me and wilson

while camilla was in town over the weekend, we met the sweetest little puppy dog named wilson.

you can see our encounter over here. i really should have stolen her.

it's a little early, but....

even though summer doesn't start 'til 21 june (and in southern california, it feels like it doesn't start 'til mid-july), levi & i have already started brainstorming a list of summer diversions.

1. plenty of beach days with strips for lunch (of course)

2. day trips to beaches we haven't visited

3. daytime bbqs with friends by the pool

4. family field trips to places like the getty & the huntington library

5. the fair!!!!

6. hikes

7. lots of tennis

8. lots of yoga

9. lots of basketball (for levi, not me)

10. lots of bike rides

11. a train trip to the san diego zoo

12. an overnight trip to santa barbara

13. kayaking by our house

14. boating in newport beach (we have a groupon!)

15. a monday afternoon trip to balboa for frozen bananas

16. at least two nights at the hollywood bowl

it might just be the best summer everrrrr.

watermelon salad

last night, i was craving watermelon salad sooooo bad.

i love watermelon salad. it's so refreshing and yummy. and summery... even though we still have about a month to go 'til summer.

so i indulged my craving and whipped up a quick watermelon salad for dinner.

this is not the prettiest picture... i took it a few bites in...

watermelon salad:

salad ingredients:

watermelon

arugula

feta cheese

dressing ingredients:

balsamic vinegar

honey

salt & pepper

olive oil

instructions:

1. chop watermelon and arugula into small, bite size pieces.

2. if it isn't pre-crumbled, crumble the feta cheese.

3. mix watermelon, arugula, and feta in a bowl. i like to have more watermelon than arugula or cheese.

4. in a separate bowl, mix about a tablespoon of honey with 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (it depends on how much salad you're making). blend together, whisking with a fork.

5. season with salt and pepper, add a splash or so of olive oil. mix again.

6. drizzle the dressing over watermelon salad.

7. enjoy!

i love the nutty bite of the arugula and tanginess of the feta cheese mixed with the sweetness of the watermelon. and i love how the watermelon absorbs the dressing. it's such a light, refreshing, easy thing to make for dinner or as a side dish!

baby shower!

my little nephew is coming soon!!! probably some time in the middle of june... right around my birthday!

my mom, my sister, levi, and i threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law, chrystal, and my brother, zachary. we decided it would be fun to include the boys in the baby shower festivities. it was funny to see them there.

we didn't really have a theme for the shower, but we did stick to a color scheme of blue, green, and yellow. we were all very pleased with how it turned out... despite the fact that i was running around in my SLIP when guests were supposed to start arriving, and we didn't finish the food until one minute before the first guest showed up. that morning was madness!!

the food & décor:

i made confetti by hand with card stock in different shades of blue and different sized hole punches. my mom found that tablecloth at target, and i want to steal it from her sooooo bad. i love it.

we served tea sandwiches.

these fruit tarts were super easy to make. i found pre-made pastry shells and whipped up the filling with some mascarpone cheese, cream, and sugar, then topped them with fresh fruit that had been tossed in an apricot glaze. they were a big hit!

i used some of the apothecary jars, scoops, and tongs i bought for my wedding to set up a candy bar. i used two different blue ribbons to wrap around the jars and attach labels made from index cards.

we served macaroni and cheese in a variety of little bowls and goblets. my mom already had most of them. she borrowed some and bought the rest. a few of them were actually made by my brother when he was in high school! i loved the little metal muffin tins.

we had a variety of bottled sodas.

another purchase of my mom's that i'd like to steal...

striped paper straws for the soda!

my mom got a bunch of balloons and strung fairy lights in the living room. she went to pick up the balloons that morning and had to have my sister come get her because her car was so full. the call we got was soooo funny. she was all freaked out because they kept popping right next to her head.

chrystal & zachary on their wedding day!

the party:

one of the games we played was make-a-baby-out-of-play-doh.

hilarious interpretation.

zachary took the game very seriously.

