One of the things I look forward to when September ends (i always sing that song in my head for this whole month) is the return of fall shows. This year I am following more than usual, which might change … Continue reading
The wedding yesterday was beautiful! It was at a local farm with in a beautiful meadow called Hidden Villa. Stefanie and I had gone to high school together, and kept in touch in college because we both were studying art. She is the rare gal that marries her high school sweetheart. I had seen their romance from the very beginning and their wedding was a lovely start to their new life together. The cake was fantastic, a kind that I had not had before, called champagne cake. She had asked a few of us to make desserts, so there were 8 additional yummy things to sample, including my lemon bars!
She painted all these bottles that made up the aisle.
I loved her lace dress!
She started tearing up when she read her vows. This is post-kiss!
I liked the doors that were at the end of the aisle.
We danced in the barn after dinner. She made all these artistic details that pulled it all together so well.
The champagne cake.
The weather could not have been more perfect, considering the weekend before it had poured all day! It was warm and sunny until late in the evening. All in all, it was an amazing day.
Today I took care of things about the house, lazed with the pups watched ridiculous amounts of T.V (the good wife premiere!!!) and prepping for school. This week we have only three days of school, which fits in perfectly with my birthday on Saturday.
Hope you had a fun and relaxing Sunday!
Love,
-S
Things at the new school are going well. I have a lot of catch-up but I think that once I get the hang of things it well be a good fit. All of the staff have been welcoming and helpful, which makes me feel more comfortable. The kids are settling into things, but we still have a long ways to go (my classroom is a mess!).
Today, there was a few of us that grabbed a bite to eat after work. We met up at San Pedro Square, the cute downtown section of San Jose. Roomie and I shared a pizza, salad, guacamole and crunchy tortilla chips. Unusual combination, but it was what my stomach wanted, and I was not going to argue with it. The food was yummy, and it was nice to see the other teachers relax and unwind together. Sometimes seeing people only at work makes it feel a bit impersonal, and this was great chance for me to get a better understanding of how interesting and cool some of my coworkers really are.
Last year, I was a bit idealistic and wore heels very often as a substitute teacher. It didn’t take very long to see that at some the campus’s (ahem, Los Gatos!) were too hilly/multilevel/had metal grates for my heels to be comfortable for the whole day. Soon I switched to flats, and found some loafers later in the year that became one of my go-to pairs along with my Sperry‘s.
My Anne Klein go to loafers
Finishing a workday with happy feet make me approach the next day in a more upbeat manner. This year, I have continued in the same comfy shoes vein. Flats and loafers are the way to go when you are standing or walking all day long. Fortunately enough, loafers have hit the fashion world and have been given a makeover. Some of the ones coming out for fall are pretty cute. Which ones do you like?
Sole Society Cambria Tassle Loafer
Tory Birch
Steve Madden Zunni Leopard
Tropez Cotton Anchor Flats
Sperry TopSider Westwood
I think all of these would look great with a decent pair of skimmer jeans, and a crisp white collared shirt.
Each of them has a very different feel! Would you wear (or buy!) any of these? What would you wear with them? Any suggestions on how to pair them up with things already in your closet?
Love,
-S
It is now cold in the mornings when Roomie and I get up. I have been putting on a cardigan and a warmer jacket just to get through that first hour or so until we are all set in our classrooms. The days are still warm so its all about wearing layers. For example, yesterday, it was about 50 when we left for work and about 84 during the middle of the day. I pulled out my pea coats and while I usually pick my go-to black option, I have my eye on a picking up a new one. The only problem is, which one? They are all pretty cute!
J.Crew Majesty Peacoat- Charcoal
ShopBop-Toggle Coat
Michael Kors
I saw this on a blog that I follow and I keep coming back to it. It sounds very impressive to make, but I imagine it tastes fantastic!
Ultimate S’more Anniversary Cake
How is the weather for you? Are you enjoying fall so far?
