brunchin'

hello all!

posting everyday for three days...unusual right? well i couldn't help but to write something about the most fabulous brunch chef & i had with his friends and dad this morning. We went to bleu, one of our favorite restaurants here in columbia. i like to think i am a foodie-in-training (which ironically i call fit...) and this restaurant is an excellent place to go in columbia to try out the taste buds that you haven't. their menu changes regularly and dishes tend to be on the creative side. this summer they have started to do brunch on sundays, which we had never been to before but had heard many good things about. one complaint i have of columbia is the lack of breakfast nooks, aside from the usual diners. this place bleu (pun intended) my mind away.

they have all of your favorites - eggs, omelets, etc. but they also have things you don't find at many american restaurants. the chef ordered huevos rancheros. i know that i can make a mean huevos, learned from the big brother, but this was...unbelievable. (its a good think chef knows how to share!). the beans, cheese, salsa and avocado created the most outstanding mixture of goodness. it was like heaven.

on a trip home to celebrate my uncle bob, i tried eggs benedict for the first time at one of my favorite breakfast places in iowa city, bluebird dinner. (which kaeli & i disagree about.) i fell in love and have been hunting for a place to get it here in town. it's a little too tricky for my lazy sunday home meals. bleu's came on a homemade buttermilk biscuit, fried virgina ham....house fries...hollandaise...to perfection eggs....i was in cholesterol heave poached n, let me tell you! (i felt the food coma coming on at first bite!) each bite was better than the last.

chaz, as i affectionately call chef's dad, had a made to order omelet with the regulars PLUS artichokes. to. die. for.

along with a delicious mimosa (because how can you go wrong) and build-your-own bloody marys, this is where i would like to go every sunday for the rest of my life. or at least every time i'm in columbia! and that was just a taste of options on the menu. next time, i'm going for the fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with blueberry compote & creme fraiche/fresh (i don't know french, so i don't know if that's how you spell it...). i think chef will have something equally as delicious, like the cold lox salmon and i think we should split the loaded house fries. heaven.

anyone want to come visit me for breakfast?

{business card idea}

i'm sorry for not updating recently. i admit that i have been busy doing other things...like working on designs for my portfolio. it has been a busy few days.

i have been doing a lot of thinking recently. thinking about what i can really see myself doing in ten years - should i open a retail shop for my designs? consider opening a studio & creating a stationery line? i have so much more to learn about all of the things i am passionate about.

jeremy & i decided to go on a road trip to paper source over labor day. i am so excited and already have a long list of things that i 'need.' including some things for my growing portfolio.

sorry this was so short, i've had such a good weekend and want to enjoy the beautiful weather that we are having of late. tonight i think i will head to the chef's restaurant when he gets off for some delicious (and cheap!) nachos. i hope we will enjoy a movie after that. in the morning his dad is coming and we will go for brunch. yum!

enjoy your weekend!

for my next apartment

i need this.

from here.

happy first day of school, little ones!

it's the first day of school & sadly...i spent it all day at work. bummer dude! however, since i usually make new school year resolutions, here are my new school year resolutions anyway!

1. stay positive. no matter what.
2. stand up for myself. no matter what.
3. go to at least one football game of the hawkeye and tiger variety.

i am in a rather good mood, all things considered. a few weeks ago, i took a big step and emailed the wedding specialist from zephyr printing and design in iowa city & got a reply today. they are opening a wedding studio in november/december and thinks i would be a valuable member to the team! my mind is reeling. when i go back home this fall she wants me to go and introduce myself as well as bring hard copies of my work, what she loved. i am so excited, i don't know what to do. celebrate, obviously. you know, there is a bottle of bubbly in the fridge from graduation (unopened, of course). my goal is to have a lot more to show her when i go home for a visit, but the fact that she really liked my stuff is a huge compliment and i can see good things happening to me!

in other news, i've been trying to go to bed earlier so i can wake up earlier. it's not working. i think if i just force myself out of bed when the alarm goes off, i'll fall into a routine. maybe then i can start working out (stop laughing, kaeli!) and lose the birch island belly that i gained over the past four years of college. chef is training for a half marathon in kc, and i know that i won't be able to complete that since it's about 8 weeks but since he's been doing it, it makes me want to run. there is a nice park nearby and some trails!

in celebration of my big news, i've decided to post a save the date idea i had for my friends dee & mike. (hopefully they don't mind!) i'm also going to spend the evening working on some other projects. and i think that i am going to call my little design company little details. more on that later!

happy monday!

