I would definitely spend it on these adorable stacked sea anemone rings. Handcut from sterling silver and 100% organically unique (that’s the beauty of Etsy, girls and boys), these rings combine vintage charm with the cleanness of modern style. Plus, they’re only $62, so after shipping and handling, I’d still have enough dinner to buy dinner (or dessert) for the hubs and I.
In the name of avoiding consecutive blog posts series containing dates in the title, I’m officially moving Bits & Pieces to Wednesday instead of Saturday. What’s that? You didn’t even notice they are always posted on Saturday? Well ok then. I love you too, and hope you enjoy these super cool tidbits I’ve collected the past few days.
this open letter to men by Christina Hendricks (of Mad Men) is really making it’s rounds. I spotted it on Gala Darling’s blog first, then on Sarah Wilsons. Perhaps it is because it’s so very true?
I’ve had some unnatural (or are they natural?) urges to go camping lately. With so much accessible wilderness and such fantastic weather in Southern California, there’s really no reason not to. Except for maybe bears, but I like bears. Still not sure if it’s something worth buying sleeping bags and all the other nature-related supplies for, but a girl can dream, especially if it looks like this:
“Life is just a quick succession of busy nothings.”
- Jane Austen
What’s on your to-do list today? How about this week? If you’re like me, 95% of your thoughts are filled with remembering tasks you “simply have to get done” – changing the bed sheets, getting the ingredients to make dinner, finishing this project by 3, making an appointment, dropping that something off at the somewhere. In the big picture – how much do these things really matter? The truth is, not much. These line-items, as monumental as they may seem in the moment, are really quite trivial and menial in the grand scheme of things.
I invite you to ignore the calling of society to get busy and “crush it,” and join me as I attempt to reduce my to-do list and clear my mind of clutter that is prohibiting me from enjoying life the way we were designed to enjoy it – building relationships, experiencing new places, creating new things, helping others. Take a deep breath. Now take nine more. Close your eyes, and think – will the next 50 minutes really have that great an impact on the next 50 years?
While the rest of the country was watching USA make a solid, but not-quite-good-enough effort at the World Cup (as if I would know), I was squirreling away in the kitchen trying my hand at baking whole wheat rolls from scratch. The end result, I would say, was magnificent! There are few things quite as gratifying as knowing you can hold your own in the kitchen.
I got a little (a lot) frustrated at one point (“I can’t get this gunk off my HANDS!!!”), but then I quickly remembered that baking is not only supposed to be an outlet for stress relief, but a PROCESS. So I took a few deep breaths and what do you know, with enough flour, my sticky mess actually turned into honest to goodness bread dough.
An Irish tea towel from my grandmother, who is not Irish.
My culinary sidekick and live-in photographer also did a swell job at calming me down, as he usually does, and turned out to be quite good at making clover-shaped rolls.
I wish you could smell this photo.
Before freezing the buns, we made sure to taste test a couple of them fresh from the oven, with butter. Good news – it tasted like bread. Only better!!! The recipe, if you’re interested in trying it out for yourself, is from The Frugal Girl. Bon apetit!
Soooo true. I think as a culture we have officially passed the tipping point of being too-involved in the mundane details of hundreds/thousands of other people’s lives. Addicting as it is, I am personally trying to cut WAY back on the time I spend social networking (including scaling back on number of friends) and spend more time doing things that are beneficial to my health/well-being, like reading, writing, cooking, exercising, and watching LOST. Just kidding about that last part, we finish the series today and I’ll be DONE forever!
I feel a little naughty, because I just splurged on four of these magical iittala Taika mugs. Gilt, aka bane of my checking account’s existence, has the Finnish collection on sale right now. I don’t own any of their other pieces, and usually stick to basic white for dishes, but I have a huge thing for mugs and these are just too sweet to pass up on. Plus, they’re half off… (this is where you scold me for “spaving,” you know: spending + saving = spaving)
It was a really tough choice between the blue and the white, but I went with the white. Come to mama!
I need to seriously limit my posts that contain the date in the title. It’s kind of irritating and not very pretty, one after another. So what’s on the agenda this weekend? A little BBQ with friends, finishing LOST once and for all (so we can get back to normal life), trying my hand at baking rolls from scratch, with a lot of errand-running and relaxing in between. Sounds like a plan! We love plans!
SHTUFF:
Summer in Paris – Ah, I already miss it!! I really hope to go back sometime soon when the weather is warmer. Despite our honeymoon being in mid-May, the weather was cold, cold, cold. And rainy. And cloudy. What’s the point of bringing cute clothes if you’re covering it up with a coat the whole time? These photos make me happy.
Ever stop to look around at your wonderful life and think, “something bad is definitely going to happen soon.” You’re not alone. Jon Acuff wrote this spiritually-driven piece about that belief and why we should stop worrying and simply enjoy the goodness in our lives.
American Migration Patterns – where are people moving to and from these days? These illustrations are awesome, and very interesting. Sidenote: I am jealous of all the people getting out of LA.
Why I Quit A Six Figure Job – don’t get any crazy ideas, I’m not quitting my job. But the pros & cons measured in this quick and to-the-point blog post do a great job at illustrating the benefits and draw backs of working for yourself vs. working for someone else. I want to add an important note here: the reason this guy COULD quit that job? He has two years worth of living expenses saved up. He also seems to live a pretty low-maintenance lifestyle, something most of us could try and imitate a bit more. (Thanks for tweeting this, Chris!)
4 Tips For a Less Stressful Morning – I could definitely take some of this advice! I tried the playing music bit and it really did help! So does taking a few minutes to do something that is totally not “getting ready to head to the office.”
THE LITTER BOX. This isn’t cool and/or pretty, but it’s still worth posting for any cat owners who have ever experienced their kitties boycotting the litter box. Seeing as this is one of the BIGGEST reasons people banish their pets to the animal shelter (or worse), it’s worth taking a look and seeing what you can to to rectify the situation before resorting to extreme measures. HINT: CLEAN THE DARN LITTER BOX MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK. Would YOU want to use a port-o-potty for a week straight? Thx!
Black & White Delight is a really neat blog, if you’re into home decor, black & white, and damask.
Abandoned Hotel photos – before and after. This is so cool! I am obsessed with looking at old, abandoned (and might I add, sometimes hideously designed) buildings in LA and wondering what they looked like back in the 60s, 70s, or 80s (or even before!) when they were hip and happening. Even in a young city like this, there’s still so much history. So curious!
My girlfriend, currently living in Naples and about 17 months pregnant, sent me these PRECIOUS baby photos from a local photographer. If you don’t love babies and cute things, don’t bother looking. If you do, enjoy.
Conventional, Organic, Local, Whatever. Just eat it! Let me summarize this brilliant article for you – the benefits of eating product FAR outweigh any risk of contamination by pesticides. It beats the alternative, which is avoiding fruits & vegetables and snacking on chemically-ridden processed foods. (P.S. Thanks to my sister-in-law Jes for finding this one!)
Jacaranda Trees in LA – one of the little pleasures about living in this region. The bright purple flowers always brighten my day for these few short weeks.
Wonderful, you found my blog! I'm Sarah, a writer, runner, RVT student, believer, lover of pretty things (and cats.) I'm also a newlywed, which I'm finding quite enjoyable. To learn more about me, just click here. I hope my blog brings you a little bit (or a lotta bit) of happiness today.
