The Week in Review

The last 10 days were crazy busy and I was feeling down on myself about not blogging. I had a moment when I thought, "Well I guess I haven't done many creative things recently," but when I sat down and thought about it, I realized I was totally wrong! First off, last week on my days off from my regular job, I had the opportunity to help out a new friend of mine Kelsey, who owns a cake design company called "The Whole Cake." http://www.thewholecake.com/ She needed help on a big commissioned cake for Dreamworks (!!!). The project we worked on was a replica of a cake from the Dreamworks movie, "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" for the movie release party. Because I had never done any professional cake decorating and I had seen and tasted her amazing cakes, I was a little nervous about really being able to help.We had a great time, I learned a ton, and her final product was a huge success! But don't be fooled, cake design and assembly is no easy work. It is a true art, and takes great concentration and attention to detail. I'm so glad I got to be a part of the project and am looking forward to learning and helping her more. And what is even more exciting is that Kelsey is opening a cake shop just a few blocks away from my apartment. Look out for The Whole Cake storefront on San Pablo near Cedar (next to my favorite Cafe, Bartavelle) this Spring!!

So on-top of working a 7 day week I decided I needed to cook a delicious home-cooked meal for my good friend Mitra who was visiting from San Diego, and my Aquarian parents to celebrate their birthdays (Mom February 2nd, Dad February 4th). I had been drooling over a Jamie Oliver recipe that I saw on my favorite food blog, The Kitchn, and I knew I had to try it. It was super easy and very delicious. I now present to you, "Chicken in Milk." http://www.thekitchn.com/jamie-oliver-chicken-in-milk-best-chicken-recipe-all-time-80388

And lastly, I finally jumped on the Pinterest band-wagon. It's fun and totally addicting.
I have the next two days off and I'm really going to take a break.Do you have any new fun projects, recipes, or Pinterest addictions to share?
xxoo, Hadley

Had to have this necklace!

I LOVE supporting small businesses and independent artists. About a year ago I was walking through my old stomping grounds in Old Oakland and I stumbled upon a beautiful jewelry gallery called Crown Nine on 9th Street. I walked in and was welcomed warmly by the owner and jewelry designer, Kate Ellen. I immediately fell in love with her work and pined away until I found the perfect piece to add to my collection. Here is Crown Nine and my beautiful necklace. Thank you Kate! Check her out! http://www.crown-nine.com/category/by-artist-kate-ellen-metals

On Inspiration: Part I

When the ideas for my blog were brewing I kept feeling like I was waiting to be struck with inspiration and for the moment to be "just right" to get started. My birthday and the eminent New Year were a helpful kick-in-the-butt, BUT it was also the confluence of several creative sources that helped me jump right in.

Source of Inspiration #1: The book "The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles" by Steven Pressfield. My mom gave me this book because it has helped her get back into creative writing, something that she has done in the past, but had put aside while developing her other artistic talents (painting, collaging, knitting, sewing, jewelry-making, etc), and she thought it would help me get my creative juices flowing. Well it did. I am reading it and loving it! It's a no B.S. nitty gritty, get shit done kind of book. Here are some of my favorite quotes so far: "Self-doubt can be an ally. This is because it serves as an indicator of aspiration. It reflects love, love of something we dream of doing, and desire, desire to do it. If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), 'Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?' Chances are you are...Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do...The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it."

 The following quote will stay with me forever. Steven Pressfield said that someone once asked playwright and novelist Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. "I write only when inspiration strikes..Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp." Creative acts take discipline and are not always as romantic as we imagine. And like most things we resist, the moment we are sitting down to do them, the better we feel, because we are moving forward.

So don't wait for it:

Happy creating!! (And feel free to share your rituals or routines for getting s _ _t done! I'd love to hear them)
I also wanted to share my soundtrack for this post. I heard this song today and can't get it out of my head. Here are two great versions:

Springing into the New Year

One of the great things about living in the Bay Area is the temperate climate and the abundance of amazing nurseries. Since I had the day off and it was about 70 degrees outside today, I had to give my porch garden a mini-makeover. I have two great nurseries walking distance from my place: East Bay Nursery http://www.eastbaynursery.com/ and Dwight Way Nursery http://www.yabusakisdwightwaynursery.com/. I'm also a big fan of The Dry Garden in Oakland http://www.thedrygardennursery.com/ and Cactus Jungle http://www.cactusjungle.com/ in Berkeley; and Flora Grubb www.floragrubb.com in San Francisco.

Here is what my little porch looked like this morning:

 Here is what it looks like now:

My favorite find of the day was this ornamental kale for only $2.16. Also great for table centerpieces!!

I hope this inspires some gardening!! xxoo, Hadley

Talent Trades

I promise that all of my post titles will be alliterated. But while thinking about what I wanted to share here, I realized that one of the most important things that has kept me going through this period of career transition and discovery has been the trading of skills, talents, and services with close friends.When money is tight we become more resourceful.When we are soul-searching we want to spend time with the people we love. And what better way to achieve this but by trading talents! Over the last couple of years I have traded my closet organizing skills for life coaching with my good friend Maya Diamond. I helped my friend Karen Little with some wedding planning and created her bouquet and boutonniere in exchange for her taking professional photographs for my then "future" blog. I also did some painting and bedroom makeover work for my girl Rose Tash who helped me brainstorm and "concept" for this blog. I even designed and planted a vegetable garden for chiropractic care! What kind of trades have you done with your friends and talented acquaintances? Below are a few photos of some of these talent trade experiences.

 1. Photo by Karen Little 2. Photo By Rose Tash 3. Photo by Karen Little 4.,5.,6. Personal Photos :-)

Floral Flair

Maybe it's because my parents have always been serious gardeners and because I spent my summers as a teen working in the vegetable garden at Hidden Villa Summer Camp, or maybe I was just born this way--but I've always had a passion for vegetable and flower gardening and floral arrangements. Below are some of my favorite floral moments from the recent past. More of these to come!!

Happy Birthday to me! As many of you know, the idea for this blog has been something that I've been talking about and brewing for the last two years. I've been inspired by various creative designers, photographers, writers, chefs, bloggers, and artists; but my perfectionism and fear were holding me back. I kept thinking that I had to read all of the books on blogging and learn how to use all of the fancy computer programs before I could start--but I realized that if teenagers can blog, then so can I. I decided to publish my first blog post, today, the day before my birthday, in order to start my 34th year with a creative bang. And who better to share it with first but my closest friends?! I'm not exactly sure where this blog will take me, but I see it as an outlet and journal for creative design projects, a means to share what makes me tick, a forum to feature other creative and talented people, and hopefully a way inspire others to share their passions with the rest of the world as well. After all, most artist don't do what they do because they want to, rather because they have to. So thank you family, friends, and fellow risk-takers for helping me get here. I have to especially thank Rose Tash for helping me come up with the blog title and concept, and Aryan Aminzadeh for connecting me with Sara Nicely who designed and created my logo that fits my aesthetic so well. I love it! Thank you Sara: http://saranicely.com/. 
I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you!