too good.

You know those people in your life who just get it? They are the ones who can make you laugh so hard that you spray beverage all over the place, who understand exactly what you want to do when you want to do it, who listen to your worries, your excitement and your thoughts, and who generally make your life a pleasant and wonderful experience. Yeah. I'm grateful for them. Sometimes I like to imagine who these ladies in a room all together and I can't help but smile!

Snippet and Ink

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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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catch up

Monday Monday! Hola dear readers..Sorry for the hiatus..Things have been movin' along here so quickly Iv'e barely had time to catch my breath! 

Here's some shots of what I've been up to...

Having best friends visits:

Strawberry Festing:

Working working working!

(via tumblr)

Eating treats a la my sister such as Martha Stewart salted chocolate caramel cupcakes for a dearest friend's graduation party..mmm!

(via Martha)

Today I have a joyus day off and I feel like doing so many things and nothing at the same time.. You know what I mean? Haha

(via flickr)

This week I'm loving seeing old friends and catching up, crisp weather, skyping best friends in foreign countries, exciting news, and art projects.

ps. Something is funky with my layout/commenting on the blog but I'm working on it!

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pretend dinner party

Let's have a pretend dinner party..What would you serve?


To start leek and brie bruschetta...via Martha

Then some Spinach and Strawberry salad via Whole Foods

Then maybe a Lobster Roll from Smitten Kitchen

And finally coffee ice cream cause it's my absolute favorite flavor! via simply recipes

Tooo Yummy! You are all invited! Champagne to start :)

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maymonday

Happy Monday Morning to You!

(Image via la taco)

This weekend my brother came home and I spent the majority of the weekend hanging out at home and enjoying the fresh weather.

On Friday we went to Father's Office..and I ate the yummiest duck and fig salad. Mmmm.

They also have an awesome selection delicious beer which was fun to pick and choose from!

I babysat on Saturday and then met my brother for sushi. Such yum! We watched a movie and laughed thinking about what my sister would have said. Sunday--Mama and me time..filled with copious amounts of delicious coffee in huge bowls, Target perusing, and fun. I also went for a run on Sunday and had a funny incident that reminded me of my lovely silly friend Vanessa.

I was on my run on a trail (the bluffs near my house) and this old, wise looking, Indian woman with beautiful white hair and crazy turquoise jewelry stopped me. "Are you alright?" I asked. And she said "are you afraid of snakes?"  To which I responded.."Um, no but they make me slightly nervous"...(which is not really true--I really don't get along with them at all and when I lived with Vanessa she constantly threatened to bring one home as a pet!)

"There are two beautiful king snakes mating in the middle of the path and I forgot to move them over and Im concerned that dogs will eat them so if you could move them with a stick you will save their lives". 

.....I especially don't get along with snakes because when I once was swimming a lake and a snake slithered on the water towards me with no warning! It was shocking because I didn't even know snakes could swim ON TOP of WATER. But, being the good samaritan I am, I agreed. 

She then handed me a big stick. So there I am running with my stick looking for some snakes on the ground (even though I'm not really sure I was even able to complete this task) and another walker girl was listening to her ipod and she didnt see me till I was right behind her and she screamed! 

I tried to explain about the snakes and the stick but it was no use. I just looked crazy. I put the stick down and said bye. I must have looked pretty silly running with a stick looking for snakes..haha!

Anyway, another week is upon us and today I'm dreaming of road trips to Boston, cousin twins, best friends, my sister coming home, bestie friend visitors coming in 2 weeks, the upcoming Strawberry Festival and getting creative with art and cooking.

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happy birthday xtine-y !

Happy Birthday my lovebug! I can't believe you are 23! I remember when we first met in our first art history course in college..immediately I knew we'd be besties and I'm soo soo lucky to have such a charming, intelligent, and beautiful friend! I love that you are always down for an adventure and that you always have insightful advice for me. I don't know what I'd do without you and I can't wait to see your lovely face in person! 

I love you soo much!!

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kiwis

I miss my kiwis! As some of you know I love to practice my New Zealand accent on the regular (ahem cousin twins). I was lucky enough to meet some wonderful kiwi friends to chat with and they didn't mind (too much) when I tried to speak kiwi! 

Cort, Hilary and Tim

Anyway, I found this poster I thought was very cute and thought I'd share with all my New Zilund enthusiasts:

Besos !

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visitor

Mary Jo, one of Cortney and I's oldest and dearest friends has been visiting in Santiago these past two weeks. I can't wait to tell in detail all the silly stories and fun times we've had. It was so good to have her here with us and I don't want her to leave!

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summer christmas

This year was an especially interesting Christmas..HOT weather, a mezcla of cultures, and delicious food. Luckily for me it was all my favorite foods--seafood, guacamole, onions and peppers, salad, carrot cake, chocolate cheesecake, fudge, apricot and nectarine tart, and raspberry jam cookies. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas away from home. In true Daly tradition, we took a long walk after all the eating towards Plaza de Armas and spotted the three wise men.

Merry Merry Merry!

starting the morning off with mimosas..


preparation galorrrre


yummmmm yummm yummmmmm. my favorite!
foto de familia



postres/desserts


plaza en navidad


on the walk pitstop

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besty birthday

happy birthday Vanessa Ducher!

I love you soo sooo soooo much. You are not only bff but perhaps one of the funniest, charming, caring, smart and beautiful people I have the pleasure of knowing! I know you are going to have the best birthday ever but I wish I was there with you to eat some carrot cake and reflect upon the many many manyyy memories that make our friendship so special and fun.

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