my mom, sister, and i held up score cards to judge everyone's play-doh babies.

time for presents! initially, we put levi in charge of writing down all the gifts... hilarious. he didn't know what half the things were, and he was trying to write down every single detail. haha! isn't it funny what we, women, know how to do from years of party planning and shower-going?

my nephew's name is going to be jack. how cute is this gift?? and how pretty is chrystal??! (not the best picture of my brother. sorry for the bad angle, brov!)

the aftermath:

café sunday

sunday afternoon, we turned our house into a little café.

i opened all the blinds in the living room and set up a chair facing the open windows.

levi turned on some miles davis.

we had cups of coffee and shared an apple crisp.

i did puzzles in the newspaper, and levi drew.

it was perrrrrrfect.

babies. *not pregnant.

can i talk about babies here?

yes, i think so.

sooooo, baaaaabies.

i would like some.

my desire for a baby is getting stronger and stronger. levi and i have a plan, and we intend to stick to it... but still, if i'm being honest, i don't think i'd be upset if a baby came earlier than scheduled.

there are so many things i want to be on top of before i get pregnant. i want to be REALLY on top of my diet and exercise. i want to be secure in my body image. i want to feel more contentment with my life. these are things that i've been working really hard on in therapy this year.

and obviously, i want us to be financially stable.

i would love it if levi and i could travel more before we have children too... but i think a baby will come first for us. who says you can't travel with a baby anyway? i don't intend to let a baby make it so we can't do annnnything. i want our children to have as many amazing experiences as we can provide for them anyway. family travel would be awesome.

and while we're on the subject, i think i'd really like to have four babies. of course, i haven't even had one yet, so i may change my mind later. and levi isn't too sure about four... he likes the idea of three. but, just in case, we have four full names picked out - two for girls and two for boys. apparently, i think i have some control in the matter. ;)

the decision to start a family is so crazy to me. it's complex and simple. it's something i can't wait for and something i really can wait for. i know i'll never feel entirely ready, but i don't feel unready either.

so for now, baby is a goal for me. it's a phase in life i'm working towards. it's a very motivating goal, and it's something i think about every day.

'cause don't you think levi will make such a great papa?? i do!

jason segel

the other night, i had a dream that i was dating jason segel. he was a really sweet boyfriend, by the way.

i forgot about this dream until i saw an ad for a new movie last night.

when the ad came on, i said to levi, "hey! i just remembered that i had a dream i was dating jason segel!" just to be clear, levi and i don't do that whole fake boyfriend/fake girlfriend thing. we don't have a freebie list. we don't talk about celebrity crushes. i, honestly, don't even have any celebrity crushes*. the only crush i have is on my husband. gag me, i know.

so i was surprised when levi laughed and said, "i ain't mad at you. you go get him, baby."

we really like jason segel.

*actually, i have always sort of had a thing for darrell hammond as bill clinton...

road trip

our trip up to paso robles was mostly just spent driving.

good thing it's probably one of the most gorgeous drives in the world.

on the way up, i kept trying to take pictures of everything, and i spent a lot of time reading a magazine. i didn't take the time to just sit and absorb all the beauty around me. i was too distracted.

so, on the way home, i decided i would just look out the window and enjoy it all. i found myself thinking about a lot of random things. those thoughts were distracting too. so i tried to make myself think about nothing except for the things surrounding me.

i sat quietly and just took it all in. it was perfect. so serene and relaxing.

here are some of the instagram pictures i took on the way up and when we stopped in santa barbara:

hi!

hello! i'm back!!

i took an unintentional break, and it was fantastic!!

life got really crazy for a few weeks, and i just needed a break from the world.

the crazies:

i had my IUD removed and went back on the pill. my horrible, almost-daily cramps were gone instantly and haven't come back since. it's been awesome!!! but i've been really bloated since too. it's gone down some, but i know it'll be a little while 'til i feel "normal" again. my clothes literally fit me perfectly one day and didn't fit me the next. not fun. silver lining to all this: my boobs have been HUGE, and i love it! this is such a novelty for my A-cup self!

