One of my favorite things about Hawaii is its vibrant skies. Sunrises and sunsets always seem to be extremely colorful and enjoyable. Since we had some rainy weather, the clouds also tended to light up as the day was beginning or ending.
Rainy skies.
Love the clouds from this day.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
He’s always this excited! My friend Meris made this super cute banner that we can use for my bachelorette party and wedding shower. She made it look easy but I promise you that it does take a bit of time and care – in the end, it is worth it.
(We were going to cut out letters from glitter paper but found this awesome sticker letters. This is the way to go!)
(She cut out the purple flags first and stuck the letters on them. Then measured out the brown paper which was a slightly larger flag. Once she pasted those together she made one small hole in each of the top corners. Tulle was used to tie them together)
So clever and cute, I just adore this banner!
This weekend a couple of friends and I made these awesome table numbers for my wedding. We cooked up this idea as we were shopping at Michaels! What you’ll need:
(Spray the boxes and let them dry)
(You could choose any color but I love rose gold so we went in that direction)
(Spray the numbers – both sides)
(Once dry, apply craft glue to the numbers)
(Dip in glitter immediately)
(Don’t you love that sparkle?)
(Warning: You will be covered in glitter)
(Get your supplies in order)
(Hot glue the glittered number to the inside of the box)
(Begin to decorate)
(This is the fun part!)
(Use the hot glue to set things in place)
(Get creative with how you present them- we will use books)
There you have it! They take a while but they really shimmer! I’m very happy with how they turned out and can’t wait to use them soon!
Eventbrite had this fun idea to create a guide of all of the best spots in your area to go during the Fall months. Since we both love to get out and explore the Bay Area we thought this would be a lot of fun for us to share with you all! I live in San Rafael and Brittany lives in San Francisco and there are SO MANY things to do in our areas. One of the best things is to go out and explore Pt. Reyes because you can get out of the city and into nature. There are a lot of great restaurants to visit too. Here is our 24 hour guide to Pt. Reyes, California.
Breakfast: Station House Cafe. House made granola, enough said! This is a very popular spot so get here and grab your coffee early!
Afternoon Hike: Abbott’s Lagoon. A very easy 2 mile hike with quite the reward. You’ll work up a small appetite, which you will need for what we have planned next!
Late Afternoon Snack: Cowgirl Creamery. World famous cheese, yes please! Grab the cheese plate and a juice to hold you over until dinner. If you are really hungry, grab a small sandwich. Mt Tam is the best tasting cheese so make sure you get a bite.
Sunset: Catch the early sunset at Pt. Reyes Lighthouse. An unbelievable area to park your car, take in the coast and watch the sunset from one of the most beautiful spots in the Bay Area.
Dinner: Saltwater. Ok, so this is in Tomales Bay but the extra 5 minute drive is totally worth it. Even if you don’t like oysters there is something here for you. When my fiancee and I went to Pt Reyes a few months ago we went to Saltwater two nights in a row! Check out my review here. It is one of my favorite restaurants ever. The ambiance is INCREDIBLE, the food is STUPENDOUS, and the restaurant is fairly small so make reservations. 🙂
There you have it, the PERFECT day in Pt. Reyes. Soak up the last bits of sunshine because the rain is going to be here before you know it. Thanks to Evenbrite for this awesome concept! If you are ever planning an event in the future their event management software will help save you from all of those planning headaches! Maybe you could even plan a 24 hour tour of your own 😉
A few weekends ago, my mom/stepmom/myself teamed up to throw Liz a fun baby shower! We are beyond excited to meet the new baby and Liz definitely deserves to be pampered before the next bundle comes along. We were on Pinterest quite a bit trying to find the cutest things for the shower and we found lots of goodness. I thought I’d share some of the shower on here in case you are throwing a shower for someone special anytime soon 🙂
Since this will be baby number 2 and it’s called a sprinkle, we went with sprinkled donuts of course 🙂
We also had a simple but delicious DIY parfait bar.
Mini bacon wrapped sausages baked in brown sugar.
A DIY headband stand! It’s a fun way to make something for the baby 🙂
Party favors for the guests – OPI nail polish in color “It’s a Girl” – it was perfect!
My stepmom Vicki is so creative, she really added such a beautiful touch to the shower and my mom is so great at cooking and baking, the food was excellent. It was great to work together on this and celebrate my awesome sister, Lizzy! Hope we gave you some ideas that are helpful and would love to hear any ideas of things you may have done in the past in the comments!
With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d share a recipe with you all for the perfect Pumpkin Pie. My mom is from the mid-west and therefore she is a pie master. However, this recipe came right from the can of pumpkin but is perfect because it’s not too sweet but it’s still extremely tasty. Also, Chelsea and Lindsay got me this awesome pie pan and server from Anthropologie for my birthday so it was so fun to put it to use!
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/4 Tsp Cloves
2 Large Eggs
1 can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
Mix the above together and bake @ 425 degrees for 15 minutes then 350 degrees for 40-50 mins. I used a pre-made pie crust but you can choose a crust of choice.
November brought a heavy rain to the Bay Area (Guns N Roses would be proud). It was so heavy that it actually woke me up from a deep sleep. My favorite thing is to stay under my comforter and listen to the rain hit the roof. It let up after I got up for the day so I was able to see remaining rain drops coming off of our cafe lights and trees in the backyard.
(The trees got to soak up the rain, which they really needed)
(We strung cafe lights above our mini orange tree- they provide a ton of light in the evening)
(Any excuse to pull out my Sorel rain boots- obsessed)
I can’t wait for more rain, it rinses all of the stress away. Do you love the rain too?
My dad passed away very recently after a 9 year long battle with liver cancer. I miss him every day but cherish the memories and laughter that I had with him for the past 32 years. This past weekend my family and I boarded a schooner and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge to scatter his ashes alongside San Francisco, the city that he loved so much. It was a beautiful day filled with crisp air, an adventure that he would have loved, and a wonderful family. It was a day I will remember for the rest of my life and a trip that he wanted us to take to see the city and bridge as he saw it- magical and one of a kind. Here are some photos of the journey we took, I thought I would share them with you because it was such an amazing ride that I feel so honored to have taken.
(SF Bay Adventures was kind enough to let us use the magnificent Frida B for the afternoon)
(Alcatraz and the city in the distance)
(Approaching the bridge)
(The fog rolling over the trees)
(The fog came in as we were heading back to Sausalito)
(We toasted him under the bridge)
(A view I never tire of seeing, the fog over Sausalito. It doesn’t get much better than this)
Nick took a lapsed video of the fog hitting Sausalito. This was our day, it was everything that makes the Bay Area perfect and every day I feel so lucky to live here. I know my dad left this world but I feel him all around me, all I have to do is look at the bay and I know he is there.
Nick and I had a few friends over to hand out candy to trick or treaters and play board games this Halloween. Nick makes an amazing guacamole, he has a secret ingredient and everything. Since it was Halloween and we had an extra pumpkin, we decided to present the chips and dip in a fun/gross way (see above).
(The dip went quick!)
(We made a spiced apple cider cocktail and had cold beers on hand too)
(I cooked up the pumpkins seeds and put pomegranate seeds and rosemary sprigs aside for garnish- both from our backyard!)
All in all, the gathering was a success. Fall is my favorite time of year so it’s a real treat to get to eat some of my favorite flavors (pumpkins included).
iflunch.com 