In the midst of a heat wave...

An outfit inspired by the heat wave we are currently experiencing in sunny southern California..

1. J.Crew - Silk Chiffon Taryn Dress
2. Kate Spade - Folley Beach Bag
3. Kate Spade - Metropolitan Pearls Bracelet
4. Alkemie + Sea Turtle Ring
5. J. Crew - Leather Capri Sandals

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the day filled with a cool breeze and ice tea!!!

P.S. I would like to thank Margie over at Latebloomerbuds for being so sweet and allowing me to grace her lovely blog in her column featuring new bloggers. She made me feel just like this...

Thanks Margie, you're the best!! XOXO

Why I love Target

I have been in love with Target since I can remember, well actually we have more of a love/hate relationship. I can't seem to walk out of there with at a minimum 10 things that I don't need. I blame their brilliant marketing strategy and the fact that they have had some major designers come aboard...Zac Posen, Liberty of London, Anna Sui just to name a few.

Anyway I have been a bit obsessed with dishes lately, so imagine my delight when I came across these...

Discovery Bone China place setting

on the Target website. Once again Target, you have shown me that you can provide a girl with everything her heart desires!!

I am going to be honest in that I have never browsed their "Fine China" category (yes they do have a fine china section) but these are just so pretty and at $39.99 a place setting I just may have to break down and get them.

Plus they would make my Apple Jacks look much more sophisticated.

Sunday afternoon at the movies

Hi all!! Hard to believe Sunday afternoon is already upon us, is anyone else looking to see where their weekend went to?

I revisited one of my all time favorite flicks this weekend. I am a sucker for a great movie set, gorgeous costumes and color combinations that leave me wanting more. Another thing I love to do is make color palettes. I began doing this about a year ago when I had a design composition professor who was big on having us all present the color palettes for our projects before we began. I have continued this practice and love to refer back to different palettes when I am need of some inspiration for upcoming projects, parties, or just because color makes me happy.

I decided that these two things should meet and become friends and become my first regular column here on 365. Introducing... "Color Palette Movie Sunday". Every week I will share with you an inspiration board and color story of some great films that I leave me feeling inspired and renewed.

I love Sofia Coppola's version of Marie Antoinette, it is a lovely film that is full of color, music, costumes and gorgeous sets, it was filmed in Versailles for goodness sake. I really enjoy all the colors that she incorporated into her vision and they all complement one another beautifully. If you watch the special features of the dvd, like I do, she speaks about how she was inspired by colors of French Macaroon cookies, as well as 80's rock, and tried to stay away from some of the darker colors that are often seen in period films.

I hope these colors inspire you to do something lovely, bright and fun (and if they do send me a link I would love to see how they inspired you!)

Still trying to determine what movie will be featured next , any suggestions??

Well I am off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday afternoon I hear some John Denver calling my name.

Inspiration has arrived!!!

I have finally finished my inspiration blogging board for the BYW class, hooray. I have never created a mood board before and must admit I am hooked. I have always enjoyed working on collages so this was right up my alley.

A few of my favorite details include:

- A small illustration from my sketchbook based on a vintage vogue pattern I have stashed in a drawer.

- Stitching on paper, I have always loved the way this looks and try to use whenever possible.

- Some buttons that belonged to my great grandmother, I have quite a few glass bottles of these gems.

- A fabulous card from Paper Source, it makes me laugh every time I see it. 

The idea of this blog has progressed from just posting an iPhone picture everyday to something more and I couldn't be more excited about all the possibilities. I have enjoyed finding inspiration all around me and in the great community that I have been introduced to through blogging. I can't wait to continue along this adventure with all of you. 

Stay tuned...

Tasty Thursday.

Happy Fall Everyone!!! Hard to believe the holiday season is quickly approaching and the lazy days of summer are behind us. Nothing says fall to me like some good old fashioned comfort food so I decided to make some mac n cheese for dinner this evening. I am usually a blue box kind of girl but tonight I felt in a gourmet kind of mood. It came out great and even the Mr. came back for seconds.

I included the recipe below if the mood should happen to strike you as well. If you have a great comfort food go to recipe I would love to hear about it so don't be shy and drop me a line. Remember sharing is caring.

