scenes from the weekend

hello! hope you are having a great monday. i am starting the day pretty well. i have been pretty sick this past week, i haven't stopped sneezing. but it is a new week and i still had a lovely weekend, sickness and all. below are some photos that happened over the weekend. some are a few weekends old, but we basically do the same thing every weekend so i still thought it would be okay to share them ;)

** we always love our saturday mornings of laid backness, drinking coffee and eating yummy breakfasts, this weekend i made a big brunch saturday with fried eggs, hashbrowns, breakfast sweet potatoes, and sausage! then sunday i made this yummy healthy banana pancake. i have made banana pancakes in the past and have had little success but this time, man oh man they were SO good, i posted the recipe on instagram if you would like to see!**

**pretty yellow car**

... and you know you are getting old when your highlight of your weekend was doing spring cleaning in the garage, and listening to the french chef via ipad. yes, these were my highlights, yes i realize i sound about 80.

hope you had a great weekend! did you do anything fun? i would love to hear :)

the art of photography

   Have you ever been to Los Angeles? LA is definitely the city of the people who dream big! Every single day a Los Angeles fashion photographer captures Brazilian bikini models. Together they create outstanding covers for different fashionable magazines. The world keeps moving forward, models are becoming sexier and photographers become even better. We have a crazy number of photographs for different projects, magazines, web sites and so on.

   There are many debates on how fashion photography ruins the reality. It is said that a real woman doesn’t look like the one covering FHM or ELLE magazine. There are the eating disorders and other huge problems involved in this fashion photography thing. But if looking at it all with no hate and no judgments you can see a really beautiful art that is growing every single day and becomes the base of many beautiful, artistic and fancy projects.

   Photography is an art and even if it has commercial purposes, it stays the same. It is a beautiful way to capture people’s looks and put them out there in the world. Exposing something to the world means exposing it to a bunch of judgmental thoughts and comments. That’s why Photoshop and other programs that have the power to change the reality a little bit, are used. Once a photographer or an editor knows that a certain photograph is going to be shared with a big number of people, he tends to make it better. There is no need in screaming out loud that this picture is fake, is “Photoshoped” and it has no authenticity. It has it all, if you look at it from a different angle, than the one that makes you hate it. Take away the negativity, because if that person in that photograph would have visible wrinkles or skin problems, you would criticize that instead of the perfect effect.

   When looking at photographs it is just so easy to find something you don’t like. But there is always a drop of truth in every single picture. It’s not a painting that’s totally made up by an artist. A photograph is the representation of reality, in the realest possible way.

inspiring spaces / the garden

spring is finally here! and what does spring mean to me? garden season :)

i have always loved to garden. growing up i would always help my mom every year, getting all of the seeds ready, to planting day, and eventually harvesting day. it is one of those special memories that i will always have. i loved it even when i didn't love vegetables, it was only last year when i started to like,( more like love ) tomatoes!

anyway, since chad and i don't have the right space right now for a large garden i resorted to using some pots on the deck, which did result in some great produce. it made me more excited then ever to have my very own garden in my yard one day. this year i have talked to a few friends and am going to be helping them out with their gardens, which i am ecstatic about. and on top of that, that lovely husband of mine told me he would build me a large wooden planter so i could have more "space" to garden in. its a garden lovers dream (well i mean aside from having a great big garden in the yard). i have begun doing research and trying to figure out what exactly i want to plant this year. i want the herbs, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, onions and am thinking of possibly doing zucchini?! i am getting pretty excited.. not to mention that pinterest is full of beautiful, dreamy gardens. i am just going to pretend they are mine until that beautiful day where i get my own backyard to plant in!

are you planning on gardening this year? what do you plan on planting?

source from top to bottom, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

things that make me say yay / 04

things that make me say yay...!

eating oatmeal chocolate chip "breakfast" cookies in bed
the frank sinatra pandora station
the new stripped shirt i bought at madewell, on sale.
that today is monday and that it is a new week
cute little, dainty necklaces from lavenir designs
my potted roses i bought from trader joes, (though they may be dying...)
taco night with friends
that it is finally spring, despite that i still see all of that "white stuff" on the ground
my coffee, extra strong and black
red fingernail polish
little notes from the husband
the spring parc botique look book
going to the art museum, by your self :)

what makes you say yay? hope spring has been good to you so far!

