Introducing the beautiful and ever-so healthy Ashley Neese! I can’t remember how I came across Ashley but as soon as I signed up for her Newsletter, I was hooked!! You guys, GO SIGN UP NOW – I promise that you won’t regret it. Over the last decade, she has become a natural foods chef, holistic nutrition counselor, and certified yoga instructor. All of these avenues of study have enabled her to develop a wellness practice that works on every level, mind, body, and spirit.

“Right now I am working on my second eBook, Everyday Heath: Spring. This book includes ten delicious, healthy and savory vegetarian recipes that highlight this season’s produce. I am also working on a fun video series that will include cooking demos, healthy living tips and simple yoga instruction.”

…and now her favorite piece and why:
“I love this bag because it is functional and very cute. It is perfect for a spring/summer trip to the beach, local market or an afternoon hangout in the city. This tote is classic which pretty much sums up my style and I use it almost daily.”

Check out her —> Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

So it’s time to share one more of the honey-based treats from this recent installment of Simply Wholesome. In honor of me trying to be more ZEN ( because I am one huge stress ball all the time ), BARLEY TEA is on the menu. Now, I know it doesn’t sound that appetizing and it really doesn’t look that pretty either, but I swear – it’s heavenly. I was so surprised when I took my first sip.

It’s a refreshing, caffeine-free alternative to coffee or traditional tea. It’s equally tasty served chilled (just steep a bag in cold water for an hour or two—no heating required!) or hot. The smoky, roasted flavor pairs nicely with sweetness. We served barley tea hot, with lots of milk and clover honey, finished with a hint of rose water. You’ll have the best luck finding barley tea in the Asian foods aisle of the grocery store.

BARLEY TEA with MILK & HONEY

Barley Tea Bags
Whole milk
Honey
Rose water

Directions:
Boil water. While you’re waiting, place one tea bag per mug, per person. The instructions on my tea say to use ½ a gallon of water per bag, but I use one per serving. We want it strong, so as not to dilute the roasted barley flavor with milk and honey. Strong barley tea won’t have the bitter tannin taste of black tea, so don’t worry! Once the tea has steeped about five minutes, add plenty of milk and honey to taste. Finish off with the tiniest splash of rose water. Enjoy!

…and now a little tea inspired round-up just ’cause —> 01. | 02. | 03. | 04. | 05. | 06. | 07.

Happy Monday! I wanted to put up two photos that have been making me extra happy lately! I explored SF a lot this past week and it felt great. I’ve been in the bay area for a few months now and haven’t explored as much as I’d like so cheers to changing that. The dreamy city photo is from twin peaks, a super high point in San Francisco. It was interesting to stand there and watch the city come in and out of the fog. Every once in a while a huge gust of wind would come by and everything would clear up – you could see the water, all the bridges, everything… Then back to fog…

The sheep made-from-words are from a restaurant called Mission Cheese. The staff said they were supposed to be temporary but everyone loved them too much to see them go. I couldn’t stop looking at them. It will be a sad day when those bad-boys get erased. Also, let me take a moment to note how amazing the food was. I got the baked macaroni AND the California Gold sandwich. OMG! ( how much cheese it too much cheese…? )

I am so thrilled to Introduce Bianca D’Amico of Chaparral Studio. This is now the third studio tour here on Emmadime & I can’t tell you guys how happy they make me. There is nothing more inspiring than diving into someone’s process, where they came from, how they work….. Especially with someone who has such a grand personality, like Bianca! I met her for the first time last year when I was living in Los Angeles. I had the chance to see all of her pretty creations in person at a small holiday pop-up sale. I remember wanting to buy everything – especially these sparkly Lady Caves. Needless to say, I knew she would be perfect for this and that Wade, the videographer, would have a hay-day filming her. I was right. I’ll let the video do the rest of the talking – take a gander & enjoy!

Here is a list of the jewelry that she has on! I couldn’t fit this into the little white boxes, ha! …Odette, vintage from my ma, vintage from Pergolina, Renee Garvey, Rebeccca Lankford Designs, Margaret Solow, Jane Hollinger, M.E. Moore, Alkemie, Kathleen Whitaker, Ila & I, My own designs and so much more… my favorite piece in these photos might be my vintage switch blade that my boyfriend gave me. I wear it close to my heart. It’s a perfect combo of tough and beautiful – and it makes me think of him.

…a few words from Bianca about her biz:
“The Chaparral is the plant community found primarily in California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. I’m native to this landscape and grew up climbing its oak trees. I have been equally inspired by its fragrant sage bushes found on a trail as I have been by the eclectic culture and resources of our urban communities. Chaparral Studio is a creative studio that bridges the gap between nature, sustainability, art, humor, politics, and everything in between by inventing objects and reinventing spaces with our plant designs, handmade goods and various other concoctions. The team is made up of myself, my loyal dog Hannah, and is very often a collaborative effort with my mother – a creative woman that has a bright green thumb, a healthy sense of humor and is my best friend.”

