Eating ... (vegetable heavy breakfasts)

I've been aiming to get more vegetables in which is fairly easy for the most part, because I love them dearly. But breakfast was sort of the final frontier for me - it tends to be grain heavy or just straight up eggs and it was tough to break away from that. Here are some of the ones that have been in regular rotation. And yes, they do all involve eggs. I should probably get more creative at some point.

{poached egg + arugula + toast + avocado}

{yolk!}

{roasted asparagus + poached egg on ciabatta}

{eggs + broccoli}

{leftover roasted mushrooms and asparagus + poached egg - no toast needed}

The scrambled eggs with broccoli gets the most play. We eat steamed broccoli with dinner at least a few nights a week, so I just chop up the leftovers and toss them in while the eggs are cooking. 3 - 4 eggs + 1 cup of chopped broccoli makes a really filling breakfast for two.

There has been lots of food pondering around here lately. I'm working on increasing our produce consumption and better sourcing what meat we do eat. There are several good options on the table right now, and I'll share once I've had a chance to solidify everything. It's feeling really good, so far.

Soooooo ...

{iphone}

I'm still processing this big change. I've (rather smugly) had the cheapest possible cell phone with a pre-paid plan for years now and it finally broke me this weekend, when I had lots of texting/calling to do. I feel silly because I don't need this phone, but it will make my life a little easier. And they still had a few of the last model left, so it was cheaper than anything else in the store and we spent over an hour negotiating the best possible phone plan (always check for work discounts, and if the lowest package they have is still too much time for you, ask if you can get something lower that isn't advertised). Clearly, I'm still attempting to justify this purchase to myself.

So, joint cell phone plan! Does this officially make us a family?

Also, I need a case and I'm not liking anything very much. Love the stripes on this, but is the branding too obnoxious? Other recommendations?

And ... am I the only one who doesn't understand how people are getting flattering pictures from their iphones? I recoil in terror every time I turn on the camera and realize it's facing me, and usually from an incredibly unforgiving angle.

The weekend, briefly

This weekend didn't turn out how I had planned and ended up being fairly stressful. But there were little moments here and there that were really lovely. 

{sunday eggs}

{waffles + strawberries}

{freesia}

{garlic knot}

A quick trip to the farmer's market yielded fresh eggs, strawberries and cheap freesia (flower season is really getting going!). 

We were ready to eat at a completely awkward time on Sunday evening and took advantage of it to slip into Milo and Olive before the crowds hit. The garlic knot was totally worth it, even though I was afraid to get too close to anyone for the rest of the evening, lest I knock them out with my breath. 

Purchases - gifts

:: A tie bar for D. It was a no-particular-reason splurge, but I couldn't resist once I realized that he'd had the browser page open for three weeks.

{nikolai rose tie bar}

It is gorgeous. Sadly, the wedding last weekend was destined to be the one and only outing it got. Apparently tie bars (or maybe just this one?) are not designed to withstand a truly serious dance party. We didn't realize it had come off until towards the end of the night, at which point there was no way we were going to find it again. D did leave his number with the venue manager, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it turns up. And trying not to feel too bummed about it.

:: An anatomical heart vase for Em (purchased jointly with a friend) - you can see it in her place here.

:: Some kitchen necessities for another friend who is getting married soon. A rolling pin + cookie dough scoop - I was sad that someone snagged the silicone baking mat off her registry before I got there because that would have been the perfect trio.

Fauxdenza

We've had bookshelves in our dining room since we moved in but our computers quickly took up residence and the mess has been getting to us. When D suggested that we attempt this project, I happily agreed. And by happily agreed I mean I said I was happy to spend the money on it if I could have a free pass to not feel guilty about not helping, because I do not voluntarily put together Ikea furniture. D, who actually enjoys putting together furniture but heartily dislikes listening to me sigh and complain about it, was completely on board.

And so we have this.

{fauxdenza}

Which hides all this.

{the hidden parts}

I'm thrilled.

We ended up leaving one cabinet open because our speaker needs to live there and we can use it to display a few of our most favorite serving pieces.

The cabinets are from the Besta line at Ikea and they are deeper than the cabinets used in The Brick House fauxdenza because the measurements just ended up working better for us.

{beveled edge}

D made the top from walnuts planks that he glued and sanded and cut with a beveled edge. He used a food safe finish because we plan to use it as a sideboard. Not to brag or anything, but he did win the "best in woodshop" award when we were in 8th grade. Of course, we don't have a woodshop in our apartment, so he used knowhow shop, which is a communal workspace here in LA that lets you purchase day passes. It's such a genius idea, given the number of apartment dwellers around here. They're fully set up with all the standard woodworking equipment along with some fancier gadgets (we've used the laser cutter a couple times). You can also hire them to do custom designs if you're not comfortable doing it yourself. They do really beautiful work.


No, I have not yet taken down the shower decorations. I'm getting to it!

The cost breakdown:
$140 on cabinets + doors (we got one cabinet from the as-is section)
$120 on the walnut planks
$60 for the workshop time (D did a couple other projects at the same time, so this is a little higher than it really should be - he used two days off his punch pass)

We sold the old bookcases on Craigslist and got $110 to put towards the project. One of the nice things about Ikea furniture is that it tends to sell quickly and at a decent price. We usually aim to charge 50 - 75% of the original price in store. And since we always buy as-is or off Craigslist if possible, it works out pretty well for us.

The weekend, briefly

{storm}

{hotel keys}

{heath (the original)}

I'm still recovering from the weekend. Driving out of LA we were a little uncertain we were going to make it through the grapevine. The rain was so heavy it was sheeting off the freeway and the snow line was looow. But we persevered and it was beautifully forbidding once we made it through the pass.

The wedding was amazing and it was so special to have a whole weekend to celebrate. There was lots of love and amazing drinks and an excellent dance party. So good.

We made a quick stop in Sausalito to visit the Heath summer collection in person. No purchases, because we're still debating between this and this. It's all even more lovely in person.

Watercolor drink tags template

{painting}

Anyone who was asking for the template for the watercolor drink tags from the shower - they're up today over at Emily's along with an easy tutorial. Head over there if you were looking for them!

I couldn't make them completely identical to the ones I used at the shower because it would have required you all to have Adobe Illustrator! But I think the tag template + handwriting the names is an easy option for a party and would work just as well.