Monthly Archives: December 2013

Ringing in the New Year in Tahoe

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Last Friday the family, Roomie, my brother’s best friend Alex, and I drove up to Tahoe. On Saturday, our good friend Shannon joined us, and Gabe and Amy joined us on Sunday. We have been enjoying a lazy few days here in Tahoe. We have been taking long walks with the pups, playing lots of wii, and watching too much television. We eat yummy meals and sleep lots. In short, Tahoe is all about taking a break from life and work.

We are going to start cooking a delicious steak for dinner, along with a few other things. We plan on playing Settlers of Catan or Citadels in front of a roaring fire after dinner until the New Year rings in.

Earlier today, Amy and I took a short walk and I snapped a few photos. I hope everyone has someone to ring in the New Year with!

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The weather has been warm and sunny, although I wish there was fresh snow to sled and play in. While there isn’t much snow, the pup has enjoyed finding the small patches and rolling around in them.

Happy New Year’s Eve!

Love,

-S

101 in 1001

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Image From Daily Fancies & Pinterest

Image From Daily Fancies & Pinterest

I’m inspired by Mackenzie of Design Darling (which, if you don’t read, you totally should!) and Carly of College Prepster in creating a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. 1001 days, which is 2.75 years, is the enough time to do things without it being a total bucket list.

I stole some ideas from their lists, and then added a few of my own!

I’m officially starting mine on January first so my end date is September 28th, 2016.

Completed Items: crossed out.

In progress items: Italics.

101 in 1001

  1. Inspire someone to write a list of their own (Maryah  in Jan 2014)
  2. Go wine tasting with friends or family (Jan 11th, 2014)
  3. Learn to play an instrument
  4. Go hot air ballooning
  5. Make cake balls
  6. Invest in a food processor
  7. Climb a tall mountain
  8. Go sky diving
  9. Visit a new continent
  10. Go zip-lining  (I’ve got my eye on your Mt. Hermon)
  11. Build my dream closet
  12. Upgrade to a DSLR camera
  13. Go to a taylor swift concert
  14. Buy a house/car/condo/boat, something!
  15. Visit the Anne Frank house
  16. Get my own puppy
  17. Run a marathon (the San Francisco one in July maybe?)
  18. Spend a day at a spa
  19. Visit a castle (ideally this one: Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany)
  20. Take a tour the white house (planned for July this summer)
  21. Fast for three days (March 2014)
  22. Visit the Harry Potter World in Florida
  23. Tour Hearst Castle (on our road trip hit list this summer)
  24. Visit Canada (on our road trip hit list this summer)
  25. Donate money on Kiva
  26. Go paint balling
  27. Send a message in a bottle
  28. Buy a large jewelry box for all my bangles and earrings
  29. Invest in Tory Birch boots
  30. Take photos under the hollywood sign (planned for this June)
  31. Take photos with lit sparklers
  32. Learn to shoot a bow and arrow
  33. Order business cards
  34. Invest in a classic handbag (Frank Clegg/Tory Birch/Coach/Kate Spade)
  35. Organize my Itunes (January 1st, 2014)
  36. Send out christmas cards on time
  37. Throw a surprise party for a friend
  38. Buy my first piece of furniture
  39. Find my signature cocktail (January 13th, 2014) Lemon Drop
  40. Attend a horse race or polo match
  41. Track my spending for a month January and February 2014) 
  42. Drink 8 glasses of water (50 oz) every day for at least one week. 
  43. Buy personalised luggage
  44. Throw my first sunday brunch party
  45. Blog for 30 days straight 
  46. Top up my emergency funds for a total of one year’s rent money (almost at 6months)
  47. Get a mani and pedi that match (scheduled for June 2014)
  48. Set up a photo shoot for the whole family
  49. Meet a fellow blogger in real life
  50. Find a set of china that i love
  51. Don’t eat out for one month (February 2014)
  52. Write a guest post for another blog
  53. Buy all the Gilmore Girls DVD’s (Yay!)
  54. Invest in my first piece of tiffany’s jewelry
  55. Learn the sock bun successfully(I plan on asking Brandy/Amy)
  56. Cook dinner every night for a week (0/7)
  57. Buy myself flowers every week for a month (0/4)
  58. Go one month without buying Starbucks (February here I come)
  59. Invest in nice undergarments
  60. See a second Frank Lloyd Wright home
  61. Purchase or make a bar cart
  62. Complete a jigsaw puzzle by myself
  63. Buy a plane ticket with my frequent flier miles only (Santa Fe Tickets there & back)
  64. Come up with a way to organize ALL jewelry
  65. Take an Instagram photo errr’day for a month (in progress!)
  66. Do a “no spend month” (February 2014)
  67. Create a gallery wall (in my classroom January 2014)
  68. Create a custom blog logo
  69. See the Great Gatsby movie (this one)
  70. Do a three day juice cleanse (March 2014)
  71. Throw a masquerade party
  72. Be in a fashion photo shoot
  73. Participate in a color run (This Saturday!)
  74. Keep a food journal for one month
  75. Try hot yoga
  76. Find an infinity scarf i don’t feel silly in
  77. Go without “bedtime tv” for a week
  78. Unplug for a whole weekend
  79. Reach my ideal weight
  80. Read & watch every Jane Austen Novel/Movie (watched 3/5) (read 1/5)
  81. Update my good reads profile for three months.
  82. Go on a road trip (planned for July this summer)
  83. Make fig jam/red wine jelly with my mom
  84. Drink a glass of wine every night for a week (February 2014)
  85. Eat “clean” for one whole week 
  86. Get a blow out at a “dry bar” just because
  87. Ride in a limo
  88. Try a spinning class
  89. Invest in a monogrammed necklace or bracelet
  90. Finish my T-shirt quilt
  91. Learn needlepoint
  92. Walk through a corn maze
  93. Buy more J.Crew blazers
  94. Buy a new watch (March 2014)
  95. Take myself to the movies and watch a double feature 
  96. Buy a whole cd (March 2014)
  97. Have a stay-cation at home one day every weekend for a month
  98. Get a hammock (January 2014)
  99. Learn calligraphy
  100. Get a new hairdryer (preferably this one)
  101. Put 10$ into savings for every goal accomplished