the reason why husbands were invented and a tale of an oxford shirt

lately i have been really into "borrowing" chads clothes. it works out great ;) i see a cute comfy top that i want to borrow, and boom, it is ready for insta-wearing. now the only problem is chad is not quite a fan of all of this. he will be looking for a particular shirt, and he'll ask me where it is. i casually say, oh, i don't know... as i then scramble to say, oh hey look it was in the wash! hehe. but that is just what happens when your husband has some nice class. in the particular look above, this shirt was chads from about ten years ago. it no longer fits him, and when i told him i wanted some nice classic button ups he said, well guess what, i have one and you can even keep it! it was double the luck that day! this one he had no longer fit him, which works out great for me. i no longer have the thought of hey i am stealing my husband's shirt and he may  be slightly annoyed. not that it stops me or anything ;) but honestly, isn't that why husbands were invented? so we could take and borrow all of their nice clothing ;) chad just says he wishes he could reap the same benefit, ha! poor men! ;)

out fit details: pants// american eagle shirt// chad's old one from middle school shoes// shoe mint purse// coach sun glassess// old navy sweater// banana republic earrings// thrifted

chads details: shirt // j crew sun glasses// ray ban hat// some american made company (dont know the name) jacket// thrifted

sweet potato chips with dip

i frequently go on random kicks with what my favorite food is. this happens quite often, one week i am obsessed with popcorn, then it will randomly be tomatoes, then lemon heads! it makes me laugh to think of how all over it is. a few weeks back i was on a major sweet potato kick. this little kick was better because it was actually a little healthier for me  ;) i honestly would crave sweet potatoes morning, noon, and night. but when you are on a sweet potato kick, you can't just bake it the same ol' way every time, no no, that would be quite boring! so i began to get pretty creative and came up with these chip things. i have seen sweet potato chips all over pinterest so i can't exactly claim the great idea all on my own. there are spicy  chips (kinda like this one), vinegar chips (that is what kind i want  to try next!) , and even sweet, sweet potato chips. yum! whatever your chip flavor may be, i highly recommend trying to bake your sweet potatoes this way! sweet potatoes are a power food, they naturally contain beta carotene, vitamin a, and potassium, a few things that their brother, the regular potato doesn't have.

so with no further ado, let me introduce to you....

 the sweet potato chip with creamy avocado dip

2 potatoes-sliced very thin
drizzle of olive oil
chili powder
cayenne peeper
salt
pepper
garlic

scoop greek yogurt
1/2 avocado mashed
cayenne pepper
cherry tomatoes, halved
freshly squeezed lemon juice
pepper

1. mix oil, chili powder , Cayenne pepper, salt, and garlic in a bowl, add in potatoes.
2. place on a foiled baking sheet, and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes
3. mix yogurt, avocado, cayenne, cherry tomatoes, pepper and lemon juice in a small bowl.
4. enjoy!

recipe modified from eating_whole

his and hers / 01

welcome to my new little series called his and hers. i know these things have been circulating around the web for a long while, not to mention stores and merchants have caught on to this fun idea, but i thought it would be fun to do a continuous series of the different him and hers of chad and heather ( i have also seen some mama and baby ones, those are so cute!). i love seeing what each of us brings to our lives, and how though we are one family, we have our own unique characteristics. it still amazes me of how perfect two people come together, despite how different they are from one another. i love it! these photos above were taken by chad a few nights ago (where he also posted them on instagram, i have to say he is the creative half of 'us'), where he snapped some photos of our night stand. 

excited to be sharing some more of his and hers in the coming future!

a cute lady named kaylie & a give away!

what better way to start a thursday then to introduce you to one of my dear blogging friends Kaylie. she has a cute lifestyle blog where she shares tails of your adorable family, food, and fashion (my type of lady ;) ) not to mention her little one is so adorable!

