tickle me pink

I remember thinking after I finished my blog design the last time "I'm not going to change this for a long time. I'm perfectly happy with what I have for once." As of today, I needed to change something. If anything I could revamp the color theme without much hassle and be happy with the product. This thought is a lesser version of the "I don't have to buy new furniture right now, but if I rearrange the furniture I have, it will make me happy for a while" concept. Small commitment without too much energy.

I considered changing the header, but once again, too much energy and I actually like that element still. =) Thank you Photoshop for your abilities to assist me in achieving my color changing goals. I tried several different color combos and essentially settled on the one you see above. Now, why did I go with this one? Could it be that possibly I've returned to the same colors for almost my entire life whenever I'm painting, coloring, or Photoshopping? Ever since I received my first Big Box of crayons (with the sharpener built into the box - whoop whoop!) I have gravitated to these specific crayons. Don't ask me why...I can't help myself.

I'm happy with my blog for now...I mean, why wouldn't I be when there are so many different versions of Sea Green, Robin's Egg Blue and Tickle Me Pink in it. =)

Paint Paint and More Paint

I feel like I've been in a whirlwind of life since I got married and I'm just now getting to the point where I'm looking around the house from the perspective of what I'd like to do with it all. Its pretty fun experimenting in my mind, but now its time to take some action. I've had an extra room for almost a year that has only served as a dumpsite. I have continued to call it my "creative space"...in reality, its been more like "I will do something creative in this space someday, but until its just the way I want it, I will do nothing."

As you can see from my to-do list (---->) I'm going to be a busy busy girl. I have given myself lots of painting tasks. Some I've had for quite a while and haven't done anything about them. I got a desk yesterday and I'll be getting some shelving tonight....so additional furniture to redo on the way.

Chloe's pretty excited about it. haha

My craigslist desk that's loaded up with everything that will be on the shelving units that will arrive this evening. Funny thing about that - I unknowingly responded to my friend's ad. We both had a good laugh about it. So I drove down the street and picked it up last night. ha!

The dresser from my childhood bedroom. I have literally wanted to paint/redo it for years. Katelyn and I had planned on doing it. Then we didn't. Then I gave the dresser to Carlos when he had his own place. We were going to redo it together. Then we didn't. Then when he moved in with his parents before we got married, we managed to take off the knobs and sand down the top and front (obviously not the drawers). Then we didn't do anything else. Now its in our room in its ugliness, continuing to be ugly until I do something about it. Part of me wants to get rid of it, and the other part knows that I need to finish the job. Carlos thinks that its followed me around this whole time because God knows that I will feel really good when its finally pretty.

This piece is in our living room...and I'm kind of visualizing red in its future.

Same with this one, in our living room and if I do the other one red, I'll probably do this one in the same color.

Inspiration Board

Do you have one? Have you ever made one?

I think I need one.

I know what I like, but I need to start taking pictures of what I like and letting the pictures hang out together in a place that I see often. See I have this creative opportunity called an extra room that I am determined to turn into a wonderful space. My space for work, for creative, for anything, but above all else, I want it to represent ME.

Right now the only pieces of furniture that represent me and isn't just furniture that Carlos had when he lived on his own or furniture that we've inherited (thank God otherwise we'd have a VERY empty house) are the dresser that I have had since I was 8, one half of the pair of burnt orange-y/brown rocking chairs that have been in my mom's house (and then afterwards in the garage) since I was born and the coffee table that I scouted out on craigslist and purchased shortly before we were married. So really, I only count the coffee table because its the only piece that represents my taste, right now.

So as much as I look around and see "us", as I should, seeing as how we're married (ha!) - I also look around and think, what can I do to make this look like me, something I would have put together because I liked it and not just the conglomeration of our furniture hanging out together because they have no other choice but to do so.

Does anyone feel me? Newlyweds? haha

I never lived on my own before I was married, so this is the first time really, that I've had the creative license to make a change and create something that is completely and totally me. Its pretty exciting! So exciting that I wasn't able to sleep for a while last night as I lay in bed imagining the possibilities and I had to play UNO on my phone to distract my brain.

