by Guest | adventures, featured guests
Hi it’s Stella again! I just spent two weeks on the West Coast and returned home feeling fully inspired by the laid back lull of the NorCal vibes.
I am glad to be home to Burton and Luna. Our castle wedding is in FOUR WEEKS, so it’s time to get down to some serious business!!
This week I wanted to share with you a mobile app that we really enjoy: Timehop. Channeling your social media accounts, Timehop allows users to reach back into time, where our memory may have failed us. I enjoy my daily updates to see what my adventure trio was up to years past.
In Austin last March for SXSW
Check out Timehop here: www.timehop.com
Lastly, here are some photos from my trip to Santa Cruz & my roadtrip along the Pacific Coast. ENJOY!!!
Santa Cruz Zen Treehouse Nestled in Redwoods
Sunset in Santa Cruz
Birthday Lanterns Off Into the Sky
Brunchin’
Those Teeny Dots Are People & Dogs
… When You Know It’s Time to Go HOME 🙂
My daily adventure photos are posted on my  SvetlanaMinx Instagram account.
XOXO
-Stella
by Guest | featured guests
Aloha! Â After living on the road for nine months, I am so happy to share with you my enthusiasm for a #homecooked meal. Burton and I have dined in almost every state in the country, but nothing is more romantic than sparks in the kitchen. Right??!
We both work remotely, so we spend a lot of time together pecking away at our laptops, while Luna drops slobbery balls in our laps and begs for a walk on the beach. We moved to quiet, “snow bird” island in October of 2012. We were so ecstatic to have a bright, beautiful kitchen filled with everything we needed to whip up some much needed soul food. It helped us unwind from a busy life on the road. Burton loves to juice, and I love to cook. Two time-crunched creatives, we rekindled romance in the kitchen.
Even though we can both work at home, we often don’t have much time for meals. Sounds crazy, right? Remember we are planning a wedding! We made a pact when we moved into our beach cottage to stick to #homecooked meals. We really wanted to test our creative limits and make dedicated time to unplug together.
So how did we do it? It took some serious collaboration and planning, but we quickly devised a plan that allows us to cook up dinner in under an hour. You can do it, too!!
THE PLAN OF ATTACK: Â I have the Pinterest app on my iPhone, and since I already used it as a tool to unwind from a long day of work, I started using that time to scroll through recipes for inspiration. So each night, I pin recipes to my board. On the weekend, we sit down together and choose recipes based on seasonal items and using what we already have at home. We buy most of our groceries from Trader Joe’s and get our seafood locally. We set a budget of $100 per week because we love a challenge!
On Sunday we write out our menu items on our fridge planner. We also use Sundays, our “Weekend Warrior Day,” as our day to pre-cook and prepare meal items and snacks for the week. I normally do my grocery shopping on Monday –when the stores are not so busy.
I just spent a week on the West Coast in San Francisco, and have another week to go in Santa Cruz on a work retreat. Have you traveled here? The food is ahhhh-mazing!! Here are some pictures of inspiration. View more on Instagram.
 
  
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What are some of your favorite recipes? How do you bring the sexy into your relationship?? Share in the comments below!!
XOXO
– Stella
meet stella!
by Guest | featured guests
Luna loooooves a doggie car ride. I adopted Luna after my elderly neighbor in Charleston, SC passed away unexpectedly. She was eight years old. The doggie car ride was a new and glorious experience for us both. Ears flapping in in the wind, slobber trailing down the windows. Mission: dog park … beach … adventure!! PURE JOY!!
Fast forward to 2012. Burton and I decided it was time for an epic road trip so that Luna could sniff every corner of the USA. We called the adventure Luna’s Last Hurrah.
At 14 years old, she was slowing down and her mobility was progressively limiting to front-wheel drive only. Regardless she’d want to chase tennis balls and jump into every body of water in her path. We were petsitting in Portland and flipping through the newspaper on sunny morning when I came across an article about water treadmill rehabilitation for dogs. We vowed to get Luna on a program as soon as we got off the road.
Luna turned 15 years old this spring. We take each day, one day at a time. She promised me she’ll hang on until our wedding in Charleston in April. To help with her promise and whip her into shape, I take her to go hang out with her new BFF, Luke. He treats her like a princess. She gets so excited as the water fills up the tank. Suddenly all the pain and aches melt away. The treadmill turns on and suddenly she’s swimming, jogging, panting — like years past. He ends her sessions with massaging jets.
I am writing this post from 10,000 feet in the air on the way to San Francisco. My castle wedding is in 6 weeks!! I’ve been trying really hard to keep up with Luna. Workouts, massages, meditation, counting my wrinkles in the mirror. What I need are some magic tricks to give me back my youthful, sun-drenched skin.
Got any tips to cure the excitable wedding jitters?!! Skin transforming miracles? DIY mask recipes?
XOXO
Stella
