31 December, 2009

2009


believe it or not, this little blog of mine isn't even a year old yet. this comes as quite a shock to me; i feel like i've had it forever!

our lives changed so dramatically in 2009. i am overwhelmed with gratitude when i look back and see how far we've come in such a short amount of time.

here's a look back on 2009, blog style:

1. i started a blog with this this post. i had no idea how much fun i would have or how many amazing people i would meet.
2. i went to my first lakers game and celebrated my first anniversary with the love of my life.
3. levi sold a painting to one of my readers, and i had my first blog in real life meeting.
4. i learned the difference between detergent and fabric softener.
5. i visited my favorite city twice.
7. i received a really sweet gift from a beautiful, new friend.
8. i made this, and it was featured here.
9. bought some new pjs.
10. we left our tiny studio in downtown long beach for our adorable one bedroom in belmont shore.
11. i turned 27, and he turned 29.
12. i had the most amazing night of my life and made the perfect burger.
14. i went back to school, and we adopted our little gretel snack-pack.
15. i ate millions of these, broke my camera forever, and started a "book" club.

it's been a crazy and amazing year. i feel so blessed to have an amazing man by my side through it all and can't wait to see what 2010 brings us!


happy new year!

xo


29 December, 2009

a little this, a little that


seriously. she makes the prettiest necklaces.

isn't that beautiful? i love it.

i'm headed over to my brother's house today to upload christmas photos onto my computer! i can't wait to see the photos he took and relive our fantastic christmas again. most likely, you'll be reliving it with me tomorrow. so beware!

i know i've said it before, but i'll say it again - this whole no camera thing has become quite a bore. annnnnd my blackberry just broke. on christmas eve, the screen went black, and it just wouldn't turn on anymore. bye bye blackberry! secretly, i'm kind of glad it broke...i think i'm ready to move onto bigger and better things (aka - the iPhone).

looks like we're going to be doing some serious shopping for electronics in january! checking account, i apologize in advance.

28 December, 2009

hello!


good morning!

we had an amazing christmas. i hope you can say the same!

levi doesn't work on mondays, so i'm going to make this post short (we're headed up to LA today for some museums and maybe some macarons).

the presents were flying this weekend. i know christmas isn't all about the presents, but i really really love that part...especially choosing things to give others.

these were my favorite gifts that i gave this year. i made the hair clips...anthropologie made the "clip holders."


(this set was for my little sister, ivy. i like the funny little lady.)

(for my momma.)

(for my sister-in-law, chrystal.)

i had a lot of fun making them, and they all really liked them. hopefully, they don't all fall apart!



25 December, 2009

happy christmas!



it's here!!

christmas morning!

the day we celebrate the birth of christ!

i hope your day is filled with family, friends, love, and joy.

love you,
jasmine & levi
xo

(p.s. i took care of the tires. life is good again.)

23 December, 2009

the one where i cuss



someone slashed two of our tires last night. they stabbed them five times each.

i discovered this just as i was leaving to have lunch with the women in my family.

merry fucking christmas to us.


this is the most recent thing to happen in a long line of shit occurrences in the last week.

i'm feeling pretty defeated & miserable.

i don't want to be alone today, but levi had to go to work, so i'm stuck in the house with no car trying to force myself not to think about all the bad things that keep happening.


22 December, 2009

no snow here!




this is all the snow we'll be seeing this christmas!

(it was the manmade, dirty, ice chunk variety.)

21 December, 2009

hey camera people!



i am probably going to buy myself a holga camera in the next month or two.

holga users, what kind should i get? should i get flashless, one with a built-in flash, or should i get the flash separately?

and do you think it's okay to buy one on ebay?

thanks!

ohhhh, to take pictures again!!


18 December, 2009

you win!


i forgot to post the giveaway winner this morning!!

it totally slipped my mind.

i am so sorry.

without further ado, the winner of the CAPow giveaway is viewtiful_justin (his blog found here). congratulations, justin!! email me your item choice and your shipping information!

17 December, 2009

my christmas list


all i want for christmas this year is:

a j.crew stylist (complete with an endlessly evolving wardrobe) to live in my closet and dress me every day.


(i suppose a camera might be nice too. i miss taking pictures.)

16 December, 2009

i believe.




i wrote a special post for a friend's blog. to read it, click here.



(and be sure to enter the CAPow giveaway if you haven't already.)


15 December, 2009

giveaway time!!!


'tis the season for a giveaway!

crystal from CAPow Art & Design is the generous shopkeeper sponsoring this giveaway!

this one is especially exciting because you get to choose your prize if you win!

what's better than free stuff?

getting to choose the free stuff you want!

the winner will have their option of any photographic print or any clutch/wallet.

you could get one of these:


or this:


or this:


there are tons of options.

and as if that weren't enough, crystal is also offering 25% off any one item in the shop to AEiP readers. just enter this code at checkout:

AEIP25

onto le rules!

