did someone say s'mores?

irv is the biggest s'mores lover i've ever met. so as soon as he saw a recipe for s'mores cupcakes on bakerella it wasn't long before we were in the kitchen baking up a batch of our own. of course they weren't complete 'till they were topped with some marshmallow frosting! not bad for our first time, i'd say.

find the cupcake recipe here. and don't forget the frosting! you can find it here.

hope.

its been roughly 15 days since the tragic earthquake in haiti. progress is being made to rebuild the country, but HAITI STILL NEEDS HELP! i'm sure you've all donated by now, but please continue to give in any way you can. here are just a few of the many, many ways to help out.

Craft Hope for Haiti - shop in an etsy store filled with donated handmade goods with 100% of sales going to Doctors Without Borders.

Help Haiti Rise - an amazing tee designed by mike fretto, with 100% of sales going to Partners in Health.

or, if you're in either the DC or SLO areas go to one of these benefit concerts and enjoy an evening of music and more! both, i'm sure are going to be amazing.

these are just a few of the thousands of ways you can help. and if you ever happen to feel hopeless, just pray and pray and remember that everything is in God's hands.

mr. sun,

sun, mr. golden sun, please shine down on me!
one of my fave things about the rain is once its gone it leaves the mountains all covered in white.

still fresh.

my plants are loooving all this rain! biggest harvest of snow peas i've had yet! sooo fresh!

nostalgia.

feeling nostalgic and missing chicago right now. definitely not missing the weather over there...i'm dearly loving socal's 70 degree winter more than ever this yr. but i am missing being close to these kids.
come visit..we have sunshine over here!

fresh.

today i ate a salad using only freshly picked lettuce straight from the garden. oh what a feeling!

this is my 1st time growing lettuce and now i think i'm addicted. i'm already thinking about all of the other types of varieties i want to try.. try your hand at growing some of your own! its super easy and super rewarding. i ❤ it!!

le grand cru.

guess who's hosting a giveaway?! click here to enter asap! you don't want to miss out on an opportunity for a free shirt..especially for a shirt as sweet as this!

ready. set. go!

irv and i got our last minute dose of christmas via a trip to disneyland on sunday..

the last of the christmas lights were put away today and now christmas is completely out of my system. i am officially ready to face the new year head on!!

yes!

wowwowwow! i've had an incredible start to the new year! its only the 4th and ama.zing! things have already happened! more on all of those things to come..
for now i'll leave you with some images from our new year's day dinner at cham sut gol.