Holidays, #1 Belated T'giving

I failed to write a proper post after our visit to Milwaukee over Thanksgving so I'm going to

do so now, everyone's getting a little tired of Christmas blogposts right? 

 Well, no, me neither but here goes anyway!

Thanksgiving table-setting, we all loved our cute pilgrim place cards 

Bloody Mary, Milwaukee Style, ouch!

After all of the Thanksgiving feasts, we drove down to Chicago for the day, and went promptly to the RL Restaurant for more eating of course...the restaurant is absolutely gorgeous, feels like you're in Ralph's home, definitely a must if you're in Chicago!

 

Cloud Gate presiding over the seasonal ice-skating rink.

Playing with a Felix Gonzalez-Torres candy sculpture at the Art Institute.  Please take a moment to read the link and meaning behind this piece of artwork, quite poignant.

 ...and another Gonzalez-Torres.  Would love to see something like this at an event!  Could be easily and fairly inexpensively done with a bag of mardi gras beads.

Ginormous chandeliers at the entrance of the Public Hotel, designed by Ian Schrager.

 Our reason for going to the hotel, the infamous and recently updated Pump Room.  Check out that domed gold leaf bar, so beautiful in person.

 And the adjoining restaurant, these orbs of all different sizes and shades were fascinating and provided the restaurant with such a nice warm glow.

So that was Thanksgiving, minus a few hundred other pics I took...maybe by Valentines Day, I'll eventually get Christmas pics loaded!  Hope yours was filled with family and friends!

A Season for Giving

It's no joke that my blogging has slowed since moving to SF this summer.  I'm lucky if I get a blog post out once a month with my crazy new work schedule!  But when my best friend from highschool, Megan asked me to blog about a non-profit she started, I couldn't wait to login to Blogger and start writing out this very post.

I first learned of Tailored for Education while visiting Megan this summer in Boston.  She told me, a conversation with a friend at work turned into research which led to a realization that something needed to be done to help children in impoverished countries afford uniforms to attend school.  If they don't have uniforms, they're not able to enroll.  Having worn a uniform for most of her education, this struck a chord with Megan and so the process began to fund their first school in Haiti.  Once accomplished, the pair jumped through all of the legal hoops, filled out massive amounts of government paperwork, and created Tailored for Education.

I am beyond proud of my friend for having the passion and generosity to create a company that gives.  It doesn't take much to afford a child education in these countries, please consider donating if you're able, even $20.00 will make a difference in the lives of these children!

Clever Christmas

This time of year, I can't help but take notice of all of the fun and creative ways people decorate their trees!  Last Friday night at the Hayes Valley block party, I spotted these two super unusual, clever trees.

A good alternative tree for those of you who are lucky to enjoy a tropical Christmas!

I also liked this "billiard themed" tree, although I'd add lights for sure.  Would be a fun way to surprise someone with a pool table as a gift.  This could also easily be done with regular ornaments.

This is a tree I spotted at Anthro while in Milwaukee.  It was made from fabric swatches and light bulbs.  Oh Anthro...such geniuses...

Bring on the Roar of the Holidays!

Just this week, I've added about 5 or 6 new things to my already jam-packed calendar for December.  I had kind of expected a slow one considering I moved to the Bay Area just a few months ago and still feel like I don't know too many people.  But I've been delightfully surprised with the invitations, some social, some for work that December has brought.  Like most people, I can get a little carried away over the next few weeks with all of the celebrating.  I know it's important for me to remember to drink lots of water and stay well-rested so I can enjoy all of the fun things ahead!  How about you?  Are you prepared for the festivities?!

I'd like to post some pics from my first Milwaukee Thanksgiving with KTW, but they'll have to wait until next week.  For now, I'll leave you with this guy.

While in Milwaukee, we took a road trip one day to Chicago.  After leaving the Art Institute, I snapped a photo of one of their lions all decked out for the holidays.  He looked so regal gazing out to the skyline of the city and certainly ready for the "roar" of December festivities with his wreath!

Gallery Wall

Still trying to pull together my new apartment but thought I'd share my most recent project for a sneak peek.  KTW was given the task of helping me hang a gallery wall in my kitchen.  I laid everything out on the floor the way I wanted it hung and then sat back, ate bon bons, and watched tv while he did the rest.

