Bar Carts!

I'm officially obsessed with Bar Carts. The only debate is whether to eventually purchase a ready-to-go, got-all-the-fixings, serve-it-up, bar cart... or to start a DIY project and create something that's made for us.

I love how the carts below are perfectly styled for their environment and really show the design style of the homeowner. I bought Chris a beautiful decanter for an anniversary gift a while back and we have yet to fill it with anything. Now mark my words, one day we will have a beautifully styled bar cart like one pictured below, anniversary decanter and all!

Some of my favorite bar cart stylings include:

-Fresh flowers or potted plant

-Sparkling water and tonic/soda in glass bottles.

-Cocktail recipe books

-Fresh fruit ready for garnishing 

Artist's Pledge

Every once and a while I get myself into a funk. I forget why I chose the career of an artist, and I get upset when i'm not working constantly, when I make a mistake in rehearsals, and when I feel uninspired. The truth is, this happens to everyone working in the arts and I KNOW I am not alone. 

Today I spent some time online looking for some inspiration and motivation to do something creative with my free time, whether it be dance related or not. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this wonderful artist's pledge and it really lifted my spirits. I can't tell you who wrote it but if you know, please pass along the info. 

It's exactly what I needed to read and I hope you find something wonderful in these words as well. 

I hereby do solemnly swear,

To approach each day with curiosity

To pay attention to the world around me,

To be brave and courageous,

Silly and embarrassed,

Thoughtful and enthusiastic.

I vow to take chances and to stretch my limits

In the knowledge that there are

No mistakes,

Just bad follow-through's

I acknowledge the need to abandon my ego

In the service of art

And in the spirit of ensemble

And generosity.

To better understand the nature of my materials,

I promise to experiment

With light, line, sound, gravity, language

And bit ideas.

I promise to think, feel, move, breath,

Experience and understand.

I vow to dream,to imagine, and to enact

I vow to treat myself and every other

Inhabitant of earth,

With compassion, kindness, and respect.

I vow to live fully every moment I am alive,

And to put something beautiful in the world

That wasn't there before

In order that I may help to put a grin

On the face of the future.

Artists that inspire me. Who inspires you?

Bobby McFerrin

Gene Kelly

Sylvie Guillem

The Perfect Winter

I don't know about your hometown, but this LA weather has been super bizarre. One day it's freezing and all the clouds are black, then the next day it's beautiful outside, 80 degrees, and sunny. Can you say global warming? Anyway....

Chris and I are so excited about winter that we've already broken out the wool socks, beanies, fleece blankets, and candles. We've also already started to plan our trip to Park City with my sister and her boyfriend to visit my Aunt and Uncle for the Sundance Film Festival in January!

Due to my excitement, I'm going to ignore the perfectly sunny day outside, take advantage of my day off, pour another cup of tea, and show you a few things we love about winter!

Tea! A few of my favorites are PG Tips, English Breakfast, Green, and Peppermint! 

Dates by the fireplace! Chris is a picnic pro, inside or out of the house. I can always count on him to prepare a delicious snack for fireplace hang times.

Candles! You can never have too many candles. The best thing about winter candles are the amazing seasonal scents. My favorites: pumpkin, cinnamon, and spiced apple!

Cozy Socks! Well, all winter clothing will do.

As you may have read in other posts, this year has been filled with many firsts for us. This winter we'll be able to add so many more to the list!

- Chris's first Thanksgiving in the US

- Chris's first winter Christmas

- Our first Christmas together

- His first time seeing me perform in a ballet

xx D

Our dream home

What a jam packed year this has been so far. I can barely believe it's already November! 

Chris and I have made so many life changes in such a short amount of time, but there is still one more page in this chapter we have yet to turn. Buying a house. 

Like every young couple, we have our own ideas of a perfect home. One filled with beautiful wood floors, the amazing smell of Chris's cooking, and all the little nicknacks we've collected throughout  our lives together. Not to mention being able to find a special home for each and every one of our wedding gifts (which are currently taunting us from their Tetris stacked nooks in our bedroom).

