CHARMED

Green Amethyst & Diamonds!

Seriously, I have officially stooped to an all-new shockingly horrifying low. I am utterly embarrassed, amused, confused, stunned, and in disbelief as I prepare to divulge the following information. This morning I was in a frenzy to peel myself out of our pillowy-cloud of a bed, get myself presentable for the day, hair, make-up, pack my lunch (chicken stir fry! my first attempt in life to make it and I have to say it was a rather yummmmmy success) ----------- I grab my multitude of bags (including hand-, computer-, lunch-, and make-up-)....jump in the car, rush to work and of course I had to get here at 9:01am. OH-ONE. One minute late, I'll cut my losses. I'm going about my morning, chugging down my jug of coffee, eating my banana, going through emails......I throw my hand up to my face and lean in on my elbow - today is one of those days! All of a sudden, as I'm unconciously tugging on my ear........I realize........I forgot to put EARRINGS ON. Necklace on. Oversized ridic...

As with any home, ours is still a work in progress. I have so many projects I’d like to do! I should really stop for a minute, step back, and be proud of everything we’ve accomplished so far. After years and years of living in college dorms with white brick walls, and then strings of white-shoe-box apartments in New York City, I vowed to myself that the day I finally had a place of my own, every single inch of it would be PAINTED IN A COLOR. No more white walls ever again! Life is wayyyyy too short for me to be blinded by the white!!!! Well, we’re on our way to achieving that dream of mine. The most important and large rooms are painted. However the bathrooms are still sadly weepy and stark in white. I've done some punches of color to tide me over for now -- and here is the DIY step by step for these fabulous damask canvas 'tiles' I did for our master bathroom. Hmmm....I'm thinking we’ll most likely pull a color for the walls from the awesomely hippie-hemp-esque stiche...

Have you ever stopped and wondered where this seemingly ‘age-old’ tradition and inherent list of “set steps” for getting married came from? Don’t you remember reading those elder novels in high school speaking of women’s dowries? What exactly happened in this world that caused the tradition of handing over your little girl and her most pricey possessions as a perk to the lucky man – to the lucky man now emptying his bank account and handing your little girl a shiny rock to display on her finger? What’s it all mean anyways? What’s the significance? Do we just accept it because lots of people in the world follow the same suit and have been for decades…so that’s what is proper to do? Call me a cynic or call me a modern day woman. This wedding hoopla just isn’t for me. AT ALL. I think we decided we’re eloping on the summit of a mountain. Preferably near a cliff. Not so we can jump afterwards (you negative nancy’s!) but more to remind us at that moment of the overwhelming forces of nature a...

The best part about having our own space in this world - whether it be a single room, an apartment, a house, an RV -whatever space is completely and utterly yours....the best part is the freedom we hold to pick and choose what we would like to surround ourselves with and look at everyday of our lives. What makes you happy? What's your favorite color? What makes you smile? Reminds you of special memories? What is your creative vision? Well, the biggest shock to me personally about people's selections for their homes - is when the walls are decorated with store-bought-dime-a-dozen-generic-general-just-because art/photo prints. Admittedly, I am a photographer and have a professional side-photography-business (www.charmbytasha.com) in addition to my full-time duties as a publicist - however I promise making a beautifully original custom art photo print is easy as pie. Step 1 - Take a photo. Since this is an ART print objective - your photo should be of a place or thing that holds s...

I flippin' love Halloween. {ode of the kitchen towels - and NOTE: my fool proof BAMBOO! I don't lie!} I will be closing this laptop and in about 2 seconds I'll be sinking into that couch right there....looking greatly foward to relaxing in front of our newly installed eco-friendly and energy efficient pellet stove. Best invesment. Ever. I just have to say if you're looking into alternative heating - pellets are marvelous. So affordable, renewable, and you still get that flame that gives you the cozy homey "gather 'round and snuggle in" feeling. Just in love. We'll see what winter brings....but theoretically only $500 worth of pellets is all it will take to keep our little dream home heated for the season! Oh.......and did I mentioned I got engaged on my birthday? {10/21.....no wonder October is my favorite} Whatta week.

