Here's to a Happy Holiday and lots of exciting stuff for you (and me) in 2013!

You can find the adorable Christmas tag HERE, courtesy of the lovely blogger, Tatertots and Jello!



Cheers,
Little Miss Orange Blossom

Hello lovelies! Its been about a week and a half since I've blogged = BAD BLOGGER!  I have mixed emotions about the holidays this year. My family is scattered around the country (sadface) for Christmas and I hadn't seen them at Thanksgiving either (my parents were out of the country) although we had spent it with Mister Special's family (they are always a fun bunch and the food is DEEEELISH!). This year for Christmas, we decided to stay home and celebrate Christmas together. While I do love hanging out with my Mister, I am missing my family a bunch. :(

A giant storm had rolled in on Friday (last night) as one of my closest friends was coming to visit. Unfortunately, when she arrived, she was also came down with the flu. Reluctantly this morning, she had to drive home and cancel our weekend. Double boo.

The rain is steady here but that didn't stop the Mister and I from bundling up and walking downtown to get a coffee and watch all the Christmas shoppers dash to and fro in their giant colorful umbrellas (and some parents scrunched under their children's tiny Power Rangers or Hello Kitty ones) as the rain blew in sideways and pouring at certain times.

I do have a shopping tip if you haven't already been into Target. The Neiman Marcus collection is HALF OFF ladies! Since the collection has come out, the biggest complaint among customers I've talked to in the store and my friends say that they simply wouldn't pay the full price for those items because Target has a reputation for providing "reasonable prices," despite the fact that they are selling luxury items. With the 50% reduction, that Jason Wu dress you've been eyeing  or that Alice + Olivia bicycle (which is now $249.99) is now attainable.

Here is the link to the Neiman Marcus for Target shop: http://www.target.com/c/target-neiman-marcus-collection/-/N-5ouwb%20%20#?lnk=lnav_t_spc_x_x&intc=910053|null

Happy Shopping ladies!

Hello blogworld! All is well here on the coast. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here. On Friday, the town had its holiday parade. People put out chairs on the main street to reserve their spot well before the parade started at 7pm. The mister and I wandered around before the parade, checking out the floats. It was really awesome to see an entire town hang out together for a few hours. Here are a few shots:
Saturday, we went searching for a tree. Since we have a small living room area, we decided on a table top tree. I've settled in on a red/black/white Christmas decor and am making ornaments (once my Amazon shipment comes in). Here is my inspiration board from images I'd found around Pinterest. How are you decorating for Christmas?
Sunday, the mister and I headed to Avila Beach, which is about a five minute drive from where we live. I LOVE living near the beach!
What did you do this weekend?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin As I finished my post, I stumbled upon the Target ad for the Neiman Marcus campaign that features Karlie Kloss. Too adorable! Check it out!

Happy Sunday! I hope your weekend has been drier than mine. It's rained all weekend here in San Luis Obispo and it was even worse today than Friday or Saturday combined! Here is what went down this weekend:

Saturday, I was up bright and early (4am to be exact) to put on my Department's Reindeer Run. About 150 people ran the race and we were lucky to only have had a light sprinkling when the runners started at 8am. Afterward, the mister and I grabbed lunch and headed to a City planning open house. This was a chance to provide input on a 30 year plan to improve the City. Then, we headed to the bookstore so I could by Blog, Inc. by an awesome blogger, Joy Cho. I'm about 20 pages in and am really liking the format of the book. I hope some of these tips will help me as I set-up and continue to blog. Mister Special had a BNO (boys night out) and I had decided to stay in by the fire to catch up and read and prepare for my next video blog (which will come out tomorrow...stay tuned!).

Have you seen the new Neiman Marcus goodies that have come out at Target? Just in time for the holidays too! I like that designers such as DVF, Tory Burch and Derek Lam have partnered with heavenly Target and give the normal Suzie shopper a chance to indulge in their reasonably price pointed products. My favorite pieces come from the home decor section if you can't already tell... I'm really loving the gold accented Altuzarra shaker and glasses. The Eddie Borro box would look lovely next to my other collection of silvery boxes on my nightstand. If only the girl's Marchesa dress came in grown-up sizes... the color and the ruffles are my favorite! And the Lela Rose black lace top with the nude underlay...ooooh...so classic!



