pause

[Currently drowning in pathophysiology and staring out the window thinking about the etiology of my current malaise...]

Please don't let this cheesy photo fool you- I was even more excited hiking through the Zion Narrows in Utah than my thumb and wide smile could express. During my last week of summer freedom a few friends and I squashed ourselves into a rental and drove to Utah. Between work, school and events we gave ourselves 4 days with a loose plan to see 3 of the National Parks and travel time worked in. It was an amazing whirlwind of hiking, hilarious camping, running from flash flooding, nautical twilight star gazing and the most awe inspiring views of God's creation cramped into a modest 3 days. 

a stormy welcome from Zion our first night

drenching hike to the Emerald Pools to kick off our time in Zion

unforeseen thunder + lightning + torrential downpour = night 1 dinner eaten in rental 

Day 2 hiking the Zion Narrows // running from flash flooding

river hiking can be tiring..

Day 2: First glance at Bryce Canyon at sunset

Day 3- Bryce Canyon : home of the hoodoos

Day 3- catching sunset at Cedar...followed by star gazing sprinkled with shooting stars

Day 4- One last look at Cedar before heading home

A magnificent break being fully immersed and still in nature (thank you canyons for making phone reception nil). Coming into another semester of nursing school with my head and heart in the right place- refocused and refreshed. 

Now back to thinking about electrolyte imbalances...

lots of love 

rainy thursdays

A little over two weeks ago I was in a car accident. It was a dark, rainy Thursday evening and I was driving home from school. The story is long and painful to retell so I will just say that there are hardly ever a time when sitting in a car is completely relaxing for me now. Whether it was the other guy's fault or my own, it takes 2 to tango. After the accident I thought a lot about the choices I made before it happened. Why did I drive on that street home that day? What if I had gone home right after I had ended work and not lingered? Would I have okay if I had stayed at school longer like I had originally planned? ...and then God said to me " what if you had died? what if the other man had died?"

A small accident but I am rethinking the aspects of my life that I am truly grateful for. My pastor preached recently about verbally giving thanks & not just thinking praises in our minds. Salvation is bright and shiny to me once again. The urgency of life's timeframe has never been more evident. I know I didn't post a typical thanksgiving foodfestblackfridayshopping post, but the thing I am most thankful for is God's never ending grace and mercy. I am alive to eat too much, laugh with friends, and see my family all together.

To Him be the glory, Amen.
lots of lovee

{attack the senses} transitional

 

 

Who else is fed up with this bipolar SoCal weather? *RAISES HAND* Last week was blazes hot and this week we  are afraid of spontaneous rain fall. I'm tired and my wardrobe is in a big transitional mess. With all this trouble i have truly learned to embrace and appreciate the power of layering. Allowing me to stay warm in the cold mornings and peel off layers as the day goes on so I'm not sweating like a monkey the while day. (not attractive)

What do you do in transitional weather? Is this what "spring" weather is?

lots of lovee

(creds: style-arena.jp, brigit, Karla's Closet, tumblrz, DropTokyo) 

{attack the senses} the streets are on

Unfortunately for us all the title is not referring to Step Up 2. It is in relation to how much inspiration can be found on the streets. I am blessed to live in LA that is such a huge melting pot of people and talents with Venice as one of the many epicenters for cultivation. All of these shots were taken as I was walking down the boardwalk area as well as around the neighborhoods, and it's so inspiring to see! Inspiration doesn't always have to be found on tumblr or pintrest...

Challenge for this week: go outside if it's not pouring rain and look at your neighborhood. It might surprise you what you find.

lots of lovee

p.s. anyone want apple raisin bread pudding? :)

{inspiration}

While purusing my daily blogroll reads the other day, I came upon Margaret Zhang's coverage of Prabal Gurung's Fall collection at NYFW, and she credited Bon Duke for her backstage pass that day. Curious-me dug a little deeper clicked on the link and discovered the treasure pit that is Bon Duke's site and works.

Instantly falling in love with his humor (banana vid) and ability to capture flowing movement of the pieces, I tried to find out a little more about this NY fashion based photographer & found this interview of him. As if this aesthetic wonder couldn't get any more inspiring, his take on eating was so refreshing to hear!

After a long week I needed some fresh inspiration.

lots of lovee

gotta collect 'em all

There have been a lot of collaborations this past season with big name designers & department stores (i.e. Versace for H&M) along with collaborations between bloggers & designers (i.e. Man Repeller x MR DANIJO). Most recently my favorite collabs for the stores, for affordable prices, have been :

Jason Wu for Target that debuted on the 5th! I love the classic simplicity of the collections for everyday wear. Mainly I love the bags that he created! Lovely satchels and clutches with my name written on them in a low price tag :)

The other is Marni for H&M collection that launches March 8th. I am really egg-cited for these pieces to hit stores. Brilliant mix of patterned everything and detailed structured tailoring makes me antsy for spring! Although a bit more expensive than the Jason Wu collection, I love H&M and was not interested by the outlandish Versace collection preceding.

Anticipate~!

lots of lovee

(creds: refinery29, target, ellie&eri)

crunch time

I've been on a cooking kick for the past few days. Needless to say I have been so stressed and cooking/baking is my favorite way to unwind. After making a breakfast frittata with potatoes as the base, I was left with a whole lot of leftover taters and the last of my rosemary. Naturally I had to make my own baked chips...it just makes sense.

Don't these potatoes look dreamy

I would have gone heavier on the rosemary and lighter on the sea salt, but for a first attempt I quite liked them :) Just thick and crunchy enough without being super greasy because they were baked instead of fried. Absolutely brilliant.


lots of lovee

w e e k e n d e r.

Sunday walks after church down to Olvera street produce good food and excellent inspiration.
1. tostada 2. signage for Mr. Churro against a wonderful gate 3. mexican sandal wants

4. my love for the 80's sweater design against my love for brick 5. my friend & I enjoy stopping to observe the succulents displayed

The past 4 days have been earth shaking. An unforeseen amount of changes has jumbled my emotions and I have been left confused. However God provides such loving people in my life that have supported me through this weekend whether it was phone calls in a parking lot or getting coffee and praying for me. God is good all the time.

lots of lovee

the.aftermath

Well friends, I did it. Just like promised in my last post I had much time to spare so I made some cards out of my leftover paint chip swatches!

I'll be honest: I was pretty surprised with how well they turned out, because I am not creative or crafty at all, and they are pretty cute I think. Haha.

made a complete mess in the trimming process.. 

two birthday cards & a farewell card for my sister :)

They were so easy to make and are so cute! I am inspired to do more crafts now (...but will probably leave it at inspiration hehe). There are several different food projects that I have my eye set on so look out for more recipes &maybe a weekend update coming your way!

lots of lovee