surf shack.

You know what? There's a little place in Montauk, NY called the Chandelier Surf Shack. It's a refuge for Chandelier Creative employees, and it is TO. DIE. FOR.

Whenever I want a little taste of inspiration/eye candy, I scroll through the images of this so called "shack."

It's a bar none favorite of mine, and if my home can resemble it in any way, shape, form, or VIBE... I'll be one happy camper. Make that a happy beach camper.

BEHOLD...

I am so in love.

via the CSS tumblr

sweet water.

Last weekend we went beach camping at Half Moon Bay. Needless to say, it was a stellar time. It all started with the tiniest dirt road onto the 'Sweet Water' camp site, which dumped you out onto the water's edge surrounded by the most inspiring trees you can imagine. The dogs came, and were the entertainment. Everyone ate Hippo up, and snuggled with Bird. The guys thought that using Hippo to 'tow-in' on the sidewalk with a longboard was the best idea ever. Hippo also thought it was the best idea ever. He loves skateboards.


After camping, we followed it up by traveling south with our new friends the Allens (Mike, Amy, & Audrey). They are keepers, we can tell already. They've really been hooking us up on the cool front as of late, and there will be more adventures with them in the near future. It helps that their 6 month old girl is one of the most amazing babies I've ever met (Beckett, you have her trumped, don't you fret).

They took us on a mini-road trip south on the CA-1. To paint a simple picture for you, imagine a cliff side drive surrounded by gorgeous and aromatic farmlands, and an ocean view that stops the heart. Our first stop was the Pescadero Country Store to buy some local artichoke garlic bread. Locally grown garlic & artichokes= garlic bread with artichoke hearts IN IT... holy. cow. was that delicious. If you ever get the chance to taste it yourself, be sure to enjoy it outside on a bench, with a hippie banjo musician playing in a local park behind you. You'll definitely savor the moment that much more, haha. Anyway, as we continued our drive down the 1, Mike took us to a little secret spot. We climbed down a small trail on the coast that took us to an absolutely stunning cove. Said cove was adorned with a legitimate hollowed out tunnel from the ocean's tides, and massive free standing rocks (the size of small mountains). Breathtaking. Drive a little further south, and you'll find a whole lot of kite boarders enjoying the swell & wind. It was a crazy show to say the least. We then topped it all off by stopping off at a "jam tasting" farm & store. This business was run with an "honesty till" which I thought was the coolest thing for a California beach farm. I would have high fived the owners right there, but you know... they weren't around. Old school at it's finest. We enjoyed some savory soup and a game of 1960's pick up sticks and then made our way back home.

The day was one that if a film crew had followed us around, and added some low key awesome music to the shots... they could have turned around and sold it to some company for a million dollars to make a commercial. If you saw this commercial, I guarantee you would feel the need to switch to their bank, insurance, or open their travel points credit card in a heartbeat.

It was that epic.
And it was all done in sweat pants. Every one of us. Again, epic.
Chuck Norris even joined us on Andrew's shirt.

Oh man do I love where we live.

almost.

Contrary to previous anniversary, birthday, and Christmas surprises... boyfriend really pulled through this time for our 4 year wedding anniversary. The surprise? My dream. Absolute dream... to ride in a hot air balloon. Over the beautiful rolling -vineyard covered- hills of Napa no less. The catch? The wind. The dream come true was cancelled.

But we got THIS close. Literally. In the gondola and everything. At 7am.
So what did we do? Go to Six Flags instead of course.

Andrew felt the need to help. Or whatever.

Such a breathtaking drive.

Oh yeah, in classic Andrew fashion, when a pre-show host asks for everyone to "make some noise" he went above and beyond. No one went beyond hooting and waving. But Andrew... he of course decided to act like whatever the present may be, it was worth a million dollars. So naturally we were selected to enjoy the show from Hawaiian Airline's special leather sofa.

Woo.

 

And after a soaking log ride, beautiful big cats, fair swings, bat rays, roller coasters, & a funnel cake later... we lived happily ever after.

summer solstice.

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!
(Christmas is awesome, but SUMMER HAS YOU BEAT!)

Oh summer. Welcome. I love you so much.
-Arica

hex bracelet.

When I first saw this bracelet DIY online, I knew it was for me.. twine? brass hardware? JEWELRY? You know I'm sold. So I made it happen. And I totally love it.

Do it yourself, here.

pin it.

*all via Pinterest

Seriously, if you haven't heard of or gotten yourself an invite to Pinterest, you need to NOW. I've been 'pinning' for a little while now and JUST.CAN'T.STOP. What is this you might ask? Well, odds are if you like browsing the blog world for pretty images that inspire you, or make your mouth water and what not, then pinning is for you. I've gotten all of my sisters and some friends on board, and all are now addicts. As a designer, I've found it to be an ENDLESS LIBRARY of all things inspiration... and then find myself inspired in a hundred other ways as well. There's so much DIY'ing up in that place, it'd blow your mind. And the RECIPES... don't even get me started. Heavenly resource is what this is. Guaranteed ANY of you can find PLENTY of things you would LOVE to pin.

If you're already on the scene, you can follow my page at pinterest.com/aricamalace
Want in? Leave your email and I'll send you an invite.
You'll thank me for it.

PS. Is that little girl not the cutest human being you've ever seen?

ink.

Let me preface by saying.. I will never have a tattoo. I have a grateful love for my body that is stronger than the love for beautiful artwork that can be placed on it. Alas, I also love my husband more than them.. he hates that I love them. Sorry, boyfriend.

