a year ago today...

a year ago today started like any other day. 

we were on vacation in black butte ranch with 10 of our favorite friends... 

a tradition that's been going on for years. 

we laid by the pool all day, paddle boarding, playing lawn games, and drinking mexiprize. 

by evening roughly half of our friends had left, and just ben, myself, 

two of my best girlfriends, their husbands and a baby remained. 

when we were wrapping up at the end of our pool day, 

it seemed like everyone wanted to go grab happy hour at aspen lounge. 

so we head back to the house, and i quickly change my clothes (really just to get out of wet bathing suit). then i realize everyone is showering, blow-drying their hair, putting on make-up, etc. 

let's be honest - i'm not really the type to blow-dry my hair on vacation - especially this type of vacation! you'll be lucky to see me in an outfit that isn't workout clothes or a bathing suit cover-up! 

anyway, once i realize i'm the odd man out, i decide to take a shower. LOL! 

then, once again (because i'm lazy), i go downstairs with wet hair, thinking i'm all ready to go. 

it's then that ben tells me that i 'definitely have time to go blow dry my hair' 

(which truly becomes the funniest part of this whole story!) 

he later tells me i would have hated to have pictures taken of us when i looked like a hot mess. HA!

finally, we all get out the door (in 3 separate cars, to drive just 5 minutes across the ranch). 

when we arrive, ben and i somehow have beat everyone by 5 minutes. 

(not saying it was weird then - but obviously looking back, something was up!)

we decided to 'wait for our friends' out on the lawn, 

overlooking one of my all time favorite views. 

ben starts getting a bit mushy (which isn't totally like him), 

and then i'm distracted by a field full of birds 

(yes, i run around chasing them. yes, it's caught on camera below).

we end up walking down to the lake, ben gets down on one knee, and proposes. 

i was beyond excited, and beyond surprised.

video footage (and commentary - LOL) taken by our good friends below:

click here to watch on youtube

it was so fun having our friends their to celebrate with us, and little did i know - we still 

weren't going to happy hour, but instead had a perfect picnic planned around the corner.

sitting here writing this a year later, looking out over that very spot ben proposed, 

my heart overflows with joy and thankfulness. ben, thank you for being my greatest encourager, lover, friend and adventure partner. life with you is better than i even could have imagined!

monday morning mashup

pic via

1. inspiration for your 4th of july picnic

2. an adorable outdoor play area

3. digging cowhide rugs right now

4. the perfect packing guide for any trip

5. who wants a tipsy peach pop?

6. must read: list of best and worst sunscreens

7. TED talks to inspire your work life

8. loving the creativity behind JB's new music video

9. have you ever even heard of a leap second??

10. obsessed with my friend's bernese puppy right now

black cherry refresher

today i am heading to one of my favorite places on the planet. black butte ranch!

ben and i are going to be adventuring for the next 10 days or so in central oregon,

hiking, golfing, biking, lounging, having pool parties, playing cribbage, etc.

CANNOT WAIT!

i made this big batch cocktail the last time we had people over.

i usually get nervous serving something for the first time with guests,

but this was simple, delicious and an absolute hit. 

i had to make a second batch on the spot!

recipe via sprouted kitchen cookbook

serves four

ingredients

12 cherries, pitted

roughly 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish

1 cup gin

1/4 cup st germain edlerflower liqueur

1 cup cherry juice

ice

roughly 1 cup sparkling water

lime wedges for garnish

directions

1.  in the bottom of a glass pitcher, using a muddler, muddle cherries and mint 

together until the mint is crushed and the cherries release some of the their juice.

2. add gin, elderflower liqueur and cherry juice and stir to combine.

3. to serve, fill 6 highball glasses with ice, divide cherry mixture evenly among the glasses 

and top each with desired amount of sparkling water. garnish each glass with a lime wedge.

DIY: sunglass pinboard

i have this problem where i lose and break sunglasses all the time. just the moment 

i decide to finally invest in a nice pair, i lose them, forcing me to go back to my $10 ones!

for those of you who have this same problem, i have found a solution that will help (at least a little)!

a do-it-yourself sunglass pinboard. for keeping your sunnies safe and sound and all in one place.

inspired by this

total time: 10-15 minutes

what you'll need

pinboard, any size or style

pretty paper (if desired)

there are great options at paper source

pushpins (cute or simple will work)

scissors

wire

your collection of sunglasses

instructions

1. first, assemble all the supplies you'll need.

