Friday, May 31, 2013

Weekend Recipes
I wanted to leave you all with a couple good recipes for the weekend.
The first one...
Summer Squash Rainbow Pizza
The tastiest pizza I have had in a while from the amazing Yummy Mummy Kitchen cookbook.
So many recipes out of this cookbook are already becoming staples in our home and I love it. {So you should totally buy the cookbook}
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I love this pizza because it doesn't have any sauce and there isn't a ton of cheese on it but it is still so flavorful. I am a huge cheese person...I am always the one who gets handed the cheesiest slice and even I am not complaining about the lack of cheese. Trust me- it's delicious with just a sprinkle.
Just olive oil and garlic and the cheese sprinkle on the bottom. Then all the veggies. Then a drizzle of olive oil over the top.
If you buy pre-made dough, I highly recommend the Pillsbury thin crust pizza. 
When I don't have time to make my own dough, I would normally buy Pillsbury thick crust pizza but the past 2 times we have had this pizza we've used thin and it is so much better! {In my opinion anyways}
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Blueberry Smoothie
I love this as a post workout, afternoon snack, or even breakfast smoothie and it is so simple. I found it in a running magazine a while back. I never stick to exact measurements...just pour and scoop until my heart is content.
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In the smoothie goes...
1/2 or whole banana (depending on how much you like bananas)
frozen blueberries
greek yogurt
flax seed
honey
water
ice
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Thats it! I am always used to using juice or milk as a liquid base in smoothies but water works just as well!
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

We went camping for the first time this last weekend! 
I was finally able to find a place not too far from us that had an opening for memorial Day Weekend so we jumped on the chance!
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After spending Friday and most of Saturday packing our essentials on grocery shopping, we headed to the camp spot...only to arrive and find out that other campers had taken over our spot and they were nowhere to be found. Apparently the owners couldn't do anything else.
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Of course I was totally disappointed and bummed. 
We were finally going to be doing something fun and different and it wasn't going to work out after all.
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On our way home I made a last and final attempt to call a park near by to see if there were any cancellations...and to our surprise we were in luck!
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The area was absolutely beautiful and it was only 15 minutes from home!
{yes, those are deer}
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But lets be honest..the best part of camping is the camp food...or at least that's true for Brian and I
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Over the next few days I will be adding more Vintage Inspired cards to the website
Keep checking back in!
Here is a sneak peek at one. Have a lovely rest of the week!

Monday, May 27, 2013


"No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13
Today, we remember all those who have put their life in harms way for our freedom. 
Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Friday, May 24, 2013


Friends
Growing up, we are always trying to make friends. 
From kindergarten on...
Then you hit college. Everyone is in the same boat. People have come from all over the state or country with two common goals... To get an education and to make friends to create a positive college experience.
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But what about after college?!
When you move to a new city, like we did,  I have found it can be so
 challenging to meet people.
Everyone is at different stages in life and you are searching for
 people who have similarities to you.
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Right now, life seems like it would be so much easier if we had more 
family and friends near us.
It's hard to step out of  our comfort zone but I know it's something we need to do.
I always talk about having an enriched life, not taking a day for granted, and living everyday to the fullest... I suppose it's time I actually start acting on that. 
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So my personal goal {which I am now sharing with the world} is to channel my inner "kindergartener" in me and not be afraid to get out of my comfort zone to make friends.
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Cheers to a three day weekend!! Hopefully you all have something fun going on! I am scrambling to find a campground site still available. Why did I think camping was just a first come first serve ordeal? It's become so fancy with reservations and check-in times and 3-night minimums. 
Now this is my type of "glamping"....

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Packaging Products

How do you like your packaging? 
Are you drawn to smoothness, bright colors, and geometric shapes? Or maybe you're a lavender and twine girl like me.
I think the way something is packaged is extremely important.

The quality of the product shows through the packaging before it is even opened and
the whole brand is represented by the packaging.
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I took this awesome e-course and she talked about the importance of packaging. She gave an example of how she ordered a beautiful purse from Etsy and it showed up on her doorstep, stuffed in a.........Cheez-it Box! A Cheez-it Box! Since then, every time I drive to the post office to mail my products, I always think about that story.
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When it comes to packaging....I guess you could say I may "judge a book by its cover."
I haven't had to play around with too many packaging ideas for my aprons and cards.
I had the vision of how I wanted the whole package to look and luckily it turned out as I had hoped...which is pretty rare for me!
(I usually have to tweak things 20 times to get it just the way I like it.)
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I hope you all are having a wonderful week!!

Monday, May 20, 2013

French Flea Market
I had the chance to go to the annual Chateau Sonoma French Flea Market yesterday. 
After hearing so many wonderful things about it, I had to go!
It was so great to meet and connect with others and step out of my comfort zone a bit {why is that so hard by the way!?}
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Chateau Sonoma has to be one of my all time favorite shops.
It's absolutely beautiful!
If you have the opportunity to stop by...you should!
Hope you all have a great week!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Planners and Recipes

Is it just me or did this week seem to fly by?
Every year it seems that once May comes around, every weekend fills up and the next free weekend of doing absolutely nothing, isn't until September.
The good news is that the majority of things going on are celebrations of some sort...birthdays, family trips, babies being born. 
This is the time of year I find that to-do lists are a must and setting goals and deadlines for myself are essential. 
I used to always write my lists on scrap paper...I would end up losing that piece of paper or in one of my quick "whip around the house cleaning because someone is coming over," I would most likely toss it...not taking the time to see it was THE list.
So this is my new gem....
What I love about this little planner is that it doesn't have dates. Is anyone else "gung ho" about writing in your planner one week and making lists, but then other weeks not so much? That is definitely how I am and I usually look at my planner after a couple weeks have gone by thinking, "shoot, I've waisted so much of this planner!" Well with this, you write it your own dates! 
And what I love even MORE is the quote on the front...it's a good one to remember.
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I also wanted to share a light and refreshing recipe that I made the other night.

