Category Archives: Friends

3 Days of Travel

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Hello Friends,

Last summer Annie and I were discussing travel and we decided to plan a trip to Thailand. She is a great travel buddy for me, and luckily enough with both our teacher schedules we have a large block of summer off. We researched flights, hotels and restaurants, and finally in July of last summer we booked flights. The trip was officially on! A few days later she texted me and told me that her parents wanted to join us on the trip. I love her parents, so that was an easy yes!

Annie researched hotels, restaurants and I looked into various activities. She had been to Thailand twice before, so she has some recommendations. She was planning to travel with her husband to Japan before our Thailand trip, so we ended up booking her parents on my flight, and I am so glad we did. It was nice to have a friendly face to sit next to, and to double check all the flight details with!

Singapore Airlines:

So flights were pretty tricky. Most of the ones we looked at took off in the morning from the US, and landed in Asia somewhere in the evening, with a layover until the next morning for the second leg. After a few hours of looking, we found a flight that left super late from SFO, and a short layover in HongKong, and finally landing in the evening in Bangkok. That was the winner for us. We flew with Singapore Airlines, which was a great experience. We checked into SFO around 9:30pm on Saturday for a 1:15am flight ( i didn’t know they even flew that late!).

The flight was long (14.5 hours!!) but great. The food was tasty and there were so many choices! They had a bunch of great in-flight movies and entertainment, but for the first 6 or so hours I slept. We had a quick layover in HongKong where we got Starbucks and freshened up. I felt like a new person with freshly brushed teeth and hair and a clean shirt. We had a much shorter flight (4hrs) to Singapore where we had our longer layover (4 hours). It was middle of the day when we arrived, so we decided to get some steps in at the airport and explore. I was blown away by how many shops, interactive displays and interesting decorations the Singapore Airport had.

Singapore Airport had 3 terminals: one that had a butterfly garden, one with a magnetic sand exhibit, and one that had these orchid/koi pond gardens. There was lush flowers everywhere! We ended up grabbing some food just before boarding.

We landed in Bangkok around 4ish. We picked up our luggage and met the driver from our hotel. It was rush hour traffic on a work day (Monday) so it took about an hour to get to Chatrium Hotel.

It was beautiful evening when we arrived, as we looked out over the balcony into the city lights. We were finally here!

Have you ever been to Asia or Thailand before?

Love,

-S

MLK Weekend in Tahoe

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Hello Friends

A few weekends back, I gathered as many friends as I could to enjoy the long weekend up in Tahoe. We have been drenched in the amazing amount of rain we have enjoyed in the last month or two. I love a good rainy day as much as the next gal, but I’m ready for spring and some sun!

But that weekend we had a big dump a few days before and a few days after. It was cold, but with glorious blue skies. Most people didn’t have a sturdy snow care and backed out, so it was a smaller group than expected that made the long drive up there. We relaxed a ton this weekend, eating well, watching movies, sledding and baking! It was a certain someones birthday (Ahem, Joey!!) so we celebrated by baking and eating a delicious cake.

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My dad and I were talking a few days back and apparently Tahoe has gotten a record breaking 24 feet of snow in the month of January alone, which totally makes up for the last two years with basically no snow!

Love,

-S

The Best of 2016

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Hello Friends,

Happy New Years! We spent the evening at our neighborhood party, and then relaxed at our house playing boardgames. It’s very homey with the fire roaring and we drink tons of thai iced tea to last us til midnight. It’s always very festive and fun. How was your New Year’s Eve? Do anything fun?

best-of-2016

Looking back on 2016, it was a very full and exciting year, with many highs and quite a few lows.

From left to right, I had amazing time with A flying to Florida and having the time of my life at Harry Potter World in January.

Relaxing on the beach in Hawaii with A in February was exactly what I needed heading into a busy time prepping my students to submit their AP portfolios. In June I watched my prides and joy (all 45 of them) walk down the aisle and receive their diplomas. I also said goodbye to the school that made me into the teacher that I am today, and hugged & waved goodbye to all my LPS Phoenix’s (and my classroom) for the last time ever.

In July we took a family trip and fulfilled a childhood dream of mine to return to the island where I had spent a glorious summer (#sweet15) in Nantucket. In July we spent some time with my Grandfather in Pennsylvania.

In August, I lounged at an amazing lake house and soaked up every last bit of summer before starting school at my new job. In September we enjoyed glorious weather on many walks in San Francisco. In October A and I cajoled our friends into eating the brunch buffet at the Ritz in Half Moon Bay. I also saw my favorite musician Ingrid Michaelson on her latest musical tour.

In November A and I took a food eating tour through Portland, and I got to explore the beauty of the Northwest (and see Shannon!). For Thanksgiving Week I joined Aaron and Kim and her family on a week-long sunny stay in Cancun, Mexico.

