fabulous friday #34

Posted on September 26, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends! My morning started off with a relaxing, restorative yoga class… and it’s been a little stressful from then on. My cell phone is having battery issues and I’ve been on the phone with tech support all day trying to get the issues worked out. It’s amazing how much our lives are tied to our phones — I use mine not just to get in touch with people, but also as my GPS navigation system and to check my email when I’m out and about, etc. Really hope I get this solved soon!

But at the same time, I’m reminding myself to breathe and be grateful for this “first world problem”… so many people have much bigger issues and problems to worry about. I’m lucky to even have a cell phone in the first place!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. This “Green Goodness” juice that is on sale at Safeway this week … two bottles for $5, score! I grabbed some for a post-yoga snack this morning. The first time I got this drink, I misread the label as “Green GODDESS” and that’s always how I think of it in my head. So much good-for-you green stuff in this bottle, you’ll feel like a goddess after drinking it! 🙂

2. Like a complete knucklehead, I forgot my retainer at home in Ventura when I came back up north last weekend. Well, my sweet parents didn’t even tease me or make me feel bad for being so forgetful — they just wrapped it securely in bubble wrap, slid it into an envelope, and 2-day-mailed it to me. This probably sounds silly, but I was ridiculously happy to be reunited with my retainer — I could feel my teeth shifting without it and it was stressing me out! I didn’t go through three years of braces — plus headgear — for nothing! Any other retainer-wearers out there?

3. This quote from Mother Teresa {which came to me thanks to the always-enlightening Heather Waxman}:

4. My grandma got this ginormous container of peanut-butter filled pretzels at Costco. This is dangerous, my friends. Dangerous.

5. I got to see Dana for dinner last night at one of our fave spots, Chow. I got a cup of their fall vegetable minestrone soup and a spinach/apple/walnut salad. Yum! Great food and great company! I feel very grateful to have such thoughtful, wonderful friends in my life who build me up and make me feel so loved. In fact, Dana just now texted me: “I wanted to tell you that I loved your shirt and your bag yesterday, but I forgot to tell you! Super cute.” Sweet texts like that completely brighten my day! Thanks, Dana! ❤

Now, I’m off to tutor a couple of adorable kiddos, and then we’re having a family dinner tonight because my Uncle Frankie is visiting! Happy Friday, everyone!

Questions of the day:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #33

Posted on September 19, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends! This morning started off bright and early with a bowl of fresh fruit & vanilla greek yogurt — my favorite breakfast right now!

Before I move on, just a little reminder: tomorrow is the last day to grab a copy of my ebook “Lost and Found” for FREE! I’d love for you to read it! Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MLC46I2

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Last night I got to see Erica for dinner — I always love getting to catch up with this lovely lady! We went to a terrific Italian restaurant called Giannfranco’s Trattoria and split two of the chef specials of the night: ricotta cheese & sausage ravioli and veggie risotto with cream sauce. YUM! Neither of us had any room left for dessert, but the selection looked so delectable that we decided next time, we’ll just split a salad and then have dessert! Or maybe just skip the salad altogether 😉

2. Oh my goodness, YOU GUYS. THIS BOOK. My mom leant it to me and I finished it within two days. It’s called One Plus One and it’s by JoJo Moyes, the author of another book I loved, Me Before You. This is one of those books that makes you feel better about the world. I smiled, cried, and felt like I became close friends with the characters — I was sad to say goodbye to them all at the end.

3. Speaking of crying… this video made me cry. It’s only three minutes, but I guarantee it will stick with you: Compassionate Homeless Man Shares Meal With Stranger When Others Wouldn’t.

4. Homemade applesauce! I made it for the first time based on this recipe from Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean, and it turned out really well! It was much easier than I thought applesauce would be to make… all I did was peel and chop some apples, dump them into the crock pot with a bit of water and loads of cinnamon, cook on low for four hours, and then mash it all up with a potato masher. I was happy to use up some apples that were getting wrinkly and turn them into a really great, healthy snack!

5. These super-cool upcycled wallets, bags and totes made from former street banners by the company Upcycle it Now. They’re being offered as perks in a neat IndieGoGo crowd-funding campaign that my sweetie Allyn & some of his classmates are holding to raise money for a humanitarian trip they are taking to Kenya with the nonprofit organization Zawadisha. You can snag one of these upcycled goodies by making a donation to the campaign through the end of September.

