Giveaway: Earrings from Peach Treats

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED



I've been counting down the days to introduce to you one of the most important people in my life. Not only my aunt, but one of my best friends and confidant, she's been there for me from the day I was born to now. Talk about a beautiful, strong, loyal, smart, loving, talented woman... this babe is the whole package. I give you, Tif Blue!




I'm Tif Blue; a wife, mom, and lover of all things crafty! In between bed-time stories and home-work, I'm rolling out clay or designing custom jewelry for my etsy shop, Peach Treats. I create custom one-of-a-kind polymer earrings for stretched lobes. (and for you fakers too!)


Giveaway item: $30 to Peach Treats etsy shop! (custom jewelry available)








How to enter: Visit Peach Treats, then come back here and leave a comment below specifying which pair of earrings are your favorite! (please include your email address)

You may enter once per day.

To get a second additinal entry: Post a link to this giveaway either on your blog, Twitter OR Facebook (please leave a second comment with a link to the blog, tweet or status update along with your contact info again).

To get a third additional entry: Add Tif's Facebook (please leave a third comment stating that you have added her).


That's it! I'll be drawing one name at random next Thursday, April 7th at midnight!

Tumbleweeds Grab Bag Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is...




Congratulations, Romelia on winning the grab bag giveaway! Romelia, I will be contacting you shortly for your mailing address.


Beca and I would like to give a super big thank you to all who entered!

link love v.5

Another hilarious corresponding email.

I'm loving this vegan backpacker blog, so many wonderful photos. Traveling and eating vegan food? That's pretty much all I do (or want to do for that matter).

Cribcandy, seriously full of awesome candy for your crib.

Guys, I'm a HUGE seafoam lover (aka honeycomb) and when I get better at making candy, I will be trying this recipe.

If you haven't already, could you leave me some feedback about my blog by filling out this 5 question survey?

I agree with Danielle, this is such a cute pregnancy announcement.

Shanalogic is another super cute online store of handmade and independently designed items.

Do you ever play Jewel Quest? I could (and have) play this game for hours.

Totally in love with this Londoners blog! Make sure to enter her cute giveaway.

What an elegant Paris wedding; this girl definitely got to live out her dream wedding.

March Favorites

[click image to make bigger!]

beautiful painting :: grilled cheese with tomatoes :: stencil in amsterdam :: nails, nails, nails :: my dream bed :: adorable little bento box :: pure awesome :: love :: how could your day go wrong if this was your cereal :: san diego sunset :: crosses :: catbat, simple but i love it :: best photo of a shark ever :: give up now by daniel bennett :: framed in my apartment :: cadbury creme eggs, the best candy of spring

side note: everything without a link I either took myself or found via tumblr.
If they are your photos, please leave a comment, as I would love to give credit where it is due :)

lightlife #1

First and foremost, I'm so sad that I missed the Arizona Blogger meet up last night. I bet it was a blast and although I couldn't make it, I'm super excited to see everyone's photos and hear all about it!


Alright, so for the next five Sundays I will be reviewing five different products that lightlife has generously sent to me (I'm glad that they've read my blog and saw that I love their product).

#1: The new Smart Cutlets - Original



Lightly coat a small skillet with vegetable oil or butter and cook cutlets on medium heat for about 5 minutes, flipping once or twice.



While the cutlets were cooking, I heated up a can of my favorite rice and beans and poured them onto a plate with some salsa, then added the cutlets on top.



What I liked: I loved that these bad boys were pre-grilled, I could really taste it and since I don't have a BBQ, it gave it that added flavor.

What I disliked: I should have sauteed some vegetables to be paired with them. I kind of ran with the idea of having a more Mexican-themed dish, but as the front of the box proposes, I will be trying it with wild rice and veggies next time.

quick survey

[via]
Hey guys, I just made a quick little anonymous survey and would really appreciate if you would take a moment to answer these 5 simple questions. All answers are optional and confidential. Thanks!


you may have to click submit twice!

Foodie Friday: The Counter

When I lived in Salt Lake City I would regularly visit The Counter (or Counter Burger as everyone called it), as it was my favorite place to get veggie burgers. Unfortunately after about a year The Counter closed down. I was sad, but figured it was the only one so I made my peace with those delicious patties and could only dream about them now.

A little over a week ago I noticed on Facebook that my friend Carly, who lives in LA, did some design work for an upcoming opening for "The Counter". I mentioned to her about the restaurant in Salt Lake and she immediately sent me the link and come to find out, IT WAS THE SAME PLACE. Not only that, but they were building one just 16 miles from my house and it was dated to open on March 28th! Since Jon and I will be in Disney World, we decided that while visiting the Wild Animal Park in Escondido that we would just head over to the closest location in Carlsbad. I'm SO glad that we did!




build-your-burger



Even if you eat meat, I strongly encourage to TRY the veggie burger! It's a rice based patty with over 15 ingredients! Including cranberries to make it a little sweet and bread crumbs to hold it all together. (note to vegans: the veggie patty IS safe to eat, but the buns are not, so order the burger in a bowl and the patty will come atop mixed greens)


my burger: veggie topped with carrot strings, sprouts, pickles,
tomatoes, smoked gouda and roasted garlic aioli on market select bun


Jon's burger: veggie topped with jalapenos, black olives, pickles,
sharp provolone and bbq sauce on multigrain bun

Locations: see full list here.