Things to consider:

1. Paint colors for the walls

2. Paint colors for the furniture (i do have a couple of smallish dressers to fix up)

3. What all I want the room to be...creative space/guest room (meaning at least a twin sized bed or fold out futon) or just a creative space/office space

4. Theme!

5. What kind of surface I need/want considering it will be an office space for when I'm doing AdvoCare and MasterWerks work from home, but also a craft space for when I'm hopefully beginning the Etsy side of things. Desk? Large Table? Smaller table that transforms into larger table when necessary?

What I will need:

1. Desk/Table

2. Shelving for AdvoCare products that are currently hanging out in boxes and aren't very organized.

3. Rearrange furniture so that there's room for everything without making me feel claustrophobic!

If you have any tips for one who's revamping a room, that's currently a blank canvas with the exception of the piles of stuff that are residing there just because they can - I'd love input!

Off to scour craigslist for garage sales and inexpensive furniture to help me on my way!

Plans

Aren't they funny? Big or small, we as people continue to make them and they continue to be blown out of the water every time (for the most part).

Take today, for example. Carlos went to work, I stayed home. The plan was to clean the entire house, from dishes to vacuuming to dusting, to putting away laundry, to clear off the kitchen table and file/sort/organize every bill and document that has arrived in the mail for the past month that I've "planned" on putting away, and after having done so.... *DEEP BREATH* .......wash Chloe and possibly shower myself (if time permitted after everything else was spotless).

Then amongst those things that I needed to get done, are those things that I just wanted to catch up on.....blogs (mine and others), browsing craigslist for cool stuff for cheap, etsy, dreaming of how I'll eventually have an office/craft space once I figure out how to make our extra room into such a space instead of a dump site.

Instead, I got up at 8:30am when Carlos left, took Chloe for a walk, called Steph and decided we should get out of our homes and take a walk today since we live two streets apart and I'm rarely home during the day for such things. That was about 30 minutes away so I worked some facebook networking and posting for MasterWerks. By the way, check out our vimeo channel because we've posted all of our recent films. Steph and I went for a walk with Chloe, came back to the house, ate some lunch and watched about 6 episodes (What!? I had to get her caught up!) of Parenthood - the best show on the planet if I haven't already stated that in this blog.

Now, as I look around my messy living room, take a peek at the dirty dishes in the kitchen, waiting for Carlos to get home and survey the lack of cleanliness....(including me and Chloe), I'm okay with the fact that the day turned out the way it did. I don't hang out with Steph enough - it was due time for a lazy day hangout. And it was my duty to fill her in on the awesomeness of Parenthood season one.

So on the list of things I've accomplished today I've:

1. Taken Chloe for a walk twice.

2. Spent time with my best friend.

3. Eaten healthy food and took AdvoCare supplements at the correct times =)

4. Watched hours of Parenthood.

5. Is writing a blog entry - something I haven't done in almost 2 months!

6. Will have some yummy salmon for dinner.

....and I'll probably make a checklist tonight so I can be better prepared for tomorrow's to-do's!

But if something comes up, and I only complete half the list, it'll be okay. =) There's always tomorrow, and speaking as a perfectionist/procrastinator (see this entry regarding the phenomenon) - I KNOW that if I can't get everything done, a part of me won't be able to fully commit to beginning it. I'm going to fight the urge tomorrow!

That's a lot of One's.

So is today's date a sign that I need to go get a lottery ticket or something? Funky dates like today's always trip me out, and I know I'm not the only one. I guess if anything I'll just look at all those 1's and say, if 1 means new beginnings, its time to for me to begin blogging again!

Nothing much is new, and yet everyday is new in some way or another. My "new year" started last year when my job situation changed and I got married, so its been a different kind of life ever since. Ever since we got back from the honeymoon, I've been learning a creative field that's on the opposite end of the spectrum from my last job and I'm with Carlos everyday which is just awesome. I feel so blessed that we have this daily time with each other (and don't want to rip each other's hair out!). Also, I don't know if its because I never had a pet before Chloe, but she finds little ways to amuse me on a daily basis, and even if its just a little quirk of her's that I've seen her do over and over, I love it just the same and I get a new joy out of it every time.