I’ll sign off with this from Murray: “Have a wonderful weekend!”

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #32

Posted on September 12, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday! We have a busy weekend in store around here — an end-of-summer pool party, a book-signing event for my dad’s book Wooden & Me, cheering on my Trojans, plus the usual errands and weekend catch-up activities!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. My parents come home from Ireland today! I didn’t want to mention anything on here while they were gone, but I’ve been house-sitting/Murray-sitting for the past two weeks while they took a special anniversary vacation. From our brief email exchanges and Google Hangout chats, it sounds like they had an incredible trip and I can’t wait to hear all about their adventures and see their photos… and, of course, give them ginormous Welcome Home hugs!

2. Early morning walks with Mr. Mur-dog! He is so excited about his walks, it warms my heart. His jaunty stroll down the sidewalk is so cute!

I’m also loving my new running/walking shoes!

3. Big salads — I’ve been craving lots of veggies lately and these have been my go-tos for lunch and dinner lately. I’ve been throwing in some black beans and chickpeas for extra fiber and protein. Yum!

4. This fascinating article: “11 Things Humans Do that Dogs Hate.” I’ve definitely been guilty of a few of these {i.e. #2}… sorry, Mr. Mur! Now I know!

5. Just ordered this book on Amazon — HEADS YOU LOSE — and I’m really excited to delve into it this weekend! It’s a really neat twist on the murder mystery genre.

When collaborators Lutz and Hayward (former romantic partners) start to disagree about how the story should unfold, the body count rises, victims and suspects alike develop surprising characteristics, and sibling rivalry reaches homicidal intensity. Think “Adaptation” crossed with “Weeds.” Will the authors solve the mystery without killing each other first?

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #31 {dana’s visit to ventura!}

Posted on September 5, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday! I’m looking forward to a weekend of relaxation, writing time, cheering on my Trojans, and dinner with friends. What wonderful things are you up to?

Today I want to give you a recap of my sweet friend Dana’s visit to Ventura! We had so much fun, and the weather was gorgeous — I couldn’t resist sharing these photos with you!

Here are 5 highlights from Dana’s visit:

1. Fish & chips at the Harbor! We went to a local favorite, Andria’s {longtime readers may remember it as Gramps’s favorite, too!} We also spent some time walking around the Harbor, looking at the boats and listening to live music.

2. Going to the beach! It was a relatively calm, quiet morning — seagulls were pretty much our only company as we stretched out on the sand. After soaking up the sunshine for an hour or so, we went over to The Deck and had lunch. Their fish tacos are amazing!

3. Soaking in the sunshine at the Santa Barbara Pier. It was a gorgeous Memorial Day and after a delicious lunch we walked all along State Street and ended up at the pier.

4. We met up with Erica at Food Truck Tuesdays! I ordered an amazing gourmet grilled cheese with herbed gouda, butternut squash, cranberry compote, and walnuts on 9-grain bread. {My taste buds are already craving fall, I guess!} We had so much fun talking and laughing until the event closed down. I was so busy talking and enjoying our visit that I neglected to take a photo, whoops! Though here’s an older photo of Food Truck Tuesdays:

5. Murray was SO in love with Dana! He would come sit next to her and place one paw on her lap, like he was trying to hold her hand. We joked that he was “courting” her. I love this picture of the two of them!

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #30

Posted on August 29, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends! What wonderful things are you up to today?

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Being home with my sweet parents {who are celebrating their 32nd wedding anniversary next week!} and of course Mr. Mur-dog! He is so stinkin’ cute, even in his cone/Elizabethan collar. Poor guy should be getting it off soon, fingers crossed!

2. This quote from Carolyn Hax:

“Even those of us who learn from our mistakes will also repeat some. This business of being human is basically a jalopy ride over potholes, which is why it’s so important to ride with the best people you know, wherever possible, and to make sure you take note of any particularly beautiful scenery.”

3. I can’t get enough of strawberries with vanilla Greek yogurt. To me, this tastes exactly like strawberries with whipped cream — BUT it’s even better because it’s healthy for you! I’ve been having this for dessert all week. And since it’s actually good for you, you could even have it for breakfast! 🙂

4. This beautiful and evocative short story written by my friend, Rebecca McKanna: “A Chain of Tiny Disasters” in Narrative Magazine.

