food trucks in phoenix and a lesson on GTD.

a few wednesdays ago ashley (from the shine project--i'm not speaking of myself in the 3rd person, mind you...) and i went out to the food trucks in Phoenix. 

it was something i had heard of, but never attended, and seeing as i have a new found love for that capital of ours, i was really excited to check it out.

while the food trucks were fun to look at, the food was delicious, and the farmers' market was just about the quaintest thing i'd ever seen, what i really took from the experience was a little thing i liked to call GTD--its the fancy shorthand for getting things done.

you see, ashley (again not me), knows how to do just that.

she maybe doesn't know it, but she's an inspiration to me.

she has such a busy and full life and i really look up to her for that.

aside from all the service she does for people who are struggling, i thought it was really awesome that she just said to me, 

"hey, what are you doing wednesday? how 'bout going to the phoenix food trucks with me?"

you see we had been casually mentioning that we needed to hang out sometime, but, other than a few service projects, had never made the time.

i feel like that happens a lot to me. people say they want to hang out, and i really do too, but i don't seem to make the time. 

 or even when i have the time, i don't take the initiative to ask them. i worry that they'll be busy, or they won't like what i suggest, so i just sort of let it go and before i know it, it's been a year and we have never hung out.

 so, ashley, while i certainly find your shine project inspiring, what i really love about you is your ability to GTD, and i hope i can take that lesson to heart, and do it myself.

because life can really pass you by, and i'm not okay with that unless it was filled with people and memories, and adventures.

So this month, i'm going to spend a lot less time playing on my phone or the computer and try and spend a lot more time reaching out to old friends, new friends, and family, and i'm going to get things done.

What are you going to do?

CLOSED: Cents of Style Giveaway!

THE WINNER IS GRACE!
I'm emailing you right now, so be sure and check :)


So, ya'll remember the shoes i wore yesterday?

The aqua blue, turn-you-into-a-mermaid-supermodel-wedges?

I got them from a newly discovered shop, called Cents of Style and i reallllly, really like their stuff. 

They're all about fashion on a budget! So i'm pretty sure you will all really like it too!

Today they're offering one lucky reader of i believe in unicorns. a $20 credit to their shop, plus, they always have free shipping!

just go to their shop, 

tell me what you'd get if you won,

AND 

"like" their facebook page and let me know you did.

*make sure and leave me a form of contact (email/twitter/blog) so i can let you know if you won!

they're also offering 10% off EVERYONE'S order with the code: RAINBOW10, so get shopping!

Happy Tuesday! Hope you all had a great Memorial Day!

Here are my favorites for around $20:

1, 2, 3, 4, & 5

*talley tweet me your concerns.

this day was an interesting day.

and when i say interesting, i mean, it started off dreadfully.

as many of you scholars have gathered, i reside in the desert state of Arizona.

a place i am very proud to call home.

a place i truly love about 8-9 months out of the year.

but there is a portion in the summer months, that i absolutely abhor the place.

that is to say, i'd rather be just about anywhere else but here.

thankfully, a great man named Willis Carrier invented the grand old thing we natives know as the air conditioning.

it makes this desert life somewhat bearable.

well a few days ago, that savior decided to go out in our car.

our black car.

our black car that we don't have a garage for.

we had about 100 errands we needed to run, the high was scheduled to be 106 degrees and we had no a/c.

this did not make me a happy camper. 

i begged marcus to get it fixed, but the bill he imagined in our head did not make him a happy camper.

so instead he googled it. 

which then took him to youtube. 

and one excruciating drive across town took us to a big electronics store, at which, for around $4, he bought the magic answer to our a/c woes.

one we got home it took him about 10 minutes and it was blowing nice and cold in that black-hot-as-an-oven-car of ours.

he came running upstairs with the biggest, proudest grin on his face and he proclaimed he had fixed it.

i loved that face, so i laid my appreciation on thick, and he loved it.

and that, my friends, is one of the very reasons i love the man i married.

it's the little triumphant moments that make life great.

celebrate it!

now, for these shoes. 

wow. i did NOT expect them to be this tall, but they're kind of great, right?

i feel a little bit like a super model with them on as they take my 5'6" stature up to 5'11". 

it's pretty wild up here. and because of the platform, they're not really very hard to walk in.

but that color? i die for the color. so amazing. 

stay tuned for a cents of style giveaway coming your way this week!

the breakdown:

sunnies: forever21

checkered top: j.crew

jeans: madewell

"worthy" wedges: c/o cents of style

{Foodie} Fridays: Summer Salad

And now for our next installment of {foodie} friday:

I have a hard time getting myself to make a salad. 

I really enjoy a good salad, and my sister-in-laws on my both side are always bringing these delicious varieties to Sunday dinner, but whenever i try and make one it's like a bag of mixed greens and some hidden valley ranch.

So I finally bit the bullet and tried something fancy.

My mom had a raspberry vinaigrette recipe that i adapted

1. because i forgot to buy raspberries and we have blackberries in our backyard

and 

2. because my moms recipe was incredibly sweet (mine's still sweet, I just cut the sugar way back)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2/3 cup of white sugar (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1 fist-full of fresh blackberries

Directions

--In a blender combine vinegar, sugar, mustard, berries, & salt mix until combined. With the blender running, add the oils through the hole in the top. Blend until well mixed. Add poppy seeds and pulse just until mixed.

If too thick, mix in water a little bit at a time. Dressing will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

*I served with half spinach, half romaine lettuce, fresh strawberries, candied slivered almonds, and mandarin oranges (thought of them after i snapped the picture). So fresh and delicious!

Enjoy!

big time insta-drop. sue me.

as much as i am in denial about it, my favorite season of spring has hit the road and summer and it's 107 degree+ weather shoved itself in it's place, much to my disapproval.

and since my spring cleaning hourglass is up, i decided it was time to do a big photo drop.

look away if instagram photos make you queasy or something...

c/o modcloth if you didn't already know, trader joe's is a fabulous place to buy flowers. i got this gorgeous bunch of daffodils for like $1.22 or something!
the day i discovered i was actually a vampire...sad times.
ma nielson grows the best roses. and that's a fact.
our favorite.
best $2.50 i ever spent.
thank you phoenix farmer's market
the ashes of spring in the valley.
shadows and smoothies.
my famous summer waffles. best served year-around.
a subtle_takeover design.
i still sort of can't believe this thing is real. and at walmart!
phoenix.
a chance meeting with chelsea and scott :) we just love running into them!
i don't drink soda very often, but it was this bottle that finally made me pick a side. the side is pepsi.
1st time here!
good hair day.
i admire companies with good signage.
cinco de mayo with lauren and friends.
the cup of jo braid! did you see me on there? i almost fell off my chair! i love the light through the leaves.
but not as much as i love this guy.
this is just the epitome of summer, right? that's what i see when i look out my bedroom window :)
here & here
here!

mermaid tail again! do you need a video tutorial?
bahama bucks, please and thank you.
they follow me wherever i go. i'm at an electronics store for goodness sakes! one of the best times of my life. i'll never forget the magic of this moment.
happyness.
he's so dapper.
i'm going to try and make these.
why? just why? have you seen the everybody loves raymond about these things? so good.
when az tries to be hi.
thanks for you instagram support on this outfit :) i had my doubts...
so i'm obsessed with this necklace. you've got a problem with it?
follow along if you wish @ashleyanielson