2. lay out your sunglasses on the pinboard to get a feel for how they'll all fit.

for example, do you want the pinboard to sit horizontally or vertically?

3. measure out your cute paper (if using) and fit to the corkboard section of your board.

mine slipped right under the edge of frame, holding it in place.

if yours doesn't stay in place, no worries. the pins we'll put in later will help.

4. measure out your wire to stretch across your board, allowing 4-6" extra inches to work

with on either side. twist the wire around the push pin tightly and then trim off ends. 

measure it across the board again, in your desired location, and do the same for the second pushpin. stretch the wire across the board and secure the pins in place. you'll want the wire to be taut.

5. repeat step four until you have all the wires in place.

i laid out my sunglasses again after i had the first wire in place 

to be sure i had the right amount of room between my two wires.

6. feel free to put your sunnies in place while the corkboard 

is still laying flat and then move to desired location.

7. feel free to rotate out seasonally appropriate paper patterns 

or place pins replace sunnies with jewelry of all kinds.

life lately

picture perfect peony. grown in my mother-in-law's garden

watching a friend's volleyball tournament on alki beach

finally making our way to woodinville whiskey

a beautiful day for a walk in seward park

 trying out the new gnocci bar on capital hill

people watching one afternoon at gasworks park

selfies in front of the hollywood schoolhouse

the famous lemon lime tart at mustard's grill in napa

bright juices at whole foods

our almost daily walks around greenlake

picture perfect night at the mariner's game with friends

an 'oopsies' moment

brunch at easy street records

trimming up some carrots for a dinner party

rooftop picnics

rose display at bottlehouse

certificate of radiation completion. so proud of my momma!

wine tasting for the afternoon in woodinville

cauliflower pizza crust

most people know that i like to cook. they also maybe have the misconception 

that i'm trying a new recipe almost every night of the week. the truth is that 

roughly half of the week i'm trying at least one new thing in the kitchen... 

be it an appetizer, main course, cocktail or dessert. while the other days 

we're either grabbing take-out or making one of our favorite go-to recipes. 

take out for us really only consists of pizza from PCC or thai food. 

while the pizza we buy isn't super unhealthy (it's thin-crust, etc),

i wanted to try my hand a home-made 'dough' that could cut the carbs.

voila, cauliflower pizza crust to the rescue!

trust me, this isn't as weird as it sounds. 

in fact, i'm thinking you'll love it as much as we did!

the only caveat i have on this is it took me a few times to perfect the recipe a bit, so don't 

give up if you have a bad first experience! i've also added some notes and tips below :)

recipe via simply real health cookbook

ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower, florets only, approximately 3 cups

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons almond flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

desired toppings for your pizza

directions

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees. line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

add cauliflower florets to the powerful blender or food processor and blend until smooth. 

don't over-process, blend just until there are no big visible pieces.

2. place the pulsed cauliflower in the middle of a clean dish towel. 

wrap it up and squeeze as much moisture out of it as you can. 

there will be a lot! open the towel and place the cauliflower in mixing bowl.

squeezing the moisture out of the cauliflower in a towel was a bit cumbersome and messy for me.

the second time i made the recipe, i actually went ahead and spread the ground up cauliflower 

on the baking sheet and baked it in the oven for roughly 15 minutes, stirring frequently, 

to get the moisture out. just a tip that worked well for me!

3. add cheese, flour, egg and spices, and mid together. combine mixture into a ball.

4. with your hands, flatten dough into an even crust on the baking sheet. 

bake for 20-25 minutes until it starts to brown.

be sure you are using parchment paper and nothing else. 

neither foil OR a greased pan worked for me!

5. remove from heat, add your sauce, toppings and place back in the oven until done 

(usually when cheese is melty and starts to brown)

we added store bought pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, mushrooms, 

sun-dried tomatoes, and then topped with basil once it came out of the oven.