t h e b e s t f r i e n d p o s t

It feels like I haven't been on here in a lifetime...

2013 is the year of the snake. This is supposed to be my year and things are supposed to be all good right...? Wrong. It's been a crazy year so far. Let's recap below in bullet points:

-I was robbed in January. It's been a terribly slow recovery process--mentally & emotionally.
-Quarter life crisis hitting me smack in the face, and as it turned out everyone around me was having one too.
-So many injuries happening to the people I love, and things having to do with hospitals which is never fun.

Anyways the list goes on but what matters is how you bounce back right? Yes. I'm back and I'm feeling better than ever. When I feel good on the inside I feel good on the outside. People always ask me what secret beauty and life tips I have up my sleeves and this time I really took my own advice. I've been eating healthy, working out, living day to day in the details, remembering to breath (funny how you forget sometimes and it's one of the most important things), and tackling things one at a time. It's been rough, but I need to credit some people for helping me get through this rough patch.

This post is dedicated to my best friends. People comment on how I talk about all these best friends I have and how there can't be that many. How can a girl have so many best friends?!? Aren't best friends supposed to be one in a million!?! Well yes, my best friends are one in a million. I'm just lucky I guess. It is incredibly rare to meet another human being that is a compatible partner in life at large. It's hard to meet your perfect match when it comes to a romantic relationship, but it's just as hard to meet your perfect match or your person that's always going to have your back in the friendship department.

Thank the spirits for my girls. I don't know what I would do without them.

Jessy- I don't know where to begin. You and I share so much history. From learning magic tricks in the bathroom in 5th grade, all the crazy boy stories, the sleepovers, me covering your face with makeup because of your asian glow when we got drunk, to being on the phone for hours on end everyday. I know we aren't on the phone for hours on end anymore, but every time I hear your voice again it's like a day hasn't gone by. I love you and I'm so happy for you and everything you've achieved with your new life and career. We'll get through the tough stuff together.

Sara- Well you and I owe it to our moms. Without them I can't say for sure that we'd end up meeting at a company Xmas party and you'd end up teaching me how to ice skate on the front patio of a weird house haha. I love you for coming out and visiting me in Cali. I know I told you again and again, but I loved every second of having you living with us. It was a flashback to our 13 yr old selves again! You and I going through my closet together, styling outfits, me forcing you to take clothes, all said and done I was so so so sad to see you go on Saturday night. I love you for your spirit to not settle for anything and to go after your passions. I want you to know that I'm here to support you from now till forever.

Maddie- When I think back about Chapman I think about my crazy career path and ultimately finding you. I don't know what I would've done without you. I know you know this, but I wished we lived together for all four years, just so I could've had even more of you. You're that special balance to me. From our first conversation I knew that you were my person. I knew that we were going to be lifelong friends. We've been through a lot separately and together and I can't wait to share the rest of our lives with one another. I know there are amazing things in store for you and I am so frackin proud of you for being one of the strongest people I know in this world. You kick-ass and take names while wearing sky high Louboutins ;). I love you bella.

Natooshka- I can't believe it's our two year anniversary haha. I met you right when I needed a girlfriend the most. I remember thinking: "Gosh this girl is too darn cool...I need to be her friend."Thank you for being so loving, spontaneous, inspirational, and just being my best friend. We have been on so many crazy adventures in just two years...I'm so excited for even more of them in the future. I know you've started a new chapter in your life, but I know that we'll never actually be that far apart from each other. Distance ain't got nothing on us! I know that one day we'll be together again starting our interior design firm ;). ps: I'm going to really miss being weird with you...xoxo

One of my favorite quotes: 

"True friendship is when two friends can walk in opposite directions, yet remain side by side."

-anonymous

We are all in different places in our lives and in this world at large, but I'll always been here for you guys when you need it most just like you have been for me. Cheers to lifelong friends.

x x o o // j e n n y

P A R T Y // O N

It's the end of an extremely long day. The stresses of traveling and being away from home for a month never quite dawns on you until you're just a few hours away from taking off.  Left LAX last night and arrived into Beantown this morning at seven in the morn. First stop- getting breakfast with my momma and Boa.

-spinach & bacon benedict from Martin's Coffee Shop

If any of you just so happen to be in Brookline, MA this is one of my favorite cheap eats. They have a huge selection of breakfast foods and everything is yummier than the next :)!

I love being able to say that I'm from Boston because simply put it's one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. The minute you walk outside you are thrust into old world charm: you're surrounded by history, beautiful brick buildings, and adorable little alleys. Speaking of which...I had an impromptu little photo sesh. Enjoy!

I love it when my momma photobombs :)

my guy takes some rad photos <3

Last documented food adventure of the day: Otto Pizza

-raspberry lime soda paired with a slice of apple/bacon/red onion & mashed potato/bacon/scallion

Officially the best pizza I have ever had to this date. I've come to realize that I'm a huge fan of thin crust pizza. I love me some pizza with a crunch and some creative toppings. Otto is a must if you're in the Boston area.

