winter in mt. charleston

yesterday will and i spent the day in mt. charleston, which is about 35 miles north of las vegas. it's so crazy that we can drive 40 minutes from our apartment to a winter wonderland! i was so excited to finally see snow again. i hadn't seen snow since living in new york, two winters ago! when we first arrived, it kind of felt like we were in vermont. the little town in mt. charleston is so cute. even the street names were adorable, "kris kringle" and "seven dwarfs." we stopped at the mt. charleston lodge for a glass of whiskey to warm up. the weather there was definitely a lot cooler than we are used to. the stay in mt. charleston was short, but just enough to get a beautiful glimpse of the winters i've been missing.  

A dreamer's logo

My company logo is something I've been wanting for a very long time but I just never knew what it was I wanted it to look or feel like. When I was on in Zion last month, I saw one of the most beautiful crescent moons. As a dreamer, I have always felt connected to the moon, but I think because of all the universal transformations happening right now I have never felt more connected. A crescent moon symbolizes new beginnings and the making of dreams into reality. The year has been a year full of new beginnings and chasing dreams. After seeing that moon on my trip, I contacted my friend Katie (remember my post about her here) who was able to design exactly what I wanted for my logo. She actually came up with so many designs, it made it hard to chose just one but I am so happy with our final logo. In celebration of 12/12/12 (the last triple date digit in our lifetime!),  I spontaneously decided to get my first wrist tattoo of the crescent moon. See photos below. Here's to chasing the dream.. xo






french onion soup

i've been craving a bowl of french onion soup since going to Mon Ami Gabi a month ago (remember my bowl of french onion in my 7 simple things post here). instead of going out and getting some, i decided to try and make my own. i searched everywhere for Mon Ami Gabi's recipe on the internet but had no luck.. i did come across this french onion soup recipe from Balthazar's restaurant in NYC. after a quick trip to market, i started the prepping at 7pm and by 9:45pm the soup was ready to serve. the recipe is made to serve 6 bowls.. which was exactly what mine came to. I will say it fulfilled the craving! although i don't think you can go wrong with a soup topped with toasted bread and melted cheese:)  i'd definitely use this recipe again.

all you need: 

* 1/4 cup olive oil

*4 medium yellow onion, peeled, halved through the stem end, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

*1 tablespoon unsalted butter

*1 garlic clove, peeled, and thinly sliced

*4 sprigs of thyme (unfortunately i forget this ingredient at the store)

*1 tablespoon salt

*1/4 freshly ground white pepper

*3/4 cup dry white wine

*2 quarts of chicken stock

*6 slices of country bread, toasted

*2 cups of gruyere cheese, coarsely grated

click below for the full recipe: 

Balthazar's French Onion Soup

diy stud party

my sister and friend rei had a stud party the other day at our apartment. my sister bought studs a few weeks ago, and since then she has been studding just about everything. my favorite so far are the masimo target black heels now turned in to jeffrey campbell influenced studded pumps (photo below). the other day they made a day of it, starting out at the thrift shop in search of levi's "mom jeans" to cut for shorts and rei found this great denim shirt that he cut into a summer vest. here's a lil photo diary of our stud party..  














happy spring

happy spring! so excited to be in shorts again. this past week i got a new tattoo with my sister and grandmother for her 90th birthday! it was my gram's idea to get roses with 7/11 underneath in remembrance of my grandfather who passed away 11 years ago on seven eleven. my grandma made me promise that when i turn 90, i will do something just as exciting! she's the coolest grandma. i love her so much.. her stay in vegas went by way too fast, as time always does.

in celebration of spring, i added many new colors to my bracelet collection. below is a preview of my favorites that will be available on my

etsy

page later this week.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nikdreamer

photos taken in boulder city, nv

diy skull cutout tights

my sister is obsessed with skulls and recently bought a cutout skull tee from urban outfitters, which led her to this do it yourself project at home. all she used was a pair of tights and scissors and began cutting out a skull face in the top part of her tights. she only cut out a small hole for the face, and then ripped through the rest. i told her she's going to have to start making all sorts of cutout designs for me this spring! love this look. 

visit her tumblr at http://wildchild-at-heart.tumblr.com/

also, if you like skulls check out the skull bracelets i made, now available on my etsy shop.