Friday Favorites

Happy happy Friday!

I am loving these inspirational iPhone wallpapers. 

I know Summer is almost over, but this swimsuit is so beautiful! I also love this dress! #wishlist

This video is incredible + humbling. 

The Earth is the size of a marble in comparison to the solar system!

I can't get over how sweet this dog is! This made my day.

How have we still not been to Banff? Canada looks like pure magic.

This movie looks so sweet and reminds me how much I love Robert De Niro:

I am counting down to the weekend! 

The deck should be done this week (well the construction piece) and we've got some errands to do around the house. Otherwise, it's the grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary! Pretty impressive, hey?

On Sunday, I'll be volunteering for Lifeline and hopefully helping some cute pups find their forever homes!

What are your weekend plans?

♥

Friday Favorites

Happy happy Friday!

This weekend will be spent with my sister-in-law before she heads back to FL, some volunteering, Anthony Bourdain, and then possibly some pool time or a hiking adventure!

Speaking of adventures, how incredible are these beautiful campsites?

I need these watermelon lemonade slushies. ASAP.

Did you know it's the 40th anniversary for the movie "Jaws?" Check out this insane screening in Austin!

Preach.

Interesting article about what to do with weird farmers' market veggies (I really needed this to use all of the CSA seasonal vegetables)!

Quick and fun quiz to determine which "Parks and Recreation" character would be your BFF.

What are your weekend plans? 

ATL will have hot, sunny weather so I hope everyone local gets to enjoy the heat from the water!

xo

Weekend Recap

So this is from a few weekends ago and the garden beds are thriving from so much rain! I love tracking the weekly growth! We got a new Buddha to watch over the veggies. :)

This year's first jalapeno! Reminds me of my favorite cheesy joke: "Why are peppers so nosy? Because they are always jalapeno business" LOL.

Although Townes has always been the sweetest dog, he's become way more attached lately. He follows me everywhere and just wants to lay with me...it's lovely!

On Friday night, we went to Iberian Pig with the in-law's. The food wasn't very vegetarian-friendly, but the cheese plate was great.

For dessert, ice cream! 

The new normal is taking Townes to play in the creek with the weather being in the high 90's in ATL. He loves this log and playing with his ball. 

On Saturday night, we cooked dinner (aka a feast) for Victor and Anna. We made vegan crab cakes (from Whole Foods and they are amazing), grilled asparagus, sweet potato, and cheese grits. It was nice having cheese grits the next morning with breakfast too!

Like the rest of the world, we went and saw "Jurassic World" on IMAX and it was awesome! I had low expectations, but really enjoyed it. Crazy that it had the highest-grossing weekend globally ever.

On Sunday, I headed to Los Angeles for the E3 conference. I stayed at The Standard Hotel downtown. It was very trendy, but the rooms were almost too trendy (aka not-practical). 

My friend, Lily, picked me up and took me to Good Times At Davey Waynes. It's a bar that you access in a vintage shop and you have to enter through a refrigerator door. 

Afterwards, we had an awesome dinner at Bar Ama - we shared brussel sprouts, sweet potato, a veggie tostada, and some chips with queso. 

We ended the night at Salt&Straw for ice cream. Lily went with the seasonal street food flavors and I went with the classics since it was my first time there. 

LA sure does has some great food and people :) It's always so nice to see such a friendly face when you are away from home...Thanks Lily!

How was your weekend?
xo

Friday Favorites

Happy happy weekend (well...almost)!
Dreamy. It may be due to my heritage but I love turquoise rings!

Need some immediate ways to feel happy? I enjoy all of these things (especially taking walks and catching up with loved ones)! 

A video from the duo at NPR's Invisibilia podcast (check out more on the podcast here) about the best way  to get around on 2 legs. Is it just me or do you want to bring skipping back now?

 I love seeing more articles with meatless recipes. I know being vegetarian isn't for everyone, but it's never bad to have some meatless meals...just sayin'!

A great reminder. No matter how you look, you take yourself with you.

 Experiences are better investments than material items (not that I needed proof):
“Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.”

Hope you have an incredible weekend! 
I am hoping for sunshine and looking forward to catching up with old friends (my dear friend from high school will be in town!) and celebrating my niece's 21st birthday!
What's on your weekend agenda?
xo

Friday Favorites: Happy Spring!

Happy Friday and first day of Spring!

Life already feels significantly better with the slight weather change!

Wouldn't it be great to walk around this meadow? Pure magic!

Speaking of weather changes, I bought this swimsuit and I love it!

This quote totally represents my current state. Work has been so crazy and I'm not sleeping at night with all of these thoughts and "to do's" running through my head. Help!

Did you know about today's cosmic triad? On March 20, 2015, three extraordinary celestial events converge: the March equinox, a total solar eclipse, and a New Moon which is also a Super Moon! Amazing!

