Sunny Slide Up

feed me – west coast style

Aloha! 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: 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.

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!

some things are worth holding on to

by Mandi | personal

I love that moment, the one when you are at a sporting event and everyone stands up, men remove their hats, some still put their hands on their heart and all is quiet until you hear the words to the star spangled banner. This moment lasts just a few minutes and then we are on to the game.

It is a shame, but it is times like this, and not every day that I think of the men and women that serve our country. I recently came across a story that stopped me dead in my tracks and take a moment to be grateful to our troops and all that they give up for us.

This is the amazing love story of Taylor Morris and his wife Danielle.

Taylor is a member of the US Navy and this is his story. Not only his story but also the one of the woman who has stood by his side – for better or worse. Truely an inspiration.

First I encourage you to click here to see their love story in 22 photos.

Without any words, these photos tell their amazing journey of love.

One of Taylor’s best friends is a photographer. Tim Dodd. He continues to capture their story.

You can read about Tim’s first time visit with Taylor.