Travel SF!

That's right! San Francisco! A few weekends ago I took a pretty spontaneous trip to visit my sister in SF. It was just a quick two night stay but we sure packed a lot in! Forgive my iPhone pics - I didnt bring my dslr in an effort to pack lightly. 

My sister and her boyfriend are the greatest. She moved to SF after college & has been there ever since. It makes for some fun (& very active) vacations for me :D

^^^ After walking to the corner store for breakfast on Saturday morning (which included some delicious Blue Fog Coffee) we took a 7 mile hike up to Mt. Tam East Peak. It was seriously so beautiful - though my un-athletic legs were definitely feeling the pain.

^^^ Friday night we took a walk down to the bay for dinner at Off the Grid. There were probably thirty food trucks down there, a live band, spiced warm wine & lots of fun hip people, out for a delicious taste of SF. It was perfect & so chill. 

In a very impromptu move we stumbled upon an improv show in the building next door & decided to stay to watch. I had never been before, it was so fun. Talk about quick wit.

Claire lives in the cutest studio apartment, in the cutest neighborhood. It was really lovely to see her - even if it was just for a quick trip!

Hoping to make it back again soon! What should I try out next time?!

xo

4 years of blogging

Can you believe it? I am at a complete loss of words. I know that's unusual.
It's April 29th. April 29th. Today is my fourth year of blogging. 

What does that mean? For many, nothing. But for me? Wow. I have 4 years of my life here.

It all began in 2011. April 29th. I started Magical Simplicity. If you dig really deep into the search bar (key word: "Magical Simplicity") you can still see my very early posts -- talking about love & college & fairy tales & all the things that seemed of the utmost importance to my 20-year-old self. It makes me smile now. 

2014, April 29th. We rebranded the blog. & I came back with a new conviction, a new perspective & a new understanding of what I wanted the blog to be. That makes me smile now, too.

Around the new year Magical Simplicity transitioned into Ida Street. A place for today. A space where I know I don't have all the answers, not even close. But it sure is fun to figure it out. A space where I met a lot of you. That makes me smile to think about.

OMG so sentimental! See! I told you! I am at a loss for words! So I'll stop trying. Here's something fun: I've pulled my first and last posts in Ida Street's major post categories into hyperlinked images below. Take a look if you'd like & we can all laugh about being 20. 

But before I leave you to my embarrassing past - thank you so much for stopping by Ida Street. I hope you find your visits are a few happy minutes in your day. That's all I'm aiming for -- to write about something that will make us both smile. xoxo a thousand times.

Header image by Mintwood Photo Co.

---

FASHION  |  2011

FASHION  |  2015

FOOD   |   2011

FOOD  |  2015  

CINCY   |   2011 

CINCY  |  2015

LIFE  |  2011 

LIFE  |   2015

Trending: Dress over Jeans

This trend is perfect. Short dress? Layer with jeans. Running around but want to look fancy? Layer with jeans. Like the layered look but don't know what to layer? Layer with jeans. Too cold to wear the dress alone? LAYER WITH JEANS! 

I just started to see this trend pop up & I am 100% on board. I bought my dress at my Madewell Event on a big discount. I love it without the jeans, for sure, & actually wore it that way for Easter. But one of the reasons I bought it was specifically with this trend in mind. 

I love having the full flexibility of jeans. It really comes in handy!  For example, even in this photo shoot:  jumping on walls was a breeze, the actual breeze was no concern to me (no Marilyn Monroe's for this gal), high kicks? No prob bob. 

This was the first time I've tried the dress over jeans trend, but I can betchya it won't be the last. Lately, spring means mornings in the thirties, afternoons in the sixties & evenings down to the forties. Dress over jeans = dress for all weather. It's a win-win-win.

Anyway, I miss you guys! I've got some exciting things going on. I just signed up for Studio DIY's Can't Crop this Class. We are announcing some fun Thread Cincy shannenigans  next week. Our event season at work is in mega-full swing. & this weather makes me smile :D  How are you?!

Dress: Madewell 2015
Jeans: Curate Boutique 2014 (same in limited sizes) (Similar from Guess)
Shoes: Madden Girl... seven years ago, folks! (Similar)
Earrings: Madewell 2015 .... totally on sale!
Photog: Natalie Folchi of CincinNatalie

& here are some outtakes! In case you're into that kind of thing ;D

Curate Your Style

People are so inspiring. That's why I do the lessons from a dreamer segment. I love to learn from my peers. Ask their advice. Understand their success. See their drive. 

& though I haven't made it to her yet, Courtney PeGan at Curate Boutique is a perfect candidate for the series. From what I've learned (partially from my blogging partner in crime, CincinNatalie), Courtney left her corporate job to open what we know as the quaint, lovely & ever so stylish Curate Boutique. 

& today we get to celebrate Curate's anniversary! I'm heading over as soon as the work day is over to celebrate with champagne & a sale. My favorite kind of party ;D

I'll see you tonight!!!!!!!

& in the meantime, a little trip down memory lane, featuring my fave Curate finds : 
(all the photos are links!)

Vegan Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Bars

Dark chocolate.
Almond Butter. 

It's okay if you're drooling. This is heavenly.  

So a few months ago we bought Thug Kitchen. It'a cook book with amazing pictures that hilariously curses at you throughout the recipe. Everything was so delicious that now we're semi-vegan. In a search for more vegan recipes, we found Healthy Happy Life. I made a few alterations to Kathy's peanut butter chocolate bars to create...

da da da da!!

DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER BARS!!!! Heck. Yes.

YOU NEED:

For the almond butter batter (bottom):

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon (t) vanilla

• 1/2 cup oats
• 2 cups oat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon (t) salt
• 3/4 teaspoon (t) cinnamon

For the dark chocolate (top):

• 1 bag of ghirardelli dark chocolate
• 2-3 tablespoons (T) coconut oil

Okay. Step one: combine your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. 

• 1/2 cup oats
• 2 cups oat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon (t) salt
• 3/4 teaspoon (t) cinnamon

Combine your wet ingredients in a different mixing bowl:

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (mine was pretty melty)
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon (t) vanilla

Mix it, blend it, shake it!

So then you've got two bowls. Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients.

It will look like this & feel kind of like cookie dough.

Spread that batter into a medium sized baking dish, greased with coconut oil. Note* Can you see a small consistency switch up there? I was making 1/2 peanut butter 1/2 almond butter to see which one worked better. Almond FTW. 

Melt 1 bag of ghirardelli 60 per cent cocoa chocolate chips with 3 T of coconut oil over Med-High Heat. Mix this constantly or it will burn. Should only take a few minutes. 

Pour the chocolate mixture over the top of your almond butter batter.

& bake at 350degrees for 20 minutes. Your edges will start to crack  a little on the side when it's done. Take it out & refrigerate for many hours (at least 2). Cut these into bars & call it a day. Or a week. You won't be able to accomplish anything better than this for a while. Swoon.

Store in the fridge. Eat every day. 

#favoriteveganrecipe

Photography: Moi + Jacob Heath