

My good friend from school, Jenette, was so sweet and surprised me at work this morning with a card and gluten free cookies… I’ve already eaten all 3 :-/ No worries though because they counted as my breakfast and part of my lunch, so we’re good, right?

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Bitchy and The Beast

2011-09-08T13:14:00.001-07:00

If you haven’t seen the latest video to go viral on the webs, it.is.HILARIOUS! I grew-up on Disney Princess movies, like I’m sure a lot of you did, and while Beauty and The Beast was never my favorite (THE HORROR, it was Snow White, okay?) I totally remember this song and used to sing it all the time.

However, I didn’t sing this one nearly as much as the songs from The Little Mermaid (all while making up routines to them in my pool)…What was your favorite Disney song growing-up?

Sept 7th – In my garden

2011-09-07T08:55:00.001-07:00

My thumbs are NOT green… and sadly, neither are Hubs’. Honestly, it’s not like it’s something we couldn’t be good at, we just don’t have the time or energy right now to learn and dedicate to a garden. I really want to be a good gardener though. We would love to grow our own herbs, besides the basil plant we have from Trader Joes, and veggies. My Mom bought us a Topsy Turvy as a shower gift and I would love to actually use it. My goal, when I’m complete finished with school is to learn to be a better gardener, but until then we will stick with succulents because they don’t require as much attention.

A couple weeks ago my mom found this little birdie left over from our wedding place card project, in the cushion of a chair, and I brought him home with me. I wasn’t quite sure where to put him so I stuck him in this planter. I took a couple days for Hubs to find it, but he liked it there a lot, so there he will stay for now. I’m kinda embarrassed that I haven’t cleaned up the excess plastic yet.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 6th – At 2pm

2011-09-06T14:19:00.001-07:00

It’s 2pm – I’m at work on the phone with my sister, checking out a gastropub in Santa Ana called Chapter One, because she’s pretty sure she wants to have her birthday dinner (on Sunday, actual birthday tomorrow) there. It looks pretty tasty, so I’m booking the reservation with my Open Table account.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 5th – On the TV

2011-09-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

We don’t have cable in our nest. Instead we have a computer hooked-up to our TV to watch Netflix, Hulu etc. This is what you see when you turn on our TV.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 4th – Today I love…

2011-09-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today I love my anniversary flowers that teetering on still being acceptable to not throw out. I know I should throw them out soon. You know before they start to grow things? But, I just love my flower so much. It’s hard.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 3rd – The indispensable

2011-09-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is my 2001 VW Jetta, Betty. She is indispensible because I just can seem to quit her. I’ve already picked out my next car, a Chevy Cruz. We can totally afford it. Betty has over 150,000 miles. Her AC broke at the beginning of summer, cost more than she is worth to fix, and for some reason I’m perfectly content to drive around with the window down than get a new car. (Yes I said window, singular, because she has manual windows and I’m not tall enough to reach over and roll the other window up if I need too, so I just roll down the driver-side window & I’m good).

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Sept 2nd – From up high!

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is the pond in the center of my office building taken from outside our office door, on the second floor.

Photo Challenge originally found here.

Five for Friday

2011-09-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 – You wore your El Torito crown for the rest of lunch on your birthday.

2 – You let me take a picture of you in your El Torito crown before you even knew what they put on your head.

3 – We got to carpool to work once this week!

4 – You went to bed super early with me on Tuesday night.

5 – You called and texted to check on me when I was home sick on Monday.

30 Days in September

2011-09-01T14:51:00.001-07:00

I saw this on Other Pieces of Me a couple minutes ago and thought, “Hey, I wanna try that too!”

So, here we go. The most recent portrait of me, from the day I dyed my hair red.

Will you play along, too?

Photo Challenge originally found here.

7 Links

2011-09-01T13:46:00.001-07:00

As you may have noticed I took a bit of a blogging break for a month (or so). It wasn’t intentional, but things got crazy at work and that, combined with finals, gave very little free time and energy to blog. I have to thank Amy at The Nifty Foodie for tagging me in her 7 links post. I gave me the kick in the rump I needed to blog again.

