blackberry

The sweet old lady who lives next door said we could have all the berries & grapes that grow on our side of the fence.  The last photo was taken just over a week ago, the first few just days ago.  I'm crossing my fingers these blackberries don't fully ripen till I get home.  

the scenic route

Driving in the car with Brandon is one of my favorite things. Oh the topics we talk about! We decided to prolong our drive home from SF and take the scenic route. I saw Lake Tahoe for the first time (hopefully not the last!) and fell in love with an old cowboy town in Nevada called Virginia City. They have a board walk with all sorts of stuff like bathtubs full of plants and toy horses to ride. I think we'd like to spend our anniversary there next year :)

good eats SF {vegan}

There were so many vegan/vegetarian options in SF!   Ever since we've gone to a plant based diet, I've pretty much left the food prepping to Brandon.  Okay, so pretty much since we've been married, he's done the majority of the cooking.  But hey, He's a natural in the kitchen.  He's also the type that can eat kale and other gross tasting things like it's candy.  When I want candy, nothing else will suffice.  I don't have the will power to eat not good tasting stuff.  But everything we had in SF was sooo good!   It really opened my eyes to the possibilities, and gave me a bit of the cooking bug too.  I'm a huge fan of simple recipes made with just a few basic ingredients.  I took note of a few of my favorites from the trip and can't wait to try my own version of these vegan dishes at home!

Here's our favorite vegan restaurants in San Francisco

Ananda Fuara 

The loving hut

The Plant

House of Nanking

if you are ever in the city, give em' a try!

-Claire

*We've been on a plant-based diet since the beginning of the year.  Brandon is 100% vegan and I'm 80% vegan (I can't give up cheese....).  A lot of people have asked a lot of "why"s.  So far I haven't shared a whole lot about our decision (and it was a big one, believe me) but if you are curious let me know, maybe I'll do a little post about our "why".  Also, any fellow vegans/vegetarians/plant eaters?! I'd love any recommendations for recipe websites or blogs.  Thanks!

a belated birthday dinner for Brandon and an early birthday dinner for sissy, (the two who's birthdays get lost in summer.)  does that happen to you?  my birthday often gets lost in winter.  Well theirs were lost in summer, but we found them, for tonight.  Which was perfectly fine with me because I pretended it was equal parts birthday celebration and equal parts send Claire and Mom off to a foreign land.  I'm going to Guatemala...TONIGHT.  Did I forget to mention that?  Probably got lost in summer somewhere ;)

anyway, this blog may be awfully quiet the next two weeks, depending on 1. if I had time to schedule all those belated posts (I did manage to schedule this one ;) and 2. whether or not I have reliable internet access while away.  If I were one of those "on-top-of-it" bloggers I would have scheduled all sorts of treats but ya know....I'm not that blogger.  Maybe if we beg hard enough Brandon will make a showing here like the good ol' days {wink wink: I know your reading this Brandon!}

have a lovely next two weeks!  And don't let summer run away from you, naughty summer!  catch it by the tail and run with it!

-Claire

Happy Pioneer Day!

Pioneer Day is a Utah holiday in remembrance of the Mormon Pioneers settling in Salt Lake July 24th, 1847.  Many of my ancestors were those early pioneers and I'm thankful for their sacrifice, bravery, and  faith and I'm embarrassed that it often takes this holiday to remind me of them and their legacy. Sometimes I have to tell myself "It's in your blood!"  I don't feel brave or strong.  I feel discouraged with any small challenge I have to face in my life.   Often all I need to know is I'm not the first to endure challenges, whatever they may be.  And I'm certainly not alone.

You can read more about my faith and beliefs here.

"I Will Uphold Thee"

Elspeth Young

This painting is particularly close to my heart.  My good friend, Elspeth Young, is the artist and the two girls in the painting are my ancestors!  I love the story of courage depicted in this painting.  (You can read a short version of it here.)  Elspeth comes from a family of artists.  I've known them since high school and I don't know of a more beautiful family that does beautiful things.

You can view more Young art here
(this painting, by Al Young, is one of my favorites)
also, check out The Storybook Home, it's a dream!
You purchase this print, or any other prints here

Happy Pioneer Day!

just got back from staying with my aunt Steph in Vegas.  I love going to her home, it's better than a 5 star hotel.  I used to compare her to Martha Stewart, but I think the title she really deserves is host of all hosts.  Her home is beautiful, her cooking is to die for, and I really think she needs to start blog so she can share all of her tips and tricks for better living with the world wide web....seriously, you should see what she can do with a dish towel!

Thanks Steph for letting us come visit!  I love you!

San Francisco Film

"If you're alive, you can't be bored in San Francisco.  If you're not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life."

-William Saroyan

SFMOMA

"How often I have found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else." 