Mac N Cheese (not from a box)

This recipe feed my family of three with enough for left overs, adjust accordingly.

Step 1 (gather these goodies):

-  Coarse salt

-  1/2 pound macaroni

-  3 large eggs

-  12 ounces of evaporated milk

-  1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

-  1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

-  1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar

-  1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

-  1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Step 2:

Preheat oven to 475. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni for 6 minutes. It will be a bit undercooked but don't worry. Drain macaroni and set aside.

Step 3:

In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs and evaporated milk. Once combined add in 1/2 tsp. salt, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and cheeses. Mix well and add macaroni. Mix together then transfer to an 8 inch baking dish. Gently spread macaroni mixture so it is evenly spread.

Step 4:

Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Step 5:

DIG IN!!!

Cup full of flowers.

I was feeling in a bit of a funk today, mostly because the things on my to do list did not involve anything that I felt like to doing. On my second trip to Starbucks (yes you read that correctly) I decided to get some flowers and see if that would help brighten my day. 

This is the first flower arrangement I have ever put together and I definitely feel I need a bit more practice. I love using things other than vases on the rare occasion that I bring flowers home and this little tea cup from Anthropologie was just the right size. I see more flower buying in my future because these served their purpose and made me smile. 

What little things help to brighten your day?

Hello Lucky...

I would like to introduce you to my new little friend Lucky. I picked her up in a small shop in Chinatown this weekend during our getaway to San Francisco. I have been searching for the perfect Lucky Cat to bring home for the past couple of years and I have left many shops in Los Angeles, San Diego and even as far as Honolulu disappointed and wondering if she even existed. Often times I would see a version that was almost right and for a minute I would think maybe I should just settle, but I would leave empty handed more determined than ever.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into one of the tiniest shops that was stocked full of air soft pistols and swords and spotted her hiding in the corner. She has the sweetest face is made of porcelain and her paw moves, PERFECTION!! She will be my reminder that you should never settle for less than what you have your heart set on.

My very own Punky.

I am fairly certain that I have my very own Punky Brewster, you remember her right?!?! She was the spunky, headstrong, fearless girl, who dressed in  her own mismatched colorful and unique way on that show from the 80's. I wanted to be her friend when I was little, dress like her, be brave and funny like her.

Well I got the next best thing I get to be Punky's mom!! My Punky is everything that I thought was so cool about the original Punky, including the unique fashion, and when I say unique I mean UNIQUE.

As she has grown and become her own person with her own ideas of what looks good together I have had to bite my tongue and allow her to express herself, and it is hard with a capital H. Often times she comes down the stairs in her latest colorful and mismatched outfit and I want so badly to send her back upstairs to change and maybe remove some of the 50 rainbow rubber bands she likes to wear as bracelets, but I don't because I get it, I grew up in the 90's you know the decade that brought us 3 pairs of socks, LA Gear high tops, and acid wash jeans. Plus she wears a uniform all day so she should be allowed to express herself creatively while at home.

This brings us to the shoes that she is wearing in the photo and just received, my lovely cousin, Mrs. B wanted to get Punky something that she could make herself and so they sat down and Punky was able to design her very own converse. There were many versions, and I admit I cringed at many of them and I may have tried to persuade her a tiny bit, but in the end she ended up with a pair of shoes that are uniquely her. They are multi cheetah print, with a purple tongue, and a second lady bug tongue, they have red and black X's and O's lining the inside and her name stitched in green along the back. She loves them and truth be told I can't help but smile when I see her wearing them with such pride.

And just in case you want to channel your own inner Punky and design your own converse, remember don't be afraid to use a lot of color.

Sneak Peak.

I have slowly been gathering items for a inspiration board that I am working on for my Blogging Your Way class, the goal is to have it reflect what you would like your blog to be. I have never created a "mood board" and finding images has not been the problem it has been editing them down. I will post the entire board once I have completed it.

On a side note who knew I was such a fan of orange?!?!

Planting Project.

After picking up the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens I felt inspired to take on a small backyard clean up over the next few weeks to see if I could turn it into an area that we all look forward to spending time in. Currently I avoid it at all costs since it has become a storage area for surfboards, wetsuits and all the other equipment that we have accumulated since our daughter began surfing this summer.