And finally, I’ve been here in Tahoe for the last week and a half, being as lazy as I possibly can before starting back to work on the 3rd. The snow has been kind to us, and I’ve been able to get in 3!! days of skiing in between the hot tub, reading books, watching movies and boardgames.

I’m sure 2017 will keep me just as busy as 2016 did, as I know I already have a few trips planned with A, seeing my first crop of seniors at Notre Dame graduate in May, and adding a few new things to the new pad in Santa Clara (like finally owning a Tv.)

Are you looking forward to 2017? Any fun things you are looking forward to? Thanks so much for reading the blog these last 12 months, I couldn’t do it without you guys!

Love,

-S

 

 

 

A weekend in Portland Video

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Hello Friends,

In late November my friend Annie and I explored the glorious city of Portland. I have driven through it on my way to Seattle, but hadn’t really spent much time. I fell in the love with the fall colors, glorious food, rainy weather and beautiful gardens. Here is a short video about our trip to Portland Oregon.

Have you ever been to Portland? Found any places that I should add to my list for when I return?

Love,

-S

Snickerdoodle Biscotti

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Recently I made a batch of biscotti to give out as holiday gifts. I’m a big fan of the gingersnap biscotti, but recently the snickerdoodle has been everyone’s favorite. So, I thought I would share the recipe.

Ingredients: Dough

2 Cups All purpose Flour (sift before using)

1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1 egg (at room temperature)

1 egg yolk (at room temperature)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Topping Mixture

1 large egg white

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. If you are using convection bake, drop by 25 degrees.
  2. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside for later use.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the following: flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Set aside for later use.
  4. Using a stand mixture or an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until well blended.  Use a medium speed for a few minutes to mix until light and fluffy.
  5. Add egg and egg yolk (reserve egg white for later use) to butter and sugar mixture, and beat well.
  6. Mix in vanilla extract to butter and sugar mixture.
  7. Take butter and sugar mixture, and fold into dry ingredients. Stir well, and dough may appear crumbly.
  8. Flour a clean work area and put dough on the surface.
  9. Shape dough into two logs roughly 8 inches long by 2 inches in diameter.
  10. Brush logs with egg whites
  11. Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes or until dough is firm to touch.
  12. Remove logs from oven and cool completely. Maintain oven temperature for a second round of baking.
  13. After cool, slice logs at a diagonal.
  14. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon topping.
  15. Brush one side of the biscotti with egg whites, and then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon topping upon it.
  16. Return biscotti to oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cook completely. Biscotti will crisp up during second baking, as well as with with cooling. I prefer a slightly softer biscotti, so I often pull them out at 10 minutes, but if you want crisper biscotti give them the full 12 minutes.
  17. Enjoy the biscotti!

 

I made a big batch of both kinds of biscotti, and gave them to neighbors, family friends and coworkers! They all loved the snickerdoodle biscotti far more than the gingersnap, but I love them both.

*My aunt and I baked a lot together when I was in high school. This recipe is a mixture of two base recipes: a snickerdoodle cookie recipe from Kicked Up Cookies and a gingersnap biscotti recipe from the Family Baker . Over the last ten years she and I have tweaked the ingredients and steps to make the recipe above. Snickerdoodles are a very popular cookie, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there are similar recipes out there on the internet.

Enjoy!

-S

Life Lately

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Hello friends,

Life has been extremely busy lately, thus the radio silence on the blog here. So many holiday events, get togethers with friends, observations at work, prepping for Christmas and time in Tahoe.

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Our neighbors got a wood-fired mini pizza oven, and we made our first batch a few weeks ago. They were amazing!!

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I went to a pearl tea place with a friend and these were their signs outside. I loved it!

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This was a cute birthday card given to a co-worker at ND, and i thought it was supercute. #ilovealpacas

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My brother and I baked apple donuts for the first time and they were deliiiish. I liked the donut holes the best!img_7553

To go with the apple donuts we made chili and I made the cornbread. Yum.

Also, we bought a Christmas tree….and then I got one for my house, and then one for my brother’s house. That’s how we ended up with 3 trees!

My tree all decorated. It only leans a little as it was hard to tell if it was straight in the tree holder as I live by myself.

I made biscotti as a holiday gift for friends, family and co-workers. I make both snickerdoodle and gingersnap! So tasty, I ate so many during the first batch there weren’t many to share.

Kim’s family had me over for their thanksgiving holiday party this past Sunday at their new house in San Carlos. I had so much fun, we did a while elephant exchange.

That’s it, life has been good and busy, but I promise I get back to posting more often!!

Love,

-S

Birthday Brunch at the Ritz

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Hello Friends!

This video was a long time coming, but life just kept on getting in the way. Enjoy!

Let me know in the comments below if you liked this video, or would like to suggest more topics for future videos! :]

Love,

-S