And away they go...

The races are going on right now and since P already went I probably won't go this trip.  That's OK.  Maybe next year I'll attend opening day and wear this beautiful hat.  There's a neat hat shop at the Del Mar Plaza called The Del Mar Hat Company.  Either opening day at DM or the Kentucky Derby...this is where I'd go to get my gorgeous statement hat.

L'Auberge

Look that this gaudy but awesome side table I saw at the L'Auberge Hotel in Del Mar earlier this week.  So awesome.  I love shells and it's grouted with beach sand.


I remember when the hotel had just opened and we got a free night.  My family packed into a small and dark room for the night.  Unfortunately, not so nice.  However, it looks like it's really been taken care of and remodeled just right.  I'd love to stay here again sometime.

{photo}

This is also Arizona

I've been complaining a lot lately about the heat in AZ, but that's in Phoenix.

This is also Arizona...right now.  How pretty is this misty morning?

{Jaimee Rose}

Check out Jaimee Rose's blog post about her trip to the White Mountains.

Baby spoon

This is my old baby spoon. Staying with Grandma Kimmy and Papa has been so fun b'cause I get to see my kids use my old stuff. I can't beloved she kept this!! Mmmm good!!

Surfing school

{image by me}

I love all the blue boards.  This is from the playground looking down at DM beach.

I was {poorly ;P} self-taught on my blue-tipped long board that now resides on my back porch...in the desert.

I think once I get some sort of semblance of a body back and my kids are a little older (so that I don't have to jump out and nurse frequently), I'll be strapping that board to the roof of the Odyssey and giving it a go again.

Make Darling Diy Twist Ties

 

{zakka life via apartment therapy}

I'm not sure if it's just that I love food and polka dots and the pretty bluey background but I really want to make these.

Succulent

My mom said that Del Mar just planted these succulents throughout the sidewalks of Del Mar. Good for DM.

They picked some spectacular specimens.

Have you seen the "flower" shops that sell/send succulents? I think they're awesome (especially since I'm half Arizonan, half Del Martian)!  The one I keep remembering is: Succulent LA.  I'm not sure if it's still open, the link isn't working for me right now.  Bummer.

My parents had some pretty awesome ones at their last house in Tucson.  Here are some pics I took:

On vacation

I'm hoping to post still while I'm on vacation here in San Diego.  Yipee!

This is me nursing at the Del Mar Plaza yesterday.  I'm still reading my favorite blogs and want to post my fun finds also.  

I'll do my best to keep up with everything while I'm here.  So happy to be spending time with my family and out of the hot hot heat!!

A Stylist Takes On IKEA

{images agent bauer via Decor8}

This awesome blog post from Decor8 shows that you can have high style on a teeny-tiny budget.  I just love love these photos.  Check out the post here: http://decor8blog.com/2010/07/21/a-stylist-takes-on-ikea/

6 Natural Dyes for Homemade Playdough

{photo Minieco via Ohdeedoh}

raspberries

blueberries

rose petals

beetroot

turmeric

oak tree bark

Check out the how-to here: Minieco blog

Crazy cloud

Freaky weather happens during Arizona Summers.  I was hoping for an afternoon monsoon storm the day I took this.  Didn't happen.

Nouveau flowers

Love these photos, love these darling flowers from Jolie Jour Flowers.  Check our her etsy shop and Sloan photographers website.  So pretty.  And they're both local.

Rad radishes

{photo by me}

Still waiting for the conference call to be over, still playing with my new iPhone app, Camera+.
It's pretty neat.

These are sone Easter egg radishes from earlier this year from the farm I work for, Crooked Sky Farm.

Farmers Market Dinner

{photo by me}

Ok, I'm still waiting for my husband to get off his conference call...so, here's another photo that makes me happy.

During the same LA Summer trip, Jenny and I went to the Santa Monica farmers market on the way to the beach.  We stashed our dinner ingredients in our backpacks.  This is what we made.  Soooo good!  Poached eggs over greens with a warm bacon vinaigrette, herb roasted fingerling potatoes and a tomato and corn salad.  To. Die. For.