So here are 7 links to posts I’ve done that I think you should check out…

#1 Most Beautiful - The Birdie Details

I loved the way the details came together at our wedding. When I went flipping through all my old posts, for this post, I loved looking through our wedding posts again. It reminded me how pretty, without being to bird themed, our wedding day turned out.

#2 Most Popular – Margarita Cupcakes

This cupcake recipe is BY FAR the best, most moist, recipe I have found. I need to spend sometime trying to make these gluten free, because they are a HUGE hit. I get a least 50 hits a week from this recipe.

#3 Most Controversial - Tricking our Wedding Guests

This is actually a post a wrote for Weddingbee. The start time on our wedding invitations was 30 mins earlier than the time our wedding was actually going to begin. Several readers were upset that we would trick our guests like that and make them wait that long considering many people arrive to weddings early. I could (and still do) see where they were coming from, but knowing our friends and family, I stick by our decision to have people arrive 30 mins early.

#4 Most Helpful - How to Make an Inspiration Board

Also a post I wrote for Weddingbee, but helpful none the less. When I first started wedding planning and blogging, I saw all these awesome inspiration boards and wanted to badly to make my own. I didn’t (and still don’t) own Photoshop, or anything fancy like that, so needed a way to do it with the software I already owned or downloaded for free.

#5 A Post Whose Success Inspired Me - Reverb - Prompt 1
The comments I got from this post inspired me to fully embrace Reverb. It also gave me confidence in myself.

#6 A Post I Didn’t Feel Got the Attention is Deserved – My Christmas Green Beans

This is where I toot my own horn, because you guys has no idea how good these beans are. They take longer than cooking green beans should, but OMGoodness they are tasty!

#7 Most Proud Of – Five for Friday Series
When I started the blogging about planning our wedding, way back when, I started Five for Friday posts – posting five things I love about (or reasons I love) Hubs, every Friday. I’m proud that for the most part I’ve kept this up for the past 2 years and counting. I’m most proud that I’ve inspired other bloggers, that I love, to do Five for Friday posts as well! Other bloggers like: Jesstagirl & c'est law vie!

Have you participated in the 7 things blog post series? If so, please share your link with me in the comments, I’d love to read yours. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for? I’m tagging you!

Five for Friday

2011-08-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You didn't get mad at me when we figured out, on Sunday morning, that I'd bought our return tickets for Saturday morning.

2 - You carried both our bags around all the airports, last weekend.

3 - You brought me breakfast in bed on Saturday :)

4 - You tried to figure out a way for me to meet you on your business trip.

5 - We got to meet for lunch on Tuesday!

Five for Friday

2011-08-19T08:00:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - When you could have taken a week off from work before you're new job, you started the next day because they needed you to be there.

2 - I had to drop something off at your new office on Wednesday and you were so happy to see me.

3 - You look very handsome in your new work clothes.

4 - You got a hamburger at Taco Tuesday.

5 - You stopped to see the dinos.

Gluten Free Cheesy Biscuits

2011-08-15T10:49:00.001-07:00

The other night at about 8pm I got a craving for biscuits. I hadn’t felt well earlier in the evening, so I didn’t have dinner, which meant I needed to make the biscuits right then because I was HUNGRY! Luckily, I had purchased a box of Gluten Free Bisquick a week ago for some pancakes I forgot to take pictures of and therefore couldn’t blog about.

I found a recipe on Betty Crocker’s website for Cheese Garlic Biscuits and altered it to fit my ~~needs~~ craving.

Here’s what I made…

(click recipe to enlarge)

What do you crave for a late night snack?

Five for Friday

2011-08-12T09:55:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You got an amazing new job!

2 - You're taking us to Palm Desert this weekend, to stay at the "Saved by the Bell Hotel", and celebrate our anniversary and your new job.

3 – You fake throw me when we hug, sometimes.

4 – You pretend I can throw you really far.

5 – You’re handsome :)

Copy Cat – Spaghetti Squash Casserole

2011-08-11T14:02:00.001-07:00

It’s been a while since I posted a copy cat recipe, but I last week I went back to True Food Kitchen in Newport Beach and discovered a dish I really enjoyed that I knew it would be easy peasy to make at home. {Did you click on any of those hyperlinks? Go ahead, I’ll wait ;-)}

First off, if you live in Orange County and haven’t been to True Food Kitchen at Fashion Island yet, make a plan to go soon. You will not be disappointed! My sister and went (again) recently and I decided to try something new, the Spaghetti Squash Casserole.