BI - 08.09

Ever since I can remember, our family has gone to Northern Wisconsin for summer vacation.  My wonderful grandparents first purchased the summer home when my mom and her siblings were children & they too have memories of growing up in the woods.  A few weeks ago, my whole family was reunited to celebrate the cabin's 100 year of being and the peninsula's history.  Each day we ate meals together, read together and laughed together - something that doesn't usually happen for all eighteen of us at one time.  It was so nice to be reunited with cousins that I hadn't seen in over a year or just a few months ago and relax.

I have been busy working on my friend's save the dates.  I've come up with a lot of ideas - hopefully she will like one of them!  I am also working on an invitation for the mama and business cards for the contractor.  Busy bee, that's me!  With all this (potential) work coming to me, I need suggestions for my business name.  My ideas: monica faye productions, little details., and p.s. designs - anyone out there have any suggestions?

Tomorrow night Chef & I are cooking dinner for our friends.  On the menu: salmon with pineapple salsa served over a bed of spinach, crab cakes, and carrot cake for dessert!  Delicious.  Hopefully I will remember to take pictures....

One of my favorite bloggers, Nie was in a horrific accident last August, a year from last Sunday and she recently climbed the Y mountain in Provo (similar to our A mountain in Tucson).  I only recently started reading about her, but she is one amazing woman.  By the time she was twenty five she had four children, which in my book deserves some kind of award.  I encourage all of you to read her blog - she can bring a smile to anyone.  She climbed the mountain because it was the anniversary of her and her husband's accident, a goal she set when she moved back to Provo after coming out of a coma and sustaining burns covering 80% of her body.  The past few days I can't help but to think about her this week.  Her story reminds me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it & of how blessed I am.

happy tuesday!

Motivation, part two

It has been a productive weekend.  I got a kick in the butt on Friday at work to go after what I really want - and I will disclose details once my dreams come to fruition.  All I will expose is that it involves moving a little sooner than I thought.

On Saturday, I went to work and instead of doing nothing while we had no customers, I brainstormed and came up with some awesome ideas (in my opinion) for invitations, greeting cards and stationery.  I also did a little work on my resume.

Saturday night, Chef surprised me with all of the software I need to jump-start my designing.  I spent all weekend coming up with ideas for my friend Deanna.  Chef also got me another design job for one of his coworkers - I'll be a busy bee the next few months!

Here's to making dreams come true!

Motivation, part one {edited}

Another trying day at work - but it has given me the push to make a move.  I've decided to share some of my hard work & designs with you!  I'd love feedback and look forward to sharing more with you!

Edit: Click to make the images larger!

Also, I saw this commercial tonight.  I'm totally jealous of the third girl, that was totally me in 7th grade!

Insomnia = excitement?

It's been awhile since I wrote in my blog.  But it's for a good reason - a long overdue vacation was exactly what I needed to rejuvenate my life.  Even work has been something I've almost looked forward to these past few days.  I find myself more focused and more motivated to get stuff accomplished.  Chef & I got away for 10 days (!) at my family's cabin in northern Wisconsin.  Aside from a weekend here or there, it was the first time I hadn't worked all summer and had put in a whopping 91 hours the two weeks leading up to vacation.  It was wonderful to wake up early and enjoy the lake everyday and then stay up late talking and enjoying a (few) glass(es) of wine with my family.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by people that I love.  I left my cell phone upstairs and checked it once a day.  And I left the laptop behind.  Getting away from technology was fabulous and a much needed break.  I will share stories from vacation (complete with pictures!) the rest of the week.

I came back to Columbia a little sad.  For two reasons: I was suffering from an intense cold and because I realized that I would not be returning to school in the fall.  If there is one thing you should know about me it is this: I love school supplies, paper, pens, books, etc.  I was pretty much devastated that I wouldn't be a part of the bookstore's busiest time of the year and even offered to do the shopping for Chef.  He declined - he doesn't buy that stuff anyway.  This evening, I found myself suffering from insomnia.  I've tried everything - watching TV, catching up on the world news that I'd missed via NYTimes.com, reading my book - and it isn't working. I realized that I was excited for something I wouldn't be doing this year.  I even wrote in my planner that school starts on August 24th...even though I won't be enjoying new classes.

My little sister and cousin will both be moving into new dorm rooms in a few short days.  I wish that I was starting it all over again.  Looking back on the past four years (even their ups and downs) I wouldn't change anything in the world.  I met the most amazing people and created relationships with them that will last a lifetime.  And now, those same people are starting new paths of life.  In a year, I'll be moving to _________.  In a few months, I'll be making my first bridesmaid debut at my best friends' wedding (which can only mean one thing: there will be many weddings in my future!).  My friends are starting professional careers as students, accountants, and anything that they can get their hands on.

So, maybe I am not excited about the new school year.  Perhaps this August I am most excited for what there is to come.  Last week, my grandpa told me to follow my dreams and that is what I intend to do this year.  Who wouldn't be excited about that?