pauline's 23rd

Friday night I drove down to Long Beach for Pauline's 23rd birthday. In high school we had a little group that consisted of me, Elizabeth, Hanna and Pauline. We are all still very close but it's hard to get all together, with Elizabeth in San Diego and Pauline still in school in Long Beach. I was so happy that we were all able to go and celebrate Pauline's birthday together! Also, Katie, my best friend from elementary school was there and I haven't seen her in such a long time! We used to have a Unicorn Club and the colors were purple and silver!

Katie made funfetti cake for Pauline!

It was so great to see these girls! We had a little dance party at Pauline's apartment, watched Hanna "make a pizza," read some magazines and had a sleepover {sleeping bags included}! Yes, it was a girl night! I love that we always have so much fun together doing the most random, silly things. I'm looking forward to seeing them all in a couple weeks..in SD!

a lovely detour

When Matthew and I drove back from Santa Cruz we decided to take a little detour to get back to the I-5. Little did we know that we were going to be on a windy road for over 100 miles. So it wasn't really a shortcut at all because you can't go fast on windy roads.. or you can but our lives are too important for that. Also we were in my car, and Snow White doesn't like being foolish! But we did stop to appreciate the beautiful California landscape and say hi to some cute horses and cows!

Happy California Cows!

Lately I've been thinking about how I graduated from college almost a year ago {seriously where has the time gone!}. I really thought that by now I'd be settled into a career that I loved and feel happy, stable and relieved. While, I'm clearly not there I'm so grateful for this journey I've gone on over the past 9 months. I've learned so much about myself and what I want out of a job. I listened to myself and accepted the fact that I really don't want to be a lawyer. I went after my dream to work for a magazine and got articles published in a monthly glossy. Now I'm rethinking becoming a teacher and I'm volunteering at my old elementary school. I'm even in two of my old teacher's classrooms! It's been confusing at times but stepping back I'm grateful for this lovely detour I'm on. And I know I'll eventually get where I want to be!

Happy Friday everyone!

dinner with dad

So I know I've mentioned it before but my Dad is seriously an amazing chef! He knows so much about food and can just put things together and have them turn out perfectly. When I was little we didn't go out to dinner that often because my Dad could just make whatever it was {and usually do it better!}. I always want to take pictures of my Dad's food because they look so good {but taste better, I promise!}.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Salad with Blue Cheese and Pecans

Homemade bread too!

So while I'm temporarily living at home it's not that bad with dinners like this! My family and I always tell my Dad that he should write a cookbook or open a restaurant but he says he does this for fun, as a release, and for us. We're lucky!

look book: brocade skirt

Sometimes I'm just too busy to completely change outfits from day to night so I mix things up slightly. This is my "night version" of my outfit the other day {click to see}. I changed the shoes, added this lovely brocade skirt I wore for Thanksgiving and put my hair down!

{blouse JCrew, headband Chloé, skirt Forever 21, tights Target, jacket Madewell, shoes need to check}

The other day I got some emails about what I was wearing. It made me think more about my blog and how I really don't consider myself a fashion blogger. But sometimes I do like taking outfit posts. Fashion has just always been something I'm interested in and it's fun to experiment. So I hope you don't mind that I will occasionally document some of my more creative fashion moments! And of course I'm open to tips & constructive criticism! Just be nice :)

In other news, I have been so tired lately. I'm trying to get to bed earlier which is almost impossible but even when I do I'm exhausted the next day. I still haven't completely recovered from my cold that I had a couple weeks ago. I have this lingering annoying cough that makes people around me think I'm contagious when I really don't think I am! And it's bumming me out that it's Wednesday. Yes we're halfway done with the week but TWO more days?! It seems like too many but I know I'll just have to make it!

visiting anthony.

Driving back down after Presidents' Day Weekend Matthew and I stopped to see my brother Anthony. He's a Junior at UC Santa Cruz and we are really close. I miss him so much now that I'm home and he's away. We got some pizza at Pizza My Heart {lovingly referred to as PMH}.


Brother captured Matthew checking my teeth for food..thanks



Isn't my brother just the cutest? I can't believe he's turning 21 in a little over a month! I still think of him as this little guy! And this one! Sigh I want to be a kid again!

look book: winter shorts

I absolutely love this pretty little headband made by Chloé. It's been cheering me & my outfits up! This was from a slightly warmer day but since it was still a little chilly I went with some corduroy shorts and tights. Am I the only one itching for summer? It can't come fast enough!

{blouse & shorts & shoes JCrew, headband Chloé, tights Target, belt Urban, bracelet my mom's}

This weekend went by way too quickly! Friday night Matthew and I went out to dinner and celebrated a belated Valentine's Day..since last weekend we were wrapped up with my cousin and her family. It was kind of funny because at dinner we saw Chad Michael Murray {most recognized from One Tree Hill, but I loved him in Gilmore Girls}. Saturday Matthew got a new car! He's been talking about it for awhile and since he has a 45+ minute commute he's really wanted to get one that's more gas friendly. I'll post pictures of it sometime this week! Sigh I hope all of you are more ready for Monday than I am! What did you do this weekend?

ici (pronounced ee-cee)

One of my absolute favorite places in Berkeley is Ici {pronounced ee-cee}. It's an adorable little ice cream shop that hand-makes their ice cream, sorbets, candies and other desserts right in the store. They use fresh, local ingredients and have really interesting flavors like Orange-Cranberry Crème Fraîche, Burnt Caramel, Earl Grey and some classics like Coffee and Chocolate. Honestly best ice cream I've ever had! I chose Dulce de Leche in a hand-rolled, chocolate tipped ice cream cone!

Have a sweet Friday
& a lovely weekend !!
xox

lunch in los olivos

On Friday Matthew drove up to Santa Barbara with my dad and, before heading on our way up to SF, we all went to Los Olivos for lunch..a little town north of SB. My mom had traveled with some of her close friends last year and they stopped at this little restaurant/cafe called Panino. She suggested we go there and I'm so glad we did! The weather was perfect for sitting outside, drinking sparkling water and eating our enormous & delicious sandwiches!







That's only a snapshot of the veggie sandwiches and salads. So meat eaters, imagine the other side of the menu is just as tasty! All the ingredients were so fresh and I loved my Avocado and Provolone sandwich with cucumber, tomato, basil, and honey mustard.