Did anyone else not inherit their family's green-thumb-gene? Am I the only one over here leaf-ily-challenged? What is it specifically about the concept of: #1 dig a hole. #2 plant something. #3 water it so it doesn't die. That I don't get? It IS that easy, right? 1,2,3. Ugh. Perhaps it's more horrifyingly embarrassing for me that I need fool-proof bamboo desktop plants (that actually SAY on the tag....NO DIRECT LIGHT and barely needs water so don't worry if you forget for 2 and a half months) because I grew up in a house that could in all likelihood qualify as the next great rain forest after the Amazon. With all of my mom's floor plants and hanging plants and table plants.....seriously, walking up the stairs into the living room might feel to a stranger like hiking in a heavily wooded national park. Now this is not to make fun of my green-thumbed mother - oh no. I'm in AWE of this magnificent woman!!! I just don't know how she does it. Her yard is a bot...

When we moved out of our apartment and into our house, I had a grand vision. Everything would be home-made, re-purposed, re-made, hand-crafted, and all considered 1-of-a-kind via my thrift-loving ways and DIY addiction. Nothing more I hate than a home that looks like a cookie-cutter-show-room. Exhibit #1 - One of my first orders of business was to create a dreamy master bedroom. That evokes the feeling of floating on a cloud and serenely calms your bones the minute you walk in. When I think of a dreamy state I think of things becoming blurry......that lapse of time in between falling asleep and fully waking up where your eyes aren't focused. This train of thought led me to thinking about FADED LIGHTS.....and their soft glow. How I would love to always be surrounded by that. I dragged out our strings of Christmas lights - in the dead of spring - and after the sun set, I secluded myself into the darkest corner and snapped a string of shots. After selecting my favorite shot, I just br...

Hersheys. Ghiradelli. Godiva. Lindt. German chocolate. Belgian chocolate. Swiss Chocolate. Haut-Designer Chocolate to generic store-brand chocolate chips. Chocolate fondue to chocolate syrup. Chocolate chip cookies to chocolate cake. I'm sorry, but some days I really do believe chocolate - of any brand/lightness/darkness/texture......is the answer. Who cares what the question is? Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever (proclaimed by me) 2 sticks of butter at room temperature (vitally important!) 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (I'm big on flavor) 2 eggs 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups chocolate chips (plus a couple extra handfuls for good luck!) Simple enough, the run of the mill blend the butter with the sugar, once creamy add the rest of the wet ingredients, slowly add the dry ingredients until all incorporated - then dump in ALL OF THAT CHOCOLATE. Extra handfuls necessary. And why not throw in som...

CHARM by Tasha {professional photography}

Today is indeed the day my lovely mother borned me into this world - 25 years ago. VINTAGE ME 25 years on this earth I have lived, and it's quite extraordinary to think of what a human can experience in this amount of time. What realizations are reached, what things are learned, what people are met, what situations we're faced with, what range of emotions we feel, what level of self-awareness and world-awareness we achieve. Growing up in a wonderful town, a beautiful state, surrounded by an endlessly kind, loving, and supportive family, making lifelong friends in elementary school, living in Germany with a marvelous family, traveling all over the world, moving to New York and living my big city dreams, graduating college with a degree I'm passionate about (public relations&photography), meeting my perfect match and falling in love, landing my dream job in my hometown of all places in the world, buying a home, achieving what I've always worked hard for.... I couldn...

There's nothing I love more than the warmth and smell that permeates your home when something yummy is baking in the oven. The thing about baking is the general consensus is it's time consuming - to schlepp all of your needed materials out - measure, mix, beat, add, mix more, add more, let sit, put in the fridge to chill, mix again, add more, finally get baking. My friends, THIS IS THE ANSWER. The answer to all the times you fall through the door, home from a long draining day at work - and have zero effort left for crafting anything fancy, but have an insatiable craving for something sweet and not from 7-11. This is the answer to that diet you're on - where you think you can't have a cupcake! And this is the answer to all of you lazy @$e$ out there who can make this, and insanely impress people who underestimate you. This is all it takes to make some freakin delicious (& healthIER) cupcakes! 1 box reduced sugar store-bought cake mix 1 can (12oz) of diet coke THE E...