• Spring beauty trend show

    I love makeup. I started wearing blue eye shadow, sparkly pink blush and hot pink lipstick for dance recitals at the tender age of 3, and began wearing makeup every day in 7th grade, after a girl in my art class gently suggested some foundation would make my insane acne a bit less noticeable. SInce my mom […]

  • How to start running (or get faster)

    There are a few things that everyone in my family has in common. For example: We all care about what we wear, we all love Arizona, we’re all beach bums, and we all get overly obsessed and competitive when it comes to jigsaw puzzles. But whereas I forget to work out for weeks at a time, […]

  • Cali casual date night at Whisknladle

    Hey, y’all! I’ve been traveling like crazy for the past week and a half-ish, and I haven’t had much time to breathe, let alone blog, sadly. But I’m finally home! And I wanted to talk about a fabulous date night Toby and I had a few weeks ago in La Jolla. We try to go […]

  • Mediterranean chicken skewers

    Chicken is not the most exciting food. I mean, it’s not bad. It has a lot of protein in it, it’s generally easy to cook and it’s versatile. But eating plain chicken every day can get pretty boring. This chicken, though, has that extra somethin’ somethin’, with the added bonus of not too many ingredients and […]

  • Gold panthers and (kinda) free beer

    Although we’ve lived in California for almost a year, Toby and I still feel like newbies. Sure, we have our favorite restaurants and I’m on a first-name basis with employees at both local Kate Spade stores, but the only time we really attempted to “go out” was kind of a disaster. We are definitely not cool […]

  • Pineapple and jalapeno-infused tequila

    Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope you’re celebrating with tacos and margaritas! I celebrated a bit early, by infusing some tequila with pineapple and jalapeños in an empty lemonade bottle, as one does. The restaurants around here all seem to have some kind of margarita with a spicy kick, and I’m partial to the pineapple […]

  • Fab Fave Friday: Bourbon, mint and big hats

    Happy Friday! I was originally planning to give you a rundown of our favorite places to eat at Disneyland, but since tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby, I figured it made more sense to share my Derby-related favorites. First, you’re going to need a mint julep. Try the classic, Jessica’s pineapple mint julep, Southern Living’s bourbon smash or […]

  • Sweet potato tacos

    It’s almost Cinco de Mayo! Let’s make some tacos. No, those aren’t carrots. They’re pieces of sweet potato, cut into carrot-like shapes. Stick with me here.   Back in Annapolis, Toby and I got into the habit of going out for Taco Tuesday. Most of the time, that meant meeting our friends at Paladar for margaritas, fresh guacamole, […]

  • Madewell opening in Carlsbad

    I first happened upon a Madewell store when we moved to Annapolis in 2009. The brand was born in 1937, but closed in the 80s and was bought, overhauled and reintroduced by J.Crew in 2006. Annapolis was one of their first stores. Their focus is on denim — mainly skinny and super skinny jeans, lately […]

  • How to wear sneakers with (almost) anything

    As someone with both sensitive feet and a love of beautiful high heels, choosing shoes is not easy. My job makes it extra difficult, since I don’t always know how long I’ll be standing, how far I’ll be walking, or what kind of terrain I may have to traverse on any given day. Even sensible […]