Love,
-S
Yesterday in the midst of the baking frenzy I started a batch of horchata going. The recipe is by David Lebovitz one of my fave’s and I love making a batch over the weekend to keep me happy during the busy weekdays. The recipe is the kind you start one day and finish it the next. I am looking forward to a big glass of this later on. Yum!
Today was another day full of baking. An old high school friend has her wedding coming up next weekend. She asked a few of us to make desserts as they decided not to go with a wedding cake for everyone, and instead are doing small bites. So I tackled the third trial run of macaroons (the most successful to date!) and the first trial run of the lemon bars for the wedding. While they turned out tasty they will need some tinkering, so they might be made again this week before the final batch is due on Saturday.
Our tasty vanilla macaroons.
This is how they will be served at the wedding on Saturday. Cute yes?
This silly pup kept us company the whole day, and had a grand time catching all the crumbs. We tired him out eventually!
The Crash monster finally tired enough to sit in his bed.
After dinner, I was sitting on my bed finishing signing all the paperwork for my new job. It was such a large pile, that eventually Nala got covered up. (She loves being covered; the sheets, warm laundry, my paperwork!)
The roomie got a kick out of seeing all the paperwork on Nala.
I keep coming back to this classy little ring (i really like it in rose gold). Normally I wear a ring on each hand. On one, I wear my graduation ring, recent Christmas Gift from my Dad. On the other I have an owl (I’ve always loved owls and other fowl jewelry) from Therapy. Therapy is this chain near us with a few locations in Palo Alto and another in Los Altos. But this ring would be such a nice touch for whenever I wanted to dress up a bit. What do you think?
Kate Spade- Skinny Mini Bow Ring
I saw this on Pinterest the other day, and I like everything about it, the pearls, the gold, the calligraphy, everything!
I love this.
What is your favorite quote? Anything that makes you feel like you can tackle anything? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
(For me, it usually involves Kate Spade, I love everything about it!)
Love,
-S
Last night we celebrated Mum’s birthday. We had a delicious dinner. We started off with some avocado crostini’s.
Avocado Crostini’s
We had Stolen Chicken for the main course. I love the potatoes and veggies that come along with it.
Our tasty stolen chicken.
My Dad has been bringing in ripe tomatoes everyday from his garden. He tried a new kind this summer and they look amazing. The smell of them feels like summer is still here.
Fresh tomatoes from the garden
Today was a great day. I woke up and read in bed for a while with one snuggly pup (the other was at puppy class). I went grocery shopping. The grey skies and cool weather put in the mood to bake. I started with making some chai, and then tumbled into baking some banana bread.
Robert came over and showed off his swanky new car! Its a 2013 Honda Civic. It’s beautiful! It was pouring for a while so we settled on making some carrot-cake in celebration of his new wheels.
His celebratory carrot-cake!
After a while it stopped raining and I was able to snap a picture of the his new wheels! He refuses to let me take a normal picture of him, so pardon his silly faces on all of the photos.
The new vehicle + his carrot cake doggy bag!
I’m not sure what he is doing here…
After the flour had settled we watched something on Netflix and the other pup and I snuggled on the couch. I stepped away to gather my things and she curled up in the warmth of my spot. Isn’t she cute?
My other snuggly puppy
How was your Saturday? Did you get a chance to kick back and relax? Have any fun things planned for tomorrow?
Love,
-S
The last few days have been crazy busy, so thus the radio silence.
It all started Monday with a job interview. The interview went well, and Tuesday night they offered me a teaching contract. They had a vacancy and I had to jump to get everything settled. I had already agreed to sub for Los Gatos for a few days, so I had to sub and then run around after a full day of school trying to get all the details worked out. I took a TB test, fingerprinted, printed and signed my contract (it was like 30 pages!) and scouted out things at the school.
Last night the family, Roomie and I went over to Singlebarrell, this epic Prohibition era style bar in San Jose. We got there early and enjoyed a nice cocktail (or two!) before grabbing Thai food for dinner. We saw this yarnbombed tree, and it made me laugh.