I forgot to take a picture (bad blogger), but luckily Kay C. on Yelp took this…

Kay C’s actually looks a bit more tomatoey (What? That’s a word) than mine did, but you get the idea.

How do you make it? Easy, it looks like this…

You want an actually recipe? Sheesh, you’re picky ;-) Kidding of course, I would too.

(click recipe to enlarge)

Mmmmm, melty cheese…

Have you copied a recipe you’ve loved at a restaurant?

Five for Friday

2011-08-05T11:32:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You said I was the prettiest bridesmaid at the wedding this past weekend.

2 - You tell me everyday how excited you are to hang out with me.

3 - Even though you’re not a big fan of change, you were pretty cool about me dying my hair red.

4 - You wrote a really nice Best Man speech for Jeremiah & Tiffany.

5 - You saw a Crazy, Stupid, Love with me and my sister.

Going Red

2011-08-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

I’ve always wanted to be a red head. I think it all started with Anne of Green Gables… I wanted her hair.

It looks like I wasn’t the only one, in an interview with ‘Lucky’, Christina Hendricks told them “I was obsessed with Anne of Green Gables, so I wanted red hair.”

I kinda want to be Christina Hendricks too ;-)

Anywhoodle, this week I decided if I wanted red hair so badly, I should just get red hair… and I did.

Here I am right after my hair cut on Tuesday…

And, here I am right after I dyed my hair red on Thursday…

I LOVE IT! I feel extra sassy and fun :)

Do you dye your hair? Do you have any tips to maintain the brilliance?

Picture sources: Anne of Green Gables & Mad Men

Five for Friday

2011-07-08T10:52:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You give me sips of your Diet Chocolate Cokes when we go to Ruby's.

2 - You let me have all the Macaron's Jen brought us back from France.

(This is only two of them - chocolate & rose)

3 - You're taking me to Magic Castle in LA for my birthday tomorrow.

4 - You're really great about buying me a new car.

5 - You were bummed when you couldn't email me at work on Tuesday because I stayed home to do homework.

Five for Friday

2011-07-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You didn't mind not making any plans this weekend so I could work on homework.

2 - I think you're going to miss my car more than me, when we have to replace her.

3 - You didn't laugh at me for ordering a milkshake instead of food for dinner last night.

4 - You listen to country music.

5 - You think I'm super cool because I have Google+, but you have no idea what it is ;-)

Five for Friday

2011-06-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You were very excited for me when I got my internship excepted at school.

2 - You make a mean gin and cranberry concoction.

3 - You emptied all the trash this week without me hinting.

4 - You're patient.

5 - You let me talk you into Mexican food more often then I let you talk me into Chinese food.

Five for Friday

2011-06-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You took me to a comedy show when we were in Las Vegas, because you know how much I like comedy shows.

2 - You go to bed early with me when sometimes.

3 - When we were hanging out at the club pool at our hotel, with all the "pretty people" in their bikinis, you told me I looked better than all of them.

4 - You're excited to hang out with me on the nights I don't have class.

5 - You put the plates away the other night, even though you hate that "chore"

Five for Friday

2011-06-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You retrieved my bocce ball when it went down the scary hill.

2 - Even when you have a working lunch, you try to leave the office for at least 15 mis to call me.

3 - You're trying to talk me into a buffet when we're in Vegas next weekend.

4 - We're going to the Peppermill in Vegas, next weekend.

5 - You're funny :)

A Friday Find

2011-06-03T09:40:00.001-07:00

About 3 years ago I discovered Sauvignon Blanc. You guys I was 27 and I finally discovered sauvignon blanc! Now, it's my favorite type of wine. I love reds, especially spicy ones, and a good chardonnay, but sauvignon blanc is my favorite.

The first SB I tried was Kim Crawford, I loved the acidity and the grassiness. However, Kim isn’t always cheap enough for me to buy all the time… you know when you’re paying $300 for presentation boards at school, it adds up. Well, Memorial Day I discovered Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc.

