valentine's project revealed!

what a gorgeous weekend! went by fast didn't it?! you know what else went by fast? january. seriously, where did it go? i am finally unveiling my secret valentine's project on seed factory's blog today. i was so honored when rachel approached me with this idea and i had so much fun ruffling up some tiny aprons.

i was able to cross off #16 and #22 off this list over the weekend. that's right i finally tried hot yoga! i went to decatur hot yoga with cristen and kate and it was so mind altering fantastic. it wasn't as hot as i thought it would be. in my head before class i kept picturing myself passing out. it didn't happen! i felt so much more limber and was able to try a few different poses like camel pose. loved it! you know what else i loved? spending time with fabulous, strong women like kate and cristen. they are both so spirited and fun. we had a divine dinner at leon's (which is also where sam and i had such a great date night last week). may i please recommend the warm chickpea salad with cherries. so good.

looking forward to challenging myself to practice more yoga this week and to lower my "crazy" level. i've been running around like a chicken as of late. need some more time on the porch with my favorite reading material and 70 degree weather. bliss.

have a legend-waitforit-dary weekend

i've been a sewing fool. here are the outfits i've been working on for some baby twins. the goal was "matching, but not matching" and this was my first attempt at overalls. i may have said a few cuss words along the way, but i'm happy with how they turned out.

hope you all have a jammin' weekend. sam and i are finally having a date night where i will try to convince him to see this. not banking on it though. speaking of dates, i had a date with my mama last night. we practiced yoga here and it was gorgeous. i felt very fancypants and then we had dinner here. best healthy food that tastes amazing ever. mom and i have been going to one yoga class a week and thanks to rebecca i discovered passport to prana. it's $30 for a card that has about 30 studios on it, where you are entitled to one class per studio. the classes end up being about a dollar a piece. so great!

would love to hear what you are up to this weekend...

dinner party!

remember a while back i told you about an incredible dinner party/photo shoot with rue magazine? well here it is!

where: my darling (and beautiful) friend annette's gobsmacking home

what: dinner party featured in rue's issue 3 pg. 118 for whole story

photography: the amazing our labor of love

i felt so honored that sam and i were invited to this fancy fete. look our hostess gift even made the cut! sam looked so dapper and we had such a great night meeting new friends like julie and her husband and i always love spending time with annette's girls: ginny and natalie. they are some of the nicest girls you'll ever meet. we laughed all through dinner because annette has funny/awesome friends. the uber talented ashley meaders was on hand and cute as a button, as was the ultra-chic anne sage. anne is lovely, driven, and her creativity and enthusiasm is contagious. it was a fabulous evening with incredible food (can you tell i enjoyed my salad?!)and i would expect nothing less from these super stars. go check out rue's latest issue here!

what's for dinner?

don't you feel like this is the question of every day. my day goes a little something like this: wake up, make coffee, get dressed, kiss matilda, work work work, call sam and ask, "what do you want to have for dinner?" his response is always, "i don't know, what do you want?" blah blah blah.

i present to you... dinner!


{1./2.}

this hearty winter veggie stew is what i've been raving about. such a great way to throw a bunch of vegetables in a pot and make them taste sooo good. annette is such an incredible cook (i can vouch) so i knew this soup would be love at first bite.

speaking of hot dinners that cook slow. we are obsessed with bison chili. i'm going to ask my friend if i can share the recipe, but for now just know that it's the BEST chili i've ever had and it's the only thing i cook in a crock pot, well except for meatballs on special occasions. gosh i'm a tease.

{1./2.}

sam makes this incredible ginger chicken stir-fry that is so heavenly. we love ginger. carrot ginger soup is another one of our faves. ginger has really amazing benefits, like flu prevention! here here.

so, what are your favorite throw-together winter dinners?

comforting is key when it's cold and dark.

no sweetener in your coffee?! say what.

{1./2.}

oh, i keep getting this question. so, here's the deal. i, miss ilovesplendahaveyouseenmysugarfreevanillalatte?, has given it up. that's right. just cream in my coffee. i used to ingest so much artificially sweetened "food". sugar-free pudding, yes please. key lime pie yogurt! diet coke, my fave.

listen, aspartame and sucrolose are scary stuff. if you must sweeten your coffee, try stevia. i don't like it personally, so i just learned to like my coffee without the sweetener. it's been months and i'm totally used to it and i can actually taste the organic coffee i spend my money on.

here's why you should give up artificial sweetener:

1. it's migraine inducing. head aches are one of the most common side effects.

