Rediscovering my closet

It appears (and feels) that summer has finally made its way to San Francisco. Fog has given way to warm days, gorgeous sunsets, and sadly balmy weather that I'm not that used to. I'm not complaining and wishing I could stop time a bit and enjoy the sunshine more.

This past weekend I decided to take every item out of my cedar chest and re-evaluate it. And I've discovered the following:
1) I clearly have an addiction to sweaters, and
2) I have a lot of items that I've forgotten I've even had.

I think that part of this is due to the fact that space is at an all time premium in our apartment - since my cedar chest stays closed to keep a certain furry female out of it it's very hard for me to search for items in my mad dash in the mornings. But after going through my clothes one thing has been made very clear - I don't need any more clothes any time soon. Sure, I might need a pair of black jeans or to replace a cardigan with holes, but other than that... I really have no excuse or reason to purchase anything new.

Take for instance this awesome sweater I discovered. Stripes. I love stripes. And black and white can be paired with just about anything. Like a blue blouse and my J Crew wanna be necklace. Pardon the bad lighting, but I'm hoping to get my camera up and going some point soon.

Has there been anything that you've recently rediscovered in your closet and are excited to have found?

Button down: H&M (similar here)
Striped sweater: J Crew tippi in linen (similar here)
Skirt: Gary Graham, gift
Necklace: GroopDealz
Shoes: J Crew cece ballet flats (new colors here)

First wedding anniversary

One year ago today, at about this time, I was getting ready to walk down the aisle with my dad. I can't believe that a year has already gone by - a true testament to time flies when you are having fun. I'm truly lucky because I can honestly say that I married my best friend. David makes me want to be a better person and I'm honored that he picked me to be his wife. I'm excited to see what year two brings us and how we continue to grow as a better couple together.

So this weekend he surprised me with an overnight stay in wine country to celebrate our one year in style. We stayed at the Harvest Inn which we both cannot wait to return to. Honestly - the service, the grounds, everything was out of this world. They sent us a whole bottle of champagne, and for our dinner reservations told the restaurant we were celebrating and even the restaurant got us a card. I mean... I think I've found my happy place.

The beautiful room at the inn

Vineyards outside our bedroom window

One of the many fountains on site

View from Domaine Chandon

We dined on wagyu steak and chocolate cake at Press, which was one of the best meals of my life. The crab and lobster cake with avocado reduction was amazing. And the wine! We got to sit near the outdoor fire and watched the sun set and moon come up.

We hit the pool late (it stays open 24 hours!) and we even saw some meteors during the Perseid meteor shower.

Today we grabbed macarons at Bouchon and stopped at Domaine Carneros for wine before heading back to the city.

The Bouchon Bakery!

I had an amazing time.. so much so I really didn't want to come home. But if you are in the Napa wine region here's some of our recommendations.














To stay:

Harvest Inn

Wineries:

V Sattui

Domaine Chandon

Mumm Napa

Gloria Ferrer

Food:

Press
Bouchon Bakery

The bbq at V Sattui

Until next year! :)

Birthday wishist

Hello August and goodbye July! Although we did get to travel in July and DH got good news I'm not sad to see you go. So bye! ;)

With August comes my birthday (ew) and our first wedding anniversary. Here's some items that I wouldn't mind getting for either of those occasions.. hint hint!

Tory Burch Robinson bag - What can I say, I love handbags. I previously had one of the robinson bags which was great... except it was before they all came with a cross body strap. Boo to that. It's a great alternative to the Prada bags which are more than triple the price of the TB one. 

J Crew double tassel necklace - I really like the idea of a tassel necklace, and this one has two. I like the length on it and could see it easily paired with business casual outfits and also for days when I need to dress up.

Lowercase cursive initial necklace - I have been lusting over this for a few months. I really really like it.. and not sure if I can hold out for my birthday and might end up getting it for myself. And it also comes in gold and rose gold, too!

J Crew Factory anchor sweater - I love anchors. And sweaters. Match made in heaven.. and 40% off!

Dotted monogram journal - It's no secret that I have a love affair with office products... journals and pens in particular. I adore the dots on this and the monogramming makes it so much more personal.

So... expensive.. yes. But that's why its a wish list!

