Tangled.

For part of my Valentines Day gift this year, Mike informed me that he bought me Tangled (and that it would be shipping as soon as it came out on Blu Ray).  I fell in love with and obsessed over the movie while we were in Salt Lake over Christmas, and it finally came in the mail a few days ago.  Last night we had a chance to watch it (my spring break+Mike's lucky work schedule as of late), and I fell in love all over again.  I'm not kidding, that movie makes me giddy.  Mandy Moore is perfect as Rapunzel.  I love the music.  I love the chameleon.  I love the horse.  And although I never understood it when people had crushes on animated characters--I love Flynn Rider.

Isn't his smolder charming?  Am I crazy to say this may be my favorite Disney movie of all time?  I understand that is a very bold statement to make, er, question to ask, and I am not making any claims.  However, it has crossed my mind several times.

   

Sigh.

Easy Peasy Sunday.

We had some friends over for dinner last night and I tweaked a pulled pork recipe to make barbecue chicken sandwiches.  It was way too easy and delicious not to share!

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

2 lbs (5-6 large breasts) of boneless chicken
18 oz of your favorite barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
12 oz root beer
I also added onions, garlic, and cracked pepper until it looked good (don't you love it when people say that?)

• Cover the bottom of a crock pot with chicken breasts.

• Cover with onions, garlic, and cracked pepper.

• Pour root beer over chicken (the recipe called for only 12 oz, but I used a bit more because not having the chicken covered weirded me out a little bit for some reason).
•  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Drain any excess root beer and mix in barbecue sauce.
• Serve on a toasted bun (or in my case, a bed of rice).

Like I said, it is a ridiculously easy recipe.  I have tried to make my own barbecue sauce before and it turned out super runny.  I also remember my mom's barbecue spare ribs being runny, so I think the cheating/bottled sauce makes the right texture for sandwiches.  I served it with a spinach salad (green apples, Craisins, feta, candied walnuts) and sweet potato fries (sea salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder).  I didn't love the fries, but the rest was delicioso!

Hope you all had a great Sunday!

Happy Birthday Lizzie Bell!

I can't believe it has been seven years since Caitlin, Lizzie, and I were skipping third period (I think) and sitting in the halls of East High School. Those were the days. Our trio was born. We chatted, fell in friend-love (in that Where have you been all my life? kind of way), scootered around SLC, visited Robbie's (Cait's now rock star hub's) house and listened to his mom swoon and tell cute/cheesy stories, talked about boys, went to the cabin, sat on the Johnson Couch of Love for hours on end, and soaked up every minute together in the sunshine before Liz headed off to BYU. I later joined her there, spent a year as her suite-mate, got kicked into the living room with her while our moldy bedroom was torn down and rebuilt, watched her fall in love with JT, laughed with her, cried with her, ate yogurt-covered almonds with her...the list of happy memories is endless.

And today she is 25! I've been reminiscing lately about having good friends in a place of comfort. Don't get me wrong--I love San Francisco--but I'm still exploring and learning about myself and the people here. I have come to realize that moving to a new place doesn't entitle you to a new group of best friends, thought it is likely you will find one or two. I have a handful of true, life-long friends from my 20+ years in Utah, and Liz is one of those! Lucky for me, we still keep in touch via phone, text, Facebook, email, and blogging. And one day, when I get over my fear of video chat, we'll do that to. I'm just glad that I can send her love so many different ways all the way over in Connecticut, because I really do love her, and will forever.

So...

Happy Birthday Liz!

Love you!

I'm laughing hysterically.

Okay so I'm laughing mostly because after my random train of thought involving Moleskines, I determined that I should get one.  As I was perusing the internet for the perfect notebook, I came across this article.  I have heard about "Stuff White People Like" before, but I haven't gotten into or followed it.  But I was nearly rolling on the floor because I have thought about my Moleskine habit before in a similar way.  You'll have to read the article to know what I'm talking about.  But despite the mockery and downright humor of it, I am still in search of the perfect place to keep track of my thoughts.

Anyway.  I came across these Moleskine Passion Journals in my search and I am officially obsessed with them.  Have you seen them before?  They're delightfully organized and well thought-out.  And I wish I had need for every single one of these.  I guess the wine is out, but I think I can find use for all the others...right?

PS - I may follow Stuff White People Like now.

Artist's block.

I am ashamed to say that I have not picked up a paintbrush since December. And the only reason I did it was to help out a loved one. I have noticed recently that whatever "break" I needed to take after my show is officially over. I feel bombarded by my surroundings, and I'm trying to take slow breaths to gather information, inspiration, colors, compositions, etc. I'm itching to express several things on paper, but I feel completely overtaken by to-do list paralysis (that's what I have named the feeling that first recognizes there is soooooo much to do, and then stops you from doing it because you don't know where or how to start). Anyway, I know it's common to finish a show and take a break. But this break really needs to be over. Any suggestions on how to get back into it? And yes Cait, I know I gave you advice on the very same thing a while back. I'm just not ready to listen to myself.

PS: Do you love Moleskines too? Look at this. (Train of thought: I need to do art-->I haven't carried around a notebook for a while, that may help me-->I haven't carried around a sketchbook, which is usually a notebook with random thoughts/sketches in it around for an even longer while-->What happened to my last sketch/notebook?-->Oh yeah, it's the red one-->I love that notebook. I love Moleskines-->I wonder if Moleskine has a website?-->Whoa! I should get into gardening just so I can use this)

Save 30% @ Give & Get/It's Out.

