Christmas Activities

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As much as I love receiving gifts, I love spending time with my family and friends more. This Christmas I've decided to do activities with my loved ones instead of stressing over, and spending money on gifts they may not want. I encourage you to try and do the same! 
It will truly put you in the holiday spirit!

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. I don't get to see my boyfriend that often so I asked for a "staycation" this year instead of a gift. All I really wanted was to spend time with him! We are going to stay in Santana Row and re-live some of the fun things we used to do in college; such as get hot tea/chocolate at my favorite tea place. 
2. Another boyfriend/husband idea (they can be so hard!): one year my boyfriend and I decided to pick something we both needed, sunglasses, and went shopping together. It was fun, and we both got to pick out what shades looked best on each other!
3. My sister and I want to go ice skating together in Union Square. We will most likely make a whole Christmas evening out of it, complete with hot coco and a Christmas movie. (I may also do this with my roommate as well)!
4. I love to get dressed up, so if you're looking for a fun idea to do with all of your girlfriends, plan a special night out. Pick a new restaurant or bar you have been wanting to try. Dress up and sip fancy cocktails! Or host a girls night at your house and make Christmasy hor d'oeuvres.
5. My cousin and I want to make gingerbread houses together this year. We will buy lots of candy and go to town decorating, while watching a Christmas movie! 
6. Some college friends and I are hosting a couples Christmas dinner party. The girls will be cooking for the boys, complete with festive cocktails.
   

I hope you are inspired to come up with your own fun holiday activities!!

Autumn: The Season of Color

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I hope your holiday was relaxing and full of family fun.

This is my favorite time of the year. I love the changing colors. You just don't get that in the bay area.

And I love that it has been raining off and on during my time at home. Making my visit extra cozy.

Perfect for relaxing by the fire, and movie watching.

Peace. Love. Masks.

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Bicycle Built for Two

I want to ride a bicycle built for two. One day.

Home is where MY heart is

I am very excited to go home (Chico) for Thanksgiving. I love living in the city, but I am a small town girl at heart, and in desperate need of some homey comforts.

Things I'm looking forward to (besides yummy food):

Decorating our Christmas tree

Relaxing with a cup of tea in front of the fire place 
* I hope it is cold enough for a fire*

Meeting old friends for coffee 

Stopping by Lulu's and walking through downtown 

Going for walks in Bidwell Park with my family

* I'm also running in the Turkey Trot on Thursday morning in the park*

Visiting my boyfriend's family for a few laughs :)

(photo: Chico's Famous Honey Run Covered Bridge)

Dear Santa

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Please deliver any of the following items to my Christmas tree this year.

Wrap (doesn't have to be cashmere)

Yearly Subscription to: Vogue

Chloe Perfume

Faux Fur (as seen here)

Barnes & Noble Gift Card

If you need any other suggestions feel free to call me on my cell.

Sincerely, 

Alicia

Your Boyfriend's Clothes

I live in my boyfriend's over-sized grey Polo sweatshirt. 
I stole it every time I went to visit him, so he finally said I could keep it! It's not a flattering look for me, but it's cozy comfy and reminds me of him.  I also love my 'boyfriend' jeans, perfect for Saturday errands, and I adore over-sized 'boyfriend' blazers.  

So, I'm not gonna lie, I love that this 'boyfriend' inspired clothing trend that is still lingering. 

How long do you think we can make it last?

Fentons: Pumpkin Ice Cream

Please excuse the fact that I look like a homeless bum in this picture, 

but I had the most relaxing and delightful Sunday. 

I took a trip to visit my cousin in Oak-town. 

We spent the afternoon in Target (one of my favorite hangouts), buying Christmas goodies and decorations. So excited for the holidays!! And ended the day with a trip to Fentons Creamery (aka the best ice cream you will ever have). They have seasonal flavors right now, including Pumpkin (my choice) and Apple Pie (my cousin's choice). It's amazing, a great date place and worth paying the toll to cross the bay.

Fun Fact: Fentons is mentioned in Pixar's 'UP' and was also worked into the ending ;)

Team Edward

Loved New Moon! ;)

I have to admit Jacob looked good, but I'm still voting team Edward!!

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DIY: Dye Your Hair

Save money, dye your own hair.

I started darkening my own hair after a few of my girlfriends inspired me. 