Look of the day: 

Looking forward to my last day in the Bean before heading off to NorthFork NY. Good night world.

xx oo

t h e d e t a i l s

It's been forever since I've been on here, but while I was gone I was able to do a bit of re-vamping in terms of the site itself, my own personal site, and generally have time to figure out what direction my internet life was going to go.

Yesterday was the last day of Dwell on Design and I couldn't be happier to have been able to make it. This year was my first time going, but I can tell you now that I'll be going every year. I felt like a kid in a candy store: pretty colors, odd angles, funky textures, and brilliant creatives everywhere. The most invigorating thing about going to events like these is when you leave utterly inspired and motivated to keep creating.

(from left to right // top to bottom)

1. that wooden one person seater is the most comfortable thing my bottom has ever sat on: it's made up of individually loose blocks of wood over cushioning. Think wood meets Tempurpedic.

2.  Vintage serving utensils with painting handles. Isn't this the best idea ever!? Martha Stewart has an amazing selection of craft paints at Michael's. 

3. Mini model of 3D on 3D. Remember those childhood 3D books? Add that to some rad architecture and there you got it...the future.

4. I love fun storage solutions. 

1. Some intense neck candy

2. Yummy patio furniture

3. T E X T U R E

the bestie and I

we obviously couldn't resist taking a photo in front of dwell's backdrop ;)

and of course after roaming around the convention center for hours we were all extremely hungry...so we hit up the Kitchen

 (left to right)

1. Mac n cheese with crusted gruyere...I died a little

2. Buttermilk chicken-crave worthy

I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow, North Fork of Long Island in a few days, and taking the boyfriend to Shanghai from mid-July to the end of the month. I wish I could just jet set for a whole year! Can't wait to keep y'all posted on life in July :).

“Heureux pour Toujours”

Made kale chips today and they were a success! Despite some mixed opinions on the after taste Bo and I love them. I love raw kale in a salad so I was excited to try it with a new spin. In a salad I love tossing kale with fresh lemon juice and cranberries so I kept the lemon in on the chip making as well. I tossed the washed and prepped kale pieces with grapeseed oil (I've also been switching up my cooking oils to get a little bit of everything in the diet), fresh ground pepper, garlic salt (I think it's a crime to cook anything without garlic), and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Here they are:

so pretty in the oven

crispy deliciousness

this one is hubby approved :)

In other exciting news...France is in the future!!!

x' & o's

forever and a day

I got to treat the hubby to his first massage. It was truly amazing...70 minutes of pure bliss. He works so hard and his work is so physically and mentally demanding that I want to do this for him more often. I highly recommend doing a couples massage if you can!

We were already in Old Town Pasadena so we grabbed a bite to eat at Ichi Sushi and passed by an adorable little bakery called, "Dot's Cupcakes." Here's what we got:

Bo grabbed the cutest little milk to go with our cupcakes :)

As you can see we obviously couldn't decide on one cupcake each so we got a bunch of flavors and had a cupcake feast.

-A mini red velvet

-A mini pumpkin (my favorite thing about fall)

-A mini carrot

-A mini tiramisu (to die for)

-A marble

-Mint chocolate chip

My personal review: Loved it! loved it! loved it! The cake was really moist and the amount of icing was perfect. I'm not big into cupcakes with huge heaping piles of frosting and the flavors were amazing. Bo's favorite was the marble, the icing and the cake had an extremely balanced swirl of vanilla and chocolate. My personal favorite would have to be the mint chip. I think they got me because the color of the icing was the perfect mint-y green, the same shade as my favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream Bo and I recently tried the famous Mashti Malone's Ice Cream. I had to try it after all the buzz I'd been reading in food magazines and foodie blogs and I can tell you I was not disappointed. I got the lavender ice cream and I'll be going back for more again and again!

Tomorrow I'll be making my first batch of kale chips...so excited!

Goodnight world x's o's

I T H A D T O B E Y O U

I love croissants. I love everything about them. They're aesthetically perfect, buttery, layered,

melt in your mouth good, so I decided to bake them for dinner with the hubby.

They're rising :)

Growing up my mom cooked everything with chopsticks. When I'm in the kitchen you'll always find my handy chopsticks lying around. I actually prefer beating eggs with them.

I like croissants that are super golden and brown so I kind of drenched them in egg wash.

Some of the croissants. YUM.

Dinner on a Tuesday night.

Haricot verts tossed in olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper

Truffled garlic orzo with toasted almonds

Pepper crusted port loin with ligonberry reduction

Sauteed balsamic portabello mushrooms

Our tummies were beyond full after this feast...onto tomorrow's kitchen adventure :)

Goodnight world xxoo <333

" If you live to be a hundred. I want to live to be a hundred

minus one day so I would never have to live without you. " --Winnie the Pooh

It's Tuesday and I'm in love

It's time to start posting more. I've just stumbled upon a ton of amazing food blogs and I'm completely inspired. Anyone that really truly knows me knows that I'm a huge foodie, I <3 cooking/baking, and I love interior design. I'm going to start a few projects soon so I'll do my best to keep this updated more frequently.

In other news I've been with my boyfriend for 7 years now and somehow he still makes my heart flutter and I wake up next to him thinking: "I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

x's & o's