Holiday Season + Freshly Picked Giveaway!

 
And just like that, we're in the midst of the holidays! I hope you enjoyed your long Thanksgiving weekend. 

Thankfully, Thanksgiving was a success for us and for the second year in a row, we stayed local to San Francisco! All of that means the only driving we did was to see family and friends and that we enjoyed the quietness of the city.

Another highlight for us was visiting the Christmas tree lot. It's becoming a tradition for us to get our tree the day after Christmas and decorate the tree while we drink cider, hot chocolate and eat freshly baked cookies. 

Of course, compared to last year when little B was just a baby and just discovering the world around him, it was so much more fun to see him more interactive and curious. He is fascinated more than ever by the feel of the tree (still prickly to him) and the ornaments that hang ever so delicately on the branches. I'm curious myself to find out what happens when presents start showing up underneath the tree! 

As a first-time parent, I'm always appreciative of how much growth I see in little B. Even more so is seeing him grow physically. Although he's always been a little guy, when I see him growing fast, I am grateful that I can see it happen before my eyes. There's nothing like the value of having a happy and healthy child. 

This growth is a huge reason why I love companies and products like Freshly Picked. As most mamas know, these leather moccasins are a huge hit. They are easy for tots to walk in, easy to put on and take off, and best of all - they allow room for feet to grow. In fact, most parents choose soft sole shoes for those same reasons.

You may have caught my post on Instagram about the Cyber Monday sale, but there's more! As part of a fun collaboration with Freshly Picked, I'm giving one of my lucky readers a free pair of moccasins! See more details below for details to enter. Enter for you or enter for someone you know with a baby! I can guarantee these moccs are going to be a hit for the family. Good luck!!
 

GIVEAWAY TIME! 

To enter the Freshly Picked Giveaway, please:

1. Visit my Instagram page, follow AND like this photo
2. Follow Freshly Picked on Instagram too

Some extra details:

• Followers will be verified in order to win the giveaway
• Selected winner must not have won any Freshly Picked giveaway within the last 60 days
• US residents only at this time, please!
• Giveaway ends DECEMBER 3, 201

GOOD LUCK! 

Thankful Thanksgiving

Old Mill Park

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. So. Crazy. 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because the day is all about food and family/friends. While a lot of people anticipate the craze of holiday shopping with sales and deals, I'm one of the ones who likes to sit back and slowly soak in the holiday fervor that erupts.

Rather than my usual Wednesday Whim post, I wanted to take a minute to appreciate all the good and be thankful for all of it. The world has been filled with some terrible news as of late and it's easy to focus on the negative. 

 San Francisco City Hall - in honor of Paris

 

But, a holiday like Thanksgiving reminds us all that plenty of positive things do exist.

family selfie with all of us looking at the camera at the same time!

To put it simply, I'm thankful for my family. Out of everything 2015 has given me, I cherish my newly expanded family. While parenthood has been a whirlwind (to say the least), I wouldn't trade this role for anything else in the world. I know some people are not so fortunate so despite the challenges I face, I know I'm lucky to have a healthy and happy family.

Sure, there are ups and downs, but all the ups make up for all the downs. When Baby B smiles or starts to giggle, I can't help but feel immeasurable joy. When Baby B sleeps, I can't help but feel endless love for him. When Baby B cries, I can't help but feel protective of him. So all those clichés that people hear about how being a parent changes you? Yea, I would totally agree with them. It's amazing how quickly my outlook on life has changed with him in this world.

We're going to be fortunate enough to be around family and friends this year in San Francisco for B's first Thanksgiving. I didn't grow up in a traditional household, but I'm enthusiastic to start our own. Some traditions might stick and some might not, but this is a road I'm excited to pave.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you eat to your heart's content and you enjoy being with the family and friends you're with.

In the spirit of the holiday, I hope you'll share what you're grateful for as well!

Holiday Shopping (Already)

all items found at Ross (cozy slippers and foot treatment set, blanket scarf, picture frame, "Good Morning Gorgeous" mug, lavender soy candle and designer perfume)

In just about two more weeks, holiday shopping becomes official. I'm talking about the day after Thanksgiving when stores, both physical and virtual, saturate us with deals, steals and frills.

I've been more excited for the holidays this year than any other year though. A baby can do that to you, ya know?

Usually, I'm one of the last minute shoppers. Try as I might to get an early start, I always have some gifts left to the end. This year though I've already been active in searching for gifts for people. *crossing my fingers I'll get things done earlier!* Frankly, my time isn't what it used to be so time to shop has become a luxury. I'm lucky to even get some time on the computer to window shop! I have to be more efficient than ever before. Not so surprisingly, Ross has become my one-stop shop. True story - Ross has become a great resource for gift buying. 

Just last week, I found things for the gal pals in my life...

foot spa goodies with cozy slippers for my always-on-her-feet-sister-in-law. 

lavender scented candle for my zen friend

designer perfume for my makeup guru friend

picture frame for my mother-in-law (inspirational quote insert optional)

I even found a couple of treats for me - a blanket scarf and a new coffee mug (hey, moms deserve some self-love too!). 

I'm certainly not done, but I'm getting that head start I never made time for before. As the holidays inch closer and closer, I'll be making several more stops for the gents and maybe some more special treats for me. Tis the season, right? 