The boxed dye costs $10 dollars, compared to upwards of $100 dollars for a cut and color at most salons. It only takes about 30 minutes of your time, and is rather fun! I have saved quite the pretty penny thus far just by spacing out my hair cuts and dying my own locks. 

I'm currently trying to grow my hair out, in hopes of looking like this. :)

Party Like A Rockstar

...because it's Friday! :)

 kisses and cross stitches 

I hope you have Fabulous Friday night plans! I will be eating my way through this weekend. Starting at the Burger Bar tonight (new to SF), and then I have a pre-thanksgiving dinner party to attend Saturday night. Should be lovely!! Also, I can't wait to see New Moon tomorrow. :)

Hope you enjoy my Friday links:

I find nerds absolutely endearing and if you do too, read this article from Marie Claire to gain insight on how to flirt with them.

How fun is this pink kitchen. I want a very colorful house one day!! 

One of my favorite Nob Hill boutiques: Cat Seto.

 My latest blog discovery: i love muffins. 

This pic makes me laugh.

I love Diane von Furstenberg, have you seen these sunglasses?!

Gobble, gobble... these may be too cute to eat.

Great post about dark nail polish colors for this winter. 
If you need a little inspiration to do your own mani, see my previous post here. 

Oprah to end talk show in 2011. Tear.

And lastly, check out my cousin's new baby!!!! Isn't he the cutest thing EVER? 
Omg, I can't wait to meet him.

Colorful Tutu

i love muffins

My Cheetah Jacket

 

The Cherry Blossom Girl

This is the Cheetah Jacket I bought from H&M. Screams Fun.

What do you think? :)

Thanksgiving Dress Code

My Vote: Classy yet Casual

(But this also depends on your plans)

Martha Stewart

Thanksgiving is exactly one week away and it's time to start thinking about what to wear!
When putting together your Thanksgiving Dinner outfit make sure to remember:

1. You will be sitting for an extended amount of time

2. You will be eating more than usual (nothing tight)

3. Pictures will most likely be taken

It is important to keep in mind what time of day your meal is taking place.

If mid-afternoon, you may be able to get away with a more casual look. For an evening meal you may want to dress it up. And be sure to ask your host/ess what the dress code is.

Some classy/comfortable options are:

 Sweater dress with tights (Heels or Boots)

Colorful blouse with dark denim jeans (Flats or Heels)

For a more formal dinner:

Black pants (wide leg or skinny) with sweater and fun blouse (Heels)

Even if the meal is just at home with your family, it is still fun to dress up!
Let me know what you end up wearing!! ;)

Love this Dress

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You KNOW you would have an amazing night wearing this little baby.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

drifter and the gypsy

Lily for Chanel

I'm still not sure how I feel about Lily Allen for Chanel, but I love this picture.

The San Francisco Chanel Boutique is re-opening this weekend.

Stop by Friday or Saturday for a complimentary makeup session.

156 Geary Street, San Francisco

(Hours 10am - 6pm)

Sparkle in Sequins

 

Alexander Wang

Sequins are in. And you need some! ;)

Here's a fun list of sparklers, all under $100...

Petite Short Sequin Blazer (Top Shop, $75)

Sequin Slouchy Tank  (JCrew, $85)

Striped Sequin Tube Skirt (Top Shop, $38)

Midnight Beret (Free People, $34)

Sequin Affair Crop Jacket (Lulu's, $70)

Sequin Bandeau Dress (Top Shop, $120 *sorry, it was close to 100)

And if anyone can find a cheaper/similar skirt to this, or jacket like this, or this,

pretty please let me know!!

Cupcake Pops

How amazing do these red velvet mini "cupcake pops" look? Plus adorable!!!

Check out Bakerella for lots of fun holiday themed goodies as well!!

 

Bakerella

If you are daring and want to try to make these pound cake petit fours, here is the recipe. 

Let me know if you try it, I volunteer to come eat them! ;)

Bow Obsession

I will buy and wear anything with a bow on it...

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I love the femininity.

Only in San Francisco

Nothing really fazes me in San Francisco anymore. 
I saw this guy in Union Square this weekend. When the lights turned red, he and his posse ran in the middle of the intersection to perform a pretty entertaining routine. Good thing I had my iphone to capture it! ;)

Here are a few other random "only in San Francisco" things that I have seen since living here:

1. A silver robot dancer on his break grocery shopping in Safeway.

2. Unfortunately witnessed a homeless man going #2 on the center divide of the Embarcadero.

3. "Tree Man," a homeless man who usually preys on tourists (but I'm pretty oblivious)... has successfully jumped out at me 3 times now.

