this dress is going to get a lot of wear this summer because honestly while i wish that everyday i was dressed like this, most days i am wearing something more like the above. and i mean most days that i get out of my pajamas, not most days. it’s casual, comfortable, a little bit of playful and has some color & stripes thrown in for good measure. and the vans, those were lou’s idea. he surprised me with them (my instinct would be to throw on cute sandals, but i do like the little bit of tomboy flavor that the vans bring). now i just need to get a little sun on those legs! dress: joie, shoes: vans, watch: marc jacobs, bag: foley and corinna (similar, in a variety of colors) bracelets: tory burch
first, i am dying over this wallpaper from cuff home and black crow studio. dying. i want a room in that pattern and a dress with that pattern to wear in it, like in garden state when andrew largeman’s aunt made him that shirt that matched the bathroom. god i love that movie and especially that scene. wouldn’t this pattern be amazing for that? i’ve got more to say if you’re interested, and i’m hopeful it’s a little less random than this post has been so far.
on an entirely different subject, my darling friend shoko wrote a wonderful article for the equals record about setting mid year resolutions! i love that idea. i’m not one to set formal new years resolutions but i do like to create a mindset for the year. this year i’m working on being more present. it’s easy to get swept up in looking forward: the next vacation, the next girls night, the next date night, the next work project, tackling the next career goal. but when you’re focusing on the future, you’re missing out on enjoying the present, right? and that’s a shame. so since i don’t really set new years resolutions i’m not going to set mid year resolutions, but i am going to use this opportunity to remind myself to spend more time in the right now and less time in the exciting future. unless i’m cleaning, during that time i will be thinking about future vacations exclusively. so what do you think? will you set a mid-year resolution? maybe yours could inspire me, please share!
bring on the beach days, backyard bbq’s, and days by whatever pool you can find to soak up the sun. and you know what that means, you’re either wearing your swimsuit from last year or doing the dreaded shopping trips to pick one up. i don’t believe in buying swimwear in stores, personally. i find dressing room lighting to be too painful and trying on a dozen swimsuits under those conditions will only lead me to feel bad about myself and vow to stay inside until fall.
instead i shop online at places that have free shipping/returns like shopbop and zappos, that way i can order a few different suits in multiple sizes and try them on in the privacy and good lighting of my own home! or if i find a suit someplace else that i really love i suck up the shipping costs and consider it gas money saved. trying them on at home i can also get lou’s opinion, and let’s be honest there’s nothing quite like your husband telling you how hot he thinks you look to make the bathing suit anxiety fade!
I usually splurge on one really nice high quality suit a year and mix it in with previous years suits to keep me satisfied). last year i didn’t find a single one that i loved but this year it’s suit number 3! it fits amazing and covers my tummy pooch in the most flattering way. i haven’t loved a swimsuit more since this one i bought two seasons ago (in black w/ polka dots). mara hoffman killed it this season! so obsessed with everything she’s doing. happy shopping, and more importantly, happy summer!
find the above here : 1.2.3. (and here in more sizes) and a few others i’m loving 4.5.6.7.
Sorry for the radio silence on the ASK SARAH posts, I so appreciate your emails/questions and have so many I’m looking forward to answering! Keep em coming. I got today’s question a few times and it’s something I feel strongly about, so read on my friends…
Question: Hi Sarah, would you be willing to share your dog food recipe and your rationale for making dog food from scratch? We feed our cat Newman’s Own and are soon getting a rescue dog. I want to do right by them!
Answer: Hi Rocio! Congrats on your new family member and I think it’s so fantastic that you’re rescuing a dog. Three cheers for you! Here are my thoughts on dog food: When Bean first joined me I knew almost nothing about nutrition, but I knew that dog foods are notoriously poor in quality (it’s SCARY the things that they sneak into pet food) so I invested in the best quality kibble I could find. This site is a great source for comparing dog food brands. I have always fed my pets Orijen it gets great reviews and was recommended to me by a few people I trust. But Bean was never really into kibble. She would eat a little, then spend 5 minutes pushing it around with her snout and whining. I was constantly worried that she wasn’t eating enough. Plus, she’s naturally kate-moss thin, so it was a concern. Then when I got sick and started to learn more about nutrition I re-thought EVERYTHING.
I read The China Study and it was a major awakening (highly, highly, highly recommend you get this book). It discusses a huge study that was done on mice/rats concerning diet. In summary they found that increasing animal protein in the diet of the mice/rats increased cancer cell growth and putting the mice/rats on a vegan diet brought cancer cell growth to a halt. This applied to all sorts of modern illnesses, not just cancer. It forever changed my ideas about food.
