my friend Carroll

A new mid-century portrait has joined my collection, and it's of someone who was actually quite dear to me! When I was 10 years old, I played Annie in the musical Annie. The man who played Daddy Warbucks was a really sweet older gentleman named Carroll. I loved Mr. Carroll and he was always very kind to me:) He even bought me and my husband a wedding present when we got married, even though he was a widower and getting on in years at the time. He passed away last year, and his estate was recently sold.

My precious Aunt Becky and Uncle Mike went to the sale and bought me the most amazing gift: a portrait that was painted of Mr. Carroll when he was about 18 years old. Isn't that just the most perfect gift? I'd love it even if I had no idea who it was a portrait of, but the fact that it's of someone I knew and cared about makes it so special:)

They also got me several theater posters from plays that he either directed or acted in, most of which were signed by the cast and crew. It's so fun reading what people wrote on them! Thank you again, Aunt B and Uncle Mike, for the incredibly thoughtful gifts! I love ya'll!

Speaking of the guest bedroom, I've just about finished my credenza that I made for free using pallets. I'm still working on making a sketch with the dimensions so you guys can make one of your own!

My favorite part is the mason jar knobs.

And last but not least, a quick shout-out to some recent visitors:) Danica and her hubby Jason stopped by our place last weekend during their Comic Con trip.

And my husband's little sister Giselle and two of her sorority sisters spent a full week with us earlier in the month, and I had so much fun showing them the sights of SoCal:)

Happy weekend, everyone!

I'm just mad about: maps

Maps seem to be everywhere in the design world right now, and I'm getting in on the trend! Carmen from Life Blessons made this adorable map that I found on Pinterest. I made my own map just like it, and my husband and I had so much fun filling out the little papers to represent some of our adventures together:)

My dear friend Claire gave me this California map print recently. Isn't it adorable? Speaking of Claire, she got ENGAGED this weekend!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!

This is another fun Pinterest find that I haven't gotten around to copying yet. All you need is a piece of paper with a heart cut out of the middle, and a small map of a destination you love:)

And now for the part where you get free stuff! I was at the local library last week, rummaging through a big box of books they were giving away, and I found something pretty cool: a vintage textbook full of beautiful old maps! I scanned a whole bunch of them into my computer and I'm sharing them with you guys:) If you have trouble clicking, downloading or printing them, let me know and I can email you the files! 

This is the one I have on the shelf by the matador print. The three below go with it as a set of four.

I just love the colors in these two Canada ones.

 

Happy Mapping!

Fish tacos are something I'd never tried (or maybe even heard of) until I first visited California, but now ... I'm hooked! Shrimp tacos are my favorite, and I've been perfecting my own recipe for a while now. I thought I'd share it with everyone.

I should warn you, these measurements are just a starting point. I usually end up adding more of this and that as I go. I just play with the portions and amounts until I like how it tastes, so don't be afraid to venture away from the exact recipe!

you'll need:

• shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• tapatio hot sauce
• lettuce pieces
• salsa*
• tangy sauce*
• shrimp*
• lime slices
• whole wheat tortillas

to make your own salsa:

• 2 handfuls grape tomatoes
• 1/2 small onion
• lime juice
• pepper
• cilantro
• garlic salt

Chop onions and tomatoes, dump into colander and rinse to get rid of all the tomato seeds. Add lime juice, garlic salt, pepper and cilantro to taste, and let it sit in the fridge in a container for at least 4 hours. I try to leave mine for more like 12 hours!

to make your own tangy sauce:

• 1 (16 oz) container sour cream
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• garlic powder (to taste)
• tapatio hot sauce (to taste)

I got that recipe from here, but I like to add garlic powder and tapatio hot sauce to mine, and sometimes a little extra of all of the above ingredients, because I like it to have a ton of flavor in the sauce, and the original recipe is a tad bland to me.

shrimp:

• 1 pound shrimp (per 4 people)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons tequila
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
• salt
• pepper

Melt the butter in a pan, toss in shrimp and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir until shrimp turns pink, then add tequila and lime juice. Stir until cooked.