Ps. If I inspire you to write your own list and you DO, email me either your link or your list.. and I’ll  link it to my list and get to cross one off.. Thanks!

16 Down, 85 more to go!

Love

-S

Chili Cook-off, Gingerbread Houses and Christmas Trees

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On Saturday, we invited a few friends over to bake cookies and have a chili cook-off. We made two chili’s, a coworker of mine brought a white bean chili, and two family friends brought two other chili’s. We had two different types of cornbread, and enjoyed one tasty meal! We tasted all of them, and then voted. My dad’s house chili won hands down! I was so proud.

Our Chili Cook-off Group

Our Chili Cook-off Group

On Sunday we baked our family breakfast pastry, called Nuthorns. They are amazing. My brother and Roomie tackled making a gingerbread house to beat all houses. Being an engineer and math teacher, they created a structurally sound but still beautiful house.

 

We had a tasty dinner last night of raclette, and enjoyed dinner just as a family last night. Today we had aunts, friends and neighbors stop by to exchange presents. I lucked out this year! More on that later.

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Now we are preparing dinner for the group of us; honey mustard salad, grilled kebobs, potatoes au gratin, an onion grape  tarte, lemon sorbet and apple pie! I am looking forward to a yummy family dinner.

I hope everyone is enjoying time with their family, I know I am. We played lots of wii today, and hung out with four pups!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

-S

 

Cranberry Cocktails, Friends, and Holiday Parties,

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This past Saturday I hosted a holiday party at my parent’s house. We went to the Crucible Faire in the afternoon so I invited Robert, Annie and Alli over to help tidy the house up for the party. They were a magnificent help and in no time at all we had the place ready for a party!

We had a tasty cranberry lemon cocktail, apple and fig jam crustini’s, a cold pesto pasta salad, bread and cheese tray, cranberry walnut salad, and a shrimp fritatta. People came in their winter best, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Robert took the photos, and as always, did an amazing job.

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2013_12_14_holiday_party-36Earrings: Stella and Dot       Necklace: Apricot Lane

Dress: Macy’s (Sold out)      Shoes: Steve Madden

Have you been going to any holiday parties lately? I love seeing how people dress up for the holidays! Finals finished on Friday (i had all my grades in Thursday!), and I can breathe again!

I am done with all my holiday shopping, and I am now looking forward to playing lots with the pups, playing on the wii and eating yummy things!

Happy Sunday!

Love,

-S

Kate Spade Surprise Sale

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In case you didn’t know, Kate Spade is having a Surprise Sale today only until midnight! They have some really cute purses and wallets on crazy sale prices right now! Can you believe 75% off on some items?!  So go take a peek!

 

Kate Spade's Surprise Sale

Kate Spade’s Surprise Sale

 

I have my eye on this purse and this bracelet:

All Wrapped Up

All Wrapped Up Bow Bracelet

Go ahead and get something fun!

Happy Sunday,

-S

J. Crew Bow Heels

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I was browsing the J.Crew website, as I often do, and ran across these little beauties. It took all my willpower not to buy them immediately, but I may end up treating myself closer to Christmas.

I love everything about them: the ankle strap, the bow placement, and the closed toe cap! Surprisingly enough, I like them in both colors, black and pink, which is very dangerous.

I would wear the pink heels to work and brunches, and the black heels to parties and evenings out.

black bows

What do you think? Would you get them? Have you seen anything on the J.Crew website that has been calling your name?

Happy Monday!

Love.

-S

Sandy and Maryah’s Stella and Dot Trunk Show!

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The Roomie and I had decorated our tree earlier last week and I think it looks adorable, but most importantly it also makes our little house feel very Christmas-y!

Our baby Christmas Tree.

Our baby Christmas Tree.

It was perfect because on Saturday the Roomie and I hosted our very own first Stella and Dot Party with Christina Saur Papoulias! It was such a blast to look at some beautiful jewels and have some girl time. Our kitchen has never looked so classy!

Christina made our place look so beautiful! She had so many cute things, it was hard to pick what I was going to order, because I liked everything. But, I’m in love with their poufs! I want one in every color! How cute are these two?!

