Project Adventure: Outstanding in the Field

This Sunday was an amazingly beautiful day. My family and I were lucky enough to enjoy it up in Los Olivos/Solvang area with Jim Denevan & the folks of Outstanding in the Field. If you've never heard of Outstanding and are into good food and unique experiences, you'd better check them out, pronto. And, if you've been dying to go for years, you should bite the bullet and go already.
This is our third event, and by far the best one. Our table was nestled in the hills and amongst the vines of Stolpman Vineyard near Los Olivos. Most of the produce was harvested or caught within 24 hours of being on our plates, so naturally it was super fresh and all the flavors were completely amazing. The menu was dreamt up by Rich Mead, head chef of Sage Restaurant, Paddy Glennon and some of the crew from the Culinary Liberation Front {super cool name, btw}. We also were treated to hearing from a couple of farms where our food originated.

Such an awesome experience, I encourage all of you to save up your money and try to attend one of these events at least once in your life.



We even got to see the uber spectacular eclipse!

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Accessorize: Teeny Tiny

As is with fashion, styles swing from one end of the spectrum to the next. Mini-skirt in the summer, maxi-skirt in the fall. Skinny jeans in the winter, palazzo pants in the summer. Tunic, crop top. Cascading waves of hair extensions, stick-straight earlobe-grazing bob. It never ends, but it does give you incentive to become a hoarder - because eventually, whatever it is, will come back in style! 

This time around, I'm calling out the inevitability of mini jewelry. As the amazingly gorgeous bib necklaces, statement earrings and cocktail rings are slowly peetering out, I am steering toward accessory simplification more and more.

Don't get me wrong, I love me some statement jewelry, but sometimes you just don't want to think about all that. Besides, who wants to run around 100 degree weather in something that's heavy and super bulky? You want to be wearing something floaty, breezy and begging to be whispered at.

Check out more of my accessory picks on my Pinterest boards

Above: whisper ring.  1. mini wishbone bracelet; 2. scintilla diamond earrings; 3. mini skull diamond earrings; 4. mini ampersand studs; 5. Morse code necklace; 6. mini star ring; 7. Taner bracelet

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Monthly Obsession: Washi Tape

Budding obsession here -- Washi tape. If you haven't discovered the wondrous wonderful that is washi tape, you are seriously missing out. Once you have seen this stuff, you are going to want to fill your cupboards & drawers with it and start using lame excuses on why every surface needs to be affixed with cute, colorful masking tape. 

Washi tape is a tissuey, translucent, delicate but sturdy masking tape traditionally made from Japanese washi paper {hence, the name, duh}. Washi, literally means "Japanese paper", is made from various sources like paper mulberry, gampi tree, bamboo, hemp and rice. Did you know, {because 5 minutes ago, I didn't} the process of making washi uses less chemicals and is generally a tougher material than traditional wood pulp paper! Learning new things everyday here, people.

And let me tell you - there is a contingent of folks out there, screaming from the rooftops, who are mad for washi. Mad, I tell you! {and, wouldn't you know, there's even an app for that}
{aaand, apparently, if you have an awesome xyron machine, you can make it yourself with tissue paper}

title photo PrettyTape;  1) Paper Source; 2) Traditional Dots; 3) set of three; 4) dots & lace; Tape tower photo from sfgirlbybay

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Project Adventure/Mom's Garden: Baby Shower

A couple months ago, my friend Jin and I embarked upon the time-honored tradition of planning and hosting a Baby Shower. It was very lucky that Jin & I have a similar taste in decorating ideas, otherwise, things could have been a total disaster. We planned and plotted our strategy via the perfect vehicle for creative inspiration, Pinterest. We scrambled and sorted until things were just right, picked and positioned the best from Mom's Garden, crafted and created all we had imagined. Saturday was finally the day. 

I have to say, I think it turned out perfectly.

The super cool and effervescent Kara, of Mi & Mo Photography was there and captured the most gorgeous shots anywhere. Man, she made it look so professional, it's hard to believe that it was ours! Those kind of images just make you all dreamy-eyed with endless party decor possibilities. She even did a blog post on it, if you'd like to take a look at the awesome pictures.

One things for sure: hosting parties of any kind are a heck of a lot of work, but man, are they fun.

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Mom's Garden: French Radish

Springtime is in full effect in Southern California and Mom and I have totally re-done the veggie garden.

Too many years Mom has been sitting by watching all of her hard work get eaten by the bunnies, peacocks {yes, peafowl} and other nasty, annoying critters. So, we've constructed a kick-ass no holds barred enclosed area {it even has doors!} to keep most of them out. It doesn't stop the slugs, and of course the rats & squirrels can climb it, but we'll take any victory we can get {fingers crossed}.

