california: part I

      We recently returned home from the best marriage trip we've taken so far. We had the privilege to get quite a few days off work/school/reality to travel the west coast. If you've never driven the coast, bucketlist it. I'm no travel pro and have only been to a few countries, but California has some of the most beautiful earth I've ever seen. We were able to cover 18 cities in 11 days starting from LA->San Francisco. We ate at some amazing places (which I'll share of course), did more biking than our bodies were made for, went from 95 degree weather to 45 within 4 hours (I'm still recovering), paddle-boarded on the SF bay with sea lions swimming around us (fun/terrifying),etc . Sentimental warning- but the best part was taking the time to just be in awe of God & His beauty. My soul needed it. We both felt so inspired there, and had some great time to just be, without distractions and in gorgeous surroundings. So here is part I of tour de californiaz:  


MANHATTAN/HERMOSA BEACHES: 

 

                    
                                          Hotel sunset in Irvine. 

LAGUNA/NEWPORT BEACH:



After we landed, got in-and-out's, and drove through Manhattan/Hermosa beach areas, we checked in at Irvine. The next day we hit up Laguna & Newport beaches. I was reminiscing of when I lived vicariously through LC's realistic Laguna life..missing all my friends. I was also watching a swank wedding happening right next to us. And a Hindu gathering on the other side. There was a lot going on in this moment. 

 
                                                    Had to hit that up.

 

     Tour guide in action.

 

The picture on the left is where Randy was actually standing. I started crying because I thought he was going to fall to his death (major height phobia issues). But he got the prize winning picture he wanted and I got him back alive so every thing's ok now. 

We went on a gorgeous "hike" alongside the coast at Crystal Cove park in Newport- if I was ever homeless this is where I would live (I think I said that 59.443 million times).

COSTA MESA:
Right around the corner from our Irvine stay was Costa Mesa. I loved this little area in particular there called the camp/the lab. We had one of our first dinners there at native foods cafe, a little vegan restaurant. This little area (The Camp), had all the restaurants menus in each mail box so you could choose which one you wanted to go to. So many great choices, but we went with the one that had a fire outside. 

               

     

 

 

We also went to this delish breakfast place called plums cafe, they had the most amazing pancakes and Randy claims those were the best eggs benedict he's ever had (he does say that frequently- fave breakfast item). We kept talking about how good California makes their potatoes- random, but true. Maybe it's because we never eat regular ones at home.  

                           

Last day in Newport/Irvine. Rands rented us bikes so we could bike to Newport beach- kind of didn't take in consideration the hills, but after 30 miles and coming home right as the sun was setting, we completed our journey. Here are our stops along the way. 

 



3 hours later-we made it! Stopped for a healthy refuel on the beach.

<-- what I ended up doing 85% of the way home. I was just concerned for randy.

                         

For dinner that night, we decided to celebrate since we made it home alive, and went back our fave hang in Costa Mesa, The Lab. We ate at this super adorbs restaurant called Habana, and feasted on some empanadas & jalapeno margaritas. It was perfect weather and had hundreds of handles and lights inside and out of the whole place (these are a little darkish, but just an idea).

 
 

This little tease concludes this portion of the the trip. Stay tuned for more on Hollywood, the coastal drive and SanFrancisco (fave)! Also, if you're a foodie and like to visit more local happenings, we got majority of our ideas from this favorite blog.

monday mixup: knitted vest

Knitted Vest: newfashioned, Shorts: Forever21, Boots: Bandolino 

With fall quickly approaching (maybe not so much in the Florida region but it's fun to pretend), I love to start layering by just adding a small piece to a summer-y outfit. Specifically, this knitted vest. With this type of vest, it can add just the right touch to any layering situation you want to have and the best part is that it's uniquely vintage. Get inspired, and if you like what you see- find it here!  Also as a treat to really get you in the mood, I also posted a pumpkin spice cookie recipe I tried over the weekend. Turn down your AC and enjoy some tea, cookies & shopping! 

                 

 

pumpkin spice cookiez!