That day we went to a restaurant that I'd been wanting to go to for a while.  I have the Real Food Daily Cookbook but wanted to try the restaurant.  It didn't disappoint.

Last Summer in Santa Monica

{photo by me}

I'm waiting for my husband to get off a late-night conference call with his co-workers...sigh.  You do what you gotta do...

Anyway, I downloaded another awesome app for my iphone.  Camera +.  Totally different from Hipstamatic but equally as awesome.

I took this while visiting my friend Jenny in LA last Summer.  We had a great weekend.  I'll post our farmers market dinner pic soon.  So fun and so tasty.

Charm necklace

I had seen lots of cute mommy necklaces celebrating family with initials stamped on pendants.

But I really didn't think I wanted one until I found these little lookers.  They are charm necklaces from Waxing Poetic.

I have my little S for my sweetheart and a P and G for my little munchkins.  I love them very much.

xo

 

JuliesAtelier

I am totally inspired by my college friend Julie.  She's picked up pottery making.  She's made some really neat stuff.  She went to Haystack School of Crafts in Maine to learn.  I really want to go there.  Maybe I could learn to be a blacksmith.

{photo via Haystack}

I totally love these for coffee creamers or caramel sauce to finish off a dessert.

A totally rad teapot.

And a lidded cookie jar that looks good enough to eat.

{photos via JuliesAtelier}

Sunday morning

{photo by me}

I love Sunday mornings.

I just took this picture above and thought it was very fitting since it incorporates a delicious breakfast and my cooktop looks like a sun.

I love to watch CBS's Sunday Morning on Sunday mornings while reading the paper and drinking coffee with cream.  {My coffee these days is decaf since since my little girl feels the buzz with me when I drink caffeine}.

If you haven't watched Sunday Morning, you really should.  It's great.  It has a great style about the show and you get updated on the news, art, music, movies, great commentary and your moment of zen at the end.  It starts out with a little trumpet ditty and is hosted by Charles Osgood who always wears a cute little bow tie.  Serena Altchul, who we all remember from MTV, is a correspondent for the show too.  Then, after each story, but before the commercials, they show a picture of a sun.  See, that picture is perfect for this post.

{photo nab.org}

If you happen to be reading this right now, go turn it on!

And, if you want to make what I made this morning, go here.  Thanks Ina.  I omitted the raisins and added fresh blueberries and sliced peaches.  Yum.

Happy morning to you!

xoxo

jen

desdeportugal

I'm really digging all of desdeportugal's sets on polyvore.  Desde's the ultimate resort stylist.

Here are a few of the sets I thought were particularly inspiring of a last minute ticket to paradise:

i like it

This week Design Sponge is introducing a new regular segment for We Like it Wild called inspiration/creation.  Don't you just love these vacation photos from Italy!!
{all photos via Design Sponge}

Working on it...

{photo here}

Bear with me a little bit as I feel like this kid a lot lately.  If you have noticed some grammatical and other mistakes on some of my posts {as I have}...I have to blame my current situation.  My sweet husband just had knee surgery, we just had a little cutie pie daughter 2 months ago and a recently potty trained/wonderful 3 year old boy dealing with our limitations.  I am totally enjoying starting up this blog since it gives me some fun mommy time without too much fuss.  However, I reread my posts and think {what am I thinking?}. Weird sentence structure and font issues with rss readers...that's what I've noticed.  Mind you, these aren't major mishaps, but I was the kid in school who loved peer editing in class.  I was my 4th grade spelling bee champ and while I don't claim to be little miss awesome, I try to be correct.  So, as I find them, I'm fixing them when I can. 

Sleepy cereal boy is totally how I feel sometimes.  However, I'm so grateful to have the few minutes to write and be able to take care of my loves too.  Oh, and thanks so much for reading. xoxo jen

To Catch A Thief

This is one of my favorite movies.  Hitchcock movies are the best.  Such a dreamy setting.  Here's something to escape into this weekend and out of the heat!