The day after Thanksgiving we took a mini road trip to Petaluma tocut down our very first Christmas tree in our new house. The California drought definitely took a toll on the options.
Category Archives: Christmas
Fakin’ It: Cookie Style
We love cookies! We love to eat cookies! We love to eat holiday cookies even more! There are those special people who kill it when it comes to baking things from scratch, Brittany is one of those people. However, when she arrived at my house with a box of gingerbread cookie mix and said, “screw it, let’s use this box instead” I wiped the sweat from my brow because gingerbread cookies are the hardest to make! I tried once and it took 6 hours and they didn’t even taste good. But this box, this box is magic. All you do is add water and egg and heat those bad boys up in the oven for 8 minutes! It only took us 6 to eat them all up too!
(We grabbed some mint M&M’s and topped the warm cookies)
(And we force fed them to each other too)
(Nom!)
This cookie mix is amazing, they tasted homemade but without all of the hassle!
Happy Holidays!
We wanted to share a little holiday spirit with you today with one of our favorite holiday pictures! We got the pleasure of watching the magnificent Capital Cities play an intimate show last year and they are as silly as they are talented! Check out their tunes if you haven’t already!
Merry Christmas!
Under Construction.
It goes without saying that France has some pretty unbelievable buildings; I couldn’t help but take a million pictures of my favorites. And believe me, they were ALL my favorite!
(The French Opera House glows at night. I don’t think there is one dim building in the evening)
(Notre Dame. It’s magical)
(Montmartre was one of my favorite areas. It was so alive and they shot parts of Amelie there!)
(The Eiffel Tower. Yup, it’s pretty giant!)
(We got an overexposed version of Place de la Bourse but I like the way it turned out)
(I never thought I would go here but I have always wanted to. The Palace of Versailles was incredible and the Hall of Mirrors was no exception)
(Marie Antionette‘s bedroom was unreal! It was so over the top!!)
(Nick outside the golden gates of the Palace of Versailles. Can you tell we loved that place?)
I can’t get over how every building in France was clearly constructed with such calculated care. Everything is lavish in it’s own way and I just love it.
You Gotta Have Faith.
Let’s start at the beginning. Notre Dame de Paris. It is MAGNIFICENT! I have never in my life seen something so spectacular and moving, the moment I entered the building I was literally speechless. My art history classes in college could not prepare me for how overwhelmed I would be. To think that this church was built 850 years ago leaves me with so many thoughts but mostly “how did they do it?”
(The exterior holds hundreds of statues that depict passages of the bible and because it was Winter, garlands were placed around the church adding something special)
(The stained glass is intricate and delicate as the light passes through to illuminate the interior)
(There are nooks that display different pieces of art, this was one of my favorites)
Sacre-Couer, Paris
(At the top of a large stairway sits Sacre-Coeur. At night it is a place of gathering for young people who spend the evening drinking wine, singing, and gazing at the view of Paris in it’s entirety)
(Behind Sacre-Coeur lies an alley of vendors and restaurants)
Basilica of St. Michael, Bordeaux
(Basilica of St. Michael is not at the caliber of Notre Dame but it is also very breathtaking inside. The ceilings are higher than I can count and the hall stretches hundreds of feet long. It is very grand)
(It was so bright inside which gave this church a softer feeling)
France does not mess around when it comes to their churches. Aside from being incomparable inside, they are also very welcoming. Each church was a nice place to walk around quietly in peace, and take in all of the history that the walls held. I liked to think of who sat in the pews hundreds of years ago and what they were wearing, praying about, and hoping for.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our Ho Ho Ho’s!
Well 2012 is coming to an end and we wanted to make a short “thank you, we love you, please don’t ever leave us” video for the holidays. We will be taking a break next week as we hope you do as well 😀
Anyway, we really do appreciate you guys so enjoy some time with your family and friends over the holidays. See you all soon!
Oh yeah, we also convinced the amazing band Capital Cities to be a part of a holiday photo with us after they did a performance yesterday! They are really amazing and you should check them out when they come to a city near you 🙂
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Christmas in San Francisco is definitely a beautiful sight! The city is lit up even more than usual and the trees are decorated perfectly. This year a group of us decided to check out the 2 story tall Gingerbread House located in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill. It was truly something to be seen and smelled!
(7,500 pieces of gingerbread brick lined the walls, it smelled delicious!)
(Layers of icing, marshmallows, and sprinkles held the house together)
(A nutcracker chilled behind the glass and gummy stars lined the walls)
(While I would like to live in this house, I think I would have a permanent stomach ache if I did)
(A tiny mock village was made ENTIRELY of icing and candy! The little penguins were too cute!)
(A huge Christmas tree sat next to the house. The ornaments were so beautiful, we couldn’t resist taking a photo!)
(A little side area was reserved for children to watch movies and write letters to Santa so of course we decided to play)
(Everyone was peeking at Connie’s wish list. “I would like a boat please. More specifically, I would like a yacht!” A girl can dream, can’t she?)
Visiting the Fairmont lobby was a really fun way to spend a crisp Winter night with friends. We walked across the street afterwards to have a Christmas cocktail at the Top of the Mark and spent the evening watching the twinkling city from 13 stories up.
Stuff Those Stockings!
Alright, Christmas is next week and if you are busy working then you know what it’s like to have time fly by. Our favorite gift part of Christmas is the stockings because they are usually filled with awesome trinkets and random sugary treats that you wouldn’t normally splurge on. Check out some of our favorite stocking stuffer ideas for women (and maybe some men) and become easily prepared for the big day!
(Lottery scratcher tickets! They are cheap and you could make someone else a winner, even if not it’s still fun to scratch away. Someone always at least wins a new ticket.)
(Ummm hello! A mini Ryan Gosling calendar! Who wouldn’t want to wake up to this on the daily…)
(Cute stationary! It makes work much more fun to (non)secretively pass notes like you are in middle school again)
(Sparkly headband for a lucky girl to wear for New Years! Maybe even in Paris… =D)
(A gift card even if just for one coffee to a more expensive coffee shop that’s close to their office – it’s a real treat!)
We love giving to our friends and family at Christmas. The most important thing during the holidays is getting to spend time with your closest friends and family but since giving gifts happens along the way, we thought we’d share some of our gift ideas.
Come On, Get Ornament Happy
I do love Christmas time. It’s a wonderful holiday and I love seeing all of the lights that decorate homes and businesses. There’s something special about the holidays (besides all of the madness). This year, I wanted to customize my parents tree since I don’t have room for a tree at my own place. These are extremely easy and you can really customize these for your own holiday needs. However, I can’t lie. This idea really came to me while standing in a store staring at some seriously hideous and ridiculously expensive ornaments. Have you ever thought to yourself, I could do that for way cheaper and do a much better job?! Well, you probably can.
(This idea originated with the idea of making snow globe ornaments. All you need are some clear ornaments and some sparkles.)
(Sparkly snow ornaments! Hand model: my mom)
(Ta da!)
(Then I thought, what other S#!@ can I put in these ornaments?! Coffee beans!)
(For a coffee lover like me!)
(Sprinkles, for the avid baker)
(I put a few different kinds of sprinkles in there but you could really pick any kind you’d like)
While my mom and I were working on these we thought of other good ingredients for ornament makings. Advil, for the everyday drinker. Dog food, for the pet owners with a death wish on their Christmas tree. Matches, for the over zealous pyro. Well you get the idea. You can get crafty and have fun with it. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so stop resisting it and just embrace it already!
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