Something Blue: A Bridal Shower

My dear friend Ellen is getting married in just a few weeks! We have been friends since our days in the church nursery! The past few weeks have been full of celebrating her and her fiance, Joel! It has been such an exciting and fun time.  Ellen asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, and what an honor it is! 

My favorite bridesmaid duty is absolutely throwing bridal showers. I love to throw a good party, especially for someone I love. The other fun part is being a bridesmaid with another one of your closest friends! I was lucky enough to get to co-host this shower with Ellen's Maid-of-Honor, and her sister, Cindy!

Together, we tag-teamed the planning and executing of a dreamy blue & yellow vision. 

Speaking of vision, the bride herself was glowing all day. 

She makes one beautiful, blushing bride! 

If she looks this gorgeous on her shower day, I can't even imagine how beautiful she will look on her wedding day! Joel, you are one lucky dude. Remember that.

We also had a mimosa bar. 

I firmly believe every shower should have a mimosa bar. 

There is no shortage of cooks and bakers among Ellen's friends and family. 

Each guest was sent a recipe card in their invitation, and were asked to bring it to the shower.

They were all put in this awesome recipe box Cindy gifted to Ellen.

She will be starting off her marriage with quite the collection. 

Ellen is so loved among her friends and family. It was the joy of these ladies to gather round and celebrate her! She also is very loved by some furry friends as well. 

Cindy made the most beautiful ombre layer cake. 

Girl had SKILLS. 

And, even better, it tasted as good as it looked!

All the lovely guests were sent home with something a little sweet, a little sour, 

to remember Ellen's bridal shower!

(Also handmade by Cindy!)

Tassel Garland: Here

Custom Cake Topper & LOVE Banner: Here

Invitations & Recipe Cards: Here
Paper Straws: Here

Paper Fans: Here

Lemon Scrub Recipe: Here

Ombre Cake Recipe: Here, Here & Here

One Final Adventure for 2012: The Coast Post

I truly believe the West Coast is the Best Coast.
And on New Years Eve, Betsy, Angela, Margaret, Ellen and I headed out on Highway 1 to soak it all in.
Squeezing just one more adventure into 2012.
We loaded up Betsy's mom's Swagger Wagon and got to adventuring.

We had a loose agenda, a few things we had done before, and a few that we had yet to try.
It was as if the coast knew we'd be showing up with one big camera and several iPhones, as she was dressed to blue sky, green grass, and yellow wildflower perfection.

And after we took an unholy amount of photos in this incredible field, we headed southbound on Highway 1.

The sky was as blue as it comes. The clouds were wispy and white. The Pacific was dressed in it's New Year's Eve sparkles. And everything around us was lush and clean and green from all the recent rains.

And then this happened.

And then this.

And with the help of the self timer, this too.

And can we talk about this?!!?
Or maybe not, because seriously, I have no words. Well, maybe one. REFLECTIONS!!

All of this, and we hadn't even had lunch yet.
The day had just begun.

And then there was lunch.
And it was good.

And after lunch.
There were goats.
And goat cheese.
And a goat farm.
So much goaty goodness.

Local honey, cheese, olive oil.

It was all so pretty.

And then I got a text, "come upstairs ASAP"
To which I found Betsy and Margaret in the cutest little banquet room.
It was so dark, and I hardly got any pictures.
But all of us were day dreaming hipster dinner parties, with live music, twinkle lights, fresh flowers, and plenty of cheese.

And it overlooked what we came for, the goats!
So we headed down to see the little nannies.

And stood there standing and watching goats.
For a lot longer than was probably necessary.
But, GOATS.
So, you know. We stared.
And tried to make it interesting.

After the goat farm, we headed back to highway one, but not without another awesome photoshoot location detour.
Because, how beautiful are these backdrops.

And since the days are so short, the sun was already getting lower, the clouds were getting wispier, shadows longer, and the glow was this beautiful creamy yellow.

The sea was foamy.
And the waves were crashing the rocks, while the spray met us up on the bluff.

And we kept going.
Little by little, down the coastline.
A mile here, a mile there.
And next stop, we were at a strawberry farm.

With an honor system bakery and gift shop.
A little till left on the counter, where you make your own change, and generosity is encouraged.