I like to put everything in bowls and make a self-serve taco bar for guests. Don't forget to put out a bottle of the tapatio and a bowl of lime slices, since some people like a little extra kick with their tacos:) Enjoy!

EDITED: Okay, I just now realized that I said to leave the salsa in the fridge for four DAYS ... hahaha ... that was definitely supposed to say four HOURS. Sorry for any confusion;)

the tower at the museum of man

I've been absent from the blog this week because my husband's sweet parents have been in town since last Wednesday, and we've been busy, busy on-the-go showing them the sights and sounds of San Diego:) This was their first trip out to California to visit us, and we were sad to see them go.

Most of our time was spent at, or nearby, the beach. Here we are outside a seafood restaurant on Shelter Island.

Here are my parents-in-law checking out the gorgeous architecture of Balboa Park. As always, I took tons of pictures of the buildings and ran them through the Camerabag filters. I love that app, and I love those buildings and gardens!

Possibly my new favorite picture of him:)

The gorgeous Hotel Del, where they filmed Some Like It Hot. It's just as pretty on the inside.


It was a great week, and I think we enjoyed doing all the touristy stuff as much as they did! I have lots of fun stuff coming up on the blog in the next 2 weeks, so stick around;)

hanging on to summer as long as we can

I'm blowing some of these up and framing one or two of them for the master bedroom or the kitchen, not sure which ones yet! Though Jemima looks really sad in the last picture, I assure you, she was actually very happy. This was her first trip to the beach since her surgery, and even though she couldn't run or swim or get too near the other dogs, she seemed very pleased to be there!

Hope you guys are enjoying the last few weeks of summer:)

unplugged: getting the heebie jeebies!

So our adventure with going unplugged continued last night, and thanks to my husband's great ideas, we stepped the fun up a notch! We went by the library before it closed, and checked out a book of scary short stories! We ate dinner, waited for dark, then bundled up, grabbed some blankets and a flashlight and hopped in the car for the beach.

It's kind of amazing how something so calming and beautiful as the beach can turn creepy and sinister if you set the mood right. It was a chilly night, so no one was anywhere around us, so we had the beach all to ourselves. We wrapped up in the blanket and read one of the stories. It was SO fun and so creepy. By the end of the story I was jumping at every little sound we heard.

I'll leave you with some fun pictures I've taken recently. Check back tomorrow for a dresser "before & after"!

excuse me, there's been some kind of mistake ....

I think there was a mix-up, and I was actually supposed to be born into this life. This gorgeous, sun-baked, 1950's world where everyone lounges around in bright colors and floral swim caps all day!

These photographs are by Slim Aarons, and they're the reason I've been drooling over this book for months. I really should break down and buy it ...

balboa park pictures: part one

Today we spent the afternoon wandering around Balboa Park. It's home to the San Diego Zoo, where we'd both been before, as well as tons of museums, gardens, trails, and lots of un-tamed land. It's beautiful, and HUGE! We had a lot of fun exploring and learning our way around. I got this awesome app for my iPhone called CameraBag, and I've been putting the various filters on my pictures. Here are a few from today!

This had koi in it, and there was a couple playing the violin on one of the park benches nearby. It was really pretty and calming:)

There were little high school seniors taking pictures all over the place. I insisted on taking my own, doing the token "lean on a tree" pose.

The Starlight Theater. So cute.

Really pretty courtyard.

It's cool to see a peek of what San Diego probably looked like before it got filled up with people.

This was my second favorite building. Stay tuned tomorrow to see my favorite-favorite!

the patio!

I wish there was a way to get the entire patio in at once, but I think I would need a ladder. Isn't it so fun, though? There's also a matching coffee table that we can take out there. We've already had dinner on it, and Saturday we're planning on having brunch out there!

Doesn't it look like the perfect place for a post-beach-day nap?

My mother fixed me up with lots of new potted plants, some large and some small. She assured me that it's OK if they all die, but I really, really hope I can at least keep the pretty palm alive!

So sunny and sweet:)