zara « Covet Living

So, we had one dee-lightful weekend in San Diego. Wanna see?

First of all… can we all thank Gus aka Sir Licks-a-Lot for waking me up at 4:30am on Saturday morning with a ball in his mouth?? It’s like the little bastard knows it’s dog beach day. So, he surfed at sunrise whilst I sipped a piping hot soy latte. Heaven.

…heaven *until* Gus the giant red bowling ball nearly knocked over an 187-year old man at the dog park, who then retaliated by walloping Gus on the head as hard as he could with a Chuck It… after which, Yours Truly had to leave the scene before I clotheslined the old man. I love old people and all, but don’t &#%$ with my dog.

Oh yeah, and then Karrie and her hubs rolled on into town. We hijacked the pool at the Marriott Marquis for a dip and some hang time with some good ‘ol Midwest folk who were in town visiting. Y’all know Midwest folk are the best kind, right??

Karrie and Gus did a little pre-game spooning while I got ready for dinner… what’s that? Yeah. Those are underwear in his mouth.

We made a quick pit stop at the Princess Pub before dinner. And this happened.

Then we posted up at Prep Kitchen in Little Italy for dinner, which never disappoints. Ever. Amazing farm-to-table comfort food. Do yourselves a favor and start with the Cutting Board.

Do yourselves another favor and order the Short Ribs with Potato Puree, Carrots, Pearl Onions, Crimini & Horseradish Gremolata. HOLY Testicle Tuesday.

Last, make sure the person next to you gets the Tagliatelle Bolognese so you can eat off their plate. This was my favorite dish on the table… homemade pasta, *perfectly* el dente, and the bolognese was to die for. I know it’s hard to see under the hill of parm that I insisted they pile on top, but just trust me.

The night culminated in Karrie taking a picture of me on the commode, then showing it to some random dude outside the bathroom… Uh huh. Later on, I may or may not have fallen asleep in my Uber on the way home… because that, my friends, is what 2 glasses of vino and a full belly will do to you at the ripe age of 33.

Sunday Sunday SUNDAY we hit the streets of Solana Beach and Encinitas for some retail therapy. If you love home decor, you MUST hit the strip on Cedros.

Not to miss: Bixby & Ball – a beachy, breezy little haven with wall-to-wall John Robshaw pillows, gorgeous (and totally reasonable) jewelry and heaven-scented candles that always leaves us in a giddy daze every time we go in there. You’ll want to move in.

(Do you wanna come live at my house, little buddy?)

Also not to miss: Solo (right across the street). Among gobs of other treasures, we spied some vintage glasses we may adopt for our Thanksgiving dinner table.

We hopped up to Encinitas afterward to the Endless Summer Pop Up Party…

Favorite finds?? Um, just about everything at the Hostess Haven booth…

Including rainbow-colored vintage tumblers…

Mismatched, vintage gold flatware…

Pretty tribal napkins…

Dear Darling Calligraphy… so gorge.

Also… cutest food truck I’ve ever seen. Er, food trailer. Karrie had a toasted coconut + mexican chocolate ice cream from here that was so, so so good.

And then we found the Amigo Booth Photo Booth… whoops.

What a mess. Hope you guys had a great weekend!!!

xoxo,

Steph & Karrie

Between magazines, Instagram, Pinterest and the blogosphere, there’s WAY too much out there to keep track of all the eye candy that blows up my shorts, so when I see it, I screen shot it. And it usually gets swallowed up by the big black hole that is my phone, and then goes to die with thousands of its friends on the island of misfit photos. But let’s resurrect some of those pretty little things, shall we?

I’ve never been able to keep my wits together around Adam + Viktoria pillows – sold through Mecox (view all the pretty pillows over on Lisa Fontanarosa’s website). They are luscious and so exquisitely made – velvet appliques on linen. #nomnomnom

No, I’m not in the market for a sparkler… but I am totally loving Andee Layne’s OPI “Don’t Pretzel My Buttons” nude polish for summer.

Cursive “love” ring from Pigment – a sweet little gift-y shop in North Park (San Diego). Hey. It’s a place holder.

The aqua tile with the gold inlay from Exquisite Surfaces (Laguna Showroom, to the trade only). Le sigh.

Best / easiest way, ever, to cook salmon: wrap a salmon steak (tightly) in aluminum foil with a few lemon slices, a few pads of butter, and then I usually sprinkle a little fresh dill, salt & pepper on it. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Comes out perfect EVERY time.

The softest, prettiest linen I ever did see at the Becky Walker Showroom… also to the trade only. I’m a total slut for even putting it on here.

If you don’t follow her on Instagram, you should. I mean. I think she was a tickle in her mom’s drawers when I was graduating high school, but this little fashionista is wise and fashion-forward beyond her years. Great daily dose of style. She’s also so stunning it’ll make you wanna barf.

O&L’s Japonerie wallcovering, via Alex Kaehler’s Insta. Love it. I just ordered samples and they’re even lovelier in person. Also comes in a pale silvery-and-white colorway that is TO DIE.

The best-smelling hairspray that ever lived, says my college bestie Mary.

Cassandra LaValle aka Coco Kelley couldn’t set an ugly table if she tried.

Karrie swears by this. I *^%$ hate foundation. But she put this on me, and then I didn’t hate foundation anymore.

Can’t wait to try it.

Dying to rent it.

Just scored this vintage Stroheim fabric on eBay. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, but I couldn’t help myself. More yardage here.

Perfect little summertime staple for the pool. No longer online but available in Zara stores.

Keeping the sun off my face with this happy hat I nabbed at Marshall’s for a song. It’s a nice pop of pigment since my wardrobe (including the bikini I’m living in this summer – not this one) is white, white and white.