Watermelon, Lime and Mint Infused Water

Teresa and I hung out yesterday and had a great time chatting about the blog and coming up with summer post ideas. 

While we were chatting, we made infused water. I'm doing a five day cleanse this week, part of which involves me actually remembering to drink water. So I thought this would be a good way to start. 

I've always said I'd make infused water. It's so simple! All you need to do is add fruit or herbs to water and let it soak up the flavor for a bit. 

Our version included watermelon chunks, mint sprigs and lime. And, if you're me and want to make it really easy, you buy precut watermelon. It's wonderfully refreshing, so it was perfect for this hot Seattle weather. 

I often find infused water at weddings (and spas of course) and different combinations I want to try for myself in the future include: 

Lemon and Orange

Grapefruit

Blackberry and Sage

Cucumber, Lemon, Mint and Rosemary 

Basil and Strawberry 

Friday Roundup


Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? It's going to be HOTTT and sunny here in Seattle so we are thinking of ways to keep cool. Jenny and I are getting together to drink wine spritzers and do some blogging -- we have big plans for the summer. :)

Here are some links to get us started:

I HAVVVE to make these in my new Vitamix!

This made me laugh out loud. Also, this, I love Amy Schumer.

A perfect summer garden party menu.

Five quick and cheap kitchen upgrades that could be done in a weekend.

Gorgeous textiles.

Loved this -- real women in Victoria's Secret swimsuits.

Incredible mid-century bridge house and eclectic Portland bungalow.

Advice from famous ladies.

The 90's are definitely back in style.

WA folks:12 easy waterfall hikes that can be done with kids or dogs! Also GLAMPING on Orcas Island.


My Summer Drink: Wine Spritzer


My friend Erika introduced me to my new favorite summer drink: the wine spritzer. It's the perfect way to sip wine over a whole afternoon or cut back a little on work evenings. I just combine soda/seltzer water with my favorite semi-effervescent wine (a Vinho Verde or Grüner Veltliner work great), add ice and maybe a splash of lemon and you're set! 

PS. 17 reasons wine spritzers are the best drink of the summer. :)

Summer Reading Recommendations from Jenny...


I spent the last few days in Vegas for my aunt's wedding. I've been enjoying laying by the pool reading and of course jumping in to cool off every so often in this 110 degree heat. Yikes!

I brought Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude  to read on this trip. Something I've been meaning to read since forever ago. While I was enjoying the beautiful prose on the surprisingly quiet flight down, I was reminded that classics don't always make the best vacation reads when trying to concentrate by the pool. It took me awhile to get into it, but about 100 pages in, I'm hooked.

In general,  for summer books, you need something that's going to hold your attention while the stranger on the lounger next to you tells their companion in excruciating detail about their peeling sunburn and kids run by dripping water on the pages. Something that's going to make you want to lay in one place a little longer, instead of feeling guilty about not checking your email or having your mind wander to what snack you could find.

So here's a list of books that passed the test and kept my attention while lounging on a lazy day at the beach, by a pool, or in my backyard...

If you're looking worthwhile chick-lit with a bit of a mystery to keep you hooked: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriaty

If you're a Harry Potter fan, check out this grown up Hogwarts:  The Magicians by Lev Grossman

If you enjoy getting sucked onto a different time with historical romances: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

If ever tried to do a book report on a Choose Your Own Adventure book: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

If you're wanting something to inspire you to eat healthy and enjoy nature: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbra Kingsolver

If you enjoy unlikely love stories with heart: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

If you want to be inspired that it's never too late to find your passion: My Life in France by Julia Child

If you want to laugh so loud strangers star at you: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

If you like mysteries: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)

And if you're in the mood for a classic, I know it's long and daunting, but I devoured The Count of Monte Cristo on a beach in Hawaii, poor Jason had to go swimming by himself :)



What are you reading this summer? I'd love to hear! 

Seven Questions for Seven Years


In honor of Teresa and Patrick's wedding anniversary on the 14th, I thought I'd ask Teresa some questions about her wedding and life these past 7 years...

Jenny: What's your favorite memory of your wedding day? 