Wild Animal Park

Last week Jon and I had a day off together, which rarely happens, so we drove up to the Wild Animal Park and got some use out of our annual passes.



For the road, simply delicious!



Petting zoo, always the first stop.



This guy only had one eye! I'm a sucker for animals with disabilities.



Love watching the elephants.





Here are a few pictures from the last time we visited the Wild Animal Park when my bestie Jen was in town.

Tender Greens

The first time I visited Tender Greens was about a year ago. A local gluten-intolerant friend recommended them for a good salad. Since it's close to my work, I had suggested to another friend who was in town that we stop in for a bite to eat before work. Since then, I've been back numerous times and it's always just as good as the last.



Basically their menu is broken down into two sections: a big salad or "hot stuff". The list of salads is long and they all sound very big a very tasty. I've always opted for the "hot stuff" since it comes with a simple salad anyway. First, you choose your meat (flank steak, salt and pepper or bbq chicken, herb brushed local albacore or oxnard vegetables). Then you either place it on hot plate or sandwich, both come with a simple salad. All of the entrees, no matter the combination, are $10.50.



The potatoes that come with the hot plates are out of this world, yukon gold mashed potatoes mashed and spiced to perfection.


herb brushed local albacore hot plate + bread + baby arugula simple salad + yukon gold mashed potatoes


albacore sandwich on ciabatta with roasted red peppers and aioli + romaine hearts simple salad


vegetable sandwich on ciabatta with roasted vegetables and aioli + romaine hearts a simple salad



I didn't really touch the subject, but Tender Greens has the cutest atmosphere, definitely classy with high vaulted ceilings, big windows and modern furnishings.

Locations: 2400 Historic Decatur Road San Diego, California 92101
Point Loma
Also located in Culver City, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Walnut Creek, West Hollywood and Hollywood

Giveaway: Tumbleweeds Grab Bag

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Beca from Tumbleweeds Odd Shop is here to share a grab bag giveaway!

On top of being one of my lovely March sponsors, we recently came to the conclusion through blogging that we're neighbors! That's right, we live only a few blocks from each other. So not only am I in love and awe with all the globes and matryoshka dolls (aka russian nesting dolls) she finds around these parts, I'm totally jealous. Everyone, meet Beca!





"Tumbleweeds Odd Shop is a collaboration between myself and my incredible boyfriend Doug. We are recent transplants to Southern California from the sweltering deserts of Arizona and have been procuring oddities for our etsy shop for the past 7 months. We're pretty new to the virtual marketplace, but have come into it full force. Although we both have full time jobs (as a carpenter and a Baker) we spend much of our "free" time restoring junk store treasures and hand crafting items for the shop. It has always been a dream of ours to work for ourselves, making beautiful treasures available for people all over the world. Thanks to this shop, we can. Although the workaholics in us have kept us at our day jobs, for now at least. We have had everything in our shop from the much coveted vintage Raybans, replogle globes and kewpie dolls, to the strangest of sorts - preserved birds in jars, turn of the century French magic books and doll limbs. If it's weird, hard to find, rare, strange and a conversation starter, we'll put it in our shop. There really is something for everyone. We have also recently started including our repurposed leather jewelery. We have a lot of fun making it and I think that reflects in the designs. We're excited for whats to come with both our vintage treasures and hand crafted items in our shop. We hope to expand our inventory and bring even more goodness into the store! Thank you, Ainsley, for letting us giveaway a really fun hodgepodge of treasures for your readers!"



Giveaway Items: Grab bag of pretty little items



This instant collection consists of a brass owl book end, a few vintage 1970s dog show ribbons, a tiny matryoshka doll, a vintage patina rocking horse bank and a handcrafted, repurposed suede bracelet with a pretty metallic bow. An eclectic collection that reflects Tumbleweeds Odd Shop and the treasures they sell.






How to Enter:
Leave a comment on this post with your favorite item from tumbleweeds odd shop! (please include your email address)

You may enter once per day.

Additional Entry:
Post a link to this giveaway either on your blog, Twitter or Facebook (please leave an additional comment with a link to the blog, tweet or status update along with your contact info again)

That's it! I will be drawing one winner at random next Tuesday, March 29th at midnight!

Project 337

The past two weeks we've been Mac-less due to a crashed hard drive, so while we're fixing/retrieving/upgrading I've had to power up my old dusty laptop. Of course I started looking through old pictures and I came across Project 337, I got beyond excited to share it here with you...

In 2007, a Salt Lake City downtown building that was about to be demolished was turned over to the art community in Utah. Adam and Dessi price, owners of the building, started this project only knowing one local artist. Three months later, the art project was complete.

In the end, over 144 artists participated in the project (including a good friend of mine), with 42 rooms revamped. 7,500+ people toured through the building during the six days it was open. It was one of the most incredible things to see and something I will always remember. A few months after the bulding was torn down.

Photos are in collage form to save room.
Click photos to make bigger.
All photos were taken by me.










My two absolute favorite pieces from the show...



Also, a little video featuring Adam Price and some of the artists.