1. go over to CAPow Art & Design and find something you like. come back here and tell me what you like in the comments. easy peasy.

2. if you'd like to enter twice - post about the giveaway on your blog, and leave a second comment. (make you sure you leave two separate comments to count as two separate entries.)

the giveaway ends at 7:00 PM PST on thursday, 17 december, and the winner will be announced on friday morning!

also, it just so happens that crystal has a great blog too. you can check that out here.

happy tuesday, everyone! and good luck on the giveaway!

11 December, 2009

goals






one day, i will start shaving my legs again.






10 December, 2009

"book" club update


the "book" club isn't meeting for the time being.

but i hope to start it up again soon!

we left our hearts in san francisco

one of the reasons i love san francisco:


the hills.

i lost weight over thanksgiving because of those hills.

levi, let's move there, k?

09 December, 2009

"book" club




just a little update on the "book" club.

i turned it into a craft club for december because, honestly, i can't handle reading anything extra right now. school is wiping me out. plus, no one finished the book last month....

and maybe, it will never go back to a book club; i don't know. for the time being, we'll just keep calling it the "book" club.

anyway, we are meeting this friday at 8:00 pm in long beach. we will be making gingerbread houses, eating food, and enjoying each other's company!

if you would like to come to this month's "book" club, please email me.


(i swear i believe that books are for reading and not for posing with...)


i swear.

deck the halls!


our halls are decked!



look at our little nativity! when i saw it at the store, i pictured our future children looking at it and playing with it (like i did when i was a child), and it made me cry.

our house looks so pretty at christmastime. it makes me so happy.

08 December, 2009

meet shanley


today, i would like to introduce you to one of my sponsors, shanley from thoughts from s. shanley is a beautiful writer with a big heart for others. i think you will really enjoy her blog.

we did a little interview last week so you could get to know her better.

here is what shanley had to say:

1. Why did you start your blog?

I went to Haiti to work with orphans for the first time three years ago. When I got home, I remember sitting on a closed toilet seat in my house and bawling my eyes out because I felt like I couldn't make a difference anymore. My life since that night has been a process of learning how wrong I was. That trip was the beginning of my whirlwind - three years, six transfers and five moves later, I've come to believe that you can make a difference from wherever you are, no matter who you are. This blog is 1. my way of blooming wherever I am planted and 2. my way of celebrating normal people making a difference from where they are at.

2. What do you hope to achieve with your blog?

I hope to notice the little things. I hope to think less about myself, and more about the causes other people are promoting. I hope to tell the stories of people who don't tell their own, whether that be the orphans I've met, the friends I have that are devoting years to working with human rights overseas, or the way my grandfather makes me laugh, every single day.

3. Describe your blog in one sentence.

I think I could better describe it with a quote. "This is the urgency: Live and have your blooming in the midst of the whirlwind." - Gwendolyn Brooks

4. Where did your interest in writing begin?

I've loved to write since I was little, but I thought I wanted to be a singer until my dad took me to Washington DC when I was 12. I fell in love with all the quotes etched into Washington's Monuments, and realized that history has been built on writing. I told my dad I wanted to be a writer someday, and I haven't looked back since.

5. What's your favorite part of blogging?

I love seeing how the things that matter to me matter to other people - the cause I'm promoting, the story I tell, the picture I took. My life gets bigger than just my life. It affects people I don't even know. Those people end up caring about the people I do know.

6. What, if any, changes have you noticed in yourself since you began blogging?

I think that I look at more things in my life as opportunities. Things like hearing about new organizations, reading articles, or laughing at my cousins are all stories to share now.

isn't she beautiful?

here is a gorgeous photo of shanley. i love it:


thank you, shanley!

you can find shanley's blog here.

07 December, 2009

persephone


does anyone remember the collaborative art project that i mentioned here? like a thousand years ago?

well, levi and i finally finished it.

here's persephone:


i drew her (based on an original drawing by miss capricho - i love her drawings; she's so good), and we both colored her.

isn't persephone kitschy and weird?

i think she's fantastic.