Looking for some amazing destinations in the US? If so, check out this link. It's so hard to choose which should be our next adventure and it's sad how few of these I've seen...need to fix that immediately! Which would you choose?

 What an insane tunnel discovery! You can pay to camp inside!

Hope you have a fun weekend!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow with sunshine and 75 degree weather! If you need to find me, I'll be outdoors!

xo

Friday Favorites

Happy weekend, kiddos.

The recent snow is making me long for Marinha beach in Portugal. Apparently it's the best in the world. Sold!

This weekend, I really want to make this! I already have the wood-burning tools so let me know if you want to join! :)

OMG. My heart cannot handle how cute this baby otter is!

Swooning over these rings - they remind me of the ocean.

I just watched this awesome episode of CNN's "Inside Man" about medical tourism. Very fascinating!

Been feeling very nostalgic lately (could have been induced by my recent decision to read my old LiveJournal posts...cringe) so this quote really resonates. I truly believe that real connections live on forever...

xo

Weekend Recap: Outer Banks, NC

 

Last weekend we took a short vacation to Outer Banks, NC.

Although our friends booked the house for a week, sadly we were only able to stay for a few days so we decided to get a head start on Friday night. We booked the Aloft in downtown Charlotte, NC so we could cut our drive down on Saturday morning. We'd never been to Charlotte and although the Aloft was pet-friendly, it required Townes to ride in a lot of elevators and it was definitely a party hotel...so not the best for pets, but you live and learn, right?

We woke up on Saturday morning and got breakfast from Zada Janes (which came highly recommended by J's cousin, Aaron). Since the patio was closed due to the cold weather, we got it to go and ate in a local park. Thankfully the sunshine was wonderful...and the food too (especially the "bunny rancheros")!

 After we ran to the market to pick up some food, we started the long 6+ hour drive to Outer Banks.

 As we finally got on the island and headed towards Cape Hatteras, we got to see some great sunset views!

 We only arrived a few hours before Jen, Nick, and Shawn to the beach house and it was during 40+ mph winds. It didn't help that part of the roof was broken and kept slamming against the house.

Thankfully, by the next morning, the piece of the roof had broken off; however, the pipes had frozen solid so we had no running water.

We braved the cold and wind to get the pups out on the beach. Townes was in heaven!

 The wind was insane and blowing the sand everywhere!

 The broken pier was so lovely and the beach was totally desolate. Pure magic...well, minus it being cold. :)

Townes kept getting Benga's bone and "burying" it. Here is where I found it before we had to move houses. So yeah, there's that. After the technicians tried to heat up the pipes to no avail, we had to move houses. The realty company was absolutely dreadful to work with and not accommodating at all. If you can avoid it, NEVER use Outer Banks Realty. Okay, enough negativity!

 As we took our last walk to the beach before moving to the new house (which sadly wasn't beachfront), we got these amazing views and some wild visitors! They walked up as we were pulling out of the driveway...it was absolutely breathtaking!

 

 Although the new house wasn't beachfront, it was definitely a lot nicer inside. After a hot shower, we were all ready to take on the day. Nick made incredible homemade french toast from fresh challah bread that he made himself! It doesn't get any better...well wait, yes it does. Every meal Nick made was unbelievable!

My favorite lady ever, Jen, and I spent most of the day working on a 2000 piece puzzle that they brought, while the boys played on a Nintendo emulator. 

 Windy walks on the beach to wear out the pups. Townes kept trying to get in the water! The dunes were so pretty and the sand looked like textured rock.

 Even the new house had a pier immediately to the right of the house, although this pier in Avon was still standing.

 Puzzle process! And amazing grilled burritos for dinner!

 Isn't she the cutest? ♥

It was so nice and relaxing to take it easy once we were settled in the new house.

The very last piece!

 Victory!

 On our last night, Nick made homemade pizzas (dough, sauce, and all) followed by homemade creme brulee! Insane, right? 

A better shot of the finished puzzle.

Our last walk on the beach before the 10 hour drive home. It was so bittersweet to leave Jen, Nick, Shawn, and Benga after such a great few days! We definitely need to get another trip on the books (when the weather is nicer, of course)! It was crazy that an ice storm hit the southeast, but missed the island; however, we definitely hit a bit of snow and ice on the way home.

 Townes was such a trooper for the whole ride, but I kept him company for a bit in the backseat.

PS - since I've been on a podcast kick, check out part one and part two of the "Cops See It Differently"

podcast from "This American Life." Really powerful and relevant podcast!

This most recent weekend was basically spent lounging around and taking it easy after so much traveling (personal and work) lately. We watched "Boyhood","The Homesman", and had an awesome time with friends at Sunday brunch. Hope your weekends have been awesome!

♥