…and now her favorite piece & why:
“My dog. she is not only my companion but she pairs well with my entire wardrobe. 2nd to my dog is all my jewelry. I can’t pick a favorite piece. I love making jewelry but receiving jewelry as a gift is even better. Every piece holds different memories and associations. Combined, I am littered in lovely thoughts. By the way, hannah, my dog also wears jewelry. I swear it’s under her furry collar. Together we are two gypsies. And last but not least my truck. It is always a pleasure to surprise men folk with my bad ass bungee cord strapping skills while working some boho lady attire. I always imagined that the dream was to have a truck and a dog and wear whatever I want whenever I want. Heres to dreaming!”

Check out her –> Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Note – I would advise full-screening this or watching it bigger on Vimeo! It’s so tiny here in my post – it doesn’t do it justice. Also, a massive thanks to Wade! for shooting this tour. The dedication that he has for his work never fails to inspire me! I’m lucky to have him as a friend and a creative-collaborating buddy! …and thank you Kate Miss for the pretty pictures of Bianca!

Also:

Bianca let Wade and I each come up with a little scenario for our own personal terrariums! I definitely spent way too much time thinking about this, ha. I couldn’t decide if I wanted it to be funny, make it personal, or more random…?? As soon as I thought about knitting and it’s large roll in my life right now, I knew it HAD to be related to that. I planted the seed in Bianca’s head and she took it from there! The result = ME knitting with oversized needles, while sitting on a huge sheep that is wrapped in yarn!! Could that be more perfect?

Wade! decided to make his terrarium a tribute & gift to his father John, aka ‘The Cosmic Cowboy’. He flew all the way out to Texas to give it to him! John loves western aesthetics – bulls, guns, boots and mustaches – but he also has a spiritual side and loves 70′s rock n roll. Bianca made a little John sitting on a crystal in the middle of a dream catcher with a bucking bull, hanging out with his beloved chihuahua, Hoss and listening to pink floyd!! You can see the final versions below. So tiny!

So I am a little bit late on this news but I figured it was still exciting enough to share. Last week, I was featured on Refinery29 – blush!! They asked me to pick out four complete looks that we could photograph around town – so I dove into my highly neglected closet and picked out my favs!! We started the day at my studio in Jack London Square and departed from there. I am still very new to the area so it was a lot of fun exploring my hood. Overall, I’m happy with how everything turned out. The feature was flattering and the interview challenged me to think a little bit more than I usually do about my personal style!

Here a few of my favorite images from the shoot – Thanks to Eva Kolenko for the photos! and to Angela Tafoya for inviting me to be apart of the feature!

( …yes, there are palm tress in the bay area )

This dress above is my new absolute favorite! It’s from the vintage inspired shop, Ruche. Sadly, it’s not available anymore but they have a plethora of pretty dresses so don’t fret! The shoes are from BC Footwear and are also a new go-to! They pair well with just about everything and who doesn’t love a good platform? …and last but not least, I decided to indulge in my bandana obsession with the red one from Madewell. I have a black bandana with the classic print that I’ve owned since high school – it’s been everywhere with me! I rode with it on my scooter in Oklahoma and tied my hair back with it on my bike in France. It’s my special “thing” that I think I will always have – until it disintegrates or flies off unexpectedly mid-bike ride!

Below is a romper from Anthropologie that feels like a fancy set of PJ’s. It’s baggy legs and cinched waist are so comfortable. I paired it with my Warby Parker glasses, thrifted clutch, and new studio flats from Need Supply Co. This was the last look so we ended the afternoon with water and beers from this shack looking bar. We found out it’s actually the oldest bar in Oakland – it’s all sunken into the ground and super dark! Welp. that’s about it. Cheers to playing dress up!

More Insta-Discoveries!!
Enjoy.

01. Emilie Ristevski – an Australian based designer who loves pastel colors
02. Shini Park – A london based graphic designer & fashion blogger
03. Trish Papadakos – a beautiful maker of things!
04. Tekla Evelina Severin – A Stockholm based Interior Architect

I play pretend dress up all the time, today – Steven Alan is really on deck! A lot of the time, I put together looks I most likely couldn’t pull off or aren’t very me – just for the fun of it. But this outfit…. I would 100% rock every day if possible. Maybe I need to consider splurging?