Teresa: My wedding day was such a blur, I always recommend that people get a wedding videographer because I barely remember anything from the day! That being said my favorite memory was probably the moment you have pictured above. Our ceremony was really personal and beautiful and yet simple. I loved looking out into the crowd at all of our family and friends and just basking in the love of our community celebrating our marriage. 

J: Looking back, what is one thing you wish you would have done differently? 

T: Oh man, I would have had a destination wedding! We had a huge wedding in Tacoma that lasted about six hours. Instead I would have a weekend away with three whole days to celebrate with a smaller group. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to have a big crowd (see above) but in retrospect my anxious personality would have enjoyed a smaller gathering more I think.

J: What off of your wedding registry are you still using now? What do you regret not registering for? 

T: I love the vases that we got and one of my dear friends from high school got us a gorgeous decanter that I've had on display for a lot of years. Patrick uses our coffee maker everyday. We didn't have a lot so we were grateful for everything. I just bought a Vitamix which I'm super excited about! 

J: I know you have TONS of fun memories of life with Patrick, but what's one that sticks out? 

T: Patrick is super friendly (unlike me) and on our flight home from our honeymoon he struck up a conversation with the person sitting next to him that led to us housesitting this mansion in Washington DC for the rest of the summer! Made me second guess my no chatting on planes policy...for a minute. 

J: What do you think the Teresa of seven years ago would be most surprised to hear that you've done?

T: Chilled out. I'm definitely less high strung than I used to be, and I'm more honest about who I am. I wouldn't plan a 300 person wedding now because I know how much that would stress me out. Also, that I've kept working full time as a mom, I never thought I would have enough energy for that. 

J: If you could give one piece of relationship advice to someone who's getting married now, what would it be? 

T: Say you're sorry quickly. Patrick is so good at this and it has been such a gift in our marriage. Doesn't matter if it's something small or a big argument we try to say sorry very quickly (even when it's soooo hard) and it has saved us from a lot of pain. Saying sorry diffuses an argument and helps to start a conversation instead of just angry words.

Also, don't be afraid to do things separately! We have definitely benefited from vacations, activities, and friendships that are independent of each other. 

J: Looking forward what do you think life will look like for you and Patrick seven years from now? 

T: The next seven years will probably be just as adventurous as the first but in very different ways. Our life is focused on family and work right now, but having kids and settling down is it's own unknown adventure. :)

That was fun, thanks for asking, Jenny!

We're (finally) on Instagram!

Yes, this is something we should have done a long time ago. Follow us! 


Monday Motivation



Friday Roundup


I'm finishing up this post while eating a giant bowl of strawberries and it's still light out past 9:00. I'm in my happy place. Summer. I wait all year for this moment, and when it comes, I feel like I never manage to enjoy it enough. Although, I do try my best! I've been known to try and send emails while laying in the sun, never mind that it's practically impossible to see the computer screen. There's a barbecue in my weekend plans and maybe a short trip up to Vancouver. I hope that wherever you are, you get to enjoy the solstice. OH and Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!

Literary Road Trips...I've always wanted to go Green Gables!

What's your hippie name? 

Flamingos, doughnuts and other fun pool floats to make your summer more fun.

I want to see this!

What lady would you like to see on the $10 bill? 

Google's Sheep View is pretty awesome if you're looking to kill some time.

Beauty advice from dads

Coffee nap

I took Cup of Jo's advice and checked out the Mortified podcast. I can't recommend it enough!



1980's summer image via


Anniversary Weekend in Eastern Washington


Last weekend Patrick, Mylo and I headed over the mountains to stay near Cle Elum for the weekend. I finally bought a child carrier for hiking (should have done this a year ago!) used online and we were able to go for two fun hikes as a family. It was so nice to get out of the city and into nature, Mylo loved it. We stayed at my family cabin and found this wedding picture of us SEVEN years ago on the refrigerator. It was great to sit outside, drink some wine, and laugh about how young we were and how much we've grown up. What a great start to our summer!
 Mylo is obsessed with holding our hands and jumping, swinging or being tossed in the air. Pure bliss.