I do have a few challenges to overcome:

1.We are busy, like most people, so maintaining a somewhat nice outdoor area falls very low on the to do

   list.

2.We have the worlds messiest dogs. Don't get me wrong I love them to death but well behaved they are

   not.

3. We are renters with a small town home backyard in Southern California which translates to not much

    room and very little we can change, therefore we do not want to spend a lot of money on a space that    

    we will eventually have to leave.

My solution is to try a container garden to add some life as well as a general clean up and organization of the entire area. Today felt like a good day to begin and I was feeling inspired so I headed to our local nursery, magazine in hand, with the goal of picking up some hardy yet pretty plants that hopefully my two beasts would not turn into their evening salad. Thirty minutes later, after a short detour through the fruit trees and gorgeous Japanese maples, I left with 3 plants, some potting soil and a medium sized terracotta container.

I will be posting weekly updates on our backyard clean up as well as adding a new container every week. Stay tuned and if you have any planting tips, container gardening ideas, or general advice on how to keep your dogs from eating your plants please share!!!

The plants from top to bottom are: Soft Rush, Coleus Kong Rose and Island Brocade Sedge

Take Me Away...

Today I spent the day dreaming of future vacations, blog possibilities and math homework. Reality always has a way of sneaking into my wishful thoughts. 

Glad that we have a mini get away planned for this weekend. I love planning trips nearly as much as I love going on them, I am a type A personality what can I say.  

Safe!!

Today we headed out to Angels Stadium to take in Kid Appreciation Day. Although I have two exams this week to study for, laundry to catch up on and the general Sunday to do list I decided to chuck all that responsibility and spend some quality time with my husband and lovely daughter. I will be paying for it tonight but I wouldn't have missed today for anything.

What I really enjoy about this particular ballpark is that it is clean, family friendly and relatively affordable. They also have great food selections with everything from old fashioned hot dogs and peanuts, to Ruby's Diner and CPK.

Bonus: After the game they let kids 12 and under run the bases!!! It was the first time I have ever been onto any type of professional sports field and I couldn't get over what a cool opportunity it was to walk out and see all the kids run around the bases with huge smiles on their faces.

Photo property of/taken by Angela Quintanar. Taken on the field behind home plate at Angels Stadium.

Dreaming of Fall...

I wandered into one of my favorite stores today...Anthropologie and I left with dreams of cozy fires places, warm cider and falling leaves. Then I left and remembered that I live in Southern California.

I love the visual aspect of not only the stores themselves but also their catalogues. The photos, the location sets, the visual displays and the CLOTHES. It is all great eye candy and I could spend hours taking it all in. Their home furnishing displays entice me with visions of vintage styled couches filled with gorgeous colorful pillows and no dog hair, alas a girl can dream.

What stores do you find your inspiration from?

Photo taken by Angela Quintanar. All rights reserved.

Singing and Dancing.

Photo taken by Angela Quintanar.

Have you ever been in the car belting out a song that you have sung a million times? You know that song that you have in your ipod and when it comes on you smile, turn it up and sing really loud (and then there's a guy in a Honda next to you staring at you like he has never seen someone sing with such enthusiasm, I saw you to Honda guy) cause you LOVE that song. Well there I was singing one of those songs and then I started  listening to words, I mean really listening and I was suddenly struck by how lovely they were:

Love sings

When it transcends the bad things

Have a heart and try me

Cause without love I won't survive...

The purpose of this blog (in addition to keeping track of all the pretty things I come across including random photos of Don Draper) is/was to challenge myself to find the small things in the day to day that we often don't notice. By forcing myself to capture those things, whether they be thoughts or moments, with an image I have found myself paying attention to everything. Inspiration can come from anywhere, even at 8:00 AM on your Friday commute to work.

Finally I would like to share the video below with you, I first came across it on dooce. It made me smile, dance and put me in a "Nobody puts Baby in the corner," kind of mood. Enjoy and until tomorrow...



(The song I was referring to above was Love Hurts by Incubus.)