CLICK HERE

To save 30% on your entire purchase at Gap, BR, and/or Old Navy from March 17-20. They also donate 5% to a non-profit.

If you want to get a discount online, leave your email address in a comment so I can send you a real invitation. I already sent them to some of you but easily could have left someone out. Don't be shy. I don't even care if you are a stranger!

Enjoy!

Letterpress love.

I am obsessed with paper. In many ways I hate that so many things are going electronic because I love old books, the scents they gather over the years, and the way the pages look as they age. I love art on paper. I love making paper. I love leaving lots of paper showing in my work so that the beauty and texture of it can speak as much as the paint. I also love design. And I love letterpress everything. I get giddy when I can touch the indentations it leaves in an image and I love seeing the way that inks take to different poundage and press. Today I was stalking Etsy to find a few things for around the apartment...and I came across a few letterpress designers that I fell in love with! The first is my favorite. I am buying this "ahoy" print to frame and put on a shelf. It is perfect in so many ways!

I also love this neighborhood print. The design and coloring are splendid. I also love how much paper I get to see. I can almost feel it if I touch the computer screen...

This says "It's so good" in french. It makes me happy.

"I'm bored."

"The famous tandem." Love this one!

I'm not sure that I'm as "in" to owls as the rest of the world, but I do like them a lot. I especially love the background in this piece.

All of the above prints were found in this Etsy shop, Letterpress Delicacies. The name is so fitting! I also love the cards below. They are witty but not tacky, which is refreshing.

All cards found at Sycamore Street Press on Etsy.

And finally, love from San Francisco. Simple, sweet, and very fitting.

PS - Look at all of Paper Wink's website. I used a rubber stamp from them for my wedding invitations, and I love pretty much everything they do!

Adorable.

There is a little girl at my work. There are quite a few, actually, but there is one that is particularly sweet. She's in kindergarten, but is exceptionally tiny and beautiful. She doesn't even hit my hips when she stands by me. I have been working in first grade a lot lately, so I haven't had the chance to help her with her spelling. Today, as I was walking through the lunch room, I passed the table of kindergarten monkeys. Suddenly, I felt something small hugging my leg. I looked down to find her. She wouldn't let go, and kept looking up at me with terribly sad, chocolate brown eyes.

"What's the matter, Adriana?" I asked.

"I love you." she told me. "I love you. Why don't you help me learn to write words anymore?"

I was crushed. Because I miss the kindergartners every day and often wish I were chasing them around the school or helping them understand why the letter "e" at the end of a word turns a short vowel sound into a long one.

But most of all I was thrilled because this tiny little munchkin proclaimed her love for me and would not let me go upstairs.

Tahoe.

Mike and I spent the weekend up at the Resort at Squaw Creek with his company. It's an absolutely beautiful resort just a few miles away from Lake Tahoe. We embraced the getaway wholeheartedly and felt like it didn't last long enough! There was lots of great food, skiing, company, and views. We had a really great time.

The 3 photos above were snatched from the resort and review sites.

Apparently I was sleeping like this when Mike woke up to go skiing. The little amount of ski stuff I have is in SLC, but I'll get it here by next year because I was jealous of everyone out on the slopes!

Olympic village near the ski resort.

I rode up on this bad boy to meet Mike for lunch.

One of many food courts.

Mike's delicious looking burger. It was called the "Enchanted Forest" burger or something equally cooky. It had roasted red peppers on it, though, and was clearly a winner.

This morning we looked out our window to find...

...fresh falling snow! This trip reminded both of us of our honeymoon. We were hiding away in a winter wonderland with books, food, and fun. I'm glad this is a yearly tradition with his firm because it gives us something to look forward to for next year! Thanks to his office! We didn't want to leave!

Last week in Kindergarten.

Me: Does anyone know the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?

R: I do! There is a guy who is a werewolf, and he fights vampires, and there is one named Victoria, and they all die!

Me: Close, but...

Please look at what Stephenie Meyer has done to our children.

How do you hang your jewels and whatnot?

It's a valid question.  I inherited an antique jewelry box from my Great Grandma Dess.  It is gorgeous with turquoise leather on the outside, gold details, and royal blue velvet lining the inside.  Over the years I have collected a lot of jewelry--my dad often gives us (me/girls of the fam) jewelry for Christmas, birthday, special occasions, and I have inherited quite a bit from spoiled relatives, especially my Grandma LeNila.  I love wearing earrings because they are easy and fast, and I have collected many a pair in my life.  But I have noticed that my jewelry box is getting a little full of jewelry and a few other things.  So what do I do?  I am so tempted to buy one or many of these re-purposed printing press drawers to hang everything small and beautiful I have inside.  I have been obsessed with them for months and months, but I feel like I don't have enough space.  Do I want to spend that much money on something to hang jewelry in?  I love that it is beautiful, has a place for all shapes and sizes, and would allow me to hang earrings in pairs (OCD much)?  And you can use the divisions to set posts on in pairs as well.  Do you like that I'm having a conversation with myself?  I think I'm going to wait, or never buy one, but I still wanted to share these because they may be my favorite Etsy find ever.   

Amazing.  Do you hang your trinkets on hooks?  Do you drop them in a beautiful bowl?  Do you use a plastic bag?  Do you not care at all? 

PS - I found a knockoff for much cheaper, but the detail and quality just doesn't look the same in the pictures...