5. First USC football game tomorrow! I am all decked out and ready to cheer on my team! #gotrojans #fighton

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #29

Posted on August 8, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends! What wonderful things are you up to today?

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Catching up on my stack of old issues of The New Yorker that pile up at my parents’ house when I’m gone. My dad always reads them and saves them for me, because I especially love reading the fiction. My recent favorite: “Here’s the Story” by David Gilbert. The ending definitely sucker-punched me, in the best way! This is one of those stories that I want to press into the hands of everyone I meet and tell them, “Read this. You’ve got to read this.” Does anyone else ever feel that way when you read something amazing?

2. My parents and I went to the Food Truck Tuesdays event that happens here in Ventura on the first Tuesday of every month. It was a blast! I was impressed by the wide range of cuisine offered by the many different food trucks. My dad opted for the lobster tacos, Mom got a classic burger, and I got sushi rolls topped with an Indian-inspired butter pork-and-peppers sauce. Yum!

3. I made turkey enchiladas for dinner last night. They were a big hit!

4. Thanks to Whitney for sharing this powerful sermon on love and commitment. I thought the message was absolutely beautiful, and very true {except for the part towards the end where he says it was “too late” to back out of the wedding… I think that if you have doubts in your gut about marrying a certain person, those doubts are there for a reason and you need to listen to them carefully! Which is entirely different from being afraid of commitment in general.}

5. The fro-yo place down the block from my parents’ house has the best selection of toppings… so many choices! I was cracking up at all their sour candy options. My sweetheart loves sour candy, even on ice cream. I need to bring him here!

What are your plans for this lovely August weekend? I think my parents and I are headed to the outdoor concert series Rock The Collection tomorrow evening. It’s always a lot of fun, plus it’s freeeeee — can’t beat that! 🙂

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #28

Posted on July 25, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends! Hope you’re having a fabulous day!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. The gorgeous summer sunshine and the beautiful beach. I went out to dinner with my parents and it was one of those perfect evenings… warm, a slight breeze, the sun setting over the ocean. I tried to capture it with my camera, but this photo doesn’t do it justice!

2. Last night, my sweet parents surprised me with tickets to see Once: The Musical at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles! The movie is one of my favorites and I think the music is stunningly beautiful. Seeing the musical was goosebumps-inducing! And we made a night of it with a lovely dinner beforehand at 33 Taps in Hollywood. My parents are two of my best friends and I love getting to spend time with them!

3. I always love coming home and getting together with friends! I saw Gricelda for a lunch date at our favorite spot, Urbane Cafe. Tania invited me to her house for a long catch-up visit {the kind where you feel like it’s been maybe forty minutes and you look at the clock and, whoops, three hours have passed!} And Erica and Kyle had me over to their adorbs new apartment for dinner.

They made a delicious healthy stir-fry with rice and I tried out a new recipe for dessert: raspberry brown-butter crumb bars. Oh man, you guys — so good! I will be sharing the recipe next week, so stay tuned.

4. I was floored by this blog post about the declining health of America’s kids — more proof that kids need active play time every day! This amazing nonprofit org, KaBoom!, is where my brother is interning this summer in Washington, D.C.

5. My first Kindle short story is now available! It’s called “Grand Slam” and for a limited time, it’s on sale at Amazon for less than a buck! Here’s a brief description: Derek is a die-hard Cincinnati Reds baseball fan. He finally works up the nerve to talk to his crush, Regina… but then he learns she is a huge New York Yankees fan. The Reds are going up against the Yankees in the World Series! Can their budding romance survive an intense sports rivalry?

Read a preview and get your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M1236J2

Here’s to soaking up every last drop of this TGIF and cheers to a fun summer weekend!

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #27 {washington d.c. recap edition!}

Posted on July 18, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, everyone! After a few whirlwind weeks of travel, I’m now back home in Ventura soaking up time with my parents, Gramps, Erica, and Mr. Mur-dog.

I’m also preparing to teach the first weekend of my Summer Writing Camp tomorrow! I’ve got a lot on the to-do list today, but before I get going I wanted to take a few minutes to recap my trip to Washington D.C. to visit my brother for a long weekend. So this week’s Fabulous Friday post is going to be a recap!

