Garden Time!

Yeah for garden season! Have it all planted minus a few things....have a quick pic, but many more to come! I am in the middle of making miso soup...mmmmmm delicioso!

So, I could actually only find this pic which isn't even in the garden...yes, I have expanded outside the garden! That is me in my finest watering the tomatoes. You can see the new composter...LOVE IT, the Edamame, lettuce, mint, and rosemary! There is also a squash in the tomato bed and today I planted parsnip and turnip seeds in there as well. Love this time of year!

Lazy Friday...

I have spent my morning sipping coffee and catching up on some of my favorite blogs. Featured on decor8 today is the house of interior designer Jan Eleni. Her house is AMAZING!!! The living room and bedroom are the exact look and feel I want for our sun porch, which is still a disaster. I have an inspiration file on my computer so I can easily save all the images I love, every single picture made it in! I am honestly in dire need of something creative to do...I know that I could do an inspiration board or move stuff around in my house, but I want to be around creative people who inspire me!!! Who thought I would miss school so much! Yesterday, since I am stuck at home for now with my poor dog, I watched The September Issue which is a documentary that follows Anna Wintour of Vogue around while preparing the biggest issue of Vogue ever printed. I loved it, but was especially enthralled with Grace Coddington the creative director. I loved her visions and concepts. I seriously think that would be the perfect job for me! My favorite aspect of design has always been the conceptual phase. Anyways, have a happy friday!

Cozie with her bandages..still stylin'

Sad Sad Girl

Cozie has to have knee surgery tomorrow...I am a nervous sad little girl right now...

I will live on top ramon...

I have loved the WishbonWishbone Chair  by Hans J. Wegner for years. Every time I see it I stare at the utter brilliance and beauty that it is. To make matters worse in honor of the chairs 60th Anniversary they are releasing it in new colors, fabulous colors I must add. I want them more than anything, sadly, not in the budget.

 
Seriously, these are my heaven. Since we are in my heaven, I would also have the real Saarinen Table as well. We currently have the Ikea copy cat version, so not the same thing! 

Drink Green

I LOVE San Diego weather. I seriously think I suffer from Seasonal Depression Disorder because when the sun is blocked by gray gloomy clouds I hibernate, but when the sun is shining I cannot get enough of it! My goal for yesterday was to rip the garden out, put new yummy dirt in the beds, and start to fertilize the soil so it will be happy and primed for spring planting(which in my book cannot get here fast enough!)! So, after Nick and I took the talks on a hike through the Balboa Park trails we gardened!!!! This is the first time this season we have been in the garden together. It is one of my favorite things to do. The beds look great and healthy. I ripped EVERYTHING out except for the chard which is still growing like crazy. I LOVE having a garden. I love being steps away from fresh organic produce, but I especially love being able to use my greens for my "green smoothies". Can't get much fresher than that! I am a strong believer in eating healthy and from the earth. A few times a week I make a green drink and almost everyday I have an acai smoothie with spinach in it. My husband thinks I am nutso, but I can really feel a difference when I eat right. So, if you have never had acai go get it NOW!!! If you have never had a green drink, make one. I make mine in the blender as opposed to mu juicer because I want all the yummy nutrients. Mine consists of fresh squeezed orange and lemon or lime juice, 3-4 leaves of chard(rainbow or regular), a handful of parsley(flat), and a pinch of ginger. I also add a touch of ice cold water to help the blender. Then, drink up! Hope you are all enjoying the start of spring and feeling as happy and creative as I am!

  Green Drink

Some of the remaining tomatoes from the plants I 

tore out yesterday and the chard for my green drink

My homemade Valentines...I miss Designing,

I need a job!

It's February...Really?

It's February if you haven't heard. The Holiday Season came and went with such speed I am still recoiling from the utter chaos of it all. On December 17th I Cathy Maureen Downing-Rotsart graduated from design school, but in typical Cathy Downing-Rotsart fashion I still have 2 GE classes to complete this semester. I am forever a procrastinator. I am actually quite thankful for my 2 classes, after 9 years of college the idea of not having a class is even more terrifying than growing up and actually having a "big girl job." As I am sure most graduates often feel, though I am sure this recession is heightening these emotions, I feel like a lost floating soul hovering over two maybe even three paths of life. While I have a deep love for design and the benefits it can have on society, the idea of sitting in front of a computer doing someone else's design on CAD sounds utterly terrible. I am not a 9-5 person, how would I fit in my daily yoga and dog walk? I have been utterly spoiled by my husband who has let me be me for the past few years. He has supported me not only financially, but emotionally (anyone who has a friend or spouse who has gone to design school understands how utterly exhausting it is to live with someone who is CONSTANTLY working on projects to the point of tears), and creatively. Without his unconditional support I know I would have given up a long time ago. I love him so much for ALWAYS letting me be myself, even when that self annoys the poop out of him. I tend to be the type of person that finds a new passion in life every other day. I always fall in love with an idea or a dream and pursue it with all my passion until, alas, I discover a new love. For awhile, it was Pilates. I got certified to teach and then fell in love with design again. There was even a time I was bound and determined that Nick and I were destined to be organic blueberry farmers. I know, don't ask. Through all my crazy thoughts and dreams Nick not only loves me, but supports me and actually encourages me to follow my new idea with passion, even if only for a week.There is absolutely no point to this blog whatsoever, except to say I guess, that I LOVE my husband and feel so blessed everyday to have him as my companion in life.
With all that said, as I come to a sort of crossroads in my life I have decided to continue my Yoga and dog walks, strengthen my Prayer, and let life take me on its own organic journey.

photo by Ryan Jones

A Girl can Dream...

I HATE not being able to shop...the stinkin recession has really messed up my fashion senceability! If by some miracle I did have a job and the recession was a thing of the past I would proudly be wearing these around town!

Anthropologie

Vanessa Bruno sweater from Tokokaelo

Mociun Tulip Dress at Mociun

or Tokokaelo

 Yohi Yamamoto Sweater from Tokokaelo

(Could never afford this EVER its like $900)

Mociun Leggings from Mociun

Hunter Boots from Zappos

(not in this color though...I can't decide what color I want)