For the most part, Chris and I have similar taste in homes...wood floors, space to garden, eclectic furnishings, splashes of color, and clean spaces. Thanks to Pinterest i've been able to compile all the wonderful ideas the internet has given me for decorating and organizing, so when the time comes for us to finally move into a place we can call our own, you can be sure i'll be ready! 

A few tips for decorating:

- Take pictures of store displays (my favorite's are Anthropology and Crate and Barrel)

- Neutral. Start with simple furnishings and neutral colors. When you're ready for an upgrade, you can always refinish your wood furniture or add another color to your walls!

- Personalize. Decorating your home is like dressing yourself in the morning. If you put on a super out there jacket from Urban Outfitters, it's going to be obvious when you see someone wearing the same thing. How can you have a personalized feature piece of art if you bought it from Target.. just saying. I mean, I would much rather see a DIY piece of art than an imitation Andy Warhol than everyone and their mother has. :)

And with that, I leave you! 

xx D

Nutcracker season

That time of year has come again! Time to sew point shoes, break out the legwarmers, and pack a few extra tea bags in my dance bag. That's right! Nutcracker!

Nutcracker season was always my favorite part of the year when I was young and dancing at Pasadena Dance Theatre. It's been a few years since I've participated in this magical ballet and although I thought I wouldn't be performing in this show again, I'm more than ecstatic to be back!

The only problem is that I knew what I was getting into...but my feet didn't. Ouch!

Here are a few things that have really helped me get back into the magic of nutcracker rehearsals, including a few new tricks and suggestions I picked up from other dancers!

1) Capezio pro ballet flats. Dancewear companies are always coming out with new crazy looking ballet flats but these puppies have never failed me. Every once and a while i'll switch to leather, for the longevity.

2) Apples, and lots of 'em. I used to never be able to finish a whole apple myself but I think it's safe to say that since this is one of my hubby's favorite fruits, i've been eating more of them.

3) Freed pointe shoes. I've tried so many pointe shoes and have had a lot of difficulty finding ones with a long enough box to fit my low arched feet. My last pair were Bloc Alpha (3/4 shank) but I have high hopes for my new Freeds.

4) Green Tea. You can never have enough green tea. It's great hot or cold and can you say antioxidants?!

5) Body wrapper full body tight. I love these tights for a couple of reasons. First of all, I throw away the removable straps right away. Because of all the extra fabric, these tights are super comfortable to wear folded over your hips, and you aren't left with any rolls due to tight elastic. 

6) Sour Patch Kids. I would be happy with reeses, yogurt covered pretzels, or snickers (to name a few) but sometimes I just need a delicious boost of processed sugary goodness!

7) Sippy cup! (or at least that's what my husband calls it). These wonderful inventions keep my iced drinks cold and the inside doesn't stain when I put tea bags in it.

8) Almonds. The 3 Ps... perfect protein portion. The perfect snack to much on between rehearsals.

9) Epsom Salts! Unfortunately I don't have a bath at home but I'll use a plastic washing tub and fill it with 1/2 C salt and warm water to soak my feet. 

10) My favorite leotards, mostly Yumiko and Class In. 

11) Oder eaters/ disinfectant shoe spray. Enough said.

To keep up-to-date on Nutcracker rehearsals at Pasadena Dance Theatre, be sure to follow us on Instagram here!

@deannaannaed

@pasadenadancetheatre

Tickets for the Nutcracker are on sale now at pasadenadance.org

xx D

Honeymoon Bliss, miss, and traveling tips.

Now, you must know that I love children, but when I picture a romantic honeymoon with my husband, I don't exactly picture crying babes, running children, kids meals, and whatever may end up in the hotel pool. Chris and I were very lucky that we were able to visit Maui after most kids had returned to school. So, although I'm sure anytime of year would be the perfect time of year to visit this beautiful island, I would definitely recommend trying to arrange your trip around school holidays.

No onto the recommendations! I have to warn you that I can't take credit for ALL of these suggestions, as a few were passed on to us by a wonderful friend, (who is also very thorough with her recommendations), Vivian! Thanks girl!

