itchhhhing

for a summer trip!

(via Hither and Thither)

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busy bee

This past week moved right along..seems like time is passing so quickly! I can't believe its almost July. My grandparents (from my mom's side) are here from Tennessee visiting. We celebrated Mom's birthday by going out to dinner and eating delicious chocolate cake. We have pretty much been relaxing and hanging out...shooting the breeze (isn't that a funny expression?). Our main activities have been playing various games (Uno and Jenga!), eating in excess, watching the World Cup and various movies On Demand.

Mom and Chub

Chocolate cake (made by Chub)

Mom and Dad

Besides that I've been working and we had another exhibition opening for the summer series at LACE. It's a public arts program for the summer designed to get people involved and interested in art. At the opening John Kilduff of Letspainttv.com painted portraits while running on a treadmill AND using a blender! Pretty amazing to see! 

John running and painting on Hollywood Blvd

Entrance to LACE

This week I'm excited because Christine and some other lovely amazing friends are coming down to visit and it's the fourth of July! Happy Monday everyone!

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le weekend

Hello Weekend! Hope everyone has fun plans this weekend..my grandparents from the South are visiting so we have been busy eating too much, celebrating birthdays, and watching the world cup! 

ps. These are cool! By Mr. Ben Heine:

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world cup fevah

Young South African Fan

The US team

(images via Nytimes)

I don't know about you but over here we have World Cup Fever! We have been watching a majority of the games..the US v. Algeria game this morning was by far the most exciting sports event that I've seen in a while. Something about the history of soccer--the fact that it has been played for centuries all over the world and that it can be played by almost every kind of person..it's fun! Inspiration from the games prompted my brother, sister, Amanda and I to go out and get a game going ourselves..it was pretty silly..we are all sore today!

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first day of summer

It's officially the first day of summer! Looking out my window it doesn't feel like it--gray foggy morning. This will be my second summer this year..what a funny feeling! Right now I'm inspired by the tumblr Summer Goals cause it has me thinking about what I want to accomplish this summer (round 2)! 

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fathers day

(Dad in his 20s in Colorado..Does he look like Andy?)

Happy Father's Day Papa Daly! Thanks for being the best silly book reading, exercise enthusiast and perfect pancake maker! I love you so much..we are so lucky to have you as our father! 

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the grumps

(image via Cup Of Jo)

Sometimes I get the grumps..meaning I have a meltdown, or get very stressed out leading to yelling and generally not being a functional person. This usually happens when I over commit/schedule myself and feel in response completely overwhelmed. Fortunately I have an amazing, wonderful and beautiful dearest and bestest friend Natalie who consistently gives me the BEST seriously the BESTEST advice. One day when I was feeling like the girl above Natalie wrote me a little note and provided some goodies that I thought was the sweetest and most thoughtful thing ever (she's just like that..can you tell by my gushing how much I adore this woman!?)! I'd like to share some quotes from that I continue to look back on whenever I'm feeling down..

"Tara, You are my favorite. Feeling shitty is so random...But hey, it happens. C'arrive. There are four things that always, without fail, make me feel less shitty when I feel...shitty...

1. Having super smooth and short nails.

2. Having the best chapstick ever, and thus non-chapped lips.

3. Taking an obscenely long shower and then slathering lotion all over my body. (is this awkward?) (this ALREADY made me laugh and feel better as I was reading!!!)

4. Drinking a hot cup of tea and relaxing with a book/magazine. (Total lie. I drink coffee and watch Bridget Jones. But tea is better for you, blah blah blah, DONC, tea it is) (Natalie is like sooo funny and we have a ritual of getting iced coffee together that borders on obsession).

...the note continues...anyway these things make me feel SO much better too! I don't know what it is but Natalie is sooo good at breaking things down... She is a super smart, lovely person all around!! I now practice these every time I'm feeling blehbity bleh and have added a couple of rituals of my own..

5. Blast some music and dance out whatever Im feeling preferably in a goofy fashion.

6. Looking through old pictures and remembering all the funny/silly/amazing times and places that I took them.

7. Calling a friend (aka Natalie) and chatting away realizing hey--life isn't that bad and tomorrow is another day.

8. Snuggling with some sort of furry animal. 

What do you do to make your self de-stress and feel better? The thing that Natalie made me realize is everyone gets stressed and grumpy at times, the key is to know how to make yourself calm down and feel better. I just love that lady! 

Besos!

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nostalgia

San Francisco Ferry building

Blue Bottle Coffee

Paris Lovers (missing a few!)

Lovely Porch set up (bunny included)

Delicious Froyo Stop

Santa Cruz I miss you so much!

Visiting my college town and some of my closest friends was like a breath of fresh air with a touch of sadness. It felt wonderful to see many of the people who make my life and experiences so rich and hilarious..I felt pretty nostalgic the whole weekend..forcing my brother to listen to "remember when.." stories. Northern California is one of my favorite places in the world--especially Santa Cruz. Living there generally made me feel calm and happy. We ate waaaaay too much and indulged in some delicious treats. Drinking and dancing are a must when visiting friends including sitting on the pier eating fish tacos and drinking margaritas. Heavenly! I got that infectious happy feeling seeing my friends happy and busy and excited for all their various endeavors. I was also a bit sad because I knew I had to leave the bay and would be far (at least physically) from my friends for a while. Luckily, I know that I will always be close to these amazing people and town! More of my friends are coming to visit down south so I have that to look forward to and I can't wait!

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excitement

(photo credit: Sf Girl By Bay)

After a busy weekend with visits from my cousin twin (love youuuuu Cayro!) and her boyfriend before they jetted off to New Zealand, working at Skirball, cooking galore, running and dates--including sushi Sunday with Cortney in Japan town-- I am off to the Bay area for the week with my brother to see all my lovely friends from college and visit the amazing town that I called home for 3 years. I'm SO thrilled!

See you Friday!

:)

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yummy.com

Having a sister who is obsessed with baking makes one already food enthused person even more of a foodie. I have always been an avid reader of food blogs--I love to see the creative combinations that people come up with and think that cooking is a chance to be spontaneous. I prefer to cook things by working with what I have and trying new things..I'm not much for measurement to be honest. I leave that for my sister! Anyway, one of my new favorite food blogs is Sprouted Kitchen. I can't get enough of this delicious blog! Best of all, she emphasizes vegetables and farm fresh ingredients--something very important to me--while keeping the balance with some treats.


I've been salivating over her Veggie Le Crunch

Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwiches

and

Savory Roasted Almonds

DROOL.

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sunlight

This weekend flew by..working, hiking, dancing, picnicking and laughing till my stomach hurt--I barely had time to breathe! Even though it sometimes freaks me out how quickly time passes I like it that way.


Some snaps from our picnic at the park...

I am trying to set some specific goals for my to do list this week--it's getting pretty long and I need to start tackling several projects. Happy Monday & hope your weekend was filled with fun and sun as well!

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