After that I decided that I couldn’t feed the dogs plain old kibble anymore. But finding a definitive answer on what dogs need for health is like searching for a needle on the interweb. Everyone has an opinion. So, I trust my gut and after a little over a year of feeding the dogs this way and tweaking it based on watching them, this is how I feed them:
Every few days I make a giant batch of quinoa (2 cups dry) and a giant batch of veggies. It’s important to research what dogs and cats are allergic to before going down this road. Feeding them onions or grapes, for instance, could make them very ill or possibly even kill them. I feed them the following veggies in abundance: sweet potato, squash (all varieties), pumpkin, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes, corn, kale, snap peas, green beans, cucumber (and the occasional apple or banana!). I try to feed them whatever seasonal veggies we’re eating, but sweet potatoes are a star player always. Lots of times they get the veggies that have gotten a little ripe for my liking. I mix the veggies with quinoa, a tablespoon or so of olive oil, 1/3 cup of dry Orjen fish kibble for Bean and half that amount for Ellie, 1 tsp of pet kelp supplement, and each starts the meal with 1/2 sheet of nori (seaweed). The LOVE it. Bean scarfs down every meal. This pooch who turned her nose at bowls full of kibble with peanut butter mixed in as a bribe eats her dinner like a champ. It took me a few tries to figure out how much they each need, based on their bathroom trips. My first instinct was to was over feed them which resulted in lots of trips outside in the middle of the night.
I also give them beef marrow bones- I will let them chew for 15 minutes or so then take them away so they last longer. These are great because they help clean their teeth. And every once in awhile I’ll splurge on some grass fed organic bison and cook that up for them. A small package lasts an entire week with how little I give them.
Now, is all of this sounding like a ton of work to you? Well, it’s not as easy as scooping kibble out of a bin, but it’s not incredibly hard either. It’s a matter of chopping up some veggies (i steam some & serve some raw) and cooking some quinoa. It lasts for a few days and then I have to do it again. It’s more work, but the idea that food is supposed to be zero effort is part of the problem we’re facing in this world- eating things that bear no resemblance to what grows out of the ground is at fault for so many illnesses and the cause of so much suffering. So yes, this is more effort but worth every bit of it. And yes, it’s also more expensive (everything they eat is organic), although I think I’ll get that back in the end with far fewer vet bills. I believe in spending more for quality when it comes to food- the idea being we’ll get paid back with good health and quality of life.
I have a friend whose dog was terribly overweight, lethargic and old beyond her years. At his house one night I got into a discussion with him and found out she was only eating 1 cup of kibble a day! It seemed crazy that she would be so overweight and uncomfortable. So he decided to try this way of feeding and said he noticed an immediate change. She used to wander begrudgingly over to her dog bowl to eat her kibble, sometimes he would even have to call her over. Then when he started preparing meals for her she started doing happy jumping dances in the kitchen while he was putting it together! She LOVED it and there’s no going back for the two of them. And the best part, she’s lost weight, has more energy, and is much much happier. She’s a true success story. If there were a Richard Simmons for dogs, she’d be all over it.
I hope all of this helps! Anyone else care to weigh in on this one? Would love to hear!!
*photo one of Bean from the day she came to live with me and photo 2 of the dogs breakfast (they get this once a day and wag their tails and prance around the kitchen while i’m making it)
alice & olivia’s high waisted wide leg pants are always a win in my book. these ones blow in the breeze like a million bucks. i think if i had to choose one style of pant for the rest of my life it would be high waisted bells. i mean, that would get boring of course, but i’m talking about if i had to pick. what would yours be? it’s so dependent on body type, right? i don’t think i can rock boyfriend jeans, as much as i might want to for their comfort and slouchiness, while my friend catherine looks perfectly styled and amazing in them! but put me in some wide leg high waisted number and i’m golden. more after the jump and an outtake or two here. happy tuesday friends!
you might remember this pretty gal from this post. i love that her style has a bit of an edge without feeling contrived. and the girl can wear red lips like no other. here she paired a leather skirt with a slouchy sweater, and lots of fantastic accessories. but isn’t a glass of wine the best accessory of them all? hope you enjoy chelsea’s style as much as i do!
and it was a major awakening (highly, highly, highly recommend you get this book). It discusses a huge study that was done on mice/rats concerning diet. In summary they found that increasing animal protein in the diet of the mice/rats increased cancer cell growth and putting the mice/rats on a vegan diet brought cancer cell growth to a halt. This applied to all sorts of modern illnesses, not just cancer. It forever changed my ideas about food.
for Bean and half that amount for Ellie, 1 tsp of 
supplement, and each starts the meal with 1/2 sheet of nori (seaweed). The LOVE it. Bean scarfs down every meal. This pooch who turned her nose at bowls full of kibble with peanut butter mixed in as a bribe eats her dinner like a champ. It took me a few tries to figure out how much they each need, based on their bathroom trips. My first instinct was to was over feed them which resulted in lots of trips outside in the middle of the night.
here, 
