do[ugh]nuts vs. cookies

Aaron and I went on three donut runs this past week. Sick! I have had MAYBE three donuts in the past five years of my life, so this week was 300% overload and I'm already sick of them again. [Donut shops are everywhere down here, so please don't judge!]

And after all the good memories Aaron and I made with our donut runs, in the end I've basically just eaten 1000+ calories too much and still wishing I had some soft, chewy COOKIES!

art news

I found out today that one of my paintings was accepted into an art show in Philadelphia! Very excited and just wanted to share the good news...

Words of Isaiah, oil and gold leaf on panel, 12x12 inches

playing favorites

A couple months ago my friend Whitney [Webb] Morris did a "Favorite Things" post and I told her I was going to copy her and she said okay. Thanks Whit! :) Here it is--->

My Favorite Things:
1. Mascara! If I was stranded on an island and had to choose one beauty product to take with me--this would be it, hands down.
2. Journals and basically any kind of record-keeping (i.e. blogging!).
3. APPLES--I've eaten [at least] one apple every day ever since I can remember. The first bite seriously relieves my stress.....sounds weird but it's true, I just love them.
4. When oil paint glitters in the right lighting. Magical.
5. Songs on my iPod that make me run longer and faster/keep me borderline sprinting for 3+ minutes (DEFYING GRAVITY from Wicked soundtrack--works every time).
6. Uhhhhhh, MY HUSBAND! His beautiful blue eyes, perfect smile, and ruggedly handsome self--just love him!
7. Thrift stores. I love looking through basically junk and somehow finding a treasure. I know people think it's gross to wear other people's clothes, but I figure I've worn my share of thrifted clothing and I haven't died yet, so..............
8. Waking up early (before Aaron) and doing random stuff and then coming back into bed 20 minutes later to snuggle up.
9. Church at 9:00 AM--I'm convinced this is the best time to have church. You're done by noon, have a little lunch, and still have the rest of the day.
10. THE COLOR YELLOW. Anything and everything yellow is just plain beautiful. And I'll just include SUNSHINE here too because it kind of goes with the color yellow and, well, I don't want a #11 on this list. :)

the beach in january

Yesterday Aaron and I went to the beach for a little Sunday afternoon walk. I'm not a big ocean-swimmer, but I could collect seashells all. day. LONG! Yesterday I found some really beautiful ones and I told Aaron we should do this every Sunday... I could bring home all the cool shells I find and put them in a jar or something. Like I'm 5 years old. He said yes of course, so now I just need a cool jar. :)



And while I collected seashells Aaron contemplated life, enjoying the beautiful JANUARY day in southern California. (the BEACH....in JANUARY....so bizarre....)

my little book/houndstooth

I took a bookbinding class at BYU and haven't made a book since I graduated in April 2009. I'm not sure why, other than I just had no reason to make one. UNTIL NOW! I made the cutest little book ever and I love it so much. It's 4x4 inches and I just think it's kind of really adorable. Mostly because I chose a paper with a houndstooth pattern. By the way, houndstooth---where have you been all my life?! I love it so much I was actually trying to "figure it out" in my sketchbook yesterday. Houndstooth is all based off the good old-fashioned square. Love it. Anyways, have I said LOVE enough yet in this post?? Here's my book (which I looooove and will be used for New Years resolutions, goals, 10-year plans, etc.):


The other side of the houndstooth paper had another more decorative pattern. Maybe it looks like it doesn't match/coordinate, but really that's why it DOES match/coordinate. Think about it....

And if you're wondering why some of the paper has square holes--it's because I took my text block (the inside paper) paper from an old sketchbook. Just me being cheap.

Now I'm looking for black and white houndstooth patterned pillows for our living room couches. I found some on etsy but was hoping I wouldn't have to spend $25 on each one.... Really I just need to learn how to sew and all my problems would be solved!

"hike"

we left our apartment on saturday morning hoping to find a nearby hike. but when we couldn't find a hike that was FREE, it ended up just being a pleasant saturday morning drive. and then aaron REALLY surprised me and took me on the "scenic route" to rancho santa margarita.... and somehow we ended up walking on the sidewalks around a beautiful lake with all the other rancho santa margaritans.....in spandex and sunglasses for a saturday morning workout. all we were missing was the super expensive adorable little dog (thank goodness).

so that was our "hike." i'm not sure it was a very good cardio workout, but it was a beautiful day and who am i kidding.....i hate hiking!

**jk, i don't hate hiking...just when it costs money. i mean that's kind of ridiculous.

sprouts

Today I went grocery shopping at Sprouts..... Within 18 minutes I seriously bought an entire garden of fruits and veggies for under 10 bucks. BARGAIN! It feels like Black Friday in there on Wednesdays (you get the deals from last week AND this week), so I was throwing elbows with all the other little old ladies to get my fresh produce and I kind of loved it. I thought I was just going for apples, but I had to grab a basket halfway through my shopping trip because apparently my 2 hands couldn't manage all the bags of apples, oranges, bananas, asparagus, avocados, onions, fresh bread, and milk jug. Grocery shopping is SO FUN!