Fresh, simple, high quality ingredients combined in just the right way. Food that are bursting with flavor, decadent in their simplicity. That, my friends, is how I’m eating these days. Savoring each bite, appreciating each flavor, celebrating ingredients by letting them shine with simple pairings that highlight their very best attributes. Sweet juicy figs, mint from our neighbor’s garden, the best goat cheese I’ve ever tasted and chopped sprouted walnuts all tossed lightly in a balsamic dijon dressing. Acidic and sweet, salty, punchy flavors. Just perfection on a Summer day. I hope you love! xx- Sarah
Hi friends, Happy Friday! I’m reinstating my ASK SARAH column, primarily because of this reader email, but also because I think I’ve learned so much these past few years (in some of the hardest ways) that I may have some serious challenge-induced thoughts to share. OK, so I’m just going to get to it. Here’s the email and my answer, after the jump: {photo: Pepito Mora}
Hi Sarah!
Your house and clothing are gorgeous, I’m sure you do well financially as a photographer and get discounts and freebies via the blog but I’m still left scratching my head as to how one can afford such a nice lifestyle? I don’t mean to imply in any way that you don’t work hard, obviously you do and you are very talented, and I love your blog. I only bring this up because you’re so honest and share so much with your readers. I’m frustrated, as I’m sure many readers are. I work hard, make six figures, and make good financial decisions yet there is no way I afford a lovely home in a nice location in Southern California, beautiful furnishings such as yours, vacations, and a gorgeous wardrobe. I know it’s too much to ask to share financials but perhaps an idea of how someone on a limited budget can have a slice. If I’m frustrated with a $130,000 salary, imagine how it is for folks making $50,000 or $30,000? I work well over full time and try to find time to exercise and cook healthy meals, so the usual suggestion to scour consignment stores for funky vintage furniture or used stylish clothing doesn’t work for folks that only have a few free hours on the weekends. How do you make it all work especially given the health challenges you have? I can barely manage to put a non-hideous outfit together each day, I pat myself on the back if I have time to put on mascara and fit in a workout, much less style my hair and weave a fabulous wall hanging. I know blogs don’t show the bad hair days and messy floors but on my best day my house and I don’t look as put together as you. Can you help folks like me out? And if you do take the time to read this, thank you for your time and your blog.
Hey there Friends! We’re right smack dab in the middle of southern California summer and now that I’m feeling better I plan on milking every last sunny day and balmy evening for all it’s got! Today I’m sharing with you a few of the things that I’m loving this Summer season. Hope you enjoy and it inspires your own Summer adventures! xx- Sarah
1. Mason Pearson brush- My hair is especially tangly when I’ve been running amuck in the Summer (aka beach days, bike rides and sponge fights with our neighbors- it sounds idyllic and it totally is!) This brush is my favorite ever for detangling and babying my hair after lots of summer abuse!
2. Comme De Garcon Wallet- There’s something about having a good wallet- it’s just a treat every time you grab it! This one was my Christmas present from Lou- I’ve been carrying it instead of a purse to keep things light and easy.
3. Karen Walker Sunnies- These guys are still my favorite and go-to. Any season, always!
4. Miansai cuff- The minimalist style of this bracelet speaks to me for the summer months when I want to keep it simple and chic.
5. IRO sandals- Every year I splurge on a pair of sandals that I know I’ll wear for at least a few years- and this year it was these. Worth every penny! (sold out from what I can tell, sorry I didn’t share them sooner!!!)
Hello my friends! I thought I’d pop in and cure any Monday blues out there with a dose of Pepito Mora, our new baby bunny! I’ve had a lot of down time this year while I rest and work on healing, so I’ve decided to take up a new hobby (see more here). While researching I stumbled upon these bunnies, and, well the rest is clearly history!!!! Pepito joined our family last Wednesday and I’ve been like a kid on Christmas ever since. He’s hilarious and the softest, sweetest little guy I’ve ever laid my hands upon. We’re head over tails for him! I keep burying my face in his little belly and practically purring. I can’t even cope with how much I adore him. And yes, since I know the questions are coming- we’re working with the dogs to make the adjustment as smooth as possible and integrate him into the pack! They’re doing great, Nugget even climbed into his cage with him the other day. I’m hopeful that one day he’ll be litter trained and lounging around the house with the pups. At which point I may very well just fall over dead from the sweetness. Since I can barely contain myself and certainly can’t resist taking a bazillion photos, I started an Instagram dedicate to him to share. {Insert toothy emoji smile} There’s nothing quite like our little mustached love bunny to make your day brighter, right?!
In other news, I want to give you a little health update since I know some of you are praying for me (thank you!!) and thinking of me (thank you!!) and wishing me well from near and far (thank you!!!!!). And finally, I have some really incredible news! I’m feeling better!!!!!!! I spent half of yesterday at the beach body surfing, swimming, playing frisbee and floating in the ocean with happy salty tears streaming down my face. If you saw the season finale of the latest season of Orange is the New Black you’ll have an idea of how joyful I was. I feel like I have a new lease on life!!!! I’ll share the specifics on what’s changed another day, but in the meantime please know that I’m feeling great and shining with happiness from the inside out! Wishing all of you the very best and so, so incredibly grateful for your support! xx- Sarah
Happy Friday my friends! Today I’m super excited to introduce you to Decorist, an online decorating service that’s the cat’s pajamas! I get a fair amount of reader emails with decorating questions, and have had conversations with enough friends who feel interior design challenged to know that there are a lot of people who find decorating to be a daunting task, or don’t have the desire or time to tackle it. But I’m a firm believer that the spaces we inhabit can bring us joy- and that having them decorated in a style that brings us happiness is a highly worthwhile endeavor! Which is why I’m so happy that Decorist exists! For an affordable price (starting at $199) Decorist will pair you with a designer that matches your style for personalized design services, of if you prefer you can select your own. They’ll tackle projects large or small, work with your budget, provide two design plans AND a revision. And as a major bonus, you can purchase all of the items in one place- through Decorist- and trade discounts are offered from over 100 retailers! So good, right?! Read below for the process I went through working with elite designer Jennifer Stewart to design a guest bedroom for our house! {Get your own Decorist Makeover here. Enter code AHouseintheHills20 for $20 off your makeover!}
The first step after purchasing my makeover was to create my design profile by selecting my favorite items out of a variety of styles so that I would be paired with a designer whose style matched mine. I was so happy to see my virtual room come together (above) and was deemed a “modernist at heart” by Decorist. Sounds about right- the description fit my style to a tee!
Next up I filled out a short questionnaire about the project and uploaded a photo of the drawing I made of the room with all of the measurements. It was a pretty rough sketch but the measurements were accurate and I knew it would be enough for her to get the idea since it’s such a simple room. But if the room were more complicated I would’ve uploaded photos of it as well. I also sent along this Pinterest board to share my design aesthetic (uploading specific inspiration photos is also an option!)
After that it was all in Jennifer’s hands and I was SO excited to see what she would do with our room! A few days later she sent along these design boards, shopping lists and her thoughts about each of the rooms! Aren’t they both so great?!
I went back and forth between the two boards so many times and finally decided that I preferred the second board. But I wanted the room to have just a bit more, and since we have so many circle mirrors in my house I wanted to see another option for above the bed. I responded to Jennifer and gave her my feedback about the room for her to incorporate into the plan. You can see the final design below, I love it! The room design fits perfectly with what we have going in the house already and would be such a cozy and inviting spot for our guests. Pretty brilliant right?! Hope you love as much as I do! xx- Sarah