Comparing at the inspiration board I just created and the items I can see online, I notice that I haven't picked the lushest items such as the Alice + Olivia bike which retails at $499

 or this adorably lacey dress by Robert Rodriguez for only $99.99

I'll be heading to Target tomorrow to check out the collection...with the way these collections have been released in the past and how quickly they sell out in-store and online, I hope some of these items will be in stock to look at!

I've been on the hunt for delicious snacks that aren't too unhealthy. While back home for Thanksgiving and spending some time with the soon-to-be cousin-in-laws, they had passed on a granola recipe that is DEEELISH and easy to make!

The finished product. uhMAZING!

Ingredients:
1  heaping cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2/3 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flax seeds (optional)
1/4 cup maple syrup/or honey/or other sweetener
3 Tbsp almond butter
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
1/3 cup dried, tart cherries
1/3 cup raw pecans,(or any other nuts you got) coarsely chopped
(Feel free to add your own granola ingredients like dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts,  sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, carob chips and the list goes on….)
Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl mix coconut flakes, almond flour, cinnamon, salt, chocolate chips, dried tart cherries and pecans or other nuts.
• In a small bowl, mix the wet ingredients: flax seeds, almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla.  Stir until the mix is smooth and creamy.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold until well combined.
• Scoop out the granola mix spreading thin layer into the baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes.  Just watch it and try it for perfect taste.
• Allow the granola to cool for about one minute before moving to plate.
• Enjoy!

The original recipie can be found here: http://marinasprimalcooking.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/1106/

Yikes. Its been DAYS since I've updated! I've been on the move lately. A lame excuse but that's all I have. The Fiancé and I spent the weekend up north visiting family and friends and I attended the  Blogshop video course in San Francisco taught by two lovely ladies, Bri from Designlovefest and Angela of Angela+Ithyle. The course was AMAZING! We spent a few hours on day 1 shooting at a creative workspace called the Makeshift Society and at Patricia's Green, a charming park in Hayes Valley. We were taught the fundamentals of shooting with a DSLR or an iPhone. On the second day, we were taught how to edit the clips in Photoshop. Say whaaaaat? Yes, its true. Version CS6 has the capability to edit video. I had known this fun tidbit about Photoshop CS6 when I bought it but thought I wasn't going to learn anything about video editing...until now!

We were even taught how stop motion video! Here is my first video with media shot at the Makeshift Society in the Hayes Valley area of San Francisco. Way cool, colorful and creative place....

I think the part I like the most about creating video is the stop motion video you can create. The most difficult part in my opinion was picking out songs that are Public Domain songs or songs. Most of those songs are from 1921 and older. Otherwise, you have to pay a licensing/royalty fee to use a song and that price tag could vary. Alas, the ENTIRE process is so much fun from staging the scene, picking out the props and looking for music.

I feel like i'm learning graphic design backwards, starting with video as you can see from the blank canvas that is my blog... Maybe I should consider taking their Blogshop for Bloggers class too.

Blogshop is currently holding a contest for all Blogshop video alum. All we have to do is create a video/edit and post. The winner will receive a FREE copy of Photoshop CS6! I'm in it to win it! And without further adeiu, I give you my video fantastic-ness that is called "An Ode to Coffee."
Coffee from Melissa on Vimeo.

Now that I have you totally mesmerized... Here are some stills from last weekend at Blogshop. (Makes you want to sign up and take their classes right now, doesn't it?)

Waiting for class to start.

The lovely rug at the Makeshift Societ	y

Angela talking about angles.

Stop motion and the dancing cupcakes.

Day 2 of Blogshop

The yearbook portion of the workbook.

My goodies.

The loveliest moleskin notebook.

And the drive home...

