THYME ROASTED HEIRLOOM CARROTS

Happy Wednesday friends!  Thanks so much for sharing the excitement with us about the move and vacation rental!  I re-read yesterday’s post and realized I was kind of vague about why we’re leaving the desert and I don’t want to be that vague writer that doesn’t talk about what’s REALLY going on, even when it’s not truly a juicy story.  So here’s the skinny:  We’ve really struggled with meeting people and making friends in Palm Springs.  For the first 15 months we literally knew no one except our real estate agent.  Because of that we were constantly going into LA and San Diego to spend time with friends, or having friends come out for the weekend.  Every attempt we made to meet people was a dead end and kind of laughable (senior citizen tennis lessons anyone?). Being that we both work from home and have no industry base here in the desert, there was a lot of US time, maybe too much US time to be honest.

Since that point we’ve met some great people, but it takes time to turn brand new friendships into the kind of friendships that we have in our old home towns, of course.  And the great people we have met are still very few in numbers, lead busy lives and are already established with their own friends here.  All of this is a very typical experience for moving to a new town, but we’re at a point in our lives where our friendships are high up there on the MOST IMPORTANT list.  Living so far from the ones we love the most is harder than we anticipated, and even the sweetest house in the desert is pretty lonely when you can only share it with friends on occasion.  So there it is. We shall live in a nearly empty two bedroom apartment to be closer to the ones we love, very happily.  Home, as they say, is where the heart is.  Thanks again for your support and excitement for us!  Recipe for these seriously tasty thyme roasted heirloom carrots after the jump!  xx- Sarah

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HOUSE UPDATE: THE LIVING ROOM

I have a crazy announcement, one that I’ve shared on Instagram through sneak peeks but kept mum about on here until I had some pretty photos to share.  I think I’ve also been nervous to make it Official OFFICIAL, you know?   Drumrolll….We’re moving back to the coast to be full time San Diego residents!  We’ve been going back and forth about what to do for months, after realizing that no matter how hard we try, the desert just isn’t for us. We knew that it was a possibility when we bought the house, that we would move to a town we’d never lived in and decide that it wasn’t the right fit, but we of course had hopes that it would be.

We won’t be moving into a dream home in San Diego, we’ll likely be renting a two bedroom apartment or duplex. It will be a dramatic change from this luxury living but we’re looking forward to the adventure! As for this sweet home, we’ve got HUGE plans!  We’re turning our dream home into a vacation rental!!  We just can’t let it go, it’s such an incredible space and we know that we can make it an ideal spot for out of town visitors to get away to. I’ve had my hands full shifting my design ideas to accomodate the new plan!  More details (including sources), lots of photos, and a sneak peek of the dining room progress after the jump!  xx- Sarah

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STRIPES IN ALL DIRECTIONS

Happy Monday everyone!  I survived the everything-that-could-go-wrong-would-go-wrong Friday, just by a hair! So you know what’s called for after a weekend of comfort-eating ice cream and chocolate balls?  A dress with BUILT IN SHAPEWEAR!!!  Genius, right?  This number from White House Black Market’s Instantly Slimming Collection has just that AND the perfect mix of stripes in all directions.  A winning combo that makes it completely flattering.  Because it’s so nice to not have to suck it in, right?  Now my plan for this week- a few more vegetables, a few less spoonfuls of ice cream.  Let’s see how this goes!  Spoiler alert: probably not that well because I’m tackling that crepe recipe that has me stumped and ice cream goes reeaaalllly well with homemade nutella and banana stuffed crepes.  Thank god for shapewear!  Shop the outfit below (also available in Petite!)  xx- Sarah

SHOP THIS OUTFIT: dress: White House Black Market, jacket: Lily Aldridge for Velvet, shoes: Zara (old, similar here), bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim, bracelets: Kristen Elspeth, Giles & Brother

This post was sponsored by White House Black Market, all thoughts and opinions are my own.  Thanks for supporting!  

CARDAMOM ICE CREAM WITH CINNAMON SWIRL

I’m totally having one of those weeks- the ones where you’re probably best served staying in bed!  Yesterday morning I sat down at my computer with a glass of warm herbs from my acupuncturist (picture a tall glass of dirt water).  As I was plugging in a card reader to download my photos from the shoot we did the night before I clumsily knocked over the cup of herbs and watched my entire desk become dirt water soup.  Included in the natural disaster scene was my cell phone, keyboard and the two flash cards with all of the photos  from our shoot. THANK GOD THEY WEREN’T WEDDING PHOTOS.  AND THANK GOD FOR MY CAT LIKE REFLEXES. And while we’re at it THANK GOD I AM NOT A BRAIN SURGEON!  I snatched the cards up before too much damage was done (85% of the photos were recovered!) and begrudgingly cleaned up the rest.   And then I took the day off (kind of).  Because that’s what you do, right, when your whole week is filled with one debacle after the next?  I also ate a lot of ice cream since the recipe I’ve been working on for vegan, gluten free crepes has failed me FOUR TIMES.  Rubbery crepes, blech!  Ice cream.  Cardamom ice cream with a cinnamon swirl. Vegan, free of refined sugar, as sweet and creamy as the real deal.  That’s the answer!  Happy weekend everyone! xx- Sarah

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CURRIED PUMPKIN AND RED LENTIL SOUP

Today’s post is brought to you from my insanely talented friend Jacqueline, one of the gals who work with me at Birds of a Feather and our friend Farra from Hostess Haven who jumped in to help with the styling.  Pretty much a dream team, those two!  Aren’t these photos bananas gorgeous?  And this soup looks so hearty and filling, and packed with protein.  It’s the kind of soup I would devour on a day I was feeling depleted and low energy, that I’m sure would boost me up and put me straight back to life!  I can’t wait to make it!  xx- Sarah

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INSPIRING SPACES

I’m sure I’ve pinned images from this house tour, but I had never clicked through to see the entire tour before today.  And oh my wow, I love it!  So simple and beautiful.  And I am totally going to steal the idea of the giant succulents in vases, oh yes I am!  Lou and I are wrapping up the finishing touches on our home and I’m itching to share the final results!  It seems like it takes a lifetime for the last bits and bobs to come together, doesn’t it? Allrightthen.  See you tomorrow!  xx- Sarah via  (more after the jump)

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