So, my first challenge to create in the New year came from Amy who dared post that facebook chain of I'll make something homemade for you, if you make something homemade for me. I was like "I need to do this, if only to get the ball rolling," and I clicked send. SOOO sometime soon Amy, you WILL be getting something homemade from me. I don't know what it is yet, but you'll get it. haha

So, here's to blogging again! Cheers!

Taking on New Recipes

If you're like me, you have your own database of go-to meals forever in your brain. You've made them time and time again, memorized the ingredients, you know they'll taste good and in a pinch you have dinner prepared.

There are those evenings though when the old faithful recipes just don't do it for me. I want something new - a challenge that I'm never quite sure that I'll be able to tackle successfully. The recipe may say that it will take an hour to prepare and cook and I don't even care if it takes me two or more, I will make something new and fabulous (or at least attempt it).

Another reason I oftentimes try out a new recipe is when I'm cooking a special meal or having company over. Risky - totally. I don't know why I do it to myself. I always think, "maybe I should make something that I know is good..." and then that's exactly when Carlos challenges me to try something new and I totally can't help myself but accept the call to action and break out the cookbooks, leaving any doubts of incompetency behind me.

Recently Carlos and I had our first dinner guests over, and I was determined to make something fancier than I had made in the past. I went through my cookbooks (usually Rachel Ray), searching for the perfect thing and I stumbled across a recipe that I had been interested in several times, but always thought it might be too difficult. Turns out, the most difficult time I had was finding the ingredients! Who would have thought that it would be so difficult to find puff pastry (in the right size), fig preserves and Italian fontina cheese?? Thank goodness I started shopping early in the day and not RIGHT before dinnertime because I had to go to four stores just to find everything. Three out of the four stores had fontina cheese, but it was from Denmark. Two out of the four stores only had puff pastry shells and out of the remaining two, only one had the puff pastry sheet size that I needed. Only ONE store had fig preserves. Can we get a Whole Foods in Salinas please?

Anyway, with all of that said, ingredients collected, the recipe wasn't difficult at all - pretty straightforward and the result was delicious. I served it alongside green beans and asparagus with a tarragon lemon dip (also Rachel Ray) yummmm and finished off the evening with pears with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. It's a pretty expensive meal, but compared to a dinner out, not bad. For four adults it was $60 for a gourmet meal in.

I challenge you to try them all! Here are the recipes:

Love Birds - Chicken in Pastry

Ingredients

4 pieces skinless chicken breast, boned (about 8 ounces each)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 sprigs fresh finely chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 sheet puff pastry (11 by 17-inch), (recommended: Dufour)

8 slices Italian fontina cheese, slices should be 2 to 3-inches square and 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick, cut in 1/2

1/2 cup fig preserves

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary. Cut each piece of chicken in half across the breast giving you 8 equal portions. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, 5 minutes total. Remove from heat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pastry into 8 pieces. Place a piece of cheese on each pastry square and top with spoonfuls of fig preserves and the chicken pieces. Pinch and seal the dough up and over the meat and cheese, seal with egg wash, flip the pastry packets over and brush the tops with remaining egg wash. Bake 12 to15 minutes, until golden.

For entree portions, simply leave chicken breast whole and cut the pastry into quarters. Trim off excess dough and use it to decorate the pastry with small cut outs such as heart shapes.

Asparagus and Green Beans with Tarragon Lemon Dip

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed

Salt

1 cup mayonnaise

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 small shallot, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, (4 sprigs), chopped, plus sprigs for garnish

2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves, plus sprigs for garnish

Few grinds freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook asparagus spears and green beans in 1-inch of salted boiling water, covered, for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain and cool the vegetables and arrange them on a serving plate. Combine the dip ingredients in a small bowl and garnish with sprigs of parsley and tarragon and set dip along side vegetables on serving dish.

Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

2 cans pears in heavy syrup, 15 ounces

4 tablespoons amaretto or dark rum

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or, chop up a bar

1 pint French vanilla ice cream

Directions

Drain pears over a small saucepot. Reduce syrup over medium high heat 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in liquor and cook 2 minutes longer. Add chocolate and stir to melt. Remove from heat.