Yikes. Its been DAYS since I've updated! I've been on the move lately. A lame excuse but that's all I have. The Fiancé and I spent the weekend up north visiting family and friends and I attended the  Blogshop video course in San Francisco taught by two lovely ladies, Bri from Designlovefest and Angela of Angela+Ithyle. The course was AMAZING! We spent a few hours on day 1 shooting at a creative workspace called the Makeshift Society and at Patricia's Green, a charming park in Hayes Valley. We were taught the fundamentals of shooting with a DSLR or an iPhone. On the second day, we were taught how to edit the clips in Photoshop. Say whaaaaat? Yes, its true. Version CS6 has the capability to edit video. I had known this fun tidbit about Photoshop CS6 when I bought it but thought I wasn't going to learn anything about video editing...until now!

We were even taught how stop motion video! Here is my first video with media shot at the Makeshift Society in the Hayes Valley area of San Francisco. Way cool, colorful and creative place....

I think the part I like the most about creating video is the stop motion video you can create. The most difficult part in my opinion was picking out songs that are Public Domain songs or songs. Most of those songs are from 1921 and older. Otherwise, you have to pay a licensing/royalty fee to use a song and that price tag could vary. Alas, the ENTIRE process is so much fun from staging the scene, picking out the props and looking for music.

I feel like i'm learning graphic design backwards, starting with video as you can see from the blank canvas that is my blog... Maybe I should consider taking their Blogshop for Bloggers class too.

Blogshop is currently holding a contest for all Blogshop video alum. All we have to do is create a video/edit and post. The winner will receive a FREE copy of Photoshop CS6! I'm in it to win it! And without further adeiu, I give you my video fantastic-ness that is called "An Ode to Coffee." 



Here is my first stop motion clip of a dancing cupcake. 




Now that I have you totally mesmerized... Here are some stills from last weekend at Blogshop. (Makes you want to sign up and take their classes right now, doesn't it?)

Waiting for class to start.

The lovely rug at the Makeshift Societ	y

Angela talking about angles.

Stop motion and the dancing cupcakes.

Day 2 of Blogshop

The yearbook portion of the workbook.

My goodies.

The loveliest moleskin notebook.

And the drive home...

My fiance and I have been on the quest to eat "cleaner." I define it as eating foods without refined sugars, processed materials and so on... He recently read a book "It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways"by Dallas and Melissa Harwig that discusses a 30 day reset of your eating habits to create a healthier relationship with food - accompanied by stunning improvements in sleep, energy levels, mood and self-esteem. More significantly, many people have reported the "magical" elimination of a variety of symptoms, diseases and conditions - in just 30 days.

Before this process, I don't believe we ate too terribly. Sure, we had to occasional pig out on pizza or ice cream but we didn't really eat too many things that were processed, we used natural ingredients like butter (yes, butter is good for you), coconut oil, fruits, cage-free/grass-fed chicken and beef. The only vice I had was SUGAR. I had a daily "coffee"; an iced vanilla latte and occasionally a raspberry scone from Peets. I'd tried to cut back sugar already by drinking water as opposed to juice and soda, ixnay the candy and I'd stopped baking macarons and sweets (even as I baked, I didn't eat nearly as many as I had thought I would). My sugars came from daily coffees (sometimes twice a day) and desserts. I LOVE dessert. I could eat it 3 times a day and at one point in my life, I had been doing so. My fiancee suggested taking this challenge and I reluctantly accepted. I wasn't sure I could go a whole 30 days without sugar and because I don't drink anything but vanilla lattes (black coffee and coffee with creamer just taste wrong to me) so this would also reduce my caffeine intake. 