2. you're more likely to gain weight when trying to "trick" your body.

3. it's linked with cancer.

4. it makes you dumb.

if sugar is your bag, it's better than artificial junk, but here's a little something that i learned from dr jockers:

your body is supposed to have 1 t of sugar floating around at all times. this allows your liver to do its job of ridding your hot bod of toxins. when you add more sugar to that, the liver is just trying to filter out the excess sugar, leaving the toxins to work their magic. when you add sugar to your system (sugar not found in fruit) it creates a breeding ground for disease.

ps a coke has 10 t of sugar!

so put down that sweetener friends! you can do it.

ps thanks for some of the nicest comments i've ever received. seriously.

works in progress

our house has been cudified and now sam is sick too. i had decided that there is nothing worse than a sick baby until sam got sick. i think sick men are worse;). i spent a lot of time this weekend behind my sewing machine. these are some sneak peeks at some projects i've been working on. i've had some people ask me when i'm opening the shop back up... i've been staying so busy without it that i just don't know if i want to take on anything else quite yet. i will definitely keep you posted and am so flattered that people are asking. this weekend i also made two batches of the most delicious vegetable soup. appropriate, no? i can't wait to pass the recipe on later in the week.

i wanted to share this, my dearie christina posted a fabulously transparent post about blogging insecurities. christina is a good friend of mine and we've discussed the pitfalls of blogging before and i was so proud and happy that she aired out this dirty laundry. i loved reading the comments that followed and hearing her readers confess things that i've certainly felt as a blogger. "someone stopped following me... ouch. i keep commenting on so-and-so's blog and they have never responded. i get caught up in numbers and pleasing people." ah, it's not much different than high school (like i've said before). there are blogging clicks, there are "popular" blogs, these bloggers all talk to each other and each other only on twitter. it's hilarious really. when i spoke at that blogging conference a while back i felt it the most. girls were trying to outdress each other, everyone wanted to be a "big deal", i got snubbed by someone i thought i'd hit it off with, i was a nervous wreck with no one to cling to. i felt more insecure that day than i have felt in years. talk about out of my comfort zone, BUT it was a great "learning experience" and taught me that ultimately i blog because it is the one thing i do that is all mine. because i love sharing ideas and getting wonderful and thoughtful feedback, because there is nothing i love more than sitting down with my cup of coffee and pouring my heart out, and then reading your lovely blogs after. bliss.

weekend reading and a few to-dos...

{left to right, top to bottom: 1./ 2./ 3./ 4./ 5./ 6.}

i'm hoping to steal a few minutes away this weekend to catch up on some reading. i've decided that i must add "learning to can" to this list . such a lovely art and homemade canned goods make the best gifts.

i just ordered in defense of food and can't wait to read it. anthony bourdain made a reference to the author on twitter yesterday, saying "Love beef. Even feedlot beef--unlike most Pollan-esque advocates. Beef treated with ammonia? Not so much." don't you love him?

i have the biggest crush on alice waters and love what she's done for food. this book was recommended to me by this lovely lady and i gifted it to my mom for christmas. now i'm borrowing it. need to buy it, so much great information.

sunset and whole living are my favorite subscriptions. so much inspiration! i swear i'm in my twenties. i still get glamour left over from my domino subscription (r.i.p.) and i just toss it in the recycling bin.

lastly, did you know todd selby's photographs from the selby will be on display at jackson fine art starting tonight? hipsters will be out in full force!

what are you reading?

now taking submissions here for healthy recipes...

healthy recipes for lunch

my sweet little girl is sick. this is only the second time in her life, so i'm thankful for that. i'll be making her one of these this morning. she was still happy as a clam last night. when i was putting her to bed she was all smiles. i went to bed early. sam and i ordered pizza and i was in a carb coma. seriously, i felt so bad. anyways, sam came to bed later and said that he was going to sleep on the couch because matilda had been waking up. i insisted that he come to bed and that we'd break out the monitors. he said he wanted to hear her, so he'd stay on the couch. truth be told sam never wakes up to the monitor. my point in all of this is that sam is a wonderful father. he wanted to be the one waiting there in case matilda needed him. he said she kept saying, "help with boogers." that's why it's good to teach your kid words like booger, so they can tell you when they need help with them.

