a walk a day keeps the the soul at bay

i started walking to work a couple of weeks ago, and let me tell you, it has changed me physically, mentally and emotionally.  ever since, i've made it a point to walk instead of drive anywhere that is within a reasonable distance. this past sunday, i walked to the brentwood farmers market. it took about 45mins and was well worth it. i find walking to be the best way to start and end my day. i've even started walking on my lunch breaks at work.  what started out as a 20 min walk/day, has now turned into a 75min walk/day...thats right, everyday! i discover all my best ideas while on a walk, i see things that i would have never noticed while driving, i feel healthier, and not to mention it gives me peace of mind knowing that i'm reducing my carbon footprint.

so i say to you, my dear friends, walk! you'll be amazed at how great you'll feel... plus its almost summer and there are so many lovely plants in bloom.

"if you're seeking creative ideas, go out walking. angel's whisper to a man when he goes for a walk."
-raymond inmon

cinespia of fun!

its monday again, which means another great weekend has passed by. 

what  wonderful summer this is starting out to be.

saturday night was spent with dear friends at the 3rd cinespia of the season

my favorite 1972, black-comedy, "harold and maude" was playing

(a throwback to senior year of high school for davana and me).

yet again, we drank, we ate (a lot), we laughed, and reminisced about times in high school - specifically about homeroom and our 70's obsessed teacher who made us listen to the beatles and watch old, classic 70's films, including harold and maude.

it was april's first cinespia (ever!) and i think we already have her hooked.

she's already planning her upcoming saturday evenings to come back.

a fabulous night, complimenting a fabulous weekend

happy monday, only 15 days until the official start of summer!

a day in tokyo

well, taylor and i were supposed to spend the weekend in cambria, but since the weatherman forcasted lots of rain, we opted to go next weekend

so, on a whim we decided to go to little tokyo for the day!

we spent a lot of our time at anzen hardware, where taylor bought a handful of japanese hand tools which he plans to use for this next wood project.

we met some of fun, ecentric friends including an old japanese fighting top spinner (kenkagoma koma) and his young apprentice...

and this little old japanese lady with a fabulous faux fur hat!

what fun we had wondering around. there is nothing better than a beautiful june day, taylor, and my camera

Shiawasena nichiyōbi
(happy sunday!)

french toast fridays!

it was french toast friday at the pearsall-donsker residence this morning

today's menu: 

banana and strawberry creme french toast

it sure was a hit!

here is my recipe:

what you'll need:

(Serves 2 pieces)

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup milk

1 pinch salt

an egg

pinch (or two) cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 tablespoon brown sugar

2 loaves thick challah bread

french toast instructions:

1. mix together all the ingredients

2.heat a lightly oiled (or buttered )griddle or frying pan over medium heat

3. soak bread pieces in mixture until saturated

4. cook bread on each side until golden brown.

5. add toppings (fruit, whipped cream, nutella, etc)and serve hot!

taylor is the best. he always cleans when i cook. 

we have a rule... if one cooks, the other cleans! 

best rule in the house.

happy weekend!

for the love of walnut!

yesterday i came home to 10 huge pieces of walnut in the living room.

taylor has many projects in the works including shelves for our coffee table and a credenza for under the window.

he's been spending hours each night designing and rendering and i think he's finally found his final design (its awesome!)

he's been updating me through the process and i must say, i'm pretty excited. 

perhaps he's so good because he truly loves each piece of wood. 

he's a real sam maloof in the making. he's always showing me the little details in each piece and explains with genuine fervor how the tree was cut, its rarity, or anything else he finds interesting about it.

all his furniture is made with true passion

heres a little snippet of how much he loves his new walnut pieces. i found him laying on top of it last night as i was baking his cookies!

check out his blog: taylordonsker.tumblr.com and website: tdonsker.com

he's just updated with the completed concrete sofa!

milk and cookies.

last night i was in the mood for baking, but i wanted to be soooorta healthy in doing so.

so i made taylor some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

i'm being super "good" right now, so i didn't have any, but from the looks and smell of 'em they seemed pretty yummy...

and i think taylor thought they were pretty yummy too...

as he ate so many he couldn't move from his chair!

and then i caught him eating a few this morning... he's not very sly about stealing cookies for breakfast. 

happy day 2 of june! 

pinwheel party.

yesterday evening, my best friend, davana, came over with her boyfriend to make pinwheels with tay and i.

the night was full of hot glue guns and burnt fingers, stepping on head pins, drilling, snapping wooden dowels with inadequate scissors... and it was the most fun i've had on a tuesday night!

we drank wine, we ate, we laughed...

pinwheel instructions:

what you'll need:

several sheets of 12" x 12" double sided scrapbook or decorative paper

round-headed pins

12" wooden dowels

hot glue gun and glue sticks

a push pin

flower shaped craft punch

a pair of scissors

a ruler

pinwheel instructions:

1. begin by measuring and cutting 6" inch squares out of your paper

2. find the center of your one of he squares and mark it by poking a hole through it with your pushpin

3.lay your paper patter side down, and use your ruler to draw diagonal lines from each corner to make an "x".

4. cut along the diagonal lines from all four corners, stopping one inch before you meet the hole in the center of your paper. 

5. use your pushpin to make a hole in the right hand corner of each side of the square, just to the left of the line you just cut.

 
6. use your punch to cut out a paper flower. stick your round-headed pin through the center of the flower.


7. one by one, bring each of the for pin-holed corners to the center and stick the flower and pin through each of the four holes.


8. next, put the pin through the hole in the center of the square and set aside.


9. make a pilot hole, using your pushpin, 1/2 inch down from the end of the dowel.


10. put a drop of hot glue on the hole, and quickly insert the pin that runs through the pinwheel center into the glue and dowel. Be careful not to let the pinwheel paper touch the glue on the dowel while its drying. if it sticks, it can't spin!

it was fun to spend this pinwheel affair with such lovely people who i love dearly

happy wednesday my friends. we're half-way to the weekend!

*pinwheel instructions courtesy of:oncewed.com