So far, its been 1 week and 1 day since we have started. The first three days were ROUGH for me. They say that when you give up sugar you may experience mood swings, become lethargic...yeah, I had all of THAT. I wanted to shank anything that made me upset. So, the paperclip that fell on the floor, my fiance talking, the sky for being blue were not my friends those few days. While processed sugar is not allowed, natural sugar is but only in fruit form. Orange/Apple juice isn't allowed because 1) juice you buy in a box from the store is sugared and 2) it takes a lot of oranges to squeeze just to get juice into a box and that is way more intake that you need. Since its fall, we've been buying apples and i've been eating about 3 a day. I also buy a small coconut juice with pulp every couple days or so. The coconuts are from Thailand and are sweeter than Zico or Vita Coco. And if you look at the ingredients in the Taste Nirvana coconut juice the only ingredients are coconut juice and pulp (if you buy it with the pulp). I also drink Egyptian Licorice Root tea. This tea doesn't contain sugar but the aftertaste is really sweet. So I've been drinking that for my morning routine instead of coffee. I'm still trying to find ways around the no-sugar pledge. Tomorrow's experiment: coconut milk to add into my coffee. I hear that its creamy and sweet and has no processed or additional sugars!

Here is the coconut juice I'm drinking. They have bigger sizes and you can buy it with aloe but I hear you shouldn't drink too much of it as it contains high amounts of potassium and too much potassium can be bad for you. 

www.tastenirvana.com

And here is the licorice root tea I'm drinking. Licorice root in large amounts is not good for you as it may cause high blood pressure. I usually drink 1-3 cups a day. Benefits can be seen here.

Go to www.yogiproducts.com to find more yummy teas!

And here is the book my fiancé is reading that kick started this challenge. You can find it in Amazon here: 



1 week and 1 day down.... 3 more to go!

Do you think you can cut back sugar for 30 days?

Happy Monday! Its currently raining here in San Luis Obispo. And as I sit here typing, the sun is peeking out from the clouds. I'm definitely a summer baby so am sad to have to put away my sun dresses but excited to get out my jackets, scarves and boots for fall and winter. I've been on the hunt for new scarves lately. My favorite fall trend last year was the infinity scarf and I am bringing it back this year. Here are some of my favorites so far. I'm definitely going to pick up the Ann Taylor Loft scarf (see middle). Besides it being plush and absolutely adorable with different shades of pink through it, Ann Taylor is pledging to give 25% of full price purchases of each item toward the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. There are some really cute items in the collection too! And Guiliana Rancic is their designated spokesperson for the campaign. Cute cute and cute all for a great cause!

I have fallen in love with sweaters with sequined print on them! I had been eyeballing matching sweaters that Kendall and Kylie Jenner were wearing and had finally tracked down the designer, Markus Lupfer, who is based out of London. His work is kitschy and has flecks of 80's built in.

I found Lauren Conrad's tutorial on how to reupholster a bar stool a few weeks ago and thought I'd give it a shot. We have 2 bar stools that were in dire need of a make-over and after doing some research to find the best pattern to compliment our couches, I settled for a multi-colored chevron because it had neutral tones that matched our living room decor and partly because I have an obsession with chevron. I found the pattern at Fabric.com and found that the prices were really reasonable. I went to my local JoAnn and Beverly's but found that they did not carry chevron ever. I also looked at ETSY but they were asking for $17/yard and I wasn't willing to pay that much. My fabric ended up being $7 and there was a 20% shipping coupon for first-time users.

This is what they looked like before the transformation...




I started off by prepping the stools by removing the old padding. It was a a terrible brown plastic-y material and the padding underneath was smooshed from normal wear. The padding was fastened with staples so I had to put in some muscle power to remove it.

 


Next, I cut a circle out of the batting that matched the same size as the stool. I did this by turning the stool over and had it sit on top of the batting as I traced a circle with a marker. Then I cut the circle out with an x-acto knife. (be sure to have something underneath your project so you don't cut the surface you're on)



Once that was finished, I glued the batting onto the stool with spray glue. Surprisingly, you don't have to wait for it to dry. Its instantly sticky! (Perfect for me because I was so impatient and wanted to see the finished product already...)

 
 


Then, I cut squares out of the fabric. LC suggested that you take the outline of the batting that you cut the circle out of. Since my batting was 1" (in her video, it looks like her batting is 1/2") I had to cut a larger square.


I pulled the fabric tightly as I stapled the fabric to the chair. There was no way I could get around making puckers in the fabric but I think it adds a little character to the chairs.


 


Lastly, I cut off the excess fabric.


 

 And Voila! They match the couch perfectly too!