LEAVES AND BRANCHES // Variations

I made a leaf wreath a few weekends ago that is drying in my kitchen at the moment. I was planning on spray painting it gold but might just leave it as is (no pun intended).  While I was making it, I just thought that each branch was so unique and beautiful.  

RECAP

1. Sketched this tree while waiting for Taylor to get off work  3. Umami Burger with some people from church to celebrate March 1  4.Bought my first tube of red lipstick with my friend Kim 6. Taylor bought me Samoas!!!!! 7. Chevron pattern in the J.Crew Store display 8. Finished reading Blue Nights by Joan Didion  9.Cooking lessons with my mom  11. Wearing glasses more these days 17. St. Patrick's Day  18. Ate a seafood feast at my parent's house  24. Had an Ice Cream Social at church :) 26. First day of apartment hunting in San Francisco  27. Ate at Smitten  
31. Brain Cancer Awareness in memory of my cousin Rayson

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Previous  Recaps

EGGPLANT GRATIN

Got this recipe from Barefoot Contessa in Paris. It's really great if you are looking for filling comfort food that's not packed with carbs and meat. I'm not really much of a red wine person, but I had a glass with this and was quite a happy camper!

CALIFORNIA POPPIES- // State Flowers, State Birds and San Francisco

Yesterday my friend Sarah took me around San Francisco to look for apartments, and we saw a flower shop with a bundle of poppies for sale, and I was shocked!  shocked!  And on top of that, I also passed by State Bird Provisions, which serves our state bird,the California quail.  When I was a kid, I was always terrified to pick poppies because it was illegal to pick our state flower and thought the police would just somehow know and arrest me.  (As a child I never had a desire to eat a quail, but if I did, I would have assumed that was illegal too)  I looked it up though and it seems like the consensus is just that you can't pick golden poppies that are growing in the wild, but the rest are fair game.

If I eventually get over my fear of picking poppies, this could change my life forever, because I have a serious thing for poppies.  I love how tall and lanky the stems are, and how fluffy happy the tops are.  There's just something about them that doesn't take life over seriously.

Anyway, I really am falling in love with San Francisco! I'm trying to decide if it's worth the insanely high rent prices to live there, but regardless, I hope to visit often and spend a lot of time there!

LOS ANGELES, YOU'VE BEEN GOOD TO ME

Chalkboard drawing of the downtown Los Angeles skyline

Today I am driving up the 101 and making my way to the Bay Area to start a new job and embark on what looks to be a new chapter in life. The transition is undoubtedly a mixed bag of emotions- butterflies over the thought of something new, but also the inevitable sadness in leaving family, friends, and a city I really grew to love.

A quote I read in C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves, really rings true to me- "No man loves his city because it is great, but because it is his" Though I was born and raised in Southern California, LA never became mine until I moved there after college. In my three years back, I've rediscovered my relationships with family, had the privilege of sharing life with some of the most incredible people I've ever met, and said "I do" to a lifelong commitment to my best friend. I could never put it in words, but I am so thankful for my time here, LA - the people, the places, even the smog filled traffic, made their mark on me, and I am forever changed because of it.