************************

Hello! I'm Kaylie Marie. I'm a twenty-something year old ginger who loves authentic antiques, personal style, large glasses, and my old house. I've been told on countless occasions that I'm an 'old soul', and I'm starting to believe it. My (not so) guilty pleasure is 80's music, and you'll most likely find me jamming out to The Cars while driving. I'm a mother, wife, daughter, aunt, best friend, and disciple of Christ. Kindness is a passion of mine. I wish it could be Fall year-round, and between my 18 month old son, husband, and our two chihuahuas, I stay pretty busy every day. I'm so excited to be here, and I look forward to making you feel at home with your blogs!

Favorite Three Things in Life: 

wordless wednesday / new york city from 10,000 ft

it's rain!

i am so, so excited to see that today when i stare out the window i see rain and not snow! it's been months since i have seen that stuff. minnesota is finally starting to thaw out, thank goodness because chad and i were starting to go nuts with having to be indoors, all. the . time. march has been treating us good, with the temps finally rising above freezing (depressing i know), and snow is finally starting to melt, hooray! we are getting more anxious then ever for the snow to melt because... chad got a motorcycle! i have always been a fan of motorcycles, especially when there is a cute driver involved ;) my dad rode them my entire childhood (and still continues to do so) so i am ecstatic that chad found himself one. it is a cute 1970s bike.  now once that snow melts and the sand is gone, we can go for a ride. i can't wait for picnic dates on the bike at one of the lakes (not to mention for the pretty flowers to be back). with this new spring air i am feeling like i have more energy again.  this winter has been a long one i think for everyone this year.  it seemed like everywhere was getting a cold front, and people were not prepared. but folks, i think it's over. lets hold onto our spring hats and hope that this white stuff is gone for a while!

outfit details// shirt: madewell pants: american eagle shoes: ralph lauren hat: nordstrom scarf: anthropologie

chicken tacos with adabo sauce

i feel like i talk about a lot of mexican food on this little space of mine. but that is simply because chad lives and breathes for mexican food. every time i ask that husband of mine what he would like for dinner, his answer, every time, is tacos.  now don't get me wrong, i love myself some delicious tacos, but because of my husbands adoration for them i have become extra creative with all of the different ways to cook these things. you see i am not a big fan of making the same dish over and over. i feel like that is so boring. and why would you when there are thousands of cook books out there and not to mention the internet is flooded with a variety of recipes.

so the other day we had just gotten home from church and i was trying to figure out what we should have for lunch. i should not even ask  chad what we should eat because his answer is always the same (tacos, or i don't care) but i did, and you guessed it, his answer was tacos. i was slightly hesitant at first because it had been a mexican heavy week. we went out for tacos on monday evening, we had homemade barbacoa (which was amazing and highly recommend- from here), on tuesday, friday we had chipotle with my family , and now it was sunday, and he was asking for mexican food, again?! but i for some reason was actually craving mexican again.  so off the taco making i went ;) this time i decided to make it a little more like a taco salad. i have to say the end result was amazing. thank you chad for always routing for the tacos (even when i do doubt you sometimes ;) )


chicken tacos in adabo sauce

12- 6 inch corn tortillas
1-1/2 pounds skinless chicken breast, cut up/cubed
1 medium onion chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotles in adabo
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

and if wanted, corn salsa, avocados, cilantro ,etc.

1. in a large pan,  heat oil and place onions on. cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. add chicken, peppers, chipotles in adabo, salt, and cayenne pepper. cook until chicken is fully cooked, about 10-15 minutes.

you can make these tacos into a taco salad (like i did), put them on a corn or flour torita, or even save them for another day and make a wrap for lunch later on. this chicken taco recipe was simply delicious.

enjoy!

check out other taco/mexican recipes HERE and  HERE

satur (date)

aren't saturdays the best. 

i know everyone loves the weekend, but honestly what would people do with out this beautiful break of the weekend?! i know that i would go nuts. on the weekend, chad and i try to dedicate the morning of one of the days, to have a little date. this little date can mean having coffee in bed and listening to music, brunch, or getting out in minneapolis somewhere. the other day we ventured to one of our local favorites, spyhouse, to grab a cappuccino and to break away from the cold. it was the perfect little thing to warm us up. and though it was freezing outside, the sun was bright as ever and we had such beautiful. natural light. 

i have decided that morning saturdates are my favorite type of date. 

