Summer in the City

It's almost that time of the year again, when weekend's are spent picnicing in parks, lounging at festivals, summer concerts and festive farmer's markets. All of which I partake in every Summer. But there's nothing like a bustling Summer in the City.

 

A few of the awesome events I'm looking forward to:

1}Alameda Antiques & Collectibles Faire~ This "ginormous flea market" takes place every 1st Sunday of the month, on the waterfront of Alameda. After visiting just once, I'm addicted.

2} North Beach Festival ~ One of my favorite SF neighoborhood festivals. It's pouring with people, beer booths, and vendors of all kinds. And it's in the home of SF's Little Italy ;)

3} SF Pride Parade ~ A rainbow of people walking & partying along the streets of SF  all ins upports of the gays! The parade ends up at the Civic Center for one, enormous wild party.

4} Union St. Festival ~ one of the largest free festivals in SF. SO many vendors

5} Hardly Strictly Bluegrass ~ LOVE this one. It takes place in GGP during October, it's free, and the blues playin' is smokin'. Grab some deli sandwiches, bottles of wine, some friends and a blanket and you're good to go! A definite must if you're in SF.

 

Also, there are always the big name concerts that come to the Bay. This year I'm stoked for Rihanna, Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, GoldFrapp, DMB & Raphael Saadiq just to name a few.

The Garden Island

After several meetings and appointments with florists, photographers, wedding coordinators and bridal salons, it's finally time to decide where to go for our honeymoon! And to make things even more exciting, my parents have graciously offered my fiance and I first class plane tickets to anywhere in the world. What's a girl to do?

So after numerous discusses and many bottles of wine later, my fiance and I decided on the beautiful Hawaiian Island of Kauai.

I've been there before, along with a few of the other Islands, but none of them measure up to Kauai's lush rain forests and waterfalls, hence the Island's nickname The Garden Island.

We'll be leaving two days after our wedding and staying at the Grand Hyatt Resort for about 8 days. When I visisted the Island years ago, I remembered this resort well because of it's oceanfront location and its impeccable Four Diamond Awarded service and staff.

A few of the places listed on our To See Itinerary:

1} Waimea Canyon State Park

2} Na Pali Coast-Sunset Dinner Cruise

3}Picnic at The Limahuli Garden & Preserve

4} Helicopter Tour

(I've done this tour & the pilot takes you into the canyon's where they shot Jurassic Park and right by my absolute favorite part, the waterfalls!)

And to get a local feel for the island, I've researched, bookmarked and put together an itenerary of different local hot spots for drinks and live music, local restaurants, and famer's markets to attend. We'll actually be their for Halloween as well so it'll be interesting to see how the locals celebrate and party. 

 Hmm, should I bring a costume?

Can't wait!

Nice Little Monday

After recuperating from an Easter weekend filled with egg hunts, jelly belly's, chocolate bunny's and brunch buffets,  I decided to take Monday off and relax.

So what i've decided to do today is clean, cook, bake, and read. All of which I enjoy :)

I've done about 4 loads of laundry so far and it's only noon but I don't mind because there's nothing like having your entire wardrobe fresh and clean, smelling of eucalyptus and chamomile.  

For lunch I threw together a whole wheat pasta salad for my fiance and I. He works from home so he was thrilled to have a home made treat for lunch, rather then his usual coffee and salami sandwich. 
After recently completing the Master Cleanse, I have eliminated all things white (i.e. white baking flour, white flour tortilla chips, white rice, etc.) from my kitchen substituting with multi-grain, whole wheat, brown rice, blue corn chips and so on. So for the pasta salad  I used organic whole-wheat pasta and about every veggie I could find in my frig, which is usually a ridiculous amount. 

I made enough for leftovers so I could take some for lunch tomorrow, and the next day, rather than spending money and buying lunch next door at whole foods!

Next, a home manicure. I think I'm going to go with OPI's Brainiac. It's a rich coral, perfect for spring.  

And then baking some organic banana blueberry bread.  I add blueberries because I love them and use part almond meal or whole wheat flour instead of all white flour and all organic ingredients. It's healthier for you and taste so much better! 

Shut it Down

I would LOVE to hear this bumpin' in a Vegas club! HOT.

Cup of Tea

{ Teapot from Anthropologie}

My back's been aching now for two days. It started behind my right shoulder blade and has now crept up the right side of my neck, allowing me minimal movement. Very annoying and very painful.

So here I am, at work with an hour to go, typing at my computer in my ergonomic desk chair. I'm counting down the minutes and seconds until I can be home, cozy with a warm cup of tea.

{ Tea cup from Anthropologie }

For me tea is such a comforting treat to sip on. In cold weather, it keeps me warm from head to toe. In warm weather, I pour it over ice with drops of natural agave sweetner to help cool me off on those warm sunny mornings.

I'm particularly fond of Green Tea with Lemon or Yerba Mate to give me that extra kick in the morning and any non-caffeinated organic herbal tea at night to soothe me to sleep.

Day Dreaming

           

          

  

         

Although I love where I work, who I work with, and my senior residents that live here in this community, my job requires me to sit behind a desk most of my days.

To make the space I work in my own, I've brought in a plant from home to add a dash of nature, a jeweled picture frame of my fiance and I in Napa, and some hand lotions and lip gloss to keep me moisturized and shiny as the day passes by. However, my computer screen tends to bore me to death.

My solution, a seasonal computer wallpaper to put me in the mood to daydream of places far and beyond the office. The three above happen to be a few of my springtime faves. These colorful pictures help me meditate and re-group when the day's dragging.