The Summer House

Island from Lizzy Stewart

2013-06-02T12:00:00.002-07:00

island from Lizzy Stewart on Vimeo. I saw this on one of the blogs I read and I liked it :)

2013-06-01T21:08:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday we took our son Chase up to San Francisco to celebrate. He just finished his AA and he will be transferring to Cal State Fullerton in the Fall. I wanted to share the details of the trip because, well San francisco is just a really fun city to visit. Public transportation is easy and the food is delicious.

We flew out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County and arrived around 1pm. The one hour flight was perfect. We hopped on the bart to Montgomery and 3rd. Exit B by Peets Coffee and you will find yourself one block away from the Westin at Union Square. It takes about 30 minutes from the airport to the hotel.

This is our favorite place to stay in San Francisco. It's central to all the sites and public transportation and shopping. And the staff there is amazing!! We ended up on the 35 floor with views of the water and Alcatraz.

Tuesday Afternoon
First stop Super Duper just up Market for some garlic fries and Neiman Ranch burgers.

Next we jumped on the 30 bus-the stop is right across the street from the hotel. A transfer to the 28 at Chestnut and you will end up at the Golden Gate Bridge. The views and weather were spectacular. Sometimes the bridge is fogged in in the morning so this late afternoon trip paid off.

Grab the bus back right outside the visitor center. You can use your transfers again. The whole trip costs just $2. Get off at Market and 5th on the return journey and walk just 2 blocks back to the hotel.

This bus line takes you right through the heart of China town-so fun.Be prepared to get squished and see a bunch of cute grandmas with their big packages.

Once you transfer to the 28, it's mostly tourists. We met a nice family from Australia. It was fun hearing about their travels in the states.

Tuesday Evening
When we got back to the Westin Market Street, we changed for dinner and headed to the Mission District via the Bart.
-Mission and 24th-We enjoyed dive-Mexican Food at Farolito. Try the quesadilla-bring cash-they don't accept credit.
-Mission and 16th- Bi-Rite Creamery for some Salted Carmel Ice Cream

There's also a variety of restaurant choices if you want something more upscale at 16th Street-Pizzaria Delfina, Limon Rotisserie, 7By7.

We headed back to the hotel after ice cream. The staff had found out that we were celebrating Chase and had brought about a fruit and cheese basket. Thanks :)

Wednesday Morning
In the morning we woke up early, grabbed coffee at Starbucks across the street from the hotel and walked down towards the water to the Ferry building. The Ferry building is definitely more hopping on the weekends when they have the outdoor Farmer's Market.

In the Ferry Building we tried the Olive Oil Fried Egg Sandwich from Il Cane Rosso (the red dog). The flavors were perfect! And the restaurant counter was so well styled.

Next we walked along the waterfront towards Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. After seeing the sea lions we headed a bit further to Ghirardelli Square.

If you want to try In 'n Out Burger or Boudin Bread (or both) you will find this along the walk. Both are amazing!

From Ghirardelli Square-Grab some Chocolate! I would suggest taking the cable car to Powell street and walking the block to Washington Square. From there we took to the 39 bus to Coit Tower.

Coit tower has amazing views of the city-lots of places to take pictures. I wouldn't recommend going up inside it-the wait is long and it's expensive. The area around it is just as good. The bus will pick you up every 20 minutes for your return trip.

Back to the 30 bus and then a stop in China Town to taste some Dim Sum. If you stop at Broadway and get off-look for the long line in front of a small shop and grab food there. (see photo below)

You have to be a little adventurous because they don't speak English and you have to just point to what you want. After walking around a bit in China Town-it was back on the 30 bus to the hotel.

At the Westin, they were very generous with a late check out so we showered and headed out for a late lunch at Super Duper before heading back to the airport.

Klout was generous and gave us free American Airline Admirals Club entrance so we hung out there (with free wifi, quiet, drinks, snacks and showers) enjoying the quiet until our flight brought us home.

It was a great trip! Lots of walking and perfect weather. To see Chase's photos from the trip-go here.

Mother's Day and Birthday Brunch

2013-05-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

Today we hosted a Mother's Day and Birthday Brunch. My parents and Mike's mom and Step Dad came over for a warm meal topped off with peanut butter brownies.

It was great to be able to honor them:)

Happy Birthday Mom, Happy Birthday Dad, Happy Birthday Don, Happy Mother's Day Mom and Happy Mother's Day Hootie!

We love you all.

So Proud of My Brother!!

2013-05-08T15:06:00.001-07:00

Scott Bedley named 2014 Orange County Elementary Teacher of the Year from Irvine Unified School District. I'm rooting for you for state!!!

Weekend Fun!

2013-05-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

We were at Newport Beach again this morning for a bike ride. It was windy and the surf was crazy and it was a bit cold.

But it's still amazing. I'm always in awe when I see that horizon line, the sky and the sand.

Worked on some more designs today too!

Kalua Coffee Ice Cream

2013-05-03T16:01:00.001-07:00

This is a yummy dairy free ice cream recipe. It's mildly sweet and easy to mix up. This recipe makes enough for 3 small servings. A double recipe fits in our ice cream maker.

Be sure and grind your coffee beans really well. It might work with instant coffee-let me know if you try it like that.

Use canned coconut milk. I buy mine at Sprouts. They have their own brand of organic, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.

We serve it with a homemade peanut butter chocolate shell topping-recipe coming soon :)

Peanut Butter Brownies

2013-04-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

This design will post tomorrow on my 365 Hand Lettering Project but I wanted to share it here as well because so many of you have requested this recipe.