I honestly felt silly buying a bottle of wine with the word “Cupcake” on it, like it was saying, “Hahaha SUCKER! You’re such a girl, buying a bottle of wine because it has a cupcake on it.” I kinda wanted to defend myself to the bottle, “No, that’s not it! It was you or the Two Buck Chuck, and I was trying to not bring cheap wine to my friends house.” Well, this wine with the little cupcake on it surprised me! It is as good as the Kim Crawford and a few bucks cheaper. I have another bottle sitting in the fridge right now for Wine Friday :)

What is your favorite wine?

Wine picture found here.

Five for Friday

2011-05-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You love sauces, especially BBQ sauce.

2 - You're actually going to see a movie, in the theater, with me this weekend, even though you're not a big fan of seeing movies in theaters.

3 - You helped me empty the dishwasher yesterday, which is your lease favorite chore.

4 - You were really excited that our ducks were back.

5 - You let me steal your fries.

Sneaky Peek - What I’ve been working on.

2011-05-26T11:00:00.001-07:00

I think it’s probably pretty obvious, based on the amount of posts I’ve had in the past few months, that I’m busy. I don’t pretend to be any busier than the next girl, but I’m busy for me. I thought I’d share with you all what I’ve been working on at school… especially since next quarter I’m going to have to set-up a website of my work and share it with the world anyway, I might as well try to get over the “OMG people are going to hate it” thing now. You know that feeling when someone “in real life” says they saw/read your blog and you have a mini panic attack in your head? What is it we’re so worried about? Well, in this case it’s the opposite. My people “in real life” have seen my projects, but you? Not so much.

Soooo, this is the work in progress of my Senior Studio project (aka SS1 & SS2 – a two quarter class. I’m in SS2 now). We were given a city (mine is Boston) and a building (we all got the same fictional building) and were told to come up with a use, then space plan, design, etc the project.

My project is “Clean Kitchen”, a food allergy clinic.

It’s a multi-use building (mainly because it had to be) meaning there are different uses for the building, both commercial and residential. In the basement there is an allergy-free food market, tiny bookstore area and a pharmacy. Seriously, I would LOVE to have a market this large to get gluten-free stuff.

On the main floor (aka the first floor) there’s a allergy-free cafe, two temporary residences for visiting speakers & chefs, and two cooking classrooms. The idea is that young families and adults can come here to learn to cook tasty allergy-free food. I wish the places near me, with cooking classes, would have specific allergy-free cooking classes. The cafe then serves the types of food you can expect to learn to make in the different classes.

On the second floor there are two more temporary residences (we were required to have 2 on each of the above ground floors), laundry, storage, a conference room, admin offices and Drs’ offices. I imagine the awesome Dr. who diagnosed my food allergies working here with an amazing view of Boston out her window. Not like the lovely view of Orange County she has now is bad ;-)

Those plans and my branding is the main thing we worked on last quarter. This past Tuesday we turned in our progress boards… basically the furniture, finishes etc that we see being used in the project, displayed in a way similar to the way our final board (yes one, but it.is.HUGE. Like taller than me) will lay out.

I’m not 100% happy with the residence right now. I started out with that first picture (from Crate & Barrel) as inspiration, because I like the art work and sideboard, but I found it difficult to find the other furniture I need to express what I was going for. Honestly, I think I was a little burnt out and I’ll start fresh again next week. Now, that I’ve had time to step back and look at it with a different eye, I know what I need to do.

My teachers really liked where I was headed with this project and that made me really happy and proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. The one compliment that really sticks out in my mind is, one teacher said, “It looks like the 60’s I wish I’d lived in.” Totally what I was going for, YES!

And, that’s what I’ve been working on for the last 4 months. Obviously there is a lot more, we had a few papers, a rough (ROUGH) model and I’m working on a booklet (like Blurb), but this is the gist.

What was/is your Senior project?

Five for Friday

2011-05-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You watched "The One With The Cheesecake" with my after saying the night before you would eat a piece of cheesecake off the floor if a waiter dropped it.

Source

2 - You took me on a mini vacation to our wedding hotel last Friday.

3 - I asked you not to let me eat more than 2 Chipotle chips last night and you didn't let me.

