West Elm & Pinterest- An Evening With My Ladies

Image via Pinterest

Last Thursday night I spent the evening with my girlfriends at the Pinterest meet up at West Elm in Emeryville. The champagne was flowing and the most adorable (and delicious) bite-sized desserts were being passed with great frequency. I loved being in such a great space with fun, creative people, a photo booth and free food and drinks;)

Cookies and Milk, Satin and Silk

Mini Whoopie Pies

Smilebooth- Hi Adge! 

Sunday Dinners with the Parents

 My parents and I have started a new family tradition, Sunday dinners (a revolutionary idea I know!). Every Sunday we are all free, we switch off hosting a family get together. This weekend was my turn. My husband usually does the cooking as he is far more experienced in the kitchen than myself but this week I took charge. I made use of my cookbook collection and made an arugula salad without the arugula, "jezz's chili" and Jiffy cornbread (that one was not from a cookbook). Ofilio ended up pitching in and made a chorizo mac and cheese. For  dessert we enjoyed mini cheesecakes that I received from my work to celebrate my 5 year(!) anniversary with the company. I did have to explain to my confused Dad why I was taking pictures of the food, but none the less, it was a good night with my favorite people.
Side note: I just saw The Help this weekend and in response to the Miss Myrna letters it was said to avoid the sting of onion cutting, hold a matchstick in your mouth. I tried this while chopping a whole onion and it worked! My eyes started to sting a tiny bit at the very end but it was much better than going in unarmed.

Anniversary Number One

August 27, 2010

A year ago this Saturday, I married my love in San Francisco's City Hall. This was easily the happiest day of my life. The space was grand and beautiful yet the fact that it was just us made it perfectly intimate. We had a church ceremony with friends, family, and a reception the following weekend but this day was just for us. I'm so glad we did it this way and I recommend it to every couple tying the knot. This weekend we will be celebrating and remembering our day, and then we get to do it again next weekend (another reason why I recommend the two weddings;). I hope you too are celebrating something on your days off.

Photos by Lisa Farrer

New Favorite Store -Fishs Eddy

While roaming around the Flatiron district I stumbled upon Fishs Eddy. This was one of the happiest accidents I have ever had... I thought the Anthro home department floated my boat but this place topped it. It's stocked floor to ceiling with beautiful, quirky, functional things for the kitchen (many of them affordable too).  I love setting a table more than cooking so I was in heaven. If this store were local I would have left with more but I had to consider what could come back with me on the plane. Thankfully they have a website so I will definitely be back for more.



My Haul



Picnic in the Park

Sheep Meadow, Central Park

 The main reason we were in NYC was for my best friend's 30th birthday. She wanted to celebrate her milestone with a picnic in central park, so I did a little something to make it more special (and pretty) than just sandwiches on the grass. Romy always makes everyone feel like a queen on their birthday and I wanted to do the same for her, but considering I was traveling and I couldn't make the food or throw her a party, I had to figure out something to do for the girl who does everything for everyone. I figured the most portable thing I could do was personalize the picnic for her. With a few supplies and a little time, I was able to make a public park feel a bit more like her own, and it all fit in my carry on.

Painter's drop cloth became a picnic blanket, with hand painted "copperplate" birthday message

I painted the edges of regular paper plates with the same paint to coordinate

Personalized adhesive circles for the plastic wine glasses and scrapbook paper and labels added for the the utensil pack 

Final color coordinated product

Cheers to the woman of the hour

Picnic in Progress

XOXO

Biting the Big Apple

We just got back from New York and I don't think it could have possibly been a better time. Our days were filled completely with food and friends, old and new, from day to night. We enjoyed the steak for two at Peter Luger, fresh pasta at Malatesta Trattoria, the views at The Boat House, amazing apps at Stanton Social, danced the night away on the Gansevoort rooftop, shopped the city, met Conan the Barbarian (he's HUGE), had a picnic in central park (more on that tomorrow) and toasted a very special birthday girl. We even felt mildly like we could possibly be New Yorkers as we were with locals the whole time and didn't so much as pass by Times Square or the Statue of Liberty. We are awaiting our next trip anxiously. 

