BREAKING NEWS: SHARP-DRESSED PIG ON THE LOOSE

"Police say the pig appeared to be a baby and confirmed it was wearing a scarf. Police dont know why that is or who may own the animal."    -Associated Press

Sometimes it's the smallest/strangest things that end up making your day, and today...this stylish pig trotting down a Pittsburgh highway did it for me. Police chased the pig but failed to catch him before he scurried into the woods. Who is this stylish little porker...no one knows, but you can ask the sharp-dressed pig on his twitter. Which is hilarious. Here are a few of my favorite tweets: 

Sharp-dressed pig ‏@Sharpdressedpig

Just hoofin' it down the highway. Like you wouldn't want to get the hell out of Pittsburgh.

Sharp-dressed pig ‏@Sharpdressedpig

I'm running from the police. The irony is not lost on me.

Sharp-dressed pig ‏@Sharpdressedpig

I'm a little angry more people aren't taking photos of me. I dressed up for this outing! #proudpig

MING MAKES (AWESOME) CUPCAKES

I recently discovered the site Ming Makes Cupcakes while browsing for recipes the other day. Now I can't wait for an excuse to try one of these. If your not into cupcakes she has awesome cookie and savory recipes too. Click the link to check out all of her creative cupcakes. 

PS- more food porn:

(photos from Ming Makes Cupcakes)

MONDAY MENTAL HEALTH

After spending years working in palliative care (caring for patients the last 12 weeks of their lives), nurse Bronnie Ware began recording her patients dying epiphanies on her blog, Inspiration and Chai. Eventually it became so popular she wrote a book, The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying. Ware writes that people gain incredible clarity and vision at the end of their lives, and that when it came to regrets common themes would surface again and again. So we can learn from their wisdom, here they are: 

1.  I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4.  I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5.  I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I really really really don't want to be thinking any of these things near the end or ever. Which I guess means trying to keep these in mind every day. :)

(photo from here)

FORCED PERSPECTIVE

I love these forced perspective photos. View the rest here. That's all. 

(photos from instant shift dot com)

SUNDAY FUNDAY POSTS

I hope everyone is having a fun weekend long weekend. I'm so excited not to have to work tomorrow!!! Even though things have been eventful around here I want to share some awesome posts I've found this week from around the web. Enjoy :)

I spent like 20 minutes on this website drawling stick things. SO creative. 

When you just can't find the words to describe how you feel...

I want this portable swing haha...but really I do.

Exactly how math looks to me. 

Would you do this for your kid? 

Color palette inspiration.

Sun screen in soap, yes please. 

More reasons to stay away from bad food.

Ten beautiful places I want to see. 

ALL white memorial day outfits...takes rule following to the max. 

A romantic little blog :)

(photo from pinterest)

VEST DRESS

I've never really been into vest dresses but this one from Anthropologie is different. It has such an pretty cut and looks like it would be really flattering on. Maybe it's worth a try...

(photos from anthropologie.com)

WATERING HOLES

If there is water somewhere, I want to be in it. My obsession with water started when I was a child spending endless hours at the neighborhood pool escaping the Florida heat, and evolved into over 15 years of competitive swimming and a very unhealthy obsession with awesome bathtubs (which you know if you follow me on pinterest). So I literally could not contain myself when I saw Conde Nast Traveler's article on Gorgeous Natural Swimming Pools Around The World. I want to go to each and every one...especially Iceland's Blue Lagoon (below). Take a look for yourself. 

SO LONG PASTIC BAGS

Los Angeles made history today as it became the largest city in the U.S. to ban plastic bags from super market stores. Which makes me proud to be an Angelenos! So I'm reposting my previous post on grocery bags for a cause. Try out one of these eco friendly bags from Feed Projects. The proceeds from the bag of your choice go to feeding hungry kids around the world. Happy shopping :)

SISTER

"You can kid the world, but not your sister." 

— Charlotte Gray

Last week my sister, Kaili, came to visit. We went shopping for girly things here. And left with a pink depression glass cake stand for our mom for Mother's Day.  

We got ice cream...a lot. In our defense we did do a really intense hike in Malibu too :/

We even found time in our busy schedule to do a little shopping for Bratalie (Natalie) our other sister...just geekin' Nat we didn't get you anything.Not even that pretty blouse ;)  Haha. 

I miss you already Kai, please come back soon.....Ernie misses you too. 

BERRY PAVLOVAS

RECIPE LOVE

How delicious do these pavlovas with berries from Noble Pig look? Almost like berries floating on little clouds. This would be the perfect summer dessert, I can't wait to make this. Find the whole recipe: HERE :)

(photos from Noble Pig) 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I hope everyone had a fantastic mother's day! I got to spend mine with my sister picking out the perfect gift for my mom who she will see tomorrow when she flies home. I don't have enough time in the world to tell you how amazing my mom is. She works full time at a bad ass job and has never missed s single swim meet soccer game or been late in the pick up line. She is the most generous and loving person I know (along with my dad) and never complained about the consistent stream of friends and teammates we  brought into the house every day. She never freaked out about dirt tracked in the house from cleats, a soccer ball breaking a vase, or when we kept the fort in our room up for a week. More importantly she loves us unconditionally every day just makes everything better. The older I get the more and more I realize I need her. I don't have a "human" child of my own yet but when I do I hope I can be half as good a mom as her. Until then I get to practice with my baby Ernie. Here are pictures from the first time I met him. I love this little  guy so much my heart could burst!!! But thats a different story for a different day...