Here’s 5 things I loved about washinginton, d.c.:

1. Spending time {and taking selfies!} with my brother. I always love getting together with this crazy kid! He makes me laugh like pretty much no one else on the planet.

2. Strolling along the Washington Mall and seeing the Capitol and all the monuments.

3. Going to the Ford’s Theater museum. As a huge Abraham Lincoln fan, it was really sad — but also sacred — to see the place he died.

4. The Native American Smithsonian Museum. Beautiful and thought-provoking.

5. Going to the Sara Bareilles concert! Greg surprised me with tickets. It was a phenomenal show, and the venue was so much fun! We picnicked before on the grassy lawn. It was a wonderful night!

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What’s on your agenda for the weekend?
Have you taken any fun trips this summer?

fabulous friday #26 {new orleans edition!}

Posted on July 4, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi from beautiful New Orleans, and Happy Independence Day to all my U.S. readers! I hope you have some fun celebrating on the agenda today. Allyn and I are going to watch the fireworks on the Mississippi River! I’m waaaaay excited.

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Being reunited with my sweetheart! After being apart for a month {and knowing we’ll have to be apart for another month when I leave} I am savoring every moment we get to spend together.

2. The beautiful architecture of the city! It’s so uniquely New Orleans. And I love the strands of lights that are hanging everywhere! The picture below is from a cute outdoor art fair we stumbled upon one night on Frenchman Street.

3. Live jazz music! We saw a terrific performance at a place on Bourbon Street, and also wandered around Frenchman Street where there was a fantastic band giving a street performance that blew my socks off. I get such a big goofy grin on my face when listening to live music.

4. The food. Especially the beignets at Café Du Monde. I learned the hard way not to exhale while taking a bite — guess who blew powdered sugar alllll over herself? Haha.

5. These cheerful flowers Allyn surprised me with at the airport when he picked me up. There were a bunch of buds that have slowly been unfurling all week. I love them!

BONUS: My friend Dana’s beautiful photography blog. She posts a new photo of hers every day and it makes my morning to check it out while I sip my tea. Talk about inspiration! She is so talented. I wish she could walk around New Orleans with me and take photographs! She has such an insightful, interesting way of viewing the world behind her lens. You can subscribe to her blog here!

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for this 4th of July weekend?
Have you ever been to New Orleans? Any recommendations for my final week here?

fabulous friday #25 + GIVEAWAY!!

Posted on June 20, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy TGIF, friends! Coming at you with some Fabulous Friday action … and a little giveaway the end of this post, woo hoo!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. My summer camp students. So adorable, hilarious and hard-working! It warms my heart to see how kind they are to each other. And they crack me up! Today when we were walking back to the classroom from recess, they all ran to beat me there and when I walked in, they were all hiding from me under their desks, giggling at their sneakiness. I wish I had taken a picture to share with y’all. Today was my last day teaching this particular group, and I will miss them!

2. The fresh fruits & veggies of summer. I have been a produce fiend all week, and I love how eating so many plants makes me feel vibrant and energetic. I don’t know about you, but the less sugar and processed food I eat, the less of it I crave. These days I am craving… watermelon! Mmm. To me, nothing says summer quite like a thick juicy slice of fresh watermelon.

3. This beautiful and inspiring blog post by Nicole Antoinette: just start.

4. This quote, which I found in the pavement in Jack Keroac Alley outside of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco:

5. The release of this new book that I am very excited to be a contributor for: Chicken Soup for the Soul, Home Sweet Home! The story I wrote, titled “My Perfectly Decorated Apartment,” is featured in the book alongside 100 other inspiring, touching, sweet and funny stories about “hearth, happiness, and hard work.” And I am delighted that I have a signed copy to give to one of you!

The giveaway will stay open until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 26. Good luck! And thanks for celebrating with me!

Click on this link to enter: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Questions of the evening:

What are you loving right now?
Do you have any fun weekend plans?
What food says “summer” to you?

Day-By-Day Masterpiece

Tag Archives: friday

fabulous friday #34

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the day:

fabulous friday #33

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #32

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #31 {dana’s visit to ventura!}

Here are 5 highlights from Dana’s visit:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #30

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #29

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #28

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #27 {washington d.c. recap edition!}

Here’s 5 things I loved about washinginton, d.c.:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #26 {new orleans edition!}

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the morning:

fabulous friday #25 + GIVEAWAY!!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the evening: