[more] new hair

Sorry if this is sort of becoming a theme every eight weeks. (see also: my last haircut, and the one before that, and the one before that) But I did some new with my hair. [Again.] I love it! [again]. Bonus: my hair dresser gives me a glass of wine when I come in, which was well-appreciated after a really difficult day for me at work yesterday. It is my new plan to schedule haircuts after really crappy work days so I can enjoy a head massage while sipping vino. I felt like a new woman when I left!





Then I came home and discovered the blog Glamourai. And I fell in love with her hair. Why has the internets not revealed this blog to me before? Anyway, after pinning about seven images of her lovely 'do, I stumbled across a great tutorial on curling short hair. yay! I've been wanting to curl my hair for a year, and just wasn't brave enough to attempt it. Stay tuned for the results...



top: The Limited (3+ yrs ago)
boyfriend trousers: The Limited (belt came with it)
heels: Aldo, thrifted

[ps. These photos are from Day 16 of the 21 Day Challenge. I'm still hanging in there! The theme was menswear and I wore these trousers again. I love them almost as much as my hair.]

pps. Thanks for weighing in on our luggage dilemma! We're still considering what to buy, but I'll definitely review whatever we end up with.

luggage: buying the good stuff

This post has been stewing around in my head since I got home in July.

Traveling 8-10 times a year is not much all...but its certainly more than I was doing a few years ago. And it's stressful enough without us worrying about whether or not our luggage will hold together

I got a cheap set of luggage in college right before I left on a two-week trip to Africa. It was a good first set of luggage, and I've used it for every trip since then (Jan '08). But three and a half years later and I'm finally convinced of what E has been telling me for years.

Quality is worth it.

While traveling in Italy every. single. piece of luggage we brought broke (pockets split in my duffel bag, every zipper broken on my suitcase, plus a wheel destroyed). I was paranoid the whole 22 hour trip home that a suitcase would fall apart and I'd lose all my souvenirs!

When I got home, thankfully with all of my belongings safe, I started researching luggage. And got pretty overwhelmed.

E is a big fan of the company Filson (he's a sucker for their tagline "Might as well have the best") and I have to admit that I'm ready to have the best. Here are a few pieces he would probably like:

Passage Rolling Carry-on

Garment Bag

Passage Expedition Duffle

(he already owns and loves his dispatch bag)

But they're a little too manly for me, especially if I'm traveling for work.

When I asked you guys on Twitter what luggage you'd buy if money was no object, I got a surprising number of responses for Louis Vuitton! It never occurred to me to look at LV luggage, but I was really looking for a workhorse, not a designer label.

Then it seemed like one other brand stood out - Tumi. I was impressed.
May I present, my luggage lusts:

Everett Essential Tote

Bedford Westley Weekender (this is a pipe dream as I know I'll never in good conscience be able to spend $900 on a weekend bag)

Alpha Wheeled expandable

Alpha International Zippered Expandable

Briggs & Riley also had some great options with a great warranty. (Thanks again to Kim for the recommendations!)

So now we're putting pennies in the piggy bank to save up for some really nice luggage.

What do you use when you travel? Do you buy throw-away luggage and replace it every couple years, or buy things to last?

Weekend with Cait

My dear friend Caitlin is out visiting from Michigan, hence the radio silence. But I've also been busy posting daily at my style tumblr: Latte Loves Style through a 21-day clothing challenge hosted by Freckles in April.

Here's day eight's outfit.
Location: a colorfully tiled mural in La Jolla.



Since Cait's heading back to the mitten today, here are some other fun photos of her short visit:















1. Vista Farmer's Market
2 & 3. Old California Coffee House + lattes
4 & 5. Breakfast at Peterson's Donuts
6. Crab Cake sandwiches at The Cottage in La Jolla
7. Cait in front of the rainbow mural

ps. Other Adventures with Cait

[Secretly] Healthy Banana Bread

I hope you guys are ready for a yummy breakfast recipe that you won't feel quite as guilty eating every day.

So, why the healthy part secret? In order to get E to like something he's not used to, I tried to hide some healthy ingredients inside a normal recipe, without changing it enough that he notices. And it's really not that hard!

I took inspiration from the banana bread recipe from this cookbook and made my modifications. My secret ingredients were protein powder and wheat flour. simple, right?



And here's how to make it:

[Secretly] Healthy Banana Bread
makes 2 loaves

1 1/4 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
2 scoops (approx 1/4 c.) whey protein powder - plain
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 c. canola oil
2 c sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups overripe, mashed bananas
1 c toasted, chopped walnuts (opt)

Preheat oven to 350. Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. In a large bowl, mix oil and sugar until well blended. Slowly add beaten eggs and vanilla, stirring just until combined.

