the go to girl

coINKadink

so, i stopped into my local coffee shop this morn and the lovely owner, Mr Bela, tells me they just won "best drink" in OC WEEKLY's "best of 2008". did i tell ya, or did i tell ya? uh hugh, i know where its AT!!! (wink)

here's the article... (come on editors - think you'd at least spell the "featured drink" correctly. it's Mexican Moka my friends!!!)

Best Mexican Mocha

Viento y Agua
4007 E Fourth Street
Long Beach, CA
562 434 1182

These days, when you're in Mexico, hot chocolate is usually, sadly, made with powdered Nestlé crap. The crumbling of pure dark-chocolate bits into a slow melt-and-simmer dance with milk or water is quickly becoming a thing of the past. But not at Viento y Agua (Wind and Air), where the coffee shop's purveyors have taken the old Mexican tradition to new heights with their Mexican Mocha, a sumptuous blend of crumbly Ibarra chocolate (okay, kind of mainstream for Mexican hard chocolate, but better than Nestlé), espresso, a pinch of cinnamon, and a thick, multiple-spoon-dip layer of foam. Take it slow—you won't regret it.

OC WEEKLY - best of 2008

pumpkin...

 

sunday FUNday! another stupendous  day this weekend. felt like fall here in Long Beach. like a real fall day, fresh crisp air with a touch of California warm. such a gorgeous day.

i'm in a fally fall mood which influenced our morning indeed. heading to our local farmers market, i was after crisp apples from the adorable man who raises and sells them. he's incredibly amped giving out samples and tallying up totals.

also after organic peppers, jalepenos, onions and tomatoes for some mighty fine chili. so off we went at 830 a.m. to beat the morning rush. traffic, traffic everywhere. roads blocked off. GADZOINK!!! long beach marathon today. just our luck. but we kept a smile and detoured for a good hour to find our market CLOSED. nope, not gonna damper our day. quickly pulled a u-ey into our local whole foods. snatched up some goodies along with a 6 pack of pumpkin ale. so could not resist!

mind you, i'm not a big drinker and definitely not so much on beer. but the real pumpkin and spices sold me. i'm a sucker for cute packaging and seasonal finds.

another hour home - p.s. we live like 10 minutes away. but nothing could ruin our moods. we had tasty treats in our back seat, the sun was a shinin'. we dug into our organic bean chips. what could we complain about?

a day filled with fall cleaning. renovated our bedroom, dusted, vacuumed, the whole 9 yards. night was upon us, the house was clean and chili a simmer. it was time to indulge in our pumpkin brew and sunday nite TV. awww, the life. happy happy!

a note... i heart pumpkins. next week we're off to a local pumpkin patch. i just discovered a fabulous blog by the notorious Eddie Ross. (from Top Design) here are a few of his postings that will inspire my weekend's pumpkin craftiness.

{ric rac pumpkins} and {pumpkin arrangements}

good SATurday

i'm a happy girl. haven't had a day like this in far too long. leisurely awoke to a beautifully cool fall morn. hopped in the car with the bf to our favorite local coffee spot. viento y aqua. famous for their decadent mexican mokas. tastiest darned drinks i've had. great music, great drinks, good vibes!

plopped on the couch and got our ghetto laptop out. crazy week, haven't had a chance to pick up my sad MAC! been perusing my favorite sites online. like old friends, juice for my soul, inspiration indeed.

not a bit of anxiety fills me today. its my day. to do with what i want. what i need. a day of rest. and rejuvenation.

so many great writers, blogs, designers, creative folk out there. my peeps! i need hundreds of Saturdays to get thru all this good stuff. and i want to explore it all, process and digest. and share with u.

making lists, adding to my idea book. oh, thank goodness for google notebook. my favorite tool online. all my thoughts, ideas and links in one nifty spot. if u haven't started one for yourself, u gotta try it out.

such a great idea...

 

i stumbled upon this blog inchmark today. and i'm in love. i'm a mad journaler but totally sp0ratic and entries all over the place. insanely addicted to paper products. notes, thoughts, feelings, ideas jotted in an array of binders, journals, notebooks. no method to the madness. just depends on the day and what i'm inspired to write in. not so good for referencing cuz i can't find a darned thing. hence, the google notebook. trying to slowly transfer and organize it all there.

but this is a fantastic idea! stamp the date and write 5 things that happened that day. i luv it. i can do it. and i have the perfect notebook to start them in. {field book by russell + hazel} to be honest i have several. ADDICTED! 

okay, speaking of organization. MAIL. its my nemesis. i need a fabulous organizer/system that looks gorgeous, is functional and multi-faceted. i'm on the hunt but if you have any ideas. PLEASE HELP!

oh, and i'm gonna work on my sidebar. placing blogs and links to my favorite things. keep an eye out.

cracks me UP...

to see myself. yep, that's me. in the holiday LILL campaign with a bunch of lovely LILL reps from all over the country. a girlfriend emailed me this week asking if it was me. surprise!

we shot these pics at LILLAPALOOZA in Chicago a few month's back. luv these gals and the company as a whole.

if you've followed my blog from way back when... u know that i started out being a LILL FANatic and hounded them until i got the position of LA/OC LILL on Location rep early this year. i don' usually plug my personal projects on my blog but wanted to share.

whether its a party with me or another fabulous nationwide rep, you've got to book a party. and this is the perfect time. CUSTOM HOLIDAY SHOPPING! at its best. check out their site at 1154lill.com. i promise, you'll be HOOKED!

come on over to my LILL Blog

a flutter!

not sure what it is? what set me off on a sporadic shopping spree this afternoon? who am i kidding? i stopped into anthropologie, promising myself i'd only get one glass for my toothbrushes and skidattle. yeah, uh huh. LIKELY!

it all started with these...

then lead to these...




and ended with these...

so fittingly called flutter dishtowels. which is what my heart does when i see textiles and designs of this sort. i'm weak and i can't help myself. i've been so well behaved. haven't bought a thing for my home in a very long time. and i'm working like a dog these days, so darn it i deserve it!

they're all currently layed out on my desk in my office. and i daze at them from time to time. and my heart goes a flutter.

