2013. In a nutshell

 Happy Monday! The last Monday of 2013! Soak it all in!

Over the weekend, we spent a lot of time reminiscing about 2013. It really has been an amazing, emotional, fun, adventurous, difficult, loving year and I can't believe that it is almost over. We have so much to be thankful for and so many memories that will forever be kept in our hearts. 

We started the year off with law school applications and acceptance letters, I had surgery on my arm and while I was recovering we spent a lot of time with family and friends. We decided to accept UC Berkeley Law School's offer. Rich graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA, I quit my job in LA, we moved back to the bay area and went to Peru for 2 weeks. In Peru we ate locally, we hiked over 40 miles summitting a 4600 meter pass on the Salkantay trail, we watched the sunrise over Macchupicchu and tasted the salt from the salt mines in Moras, we Zip Linedover the Urubamba River at Cola de Mono, we cruised on Lake Titicaca, walked on the floating islands of Uros, stayed with a local family on Amantani and hiked on Taquile Island. Rich started law school and I was offered an awesome job opportunity in San Francisco. We have been able to reconnect with our bay area friends and spend a lot of time with our family. We spent weekends, weeknights and the holidays surrounded by the people we love most and we also spent a lot of time just the two of us, working on our marriage. 

I can't believe how busy this year has been, but I also wouldn't trade any of our experiences and our memories for anything. It's been an amazing ride and I can't wait to see what 2014 will bring!

Check out 2013 in pictures from the New York Times. The photos are magical!

And this A Capella group singing a mash up for the 2013 hits!

Enjoy and may you all have a Happy New Year! Cheers to 2013, THANK YOU!

 

5 on Friday

1.

I had to work yesterday and today. Fortunately, it is pretty low key at work, so it's not too stressful. Christmas was amazing! We had such a great time visiting with all of our family and some of our close friends over delicious food and yummy bubbles and wine! We are definitely celebrating hard, we will be closing 2013 with a bang and ringing in the New Year with great celebrations!

2.

image

3.

image

4.

image

5.

image

*5 on Friday Link Up

5 on Friday

*5 on Friday Link Up

1. I cannot believe that Christmas is on Wednesday! Oh my goodness! I still need to get over to the store and pick up some wrapping paper and wrap all of our gifts...who has time for that? Anyone want to do it for me??

2. I always love me some Google Doodles, check out the top 10 of the year here

3. I feel so much love from my Alpha Gam family. I work with some amazing woman at an awesome collegiate chapter, as well as working with a great Alumnae Chapter. I am feeling so blessed.

4. This is extremely powerful, and not for the faint of heart. Beauty corporations testing on animals is something that we should all be aware of. Think about it. Do something about it. Stop buying products that are tested on animals. I know that this is something that I will, absolutely, consider when making my purchases.

5. This is so powerful!

Holiday Cards & a Giveaway

After mulling over all of the amazing holiday cards out there on the interwebs and agonizing about which 2013 life events to share with all of our close family and friends, we decided on the card below. The card picking and making process looks a little something like this: I search and create mockups of all types of holiday cards and then send my narrowed down (usually 2 or 3) choices and he picks his favorite and voila, our card for the year is complete!

 (front)

(back)

Since the beginning of December  we have been receiving holiday cards from around the country and we I could not be more excited! I have them all hanging in our kitchen and they all remind me of how blessed we are to be surrounded by awesome people who love us and who we love!

However, yesterday, I came across a viral video gem that puts our card and most everyone elses (no offense!) holiday card to shame...

Let's take a look, shall we?

This is seriously too perfect!

I am pretty sure that everyone can expect this from Rich and I next year! Ok, ok, maybe not exactly, but some very similar! 

Happy holidays and happy 1 week until Christmas! (Say WHAT?!)

----

I also wanted to mention that a dear college friend and Alpha Gam sister is hosting a giveaway on her blog! Jamie is partnering with Munchery for a $25 giveaway. The giveaway is only for Bay Area residents - even if you don't live in the area, feel free to sign up and give it as a gift for your bay area friends! She is also offering a 20% discount if you use jforjamie20percent coupon code upon check out! Check it out and enjoy!

Details here

*no this is not a sponsored post :-)

Sonoma County Weekend

Rich finished his finals last Thursday. This means that I have hardly seen him all semester and more so I have barely seen him since Thanksgiving! We decided to forgofriend holiday parties this weekend and spend it just the two of us, no phones, email or social media. And let me tell you, our love tanks are full!

We started the weekend off at brunch with some new friends. Around noon we headed to Healdsburg for wine tasting, coffee drinking and a late seafood lunch. We wine tasted at the Topel tasting room. Neither of us were overly impressed with the wine, but the service was awesome! We really enjoyed ourselves here.

After wine tasting we headed to grab a bite to eat at Willi's Seafood & Raw Bar for oysters on the half shell and other tapas style bites. We then suffered self induced food comas and decided to treat ourselves to macchiatos at Flying Goat Coffee! 

Healdsburg is a really small, quaint town. The downtown area had minimal holiday decoration, sweet boutique shops and tons of wine and olive oil tasting rooms. We were able to see most of the downtown in less than a 20 minute walk. I recommend the city if you are looking for a fun day trip on a gorgeous Northern California Day!

After exploring Healdsburg, we headed to our Bed & Breakfast in Cloverdale, the Old Crocker Inn. What a beautiful place! The room was very comfortable, the lodge was warm and inviting and the views were breathtaking! All of the rooms have fireplaces and TVs so we borrowed a movie from their library and drank wine in bed. It was perfect, relaxing and just what we needed!

They only offer breakfast (at some other B&Bs they have full restaurants and offer other meals as well). So, we went into town for some dinner. It was very hard to find. I recommend if you visit Cloverdale, bring a big picnic! The breakfast was delicious and it was such a treat to chat with the Innkeepers (a husband and wife who have owned the place for 8 years!)