-Buckminster Fuller 

one of my favorite things we did in SF was visit the SFMOMA. I hadn't researched any of the exhibitions before and was so pleased when I recognized the works of Buckminster Fuller (hows that for a name). I first ran into his work by, well, basically copying him. I had been working with maps for a while (see selected works here) and decided to continue the work into a 3D design. I began creating globes using old maps and found material, it was like I was making my own worlds. later, while visiting with a professor I noticed a postcard on his wall with the EXACT pattern i'd been using for my globes ("dymaxion" shown in last photo).   I've been a fan ever since. 

a short note on copying: I used to hate it. I hated being copied and I hated copying. I've since determined that it's kinda neat when two different people think on the same waves. in fact, it's a sort of beautiful.

another short note: I'm not very good at sharing my art anywhere, and this blog is no exception.  But I feel safe here, so I should share more.  hold me to that will ya?

last short note: read more about Buckminster Fuller here.  I think you'll like him, his hopes and dreams for the future, and his design.  he's pretty much the coolest.

cisco (instagrammed)

who can't help but love instagram?  here's our SF trip documented via my phone.

a part of utah i've never seen

the best name for a mini mart

sad and sick the first day of vaca

riding in my fav romper & kicks

visiting work while away (BR)

pretty fruit.  pretty weird fruit.

anniversary gift {spoiled}

B's fancy new hat

total tourist waiting for the bus

visiting the fake bridge

we hiked that massive hill

yummy chicken-less chicken

watching the bridge disappear

best.pantaloons.ever

we took the scenic route

a road trip must have

first time @lake tahoe

an accidental photo

*follow me at belleandwhistle

one from SF

every time we tried to make it to the Golden Gate Bridge, we just didn't.  We'd stop to eat or find something else or just be plum tuckered out for the day.  Our last night in SF we made our way over just in time to see the bridge disappear in a fog.  We snapped a few photos, attempted to walk across it but both gave up (in fear we'd be blown away) and caught the bus to China town where we had the most amazing chicken-less orange chicken in all the land.  

whenever it rains, my mom texts me "it's raining for you".  i've always preferred rain over shine.  rain makes me think.  I don't wake up on sunny days and think "it's sunny" I don't reflect on myself and my happenings because the sun comes up.  But when it rains, it's like I slow down.  The good kind of slowing down.  The kind where I think about thinking.  The kind where my thoughts aren't all a jumble and hurried, I take the time to really think.  

sometimes thinking doesn't lead to any real phenomenal thing, sometimes thinking is just thoughts.  

today I thought about my new grown up job.  I thought about how summer has turned into something I wasn't expecting.  I thought about how I work.  a lot.  I thought about yoga, and how I'd like to start that up again.  I thought about cleaning and the talk I haven't written yet (that I give tomorrow in church).  I thought about Brandon, and how he is so much stronger than I ever knew.  I thought about babies and moving and my family's ranch that I haven't visited in way too long.  I thought about progress, and how I seem to be making some without even thinking about it.

*the grapevines in my backyard. film. 

pies & not growing up

amongst several other things my mom does practically perfectly, she is an excellent pie maker.  And when I say excellent, I mean her pies could beat up your pies, like her pies eat your pies for dinner.  ya, scary i know.  That's how good they are.  She says when she grows up she wants to open a pie shop.  I love how she hasn't grown up yet, it makes me feel good about the little progress I've made with adulthood.  Funny how we grow up but don't really.  I still feel like the little girl sitting at the counter watching my mom pinch the crust together that bears the same wheat symbol her mom did and her mom's mom.  I'm still that little girl when I'm home.  I'm learning and watching and wondering how I'll ever make it on my own.  Maybe growing up is realizing you never do.

*this particular pie was in celebration for my brother's birthday in January!  I'd forgotten about this roll of film and only found it a few days ago.  How fun it was to see little snippets of my life I thought worthy enough to snap in film 4 and 6 months ago.

the fourth in film

We had a lovely Fourth.  I ran my race in the morning (more like crawled) and joined my neighbors for the best seats on the block to watch the parade.  Later, we met at the "spot" to eat & watch the fireworks.  and our crowd, which usually consists with cousins, second cousins and probably even third cousins turned out to be just a few.  It's always fun to have our goofy little family together.  And knowing Dane & Brit will be moving to NY at the end of the summer makes these moments even more treasured.  My mom wanted to take a good family photo, since it's rare we find all seven of us together in the same moment, what she got was were the two above :).  Us just being us (particularly Brandon being Brandon).  I think she should blow them up and hang them above the mantle for everyone to see, in all their true and blurry glory.

lavender & lace

snippits from a recent bridal shoot.

she wore a dress made by her mother & grandmother.  there's something sacred about the handmade.  It's meaning you can see and feel.