CRAZY and i'm gonna stop

i've been inspired by the season to change up my blog and i'm workin' on it people. but, i gotta put a stop to it for the evening. before i pull out my hair. i'm sick of myself already. so indecisive, so many options. ARRGGHH

to be continued (in pre-development stage!) please pardon the MESS!

deliCioUs so sCanDaLOUs...

sorry PINKBERRY i'm dreamin' of a different yogurt... i'm on my way to Red Mango.

R-E-D   M-A-N   G-O   RED MANGO!!!

sorry you stole their idea, i'm steain your lyrics.

yep, i was a fan of pinkberry when it exploded onto the LA scene but that's cuz it was new and innovative and cute to boot. who knew it was a COPY CAT to the original authentic TART fro-yo Red Mango founded in South Korea in 2002? AND its 100% real yogurt, natural ingredients with live and active cultures.

nice try PINKBERRY, we're on to you!

check out the young CEO's story, pretty cool :)

fliCKs

oh, i luv a good film and these days there's some goodens. really quirky, artsy, odd, indies. wonderful film making goin on. its the time and i gotta say the soundtracks are kicken' too! just goes hand in hand i think. i saw dan in real life tonight. i'm such a fan of steve carell, he's so darned gifted! so funny but never shticky or unbelievable. he does it all flawlessly. soundtrack is great, sondre lerche is perfect. kinda reminds me of rufus.

if u need a giggle, a belly laugh, a feel good feelin, i highly recommend!

p.s. i went to that lost in the fire flick and its worth it just to see senor del toro! he's ridiculous, i'm in luv!

on my list...

lars and the real girl (ryan gosling, need i say more)
into the wild
the darjeeling limited
darfur now

its movie season baby!

just a Note...

okay, so sometimes i feel the need to do a quick orientation to my blog. only because it can be a bit scattered, disjointed and all over the place at times. and i imagine you must be thinkin' what the heck is this girl up to? i just wanna share so much and maybe don't have the time or enough research or images to post properly so i just throw it into the sidebar and toss in a catchy heading just to get it out there! it's also a reference for me to go back to cuz i'm on data OVERLOAD!  so much to contribute and talk about in the world. i get really overwhelmed! to add to it, i've just begun 3 FANTABULOUS journo/writing classes so my world and my eyes are overexposed and extra stimulated.  which leads to more info and good stuff to share.  AY YAY YAY!  bare with me people.

i've got a few lists in those handy dandy sidebars that i'm quite passionate about. well, i'm passionate about them all but in very different ways. AWARE is for articles i've been touched by that i can't help but pass on and BUY BE(CAUSE) is filling up quickly with goodies for purchase that benefit others! pretty cool

p.s. these ARE NOT advertisements people. u won't find em on my blog!

okay, thats all :)

totally off the subject... how much do you love these HUNTER BOOTS? can't wait for a rainy day!

reDICulous

so, if you've spent much time reading my blog u already know i'm obsessed with 1154 LILL . i'm not going to rant again about these beauties but i have to share a giggle with u. i entered their love my lill contest (on the very last possible day) and just recently found out that i WON runner up! :) so silly, can't believe it cuz i really didn't think i'd have a chance. unfortunately for me with that kind of thinking, i put little effort into my photo which is now featured on their webpage and blog YIKES! so REDICULOUS! anyhow, i got a $50 gift certificate for my next bag and learned a good lesson. ONE... being runner up never feels as good as WINNING! TWO... never wear a strawberry shortcake looking dress over a swimsuit, take a photograph and submit it for a contest!

here it is... :)

Friday, September 14, 2007                         

We Cheated - LILL Contest Extened!                                       

OK, so I know we said there would only be ONE Grand Prize Winner, but it was simply too hard to choose just one! We decided to extended the contest to include 2 runner ups that also received a high amount of votes, but just not quite enough for 1st place. We just couldn't let them go with out a special thank you and a little treat to use towards their next LILL Bag.

Congrats to our 2 runners up!

I'm OBSESSED!!!! I am completely out of my mind obsessed beyond ever with BAGS! My sister-in-law brought me to a “local Lill” party while home visiting in Minnesoooootah. Hmmm, a purse party in the Midwest? I had my reservations. To my surprise it was the most FABULOUS party EVER and I went mad BANANAS! I seriously get the strangest most excited feeling when I'm around fabric, its freaky. Rummaging through fantastic fabrics and custom designing from a slew of baggalicious designs, does it get any better? I was shopping on a fabric HIGH, so dangerous! Thanks to my momma and my birthday quickly approaching I got to design two bags (which sent me into a decision making frenzy btw). With summer on the brink and inspiration of upcoming travels to Palm Springs, I had to create something that would accessorize my trip beautifully. Weeks of waiting and excessively contemplating my decision, I was tickled giddy when my “Jeanne” and “Andi” bags arrived on my Long Beach doorstep. They were AMAZING, DELICIOUS, everything I had hoped they’d be and matched smashingly on VACA in Palm Springs!Thank you LILL for my lovely ladies!!!
Jenny W.