christmas 2013.

christmas this year was magic.  

a. and i picked up our tree on a random tuesday night.  

we decorated our home.  

we visited brightly lit neighborhoods and ventured to festive events throughout the month.

we received holiday cards from loved ones near and far.

we made homemade kielbasa and wrapped presents.  

we celebrated christmas eve with our annual fondue fest.

we bonfired often.

we basked in amazingly warm san diego weather.

we surrounded ourselves with family and friends.

we opened presents.

we laughed.

we loved.

we celebrated.

christmas, you're my favorite, one million times over.

around here.

wow.  what a christmas.  around here, all is quiet & all is bright.  the holiday season was filled with santa sightings, and fireside gaming.  lots of present wrapping & present making.  ugly sweaters and unusually cold san diego days.  trips to the snow and fantastically beautiful sunsets.  fondue & chinese take out.  lots of present exchanging, candle lighting, reunions & christmas punch.

everything about this time of year (minus all the crazies out shopping) makes me so happy.  for the first time in a long time, a. and i were able to take our time with each family, make time for friends, and even break free of the holiday chaos to spend time with one another.  we love living near family.  it makes everything, well, almost everything, so convenient. 

on another note, my apologies for the lack of posts lately.  as i'm spending the rest of this week reflecting on myself, our 2012 memories, & what lies ahead, i'm recognizing my lack of organization around this blog makes it difficult to find the motivation to post regularly.  i'm looking into a new process and hope to have some new organizational methods for many, many components in my life in place shortly.

this next week is my favorite.  i love the aftermath of the holidays and the quiet that settles among everyone.  i love the peace & calming as we sit in front of the tree sipping hot tea and reflect on the experiences of the years past.  i can't wait for a new year, a new slate & new challenges.  but for right now, i'm going to drink up the very last bit of this magical year.

our 2012 christmas card.

now that most people have received their card, i couldn't help but share.  over the years a. & i have acquired a reputation for our christmas cards.  our pictures (with the exception of one year) are not professionally taken or posed and always entail us doing something outdoors, and are always a bit unexpected during the holidays.

like last year, i decided to design our card.  after looking through multiple sites online, i couldn't find exactly what i wanted.  so i took to photoshop elements and began to play.  originally, the colors of the card were much brighter...like a bright, almost neon pink, green and orange.  the only color that stayed true to the original design during the printing was the blue.  i won't lie, i was a little bummed, but i'm still so pleased with how they turned out.  i printed the cards through snapfish and mailed each one out in a paper source a7 fuchsia envelope.

sending and receiving holiday cards is hands down, one of my favorite traditions.  i love seeing little snapshots (literally!) from our friends and families lives, knowing that everyone is healthy and doing well.  then, once the season is over, i add each card to our christmas card book & lovingly look back on all the growth and memories our loved ones chose to share year after year.

pinning & making:: a holiday version.

i love the holidays if for no other reason than i get to make things.  lots and lots of things.  the other day, my sister, mom & i decided to attempt an idea we found on pinterest.

the premise behind the project seemed simple enough, so we went to home depot & asked the lumber department to cut a piece of plywood into 2x2 pieces.  once home, we painted each our preferred color (my sister white and my mom and i, ivory).  once dried, we drew our girds very lightly onto the painted boards and square by square, began to draw.  

pretty simple, right?  well, about eight squares in, each of us hit a point where the negative image started getting a bit confusing.  for me, it was right around santas left eye.  so slowing down a bit, i retraced what i had previously drawn until i found by bearings and was back on track.  

once the drawing was complete, we started tracing the image with sharpie pens and then colored in each space, discovering a slight circular motion worked much better than coloring straight up and down.  each of us went through approximately 2 1/2 pens and had to do anywhere between two to three coats.

but tell you what, it was so worth it!  we loved the finished product.  while each of ours looks similar, our drawings have very distinct characteristics.  my moms for example (far left), looks a bit older, my sister's (middle) looks cheery, and mine (right) looks slightly asian.  

these take about three hours once the plywood has been cut, sanded, painted and dried.  but they're classic enough to last for years and trust me...your friends will be so impressed that you can draw!

our turkey day.

hi friends!  did you survive the whirlwind holiday?  this year was so laid back compared to last year- particularly since we weren't hosting.  instead, we celebrated at my in-law's house with all the families.  it was very casual & very nice.  i was tasked with the dessert.  i made two pies that were a huge hit and quickly gobbled up.

the morning of thanksgiving, we kept our turkey trot tradition alive and ran the father joes thanksgiving day 5k.  we love this tradition; it's a great way to start the day, burn some calories and if you can get the family involved, a relaxing way to spend time together before the holiday chaos and food coma takes over.

the rest of the weekend was spent playing board games, crafting, hiking and taking evening walks on the beach.  my main priority was spending time with family since my grandma's in town from albuquerque- so it was nice to slow down, catch up, and enjoy everyone's company.  i'm very much looking forward to this holiday season.  since we don't have a home to decorate, i'm indulging in a diy christmas to help keep the creative juices and holiday spirit flourishing.  luckily for me, christmas carols, hot chocolate and warm slippers can be enjoyed anywhere.