Add the baking soda to the buttermilk in a separate bowl and stir.

To the main bowl add 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture, then half the buttermilk mix, another 1/3 of the flour mix, the rest of the buttermilk, and the last of the flour. mix just until blended, scraping the sides of the bowl.

fold in bananas and nuts.

Pour into to well-greased loaf pans, sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar, and bake for 1 hour (it only takes about 50 minutes in my oven, so I recommend testing with a toothpick after 45 minutes)

brew-tasting and food-trucking

We had company in from out of town most of last week - what is becoming an annual visit from E's best friend. This year he brought his best lady with him and we had a fun week hanging out. (plus their three-day trip to Zion)

in Coronado on Saturday

We heard about a beer tasting with food truck down in Mission Bay and headed over for the evening to Ballast Point Brewing Company.



I tried a blackberry ale (yum) and an IPA with lime, ginger and szechuan pepper (interesting)



The food truck with Miho Gastro Truck. Alex and I each tried the grilled peach burger with gorgonzola, and E had the lamb meatloaf sandwich. Both were top-notch.










I wish SD's food trucks would come further up to North County, but on the occasions we get down to one we always love the food!

blog-keeping

Remember when I wrote about Blogger Bios? I never share the final project! Some of you have probably already discovered this, but you can find what I came up with here: http://www.latteloveblog.com/p/about-me.html. Have any of you recently got up your About Me section? They're a great way for new readers to figure out what's going on at your site on their first visit.


Speaking of introductions, I know I've picked up a few new readers lately and I'd love to check out your blogs, for those of you who have them. Please comment/link below!


I also mentioned that I have my own blog url : www.latteloveblog.com. No need to update your feed url, but you may if you'd like!


I updated a few things with my layout as well, click over!
Check out my new sidebar button on the top that says Style. Consider this a reminder to follow my almost-daily style tumblr, if you're into that sort of thing. I also updated a button for Travel to encompass all our globe-trotting adventures.

Lastly, E and I saw Crazy, Stupid, Love this weekend and surprisingly both loved it! According to E: "It was a romantic comedy that knew it was a romantic comedy". It wasn't necessarily realistic, but it was honest and believable (and super funny!). Emma Stone was gorgeous as always, and Ryan Gosling...no words required. We recommend!

28 years

Happy 28th Anniversary to my parents who are a true inspiration.

Thank you for creating a wonderful family life, and a wonderful example of marriage by God's grace. I love you both!

ps. their 27th anniversary

Banana Republic launches Mad Men Collection!

Somebody please pinch me. 

MAD MEN. From Banana Republic?

Yes, please.

I'm a huge fan of BR anyway - a lot of my closet is filled with their stuff. 

And I know we have all been obsessed with the fashion featured on Mad Men.

A perfect marriage, in my opinion.

(I do wish, like Fantabulously Frugal, that they would have used a fuller-figured model for some of the very 'Joan' pieces that were obviously built for curves.)

While I love what the BR designers put together - I tried my hand at a few other combinations I'd love to try, via Polyvore.

Banana Republic Stefani sunglasses
$98 - bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel: Mad Men® collection | Banana Republic
bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel: Mad Men® collection | Banana Republic
bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel: Mad Men® collection | Banana Republic
bananarepublic.gap.com

Banana Republic Mad Men Collection Izzy Classic Pump
$120 - bananarepublic.gap.com

Banana Republic The Mad Men Collection Lace Shell
$50 - bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel | Banana Republic
$150 - bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel: Mad Men® collection | Banana Republic
bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel: Mad Men® collection | Banana Republic
bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel | Banana Republic
$150 - bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel: Mad Men® collection | Banana Republic
bananarepublic.gap.com

Women's Apparel: Mad Men® collection | Banana Republic
bananarepublic.gap.com

So, are you gaga over Mad Men fashion like me? What do you have to have from the new collection?

Thrift store Top Redo

So my love for thrifting has hit a new threshold. I purchased something I liked so much that I decided to spend the time to alter it. I don't really sew (I can make pillows, etc) so this was a bit of an intimidating process but I'm so happy with the result!

I have seen several of these make-over posts (NDAD anyone?) and they look so simple. But here was the reality for me: it took three tries and about two hours for me to get this shirt how I wanted it! This vintage top had barely there sleeves and was an XL originally. I carefully took in the shoulders, sleeves and sides.

Not as simple as I would have liked, but worth it. Here's the finished product! [I love the jelly-bean pattern]