our dream home

chad and i are in no position to be buying a house for the next several years but despite this, i love dreaming about the future house that we will own. it is funny because over the years our styles have really evolved and changed but i find that we are becoming much more aware of who we are as individuals and how they plays a role in what type of home we desire. the other day we were driving to one of our friends houses and we passed this gorgeous house. i automatically started calling it my dream house. it was slightly farmish, big white home, with a beautiful wrap around porch. when i get an idea going in my head, i tend to make a little fantasy about it and went to bed dreaming about that beautiful home where chad and i were for sure going to live now ;) , ha!

though we aren't on the search i love dreaming up our future together. it is so fun to see what our dreams and goal are for the rest of our lives. we know that one day we would not like to live in the suburbs and are starting to lean towards a more country style home that is in close proximity to the city (no more then 30 minutes). we really want to have nature close by, so in whatever state we live in we want the ability to go hike around (minnesota does have all of this... but, so does the beautiful west coast!) i want to have little chickens running around the backyard with a huge garden. i want a spacious kitchen (so i can get my julia child on) with lots of room to host company over in, and chad really wants a big garage to work on his truck. those will be such fun days, but because we shouldn't get too caught in the future i am going to stop the day dreaming now and focus on just decorating our little home.

what does your dream home look like?

ten reasons why i love my chambray shirt

1. it is something quick that you can throw on on those mornings where you just don't know what to wear

2. chad has a chambray shirt so sometimes we can be one of those awkward couples and match ;)

3. you can dress it down and wear it to the park with friends

4. or dress it up and wear it to work 

5. you can add any accessory to it and it only helps make you better ;) i.e. scarf, statement necklace, etc.

6. it goes with any color pant, blue jeans, black pants, olive pants, maroon pants - any pant!

7. it can go under a sweater to give your outfit a whole new look

8. it almost feels like a baggy t shirt because it is so worn in and comfortable

9. i am obsessed with clothes that have buttons, and my chambray shirt has several (including a mismatched one that i love!)

10.  though they are everywhere. i just love the look of this classic shirt that we stole from the 90s era.

why do you love your chambray shirt? how do you wear it ?

what a dream weekend looks like

wear // comfy clothes on the weekend, aka a baseball t and cap 

need // coffee, the best way to warm up on a saturday morning

read // alex chungs, it

dream // oxfords ( i would love to have these shoes once the snow melts!)

lately i am really beginning to explore my sense of self and trying to figure out who i am as heather kirsebom. sounds really deep but i am doing a little exploration in my sense of self- what my fashion, interests, and passions are, so that i can better address them and have a better understanding of who i am from that, learn how to live these things out. it is a fun little task, but there is value in taking time for yourself and assessing these things. one thing i have learned from this self exploration is i have a hard time when i don't read during the week. i get all stressed and feel unhappy.  now that i know this, i have prioritized saturday mornings to be that special time to relax and creating a comfortable routine of waking up and spending the mornings hanging in bed with several cups of coffee while i read. once i am relaxed, i am able to function better all around during the week. it is crazy to me to think that by taking a few hours to myself, doing "nothing" is so critical to how i feel the rest of the week. 

how do you unwind?

breakfast // raspberry white chocolate scones

The scone that I had at cafe "Ard Bia" in Galway Ireland

Hello readers! I'm Rachel and I blog about my life as an Aunt, sister, daughter, my adventures in the kitchen, a child of God and lover of all things cute over at Topaz n Pearls! I am so excited to be doing a guest post on honee bee with Heather! I love reading her sweet posts, seeing her beautiful pictures and that she is also a Minnesotan!:) 

Today I want to share one of my favorite recipes with you! I have been craving scones lately, I don't know if it's because they remind me of an adorable cafe that I visited while in Ireland or that they are flat out delicious!? This recipe is amazing, light flakey and moist it's delicious with a capuccino or a cup of tea!  

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

8 T. grated butter

11/2 C raspberries (if fresh freeze them if frozen don't defrost them)

1/2 C milk

1/2 C sour cream

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 C sugar

2 t baking powder

1/4 t soda

1/2 t table salt

zest of one lemon

1/4 C white chocolate chips

2 T melted butter and vanilla sugar to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat oven to 425. Grate frozen butter with a cheese grater and place in the freezer while you prepare the wet and dry ingredients. Melt 2 T of butter and set aside.