levi got a new job! that was probably the most uprooting change of all. it was 100% a GREAT thing, but it took a lot out of us. we've been completely exhausted. and we've been a little bit scared. he's getting paid in a completely different way now, and that change will probably end up improving our finances significantly... but at first, it feels very unstable. and scary.

i accompanied levi on a business trip to paso robles. he was teaching a class for his side job. it was a very quick trip. we drove up on sunday, he taught the class on monday morning, and we drove home monday afternoon. on the way up and back, we stopped in santa barbara, which was really nice. except on the way back, i all the sudden came down with the flu and a fever. thennnnn as we were driving home, our car broke down. it just stopped on the freeway. at night. in the rain. levi was able to get us over to the right shoulder, but it was in a very dark spot on a curve right next to a guard rail. cars were flying by us soooooo fast. some were going over the divider line. i was so terrified. we had to sit there and wait for over an hour. i really thought we could die. we got our car towed off the freeway and ended up stranded for a couple hours. my brother came to get us, and we left the car there. the next day, while i was sick on the couch, levi and my brother went back to get the car with a u-haul trailer. by the third day, it was fixed! it all turned out well, but it was very draining, very stressful, and very scary.

i took my flu and the car madness as an opportunity to check out for a few days. i didn't work. i didn't blog. i didn't open my laptop. i read and did puzzles in the newspaper. i went for walks. i met levi for lunch. i did some yoga. i rested. and most importantly, i took a break from worrying too.

i never want to worry again. it's exhausting and draining. it's counterproductive. it's poisonous and toxic. and i can't do it anymore. obviously, there will always be stressful things, and you have to react to stressful situations, but you don't have to turn those scenarios over and over again in your head to the point where you truly believe any possible outcome will be the worst thing to ever happen in the history of the world. obviously i'm exaggerating a little, but just a little.

so now that i've had a taste of what it's like to go through a few days without worrying, i want more. i feel like i have a better understanding of how to avoid worrying. but even as i sit here typing this, i'm feeling anxiety over my job bubbling up. i have to quell that anxiety. you hear that, anxiety? you're not welcome here anymore! go away!!!

alright, so that was my little rambling for today. the morals of the story:

1. anxiety = bad

2. bigger boobs = good ;)

3. if you're stressed and exhausted and you find an opportunity to take a break, GRAB IT and hold onto it for as long as you can.

4. i missed you. :)

anthropologie jeans for sale!

i forgot to share this with you guys.

i'm selling some jeans on ebay. they're level 99 from anthropologie.

i bought them on ebay for myself, but the seller advertised them with the wrong size, and they don't fit me. booooo!

i'm just trying to get back the money i paid for them.

they're a skinny/straight fit, and they're super soft. i actually have another pair of them in a different wash, and i LOVE them. they're not as tapered as regular skinny jeans, they're nice and stretchy and very flattering. they're a size 25, but this particular style seems to run a little big. i'm usually a 27, but i fit a 26 in these jeans. i was actually able to squeeze into the 25, but they did NOT look good on me. haha! they're brand new, tags still attached. email me if you have any questions!

here's the link!

stating the obvious

this is me spending less time on the internet.

maybe i'll read today too!

have a great weekend!!!

lots of love,

jasmine

xo

may goals & beautiful macarons

since we're in a new month, and since my whole world seems to be changing right now, i think a little goal-setting session is in order!

my goals for may:

1. start doing yoga.

2. spend less time on the internet daily.

3. institute computer-free weekends a couple times this month.

4. start reading again.

i think i'm going to share some of the books i've been dying to read next week (or maybe tomorrow?) to get me inspired to read again. i used to read constantly, but haven't really been in the mood over the last year or two. that needs to change.

alright, now that that's done, let's talk about macarons. ohhhh, how i love paulette macarons! they are exquisite. i'm so glad that levi appreciates them (almost) as much as i do.

yes, we toast with macarons.

they're so beautiful!

how's that for a random post??! ;)