in case you are struggling with what to eat for lunch this week, i wanted to offer some suggestions. when i work, we don't have a way to heat up food so it gives me a good chance to eat raw. i eat a TON of salads. i love sprinkling them with goat cheese and lately i add a clementine in the mix. vitamin c and takes so good with mixed greens. here are some other salad combos:

beet salad

nectarine and fennel salad

lemon and kale salad and salmon

the last 2 recipes are from a beautiful blog called sprouted kitchen. if you are not familiar, you will love it!

i also make a lot of cheese and deli roll-ups (great if you are gluten intolerant- my friend jessie makes these for her kids and they're yummy!). look for grass-fed or raw cheeses as well as nitrate-free deli meat like apple gate farms. you can also add in some arugula for crunch.

i have made olivia's arugula pesto "chicken" salad numerous times. my family loves it and the leftovers taste amazing. in lieu of a sandwich i pour the chicken salad over a bed of arugula. to.die.for.

the main thing with lunch is to come prepared. if you work, pack your lunch. that way you'll feel wasteful if you don't eat it. if you're at home, think about making a little extra of your dinner so that you can have leftovers the next day. same goes for if you have access to a microwave (i don't endorse microwaves, but let's face it most people don't work near a kitchen) at work. sam always takes the rest of our dinner to work the next day. super easy. dinner recipes coming soon... i tried out one of the recipes this week and it was a huge hit!

colour du jour

{counter clockwise from top: new favorite nail polish thanks to this lady/ love a strong lip/ polka dot room/ perfect cake}

PINK! isn't it just the most infectious color. i feel my entire body perk up when i look at it. i apologize in advance to all of you detoxing that i posted this cake, but really it's more about the color for me than anything. perfection and perfectly suitable for a free meal! pink was clearly a hot item at the award show on sunday. did you watch? i was loving the comeback of my first girl crush. angela chase forever.

breakfast recipes

{1/2/3/4/5}

i think that majority of questions that i got from this post were pleas for healthy recipes! to make the posts a little less crazy, i'll be spreading them out meal by meal. let's start with my favorite meal of the day: breakfast. i think that breakfast is also the hardest meal of the day to make healthfully. it is much easier to pour a bowl of cereal than to cook, or to grab a donut on the way to work. i get it, BUT these meals above are all super easy to make and quick. every recipe above can be enjoyed during detox except for the oatmeal and sans fruit. after the first two weeks feel free to add oats and berries in, just watch your portion sizes.*

1. for christmas my darling husband surprised me with one of these beauties so i am super in to smoothies right now. this green smoothie is chock full of good things.

2. these egg muffins are a great make-ahead.

3. if you are in detox mode greek yogurt will be your best friend. so rich and creamy, seems wrong but it's so right. sheena who took that beautiful photo shows you here how to make your own. i love sheena's blog and she posts great, healthy recipes all the time.

4. i love frittatas because you can throw whatever you want in. i also make these for dinner and eat the leftovers for breakfast (sam is not a fan). my favorite recipe is ina garten's omelet for 2 (er 1) minus the potatoes.

5. my beloved oatmeal. good for the soul i tell you. i love mixing in a little bit of dried fruit and a scoop of almond butter. turkey bacon doesn't hurt either.

sam and i make turkey bacon and scrambled eggs more than anything. it's fast and so delicious. we season with redmond's real salt and some cracked pepper. i also wanted to mention that i try to wait 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. here's why:

" For approximately the first 6-8 hours after eating our evening meal, the body is burning up the calories from that day. The most effective fat burning time (i.e. stored fat in our thighs, bums and tums) is between approximately 8 and 12 hours after eating. If we have a little snack before bedtime, or have our evening meal too late, the leptin tells the brain that no energy is required, and no fat burning will occur in the latter part of the night. So that little snack, however healthy it may have been, puts paid to any fat-burning that night." -source.

