Design.Wine.Dine.

Spring in Napa

Swung by the vineyard on Friday to give the girls from Found Rentals a tour. So grateful for sunshine!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a lovely Easter or Passover weekend with loved ones! My parents were in town so it made for a fun and delicious day in the kitchen. Northern California has had the wettest year on record with Easter being no different, so while it wasn’t bright and sunny like last year, it made for a cozy afternoon of cooking and table setting with my mom and dad. Jake and I celebrated my 30th (for the final time!) at The French Laundry the night before with friends (Megan, who was also turning 30 and Erik, Megan’s fiancé and Jake’s college friend & business partner), so we were really feeling Saturday’s wine consumption – ha! The low key Easter celebration was just what the doctor ordered. Here are a few snaps from the weekend!

PS: I wanted to acknowledge what a privilege it was to celebrate at the iconic French Laundry. As two foodie couples, this was a dream of all of ours and we took some time to reflect on that before dinner. Jake and I decided that 2017 was going to be a year of experiences, not things, and it was truly an experience that I’m so thankful for and that I’ll never forget.

F R I D A Y // Happy place


Tiny clusters of Sauvignon Blanc forming.

SATURDAY // The French Laundry (iPhone snaps)


Had to grab a group shot in front of the famous blue door.


Excited and anxiously awaiting the first course!


Kitchen tour! The energy was magnetic. There was plenty of hustle bustle, but I was shocked at how calm, collected, and genuinely kind the staff was. They made us feel more than welcome and even offered to take pictures for and with us.

S U N D A Y // Easter


Easter table with my mom. Recreated last year’s look (more details here).


Spring strawberry salad with pomegranate vinaigrette, candied walnuts, and feta.


My dad’s famous Deviled Eggs (with parsley ironically resembling the Michigan mitten).


So thankful for my parents. It was truly wonderful having them here and I can’t wait for them to be officially California residents in six weeks!

Have a Great Weekend!

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Between getting ready for our next catalog shoot, juggling a major design project and keeping up on normal day-to-day work, the past few weeks have felt so overwhelming and have been flying by faster than I can handle.  I keep telling myself to quit sweating the small stuff and enjoy simple moments along the way.  Whether it’s endless poppies blooming in our yard, lunch with my best friend in the city, or a glass of wine on the patio at the end of the day, I’m trying harder than ever to soak it all in.

We’re heading out of town for a friend’s wedding this weekend and have some filming at our El Segundo office on Monday so I’m getting ready to hit the road for a few days.  The chaos continues!  Here are some of my favorite moments from this week:

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The tiny beginnings of our 2016 Sauvignon Blanc!

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I could walk these rows for days.

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So excited to find a row of pomegranate trees tucked away on our property.

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Our architect (David Rulon) checking out the construction site.

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Rebar and trenches – almost ready for footings and a foundation!

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Blending some new top-secret juice with one of our winemakers, Tony Coltrin 😉

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Grilling with Jake and testing out a new recipe 🙂  Cheers!

Have a Great Weekend!

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This week was a total doozy.  Monday started off with Bottle Rock Napa load-out (not much of a day off!) and Tuesday was spent recovering from the festival madness.  We’re so scrappy at ONEHOPE, so much so that it’s written into our manifesto, and while it’s rewarding when all is said and done, the process is usually tough and can be wearing.  I’m sure we’ll look back at the days when we were DIY-ing everything, loading 300 lb. cabinets in and out of a tent on our own, renting and driving over-payload Budget trucks instead of ever hiring movers or help, and laugh at how ridiculous we were and how hard we worked.  But when you’re in the moment, it’s hard not to internally (or even sometimes verbally) scream “WTF am I doing all this for?!”  And then I remember that we’re building really cool shit at our company, see my vision come together and want to pinch myself with excitement when it all pays off.  Ahhh the emotional rollercoaster of scrappy entrepreneurship.

That being said, this weekend I’m looking forward to doing literally nothing. The weekend before last was spent moving a few tons (as in thousands of pounds) of gravel around our yard (more on that later), so I’m planning on kicking my feet up, drinking some wine outside and enjoying our cute little town for a few days.  What are you up to this weekend?

PS: The above picture is what convinced me to pull the trigger on those crazy amazing West Elm chairs I’d been eyeing forever.  I CAN’T wait for them to arrive in a few weeks! (image via)

Have a great weekend!

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TGIF!  This week FLEW by thanks to being in the Bay Area until Tuesday morning and being under the weather/out of the office Wednesday afternoon-this morning.  I’m super bummed that I won’t be going to camp this weekend as planned, but after 10 weddings this year (yes, 10!) and having 6 of them in the last 8 weeks, I’m totally burnt out and overdue for a weekend at home to recover.  What are your plans for the weekend?

I can’t wait to try this easy crockpot recipe on Sunday!

This climate is cramping my fall style and it’s going to be a MILLION degrees in Hermosa for the next week.  Thinking of whipping up a batch of this to stay cool while feeling festive.

I can’t stop laughing at this – it seriously gets me every year!