Happy Hour

Betty's Beach Cafe: Ok, this place is seriously a gem! The time of year we visited Maui may play a part in how empty it was, but there is no complaining here. Beautiful beach front view, $5 fresh civeche, $3 mai tai's, and $2 extra to make it a double! We were hooked... and back the next day obviously. If we had checked out Betty's earlier, we would have stopped by for the whole fresh lobster for $16.95 on Wednesdays. We'll have to save that for next time. 

Dessert

Ululanie's Shave Ice: I've been wanting to put a 'D' on the end of Shave so bad, but that's really what it's called in Hawaii! If you get the opportunity to stop by this amazing place, please get the Haleakala flavor.... and make it a large! 

Snorkeling

The Snorkel Store: This place had a really amazing deal to rent two sets of gear for the whole week. Vivian had recommended that we do this to safe time and money. What makes this so fantastic is you can leave the gear in your car so it's there whenever you want to explore. There are so many wonderful snorkeling spots to visit without a guide! My favorite part of the deal was paying about $30 extra to get a spare mask that had photo and video capabilities. Extra star for that one! We dropped off our gear the morning we headed off to the airport, and by the time we had checked our luggage, all our photos and videos were available in a personal folder online for us to save!

Lunch

Paia Fish Market: Chris and I had just finished an amazing hike through the Bamboo Forest and we weren't very excited about our peanut butter and banana sandwiches on the way home. Lucky for us our drive back to the hotel took us through a beautiful Hippie town in Paia. We decided to park and take a walk around when we found this awesome fish market restaurant, totally packed, affordable, and absolutely delicious. We both decided to go with the Mahi Burger. One word, amazing! We were talking about this burger for the rest of the day.

Fish Tacos

Ono Tacos: OnoMG! Seriously the most delicious fish and shrimp taco's i've ever had. Being from LA I was sure I had already had the best of the best street vendor tacos around. Boy was I wrong!

I'm already wanting to go back!

Yelp reviews up soon!

xx D

Groover - Bouncing back after a wedding

Maybe it's just me, but there's was something exciting about the idea of getting back to normal life after our wedding. For the past few months our lives had been completely consumed by this party of a lifetime that unfortunately, my work hustle suffered. Being primarily self employed and responsible for finding the bulk of my work on my own, meant some serious time management between wedding planning and work life. I would easily say now that that is my downfall. Sure, I'm the 'To Do' list girl, the filer, the organizer, but for some reason I just can't manage my time well. I made a few goals for myself while I was laying on the beaches of Maui and a nice long 'Back To Reality To Do' list on the flight home. Here's what i'm finding is helping me get back into the swing of things...

#1 Exercise: Leading up to the wedding, I was doing some serious cardio and over all fitness, but one month visiting with out of town guest.... and not any guests, Australians, meant a lot of drinks and good food was consumed. My first dance class back was pretty much hell but the good kind of hell where you know the deeper the burn, the more you're getting done. I've since scheduled in some sort of exercise every day. This brings me to my next tip.

#2 Scheduling: Since my mornings are slow and I don't start teaching or rehearsing until the afternoon or evening, this is prime time to schedule in anything personal I need to do. Additional dance classes, blog posts, filing paperwork, responding to e-mails, etc. Even if I've only loosely plan out each day, I'm bound to achieve more with having a bit of structure to my days.

#3 Setting Goals: I used to hate the idea of setting goals because when I was younger I was worried that I wouldn't be able to live my 'free as a bird', 'whatever happens, happens', 'just live life' lifestyle. Sadly it's taken me until now to learn that I can still have those mantras while using goals to get what I want. My goals for the rest of the year are to perform on stage again. Get back in to pointe shoe shape, get an additional job, and make a financial goal to allow us to start house hunting. 

#4 Read More: This is a hard one because if I have free time, I either am spending it online, Pinterest, or while doing something on my never ending To Do list. Lucky for me, I've just joined a book club with some wonderful girls I work with. There's nothing like a little pressure to get me to do something.

We'll that's my plan so far, so as I bid you adieu, I leave you with pictures from my honeymoon to make you jealous! Aloha!

xx D