Tony, the Innkeeper, recommended that we take a wine tour at Michel-Schlumberger in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley. They offer estate / vineyard tours on the weekends and have beautiful indoor and outdoor grounds for tasting. The wine was good, again, nothing that really captivated us, but the experience was amazing! We actually crashed a private tour...oops! The guide was extremely knowledgeable and the others on the tour were friendly and we all enjoyed each others company! The tours were $30/person which did not include the tasting. Tastings were $10 or $20 depending on the flight.

After Michel-Schlumberger we decided to head home. We ran a few errands, ate dinner, watched The Wire and address holiday cards. It was, seriously, a perfect weekend! I hope you all enjoyed the weekend before the holiday craziness! 

---

And I will leave you, on this Tuesday, with this youtube gem!

Five on Friday

*5 on Friday Link Up

1. Rich is finally done with the semester! I am more than excited to spend this weekend with my sweet hubby! I have missed him. We celebrated the end of his first semester at our holiday party last night - yes, it was amazing! More to come, soon!

2. This is a long, but totally worth it, read /// Oh, how I love San Francisco /// Talk about talent /// The US is full of such beauty these spots /// the video on number 2 is just too good, actually, this whole article /// Planet Money explains how t-shirts are made - fascinating (all alpha gams should buy a shirt!


3. This is fascinating! Nothing we don't already know...

"In a widely-read study, Harvard Business School students were given a case assignment on Heidi, a real-life successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. But there was a catch. Half of the class randomly received their case with one teensy tiny change made: The name "Heidi" was changed to "Howard." Afterward, the students were surveyed, and though Heidi and Howard were found equally competent (as they should have been because they are the same person), the students found Howard much more likeable. The following ad pretty much sums up why." ~Upworthy

And here is a TED talk that talks about this topic too! Wow, it is amazing!



4. Miracles really do come true!

 5. This type of message has been all over the internet for several months now, if not years, and every time I see a different rendition, I am compelled to take a look. Maybe it is because I want to see what the models in the magazines and the adds actually look like.

AGD Holiday Happy Hour 2013

Delicious Drinks. Family. Sisterhood. Friends. Happy Squirrels.

 The tamest white elephant gift exchange in the history of the game.

Toasting. Laughing. Chatting.

Happy Holidays to all of my beautiful Squirrels out there!! Sending lots of hugs and love!

Momma's Birthday

My beautiful mom had a birthday last Saturday and I was fortunate enough to spend the entire day with her! We started the celebrating on Friday night with happy hour and dinner in SF with 2 other friends. And on Saturday we sipped champagne which enjoying pedicures and then we were off to lunch.

On Saturday night we got a big group together, including my brothers, and we headed to SF for a night of bowling. Sadly, there were no open lanes, so it turned into appetizers and drinks and then ended with us heading back to the east bay for deep dish pizzas!

Overall, I am pretty sure my momma had an amazing birthday! I am blessed every day to have such a great relationship with my mom and I am so grateful that we now live close to my family! 

5 on Friday

1. I would like to take a minute to honor Nelson Mandela, and anti-apartheid icon and the first black president of South Africa. He passed away yesterday; his vision and his life work will live on forever. What an incredible role model he is. His passion and world work meant that he had to sacrifice his family and his freedom for the freedom of his fellow black Africans. I am currently a little over half way through his book, A Long Walk to Freedom, and what he did and how he dedicated his life to fighting for freedom for black citizens in South Africa is truly inspiring.What an inspiration to us all to fight for what we believe in and to fight for what is right for this world.
Read more here.

Breaking News from ABC | ABC Sports News

2. This video

Take a few minutes to watch it. It will make you think. This is beautiful.

3. This artwork is amazing!

image

How in the heck?!

4. Good thing I already got married! And at 23! Wow, these kids really know a lot! Kids sure say the darndest things! Read here!

5. If this doesn't get you into the holiday spirit, I don't know what will!

*5 on Friday Link Up

Not-so Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving I spent the morning watching helping my mom clean up and then spending some quality time with my girlfriends! We made some arts and crafts and we went for a walk! It was a beautiful day!

I have never shopped on Black Friday - nor the night before - nor do I ever plan to...

As an annual tradition, my mom and I spend the evening after Thanksgiving in San Francisco going to the Ghirardelli Tree Lighting Ceremony. This year, we went to the Union Square ceremony. It was a bit more crowded but beautiful nevertheless.

After the ceremony, mom and I went to a few restaurants for drinks and food! It was a fun evening that I love to spend with my mom!

{Post} Thanksgiving

This year there was much to be thankful for! We live near family and old-time friends and have the chance to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Rich and I are both healthy, happy and just as much in love. I have landed an awesome job and Rich is loving law school (as much as you can love law school). We are constantly surrounded, whether it be physically or just spiritually, by so much love and happiness. We are two blessed people enjoying life together!

Like every year, the food was amazing and the company was even better!

The table is always decorated to impress and the conversation always starts with a prayer and everyone says what they are thankful for - mom always goes first and grandpa always goes last :-)

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is no pressure to find the perfect gift or pressure to have the right reaction when you are receiving gifts. It is a night to enjoy the people you love and the people who love you and to be thankful for all that makes you smile in life!

I hope everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving! Cheers to one more month until 2014!
(Seriously, where has the time gone!?)

A Few of My Favorite Things: Under $100

I love my Issey Miyake! I am running out of my perfume!

$99 is under $100...ha! Eau de Toilette and the Perfume! (yes I use both...)

image

Moisturizing Body Lotion

image

And there is stick deodorant?! Yes. Please.

image

Linked up with Elise at Cheers Y'all and Jen at  Down with the Dearmores