We’ll be in New Orleans for Thanksgiving, but I’ve never seen a better way to use up your leftover mashed potatoes in my life. Pinning this for sure. YUM.

The prettiest gold flatware I ever did see.

It might still be scorching in LA, but can’t stop burning through these candles.  The Cinnamon Toddy is my favorite!

I had to watch this twice.  So touching and a such a wonderful story.  Worth the 5 minutes of your day to watch.

 

Stay Cool

grapefruit-popsicle-recipe-17Guys.  The weather in LA has been INsane.  I can’t handle the heat for another day and wish to god it would just finally cool off.  Beth and I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market over the weekend and it was 102 – ONE-0-TWO!!!  It was the first time I had been to the Rose Bowl Flea and I had no idea what to expect.  Little did I know that almost the entire market takes place on blacktop and that I was going to be sweating from the moment I stepped out of the car.  While it was such a fun adventure and I scored some amazing finds, there were a few moments when I actually and seriously thought I was going to have a heat stroke.  Something like this probably would have done the trick and made the day a little better.  How gorgeous are they?!  I just might have to invest in a popsicle mold if this heat keeps up.  Hop on over to Paper & Stitch for more images and for the recipe 🙂

Hope you’re staying cool!

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{Images by Paper & Stitch}

TGIF!

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Happy Friday!  Is it just me or was this week TOUGH?!  How amazing does that hammock look right now?  Seriously!  We put the final, final, final touches on our 2014-2015 Products and Experiences catalog this week and sent it off to the printer.  Nail biting, nerve wracking, losing sleep wondering if it’s perfect kind of week.  Today, I’ll be accompanying our Creative Director to the printer to do a press check (something I’ve never done in person before) and I’m so excited!  I’m sure I’ll post a picture or two on Instagram, so be sure to follow me over there.  After that, I’ll be wrapping up a few things at the office before heading into the weekend and I’m planning on doing as little as humanly possible on Saturday & Sunday (in between a few tiny projects, of course).  One thing is for certain, I can’t wait to get a good run in and some beach time to enjoy the hot, sunny weather in the South Bay 🙂  Have a great weekend!

A few links from the week…

1.  As a former ballet dancer I can NOT stop watching this!

2.  Dying to try this recipe!

3.  Maybe Lily would love me more if I made her one of these   =^. .^=

4.  Interesting article from a human rights worker in Gaza.

5.  Can’t wait to finally finish this DIY over the weekend.

6.  Absolutely obsessing over this entryway.

7.  Love me a great free printable!

8.  Designing with cats – the prettiest litter box ever!

TGIF!

tumblr_m85f6tm0C21qlu8g1o1_1280Came across this a while back on Pinterest and it always helps me feel a little better when I need it most.  This week was tough.  My mom and aunt were visiting last week and having them in town was SO nice.  It’s really hard not having any family within 2,500 miles and saying goodbye only gets harder over the years.  Coming home to an empty house on Monday after work felt a lot lonelier than I’d anticipated it would and even little Lily couldn’t fill the void (although she tried with tons of cute snuggles and meows).  Fast forward 2 days and I’m drowning in a sea of work in preparation for what feels like a million projects before I leave for a week on vacation.  SUPER excited to go on vacation, but trying to squeeze in a TON beforehand to make up for the time I’m going to be gone has been stressful.  Do you ever feel that way too?

Anyway!  I’m excited for a weekend with my love and my kitty in an amazingly clean and adorable backyard that my mom and aunt so generously spruced up last week.  Can’t wait to share some images soon 🙂  In the meantime, have a very happy weekend!

xoxo

Meg

Photo Shoot Inspiration

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Oh hello!  Happy Monday!  I’ve been a little MIA and apologize there.  My best friend from high school got married over the weekend and her sister, who was the maid of honor, is very pregnant with twins and couldn’t travel last minute.  She asked me to step up to the plate and it was such a whirlwind of a weekend.  There were some stressful moments, but everything ended up perfectly and  I could not be happier for my friend and her amazing new husband.  They met during our first week of college and are truly a perfect match.  I’m such a sucker for love and seeing them so happy on their day made my heart burst with joy.  Eeeee!  Even thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes.  I’ll be sure to share more there as soon as we get some pictures 🙂

On the work front, this week is going to be a big one as we plan a holiday crafts + cocktails photo shoot.  I’m SO excited for it.  I’ve pretty much been using the above image for every ounce of inspiration for styling this thing… everything about it is perfection.  The rustic textured table, the simple rosemary place settings and green + gold + white/neutral is my FAVORITE color palette on the planet.  So many ideas flowing… Time to get to work!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

xoxo

Pumpkin Weekend

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After so much recent travel, Jake and I managed to fly past one another all October long and spent the month apart.  I’m looking forward to having a cozy weekend at home together to catch up, visit our favorite restaurants and enjoy fall.  I’ll be doing some baking as well and I’m really looking forward to trying out some pumpkin based recipes including these waffles and these yummy donut holes.  Can’t wait to see how they turn out!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend 🙂

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