enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

  • so cool…

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    …to hang out with these three girls and their fancy cameras this past weekend. So sweet + inspiring.

    photos by Amy + Kelly.

  • recently the world has felt very small.

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    Or at least the United States.

    Since moving to San Diego I have seen my college friends in LA three times. Last week, we had a visitor from Chicago. Next weekend Paul's family is visiting from Northern California. Two of my best friends from high school just relocated or are in the process of moving down to LA. I have a visitor coming out from New York at the end of August. And on Saturday, I met (for the first time in real life) Kelly, Amy and Jessica for lunch, paper shops and cupcakes.

    Visits seem more manageable from this side of the country and catching up in real life makes me realize how much I missed it for awhile.

    It feels good.

  • we’re off.

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    We're road tripping up to LA this morning and planning to stop only for Paper Source and In-N-Out.

    Should be a good adventure.

  • i’m feeling fantastic about august.

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    It's sunny! And warm! Actually borderline HOT here.

    I had a feeling August would be a good month.

    AHEAD : FALL minibook kits, information on a MINIBOOK workshop, CUSTOM posters & hopefully OVERSIZED posters.

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    And TODAY my favorite friend, Melanie is coming to town.

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    Have a happy day, and as posting may be light, a great week.

    photos by Lisa Welge who is now The Goodness.

  • sunday brunch.

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    We were lucky enough to brunch at the Hotel del Coronado this Sunday. It was something we have been looking forward to for awhile and we were not disappointed. (Though 20 hours later, we are still not too hungry.)

    Above are some photos from our all you can eat feast though I sort of failed taking pictures of the food.

    Next time.

  • favorite bags.

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    These baggu bags are my favorite plastic or paper alternative. So many colors. A few different sizes. And they fold up into a neat little pouch.

  • how we do pesto.

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    For our wedding, we got a Cuisinart food processor and we were ecstatic because it meant we could finally make pesto. I think we made it every five days the first month we were in San Diego. 

    Here's our recipe based on this :

    • 1 bundle of asparagus grilled or sauteed on medium heat and cut into thirds
    • big handful of clean, fresh basil leaves
    • 2 tablespoons of almonds (we started using these because we didn't have pinenuts and love the taste)
    • 2 fresh garlic cloves minced
    • about 1/2 C of olive oil (sometimes more to get the right texture)
    • about 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (we use the store bought shredded kind)
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Pulse the cooked asparagus, basil leaves, garlic, almonds, cheese and about 1/4 cup of oil.

    Scrape down the sides of the food processor and add a bit of salt and pepper.

    With the machine running on low, pour in about another 1/4 cup of olive oil. We go for about the consistency of hummus, but a little thinner.

    Taste test. Does it need more salt? More olive oil? Continue processing and tasting until you're pleased!

    This recipe makes enough for the two of us. Because cleaning the food processor is such a hassle, we try to make a few batches and then refrigerate to eat later or use as sauce on a pesto pizza.

    We serve it with whole wheat pasta and grilled chicken.

    (At least once a week.)

    Napkin in photo is from Anthropolgie. Plate and fork are Crate&Barrel.

  • my city minibook.

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    Here is what I put together with the city minibook kit + some 4×6 (cropped to 4×4) photos of our town + a few extra paper scraps which ended up being cropped sections of my 2009 calendars. I have left off a few of the spreads that show our apartment building, street name, etc. The plastic "sd" on the front are old heidi swapp ghost letters.

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    I would say, "I can't wait to keep adding to this" but sometimes often I fail at the continually adding. So for now, this little book is complete. I am hoping to get some business cards punched into it though. That shouldn't be too hard.

    There are still kits for sale here if you are interested.

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    I am going to get a visitor's guide together soon that shares more info on some of my favorite places in the city so far.

  • working on…

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  • happy images for michelle.

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    Michelle, my friend from college, is taking the New York State bar today + tomorrow! And Michelle, the gtrain is cheering you on from all across the country. And GOOD NEWS! : there's a bottle of red and a trip to Hawaii at the finish line.

    (Not to mention a rad job in the best city in the world.)

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    We love you and are so proud.