Yes, PLEASE

Mad Men photo courtesy of AMC, all other additions/photo courtesy and property of yours truly

Don Draper + evening cocktails = Need I say more...

P.S. I thought I would try something a little different with my daily photo just for kicks (see I put it way up there in the corner), also don't mind me if I move things around a bit over the next few weeks. I am trying to get the hang of things around here and come up with a layout I am happy with. Feel free to leave me any suggestions.

Thank you and Good Night!!

I Heart Paperclips.

Hustle, originally uploaded by Angela Q..

Today was one of those days. You know the type that is filled with emails, phone calls, more emails, project deadlines, and then you realize hey wait a minute where did that headache come from?!?!

And finally when it is over and finished you realize how much a girl can love paperclips.

Library Love.

Library Love 9/365, originally uploaded by Angela Q..

I decided to head over to the library between classes this afternoon to pick up my holds and renew our latest finds. As a family of book lovers we are constantly adding to our ever growing collection, but like most people, space inevitably becomes an issue so we head over to the library to get our new book fix. 

My current library list includes:

This book follows Kingsolver and her family as they move from Arizona to a farm where they produce and eat only locally grown food. It is part narrative part a scientific look at how our food has changed over the past generation. It also indulges my idea of chucking it all and moving to a farm.

This is the book that inspired Sofia Coppola's movie of the same name. fascinating stuff if you enjoy historical bio's and tragic figures, which I do.

 

I had to include a cookbook, right?!?! This is actually so good I bought it. The recipes are relatively simple and family friendly. I will definitely be taking some photos of the yummy stuff we are cooking up and include the recipes for you all.

Now it is time to share some library love and let me know what is on your checkout list?

Monday Morning.

8/365, originally uploaded by Angela Q..

Blogging everyday feels almost like a therapy session. In the back of your mind you wonder if you have shared too much or what exactly you are suppose to be saying or have you been a little to honest and open because who knows what that therapist is writing down in that notepad of theirs. And so went my Monday morning.

Sunday Afternoons

Phoebe, originally uploaded by Angela Q..

" Happiness is a warm puppy..." - Charles M. Schulz.

" Happiness is a warm, clean puppy who smells of expensive vanilla dog shampoo because normal shampoo does not have the proper conditioner to tame the curly mess of hair that said puppy was given" - Angela M. Q.

Taking Time.

i

Image uploaded by Angela Q
I spent a majority of the day organizing craft supplies. I enjoy making things, learning from other creative people and with no design classes this semester I am a little afraid that I will not take the time to push myself to be creative. I am trying to challenge myself to see things differently and to reach outside my comfort zone in a variety of ways, this blog being one of them.

I have enrolled in an online blog class and am a bit humbled by all the creative people that I will get the opportunity to learn from over the next few weeks. I am sure that things will grow and transform over here as I become more comfortable and I will begin to share little things that I find lovely and interesting in addition to my photo project for you all.

I appreciate all the support that I have received over the past few days from my family as I begin this journey to try and slow down and enjoy the scenery a little more. After all isn't it the small details that make life worth living?

Guess Who Is Coming To Lunch???

Lunch Date, originally uploaded by Angela Q..

Today I received a handsome visitor in my office for lunch, my husband!
It is not often that Zach is able to come by and surprise me so I was thrilled when he showed up with sandwiches this afternoon. He left me the note above and that kept me smiling for the rest of the afternoon even as I was drowning in web redesign spreadsheets. It is these little gestures that mean so much.

Avocado, Shrimp, and Cilantro, Oh My!!

Eat and Enjoy., originally uploaded by bungalowQ.

Decided to spend a little time in the kitchen between classes this afternoon.

I recently acquired an amazing recipe for Shrimp Ceviche from Lauren and I thought this would be a great snack to have while enjoying a nice cold Pacifico and taking in the Jersey Shore (yep I'm a fan, don't judge me.)

It is chillin in my fridge for a couple more hours, however, considering we all keep sneaking some bites it may not last too long. If anyone is interested in the recipe let me know I would be happy to share the love.

Fresh Strawberries

Snack Time, originally uploaded by bungalowQ.

We stopped off at the Farmers Market on our way home from school this afternoon. The strawberries looked delish and we simply couldn't resist picking some up.