I  made these over the weekend, because there was stormy weather and it made me feel like it was fall. I also had a crafternoon with a friend, and wanted to bring something over to inspire. I took the cookie recipe from one website and the drizzle-icing from another, and came up with these light & addicting things: 

They're supposedly low-cal, and I hope so because I ate my fare share. Also, because I like to really taste the spice, I added way more pumpkin pie spice & also added allspice- so if you really want that kick, I would suggest doing that as well. I also didn't have chocolate chips on hand for some crazy reason, but I'm sure that would add a nice touch. Enjoy! 


Low-fat Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from skinny taste

Servings: 12 • Size: 2 cookies • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 171.4 • Fat: 5.0 g • Protein: 1.4 g • Carb: 34.7 g • Fiber: 1.5 g • Sugar:25.4 g Sodium: 113 mg

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice; stir to blend. In another bowl, whisk the sugars, butter, egg white, pumpkin puree and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions until the batter is very well blended. If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time (ONLY if needed) until it smooths out.
Drop by level spoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets.  

Bake 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let them stand 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the pans to cool on wire racks.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Frosting/Glaze:

adapted from  group recipes 

Ingredients:

- 2 cups confectioners' sugar

- 3 tablespoons milk 

• - 1 tablespoon melted butter 
• - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• (I also added allspice to this mixture as well-trust me). 
• Directions: 
• • Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Geometry

I'm really loving the geometric looks these days. Maybe because I"m currently in the geometry portion in one of my classes? Probably not though because it's horrible. I really could care less about the degrees of the shape, but I do love the items posted below (and a few DIY's!). I was inspired a couple weeks ago in this post, and really loving all things geo-especially this super adorbs, super cheap phone case ($12.00, a steal). Happy weekend!

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1. etsy 2. my cakies 3. urbanoutfitters diy 4. larissa hadjio 5. douglas & bec

Feature: Tasteful Boudoir by Allison Viscomi

     I wanted to go out on a very major limb for me, because of my friend/amazing photographer Alli Viscomi. She did such a wonderful job taking boudoir-style pictures for me as an anniversary gift for my sweet husband this year, and I wanted to share. Risque topic, but one that I've chatted about with other curious girls, and when done tastefully, can be a beautiful gift. 

     So, how this came about. I went back and forth, googled photographers for awhile, and no one I knew and wanted really advertised that kind of stuff on their blog unless they specialized in it which was near impossible in my town. And I definitely wasn't going to a studio. For many reasons. I decided over a margarita one night to ask my friend Alli if she would be open to doing that kind of thing. Lucky for me, she had done one in the past and was up for the task (yes it took me a drink to ask a close friend). But I explained to her how I wanted a soft, tasteful look- and that is exactly what I got. Don't worry that's all you're seeing from my shoot, but I wanted to give an idea of the soft, romantic, and glowing look she captured and how it really focused on the beautiful way God made us instead of some cheesy (or awesome?), done up, costume shoot. So if you're looking to get some done, look no further and talk to Alli here. Even though she doesn't have it on her blog either, this is me advertising for her. Guaranteed you'll love it, love her, feel comfortable, definitely laugh and feel beautiful through it and could possibly be one of best gifts your husband can get. 

monday mixup: black & blue

I was perusing the magazines one rainy night recently with a friend at Barnes & Noble (guilty pleasure), and came across this little number. This color combo shows up in every season it seems like, and even though I feel a little like  this when I wear it , I love the boldness of the two colors together. The picture above from  InStyle's latest  issue specifically inspired me (yes I took a picture of a magazine page-with the flash on), along with the others below, to put an outfit together because I knew I had the perfect vintage top.

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 And the vintage/mod addition from yours truly:

Top: newfashioned, Skirt (left): Xhiliration, Mini Skirt (right): Forever21, Booties: Target

To see a better view of the vintage top, (and to purchase it for yourself), find it here, and embrace the bolds this season!

1.Pinterest 2. Christian Dior  3. fashion notebook 4. urban outfitters