Pack It On Up

Outfits

Today we leave for New York City! As with all trips, I love going on them but hate packing for them. I'm a notoriously light packer...so light that I forgot my bathing suits and anything with sleeves for my honeymoon (where we experienced both rain and a beach). This time I have planned ahead versus my usual last minute grab of things; every outfit is picked out for everyday. I can't wait to eat, shop, explore and live it up in the clothes laid out above. I will report back on my adventures Monday. In the meantime, I hope your weekend takes you somewhere wonderful.

Accessories

Shopboping Spree

This week I went a little nuts on Shopbop, my favorite virtual shopping destination. I have been waiting months and months for this sexy back number to go on sale. I had just bought my camera when it went to 30% off and told myself that if they still had my size when it went to 50% I was allowed to purchase (which it did today). I had no reason or excuse for the blue dress but it arrived yesterday and I loved it so much that I scooped up the short black one too, which happened to be on sale. I'm already excitedly planning how I'm going to dress these simple beauties up and down.

 Shopbop offers free shipping and returns, even internationally (hear that Jenn and Adge), and they don't charge you tax-all that and the fact that they have the most amazing and broad  selection is why I have been called out at work more than once for being on this website:)

Love for Keep Calm Gallery

Want

I first came across the Keep Calm Gallery when I bought this tote from their sister site a few years ago. I was very happy with my "G" bag but love their prints and tea towels even more.  After much back and forth and getting opinions, I purchased the If You Can't Stand the Heat print for our kitchen (get it, cause it's in the kitchen, HA! And the finger actually points to our door, Double HA!).  Honestly most of the feedback I got was to not get this  because it was too cheesy but I am  cheesy and I adore it for that very reason. I would love to get the print above for our bedroom but I think one cheeky art piece might be all our house can handle.  If you are looking for some love for your walls they have lots of great prints with awesome sayings, great graphics, typography and reasonable prices-especially considering the exchange rate. For something less committal and costly, get yourself a tea towel and spice up your abode that way (I  purchased the towel on the bottom right).  These all come shipped via Royal Mail from the UK so arrival can be slow but it's well worth the wait.

Bun Mee Is Yumee

My Delicious Lunch

I recently had my first Vietnamese sandwich. Honestly I didn't have a clue that the Vietnamese had sandwiches but now I do and I enjoyed this treat at Bun Mee on Fillmore Street. The decor was cute and casual and it's walking distance from my house so even before I tried the food I was happy. The sandwiches were good but my favorite things were the salt and pepper fries and the cookie. I never thought that you could really change much when it comes to a french fry but they seasoned these to perfection and you simply MUST try them. As for the chocolate coconut creme cookies... seriously one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted.  We will definitely be back for a quick and tasty lunch.

It's Friday Thank God

Relaxing Weekend

Happy Friday! After a very sickly and busy week I'm looking forward to spending the weekend at home: curled up reading  on the couch, in my sweats, with the hubs.  We do plan on getting a little crazy and are venturing out past 10 to get drinks with a friend who's in town. I hope you too spend the weekend exactly as you wish xoxo

Guiding Light

Ta Dah! 

Changing the lighting in our bedroom made such an impact on the room that I immediately got on the ball and ordered a new chandelier for our entry way.  The original light, below, wasn't offensive but it most certainly didn't match either of our tastes. While the new piece may be more my style than my husbands (ok, is completely more my style), the bronze finish gives it a less precious look. Speaking of precious, this chandelier is actually designed for a nursery. This fact worked to our advantage because the sizing was scaled down as was the price. All in all, this little pretty addition has given me something extra to smile about when I walk into my doorway.

Oldie but not Goodie