5 things: sun

[layout and choices for by way of ney]

With Labor Day around the corner I thought I'd share some of my must haves for long days in the sun and sand. My weekend will be filled with sunshine, heat and girlfriends. I'll be in Las Vegas, for a bachelorette of a dear friend. What are your plans for the long weekend?

MUST HAVES:

1] sun bum zinc oxide: I have looked for years and years for a clear formula zinc oxide to use on my face, hands, lips, and scars to prevent any sun damage. I finally found this one on my early summer trip to Miami and have loved it all summer. It smells like you want sunscreen to smell, clean and tropical.

2] a BIG summer tote that I can throw everything in: water, magazines, sunscreen, my camera snacks, hats, towels...

3] shisedo ultimate skin protection cream: This one does it's job! A major sun block out that I use on areas prone to burn (my face and shoulders). While it protects all day it also doesn't make my sensitive skin breakout. I am proud to say that for the first time in a long time I didn't get one burn on my face this summer.

4] a BIG beach towel. The bigger the better with this one. It's no fun to spend your day trying to stay on your towel. A blanket size is best!

5] hats! hats! hats!: a big hat does wonders to keep my face safe from the sun. I love this panama hat that my dad brought home for me. You can find one here.

*I also like to bring along a light weight pashmina or scarf to drape over my shoulders after enough sun or over my face while I take a mid afternoon, summer nap in the sun. 

what's in a name?

Chanel. Having a name like mine, I have been asked too many times to count, "like, Chanel No. 5?" Yes, like Chanel No. 5. Really it was destined to be this way. I really was named after the perfume. When my parents were picking out a name for me, they wanted to name me after my mom's mother, Marjorie Jean. They weren't really keen on either of those two names and my grandmother was made fun of growing up as her sister taunted her singing, "Marjorie Jean, the village bean, dumbest little girl I've ever seen." Chanel No. 5 was my grandmother's favorite perfume and so, Chanel it was. Then, guess what! I was born on the 5th of November. So Chanel No. 5 it is!

holy smokes

Ok, this is a total trip. I thought you guys might enjoy it as much as I did. A Canadian graphic designer and photographer is doing a project to explore the genetic similarities in relatives. Check the rest out here.

Brothers...

Brothers...

Son & Father...

moving on...

Soooo, that list I wrote at the beginning of the summer is still in progress, cause it's still summer, until September 23rd to be precise! However, I said that finding a new place to call home probably should have been moved to number #1 and although it was always of our minds that we wanted to be in a new place, we weren't quite proactive about it until my man found a new job. We didn't want to commit to living somewhere only to find out that he'd have a longer commute than he'd have to. That said, since he was offered a job, that he was happy to accept, two weeks ago, went went in search, found a place we loved, applied, and were offered it. We are so excited to move and get settled there but I have to admit I am NOT good at this transition part. I want to move in and have it look and feel like home over night. I HATE the time of being in transition and want things to feel like home immediately. I'm going to have to learn to accept that things won't be that way. And, that'll be a good thing to learn, right???

Here some of my home inspiration from my pinterest.

Gorgeous light & white living room...

A great job in a little kitchen...

An office to look forward to working in...

A clean and cozy bathroom...

A garage that isn't dark and dirty...

Maybe if I keep all this images in my mind I'll be able to quickly get to where I want to. Maybe.

let the wild rumpus continue

When I was a little girl I loved Where The Wild Things Are so much that when the LA Opera did a performance of it, my mom and I got all dressed up, went out to dinner downtown, which was a big deal for this little beach baby, and went to the opera, just the two of us. I was young, probably only five or six. I was very well behaved and remember sitting in the audience watching the whole thing very intently, song in Italian mind you. At the very end, I knew what was coming and yelled out, "and it was still hot!" I'm sure I wanted to be "king of the wild things."

