Ellwood Mesa Butterfly Preserve

I recently went on a road trip To NorCal for the chowder festival and cook-off and the Ellwood Mesa Butterfly Grove was a great little pit stop adventure. You can check out the website for the grove here at the official website. This place is one of the largest Monarch sites in California where you can come see large amounts of them in nature. 

You have to really get in a good stroll into the eucalyptus tree forest to see them. The further you go the better chance to see them. 

It really was the perfect day to take a walk except I was wearing boots and it was hot. My feet got super sweaty but to see the sunshine through the trees like this was well worth it all. 

There were some backyards of houses along the hiking trail and got super excited to see someone keeping chickens. I LOVE chickens even though the chicken we had growing up was kind of mean sometimes. Most of the time she was sweet and just loved sitting in the backyard with her in my lap massaging her neck. She would make really cute low clucks and have a relaxed squinty look on her face. 

The trail is both gorgeous and a bit spooky at the same time. 

The trail lead all the way to a cliff and the ocean. I love views like this, it just makes you feel that the world goes on forever. 

This is the view looking away from the ocean. 

Who could not love living here? 

This was the only picture I could get of any of the butterflies flying. They were up really high in the trees and looking at them with the super zoom on made me motion sick after awhile. This was not a good year to see the butterfly clusters according to some locals. I was still amazed by how many we did see. 

I got super lucky and caught these two making butterfly babies. These two landed right next to us and scared the crap outta me. As soon as I got my wits back I quickly snapped these two shots. 

Monarch butterflies are really special and hold a close meaning to our family. When my grandmother was a young girl in Mexico she remembered how beautiful the migration of the butterflies was. After she passed away we all would see a monarch butterfly on special holidays but mostly on her birthday. It could all be a nice coincidence but we all find comfort in just believing that it's a sign that she's with us still and watching over us. 

My favorite time of day is sunset and being able to see the world in a warm golden glow. There's no better way to spend the end of your day than looking out the window and just seeing the world around you and just thinking "Wow".  Sometimes you just have to step back and take it all in. 

XOX

Veritypretty

Spending ban and making healthier changes

I think since I started blogging my makeup spending has gotten a wee but out of hand so this month I have banned myself from unnecessary makeup purchases. I had been thinking about it for awhile now and realized I need to stop buying so many mauvey lipsticks and mascaras I absolutely do not need. Seriously, it isn't funny how many I have because it's my go to color. I can't even store everything I own in the boxes I got myself. I've bought duplicates of colors I already have because I have so much stuff. So I am just going to tell myself NO!

I had already set my limits on what I can buy for myself. Everyday essentials that I run out of, jeans and bras. I seriously don't have many good bras and I have worn out my cheap Old Navy jeans so it's time to invest in a nice sturdier pair. And if I do happen to run out of dry shampoos, body wash or loose all of my Chapstick in some freak accident then I can go ahead and put it in my shopping cart. 

I'm pretty sure this is going to be easier said than done because I already see myself buying those limited edition revlon lipsticks that just got rereleased. I told myself to get them months in advance so I think I'll have to break my ban for those. Sue me. I'm a sucker for limited edition items and I'm pretty sure if I wait too long I'll end up with none of them (OMG what have I become?!!).

On a good note I did take a buttload of product pictures this past Saturday so I really do have plenty of material to blog about for the next few weeks. I still have not found my camera cord to transfer the pictures to my computer so I'm just going to buy an SD card reader. I was going to eventually buy one because I hate the fact I have to turn on my camera and waste battery power transferring files. Also, what was the point in buying myself a new camera if I can't even use the photos I take on it?!! 

I have also decided since I get so worn out easily I better start going to the gym on a regular basis again. Facing facts, I am overweight and quite frankly I feel overweight. For me this is a choice I'm making by listening to what my body is saying and not what society has to say about me. If I still felt young and energetic and like I could conquer anything it would be a different story but honestly I don't which is super scary because I'm barely 25. I'm letting you all know here so I can be accountable and connect with anyone who wants to do the same. So if you're like me and can't stand going to the gym or exercise with someone else for whatever reason but still want the encouragement to get off your butt you can always contact me here. If you're shy you can just email me at robinlv8er@gmail.com or we can follow each other on twitter @veritypretty and you can direct message me there. I'm on the shy side too so I completely understand. 