A yarnbombed tree in San Jose.
I got my keys to my classroom today! I start Monday. I will teach intro to art for two periods and then I am the Site Testing Coordinator for the rest of the day. I will be giving tests like MAPS, CAHSEE and CELDT. Sounds like fun eh? But the best part is that it’s at Roomie’s school so we can hang out together at work, just like last year!
Now I am off to my mother’s birthday dinner. Tomorrow, my best friend Robert will pick up his swanky new car.
HAPPY FRIDAY!
Do you have any weekend plans? Was your week exhausting like mine was?
-Love,
S
I met my friend Natasha for lunch at Google, which is where she works. She gave me a lovely tour and allowed me to walk beside her her dumbfounded and gawking over how AMAZING the Googleplex was.
My badge was so fancy.
Look at how classy their wall art is!
They had art everywhere (inside and out), amazing statues, outside furniture for days, and bikes for people to get around between buildings.
I loved this dinosaur one. It had been yarn-bombed and had pink flamingoes tied to all four legs.
We got lunch in the Atom Cafe where they had these fantastic food statues outside:
All of this dessert artwork made me crave sweet things!
I love the little bee!
A donut!
Made of kitkats-if you look closely at the eyes you can see wafers texture
Gingerbread man
Sorry for the funky hair, it was crazy windy.
Now I want to work at Google. We even tried three different kinds of fro-yo, at three different dining halls! It was an adventure, but Natasha was a doll about everything!
Natasha totally made my day by showing me around!
Here is a shout-out to my friend Sunny , who successfully finished her second day at Google today!! I know one day soon I will be bothering her about visiting her Google. :]
The family that I babysit for has two snuggly cats (Claire and Tabitha). They both love to jump onto my lap after the baby has gone down for her nap. Today, it was Claire who snagged the space on the couch next to me.
My friend Kim and I met up initially to work out, but after a new development occurred (more about that tomorrow!!), we changed plans and grabbed sushi. It was the perfect finish to a great day. We got these fruity little drinks.
They were yummy and put both of us in a great mood.
Kim taking the first sip!
I ordered some gyoza and vegetable tempura. It was delicious and hit the spot. A girls night out was just what I needed.
I got home and mail call came late today. My new phone case came in and I love it already! I went for the less cute but more durable option, because let’s face it people, I tend to be pretty accident prone and very clutzy. Buuuuttt it’s still nautical AND blue and has my name on it!
How was your Tuesday? Were you able to take a break and enjoy some you time at all today? Did you get anything fun in the mail?
Love,
-S
Sunday was a lazy beautiful day. Roomie and I hit the gym, then met up with my friend Annie in downtown Mountain View for delicious Italian food. We got gelato (twice in one weekend!) and browsed in some shops. Roomie and I saw this little gem in a bookstore.
An epic greeting card.
We went back to the house and relaxed with the pups as we watched Shooter. It was a great day!
What did you do on Sunday? Did you get a chance to relax?
Love,
-S
This week for Fancy Friday we met at a fun Mexican restaurant in downtown Mountain View. I had yummy fish tacos. It was a smaller group this week for dinner, but it was nice to be able to catch up with everyone. Apparently someone sent out a memo that purple is in, because everyone showed up wearing some form of purple.
At the pearl tea place after dinner
We grabbed pearl tea and gelato after dinner. I got lemon gelato and caramel pecan and it was delicious.
Yummy gelato.
The best part of the evening occurred when we got in line for gelato. The young couple in front of us, well, one of them was dressed as a sabertooth tiger. People stopped and took pictures with the tiger, but it was pretty hilarious. It had a moving jaw, and eyes that lit up when they spoke.
The sabertooth tiger in front of us-Photo Credit to Kendall
What do you think of the costume? What is the most hilarious thing you have ever seen someone dressed up as? What did you do on Friday?
Love,
-S
Classy and Fabulous 
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