Not really, I handed him nails and gave directions like "a little to the left."  But he was definitely the master of this project and I think he did a phenomenal job!  I smile each time I turn the corner and walk into my kitchen.  Big thanks to my favorite dude!

Mapping out the plan and measuring each frame.

All done!  The items hung in black frames are some of my grandmother's embroidered hand towels.  My mother cleaned and ironed each one for me.  I truly treasure them.  I painted the Le Sueur Peas can and bee.  My mother painted the flower.  The green framed picture is of Spanish Bay at Pebble Beach.  This photograph is particularly meaningful to me because it's one of the moments I decided I must live in California!  The shell sketches I bought in a gallery in NYC, they've lived in many apartments with me over the years.

Umami Burger

I hope I don't lose any friends with this statement...

....I do not love hamburgers.  There. I said it.  It's out there and I can't take it back.  It's not that I won't gladly eat one if it's in front of me, but I definitely never crave burgers.

That was until I tried an Umami burger.  One recently opened on Union Street and KTW and I checked it out last week.  O   M   G, so super yum.  We got the pickled plate because we're sooooooo healthy like that, an order of cheesy tater tots (not smothered in cheese though, the cheese is very subtle and baked into the tots, mmmm,) and we each got a burger too.  KTW got the Cali Burger with butter lettuce, slow roasted tomatoes, Umami's own house-made cheese, carmelized onions, and house dressing.  I went for the Umami burger with shitake mushrooms, carmelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, and Umami ketchup.  The parmesan crisp was my fave part.  You can see it peeking out of my burger in the 2nd pic.  Drooling yet?

Update: I now crave burgers.

Spex Club

Yo! I've been having super crazy problems with my contacts lately and decided I should wear my glasses more.  Problem is, my glasses are about three prescriptions old and crooked.  And so has begun my quest for a new pair.  I started with Spex Club (now known as Lookmatic,) mainly because they are cheap!  $88.00 covers prescription eyewear and shipping with lots of fun styles.  I also had a discount code from InStyle bringing the price down to $77.00!  You can virtually try on the glasses but ultimately, I'm going to end up taking advantage of their free returns.  First, specs to arrive were the "Jesse" style in tortoise-shell.  I sooooo wish I could pull these off.  However, I'm just not hipster enough to make it happen, baby steps...

So these are getting returned, on to the next the ones!

At Home in Hayes

That's right folks, in just 10 days, I'll be moving to uber-trendy Hayes Valley!  I finally found an adorable little studio that suits my needs.  Although, compared to my NYC apt, it feels much bigger than a studio because it has a huge, separate kitchen!  With room for table and chairs, and more than one person at a time, amaze-balls!  For the past few months, my stuff has been in boxes so it will be so fun to finally truly unpack and see what I actually have.  My guess is not much.  I got rid of so much when I left NYC, thinking it just made more sense to start over when I got here rather than pay a thousand + dollars to ship it all out.

Ever since seeing the place, I've been daydreaming of how I will decorate and make it mine.  I've decided on a color scheme of mint and navy, so soothing and so fresh!  Below is a preliminary sketch of how I envision the room laying out, we'll see what parameters I have to work with when I actually start measuring stuff...I've also included a few inspirational images that led to using these two lovely colors.

I dream of having dinner here, Cecconi's at Soho Miami Beach.  The decor is perfection.

Image from Habitually Chic

Desk and Chair are exactly what I'm going for.

Green walls with gold frame, great combo.  Also love the Lucite chair,

Unfortunately, I cannot reference the owner of these images, but they can be found on Pinterest.

Happy Halloween!

I totally dropped the ball this year for Halloween.  No costume, no pumpkin, no candy minimal candy, etc.  I did however throw on a pair of wings and a halo for an event I freelanced at Friday night.

Not horrible, but not nearly as fun as my more recent costumes...

Ballerina (with bad form)

Peacock

And my all time favorite...Flamingo

Nothing like nine pink feather boas wrapped around your waist to get the party started! 

NYC Trip and more!

