Ever since I saw this photo of Gwyneth Paltrow rocking relaxed jeans, a grey sweater, and red booties I’ve been obsessed with tracking down a pair of my own and copying her outfit. Here is what I found – don’t be surprised if next time you see me, I’m wearing those little red boots.
I love breakfast. Give me any kind of morning delicacy and I’m happy – french toast is one of my favorites. I love them all, omelets, eggs benny, waffles, hash browns. Yum, yum. When I was in high school, I had the privilege of spending time with my friend’s family in Whistler every winter. Her dad was famous for making pancakes on mornings before skiing, and he would always make too many. When everyone was stuffed and heading toward the rooms to get ready to head out for the day, he could be heard in the kitchen, “Panner, anyone, panner, there’s still a few left!”
I always find myself saying that same thing when I’m making breakfast on mornings when we have guests in our house.
Anyways, seems like breakfast these days has evolved to brunch out. Usually accompanied by a mimosa or bloody mary and sometimes ending with a Sunday Funday.
If you ever get a chance to snatch a bloody mary from a St. Regis Property. I absolutely recommend it. This one is from our visit to Park City last winter and includes black lava salt on the rim, wasabi foam on top, complete with syringe of Worcestershire and horse radish you inject yourself.
Want to take the more casual bloody route? Try a bloody mary bar, giving you options to spice it up or mellow it out, plus add enough veggies to justify calling the drink your salad for the day.
Anyways, drinks or no drinks at your brunch, be sure to take time to relax and enjoy the company you are in. And, don’t worry, if you don’t get your laundry done when Sunday brunch turns into Sunday Funday, there’s always Monday night for that.
xx
-h
As H mentioned, I have ventured to Nairobi, Kenya. I arrived just a few hours ago and the current time is 1:35am. The thirty hours of traveling and ten hour time change has left me severely jet-lagged and unable to sleep.
This year has brought a lot of change for me. I think that if you would have asked me this time last year what I was going to do after graduation, I never would have said moving to Kenya for the Fall. This opportunity sprung on me, so I took it. Unaware that when the time came to actually go, I would be shaking in my boots. I can tell you that four hours into my three month stay I have felt an array of things; mostly scared and lonely, but also very excited.
I will keep everyone updated, especially when I see this place in the daylight.
xoxo
-s
Sometimes when you’ve had a few too many to drink the night before you need comfort food that will put you back on your feet. For me, that is usually some sort of Mexican delight including cheese. Last weekend, I decided I needed some nachos but we didn’t have any chips. *Dramatic groaning and noises.* R said he would go to the store for me but I was being a baby, “noooo, it’s fiiiine”. I remembered that in the freezer we had a huge stack of corn tortillas and decided this was the perfect opportunity to heat up some oil and make my own chips.
It’s pretty simple, heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet such as a cast iron until when you drop a fleck of tortilla in it sizzles. Cut your tortillas into chip sized pieces. I started by doing quarters and then decided sixths would be better. Fry 4-5 pieces at a time, flipping after 30-45 seconds and transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and lime juice and let cool.
Then you know what the next steps are. On a baking sheet, layer chips, cheese, whatever meat you like (in this case – SHRIMP!), tomatoes, olives, green onion, etc. The key to good nachos is in the layering. You don’t want to eat the first chips off the top and then get to the bottom and have chips without cheese melted on them. That would be sad. Bake until all the cheese is melted and serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and hot sauce.
Happy nacho-ing.
xx
-h
I’ve been brainstorming what kind of shoes I’m lusting for for the past couple of days, and although there are several pairs, I thought that it would be more fitting to share some exciting news. So today instead of Shoesday, I’m here with Newsday. Tomorrow, Sarah will be leaving for perhaps her greatest adventure to date. She will be embarking on the internship of a lifetime in Kenya working for a coffee company.
I know that there is some lingering nervousness paired with excitement that she is feeling right now. I think that anyone who has made a decision that is new, knows that feeling in the pit of your stomach. There is always the fear of the “what ifs” but traveling is the best way to learn a lot about how you handle those moments of unknown. I’m so proud of how far S has come in the past year and how she has grown and developed professionally. I can’t say how jealous I am that she is taking advantage of this opportunity. S will update on her 3 month long adventure here on 1000 Wonderful Things. I can’t wait to read her posts.
“You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.” ~ Ella Maillart
xx
h
If you follow me on twitter or instagram (hannahhanley), you may have noticed an influx of doggie pictures, a certain Saint Bernard in particular named Judge. R and I adopted him last Friday from the Saint Bernard Rescue Foundation via petfinder.com. He is one year old, the adoption place told us he weighed 70 lbs, but we weighed him on Wednesday night, and he’s more like 120. He’s a sweet boy and we love him already!
Welcome to the family Judge!
xx
-h
The first time I ever visited The Gorge, I was five and there for the Steve Miller Band concert. Fortunately, Steve is a close family friend so we got the whole backstage experience and from what I remember…it was awesome. I can’t imagine why it took me seventeen years to go back.
This summer I spent the opening and closing weekends of summer there, which was epic. Memorial Day Weekend I stayed four nights and saw over twenty concerts. Labor Day Weekend I stayed one night and saw one concert. Although the weekends are incomparable, they were equally spectacular. The perfect combination of great people, music and scenery seems to make for an unbeatable weekend every time.
It’s hard to believe that a place where the standard rules of society don’t apply is only a three hour drive from the city.
Here are just a couple of my favorite pictures from my time there this summer…
Best view in the house – Memorial Day Weekend
Lighting hot air balloons – Memorial Day Weekend
Rachel and me at the campground- Labor Day Weekend (Photo Cred: Rachel’s FB)
DMB aftermath – Labor Day Weekend
See you next summer, Gorge Amphitheater, right where I left you.
xoxo
-s
When we were in elementary school, my mom would take us back to school shopping. Every year on the list was 2 pairs of shoes. One for running around, and one nice pair for school picture day, choir concerts, Sunday church, and all the other occasions that the casual look wasn’t appropriate. I remember one year I was obsessed with this pair of lace up booties. I would wear them ALL the time with frilly socks and dresses. They looked relatively similar to these dandies from Zara.
Zara Flat Ankle Boot with Laces – $99
These days I would lose the frilly socks and dress and instead pair them with leggings, and a chambray button down.
For my more casual pair, back in the day it was all about Adidas Samba. Fast forward a few years (wink wink), this year’s back to school shopping would include these always classic Jack Purcell in white canvas.
Even though I’m not going back to school this year, I can’t help but shop a little.
xx
-h
S and I spent last weekend at our family’s lake place on Priest Lake in North Idaho. We borrowed a party barge from our parent’s friends and putted around the lake. I love this photo of Ripken with his ears floating in the wind.
Don’t you love how doggie ears feel like velvet? Rip is 11 years old, he likes to rest his chin on your lap and close his eyes that now have cataract in them. I feel like massaging his soft ears makes his eyes feel a little better.
Happy holiday weekend!
xx
-h
If this new Macklemore & Ryan Lewis video doesn’t make you smile, it’s time to hit the thrift store.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes&w=560&h=315]
xx
-h