Slice pears and place in cocktail glasses. Pour hot chocolate sauce over pears and top glasses with small scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Customization. . . the HTML Blues

I have spent the past three days immersing myself in HTML and websites and Photoshop and Photobucket and tons of other sites I haven't ever been to just trying to make a blog to my liking. Three days later....I'm pretty satisfied and I have eye strain, BUT I've done almost everything that I had set out to accomplish. I changed my template to something cuter, added a signature, added more gadgets, added titles for my gadgets, set a new font for the date/post titles and most importantly, designed my own header (which was the most fun I had in the whole process).

After a few days, I'm glad the customization process is over. There's creativity and then there's eye-crossing code for days and I'm not sure if I'll ever learn how to use it to my creative benefit without a step-by-step instructional - which has been my only proven method so far, and even with that I managed to screw up. I give a round of applause to those who can actually look at the rolling pages of code and make sense of it all on the spot.

My favorite part of it was designing my header. I've always loved tooling around in Photoshop and making something that truly reflects myself and my individual creativity. I barely used Photoshop at all to make the header because I happened across a website called Scrapblog that was super fun to use and create with. You are able to import your own images, and with them and the provided images, create an assortment of items: calendars, books, albums, cards, etc. that you can order. You can also create an online scrapbook that you can invite friends and family to. Another way you can use it is create one page and export it as a jpg like I did. Then you can leave it as is, or take it into Photoshop and add some more flare to it. It was a great tool, in that it gives you lots of backgrounds and TONS of stickers to use, all for free. You can pay for some really cool decorative stickers and backgrounds, but why when you can just get it for free?

With that said, my blog should be looking the same for quite some time. I don't think I'm down for anymore html craziness for a while. I set out to make something I'd enjoy looking at and I accomplished that. I hope you enjoy it too. =)

Here's a link for Scrapblog....Check it out!

Labor Day = Cleaning Day

Okay, before I talk about the large cleaning strides we made this weekend, I am going to introduce you to my baby, Chloe. Carlos and I got her in May when she was 6 weeks old, and she's 5 months now. She's my rambunctious sweetie and I was surprised how much I missed her morning puppy hugs when we were on vacation.

I'm pretty excited about the cleaning accomplishments that we made over our three day weekend. I may still be sneezing due to the dust I inhaled, but our house is clean, for the most part organized and we were actually able to use our extra room as a creative space on Sunday when Carlos suggested we do some painting. After clearing enough floor space in the extra room and making quick run to Michaels to buy some canvases and some new colors, it felt good to have a paintbrush in my hand again, with no clue as to what I was going to paint. Our experimental painting session went well - its always fun to slap some paint on a canvas and see how it ends up. We brought Chloe into the room in her crate so that she wouldn't feel left out. She whined a bit, but I think our quiet artsy time chilled her out after a while.

Here are our paintings and our work in progress extra room/creative space:

Hopefully soon I can start using my sewing machine and chipping away at the bags of fabric I have tucked away in the closet.

Buried Alive in Fabric!

Alrighty! I haven't blogged in a while because I feel like I don't have anything to say...yet. I'm sure that by the time I finish writing this entry, I will have obliterated that last statement.

With that said, I'm on my way to creation, with no product to show for it yet. Not that I don't have ANY product. I'm pursuing so much creatively that I haven't finished anything really and I haven't started much.

I'm in the midst of learning how to use AVID and After Effects for video and audio editing so that I can start working for my father-in-law to be. I have been practicing daily for the past few weeks, just getting the hang of the programs. It's definitely fun now that I'm remembering how to do things! There's SO much to learn, so I'm trying to take it day by day and absorb everything I can like a sponge. Maybe one day I'll be a special effects expert, but for now I'll settle to be a novice with high hopes!

All I know is that inside and outside of the editing studio, I feel like my brain is ready to explode with creative ideas and I wish there were more hours in the day in which I could explore more of them at once. I guess I'll start by making a notepad that hangs around my neck with a pen attached so that I won't forget my seemingly brilliant ideas. I can only hope that they'd be brilliant and not the kind of "awesome" ideas you wake up with in the middle of the night; or like the dreams that make total sense even five minutes after waking up and then by minute six you come to the realization that flight is not an option unless you're in an airplane.

