Summer Adventures

In the last 3 weeks of summer I have:

  • Gone berry-picking with my brother

Summer AdventuresSummer Adventures

Summer Adventures

  • Watched Frozen with my brother

Summer Adventures

  • Made strawberry shortcake-yum!

Summer Adventures

  • Visited Natasha at Google, again!

Summer Adventures

  • Had a girls weekend in Pittsburgh with my mother, including these delicious waffles!

Summer Adventures

  • Watched a rain and thunderstorm in Pittsburgh, just outside of this building

Summer Adventures

  • Saw my very first drive-in movie (How to Train Your Dragon 2)

Summer Adventures

  • Had a beach day with my girls, and used my newly finished t-shirt quilt!

Summer AdventuresSummer Adventures

  • Followed up the beach-day with some fantastic horchata ice cream from Marianne’s

Summer Adventures

Watched a gorgeous sunset with my dadSummer AdventuresSummer Adventures

  • Participated in our family portraits photo-shoot, taken by the talented Andria Hautamaki (more photos coming!)  Aren’t we a cute ‘lil family?!

Summer Adventures

 

  • Knocked 2 things off my 101 list!

So far, its been a great 3 weeks of summer! How’s your summer going? How was your 4th of July? What did you do for it?

Love,

-S

Vans Custom Culture Shoe Competition 2014

Over the last few weekss, I had four industrious students work on designing a pair of shoes for a high school art competition. Hosted by Vans Shoe company, they send high school art teachers 4 pairs of free shoes to … Continue reading

Sunsets, Sparklers and a Night in SF

A week ago Friday, a few of my friends helped me knock off another item on my 101 list. We gathered at my parents house, lit some sparklers and tried to draw out hearts, stars and names. We were more or less successful, but we also had a lot of fun!

We have another box of sparklers left so we will do them again sometime soon! There was lots of laughing during this photo shoot (that may have hindered our ability to take clear photos!), and it was a great evening overall.


 

From there we went up to the city and hit up the Starlight Room at the Drake Hotel. Annie’s friend Dereck is a manager there, and always makes us feel so welcomed. This was my second time there and I swear he is ruining all other clubs for me!

I know I had a busy but awesome weekend! How was everyone’s weekend?

Did you get to do some fun things but also take a break?

Love,

-S

Color Run in San Francisco

This gallery contains 35 photos.

About two weeks ago my mother and I went up to Candlestick Park for my Color Run. It was my first time running with them, and I had a blast. My mother took the following pictures while I ran the … Continue reading

Surprise Sale at Kate Spade

So many cute things at Kate Spade’s Surprise sale, it almost makes me want to break my no-spend month….almost!!

So, you guys need to get some cute things since I can’t. I love the following cute things, and I am sure they will be snapped up in just a few hours, so if you like anything, grab it while you can!

Did you spy anything you just love from the Surprise Sale? I hope you had a lovely weekend, I know I did! (photos coming soon!)

Happy Monday!

Love,

-S

Why, Hello February

January was such a busy month!

This cute little thing just came in the mail! I always love getting new Kiel James Patrick boxes, because they come with the cutest packaging!

I was able to knock 7 things off my 101 in 1001 list. Wahoo!

1. Inspire someone to write their own list (Yay)
2. Go wine tasting with friends or family (Napa Valley was so beautiful)
35. Organize my Itunes
39. Find my signature cocktail (Lemondrop, oh so yummy)
63. Buy a plane ticket with frequent flier miles only (the Santa Fe trip in March)
98. Get a hammock (Given to me by the lovely Maureen!!)

Done and done!

I have a few more items I plan to cross off in the works for February, so it should be a great month!

It felt like every weekend in January was jam-packed, from going to Napa, having friends over for fun cocktails, to babysitting basically every day of the weekend. February looks to be as busy as January was, complete with a trip with friends to Tahoe and a family trip to the Cayman Islands (eeek!!). This may or may not have contributed to the radio silence here on the blog.

Work is going well, and teaching full-time makes for a busy day, but I have been slowly carving out gym time, which has been good to get back in my life. I have a dinner date set up with Annie and my favorite old proff to discuss the masters program at SCU for this fall. I’m both alternatively stoked and dreading going back to night classes.

I finally set up a savings plan so I now can look forward to one day having a fancy-pants camera and a KS watch sometime in the next year or so.

Oh, and February is my no-spending month, so wish me luck!

We had such a grey, rainy, perfect for snuggling with the pups weekend. I babysat for a lot of the weekend, but did manage to get in a few hours working on my quilt. It was a great way to finish out the week.

Happy February!

Love,

-S

The magic of Corduroy

Remember the children’s book Corduroy? I think of that cute bear everytime I say the word Corduroy.

But I’m talking more about the fabric commonly found in pants instead of the book. This season I have seen so many stores carrying corduroy pants. I picked up two pairs from J.Crew, one from Uniqulo and drooled over a pair at Tory Birch. I love the pairs I purchase, and they are in constant rotation for both work and weekend.

Why I love them:

  1. The sound they make when I walk (so good!)
  2. How soft they feel (i may pet my pants…)
  3. They come with belt loops (win!)
  4. They go well with collared shirts.
  5. They come in so many colors ( which is fun)
  6. I wear them instead of dress pants (cause who honestly likes wearing dress pants?)

Don’t you agree  that they are basically awesome (after jeans and pj’s)?!

I know it has been cold lately, so pants are still my go-to work option. I know I can wear skirts & tights, but seriously people, pants are the way to go when it is real scary cold.

Uniqlo Skinny (i have these in emerald green)

Uniqlo Skinny (i have these in emerald green)

I have so many cute pairs now and have been working hard not to snatch these up (i kinda want pants in every color). Instead, I am trying to focus and plan on doing things on my 101 bucket list!

It’s my first week back teaching high school and I am so looking forward to taking it easy this weekend. The Roomie and I are going wine-tasting on Saturday, which is on my bucket list!

Love,

-S

101 in 1001

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

Cranberry Cocktails, Friends, and Holiday Parties,

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.

2013_12_14_holiday_party-6

2013_12_14_holiday_party-8

2013_12_14_holiday_party-13

2013_12_14_holiday_party-17 2013_12_14_holiday_party-21

2013_12_14_holiday_party-22

2013_12_14_holiday_party-27

2013_12_14_holiday_party-30

2013_12_14_holiday_party-31

2013_12_14_holiday_party-34

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

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