enjoy your week!

thankfully.

i love november if for nothing more than having an entire month dedicated to thanks & gratitude.  this season i've had a hard time recognizing all i'm thankful for since so much of me wants to be settled back in our new york home, with access to our little life, things, everyday comforts & friends.

but then i look around that all i have here & am often in awe.  sure, right now, our life is still in transition.  we don't have a home to call our own, we're still in the process of finding jobs, we're living day-to-day with very few future plans and 98% of our stuff is in storage in boston.  but sometimes as i've discovered this past month, all these "struggles" & "stressors" are bringing us so much more joy and happiness than we could have imagined.  thankfully.

thankfully we're relearning the art of simple living.
thankfully we have a roof over our head despite being homeless.
thankfully we have the time go on lunch dates, take long mid-day hikes, and help out when needed.
thankfully there's skype.  those skype dates make my day.
thankfully our time with family & friends isn't rushed due to over commitments or vacation days.
thankfully we're surrounded by sunshine.
thankfully snail mail is frequently sent cross-country.
thankfully we have open invitations to be dinner guests.
thankfully we're learning to ask for help and embrace change.
thankfully we're spending this thanksgiving not only together, but with our families as well.

yep.  so much good can come from change.  sometimes it just takes a month, or a conversation, or a special occasion to help you realize it.

homemade candy corn.

well, hello november!  kinda crazy that you're here already.  i hope each of you had a fantastic halloween.  ours was pretty rad and involved two separate trick or treating events.  yep, since we've mastered the double thanksgivings & christmases, we thought we'd figure out halloween as well.  lucky for us, it was a success.

the night before halloween, a., my sister & i embarked on making homemade candy corn.  while on our road trip, a. and i watched an episode of good eats, and knew homemade candy making needed to become a halloween tradition.

recipe: alton brown's homemade candy corn

adjustments: none really.  we didn't have silicone mats, so we used parchment paper instead- and it worked just fine.

review: these are awesome.  they definitely taste different than store bought candy corn, but in a good way.  once the candy portion is made and dyed, this would be an awesome activity for kids as well.  it's totally a keeper in our house!

painted letter valentines.

earlier this month, while in urban outfitters, i found some great metal letters.  and while i loved them the way they were, i wanted to do something a little different for valentine's day.  

after a quick trip to target and lowes, for stickers and spray paint respectively, the project started to come to life.  originally, i was hoping to go for a subtle blush and champagne palette but luckily for me, the only available colors were pink, pink, or fluorescent pink.   

this project took a few days to complete between the prep, paint and dry time.  but it was so worth it.  the letters have been gifted, received and everyone seems to love them!  who says valentines day to be either flowers or chocolate?  how about a fun decoration to adorn your house year after year.

supplies:
- letters
- spray paint
- heart-shaped stickers
- masking tape

the steps:
1. after cleaning off the material you're planning to use, apply stickers (these should be easy to remove so you're not fighting the adhesive after you finally have everything spray painted.) in the design you'd like to use.  my designs varied per letter since each had a different negative space. 

2. cover anything you don't want to paint with the masking tape.  in this case, i covered the hangy-thing (you know, for the wall).

3. in a well-ventilated space, spray paint your letters.  i used two coats of paint and let the first coat sit for a few hours before applying the second.

4. once the paint has dried com.plete.ly, begin removing the stickers from the letters.  these stickers were a bit more adhesive than i thought and i ended up using tweezers to help remove the stickers from the metal letters.

5. gift, hang and enjoy

i hope you and all your friends enjoy this valentine's project!  

stay with me.

{via}

i'm a sucker for valentine's day.  always have been.  growing up, my mom used to make it such a special day.  she'd send us upstairs while she took it upon herself to make dinner & set the table.  we loved this for two reasons: 1. we got out of a chore! and 2. there was so much anticipation for a pretty, festive table with little gifts for each of us.  she did this every year while we were growing up and continues to do it to this day.

celebrations such as this taught me about the importance of love.  finding love, embracing love, and celebrating love.  it's not only about romantic love- no, it's about recognizing the love that surrounds you, every. single. day.  & today is the day to publicly and openly share that love with others.  yay!

of course, now that a. and i are celebrating the holiday together, i want it to be magical.  while i try to downplay the day and all the fluff and lovey-dovey-ness, it is nice to have someone to celebrate with.  so to each of you, grab someone who you love.  a friend, your dad, sibling, child or pet and celebrate your love for one another.  make it special.  drink pink milk.  go surfing.  or skiing.  for today isn't about jewels or chocolate or fancy dinners,  it's about spending time and giving thanks to those who mean the world to you.

i'll leave you with one of my favorite lyrics from pearl jam's breathe: 

oh i'm a lucky man to count on both hands the ones i love. 

happy, happy valentine's day! xxo

a random dose of valentines.

i love all the little reminders of love in our life.  here are a few surrounding us at the moment.

this sweet present was a gift from my sister and nephew.  isn't it amazing?  she's so thoughtful & creative.  it totally made my day.

