coeur de pirate

last night we went to see one of my ultra favorite bands coeur de pirate. it was *shhhh* the first show ted and i have gone to since living in philly. but, it was the best night! french. piano. violin. it was beautiful. and fun. here's a listen

updated blog look

i decided to play around with the layout and look of a. toodle. lee. do. it may or may not stay the same but wanted to just see what i can come up with for something new. i did download my old layout so that if i totally messed up the look.. i could *easily* revert to the old.

when it come to decisions, i can be pretty fickle. but i think, i needed a change of look for the blog. i sat at a coffee shop yesterday and jotted down ideas about life, blogging, etc... so i'm looking forward to putting it all in motion. which started with... today's updated look.

an old obsession of mine

..and OLD obsession of mine is BLACK & WHITE. Together they are classic. 

In highschool, it was my goal to only wear black and white. (with occasionally blue jean)

It was a great statement. It wasn't that I didn't love color. It was more about loving black and white. 

Simplicity. Yet, it was fun. It typically wore color on my lips - bright red. 

A step further, I had planned on living this way for the rest of my life (as every high school student thinks they will). Black and white house. B & W furniture. Car. Husband. Fence. Dog. You name it. 

Once I graduated, I quickly threw it all away while adding some color in my life. then went on a color binge. Adding bright colors in to my attire all the time. The color thing has stuck but I still always love black and white together. 

i STILL love black and white. Now the mix makes me feel young, free and always classy.

cookbook's

To me a book on the shelf or hidden around the house is a piece of art. Whenever I stop at friends house for the first time (or back in my babysitting days), I will scan their book collection. I think it really tells something about the person. Here are three cook books I'm currently reading, cooking, and being inspired by. 

VOLT ink. 

Ted and I are equally obsessed with watching Top Chef. 

I've been a religious viewer since Season 2. My favorite season

was with Bryan and Michael Voltaggio. When they came out

with a cookbook, I knew I had to get it. The book is full 

of amazing technique and inspiration. 

My Family Table

John Besh is another Chef favorite of mine.

Maybe because he is from New Orleans. 

His other cookbook I've enjoyed is 'My New Orleans'.

 The Family Meal

This book is one I recommend to everyone. 

It's a perfect gift to a bride-to-be. 

It is easy to read and follow. It had delicious recipes

full of pictures and grocery lists. 

re ( fresh )

i've been in a real blogger funk. if there is such a thing. and i'm trying to snap out of it. which in this case is easier said than done. i tend to blame the full calendar but really i'm just sitting in my living room staring at the Christmas tree that has now made it past january 15 (!!!!?!). or the pile of jackets sitting on my chair that I've been piling high all week.

b  u  t,  none of which is keeping me from blogging. it's just that I find myself searching craigslist for extended amounts of time searching for that one special place that we want to live. (We are trying to move.. ..still in the city.. ..still downtown.. ..just bigger space.) i just blamed craigslist for my blogging hiatus. i'm not even sure that is plausible.

nonetheless, here I am.

what do you do when you've reach a blogger funk?

The Eve of Christmas Eve

This year I wrapped all our presents in red gingham and sparkly blue. 

Ted and I are exchanging gifts tonight together.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Love, 

Ted & Tamara

Ted & Tamara in 2011

 

In 2011, we had a travel bug.

It was a fabtastic year.

Filled with lots of love, 

friendship, and full suitcases.

True Love was Born in a Manger

Ted and I played Mary and Joseph in a live naivety for my friends parents church. It was a cold night but we had so much fun. The whole Christmas Live told the story of Christ starting with creation and ending at the Cross complete with every live animal you can think of including cows, a camel, and peacocks.

Christmas is such a happy, cheerful time of year. 

Now to complete my to do list.

DIY Photoshoot in the Park

We dressed up and headed out to the park a few blocks from our house. We snapped Christmas photos. Tripods work magic. Although after running back and forth to the camera... I came out looking like a hot mess in most of the pictures. But, oh well. There's are some of the ones that our eyes are both open, the wind didn't make my hair stand up.

Seriously, we love DIY photo shoots. 

Our Christmas cards are OUT. Hallelujah! 

I did not mean to have the cards out this late into December but you know...life happens. And I'm so thankful they are out and finding their ways to the people we love. 

Our outfits:

His: Sweater/JCPenny's, Shirt/Jcrew, Pants c/o Penguin for Nordstrom, Shoes/Steve Madden

Hers: Dress-Shirt-Jacket/Anthropologie Shoes/Thrifted (old)

Happy Weekend!

Ted and I went with our two friends to the beach. 

We rode horses.

Listened to the waves roll in. 

Talked and laughed.

Ate Burger King.

Perfect winter beach trip.

The skies were blue 

filled with big puffy clouds.

Here's a laughable picture 

After taking turns riding,

we decided to try riding doubles.

Having to distribute weight..

The girls on the smaller horse

and the boys on the other. 

so brokeback. 

Looking forward to getting back into a blog-swing.