4 - Your face lights up when you see me.

5 - You embrace my culinary adventures and are making ostrich meatballs with me tomorrow.

Tuesday Shoes-day

2011-05-17T16:01:00.001-07:00

I ordered them, the nude wedges.

It was almost an accident, I swear. I went on Athleta to order my favorite skirt in another color and they were still in my “cart” from Piperlim. Those crafty people over at Gap!

They were all, “Hey Allison look, we’re on sale now!” and I was all “Well, I’m am getting free shipping.” And then I ordered them. Note to self: when you give up shopping for Lent, you more than make up for it after. Hey, at least I got them on sale, right?

Five for Friday

2011-05-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You didn't complain, even a little bit, when you helped me carry all my sister weekend stuff into the house.

2 - You told me I looked sexy in my new bathing suit :)

3 - You're a funny drunk.

4 - You think crows are hilarious.

5 - You "psst" at me to get my attention.

Five for Friday

2011-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - Even though you'll miss me, you encouraged me to go away for a girl's weekend with my sister.

2 - You've finally jumped on board with my love for smoothies.

3 - When I'm carrying lots of stuff you help me so I don't fall down the stairs... again.

4 - You tell when the ducks are in the pond outside our apartment.

5 - Your nose moves when you talk :)

Tuesday Shoes-day

2011-05-03T14:14:00.001-07:00

In case any of you were wondering, I did go out an buy last weeks Mary Janes. How could I not? I also want to say a special THANK YOU to Nellie at Wired, Whitty and Well Dressed, she noticed them on SALE on the Steve Madden website when she went to purchase them for herself and gave me a heads up. Now, when my shoes finally get here, I just have to talk them back to Nordstrom and I will get $20 back. YAY! On that note, you know Nordstrom price matches, right? They do!

Okay, on to this weeks shoe.

This is Smooch by Nine West, but I found her on Piperlime. I’ll tell you right now I won’t be buying the shoes I feature every week (if I keep this us), but I will be buying these, and I did buy the last ones. What? I needed Mary Janes and I NEED nude wedges. What else will I wear with my new pair of white jeans? Honestly!

I’m new to this nude shoe business - Do you have nude heels?

Five for Friday

2011-04-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Previous Fridays

1 - You let me hang this "painting" of a Westie, that looks just like Ben, in our bathroom, even though "you don't really like pictures of animals in houses".

2 - You picked up more TP on your way home last night.

3 - You tell me I look nice every morning before I leave for work.

4 - You're handsome :)

5 - You do little silly dances with me.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

2011-04-27T16:04:00.001-07:00

If you follow some of the same board I do on Pinterest, chances are Sugar Derby’s Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries popped up on your feed. They popped up in mine a couple times, last week. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to make them AND since I was already thinking of making a strawberry centered dessert for Easter, it was really easy to switch from gluten free strawberry shortcake to these tasty treats. Especially, since I could tweak the recipe a bit and make them completely naturally gluten free. Meaning I wouldn’t have to buy any ingredients that normally had gluten in them specifically made to be gluten free. SCORE!

After researching cheesecake stuffed strawberries on the interwebs, I found several different recipes and based this recipe on those. However, I have to give Sugar Derby credit for giving me the idea.

Here’s how I made them…

(Click on recipe to enlarge)

And, because I stuck and forgot to take pictures as I was doing each step, I drew you some pictures...

Okay, I know this is a lot of steps, but trust me when I tell you it's totally worth it. As your hulling and coring 50 strawberries, know that this is delicious. Plus, as my friend Jeannie says, "Who doesn't like food stuffed inside other food?"

So, I ask you, what is your favorite food stuffed in other food?

Tuesday Shoes-day

2011-04-26T16:19:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this idea is a blatant rip off of the Landlocked Bride’s Tuesday Shoesday, but with a tiny twist, these aren’t wedding related. Yep, they’re just me related.

Last week I went shopping with my sister and happened upon this Steve Madden shoe, Premieer, in Nordstrom. I’ve been dreaming about them since then, and plan to purchase them tomorrow night when I go back to the mall for martini’s and shopping with my BFF, Jane.

They will be mine, oh yes, they will be mine.