There is a 10% discount for those who come by bicycle AND are wearing a helmet. (Safety first!)
A little seating area welcomes you to stay for a while, play vintage board games, play with old timey toys, and flip through yellow paged books.
All things kitschy. All things magical.

The day was nearly done.
We continued all the way to Santa Cruz. With berry filled bellies.
Walked a little bit of the downtown, did some window shopping, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, we returned home.

Countless adventures on the books. Closing out 2012 with seabreezes and ocean air.
I think every year should be closed out this way. Every day, if it were possible.

Later that night, back in town, we rang in the new year with old friends, a shiny disco ball, festive hats, and smokey party poppers.

A day like this was most definitely the best way to say goodbye twenty-twelve, and hello twenty-thirteen.

Work Hard, Play Hard: Adventures in Napa

My sister and I, and Ellen & Cindy have been on a few sisterly adventures over the last few years.
(And beyond).
This year, my sister found a really fun Groupon Deal for a Limo up to Wine Country. We parlayed that into an overnight in the City as well. And decided to do this adventure up real nice, and skip our annual ski trip this year.

Cindy booked us in an AWESOME hotel, the Union Square Marriott, with an incredible view.
We checked in and were in our room just in time to see the sun setting behind the buildings around us.

We settled in, and decided to make a reservation at a cute restaurant down the street for later that night.
In the mean time we had a little time to kill, so we headed out to the stores around Union Square.
Being that it was the day after Christmas, there were a ton of lines, and sales, and customers.
So many customers.
We ended up just doing window shopping - the lines inside the stores were too overwhelming to justify any casual shopping.

And then we freshened up for our dinner rezzie.
We ended up a cute little restaurant hidden down a pedestrian alley called Cafe Claude.
In fact, we walked right by the alley almost missing it on our way there.
It might have been because we were distracted doing this:

And we ate cheese.
And it was SO good.

And then we traipsed around a bit.
Exploring a few of the hot-spots and not-so-hot-spots around our hotel.
This place seemed promising, but ended up a dud.

Which left us with no choice but to hit up the Starlight Room.
The rotating sign is always calling my name, and after all these years, I had yet to visit.

The view was spectack.
That alone made it worth the adventure.

Well that and the top 100 billboard jams mixed with dated hits on the dance floor made for an awesome night.
Also, spying on the people in the hotel across the way.
Yes, your windows are open, and yes, people CAN see you walking around naked.

We finished the night sharing onion rings and a banana split at Lori's Diner - which seems to be where we always end up on our Union Square adventures.

In the morning, we woke up to the dinging of the cable car line below, and the promise of hot Starbucks coffee across the street.

The day was about to begin and new adventures (in a limo! with mimosas!) awaited us!

Believe it or not, I lived in wine country for three years, and never once went wine tasting.
Also, it was before I was 21, so I guess that is probably for the better.

Also for the better is the fact that at this point I started using my actual camera.

I haven't been in a limo in quite a while, and all I could say was "I feel like I'm filming a Real Housewives episode right now". Those fools hang out in limos a LOT.

The day was clear, the skies were bright, it was a recipe for a good one.

First stop, Beringer.
It was beautiful. Right out of a coffee table book.

And by this time, we were getting hungry. And I really wanted cheese.
So, we headed down the road to V. Sattui.
Where we loaded up on cheese, salami, grapes, and of course, wine.

The sun felt so good shining down on this crisp December day.
Napa just felt happy.
And it wasn't just the wine, I promise.

Our next stop was Grgich Hills Estates.
Which ended up being one of the best parts of the day - although the whole day was great, it's hard to say there was a true best.

But being unexpectedly escorted into the VIP room, given two extra tastings, including a fancy Cabernet, and extra special treatment was hard to beat.

And even though this was our last winery, the day wasn't completely over yet.
We still had one last limo-celebration to have.
Cupcakes for Cindy's Birthday! (Happy Birthday Cindy!!!)

I'm PRETTY sure by looking at these pictures she loved our serenading her with the birthday song.

And then we were DONE.
We put the nap in Napa.
Limo naps all around, while we were driven back to the City.
A good way to spend the day, with my Soul Sisters.
These girls rock.
So does wine.
And Napa.
And cupcakes.

Until the next one ladies...Cheers!