Back in the Saddle!

Three months ago, I wrote my last post.  This is by far, the longest I've gone without blogging and my, how I've missed it!  Let's get right down to business, where the hell have I been for the past three months??!  Well, I'll tell ya!

- Got a full-time job at Sweet Lauren Cakes.  So no more crazy days of traveling all over SF each day from one job to the next, I get to sit at one desk, go to one office, and get one paycheck.  I am beyond thrilled to finally have some regularity to my schedule, although I will continue to also do freelance events, mainly with Amy Nichols because she's oh so fab and, I still can't get enough of weddings and events!  So now you've been warned, there will be lots more cake pop talk around here, think you can handle it?

Cake Pops at the Winery SF for a recent Today's Bride event.

-Started RCIA classes at my church.  Actually, I started these back in October.  They've been a big time commitment, every Thursday night for an hour and a half, plus all of the readings we're sent home with...but it will all be worth it when this Saturday night at Easter Vigil mass, I will finally have my long-awaited Confirmation in the Catholic faith.  Woo hoo, go Catholicism!  Honestly, I do take this very seriously though, and I'm thrilled to be making the commitment.

- Joined a cookbook club with three girlfriends.  I don't think we've officially chosen a name for ourselves yet but when we do, I'll be sure to share.  We've also started a Tumblr blog to record all of the recipes we try.  I'll occasionally link to that as well!  Tuesday night, we have our first dinner where we get to share the recipes we've tried over the past few weeks from Deborah Madison's "Greens Cookbook."  Greens is a wildly popular vegetarian restaurant here in SF down at Fort Mason.  Everything I've tried from the book has been superb!  At our dinner, we'll choose a new cookbook for next month.  My, our boyfriends are lucky...KTW has gladly tried all of my recipes and offers helpful tips like "mmm" or "this is awesome!"

Maple Mousse ingredients, this was scrumptious with chopped pecans sprinkled on top.

-Speaking of KTW, we've moved in together!  It's been a lot of fun so far and I'm newly obsessed with decorating the space.  Must reign myself in though because...

-I've also started looking for a car.  Although I love our apartment, it is super far from my work.  We're also constantly wishing we had one. So many fun places nearby for day trips, Napa, Tahoe, Santa Cruz, Carmel, the list goes on.  Unlike NYC, in SF, we've decided, a car is a must.  My dream would be one of those new cute little Fiats in mint green.  But my budget says prob not gonna happen...someday...

-Hmmm, what else?  I read the first book from Hunger Games.  THAT took up three days of my life!  On to the second one!

-We're now planning a trip to Tokyo this summer.  KTW has work and I'm tagging along :)  Must renew passport asap.

-I watched Martha Marcy Mae Marlene and became obsessed with Elizabeth Olsen and her haircut, so I copied her and chopped off all my hair, having a lot of fun with my new 'do.

"Oh hay!" 

(I'll be honest, it took me about 76 tries before I got 

that "natural hanging out on the couch looking cute pic.")

So anyway, I hope that explains why I've been a little pre-occupied.  I'm not able to promise I'll won't go MIA again, but for now, I'M BACK!!

Travel Lists

Back in January of 2010, I wrote this post listing the places I had been in the past year.  It was my plan to do it in January 2011 as well but surprise, surprise, I forgot...so now, I'm challenged with remembering all of the places I've been since January 2010, here goes:
- New York, NY
- Montauk, NY
- Washington D.C.
- Isla Mujeres, Mexico
- Savannah, GA
- Milwaukee, WI
- Nashville, TN
- Huntington, NY
- Santa Rosa Beach, FL
-2011-
- Nashville, TN
- New York, NY
- Palo Alto, CA
- Monterey, CA
- Carmel, CA
- Pebble Beach, CA
- Big Sur, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Sausalito, CA
- Sonoma, CA
- Lake Tahoe, CA
- Saint Petersburg, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- Santa Rosa Beach, FL
- Milwaukee, WI
- Boston, MA
- Phippsburg, ME
- Portland, ME
- Rye, NY
- Napa, CA
- Chicago, IL

And here are a few places I'd like to go in 2012, and the hotels I dream of staying at when I go :)

Austin, TX @ The Hotel Saint Cecilia

Palm Springs, CA @ the Viceroy

Oahu, Hawaii @ the Moana Surfrider

Portland, OR @ the Hotel Monaco

Seattle, WA @ the Alexis Hotel

New York, NY @ the Greenwich Hotel...a girl can dream...

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.