Sam turns 18

So, I am officially old. The kid that gave me the 'Big Sister' title turned 18 this summer and graduated from high school. This kid had a big weekend. He graduated from high school on a Friday and turned 18 on Saturday. This kid is bright, kind, loving, generous and all around awesome. I am so happy that I get to be his big sister and help him watch him grow up into the cool dude he is today. 

We were supposed to go on a little weekend trip away, just the two of us, but some unexpected scheduling conflicts got in the way, so we decided to go to an A's game instead. I got us some awesome seats behind home plate, and put in a good word to get some fireworks - okay, fine, the fireworks were already planned, but it sure was an added bonus. We ate hot dogs wrapped in bacon, cheered on our boys and had a great night out, just the two of us! 

Can't wait to see what the world has in store for you little brother (who is taller than me). Love you to the moon and always! 

Belated Birthday

This year, for my birthday, I decided that I wanted to have a fresh start, reconnect with old friends and be all around healthier and happier. As my bestie likes to say: "I am doing me." 

I started the year off right with champagne and mani/pedis with my mom and friend, some margaritas and tacos at the local Mexican place, got into a big fight with my mom (which we then made up because neither of us could remember why we were fighting, ha!) and then had a delicious dinner with my amazing friends! 

Eeeekkkkk that hat! :-) LET'S GO OAKLAND! :-)

I am so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing an supported friends and family. I really could not ask for anything better! 

Lake Tahoe Autumn Food & Wine Festival at Northstar

For my birthday, I went to Lake Tahoe with my mom and one of her best friends from law school. Well to be honest, they had already made plans and I just tagged along and crashed their girls weekend :-) It was a gorgeous weekend in Lake Tahoe and we got to eat some amazing food and drink delicious wine and cocktails.

The first night we went to The Art of the Cocktail. The bartenders at the Ritz Carlton at Northstar made us three delicious prohibition cocktails, a mojito with gin, an old fashioned and a fancy moscow mule. They were all delicious and very strong!

We enjoyed our cocktails on big comfy couches at the Ritz and then took the gondola down to Northstar village and had a yummy pizza dinner.

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On Saturday morning we took a much needed stroll along the beach in Tahoe. The weather was better than perfect and the water was temperate. 

We got dressed after our stroll and we headed to Northstar Village for our Wine Makers Luncheon. Petra Wine Bar hosted the luncheon and paired up with FARM Napa Valley wines. The food was delicious and the wines were great. We even got to sit and talk with the wine maker. We will definitely be visiting FARM in Napa!

After the lunch we sat out on the patio with our new friends and drank wine. It was so relaxing!

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We headed back to the hotel, did a quick wardrobe change and headed back to Northstar Village for our Charbay and Caviar pairings. Charbay brought vodka, tequila and rum and paired it with different caviar dishes. For me, caviar is a bit too fishy and salty for me, it was not my favorite. After the pairing we sat outside by the fire and relaxed. It was perfect.

On Sunday morning we headed to the beach and laid out in the sun for about an hour, packed up, stopped at Gar Woods for lunch and headed home. It was a perfect weekend with two of my favorite ladies and we had such a blast! I can't wait to go back next year! 

The Castro Theater - Clueless

One of my great friends from high school shares a birthday with Rich (well, he and his twin..but we were only really celebrating one of them). This past Saturday he celebrated at the Castro theater with a Drag Show of the infamous Clueless with the famous Peaches Christ and many other famous queens.

The lovely Adrienne from AOG Daily and I headed into San Francisco for dinner at Marcello's Pizza, across the street from the Castro Theater, then drinks at QBar, then the show, and then more drinks and dancing at Beaux. 

The show was awesome! The actors acted out the key scenes while incorporating some pop culture,  current events and local haunts. It was witty, hilarious and totally gorgeous! It was just a blast and I am definitely looking forward to more Castro Theater performances!

Below photo credit: Adrienne :-)

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Love!

My sweet husband turns 27 today. While I am here at work, he is off at school and we plan to meet up at a brewery later this evening.

Rich doesn't like to make a big fuss about his birthday. Fortunately enough for him, he married someone who loves to make a big fuss about his birthday!! I know he feels the love and I love showering him with birthday love, so it is a win/win for both of us! 

Last weekend, I was thinking to myself and then panicked...Oh my gosh! What should I get Rich for his birthday?! I thought about it for a little while and decided to check the SF Symphony website to see if a show was going on. Fortunately I was in luck, and was able to score some awesome tickets to the SF Symphony! I had never been and Rich has mentioned to me that he has wanted to go on multiple occasions. 

So, I bought the tickets. Then I had to find a restaurant. There are tons of restaurants near Davie's Symphony Hall. There were a few restaurants that I checked and all of their reservations were booked and I finally stumbled upon Espetus Churrascaria a Brazilian Steak house. The restaurant was amazing! Definitely check it out for a special occasion!

After I made all of the reservations and planned the evening out, I decided to add another layer to the entire event - I was going to surprise Rich! I wrote out 4 'clues/hints' and gave him one each day starting on Wednesday.

Rich was able to guess that we were eating at a Brazilian restaurant but couldn't guess that we were also seeing the Symphony. On Saturday morning we woke up, got coffee and Rich studied all day. We headed into SF around 5 for our 6pm dinner reservation and then headed to the Davie's Symphony Hall for the 8pm show. The symphony was seriously amazing. We both found ourselves saying WOW during and after each performance. If you have the chance to check out the SF Symphony, I would totally recommend it!

 

After the show we walked by City Hall which was all lit up. I just love love love San Francisco! 

We are celebrating again on Thursday with friends and again this weekend with my parents! I just love this guy's birthday!

Nature in Arizona

While we were in Arizona, we were able to get outside and get our blood pumping near Scottsdale. We visited Tonto National Forest, home of the Tonto Natural Bridge as well as The Hole-in-Rock in Phoenix (just as it sounds).

Let's start with the Tonto Natural Bridge.

The bridge is believed to be the largest travertine bridge in the world, standing about 183 feet tall! It was beautiful! The walk is easy. Definitely check out all of the view points and then take about 30 minutes to walk down and under the bridge. You won't be disappointed!

Now moving on to the Hole in the Rock.

On our way to dinner before heading to the airport to head home, we stopped at the Hole in the Rock. It was packed with people, which was a bit overwhelming. Other than that the Rock was really neat and the view of Phoenix was beautiful!

And that, my friends, concludes my recap of the holidays! :-)