Maurice Sendak, who wrote and illustrated it, is a legend. Plain & simple. Where The Wild Things Are was arguably one of the best known children's books, or I guess I should just say illustrated short stories, even before Spike Jonze made the movie. Maurice Sendak is a hilarious, eccentric, witty and lovable (although he probably wouldn't agree) old man who lives with his German shepherd, Herman. I love his extensive body of work and I love hearing him speak about his work (click here to see to him talk about illustrating). At 83 years old, he has finished a new book called Bumble Ardy that is set to be released on September 6th. This is the first book that is completely his own since 1981. He joked in the August issue of Vanity Fair, "People from New York have been calling, to see if I'm still alive. When I answer the phone, you can hear the disappointment in their voice." I, for one, am not disappointed, more so, overjoyed!

happiness in the little things

Sometimes the littlest things make me happy. My sister found this sea snail on our trip to Miami and we both loved playing with it. Look at the perfect little shell.

[photo for by way of ney]

paper lover

It's true! I love paper! It might be in part from growing up with a creative grandma and mom who always had us making things when we were bored. It might be in part two years of college level art classes. It might just be the mere fact that we don't get enough real paper mail, cards, and love letters these days. When there is a special occasion, or a special some one, who needs honoring in my life, I automatically turn to paper.

I have a seriously paper collection going and anytime that I see something that deserves (yes, deserves) to make its way into the paper box I am careful to pull it out, cut it out, and save it. At this point, I have two means of doing this: one is a large flat box with pieces of interest the other is a magazine file holder with folders that have papers sorted by colors. This way I can start with the color I want and build from there.

Here is a little tutorial of how to come up with a homemade way of saying, "thank you", "congratulations",  "i love you", "happy birthday", or "I simply think you are amazing!"

Start with all your tools out: 

my favorite pens, a sharp pair of comfortable scissors, paper tape galore, a ruler, a hole punch, the best and cleanest adhesive...

scraps of vintage stamps and airmail from Africa, paper flowers, baker's twine, velvet ribbon, the original tacky glue (for things that aren't perfectly flat it is the best!), and the genius sticker machine!

*not everything has to be used but it helps to have the possibilities there, I promise.

Pick your color theme and choose your scraps...

and begin to layer using the Tombow adhesive. 

Continue layering, adding tape to give it depth and dimension.

Add stickers and labels within theme...

Make sure to continue the theme onto the inside...

and add a hand drawn touch...

The finished product does not have to be perfect but will be something you can be proud of and the recipient can admire!

This one was given to a friend's parents after they hosted us on an amazing weekend in North Carolina for their daughter's wedding. So, it was both CONGRATULATIONS & THANK YOU!

*all photos and artwork for by way of ney

happy day to the greatest of men

One of the greatest men that I've ever known would have been celebrating yet another birthday tomorrow with a banana split. It would have been William Merrill's 90th birthday. Although he is gone the love that he gave lives on. I miss the stories. Those of him being a boy on the farm, sleeping with piglets to keep them warm and tormenting his older sister Harriet. Those of him seeing by grandmother for the first time and passing the word around that he wanted to court her. And even those, told over and over, about him being a "Top Sergeant" in the Air Force. There is much I would give to hear those stories told one more time in his own voice. What a gift it was to have him as my grandfather. Needless to say, I'll be eating a banana split tomorrow, for him, of course!

[my grandma Marge holding my sister Carly, myself, my cousin Heather, my grandpa Bill holding my cousin Bo] 

[helping pin his boutonniere at my cousin Sierra's wedding]

[my typical interactions with him...that look says it ALL]

[sharing love at his last Thanksgiving]

three for one

This is the post where you get three for one: a dinner recipe, a dessert recipe and a table top idea.

Having my girls over for dinner inspired me to make something delicious that wasn't too labor intensive. I wanted to still be able to enjoy my time with the girls while I wrapped up the last details of dinner and it all worked out as desired. The line up was a non-girly salad, the "macho" salad from Bandera was my inspiration, and a light and summery dessert; homemade vanilla ice cream and grilled white peaches.

