Stella & Dot Necklace

My friend hosted a Stella & Dot party at the office and I picked up a few pretty things. My favorite buy is this On the Mark necklace, which I got in gold vermeil. It's dainty and feminine and great for layering. I also picked one up for Kristina, my Maid of Honor, to show appreciation for all of her wedding help.

Weekend Dinner Date

The weather last weekend was awesome, so we made dinner at home on Saturday to enjoy on the patio. Lucas grilled BBQ chicken and I made this avocado salad and a nectarine and blue cheese salad. Here are a few quick snapshots of the food, if you'd like to see!

Wedding Invitations

Since we're having our wedding ceremony outside and our wedding reception in an old barn, I feel like our invitations should reflect the rustic style. I love these personal invitations from this New Orleans wedding.

Oven Dried Tomatoes

If you have an oven and a few hours to kill, this is a simple and easy summer recipe! I picked up some heirloom cherry tomatoes from the Palo Alto Farmers' Market this weekend and wanted to make some oven dried tomatoes to enjoy throughout the week.

What You'll Need:
-Cherry tomatoes
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper

Instructions:
-Cut tomatoes in half
-Toss with olive oil and a healthy dose of salt and pepper
-Lay on a baking sheet, with the sliced side up
-Bake on 300 degrees for 2 hours
-Cool completely and then store in a Ziplock bag

That's all folks! It's an easy breezy recipe. I plan on tossing mine with some pasta, parmesan, and shrimp this week, but the possibilities are endless! XO

Nooglers

My company, Wildfire Interactive, was recently acquired by Google. We officially became new Googlers (aka Nooglers) on Thursday, and Google has definitely been living up to its reputation as a great employer. We went through orientation Thursday and Friday and had a huge party on Friday night to celebrate. Here are a few photos from the festivities!

Hanging with a few of my coworkers on Day 1:

Our first TGIF, a weekly Google happy hour (please note the Noogler hats):

After TGIF, we piled into buses to head into San Francisco for a celebration:

We had a celebration at Perry's, a bar on the Embarcadero in SF:

Google, here we come!

Our Wedding Website

Pleased to present our new wedding website, designed by the brilliant Brad Williford. It's still in the early stages as we have a ton of content to add, but we're thrilled with the design. Thanks Brad!

Succulents

Currently loving our newly planted succulents! We have a tendency to kill any plant we come in contact with, but succulents require very little attention so naturally we love them. Crossing our fingers that we keep these babies alive.

Kate Spade Sweet Spot Necklace

Just made a major impulse purchase and bought this Kate Spade necklace. Since I plan on wearing a simple, strapless wedding dress, I thought it might be fun to wear a statement necklace. If I don't end up liking it with my dress, I can always wear it for a rehearsal dinner or shower!

Shrimp & Broccolini Summer Pasta

Last night I made broccolini and shrimp pasta for dinner, which was easy and light for a summer dinner. The recipe is below, if you'd like it.

Ingredients:
-Whole wheat pasta
-1 1/2 cups of fresh broccolini florets
-1 pound of shrimp (I used frozen, deveined shrimp)
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-Olive oil
-Fresh spices (I used oregano and thyme)
-Red pepper flakes
-Shaved parmesan cheese

Directions:
-Boil pasta until cooked
-Add 3 dashes of olive oil to a pan on medium heat
-Saute garlic for 2-3 minutes
-Add broccolini for 2-3 more minutes
-Add shrimp and cook until it is pink
-Mix in spices, salt, and pepper

Lucas was a happy camper!

Found: New Favorite Lip Balm!

I recently received this Sugar Rosé Lip Treatment by fresh in my Birchbox. It adds just a hint of color to my lips and really is the softest lip balm I've ever tried. Bonus: it also smells amazing! I highly recommend it.

Shrimp & Broccolini Summer Pasta

Last night I made broccolini and shrimp pasta for dinner, which was easy and light for a summer dinner. The recipe is below, if you'd like it.

Ingredients:
-Whole wheat pasta
-1 1/2 cups of fresh broccolini florets
-1 pound of shrimp (I used frozen, deveined shrimp)
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-Olive oil
-Fresh spices (I used oregano and thyme)
-Red pepper flakes
-Shaved parmesan cheese

Directions:
-Boil pasta until cooked
-Add 3 dashes of olive oil to a pan on medium heat
-Saute garlic for 2-3 minutes
-Add broccolini for 2-3 more minutes
-Add shrimp and cook until it is pink
-Mix in spices, salt, and pepper

Lucas was a happy camper!

DIY Fabric Peonies

I love to keep a "gift closet" of goodies so that I'm prepared for birthdays, showers, and house warnings. Likewise, I like to keep a stash of basic gift wrapping supplies like drawstring bags, craft paper, and gift tags. This weekend I decided to make a batch of fabric peonies to add to my wrapping collection. These add a nice touch to a package or to a bottle of wine, so it's nice to have them on hand.

Materials:
-A few yards of Chiffon fabric (I chose a pale pink)
-Embroidery thread (I used yellow)
-Needle and thread
-Fabric scissors
-A small candle

Directions:
Start by cutting fabric circles out of the chiffon. Cut out a total of 5 circles: 4 circles that are the same size and 1 circle that is slightly smaller.

Next, take one circle and hover the edge over an open flame until it curls up slightly. Repeat until you've finished curling the edges of all 5 circles.

Cut 4 slits into each circle, but be careful that you do not cut all the way through. It should look like this.

Now you should carefully hold the newly cut slits over the flame until the edges curl up like the outside of the circles. Repeat until you've finished curling the edges of all 5 circles.

At this point, take 2 of the circles and cut 4 more slits, and repeat the curling process. Leave the other 3 circles as is. These 2 circles will start to look a little shriveled up and not at all like flower petals, but that's okay. It will all come together, I promise!

Now make the pom pom that will go inside your petals. Wrap embroidery thread around 2 of your fingers (I wrapped it around about 8 times).

Slip the looped thread off your fingers and tie a knot in the middle. Cut the loops and fluff the thread out.

Assemble your peony by stacking 2 of the circles that only have 4 petals, then the 2 circles with 8 petals, and finally the smallest circle with 4 petals on top.

Place the embroidery pompom and sew it all together! Leave some thread on the end if you want to tie it onto a gift or a bottle of wine. You can also use double sided tape to adhere it to a package.

Happy Crafting! XO

Dinner with Friends

Last night, we had dinner with some of our best friends, Haley, Austin, and Matt. Haley & Austin brought over chips and queso, we grilled out hotdogs and brats, and baked cookies for dessert. It was such a simple but great night. Have a fab weekend!

Ring Box

My co-worker and sweet friend, Emily gave me this ring box (in the pale blue color!) as an engagement present. I pinned it a while back and it's secretly been on my wish list. It is such a sweet and thoughtful gift and I absolutely love it. Thanks Em!

Cuba

Lucas's dad was born in Cuba and lived there until he was 8 years old. At that point, Castro took over the country so he emigrated to the United States with his family. They have been back to Cuba a handful of times to visit family, and they just returned from a week-long trip! Unfortunately, I had to work, so I couldn't tag along, but I'm living vicariously through Lucas's photos.

It's incredible how the entire country seems to be frozen in time. From what Lucas tells me, Cuba is a country of extreme scarcity, where basic things like hot water, dial up internet, and fresh produce are luxury items that are hard to come by. I'm really happy that he had the chance to go back for a visit, but I'm happy to have him back in my clutches now!