*note: if you're having oatmeal, you don't want to have fruit at the same time in the beginning. after several weeks you can have them together.

hello monday

pennants via sfgirlbybay/ to-do stickies

good morning! i know us southerners are bracing ourselves for a week of "normal." the ice is finally melting and we're forced to climb out of our states of hibernation and get to work.

this weekend i felt like i was trying to make up for lost time. i was sick over the "snowcation" and did absolutely nothing, thus putting me far, far behind. i'm working on a fun valentine's project for my boss lady and i'm also finishing up "matching, but not matching" outfits for two destined-for-fame little people. i am a productive morning person. the only problem is that my sewing nook is in our bedroom and sam is not a morning person. he could stay up all night working with leather and i feel so unmotivated as soon as it's dark outside. what a conundrum.

i love the feeling of being productive. unfortunately i don't always deal with the pressure well. i may have gotten in a fight with sam over him buying bbq sauce with high fructose corn syrup. tone it down rhonda. sometimes i'm my sam's own worst enemy. i have a constant to-do list and as much as i want a movie night* with my husband i can't help but think of: the floors that need cleaning, that i need to journal, that i have a dozen people to email, the refrigerator needs cleaning out, that i should be doing the 30 day shred, blah blah blah. aren't we all constantly battling the desire to "be" with the desire to "do?" maybe not.

goop's newsletter this week focused on busy moms and how they manage their schedules. granted these moms are ultra rich and fancy (stella mccartney, some venture capitalist lady, and dear gwennie herself). after reading the article i noticed that i felt defeated. i can't afford to get a weekly blowout or a personal trainer to help motivate me. i don't have an assistant or people planning my days for me. what's a girl to do?

*editors note: we had a chili and wine dinner, watched 3 episodes of house, and then i crawled in bed at 9 o'clock. i am a good time.

hello airport

{emma and emily, 1. happy luggage, 2. shiny cloud luggage tag, 3. cheeky laptop case, 4. passport cover, 5. beach bag made from sails}

first of all, how cute is emma watson? i think she pulls off that pixie cut like no other. second, i've decided that putting together collections of things i love is like free shopping. third, we booked our tickets for costa rica! i haven't flown or been inside an airport since sam and i had our one-year anniversary (we're coming up on our sixth), so the thought of packing my favorite things in a cute carry-on is pretty irresistible. we don't travel enough to splurge on fancy luggage, but i've had a crush on that orla kiely travel series for ages now.

what's on your wish list right now?

what i eat part 2

this is the second installment to "eat this not that." see the first part here.

when sam started seeing a nutritionist dietician, i jumped on his bandwagon. we used the book be fat free forever as a guide. the book is very similar to south beach diet, but there isn't much focus on eating organic with lots of vegetables. there's a lot of talk about bacon and steak. there is nothing wrong with either, but they don't need to be the primary ingredients in your daily menu. therefore, i don't truly endorse either. one concept we did put in to play was gradually adding good carbohydrates back in to our diet after a 2 week detox. we started by adding 20 grams of carbs back in and then 5 more grams week by week.

good carbs are fruit (berries specifically), oatmeal, sprouted grains (ezekial bread), etc.

we also added a "free" meal to our week. i honestly think that this is the key to living a healthy lifestyle. part of being healthy is not depriving yourself. eating whatever i want once a week allows me to fulfill my cravings and usually leaves me ready to get back to eating better because you feel the effects immediately.

we also made small changes like using coconut oil to cook with and i stopped using sweetener in my coffee. we switched over to meats that are grass fed and free range. we stopped eating pork.

this is one of my favorite lunches: fried egg over mixed greens

fry egg in pan and season then place over mixed greens with goat cheese and dried cranberries with soy ginger dressing.

some homework...

update: if you have any questions please leave them for me in the comments section and i will do my best to answer them. also, would love to hear from you if you are trying the detox or implementing any of these practices in to your routine!

craving: sorbet closet

=

i'm surrounded by ice and snow and dreaming of sorbet colors and perfect shorts. shorts so fantastic that they make me want to wear them and i don't wear shorts. these are some of my favorite looks from jcrew's spring preview. i really wish that i was wearing the bottom right outfit right now. stunning. i also love their nonchalant side ponies.

snow day

more here

yesterday was one of those days that we'll always look back on fondly. we spent the day outside sledding and crunching in the snow. the snow that fell on georgia was unbelievable. i went to bed early because i'm trying to shake a wicked cold and woke up to the most perfect, untouched blanket outside our window. when i showed it to matilda she said, "where's the snowman?"

