I Left My Mom in San Francisco

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"It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you."
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Every time I think about this quote I get chills... Tomorrow I'm leaving my man and my puppy behind and am going home for the weekend. To say this trip is long overdue is an understatement   (I haven't been home since November!).  Although the weekend is jammed packed, words can't describe how good it will be to eat a "mom" made meal and sleep in my old bed.  Since I can't be with my mom on Mother's Day, I'm planning to do something special for her over the weekend.  I already know Sunday is going to come way to fast.  I just hope saying good bye on Sunday won't be too painful.  Wish me luck!

Mom & Me

Flea Market: Junk or Treasure

I never understood those Designing for the Sexes shows until I got married. I’ll never forget the day Nick moved in and suddenly all of my things that resembled shabby chic, were packed in boxes on their way to St. Vincent de Paul. No more pastels and frilly prints. I was forced to move on to geometric prints and gender neutral colors. Although it took Nick and I some time to get into our decorating groove, we eventually got there and now we both can confidently buy things for our apartment knowing the other person will love it just as much

Although it’s been 3 years since my apartment was “girly,” I still can’t resist the urge to go to the flea market. Needless to say, I forgot to think about the above statement last Sunday when I was at the flea market. Husband wasn’t happy when I came home with this treasure:
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In my defense it does have a geometric feel. What sold me was the amazing circle pattern. Although the chair needs some work, I love the faded Robin Egg color and I even don’t mind the octagon cream fabric. Husband thinks I should paint it brown (aka gender neutral) and recover the chair cushion with a rich fabric. What do you think?

I also scored these amazing vintage hand painted watercolor prints from a Japanese artist. Again, clearly I forgot my own house rules as these are very feminine, however I think once they are matted they could look great in a dining room or office.

Lastly, with market starting this week, I had to get my “Accessorizing On.” When it comes to jewelry, I’ve always gravitated to unique vintage things. At the flea market you can find some wonderful statement pieces for an incredible price. To visit you local Flea Market check out: http://www.iantiquesguide.com/staticpages/index.php?page=20040209191046117

The Sunflower Debacle

It's amazing to think these cute seeds will produce 6 foot tall sunflowers by mid summer.

 I decided to plant my seeds in a biodegradable plant container made of wood fiber and peat moss. No drainage holes are necessary because the pot disintegrates into the soil! This makes planting that much easier and also allows you to prevent "transfer plant shock" from happening.

For more info check out: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Biodegradable_Plant_Containers

As I was preparing my biodegradable plant containers, I had to go inside our apartment for a minute and  made the terrible mistake of leaving Stella alone with the half filled containers. Was upset to discover the below.  If you look close you can see dirt on Stella's head. Oh vey!   

Caught in the act

Hopefully there was no permanent damage with my seed. If all goes well my seeds will look like this in a month.

Gin and Tonic Part 2

Martini anyone??? After a day of cleaning this is what the bar set up looked like.  I decided to go with a pottery theme and used a ton of Nick's bowls, vases and that thing (sculpture) on the right!  No room is complete without flowers.  Trader Joe's had these amazing tulips for an incredible price.  I also bought a ton of lemons and limes, as no bar is complete without this citrus essential.  I also love the pop of color these bring to a room.    

After drinks at our house we went to Green Field in Long Beach, an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. Apparently we didn't eat enough meat at Easter! I think Nick and I will be eating salads and vegetables for the rest of the month.  Needless to say you can tell by the pictures we had a great night.

Bar and pottery on display

I love the carnival glassware available at www.fishseddy.com

 Paul the martini master!

 Andi & Beth

 Eric with our stop & go sign at Green Field.

 Me and the brothers

Mr. Meat Man

Gin and Tonic

Photo Credit - as seen in Lonny Magazine

Before I got married, a relative of mine gave me a great piece of advise: “Have people over often. It will force you to keep your house tidy and ready for entertainment!”