So, let's start at the very beginning, with what you'll need for the salad.

     mixed greens lettuce

     chicken breast (split rib, bone in, skin on)

     pre made cornbread (Trader Joe's has one or you can also make your own)

     medjool dates

     avocados

     sliced almonds

     goat cheese

     champagne vinaigrette (store bought or homemade) 

          *The amount of the ingredients that you need will be based on how many people you are feeding

          *The salad is not a small side salad. It's meant to be your complete dinner. 

-preheat oven to 400 degrees

-rinse the chicken breast and place it in a casserole

-sprinkle it with seasoning, lemon pepper, garlic salt, you decide

-put it in the oven for about 30-40 minutes

-rotate and cook for about 20-30 minutes longer

-after you put the chicken in, cut up the cornbread and place it on a cookie sheet

-drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the whole thing

-place it on the second shelf and cook until it browned flipping it around so it browns evenly

-remove from oven and toss in a bowl with some honey and sea salt

[drizzled]

[browned, tossed with honey and sea salt]

-chop dates into pieces and remove pits in the process (duh!)

-on low heat toast the sliced almonds

-crumble the goat cheese into a bowl

-put dressing into a mini carafe 

-slice the avocado

[crumbled, toasted, poured]

[chopped & sliced]

-when the chicken is done cut it up and then "shred" it using a fork

[everything but the greens!]

YOU'RE READY TO CHOW DOWN! Grab a plate or big bowl and enjoy!

Now, for the important part: dessert of course! You'll need:

     grilled peaches:

     half a peach for each guest

     a plate with a layer of sugar

          *If you don't have a grill you can use a grill pan like this one (though it doesn't need to be that expensive)

          *You don't want the peaches to be too ripe or they will fall apart on the grill

     vanilla ice cream:

     2 cups of cream

     4 tablespoons of sugar

     1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

     12 tablespoons rock salt

     2 large Ziploc bags

     ice cubes

          *These measurements are for 4 servings

-cut and halve and remove the pit from the white peaches

-press the inside of the half into the sugar liberally

-place on a HOT grill and don't move so that the grill can caramelize them

-keep an eye on them but don't worry about them either, they are not as fragile as they seem

[halved and pitted]

[pressed]

[sugared]

[grilled]

-fill one Ziploc with the ice and salt

-fill the second with the cream, sugar,  and vanilla and SEAL TIGHT

-place the second bag in the first and SEAL TIGHT

-wrap a dish towel around both which will give you some "handles"

-shake and roll the mixture around for about 5 minutes and you'll have ice cream

-place into a large bowl and place in the freezer until you're ready for it

[organic cream, sugar, vanilla, rock salt]

[ice and salt on the left & the ice cream ingredients on the right]

[one sealed inside the other]

[wrapped]

[grabbed]

[rolled]

[finished!]

[no one can deny home made ice cream!]

[the final product]

Who knew that you didn't need an ice cream maker to make ice cream? You're the ice cream maker. If you're gonna eat it you might as well get a little work out making it, right?!? This is a fun thing to make with kids and of course you can change up the ingredients and add other things for different flavors. Have fun!

The dinner table decor? I haven't forgot...fresh flowers, layered table clothes and multiple contrasting colors. 

[the flowers]

[the settings]

national s'mores day

What do you do when it's National S'mores Day? You get your 91 year-old sweet tooth of a grandma and you celebrate, of course! Wednesday was National S'mores Day so we hit the back yard with all the supplies and got just the results we wanted. 

[everything you need: marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, and screwers]

[said sweet tooth loving on Trex, the pup]

A...

[plus B...]

[plus C!]

[equals...D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!]

There is NO wrong way to eat or make a s'more but I have found that the 2x2x2 works best. 2 slowly browned marshmallows on top of 2 pieces of chocolate laid between 2 graham crackers. Oh so good!

[gotta have some milk too!]

I didn't create the holiday but I sure was happy to celebrate it!

*all photos taken for by way of ney