Have you started on your holiday shopping?

*This post is in collaboration with Ross as their Ross Bargain Hunter program. Compensation was received but all opinions and ideas are my own.

Wednesday Whim - (Still) Crazy About Alice

 all images via Bored Panda via Adamova Marina

While Christmas is (only) 57 days away (!!) I can't help but get excited for this holiday season. After seeing these Alice in Wonderland inspired ornaments, I'm even more excited to start gathering the decorations and perhaps find some unique designs along the way.

Adamova Marina is a Russian illustrator and graphic designer. But, she refers herself as a (self taught) paper artist after she first started her Alice in Wonderland paper series two years ago. She realized the series coincided the three things she liked most: using a sharp knife, finding secondary meaning in fairy tales and symbolism in illustration.

Two years and numerous paper art projects later, Alice's tale and adventures remains a source of inspiration so she decided to incorporate the paper art into ornaments. The most magical element comes when the light shines through the ornaments and makes the images seem alive with the play on shadows.

The critical attention to detail and intricate layers of paper create visually stunning pieces of art. With a story as familiar as Alice in Wonderland, it's satisfying to see the story come to life in a new way.

At the end of November, her work will be exhibited in Norway for the Oslo Pop Up exhibition.

You can see more of her work via her Instagram, too.

Deck the Halls

It's that magical time of the year where presents are wrapped under the tree and family starts gathering together in preparation of Christmas Day.

Since the husband and I got married, we started to embrace traditions of our own. One of which is gathering ornaments each year to add to our tree. Eventually, we hope to have a tree filled with ornaments that signify each year of our marriage. The ornaments are not necessarily fancy or expensive but they add to our personalized tree. 

The photo above is a snapshot of some of the ornaments we have started to collect. It brings me joy to know that each one represents a particular year. And next year, we'll be able to celebrate with a new family member! (So surreal!)

I hope all of you are enjoying your holiday season. It sure has gone by quickly! Wishing you all the very best and a safe Christmas! 

xoxo.

Holidaze

above: Neiman Marcus Rotunda - annual lunch during the holidays

This time of year is always filled with fun activities. I love how festive things look, how happy people get (generally) and even traditions that I often took for granted as a kid. 

This weekend was certainly packed for us but, it was all worth it.

Can you believe Christmas is already NEXT WEEK?!

This house went all out with decorations

Brunching with gal pals before 2014 is over

Macarons are always photogenic

Dinner with friends at Florio

Game Night - have you ever played Cards Against Humanity?

Merry traditions! @ War Memorial Opera House for the SF Ballet performance of The Nutcracker

Abundance of ballet dancer ornaments 

Nutcracker dolls galore

Cute holiday nook @ Lavish 

Wednesday Whim - How Famous Artists Would Plate Thanksgiving Meals

 all images via Hannah Rothstein via Everything With A Twist   (above plate inspired by Pablo Picasso)

Seeing as Thanksgiving is tomorrow, this fun food post is incredibly appropriate. SF-based artist, Hannah Rothstein, took an unique approach to plating a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Inspired by renowned artists like, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollack, Pablo Picasso and more, Hannah Rothstein carefully crafts her plates to mimic "how these artists would plated their food." The result is well executed and wonderfully creative.

What's even cooler about this work is that Hannah Rothstein created 25 limited edition 16"x 20" prints (except the Sherman print at 16"x18"). 10% of the profits will be donated to the SF-Marin Food Bank! For more information, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving! Nom nom...

Inspired by Andy Warhol 

Inspired by Cindy Sherman 

Inspired by Julian Schnabel 

Inspired by René Magritte

Inspired by Mark Rothko 

Inspired by Georges Seurat 

 Inspired by Vincent van Gogh

Inspired by Jackson Pollock

Merry Christmas!

It "snowed" at City Hall!

As a child, I didn't have the traditional Christmases that people generally have. For various reasons, I didn't get a chance to have stockings hung by the fireplace, cookies out for Santa Claus or have Christmas trees and decorations around the home. Now, as an adult, I ADORE this time of the year. I love creating new traditions and embracing old ones from my husband's family. I love the decorations that go up. And I love the perpetual holiday spirit people around me seem to have. While I may not have had the opportunity to appreciate all the activities growing up I cherish them now.

As we wind down 2013, I'm grateful for who I have around me and what I have as well. Here are some of my favorite moments this holiday season; some are from Instagram and some are new to the blog.

Clockwise from top left:  Always nomming away...having treats at my friend's house / Pizza and music after a date night with the husband / Pretty displays inside Neiman Marcus / lunch at The Rotunda 

Clockwise from top left:  SF Symphony - Davies Symphony Hall / The moon during the month of December was CRAZY / Fog City (more nomming) / SF City Hall 

Clockwise from top left:  SF Union Square / Annual photo by the tree inside the War Memorial Opera House / Scenic scene inside the War Memorial Opera House / Waiting for The Nutcracker performance by SF Ballet 

One of the last dinners in SF before we left for the holiday break (at Cassava)

Clockwise:  Road trip wear / Sister in law's fireplace / Belardo Lights in San Diego  supporting awareness of autism and National Foundation for Autism Research (NFAR) / Festive table setting

From us to you!