Anyway...

I REALLY want to pursue sewing and making awesomely cute handmade items from pillows to aprons and purses, to blankets and other assorted home decor items. I feel like I could make some rad, vintage-inspired quirky stuff if I just sit myself down and have a brainstorming session. All I've managed to do so far is fill up my room with fabric and pillow forms. Honestly, I cannot go to Etsy, to Beverlys or even Savers without buying fabric. I see projects in every piece of fabric I see and touch and I must have it! Then I bring it home and I'm dismayed because I have yet to even pull out my sewing machine. I have promised it and myself that its day in the sun will come.

So here's what I have to show for the past few weeks:

Fabric, and lots of it!

And a couple of videos!

Mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a4lVlG1ALk

and

Carlos' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrkisRcXUxI

The video captures are pretty random, so these edits are definitely just for fun. I love Carlos in the footage - he makes me laugh everytime. Enjoy!

Hopefully next time I check back in I'll have made some headway with my sewing projects. Until then, you can find me at Beverlys and please slap my hand if you see me reach for any super cute fabric!

First things first - Write first blog entry.

Here I am with a blog...what now?

I've heard that one should stick to a defined theme. Last night when I came to the conclusion that a blog would be a fun idea, I went to bed with all of these grand literary bits of genius in my mind, frustrated that my laptop was all the way in the living room and I, well, had work in the morning so I couldn't stay up half the night spewing all of my awesome ideas about life (sarcasm). The creative juices were flowing, and now...not so much.

So here's what I think the theme of this blog will be in its most simple form. I am as my blog title states, an administrative assistant by day and creative soul by night. As mysterious and catchy as the title is, the fact of the matter is, my headline should read "Warning! A desk job may ruin all creative juices left in your brain! Run while you still can!" Okay, that was completely over dramatized. Honestly, I like my job. I just wish I was more passionate about it. I can do it, and do it really well, but what could I be doing differently that might motivate me to greater heights of excellence?

My frustration is in the lack of motivation I feel to push paper anymore when I'd so much prefer to learn how to design and make an awesome piece of furniture or even plant some flowers and watch them grow. There's something to be said for making things. Even if it's hard work, when you're done, it's a reflection of you. I was at the beach on Valentines Day and was overwhelmed with the thoughts of creation, amazed at the world that God created for us and the way he paints the sky daily to remind us of his awesome imagination and artistry! My mom always says that God's putting on another show for us whenever the sky is filled with extraordinarily vibrant colors. I took this picture on Valentines Day at Carmel Beach. It has not been enhanced or photoshopped in any way. How awesome, right!? I want to paint it, its just so beautiful, but I definitely wouldn't do it any justice. I'll leave stuff like that for the Bob Ross' of the world that can paint "happy little trees" ohhhh so easiliy.


I LOVE color. Ask my fiance what I used to dress like a few years back when we were first dating and he'd probably make some reference to rainbow brite or something. Honestly though, how awesome is color?? In elementary school, I felt like the coolest kid ever when my mom got me the BIG BOX of color crayons. Once you have that box, you can't go back to having only 12 to work with. Magic mint, burnt sienna, robins egg blue, radical red, cerulean - the choices were endless! I'm the same way now when I go to the craft store and pick out some new acrylic colors for canvas painting. New colors are so fun, especially when I can see the possibilities of mixing a couple to make the most intense color combination ever.

For me, creativity sometimes takes the willingness to have the heart and imagination of a child. As adults we tend to pigeon-hole ourselves and stay within a box that gets smaller and smaller with every year added to our life. For children, the possibilities are endless and dreams ARE reality. I mean, I used to talk to Big Bird at nap time - and that was real to me! I'm not saying you should start imagining that a large yellow bird is your best buddy, but look a little deeper when opportunities present themselves. Say yes to yourself more than you say no. Look at the possibilities rather than the limitations. I used to say to myself that if I did what I loved to do for a living, than I wouldn't like doing it anymore. I've found out that its SO the opposite - find your bliss and chase after it! If you can make money doing it, kudos to you!