Category Archives: Photography

Mum’s Birthday Dinner, Baking, and A New Car

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Last night we celebrated Mum’s birthday. We had a delicious dinner. We started off with some avocado crostini’s.

Avocado Crustini'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.

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

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.

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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!

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.

The new vehicle + his carrot cake doggy bag!

I'm not sure what he is doing here...

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

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

Subbing, Singlebarrell,and a New Job

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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.

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

Kittens, Google, Sushi, and Mail

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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.

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 has pink flamingoes tied to all four legs.

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 desert artwork made me crave sweet things!

All of this dessert artwork made me crave sweet things!

I love the little bee!

A donut!

A donut!

Made of kitkats-if you look closely at the eyes you can see wafers texture

Made of kitkats-if you look closely at the eyes you can see wafers texture

Gingerbread man

Gingerbread man

Sorry for the funky hair, it was crazy windy.

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.

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.

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They were yummy and put both of us in a great mood.

Kim taking the first sip!

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

Fancy Friday, Gelato and a Sabertooth Tiger

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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

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.

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

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

Parks, Babies and Roses

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Today I took the little girl I babysit to the park. On our walk there, I saw some beautiful roses and couldn’t resist snapping a photo. We sat in the sun, she played and I read. It was exactly what I needed in that moment and it reminded me to breathe. Sometimes that’s all you need, one breathtakingly fragile moment to remind you that you are alive.

Roses are red.

I hope you have a lovely Wednesday.

Love,

-S

Burgers, Friends and Fancy Friday

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The group of us went out to dinner last night at the Counter in Mountain View. Everyone looked fantastic and I had a blast. Burgers is what this place does best, but I enjoyed a yummy mint Oreo milkshake and a Cobb Salad. It was a lovely evening.

Dinner at the Counter

Dinner at the Counter

Doesn’t everyone look swanky? I’m thinking of Mexican food for the next Fancy Friday. How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? Happy Monday!

Love,

-S

Shorts, Purses, Puppies and Bowties

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The last few days have been spectacularly warm here in the Bay Area. Hitting the high 90’s every day has prolonged the summer feel, and I have been hitting up my shorts shelf every day. These are a few of my go-to pairs:

Hot heat makes shorts a must.

September heat makes shorts a must.

I had been waiting for something special to wear my new Kiel James Patrick purse to. So when my friend Kim had a BBQ I decided it was time to show it off. It was a casual relaxed affair, and I loved every minute of it.

My KJP purse debut

My KJP purse debut

Sometime in July the Roomie and I got new collars for both pups. Reece’s rocked a blue one and Nala got one with whales and a bow-tie. They fell asleep one afternoon in the back of my car and this is what they looked like. It proves they are indeed related.

Nala and Reece's new collars.

Nala and Reece’s new collars.

Nala loves to wake me up in the morning by standing basically over me until I wake up from the sheer force of her staring at me. In this photo she was momentarily distracted by the squirrels playing in our yard.

Nala 1

Nala 1

We loved how she looked in the whale bowtie, so we decided to find some other colors for her (and Reece’s!) to wear occasionally inside the house. We had a small photo-shoot the other day, and both pups rocked the photos.

Nala in her red bow-tie

Nala in her red bow-tie

Reece's in her lilac bow-tie.

Reece’s in her lilac bow-tie.

Both of them wanted the dog treat the Roomie had in her hand!

Both of them wanted the dog treat the Roomie had in her hand!

I’m hoping to make this a regular thing.  Do you have any pets? Do you do silly thing with them like I have? I hope everyone is having a great Sunday!

Love,

-S

Sunglasses and Pearls Part 2, Fancy Friday, and IPhone Cases

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Robert the Magnificent (AKA my fancy photographer friend) sent me more photos. There were two beautiful ones from our photo shoot in the park about a month ago, you can read more about it in this post Sunglasses and Pearls. I’m wearing the sunglasses I talked about last post, from Banana Republic. I love them so much I am thinking about buying a back up pair in case anything happens to these.

Sunglasses and Pearls 3

Sunglasses and Pearls 3

Sunglasses and Pearls 4

Sunglasses and Pearls 4

I had a conflict on Friday, so this week’s Fancy Friday will be held on Sunday. More about that in tomorrow’s post! Robert was also able to recover one photo from the dusk lighting from last week’s Fancy Friday. He is fond of the serious faces, so this is why we look solemn.

Fancy Friday 3

Fancy Friday 3

I settled on this phone case, and ordered it this morning post workout. I got the durable option, and the Roomie is giving it to me for my birthday next month.

I hope everyone had a lovely Friday night! I know I did. What did you do? Do you have any big weekend plans? Can’t wait to hear all about it!

Love,

-S

New Cars,Kiel James Patrick, Moleskine, and Sunflowers

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On Wednesday my good friend Joey swung by the house to show off his new car. It was a sexy little white convertible, and we zoomed off to celebrate at Santana Row with some bubble tea. He was over the moon about this new beast of his.

Isn’t it pretty?

Joey is happy.

Joey is happy.

Joey and his new car

Joey and his new car

All good things come to those who wait:

Beautiful things come in pretty boxes.

Beautiful things come in pretty boxes.

I also picked up a new planner. As much as I love my little Iphone, I really do love writing things down physically. I seem to remember them better if I do, and I also love looking over the week as a whole. While I have finally figured out how to use the Iphone Calendar, I am forever making mistakes and putting events on the wrong day/time. So for now, back to my beloved Moleskine.  I love the 18 months planner, it covers the school year and summer all wrapped in one! I started using them my first year of college and have used all used many of their different products over the years.

My new Moleskine

My new Moleskine

I stopped by the farmers market on my way home to pick up some summer fruit and flowers. Fresh flowers, and sunflowers in particular, make every day a little bit brighter, don’t you agree?

Sunflowers are my favorite flower

Sunflowers are my favorite flower

So how was your Thursday? Did you do anything fun? Do you have any plans for the upcoming long weekend?

Love,

-S

Critters Sweaters, Divergent, and Pistols

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I’m in love with this sweater from C Wonder. I have really gotten into Critter sweaters, and am looking to develop my formal sections in closet, which should include cute sweaters. As I am completing my academic wardrobe, I have found many areas where my current closet isn’t formal or classy enough to wear to work as a teacher. By simply putting a collared shirt under a cute sweater, I am now fancy enough for work!

SCOTTIE INTARSIA SWEATER

I read the Divergent series last year when they were published. I love post-apocalyptical plots, so when I saw it featured last year on Amazon I snapped it up on my Kindle. Today, I saw that Hulu had a trailer for the movie’s release next year in early 2014. I loved the books so I hope they do a decent job on the movies. Have you read the books? Are you excited to see the movie?

Last week I went to the range with a friend and I learned how to shoot 2 pistols and a shotgun. Going to a range was something on my bucket list, so I felt the need to document this glorious event.

Learning the Shotgun

My bucket list has been a recent topic among some of my friends. There seem to be two camps, one that agrees with my organised plan on how to live a full live. The other camp disagrees, and thinks that I should just live the life that happens, and live spontaneously.

What do you think? Do you have a bucket list? What is on it? Anything I should add to mine?

Love,

-S