Along with the exercise I'll have to start eating better as well and hopefully some recipes will go up here on the blog as well. I bought a cute serving bowl to display a salad or other healty stuff in. I can't wait to eat all the kale I want and no I'm not being sarcastic about it either. I freaking love kale salads and I really miss them a lot. It really won't be a "diet" the way people normally think of diets. It's such a dirty word to some and just puts images of deprivation into people's minds and it shouldn't. I will just limit my processed foods, more fruits and veggies, lean meat, whole grains, and good fats. The way we are really kind of supposed to eat. I figure the more balanced I eat the more balanced I will feel. 

So this month is all about change, trying new things, and gaining confidence and feeling accomplished through the transition. What's your month going to be all about? 

XOX 

Veritypretty 

My Crazy Fall Obsessions

Like I have said before, I am nowhere close to being anything like a Martha Stewart but I still like do make DIY projects, decorate for the seasons and cook. What I love about making things is you really don't have to be a domestic goddess at all to do it. It doesn't have to look professional. It just has to look festive.  Festive will always look cute and if someone tries to tell you differently then don't listen to them. If it makes you happy that's all that matters. As you can see I am nowhere close to being a professional florist but hey, I tried. These marigolds were from the farmers market and decided to get them in two different colors. i am not a big fan of greenery in my arrangements and refuse to buy any premade ones filled with baby's breath and eucalyptus branches. It just really isn't my thing. 

We just got this end table for the corner in between the couches and got the lamp at Ikea even though we really don't need the lighting. It's more to set the mood for a quiet night in than for anything else. We had also just bought some cinnamon scented pine cones which have filled up the room with the scent. I love coming home to the smell and find it relaxing. as for the little pumpkins, they took two weeks to die and they really aren't pumpkins but an eggplant. Most people don't eat them because they are supposed to be really bitter. 

I really love to make soups and have loved making them since I was younger. They're just so easy and filling and make a wonderful meal on a cold night. This one here was loaded baked potato soup with cheddar and  was requested from my boyfriend and made it because I love it too. There's some yummy bacon, a bunch of potatoes and cheese and it paired lovely with the Chardonnay we got from a winery we went to over the summer. 

I had Instagramed this cuppa spiced wine awhile back and I really feel proud of how this one turned out. I really loved the slices of pear and apple and the whole thing gave me the warm fuzzies. Oh the joys of cinnamon and wine! I did add half a shot of spiced rum to it even though most recipes will recommend adding Brandy but we didn't have any so rum did the trick. 

This is my version of a healthy lasagna, all veggie and no noodles at all. the only bad this I used was the cheese. All I did was layer zucchini, eggplant, olives, tomato sauce and herb boiled potatoes. Adding the potatoes was a stroke of genius because they just added something different to what I'm used to seeing with vegetable lasagnas. 

We have access to a persimmon tree and with the overflow of persimmons combined with my urge to make things a bit different I made a persimmon pie. Last year I only made cookies and bread out of them but this time I kicked off the season with this beauty. I had looked up recipes all over the internet but with so many polarizing reviews on them I took the risk and just used a regular old pumpkin pie recipe instead and just used the persimmons pulp. This thing was all gone by the next day it was so good. I do think what I would do differently is add a little orange zest to help out and bring some brightness to the overall flavor profile. 

So there you have it! I have been soooo busy trying to bake everything and anything and just get it all out of me because I can and because it makes me feel awesome to start with nothing and end up with something awesome. To me Fall is all about rebirth and at least where I live it's like getting a second Spring but more festive. I think those who don't like Fall are those who don't go out of the way to make things warm and cozy where you spend the most time. We all are going to be spending more time cooped up so we might as well like our surroundings, right? So I hope you all get inspired by this and maybe make a nice bowl of hearty soup or make your own flower arrangement or find a new recipe to bake. Hope to hear from you all and hop you drop in next time as the seasons will change and I will definitely be changing it up for Christmas time. 

XOX