we warmed up with cheese dip and these classy ladies and then all the neighbors made big batches of chili and cornbread to share. we finished our comforting meal with this treat. i'd never made snow cream before and let me tell you... it's awesome!

we're still trapped inside. the streets are super icy with no sign of it melting... movie time!

sewing basket

i'm working on a few new projects, so matilda wanted in on all of the sewing action. here she is in my sewing basket. she's obsessed with "measuring." "measure mama" and she chases me with the measuring tape and wraps it around my legs and waist. i really don't know how it's possible but she never ceases to gobsmack me with how much i love her. this is my new favorite picture: matilda and her "mogi (smoothie)."

beach dreaming

{images courtesy of: 1., 2., 3. via design sponge, 4., 5.}

i can't get my mind off of our upcoming trip to costa rica. that's right, i will be knocking another one off my list and celebrating my 30th birthday in a foreign land. with snow in the forecast i can't stop picturing myself strolling along the pacific coast. we are going to be staying in the coolest place in a little surf town. i might take a surfing lesson. for those that know me, you may balk at this, but listen i'm going to do it.

have a great weekend and thank you all so much for your sweet comments and notes of encouragement.

they mean so much to me!

what i eat part 1.

after sharing that i had lost 30 pounds i received several emails from friends and strangers alike asking me to share how i did it. let me start by saying that i am not a nutritionist, but this is what has worked for me. sam and i both stick to these basic guidelines.

the first step in switching to a whole foods diet is detoxing. go ahead and clean out your pantries. rid yourself of any temptations.

for the first two weeks you will want to cut out: sugar, artificial sweeteners (see ya diet coke), alcohol, fruit (don't worry it will be coming back), bread, processed foods.

make sure to drink a ton of water and eat lots of vegetables and protein, dairy is great too. my favorite breakfast is fage yogurt with peanutbutter and cinnamon.

a typical breakfast would be an omelette, a typical lunch would be a salad with grilled chicken, and a typical dinner would be a turkey burger and green beans.

snack on raw nuts. make sure you are never hungry and eat until you are full.

don't worry about a thing and just eat really clean, organic when possible. be prepared to be cranky from the sugar withdrawals. you will lost up to 10 pounds the first two weeks. here's to making goals!

craft: woodworking man

i'm kicking off a new series that will feature really awesome southern people who make things with their hands. i just discovered this incredible "gentlemen's journal," grain & gram via rifle paper co. they just did a feature on blair sligar from orlando. he uses salvaged and local materials to create one-of-a-kind furniture and sculpture. he created the build out for rifle paper co.'s shop. i want those shelves, aren't they lovely and craggy? i love the chunky wood. read the full article here.

january 2011

1. 2. 3. 4.
it's no surprise that getting organized is on the top of the list for many a harried folk come the new year. the graham household is no exception and although i love a pretty calendar, i prefer one that's functional. i really like the idea of using clipboards to host each month's to dos and who doesn't love the use of chalkboard squares? we're planning on constructing some way to keep all of our schedules in tow. with dinner dates, meetings, and classes all coming up it helps to know that they will all be written down in one place.

do you have any favorite calendar sources?

new year.

1/2/3/4 thanks for the incredible inspiration

we rang the new year in with margaritas and shirley temples in the woods of alabama. it was such a festive and fun weekend with moments of quiet to contemplate the year behind and the one ahead. 2010 was full of triumphs and heartaches. i watched a lot of people i love go through hard times, i lost 30 pounds by simply changing my diet. i grew as a person, i took the high road more than once, i celebrated the people i love, i watched my daughter start to turn in to a little lady, i became closer than ever to my husband and the friends i count on the most. i made a lot of things, i had a lot of firsts, and i ultimately appreciate what my last year in my twenties has taught me.

some goals for the new year...

-LAUGH more. i was way too serious this year.
-start taking yoga classes. starting this week, my mom and i will be savanasanaing all over the place. excited to try this new studio and check hot yoga off the list.
-spend way less time here and here.
-live these mantras: this and that
-God, family, friends in that order.
-make dreams come true.
-spend free time making, learning, reading.
-give 2 youknowwhats about people that make me feel bad.
-oh and that whole forgiveness thing too.

what are some of your goals for the new year? the funnier the better.