Do you have any items on a wish list for an upcoming event or for the new month? I'd love to hear it!

July Budget Review

July, I'm not sad to see you go. While I did get to go on vacation and DH got some good news, you were kinda crappy to me.

Regardless, as you are on your way out, here's how I did this month fashion-wise:

Madewell V Neck Tees, green and gray - 2x = 12 each
Madewell polka dot sweater = 30
Keds for Madewell = 24
Gap maxi skirt = 6.50

July total: 84.50

By far, my cheapest month clothing-wise in a long time. I did spend in other areas - I got a haircut, made a donation to a coworker's rowing fund, and took myself for a massage when I found out I was getting my job back. And Ollie the chinchilla has been having some health problems so he's had to see the vet twice this month.

August is a busy month - DH's birthday, our first wedding anniversary, and my birthday. I do need to buy DH his presents but other than that I'm hoping to keep it low spend.

How did you do this month? Linking up with Franish!

Madewell July sale picks

Happy Weekend! I can't even begin to tell you what a week I had so I figure I will just omit it from the blog. ;)

To cheer myself up I wandered down to the Madewell sale which is featuring an additional 40% all sale items.

My pics - all from Madewell San Francisco which still had a nice sale selection

Dot stitch sweater. I nabbed this one in the grey/navy dot combo. It was 49.99 in store before before any additional reductions. 

Madewell artisan tee. I took a size down in this so I got the charcoal grey and this awesome green color. Marked to 19.99 before additional sale.

Keds for Madewell in mint polka dot. I loved these ever since I first saw them.. and at 39.99 before the 40% off I treated myself. I sized down in these as well.

Have you picked up anything from the summer sales?

Wine tasting & Sunday night thoughts

Oh Sunday evening at 8:45pm I loathe you as Monday quickly descends upon us.

Over the past week I've started to feel as though I'm getting stuck in a rut. Things at work have gotten interesting, to say the least and I'm going to leave it at that. Perhaps as I approach my 29th birthday next month I'm also simultaneously freaking out over the fact that 30 is knocking on my door. I hate the idea of getting older (although much, much better than the alternative) and I hate not knowing what's going to come my way next. I feel vulnerable and on edge and that's really not a way I like to live; as a creature of habit I feel like I'm a snail without a shell.

To say that I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place in more than one situation would be an understatement.

I think I might do something like cut my hair soon to hopefully give myself a bit of a boost. I'm trying to be better with money and impulsive spending. If anyone has any ways that they cheer themselves up when feeling down let me know, I'd love to hear it!

But enough of the debbie downer stuff. This weekend we celebrated a friend's birthday by going wine tasting in Napa. The weather was perfect and we had a great time... some photos below. :)

Watching some bees buzz around

Group tasting at Peju

Sunflowers at Peju

Gorgeous flowers at the entrance to Mumm

Golden Gate out the sunroof

Wineries in Napa you should visit (only because I liked them!)
V Sattui Winery - awesome marketplace and outdoor bbq area (oysters, anyone?) and tastings inside.
Peju Winery - if you enjoy reds, go here
Mumm Napa - lots of bubbly with a fantastic view of the vinyards

Zion & Bryce 2013

I have to admit that one of my favorite things about coming home from a trip are getting to see Rosie, Frankie and Ollie. Second is my own bed. And third is coming home to San Francisco.

But that's not to say I didn't appreciate Utah because I fact I do. After this trip I seem to have a new found love and appreciation for our National Parks, for small American towns that fly flags down their main street for 4th of July, for thunder and lightening storms that are scarce at home, and for being able to take time off and travel with DH and my parents.

Zion National Park is mind blowing. We hiked up a river into the canyon, saw waterfalls, and enjoyed small town life. Bryce Canyon has a staggering amount of hoodoo's and allows a look down on them from over 9000 feet up. We hiked, sweated, cursed, laughed, and admired. In Bryce we stayed late for the astronomy program and saw Saturn, a nebula, two stars masked as one, and clear as day the Milky Way.

Is it crazy that I've been back for not even 24 hours and want to go some where else again?

Until the next time National Park system... keep it real.

Zion National Park

 Bryce Canyon National Park

All photos here taken with my Nikon D80. :)