04 December, 2009

sauce recipe


the recipe i created for the sauce that i showed you here is incredibly simple and basic.

it's just a quick and easy tomato sauce (kinda like a pomodoro) that i make, and add to, almost weekly. it's very cheap to make. way cheaper than buying sauce in a jar. plus, i don't really like sauce in a jar.

i made the perfect sauce a few weeks ago, but, unfortunately, i did not measure, and i did not write it down, so i'm still trying to come up with the perfect proportions.

it's a bit difficult to write out the recipe since i don't measure, but i'll try. also, you should absolutely experiment with it - take things out, add things, make it your own. i'm sure it would be great with onions and oregano...i just don't like onions or oregano...at all. i kinda hate them. you could also add shredded carrot or zucchini, fresh herbs instead of dried herbs, bell peppers, endless possibilities on this one.

here's the gist of it:

ingredients:

one 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
about a tablespoon of tomato paste
olive oil: enough to sauté the garlic in
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
(i pretty much add an extra clove every few times i make this...before you know it, i'll have an entire head in there.)

dry ingredients:
(all dried ingredient measurements are approximate. so if it tastes weird, i probably estimated wrong... sorry.)

black pepper: a very full 1/2 teaspoon
crushed red pepper: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon
(depending on how spicy you like things...maybe start w/the 1/4 teaspoon)
salt: 1/2 teaspoon
sugar: 1 & a 1/2 pinches
dried basil: 1/2 tablespoon
nutmeg: a couple small dashes

1. cook garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. it needs to color, and it should smell really, really good. stirring will keep it from burning.
2. add the diced tomatoes & the tomato paste
3. add the dry ingredients
4. simmer for 15 minutes on medium - keep an eye on it; you will have to stir it frequently. i usually watch over it like a mother hen the entire time. i also don't usually start the timer until i have all the ingredients stirred in.
5. lower the heat to low, & simmer for an additional 5-10 more minutes while you prepare other parts of your meal.
6. serve with your favorite type of pasta. it also tastes incredible on top of garlic bread.

(this recipe makes enough to serve me and levi with no leftovers....but we eat a lot, so it'll probably stretch farther for you.)

bet those are the weirdest instructions to a recipe you've ever read!

i hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

03 December, 2009

happiness is....




...skipping the jar and making your own pasta sauce every single time.

you just can't beat that smell or those popping, molten bubbles.



i really love food. you might say passionately.

02 December, 2009

fun with proust, take i don't know anymore - cara


i am very excited for this week's proust.

because today, i introduce you to my friend, cara.

cara lives in portland, and we've never met, but she's still a for real friend, not just a blog friend.

isn't it strange how we build these close relationships with people we have never met, and we almost feel embarrassed to call them our friends? we feel like we have to qualify that statement with something like "my blog friend" or "this girl i know from the internet." well, no more. cara is my friend friend, my real friend. and i love her.

she has a beautiful spirit and a mature, quiet, calm zest for life. when you talk to cara, you know you're talking to someone with wisdom, with a story.

i feel honored to count her among my friends and honored to introduce her to you today.

here's cara:

1. what is your idea of perfect happiness?
being my complete self. accepting who i am and walking in that. creating an inviting environment for others to do the same. chocolate chip cookies & milk. making things. making laughter. touching noses with my baby girl. tickle-wrestling&cuddling my giant love. soft cheese. fresh fruit. a glass of riesling. seeing foreign places. exploring my season. figuring things out. dancing it out. finding a good deal. the way time heals. the way people heal. when you really sum it all up, it's gratitude. being grateful for these moments of life is being perfectly happy, right?

2. what is your most treasured possession?
my words.

3. what is your greatest fear?
allowing my nature to forfeit my potential.

4. which talent would you most like to have?
singing. and lord knows i try.

or french.
i love the language.
the language hates me.
{i think it might hate me too, cara.}

or how to play the piano.

5. what or who is the greatest love of your life?
jonah. the big bear. my complement. my great friend.
steady ground. warm embrace. empowering support.
a man of wisdom. a healer. a hero. pioneer of my heart.

this is incredibly cliché, i'm sure. but i promise it's true!

6. what is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
oh follow through. i am an ambitious, big picture type of thinker but procrastinate like it's my job.

i'm really working on overcoming this.
(like sending birthday gifts, even if they are four months late)
{you're not alone on this one, cara. you just described me.}

7. what do you value most in your friends?
grace.

i am a hot mess.

cara's favorite photo:


i absolutely love it.

visit cara here.

01 December, 2009

december's here!



what a great way to start december!

i woke up to find levi and gretel putting up the christmas lights outside this morning.

she's such a big helper.

lily helped by napping on the couch.

(p.s. don't blame me for the hideous color of our window panes - we didn't choose it. our front door is the same color. i wish we could paint them so bad, but we're not allowed to paint outside - only inside.)

other ways we started december:

- drinking delicious cups of blue bottle coffee (one of the reasons we are considering moving to san francisco - all of the best coffee we've ever tasted is in san francisco.)

- coming out of the bathroom to find gretel licking the jelly off my toast. guess she likes boysenberry too.

- frantically studying for my french exam today. it's in 38 minutes. crap! that means i should probably be getting ready for school!

wish me luck!

and happy december! let's all truly embrace the season this year all month long.

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