It's my variation from Elana's Kitchen Almond Butter Brownie recipe. It makes a half pan-just perfect for our family and a few friends.

Hand Lettering Class with Jon Contino on Skillshare

2013-04-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a class with Jon Contino! I couldn't be more excited. Come take the class with me! Here's a $10 off coupon for the class at skillshare. The class is only $10 after the discount. The guy is amazing!!

jon contino

White Balsamic and Maple Dressing

2013-04-28T18:02:00.003-07:00

This is our favorite salad dressing at the moment. Oh so yummy and healthy.

You can find the white balsamic at Trader Joe's. This amount fits perfectly in a small mason jar.

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

2013-04-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Austin Kleon calls himself a writer who draws. He is one of the guys who inspired me to start my 365 Day Hand Lettering Project. If you need some quick inspiration or a kick in the butt to try something new-this is your book. And if you want to find out more about his story-watch his Tedx talk here.

You can grab the book on Amazon or get it at your library.

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Dairy Free Maple Ice Cream

2013-04-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

I made some ice cream last night. It was amazing! And it's dairy free and made with coconut milk...healthy! If you don't like coconut, I wouldn't try it but it's a basic recipe so I plan on adding in other ingredients for different tastes.

Grab your ice cream maker. Here's mine. You will need 2 cans of full fat unsweetened coconut milk. I used an organic brand from Sprouts Grocery Store, 1/3 cup Grade B Maple Syrup and 2 tsp Whiskey or Bourbon-optional. The alcohol helps the ice cream from getting really hard in the freezer (if you don't eat it all first.)

Just mix up the ingredients, pop in the fridge for several hours and then process in your ice cream maker as you normally would. Mine churned it up for about 25 minutes.

So soft-so creamy. I'm going to try adding cocoa powder or maybe pumpkin and spice.

Love

2013-04-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've loved sharing my hand lettering here on The Summer House but I also realize that many of you are probably saying "enough already." So this will be the last one for awhile.

I've started a portfolio/project site and will be adding one design each day over there. My plan is to do it for a year so I can continue to improve. Thanks for following along!

Easter || Newport Beach

2013-04-13T07:51:00.001-07:00

One of our favorite holiday traditions is heading to Newport to go bike riding at the beach.

Surprisingly it has been sunny most holidays this past year. This year it was only Chase and I. Mike was flying out that day to Boston for a course at Harvard. (how cool is that!) And Josh's spring break didn't line up with Easter.

We always park out on the Peninsula and ride along the bike path up to 32nd street. It's a great way to enjoy the holiday outdoors!

La Sirena Grill || Irvine, Laguna Beach

2013-04-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

We had dinner tonight at La Sirena Grill in Irvine. I love the outdoor seating at this location. The Blackened Wild Salmon Salad with lime cilantro dressing was so fresh and delicious. Yes-that's fresh mango on top too!

Chase had the carne asada nachos and the chips are amazing...thin and crispy. It's a huge portion! They use mostly organic ingredients-love that.

We enjoy their other locations too!
Laguna Beach Downtown is great for takeout but the seating is extremely limited-more like getting food from a food truck.

The South Laguna location is more like a restaurant You still order up front and they bring the food to your table. They have a bar too. There's no sign outside on this location so be sure and bring the address with you.

A Man's Character

2013-04-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

I saw this one over on Donald Miller's blog last week and just had to hand letter it.

I'm a big fan of his and I love his books including A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. We were lucky enough last year to get to attend the screening of his movie, Blue Like Jazz-a must see too.

You can see all my designs on my portfolio site here. And I have comments turned on over there too :)

Butterfinger

2013-04-02T04:30:00.000-07:00

Because they are my favorite ever!

Surf Naked Expo 2013 || Newport Beach

2013-04-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

Love Your Life // Hand Lettering

2013-03-31T04:30:00.000-07:00

There's just something about arrows that remind me of love.

Today I am thinking about how lucky I am to have great friends and a great family and a great job.

P.S.-I work with 5th graders-so fun!

I Just Know It // Hand Lettering

2013-03-30T04:30:00.000-07:00

Josh always siad this when we would ask him a question. He was about three and it still reminds me of him!

So for you Josh. I hope you have a great day today.

love Mom

The Surfboard Man // Hand Letter

2013-03-29T04:30:00.000-07:00

For you Chase! My youngest son runs a quite successful surfing site and now he's just started another.

I used pen and ink for this one and then colored it in Illustrator.

What I love about Chase is that he is a horrible speller yet he loves writing. There's something so refreshing to me in that combination!

Congratulations on your new job and your CSUF admittance.

New Orleans

2013-03-28T04:30:00.001-07:00

We recently traveled to New Orleans for a business trip. We had a great time on Bourbon street on St. Paddy's day! It was crazy!

Tribridge treated us to a wonderful dinner and night full of fun! Thank you!! See where we ate and where we went on my New Orleans Pinterest board here.

Home // Hand Lettering

2013-03-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

I like how this one turned out. I learned how to change it from black to white writing and place it over a black background.

Home is a great place to be. Whenever I travel, I love coming home!

Albert Einstein Quote // Hand Lettering

2013-03-27T04:30:00.001-07:00

I did this free hand without planning it out. I like the imperfectness of it. I used a micron 05.

This pen was recommended on a blog I read.

I think I prefer my FC india ink pens.

I love my yellow sweater!

2013-03-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

Add a scarf and/or jewelry and I'm all set!

Hello Sun Shine // Hand Lettering

2013-03-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

I love the sun! I guess that's why I live in California. My older son chose Chicago for college. He certainly doesn't take after me.

One cold or rainy day and I'm ready for more sun!