Hoping to get some posts up next week

before we fly away to visit our families.

Lately

Lately looks like...

...late nights studying.

...meals at home with Ted.

...phone calls with friends.

...studying.

...movies with tedley & with friends.

...scarves & hot tea.

...horse riding with Ellen.

...rainboots.

...typing papers.

...studying.

...packing away summer clothes.

...cleaning and decluttering our house.

...art museum browsing.

...apartment searching in Queens Village.

...STUDYING.

...Christmas card making.

...back rubs from Ted.

...shopping trips with Janet.

...did I mention studying?!

Today

It's a wonderful day to remember everything that we are thankful for. Many times the mundane things of life go by unnoticed and unappreciated, but days like today we stop long enough to think of those little things. Of course, we stop over food and lots of it. But I'm not complaining. Our dear friends invited us over to share in their family Thanksgiving. We accepted and are so thankful.

Thankfulness is more than things that make us happy. It's truly a way of living. A thankful heart is full of love and generosity. November is a great month to stop the calendar throw on a scarf, kick up your feet, and think about all the many things that make our lives to rich.

Thankful for so much today. Happy Turkey Day to all!!

Style #4

I played with this braid headband a few weeks ago. I've been holding off on posting it because I don't love the look completely. But, as time passed I realized this is why I started the 30 hairstyles series. For me to try different styles and share what I 'ooohh-d and ahhhh-d' over and what styles I'd forget next time. 

This is a very simple style in which you pull an underneath section big or small from under your front part and braid it. After braided, simply pull across your head and secure with a fun pin. If the braid would have been thicker, I may be enjoyed this look better. But, the simplicity of this look is great. 

Hardest part about this look: Easy

Time for this look: Less than 3 minutes

Next time: Use more hair for thicker braid

Ponoko & My Brother

My older brother is the type that tears apart anything electronic, build his own security system, and has his lights controllable from his computer anywhere. He is a computer engineer which makes complete sense. He recently starting working for a company based in New Orleans that is working on making 3D printing and laser cutting a bigger reality.

Basically he is working on making the process of creating designs on a computer and having it made in real life easier. His company is working directly with Ponoko. The company that Design Sponge featured here.

From what I've seen of 3D printing, I'm impressed and love the results. You can see below a few examples of artists. Click on each picture for the link. I'd still love to see this done while in action. I'd also love the chair coasters & little animal signs for stinky cheeses. 

Just The Two of Us

Looks like everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving. Have you been to the grocery store??!?!?!!!! Here at our house we have our Turkey feast all mapped out. And we love that its just the two of us. Yes, we love family. Yes, we miss a BIG feast with other people. And this is us going on a streak of not sharing a meal with other homeless people.. Seriously have spent more Thanksgiving days with the homeless then with my extended family. 

I'm sure we will be carefully thinking about what we are MOST thankful for. Other plans include decorating our Christmas tree we brought home last night and maybe a little parading. 

Start

Pink Velvet Birthday Party Dress

 We Make 49 Together

My Birthday Morning Reads

Can't wait for my birthday week to continue in NYC...

Homemade Personalized Wood Mugs

Our friend Ellen made Ted and I each a personalized mug. Ted's is nautical and mine is a whisk. Super fun, perfect gorgeous mugs for us to sip our favorite beverage of the day... coffee. 

This next year

I'm a dreamer. Thoughts of little and BIG ideas race through my head constantly. In three seconds, I could have 100 ideas...or it feels that way. The ideas are not lacking. What's lacking is the 'FOLLOW THROUGH'. This is something has become on of my goals to change about myself. Accomplish what you dream up. Do what you can. It's something that is progressively happening in my life.

It's a creative process that I love to live.

Cheers to 25

Shirt: Madewell

Jeans: Mother jeans

Shoes: Yves St. Laurent

Belt: H&M

 Here I am. Awkardly. In front of the camera. But, I'd love to show a little of what I like to wear from the day to day. These Mother jeans feel like heaven. This is the same day that I wore my hair like this. So, now you can see the look from the front. I wore this to decorate for the baby shower on Saturday. We spent a few hours plus a few more unexpected hours into projects. Crafts are so fun. Girls are so fun. And guess what? 

Today's my 25th birthday. So, I'm getting dressed up after work and we are going to dinner with some friends. Guess what else? 

It's Ted's 24th birthday too, I'm such a cougar! Yep, we share birthdays! November 15, baybay. 

I'm also SO excited to get away with my favorite girl friends this weekend. We are going to visit Lauren in NYC. Can't wait to see her and roam the streets. 

Others birthday posts here.

My fav YSL shoes

Janet's Baby Shower

Yesterday, we had a baby shower for my friend Janet. A few of her closest friends put the shower together. I was in charge of decorating and I loved doing crafts all week in prep. It was a beautiful shower and Janet was glowing as she always is. She has been such a great friend and accountability partner for me since moving to Philadelphia. Can't wait to meet baby Noah! Here's a few snaps of the shower.