Elephant Pouf

Elephant Pouf-Image from Stella & Dot

Striped Pouf

Striped Pouf-Image from Stella and Dot

The Roomie got the Tech Wallet in the Striped at a friend’s Stella and Dot Party last month, and I am super jealous how cute AND organized it is! It holds her phone, wallet and clips her keys!

Striped Tech Wallet-Image from Stella and Dot

Striped Tech Wallet-Image from Stella and Dot

It was a fantastic opportunity to do some Christmas shopping for my friends and family. I also got to use my cute new glasses that I picked up during Thanksgiving holiday break.

My cute new holiday glasses!

My cute new holiday glasses!

We had a whole lot of fun, and even dressed the pups up in some sparkly jewels! While they were patient for their treats, they were also very wiggly!

Nala wearing the Daisy Pearl Necklace

Reese’s wearing the Maldives necklace

Reese’s wearing the Mae Necklace

I ordered a few things, as did the roomie (including this super cute purse!!). Here is some good news: even if you weren’t able to make it on Saturday, you can still order  some fabulous jewelry!

If you use our link before Deceember 28th, and spend more than 50$ you will get free shipping! How awesome is that?! Normally shipping can be an extra few dollars that I would much rather spend on an extra something for myself! Now, you can do that for sure! I know I have my eye on a few more cute things!

Shop now at Sandy and Maryah’s Stella and Dot Trunk Show!

Happy Shopping ladies! (And gents, there are some great gift ideas there!)

-S

Black Friday Shopping and Two Christmas Trees

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The Roomie and I went shopping on Black Friday.

Most people avoid going out on Black Friday like they would catch the plague if they did (aka my father, brother, heck my whole family) but my Roomie and her brother John were both bold enough to tackle the crowds with me. It was a first, since for the past few years I had worked at Sur La Table for the whole week basically.

Let me say this, it is much nicer to be a shopper than a cashier. I found a few great gifts, but mostly found things for me. Normally, my mannishly large feet limit the shoe options, but the gods were smiling, and I really lucked out! I was able to cross a few good things off my wishlist.

I couldn’t resist picking up a new KJP bow bracelet.

It matches my new Sperry’s.

Nordstrom’s Dalton Boots

Plaid Sperry’s.

Sperry Loafers-Hayden.

Umberto Raffini Boots from the Walking Company

J. Crew Quilted Tack Jacket

J. Crew Quilted Tack Jacket

Banana Republic Pea Coat

Banana Republic Pea Coat

I am very excited to wear this all to work in the next few weeks. It is just three more weeks until Christmas Break, and wearing some fun things is keeping me going strong.

On Saturday the family, Roomie and I went Christmas Tree Shopping. For the past few years we have gone with family friends on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They go to a specific tree farm, and have been going for 30+ years. This year, the Roomie and I got a petite tree for our apartment in addition to the large family tree. I am looking forward to decorating this beauty!

IMG_8989 2IMG_8990IMG_8994IMG_8991IMG_9006tree christmas tree

It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! When do you usually get your tree? It is usually a family affair?

Love,

-S

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Shopping

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I wanted to thank everyone for all the lovely notes on being nervous about my dentist appointment. It went well. :]

This week I took a hiatus from the blog, because I wanted to focus on family time, relaxing with the pups, and taking a breather from school/work. I also have realised that my computer sucks me in, and then it’s four hours later and I’m still on pinterest/bloglovin’/keep. I have been trying to stay more grounded lately, and less time on my computer. I love to snuggle up with the pups and a book, and that happened a lot this week.

Anyhoo, Thanksgiving was awesome. It was a small group this year, but that did not mean our menu was any smaller. In fact, I believe this year we topped out with the most recipes in a long time. The final number was 12 by the way. We made so many tasty things, but I managed to try a bite of everything!

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Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two occasions where the family goes all out, and I really enjoy hearing the family stories about the carving tools, glassware and old family traditions.

Prosciutto and Pears Appetizer

Our yummy cranberry cocktail

Maryah sitting at the head of the dining room table

My favorite part of our thanksgiving meal.

On Friday, the Roomie, her brother and I got up before the crack of dawn (2am, to be precise) and went to the mall. I had never gone shopping on Black Friday, and I wanted to try it, at least once.

 Most of the shops had opened at 5-8pm on Thanksgiving, and the rest at midnight. We arrived at 3 and it was busy, but certainly not insane. We shopped, and the John was a complete dear. He even met up with us, and carried our bags to the car! Maryah treated him to a Jersey as a thank-you for being so kind about the whole day.

I made out like a bandit, but some were Christmas and birthday gifts for other people. More details on what I got tomorrow!

My Black Friday shopping haul.

My Black Friday shopping haul.

This year I was very thankful that everyone was here for Thanksgiving. I know some families aren’t able to all be together on Thursday, but we were, and it really meant a lot to me. In the past, with both of us away at college, it was tricky to get all four of us together. Thanksgiving and Christmas Day are the two that I have the fondest family memories of, and I really do treasure the time we have together.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksiving, and enjoyed some relaxed family time.

Love,

-S