these days i love heading to starbucks for an earl gray latte and a little love note.  i just wish they sold this as a print.  i'd buy it in a second.

pretty packages waiting to be mailed to the family.  they'll likely arrive late, but i hope everyone enjoys what's inside!

happy friday!  find lots of love this weekend!

a valentine garland.

i had to work over the weekend & opted to take yesterday off to recoup and refresh.  it was a perfect-kinda-day since a. also had the day off.  yay!  most of the day was spent organizing our office- but more on that later.

in an effort to keep up my 30 minutes of craftiness per day, i chose to take a break from the office chaos and pull together a quick project.  i had all the materials at home and after finding inspiration in homemade living, decided to make a valentine garland.  you know, since it's the month of all things love...

using a cookie cutter as a template, i traced hearts on 3 different colors of felt.  once i had the tracing done, i cut out the hearts and arranged them in the pattern i wanted to use.  then, i fed the hearts through the sewing machine one after another, giving the hearts enough space so there was a bit of loose thread between each. 

i love the way this turned out.  it was such a quick project and adds the perfect bit of valentine cheer to our home.  & i'd love to make more for the other windows.

for now, i'm going to enjoy this lovely valentines decor.  in my opinion these homemade touches are a hundred times better than many store-bought decorations.  i'm so happy i took the time to make it!  enjoy.

a homemade tree skirt.

hello lovelies.  can you believe we only have three days before it's officially christmas?  holy smokes.  what the heck happened to december...i swear, life never went this fast...did it?

i wanted to share a quick diy project for those of you who are still decorating and getting the last bit of trimmings for your tree.  after searching high and low for a decent tree skirt- and never finding one decently priced (i.e. practically free), i decided to make my own.  

what you need:
a round tablecloth
a sharp pair of scissors
sewing machine
pencil

how to:
as a novice seamstress, this actually freaked me out.  i eventually found a festive round tablecloth at marshalls (not for free, but pretty darn close).  i chose a round tablecloth because the figured the less i had to sew the better.  and i have to say, round is the way to go if you're planning to make a tree skirt this way.

i folded the tablecloth in half, careful to line up the seams, and the in half again.  once folded, i laid the fabric on a large work surface (in this case, it was our counter top) with a pencil and scissors in hand.

i used one of our dinner plates as a template for the tree trunk hole.  position the plate depending on how large you'd like the center hole to be and trace.  once you have the size you'd like, cut off the top, folded section- this will leave a large circle in the middle of the tablecloth.

unfold the tablecloth once, leaving the fabric folded in half.  double check that the seams are lined up and carefully cut along the folded crease (only one side) from the bottom of the tablecloth to the hole you just created.  you should have one large piece ready to hem.  

when my mom was out visiting, she helped teach me some of the basics of sewing.  the one thing she stressed more than anything else was ironing.  an ironed seam is a good seam- so bust out your iron, and as you start folding and pinning all un-sewn hems, iron as you go.  this will leave you with easy to manage and crisp edges.   

ironing and sewing takes the most time, but have patience, the final product is totally worth it.  once all your hems are sewn, iron the fabric one last time.  place around the tree and admire.  take lots of pictures.  trust me, it's totally okay to be freakishly proud.

happy, happy christmas!

this past weekend, a. and i celebrated christmas.  we figured since we were heading home for the holidays,  it wasn't necessary to ship all our presents to san diego.  also, we really wanted to have our own little holiday to celebrate being together this year.

we love to surprise one another.  our general rule of thumb for gift giving is that we're not allowed to look at the finances before the big reveal- so we have no idea what we're giving to one another.  huge fans of christmas traditions, we let radley open one present on "christmas eve."  a. wrapped radley's presents in toilet paper, as advised by the pet store, and radley went to town.  it was so much fun to watch- he is hilarious.

on christmas "morning" snow was falling outside- the perfect back drop for our make-shift holiday...and actually our one and only white christmas.  we took our time opening presents, taking lots of videos and enjoying the fresh fallen snow.

all said and done, we ended up with some pretty good loot.  a. got me a wii (complete with just dance 3)!  it's something i've been wanting for a long time...and i was completely surprised.  

a. walked away with running clothes and some new shoes...& senor santo was extra gracious this year...and brought us a new tv as well!  yahoo!  (actually, i won the tv at my office holiday party- and managed to keep it a surprise for an entire week (can you believe it?)).  while a. was out on friday night, my friends helped me move it behind the tree.  i think i was more excited than he was "christmas" morning.  but it's a huge hit at the house- and such a vast improvement from our old one.

in addition to christmas, we made caramel corn, finished our christmas cards, played wii, spent a wonderful evening with friends & tested some new years eve beverages.  there was plenty of cooking and holiday music and merriness.  

i just love the holidays...don't you?

on another note, a. and i are heading out at o' dark thirty for san diego.  we're so excited to be going home to the land of the sun and sea.  we're planning to gorge ourselves on mexican food, specifically fish tacos and california burritos, and spend ample time surfing.  something tells me, it's gonna be a great holiday!