Wedding Wednesday


Here's a shot from our wedding last week on the beach in Santa Monica. I LOVED Tania's headpiece which was from Lovella Bridal

Summer Hair Style: Braided Headband


Lately I’ve been making it my goal to only wash my hair twice a week. My new haircut has a lot of versatility in how I can style it and with a little (or a lot, let’s be honest) dry shampoo I can usually make it a solid 3-4 days without shampooing. One of my go-to styles for the weekend on day three or four of not washing has been to do a front French braid along my forehead. It’s relatively easy braid to master with a little practice and gets the now powdery hair out of my face.


What are your go-to summer styles? 

Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? I took the day off and we are headed over to Eastern Washington to celebrate our anniversary! We finally got a child carrier for hiking so we are going to hit the trails. I'm excited to get out of the city.

Here are some links to get us started:

This looks like it's going to be hilarious to me.

Love the mix of old and new in this Seattle home renovation (blocks from us!).

I don't know about you but I CANNOT wait to see Jurassic World, love Chris Pratt.

How to incorporate heirlooms into your home.

There are two kinds of people in this world, which are you?

These look delicious and "healthy."

Loving Trina Turk's one piece swim suits for summer.

I absolutely love this home makeover. Totally my style.

How to wear overalls. I want to try!

(image)


Enjoying Engagement


I LOVE this engagement photo taken my my good friend Johnny of Mazagran Photo. When I saw it, I knew I wanted to post it on the blog with just a short quick note to all of you our there who are planning your wedding.

It's not anything huge that I have to say. Just a reminder to enjoy being engaged. That is all. When you fall down a pinterest rabbit hole of wedding DIY projects, or find yourself tossing and turning at 3 am wondering if you made the right choice on the towels you registered for, or your fighting over the guest list or how much it's costing or what suit he will wear- don't forget why you're doing it all. It's because you found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and in comparison, nothing else really matters.  

Hair Trick


I read this article a while back about tricks for parting your hair and changing your look. I decided to try parting my hair on the opposite side for the first time....ever. I have been parting my hair on the left side for about 15 years because I always thought my cowlick meant I had to. The first couple of times I did it I had to blow dry my hair in the opposite direction to get it to stay but IT WAS AMAZING. My hair has so much more volume and entirely covers up my cowlick on the other side. 

The first day I tried it I looked in the mirror and was convinced that everyone who saw me was going to make comments all day because it just looked so so different to me. But guess what...no one noticed, not even Patrick or my closest colleagues. I had quite a few comments that my hair looked good or had more volume but no one even noticed that I had reversed my normal part. Which I think is actually a good thing. 

Anyway, if you want an experiment this summer give it a try. The one thing I did have to do was tell my hair colorist so that she could add some extra highlights on the other side of my head. Waa la! New summer look. 

Read This: Judy Blume


Did you grow up reading Judy Blume?

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. were both childhood staples for me. But I loved all of her books, really.


I just finished her newest novel, In the Unlikely Event, it's written for adults, but still has that wonderful honest quality of her novels written for kids and young adults. I basically devoured it in under 48 hours. I forgot how much I love Judy Blume!

Honestly, it's sort of an odd summer read, the story is fiction, but it takes place around the real life plane crashes in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the winter of 1951-1952. Judy Blume, who grew up there and was 12 at the time of the crashes.  Regardless, I'd tell you to take it on vacation with you! I loved it and I'd recommend it to anyone who grew up on Judy Blume and all of her wonderful awkward characters who felt like friends in the "What? You too? I Thought I was the only one" sense of my C.S. Lewis quote from yesterday.  

Also, for a truly summery Judy Blume read, check out Summer Sisters when you finish this one.





Monday Motivation


Happy National Best Friend Day! I thought it was a perfect day to post my favorite quote on friendship, even though I already used it a few years back...

Friday Roundup









It feels good to be back on the blog! I hope you all had a lovely week. I'm still catching up on laundry, work, etc. So many things to do. Looking forward to a lovely wedding this weekend and hopefully enjoying some time in the sun too. I've been wanting to do something really summery, like paddle boarding, or making s'mores in the backyard.



Here are some fun things from here and there around the web...












Design Milk turned one of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes into this pretty desktop wallpaper.

Cats delivering mail

If you also hate allergy season...

Dress made of math for a good cause

These drinks with aloe look super refreshing

Pigs in a blanket. FOR REAL!