01. Steven Alan | 02. La Garconne | 03. Lip & Nail | 04. Another Feather | 05. Steven Alan 

Happy Friday! This was such a weird and long week for me – I am ready to step back & recalibrate! I am headed to this amazing old theatre in Oakland tonight to see The Great Gatsby. The reviews have started to roll in but I have not read a single one – I want to make my own opinion of Baz Luhrmann’s new film. I have to admit, I am sort of freaking out about this movie. I have admired Baz as a director for a while now and this story is one of my favorites – so the combo is a bit exciting for me. I have read the book so many times that I’ve started to loose count. I’m not sure what it is about it that draws me back in…

This little vid is a great preview of the film – it also has an interview with Baz & some of the musicians that collaborated with him for the soundtrack. NPR had a great First Listen up but it’s been taken down… Find someway to listen to it because it’s great! Anywhoo, I got this tee like 2 years ago & definitely plan to wear it today at some point, ha!! …EVERYONE go see the film & fall in love with Fitzgerald’s story. 

Hey Everyone. So it’s been a while since Simply Wholesome has shown it’s yummy face around these parts. Good news, it’s back & in full force. I teamed up with my talented roommate, Kyle Frischkorn, and came up three different recipes that all use the same ingredient, honey!! ( the other two recipes will follow soon) He was actually the mastermind behind these recipes – I just took the pictures, learned a lot about honey, and of coarse – tasted everything. Lucky lucky me huh? Note: Kyle is working on something special involving his cooking skills & lots more recipe-sharing so…. stay tuned for that if you enjoy what you see & eat here!

…a couple thoughts from Kyle about this recipe:
“Honey pairs effortlessly with manouri, feta’s milder, less salty cousin. As for roasting fruit… it might seem strange, especially in spring when fruit is finally fresh and jarringly in season, but I love how roasting concentrates and matures the flavors. Roasted fruit comes out similar to jam, but with less effort (and about a pound less sugar).”

MANOURI, ROASTED FRUIT and HONEY TOAST

4 Cups sliced fruit
4 Tbsp honey (separated)
4 Tbsp olive oil (separated)
Lemon juice
Crusty bread (walnut is especially good)
Manouri cheese
Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Roasting the Fruit ( do this first ):
Preheat the oven to 350F. Chop everything into similarly sized pieces. I made two separate batches: one with strawberries & red grapes and one with only apricots. Whisk together 2 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl and pour over the fruit, tossing to coat. Spread evenly over baking sheets lined with parchment paper and roast 4o minutes or until the fruit is soft, juicy and the sugars are just beginning to caramelize. Remove from the oven and add a hefty squeeze of lemon juice. Set aside for later.

The Bread:
Switch the oven over to broil and move the oven rack to the second highest position. Slice the bread, line on a baking sheet and brush with remaining olive oil. Broil (or alternatively use a toaster oven) until evenly brown. I’ve walked away and let toast burn too many times, so now I crouch in front of the oven and monitor for the duration of the toasting process.

Assembling:
Once toasted, spread bread with manouri, roasted fruit, and a drizzle of honey or balsamic. We served this alongside an arugula salad with honey mustard dressing—equal parts Dijon mustard and honey, thinned with lemon juice and seasoned with black pepper. Save unused fruit in mason jars, they’ll last a week or two and are great on pancakes, biscuits, toast etc.

Side note from Emma: These were so fun to cut up, taste test, and chat about the different flavors. We have a large house with lots of roomates so it was a great Saturday morning treat to share with everyone. If you’re hosting a brunch, this is a great recipe to make. My favorite was the strawberry/grape combo AND also just the cheese + honey combo with no fruit was wonderful. If you guys try this, I’d love to hear about what fruits you use or which one of these was your favorite!

Introducing Rebekka Seale. I found her a while back through her beautiful shop and have been in love with her & her work ever since! She creates the most gorgeous hand-painted desktop calendars for her blog readers, as well as keeping up with a few regular themes – food, flowers, portraits… It’s all great!!

“I am an artist and illustrator living in East Nashville, Tennessee. All of my work is hand-painted, reflecting my love for all things imperfect and homespun. Currently, I am working on a few book illustration projects, some original paintings, and lots of custom house portraits! When I’m not painting, I love to read, knit, sail, cook supper for my friends, and engage in general tomfoolery.”

…and now her favorite piece and why:
“My favorite piece is my harmonica bracelet! It’s so goofy and sentimental. My husband and I love New Orleans and ride the train down there for a week every summer. On our last visit, I met this street vendor who sold engraved jewelry made of antique forks. He was a character. My bracelet is made out of a fork and a baby harmonica (which works perfectly) and is engraved with my name and little sayings like, “You are your own fork-tune cookie”. It’s ridiculous, but it’s precious to me.”

Thanks Rebekka!!