Quinoa-Mango Wraps
Flour Tortillas (or any type of wrap)
1 Tbl Cream Cheese
1 cup cooked Quinoa
1 cup Mango- peeled and cubed
1 cup Arugula
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Dash of salt and pepper

Cook quinoa. Place in refrigerator until cold. Mix quinoa, mango, lemon juice and dash of salt and pepper.  Spread cream cheese on tortilla. Place quinoa mixture in tortilla and top with arugula. Roll up and enjoy!
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I am now on the search for a good dessert to make with cherries. There is a cherry stand near our house and I had been wanting to stop buy some. There is something cool to me about getting fruit from those little hole in the wall stands. Is that weird? I like to think it's better than store bought. Anyways, the other day Brian came home with two bags of cherries! I'm debating between muffins, cupcakes or maybe even a classic cherry pie. Any suggestions?
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and you are able to enjoy the sunshine, snow, or rain depending on where you live :)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

TRIBE
I wanted to take the time to talk about one of the coolest companies ever...Tribe!
{Click HERE to visit their website!}
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One of my best friends from college co-founded this amazing company about a year ago.
She had the chance to live in Africa and was inspired to pursue her dream while there.
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She employs 21 women in Gulu, Uganda, who are survivors of the 20 year war. 
Not only do they make this beautiful jewelry but it gives them a chance to support their families and become more independent. 
{a couple of my many favs}
She has put her whole heart into this company and the cause and you can see it in the branding and from the smiles on all of the women's faces. 
Watching the company grow has been so fun and has been such an inspiration to me!
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So check out her website and buy yourself, or your mom, or sister, or friend a beautiful piece of jewelry...knowing that YOU are making a difference by doing so:) 
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GiveBIG

While on the topic of making a difference...today and today ONLY, any donation given to Camp Korey will be doubled.
Check out their website to view the top 15 reason to giveBIG!
And consider giving a small donation which would make a big impact!
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And also remember, 10% of all Lindsay P Designs sales will be given to Camp Korey through June!
Have a great day everyone!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Family Weekends

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother's Day!
This weekend we came down to San Jose and had the chance to spend time with family and friends. 
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We have been spoiled to spend two weekends in a row with our families. 
Saturday morning I met my friend to go on a walk and grab coffee.
If you haven't been to the Rose Garden in San Jose when the roses are in bloom, you must go! 
Now maybe for San Jose natives it is nothing special....but it is just so beautiful seeing such a large garden covered in vibrant colors of roses. 
Even the smell when you walk in the garden is lovely!
They happened to have food trucks right by the garden which was so fun seeing too! 
{Is it weird that I had actually never seen "real" food trucks before?}
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Saturday night we went to the Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley concert...
Believe it or not, this was mine and Brian's Christmas present to his brother, sister and their significant others. 
It was a fun concert though I couldn't believe how many people were totally out of control. 
I will try not to rant too much like an old woman...but sometimes I am shocked at how people act.
I found myself thinking a lot throughout the night, "If my daughter ever acted like that I would be so mad!" 
I guess times have changed and for some people "anything goes." Which to be honest I am not a huge believer of. I'll save going into that for another post. 
So Brian had a little heart to heart with Brandi...
{Are you tired of Brandi pictures? Hopefully not :)}
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I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and have a great start to the week!

Friday, May 10, 2013

French Friday
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While I was home last weekend my mom got me this awesome cookbook...
It is filled with delicious recipes!
Rachel Khoo is the author and her goal is to make fantastic recipes for every occasion...from casual dinners to elaborate ones...
Since I haven't been able to go to France yet..maybe I will just bring France to my kitchen :)
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This recipe looks soo good (maybe because it's before noon and I could really go for some French toast right now!)
Maybe I will attempt to make it this weekend and let you know how it turns out!
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On a completely different note...I love spools of twine, spools of ribbon and just cool, old spools in general. 
When I imagine a future office for myself I envision an entire wall...or at least a couple long shelves filled with old ribbons and spools. 
If you haven't visited the blog/shop French Larkspur, I suggest you do! She has the opportunity to go to France a few times a year and brings back the most beautiful items. Not to mention the pictures she takes while she is there are absolutely stunning. 
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Anyways, the spool with the blue stripe and the light blue ribbon are both from her online shop. 
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I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and for all of you mothers.....
Happy Mothers Day!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Beach Time
We got back Monday night from a long weekend in Washington. It's amazing how those extra two days of a weekend makes such a huge difference. 
It went by too fast as usual but I soaked in as much family as I could and I loved it.
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This past weekend was shrimping weekend on the Hood Canal. 
There are only 5 days a year that are open for shrimping and you are allowed to have your pots down for only 4 hours on those days.
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We threw out the shrimping pots Saturday morning...waited for an hour...and pulled them back up-- hoping that all the little shrimp swam into the pots. 
Once we pulled them up we got to counting before throwing the pots back over. 
It was a pretty successful Shrimping day!
It was so fun to just be with family, relax in the sun (yes, it was actually hot in Washington), throw rocks, eat oysters and just have fun!
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I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

May is here!

It is hard to believe that it is already May. 
Where does the time go?!
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just press pause for two seconds. 
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To celebrate the start of May and Mother's Day, for the next 48 hours a 10% savings will automatically be applied to your order! Click on THIS link to receive the savings.
Feel free to share, tell your friends, tell your neighbors or just start shopping for yourself:)
Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!