Some of our first harvests were luscious bibb lettuce and these awesome little guys, the French Radish. Well, really it's called a French Breakfast Radish, but people seem to get weirded out by associating radishes with breakfast. Anyway, these little guys are not only super duper cute and a pretty red-pink-white ombre color, they have a lighter, less "snappy" flavor than your run-of-the-mill radish. 

A little dash of salt and... crunch! Yummy! 

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Project Adventure: NYC

Ask anyone you know, who has lived in New York for years and then moved away, it leaves a hole in your heart. Provided, of course, you left The City on good terms. The hole is different for everyone, but nonetheless, it is still there. A void, a something missing. I knew that in moving to the West Coast (a whopping year & 7 months ago), NYC would always haunt me. I was prepared to go back east to get my Big-Apple-fix as often as I had to, in order to feel right. And yet, somehow I still feel somewhat disconnected. There is something to be said about being in the city and feeling it's heartbeat, it's everyday ebb and flow. One day: monotony, the next: scandal! One day: pure frustration, the next: unfettered awe. It did that for me in my years of becoming a New Yorker, the love and the hate. And yet, California never left me. Bodega owners would pause, their hand outstretched with my change, and say to me with appreciation, "You're not from here, originally, are you." It wasn't a question. They just knew.

So, what am I getting at? I supposed I'm trying to explain the unique otherness of New York. People either love it, or they hate it. For some, it's hard to find that middle ground. It took me a while to fully appreciate it, and at times, I took it for granted. Not anymore, I tell you. Not ever again.

Like a silly cliché or a junkie in need of a fix, I'll keep coming back for more because I know She will always have something for me, whatever that something is.

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Mom's Garden: Early Spring Mix

It is so hard to believe that I'm talking about a spring mix of flowers in February. February! *shakes head in dismay* But, that's the crazy we get in Southern California. While a lot of people are sitting under feet of snowdrift, I'm outside in flip-flops picking daffodils... go figure.

Today's bunch is a luscious group of daffodils, white and green hellebore, snowflakes  {if you aren't totally obsessed with hellebore & snowflakes, you should be}, maidenhair fern and a few sprigs of blooming rosemary. Looks great on the sill above the kitchen sink.

Can I tell you how obsessed I am with these things?! 

*eye-roll and sigh* Ugh, man are these awesome!

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Monthly Obsession: Online Mags

Print magazines may be declining in readership {noo!!} in recent years, but there has been a recent uptick in online-only magazines. There are a few that I am completely obsessed with {I'm sure loads more people as well}. Topics range from gardening & cooking to fashion, design & DIY crafts. These mags are just so great, so visually inspiring... it's like... like... aaaahh! completely addicting, can't get enough of it...  crack eye-candy. There are so many that it seems a bit daunting to keep up with them all - but, I don't care! I will stay up reading until the wee hours and forge ahead in my dedication to all forms of visual & literary awesomeness!

Check them out, as I'm sure you will become smitten with them as well.

Lonny, Rue, Matchbook, Sweet Paul, EST Magazine, Covet Garden

In-print magazines that I should in all honestly, because they are also so totally wonderful, get a lifelong subscription to: Anthology and Uppercase

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Sliding Doors

Spring Garden Party

In my almost-entirely-possible, not-quite-alternate reality where I have a huge backyard, gather all my fabulous friends on a picture-perfect afternoon and laugh heartily through the evening...

My garden aplenty would be the decor, like this.

I'd throw on this dress & this straw hat and these bangles. 

No shoes, so I could sqidge my toes in the grass.

while serving this, this and this.

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Mom's Garden: Rose Pruning

The other day, I went with Mom to a rose pruning workshop at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach. Apparently, in Southern California, now is the time to start chopping back your roses. In our area, it never gets cold enough for the roses to loose all their leaves naturally. So, we have to help them along. Pruning roses keeps them in top condition, shape and size for the area you have planted. If you let a rose continue to grow, it becomes "leggy". Canes get longer & thinner, and blooms are fewer, weaker & smaller. Pruning roses in the winter prevents plants from spending unnecessary energy on growing and producing blooms when sun & nutrients are at a minimum. It's surprising how agressive you can be when cutting them back.

Despite the fact that Mom has told me a million times how to correctly prune a rose, I have never really been super confident. So, she and I went out on a rainy Saturday and cut back a section of her rose garden. It was fun and a learning experience. I'm definitely getting the hang of it!

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