For the latter two weeks in June, my father and I explored some of the towns along the New England coast. We started with two days in Boston, a city I had never been to before. I am a total … Continue reading
Boston in the Summer Part 1
Tag Archives: Travel
Hello March
I feel like February just went by so fast. Hello March! This is what’s on my radar for March. 1. I’m obsessed with this show. I watched the first season in about a week. 2. Shop Piperlime’s close-out sale. 3. … Continue reading
New Years Eve in Tahoe
My family has a tradition. Typically a day or two after Christmas, we head for Tahoe. A tradition that started many years ago, is now set in stone. We tidy up the house after the Christmas chaos, pack up the car with all of our stuff and a dog, and drive up to our cabin for a gloriously lazy week.
Occasionally, we are lucky enough to get a fresh dump of snow right before we head up, but the last few years the snow has been in scarce supply. We watch tons of movies, jump in the hot tub, cook great meals, and usually have friends that a day or two before moving on to another holiday event.
Some years, its a bigger group for Christmas Eve, like last year we were 21 total (kids and adults!). This year, was a smaller group. With both my brother and I working full-time jobs, we have come to value our weekends and family time. This year, our group in Tahoe was much, much smaller.
We started NYE off at a neighbor’s party, where I promptly put on this great hat. After a while, we wandered back to my house, where we played board games until the wee hours of the night.
A crackling fire at our backs, fizzy drinks in our hands, good friends by our sides, we rung in the new year.
I’m going up to Tahoe again with friends in a week or so, and I’m looking forward to relaxing, watching movies, and playing in the snow again. Tahoe is one of the few places where we unplug, sleep in, breathe in the mountain air, and relax. I love it there.
Love,
-S
October Birthdays in Seattle
My New Year’s Resolution this year was to travel more. Between being at university for 5 years, and then immediately jumping into working after graduating, I felt like traveling was something that slipped off my radar over the last few … Continue reading
Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign
Last week we visited the Griffith Observatory. It sits high in the hills and only takes a short hike to get up to see a gorgeous view of the greater Los Angeles. It’s a popular touristy location, perhaps better visited … Continue reading
Union Station and the Bradbury Building
Last week my father and I spent the week in L.A visiting a family friend. We stayed in South Pasadena and explored different sections of L.A over the week. We brunched, dined, drank iced coffee each day (sometimes twice!), visited museums, and saw the Hollywood sign.
On Tuesday we took the train to downtown Union Station, and walked to the Bradbury building. Completed in 1893, the Bradbury building was designed by Sumner P. Hunt and George H. Wyman. The interior has a lovely airy feeling, flooded with light due to the glass ceiling. Built in an era with an eye for details, every element of the building is polished and elegant.
Union Station
I’m now obsessed with the iced chai at Intelligentsia. It was creamy, sweet and perfect in the hot heat of L.A. What’s your favorite drink on a hot day?
Love,
-S
On My Radar
Since I have summers off as a teacher, I have had tons more free time in the last few weeks. Most of it has been used wisely, such as going to the gym, seeing old friends and catching up on … Continue reading
Summer Adventures
In the last 3 weeks of summer I have:
- Gone berry-picking with my brother
- Watched Frozen with my brother
- Made strawberry shortcake-yum!
- Visited Natasha at Google, again!
- Had a girls weekend in Pittsburgh with my mother, including these delicious waffles!
- Watched a rain and thunderstorm in Pittsburgh, just outside of this building
- Saw my very first drive-in movie (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
- Had a beach day with my girls, and used my newly finished t-shirt quilt!
- Followed up the beach-day with some fantastic horchata ice cream from Marianne’s
Watched a gorgeous sunset with my dad
- Participated in our family portraits photo-shoot, taken by the talented Andria Hautamaki (more photos coming!) Aren’t we a cute ‘lil family?!
- 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
101 in 1001
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
Inspire someone to write a list of their own (Maryah in Jan 2014)Go wine tasting with friends or family (Jan 11th, 2014)- Learn to play an instrument
- Go hot air ballooning
- Make cake balls
- Invest in a food processor
- Climb a tall mountain
- Go sky diving
- Visit a new continent
- Go zip-lining (I’ve got my eye on your Mt. Hermon)
- Build my dream closet
- Upgrade to a DSLR camera
- Go to a taylor swift concert
- Buy a house/car/condo/boat, something!
- Visit the Anne Frank house
- Get my own puppy
- Run a marathon (the San Francisco one in July maybe?)