Celebrity prom photos

My current favorite shirt that I've been wearing way too much lately. Loving that it supports a good cause too!

Loving these tips on cleaning your house for company... #10 is a great, #12 I've done that.

I can't stop laughing at these gifs of retouched cat photos and the story behind them. Maybe it's just a photographer thing, but it makes you realize how silly retouching can be sometimes.

Teresa sent me this hilarious festival going advice from Father John Misty, good stuff.


Sunbathers in Palm Springs, 1956, Photographed by Loomis Dean, Image via





What's Your Beauty Routine?

It seems that beauty routines have become the thing to post about these days.

It's lead me to wonder, does EVERYONE but me have a set routine? I mean, I wash my face every day and all that jazz, but I can't for the life of me commit to any products. When I run out of face wash, moisturizer, lipstick, etc. I pick up something new, somehow hoping it'll work better than the last thing I had.

I've gone on all natural kicks, all one brand, then all another brand. I've tried pretty much everything but I'm loyal to nothing.

I've been loving Cup of Jo's Beauty Uniform seriesthese posts from No More Dirty Looks and Huff Post's Beauty Street Style column as well. Each time I read one I find myself wondering if this person will have some miracle product that will work for me too.

I seem to be on an endless quest. I rarely buy the same products more than once. I am forever assuming that there must be something better out there that I haven't stumbled upon yet.

Thankfully, instead of buying every product someone one raves about, I've become obsessed with Beautypedia. Have you checked it out? It rates most every skincare and makeup product you could think of and at first, I was skeptical. However, I can tell you, they've been right on about what products will irritate my skin.



Here's what I HAVE learned from reading tons of other women's beauty routines. 

1. Everyone mixes and matches brands. Most product lines try and tell you that if you use their cleanser, for the best results, you need to use their toner, moisturizer, etc. Real women are mixing things up.

2. Everyone splurges and saves in different areas. I was surprised at how most all women were using a variety of department store and drugstore brands. Maybe their cleanser cost under $10 and then they are following that up with a $100 serum.

3. Everyone's skin is different. This I can tell you from personal experience. Some of the products ladies have been raving about on blogs have not worked out well for me and my sensitive skin.


So, my goal for the summer, to find myself a beauty routine. I want to find products that moisturize and don't irritate my dry/sensitive skin, that are proactive about the wrinkles I'm starting to see without being super crazy expensive. And ideally, products that don't test on animals and are fairly natural.

Anyone have anything to recommend?



Images via Pinterest



Wedding Roundup


We kicked off our summer wedding season last weekend and my mind is buzzing with ideas for Wedding Wednesday posts. But for this week, lets start off with a jumble of wedding ideas and advice  I've been seeing around the web lately...

Wedding day yoga poses

Love these table numbers

From Marie Antoinette to Will & Kate...the most extravagant weddings of all-time.

Beautiful watercolor invitations 

#weddinghashtaggenerator

Would you wear a wedding jumpsuit instead of a dress? I kind of like this one. 

Just a ridiculously cute sign for your dog

Wedding registry suggestions from someone 5 years in

Thoughtful tips for happy bridesmaids







Hello!

Well, its been awhile, but I'm back!


It's been a PACKED handful of weeks since I last blogged.


Since you last heard from me: I produced a feature film and got really good at surviving on 3 hours of sleep a night, had a lovely girls weekend in LA, got a new couch, shot a wedding, got REALLY into wearing jumpsuits, ate lots of amazing things, read a couple of good books, did some decorating of our new studio space, started wearing flare jeans again, learned to make coffee in a Chemex, and, well, probably a bunch of other things that I'm looking forward to telling you about.


Stay tuned! It's going to be a lovely summer!

Mylo's First Mariner's Game!

A few weeks ago Jenny and Jason gave us their Marnier's tickets and Mylo got to experience his first baseball game! We took Patrick's mom and Nana so it was a special experience for us all. I usually hesitate to bring him to thing like this that I think I would enjoy more without a squirming toddler but he was actually great (through all 11 innings!). He loved the Mariner Moose, eating all the stadium food, and walking up and down all the stairs. 

Monday Motivation


We're baaack! June is here and after our little break we are back at the blogging. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

(Image above and more inspiring staircases)