P.S. THIS is an incredible story about motherhood!

MAURICE SENDAK

"I don’t write for children. I write. And someone says, that’s for children." 

— Maurice Sendak

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Sadly, Maurice Sendak, children's author and illustrator of many books including, Where The Wild Things Are, died today at 83. I never knew what an interesting and funny person he was until I saw this interview on "The Colbert Report".It was actually very inspiring. Sometimes you just need to be reminded not to give a crap about what anyone else thinks. I hope he is now in a better place...where ebooks don't exist. Enjoy.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 2
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT GUIDE

10 GIFT IDEAS FOR MOMS

Lem Lem Scarves

Supermodel / actress and former World Health Organisation's Goodwill Ambassador, Liya Kebede discovered that weavers in her native country of Ethiopia were losing their jobs due to a decline in local demand for their goods and wanted to do something about it. So she started Lemlem in 2007 as a way to inspire economic independence in her native country and to preserve the art of weaving. These scarves are light, beautiful, and giving women jobs in Ethiopia...I think mom would approve. 

Capri Blue Candles

Capri Blue candles last forever and all smell amazing. Perfect for burning on long summer nights :)

Cheese Of The Month Club Membership 

If you live on the west coast I highly reccomend anything from Andrew's Cheese Shop in Santa Monica. The people there are amazingly helpful and will not steer your wrong. If you live on the east coast I recommend using New York's legendary Murrays' Cheese Shop. 

Pinhole Press Mini Photo Book or Brag Book

So she can show off pictures of her babies or grand babies. (I made one of Ernie haha)

West Elm Throws

Super soft throws from West Elm in every color for cuddling up with a good book. Only $23 :)

Lobster Mac And Cheese

Comes ready to bake! Looks so yummy.

Sam Edelman GiGi Sandals

These sandals are perfect for summer, comfy, and look extremely flattering on (I have a pair). Their are 23 different colors to choose from so pick one for mom and go get pedicures. 

Flowers

You don't have to spend a bundle on blooms just because it's Mothers Day. Stop by your local farmers market for beautiful flowers that are affordable. Fancy arrangements are overrated. Also, live orchids are nearly impossible to kill so if you want to get her something that will last for a while opt for that. 

Tina Fey's Bossy Pants

A book that will for sure make her laugh out loud. 

Love You Forever

A book that is so sweet it will probably make her cry. A must have for new and old mothers alike, a simple children's book that shows the unconditional love a mother carries for her baby over her lifetime. Read this and it will definitely make you want to spend more time with your mom, which is what she really wants anyways :)

MONDAY HEALTH AND FITNESS

DENISE AUSTIN'S 15 MINTUE CHAIR WORKOUT

I recently stumbled across this 15 minute chair workout on WomansDay.com. If I had my own office I would probably do this everyday...for now it will have to wait until I'm alone in my apartment. The workout consists of 8 simple exercises and stretches easy enough for everyone to do but difficult enough get you toned up if you did it everyday. Click the clink for the full article with explanations of the poses!  

(photos from Womans Day)

DAYS 2 & 3

JUICE FAST UPDATE

I finished my juice cleanse Friday evening right in time for cinco de mayo and I have to say I'm happy I did it. I did get hungry, especially in the early evening but the vanilla cinnamon cashew milk they have as the last drink is actually really filling. By the last day I felt energized and clear minded but I was just plain tired of drinking. I really didn't feel thirsty, in the least bit at all and I would drink have the juice and want to be done with it. I did lose about 5lbs though, which was nice. So overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Good if you want to loose some weight and feel good in a hurry. :)

PRETTY SUMMER WEDGES

I've been thinking about these Diane Von Furstenberg wedges since I saw them last summer. So I was delighted to see they are still around... and in more colors. I think you could literally wear them with everything and I love the detail on the heel . My favorite color is the mink brown. The only thing keeping me from buying them is that they are a little pricy, but the next time I have a paycheck that is higher than expected I may make the splurge. Also, I found them here and on Amazon for a little cheaper. 

HUNGER GAMES

Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Salad recipe: here

Ok. I'm hungry. Don't get me wrong, the juices have been great but I'm sick of drinking. I'm not thirsty. At all. I'm hungry...but I'm also determined not to break this juice fast. So instead of eating food I have been looking at all the delicious things I would love to eat online. Torturous? Yes. But in a small way it makes me feel a little better. So I have to share with you some of the things I've found. Starting with a couple salads. These salads look simple to make and so delicious. They would be perfect for lunch or a light dinner.  Enjoy —seriously, because I can't :( 

Tomato Salad with fresh ricotta and grilled bread. Recipe found: here

(Photos & recipes from Proud Italian Cook  and Alexandra's Kitchen)

DAY 1

Today is day one of my three day juice cleanse. I decided to do the Blue Print Foundation Cleanse, and so far (I'm only 2 juices in) the drinks have been refreshing and delicious. The first juice was a mixture of lemon and green veggies, and the one I'm enjoying now has pineapple, apple and mint. I feel clear headed but a little tired...probably from staying up too late though. Four more drinks to go today and I'm pretty excited...especially for the spicy lemonade!