I love tattoos. Did you know? OBSESSED. Good ones. If you ask me many of them are gotten for the wrong reasons, by the wrong artists, and are done without much though or quality.. leading to a crappy decision and hideous permanent ink. BUT there are beautiful pieces. Gems. I would have many in another life.

All of this has to do with the fact that a while back I found my dream tattoo. Found it. It's me. And I find myself daydreaming of it from time to time. It's not 'one of a kind', but it's me none the less. Placement, artwork, simplicity, sheer beauty that I can't imagine regretting so long as I would have lived (in this other lifetime of course).

Wanna know what it would be? Well, I'll show you. Controversial lust? most likely. Your taste? doubtful. But I absolutely adore it. All that said. Here she is. My dream piece of ink, gracefully wrapped around my forearm.

via

in. love.

the real deal.

I've decided to share a board with you today that'll warm things up a bit. And it's actually one of things I OWN AND LOVE rather than things I only dream of. A real life recommendation rather than empty lusting. (:


1. Lollia Breathe hand creme- So I live in Utah. The driest state EVER. I've never really had a need to 'moisturize.' My body does a really good job at staying ..how do I say, oily enough? Ha. Anyway, my hands though this winter have been taking a beating more so than ever. So what did I do? Invest in the BEST creme of my life! This would have been nice to have for all the years I've been massaging previously. I usually just dab a bit of oil into my palms after my shift, but this would have been divine! That plus the fact that I am currently washing my hands a million times a day. I have a puppy, I clean up pee, I wash my hands. And now I MOISTURIZE! With the best smelling, best LOOKING, creme out there. Worth all the pennies. (:

2 & 3. She & Him albums- I've been bouncing around with my music genre's a lot lately, but this purchase I made a little while ago has still proven to be a worthy investment when my mood is calling for a little Zooey Deschanel.

4. Bath & Body Works orange ginger aromatherapy oil- This is a bitter sweet item for me. Sweet because I'm obsessed! It's the best smelling aroma I've ever used both in a treatment as well as in my diffuser at home. I first learned of it when I traded services and got a facial from my friend Shiloh.. she used this oil and it made all the difference for me. It's pretty much the definition of yummy. The bitterness because they don't make it anymore... and I'm literally down to my last drop. If you can find me some, we'll be BFF's! PLEASE!

5. Baker's twine- I just love this stuff. Packaging, decoration, kicking bad habits (which I must admit I am not currently text-driving sober.. eek!). You name it.. it's just so cute & handy!

6. Toms natural canvas shoes- I almost showcase a pair of Toms on nearly every board simply because I'll preach them from the mountain tops! I only have 2 pairs, but they are my most favorite things! (next to my Rainbow's of course, but those don't get much use up here sadly). My natural canvas' are so comfortable and versatile with so many outfits. Toms will change your life.

And of course a shot of one of my all time favorite plants..
A bougainvillea bush.
Reminds me of home, warmer days, color, and of course SUMMER.

Ahhh, happiness.
What are some of your current loves?

Cheers!

Introducing..

Since I KNOW the anticipation is literally KILLING YOU. You've had to wait less than 24 hours, but it's felt like ETERNITY, I JUST KNOW IT. (Odds are you've actually not even read the previous post yet, haha) I will now let you in on the most glorious gift I will be receiving in just weeks. This gift being a generous Vday/Helping hand/Bday gift from the man in my life!

WE GOT OUR BULLY!!

...and we are SO.IN.LOVE.

I give you...
Hippopotamus the Ist

He and I met today, and it was love at first snort. I seriously can't even believe how darling he is. He's the tiniest, softest, mushiest, sweetest thing I've ever held. And honestly is that brown tail not the cutest thing you've ever seen? And he's all ours! I can hardly WAIT to bring him home!!

Hippo & Bird

2 weeks and counting!

Fingers Crossed!

a. Bear in Mind Ice wallpaper. b. Coy wallpaper. c. Best in Show wallpaper. d. Sea Life plates.
e. jaws sculpture. f. ceramic hippo.

Yesterday I helped Andrew all day with a school project. For his entrepreneurship class his group decided to sell roses for Valentine's Day. I couldn't care less about the holiday (for the most part) so I was more than willing to help make some cash flow. They ended up blowing their sale/revenue goal out of the water, and in turn my man plans to spoil me rotten with the best VALENTINE'S GIFT EVER! So who knows, maybe this holiday will turn into one I actually care about.

...but you'll have to wait and see if it happens. Odds are in favor of said gift, so I'll keep you on edge just a little longer until I know it's official. Wish me luck!

PS. The mood board's pretty telling. You're welcome to guess...

if you DARE.

Nailed it.

I got the gig I wanted. And it's going to rock my boat!

I'm interning at Walls, and I am SO EXCITED!

*Via Kara Shurtliff Photography

They specialize in unique designer wallpaper, textiles, and offer beautiful design service. Brittney Wallman is the sweetest thing and is going to be a dream to work with, while the other girls seem just as fun. Can't wait. I start tomorrow. (:

Pictures to come of the adventures ahead.

Santa.

Chevron Knot Rug- 1. Bexley Aqua Lamp- 2. Chemist's Jar- 3. Embellished Fur Throw- 4. Amber Tumblers- 5.
Santee Sofa- 6. Deep Sea Dishes- 7. English Bulldog- 8. Linen Towels- 9.