Thank God no one is coming over until Saturday. Our place is a wreck…. Truly looks like a bomb went off. Hopefully my Friday night pizza and beer bribe will convince my husband to put on the yellow gloves and help me get this tiny apartment in spic and span shape!

Tomorrow night we are having the Carrillo clan over for cocktails. I'm totally inspired with these chic home bar set ups.  Hopefully I can get creative with items around my apartment and recreate one of these fatastic bars.   

Wish me luck!

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Photo Credit

Giant Steps

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There is nothing in the WORLD like a good cup of Joe on a Saturday morning. 
Meet Blue Bottle Coffee, my new favorite coffee. 

Have you ever heard of Artisan Micro roasting???
At Blue Bottle Coffee, Artisan Micro roasting simply means that Blue Bottle takes a hands-on approach to every step possible to discover and preserve the true nature of excellent coffee -- no matter how inconvenient or time-consuming. Blue Bottle Coffee take freshness and small-batch roasting to an extreme not considered practical anywhere else in the coffee business. Blue Bottle use only the best certified organic coffees, occasionally using beautiful coffees that are farmed traditionally without pesticides. Blue Bottle never pre-blends their coffees thus assuring the ideal roast profile for each bean used in a blend. All varietals are roasted individually, then mixed into Blue Bottle Coffee blends.

For more information visit:  http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net/

E is for Easter

As you can tell it's been a very busy weekend. We had a MEAT LOVERS feast on Easter. You name it we ate it, thanks to the BBQ Dream Team. Good luck if you’re a vegetarian who wants to date a member of this family. Just Kidding, I love vegetarians.

Of course I had to add a few more pictures of Stella. I think she secretly loves to get her picture taken. Hope you love the surprise before and after picture below of Stella and Tyler. After tonight I probably won't update the blog for a month, so don't get use to such rapid updates!

Stella with Tyler's Easter basket

The BBQ Dream Team

Stella and Tyler March 2009

Stella and Tyler March 2010

On Top Of The World

Nick and I live in small quarters. I keep reminding Nick that if we lived in Europe, this would be considered a mansion, as you haven’t seen small spaces until you’ve traveled abroad (or lived in New York). With mom and dad in town for the holiday weekend and Stefanie and Andrew staying with us from LA, it only made sense to make our apartment home base. With 6 adults and 2 dogs running around, our home felt like a stuffed clown car. At one point, my neighbors looked surprised at the endless number of people (and dogs) that kept coming out of our apartment. Nick and I definitely learned this weekend, as long as you’re with good company it doesn’t matter how nice or big your home is (although it would have been nice to have a larger table and enough chairs!) Oh well until the next dinner party……

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Saturday’s walk in Laguna and our family dinner party!

On Top of the World, Laguna Beach

Wild Flowers with Ocean

Stephanie with my favorite cupcakes from http://www.frostedcupcakery.com/

Q. How many people can you have around a small table with three and a half chairs?

 A.  6 people  &  2 dogs

Dad, Steph, Andrew and Roxanne (dog)

Nick watching basketball and breaking the "NO  Stella on the couch rule!"

Year Two: Cotton

Since I was on blog hiatus last year, I thought I would post some of my favorite wedding pictures in celebration of our second anniversary.

“The traditional recommendation for a second anniversary present is cotton. Cotton symbolizes durability and versatility. Two years into a marriage, you now have the experience to realize that these traits are necessary for a successful marriage. As 2 years is early in the life of any marriage, cotton also represents a practical material that can be used in building the household of a new couple, such as bedding, table cloths, bath robes, towels, clothing and more.” 2ndweddinganniversary.com

Dad practicing his speech

One of my favorite pictures of Mom and Steph

Coming out of the church

Chrissy Field with wedding party

 

A special moment with the bride and groom

Me and my city 

Our last dance to "I left my heart in San Francisco" by Tony Bennet  

The City By the Bay

Photography by katie disimone