A few weeks ago, KTW and I trekked back east for yet another wedding! Lucky for us, it was held in our favorite and former city, NYC. I kept getting asked by friends and family what we were going to do on our trip. It was a hard question to answer because we weren't coming for a show, to go shopping, or to visit the museums. We just wanted to experience a normal New York weekend like we used to, outdoor brunch with friends, "wasting" away hours in central park, going to fun dinners, walking through the charming streets of the West Village. We got to do all of these things, plus attend a gorgeous black tie wedding on one of the prettiest weekends weather-wise I've ever experienced there. Being back in NYC, we noticed how it felt like we were home and going back to SF was more like going back to vacation. It was a strange, bittersweet feeling. But as much as I love NYC and miss my friends, I am so lucky to be exploring a new city with my handsome man. And after this gorgeous Indian Summer weekend in SF, I am starting to miss NYC less and less. There will never be another city like it and I feel almost guilty admitting that I have started to love SF a little too. But I can't deny it, the West coast is amazing! Here are some images from the the NYC weekend as well as this past weekend in SF.

Our first morning, we visited the new section of the High Line.  Below you can see how close it is to these apartment buildings.  I'm sure the apartments are awesome but I wouldn't want to be so close to a tourist attraction.  We could literally see people doing yoga inside their living rooms!

 Bin 71 is one of our all-time favorites.  We had lunch here and I couldn't believe how gorgeous this fig was.  What an interesting fruit!

" I recall...Central Park in fall..."  -name that tune?

 On Saturday, we brunched at Nice Matin and look who came in and sat right next to us!  They were filming so I'm dying to see the next season if we're in the background staring like idiots.

 I'm not a huge fan of the Countess (a little too self-righteous,) but she picked a good dude.  He stopped filming to suggest that this girl untie her dog from the telephone pole close to the street.  I've never had a enough guts to do this, but it kills me everytime I see a dog tied up like that.  Not a good idea dog-owners, they get swiped so fast, and it is also super dangerous for them to be tied close to the road.  I hope a law gets passed about this.  Okay, stepping down from soapbox now...

 I didn't take too many pics at the wedding, too much fun...  But I did capture the table, look at all those glasses!  This was truly a classic New York City wedding, just beautiful!

 Luckily, our flight left at night on Sunday so I had time for one last brunch with my girlfriends at Cafe Cluny.

 Back in SF...this Sunday we scoped out a picnic table down near Chrissy Field and hung out there all day.  We grilled brats, drank beer, played ladder golf, it was a perfect end to the gorgeous weekend.  Below, looking east towards the city.

 And to our left, looking West towards the bridge and Marin.

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Delivery!

I walked into work last week to this beautiful flower delivery for a weekend event. 

I love working in such a bright, cheery, and creative space!

Photo Deluge

Boy, have I been delinquet in posting! Here's why...

 Kate visited, read much more about it here and here.  We walked across the bridge...

 Watched gorgeous food being prepared and then eaten at Pizzeria Delfina...

Ate pastries like this mini lemon merengue tart from Citizen Cake...

I fell in love with a Mackage...and washed my hair very soon after this photo was taken, I swear!

And of course, had cocktails in many shapes and sizes, fabulous trip Kate!

 KTW and I found a sufficient patio in Noe Valley to watch the Packers...and Auburn...and the Badgers...and the Brewers...

True to form, I ordered many options for drinks...

Another weekend we went to Outerlands before driving down to Fort Funston Beach.  My yummy turkey sandwich here and his awesome pastrami melt below...

Sweet Lauren Cakes did a phenomenal display for the Kate Spade launch of their new lipstick colors...

And finally, we went to Napa...

That's right, I tasted red wines in my white jeans, I like to live on the edge!

 KTW tried to get artsy with these shots at our first stop, Mumm.

 I agree with Bette Davis...

We had lunch outside at Farmstead...

 And ate really good, really big lunches...

 Took pictures and tasted in the vineyards at Honig...

 Honig is German for honey, I was so thrilled to realize this. 

I have a long time fascination with all things related to bees and honey...

 Napa...ahhh...

Now, off to our long-awaited trip to NYC!  I can't wait to get back to all of my old stomping grounds and spend time with friends.  We even have a black-tie wedding to attend,

I'm so excited to get all fancy-schmansy!!!