- Spend a day at a spa
- Visit a castle (ideally this one: Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany)
- Take a tour the white house (planned for July this summer)
Fast for three days (March 2014)- Visit the Harry Potter World in Florida
- Tour Hearst Castle (on our road trip hit list this summer)
- Visit Canada (on our road trip hit list this summer)
- Donate money on Kiva
- Go paint balling
- Send a message in a bottle
- Buy a large jewelry box for all my bangles and earrings
- Invest in Tory Birch boots
- Take photos under the hollywood sign (planned for this June)
- Take photos with lit sparklers
- Learn to shoot a bow and arrow
- Order business cards
- Invest in a classic handbag (Frank Clegg/Tory Birch/Coach/Kate Spade)
Organize my Itunes (January 1st, 2014)- Send out christmas cards on time
- Throw a surprise party for a friend
- Buy my first piece of furniture
Find my signature cocktail (January 13th, 2014) Lemon Drop- Attend a horse race or polo match
Track my spending for a month January and February 2014)- Drink 8 glasses of water (50 oz) every day for at least one week.
- Buy personalised luggage
- Throw my first sunday brunch party
- Blog for 30 days straight
- Top up my emergency funds for a total of one year’s rent money (almost at 6months)
- Get a mani and pedi that match (scheduled for June 2014)
- Set up a photo shoot for the whole family
- Meet a fellow blogger in real life
- Find a set of china that i love
Don’t eat out for one month (February 2014)- Write a guest post for another blog
Buy all the Gilmore Girls DVD’s (Yay!)- Invest in my first piece of tiffany’s jewelry
- Learn the sock bun successfully(I plan on asking Brandy/Amy)
- Cook dinner every night for a week (0/7)
- Buy myself flowers every week for a month (0/4)
- Go one month without buying Starbucks (February here I come)
- Invest in nice undergarments
- See a second Frank Lloyd Wright home
- Purchase or make a bar cart
- Complete a jigsaw puzzle by myself
Buy a plane ticket with my frequent flier miles only (Santa Fe Tickets there & back)- Come up with a way to organize ALL jewelry
- Take an Instagram photo errr’day for a month (in progress!)
Do a “no spend month” (February 2014)Create a gallery wall (in my classroom January 2014)- Create a custom blog logo
- See the Great Gatsby movie (this one)
Do a three day juice cleanse (March 2014)- Throw a masquerade party
- Be in a fashion photo shoot
- Participate in a color run (This Saturday!)
- Keep a food journal for one month
- Try hot yoga
- Find an infinity scarf i don’t feel silly in
- Go without “bedtime tv” for a week
- Unplug for a whole weekend
- Reach my ideal weight
- Read & watch every Jane Austen Novel/Movie (watched 3/5) (read 1/5)
- Update my good reads profile for three months.
- Go on a road trip (planned for July this summer)
- Make fig jam/red wine jelly with my mom
Drink a glass of wine every night for a week (February 2014)- Eat “clean” for one whole week
- Get a blow out at a “dry bar” just because
- Ride in a limo
- Try a spinning class
- Invest in a monogrammed necklace or bracelet
- Finish my T-shirt quilt
- Learn needlepoint
- Walk through a corn maze
- Buy more J.Crew blazers
Buy a new watch (March 2014)
- Take myself to the movies and watch a double feature
Buy a whole cd (March 2014)- Have a stay-cation at home one day every weekend for a month
Get a hammock (January 2014)- Learn calligraphy
- Get a new hairdryer (preferably this one)
- 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
Colorado, weddings and a gorgeous sunrise
On Friday I flew to Colorado for an old friend’s wedding in Estes Park. I was nervous heading into the weekend, as I would only know the groom out of all the wedding guests.
Fortunately enough, I car-pooled with two other people on the hour-long drive from the airport to our hotel. Bryant, the groom, was on the men’s gymnastics team at Stanford, and his fiance was on the women’s team. I ended up having a fantastic time because the driver of my car was kind and invited me to tag along with her for basically the whole weekend as we hung out with the men’s team. This large group of rowdy men accepted my presence with astonishing ease and made the whole weekend a lot of fun with their silliness and skilled dancing.
I had a mild freak out when I was getting ready and realised I have lost weight. My strap-less dress was precariously loose! Fortunately I had safety pins and performed emergency surgery on my dress. I grabbed my wrap and I was good to go.
The wedding was at a beautiful outside garden that was part of Della Terra Chateau. Everyone looked their best, the average age was 25 and most were nationally ranked gymnasts. The food was great, the DJ picked good songs, and we danced until they kicked us out at 11. I took an early A.M shuttle and I am nibbling on an Einstein Bagel and chai while waiting for my flight. This fantastic weekend was just a breath of fresh mountain air, and I loved every minute of it.
The view from our hotel was amazing!
The Della Terra Chateau was so beautiful!
This was the view from our hotel.
The sunrise this morning at the Denver Airport made my early start worth it.
Have you gone to any weddings this summer? Where was your favorite wedding? What did you wear and what food did they serve?
-S
Classy and Fabulous 
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