Sorry this post isn't very girly...

Vampire Countdown

I have been counting down the weeks in anticipation for the release of New Moon, and it is finally days away!! Who is going this weekend?! I purchased my tickets this morning and reserved my seats at the Kabuki Theater in Japan Town. I actually just went to the Kabuki Theater for my first time last night and loved it! I like that you can reserve your seats online, the parking lot nearby only cost $2/hour, the chairs are very comfortable and they serve wine!

Side note: I went to see Precious last night, based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire. It was a very heavy, heartbreaking and emotional movie to watch, but I definitely recommend it. Amazing acting (Marriah Carey is also in the movie), powerful, and truly makes you appreciate your family and thankful for what you have. Great movie to watch in the month of November.

Sunday Brunch & Erk Tha Jerk

I have been wanting to try Cafe de la Presse for a while now, and this morning we finally went for a little sister brunch. ;) The atmosphere is cute, and the food delicious. Great coffee too! My sister ordered the Vanilla French Toast, and I had the Spinach and Feta Cheese Omelet... yum.

But the real highlight was on our walk home we ran into rap singer Erk tha Jerk, filming his (Love You) "Right Here" music video...

I might be girly, but I love my Rap!! ;)

Jimmy's Shoes

Did anyone wake up at the crack of dawn for Jimmy Choos?

Sad to say, I didn't make it in time (I heard you had to get a place in line at 5am). But I did get a new strapless LBD for only $39.95, which will be perfect to wear to the many holiday parties I have coming up. And a fun faux fur CHEETAH jacket!!!  I know, it's a little crazy... but I decided to start stepping out of my fashion comfort zone (you should too)... and it's cheetah, so I had to get it! My boyfriend will probably be mortified. 

Definitely hit up H&M soon, they have a lot of fun things right now! Including some fun sequined jackets... 

Party Dress

Put on your party dress the weekend is here! 

Happy Friday 13th, it's going to be a lucky one! :)

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Here are a few of my favorite links from this week... enjoy.

SO excited Rob and Kristin were holding hands!!!! ;) And SO over Jon and Kate drama. 

This outdoorsy Santa Barbara Wedding is beautiful (they even had lollipops), and so is this destination wedding. I love her short and flirty dress.

I discovered these cute twitter note cards on Etsy... gotta have them. 

I want this pink cake stand, and these fun pillows. 

I absolutely love this cozy pop of pink living room. 

A heartfelt and sweet post about looking for love.

I want to make cupcakes and use these, and try to make this ribbon wreath.

 And lastly, I'm so excited to check out the new Jimmy Choo line for H&M this weekend.

Luscious Locks

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I would kill for her hair. 

In fact, I am going to start growing out my hair right now! With naturally curly hair it would be a lot of work and upkeep for me to have bangs. But maybe it's worth it if I would look this? I've asked my girlfriends if I could pull off the bang look, and it's not a promising consensus. So alas, I will not cut my bangs, but I will be darkening and growing luscious locks. 

Stay tuned for the result...

Balanced Diet

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I would consider myself a pretty healthy girl. I love my fruits and veggies. I take my daily multi-vitamin. But do you ever have those mornings (especially around that time of the month) when all you want is a BIG delicious slice of cake, or a cookie for breakfast? My mother would gasp in horror if she ever saw me do this. And I usually have a rule, no sweets before 11am - too early for my taste buds. But today was one of those odd mornings when I would have given anything for an oreo with my cup of joe.

Yummy Yellow Heels

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Oh. My. Gosh. 

After finding this picture I realized every girl needs a pair of yellow heels. 

Or at least this girl wants them!! What do you think? Would you wear these?

What to send HIM at work?

Sprinkles

Guys sure have it easy, send your lady flowers and call it a day, she will be tickled pink! But what do we send our boyfriends? Flowers, singing telegrams (taking you back to high-school?), food baskets, these options may just end up embarrassing him. If you want to send your boyfriend a thoughtful gesture, here are a few somewhat low key suggestions that are work appropriate... 

1. ecard or evite to a planned date night or happy hour later in the week/weekend
2. tickets to his favorite sports game or a concert he would enjoy
3. send a cute photo of the two of you to brighten his day
4. holiday cookie bouquet (my roommate in college used to get these all the time - jealous!)
5. gift certificate/card to his favorite coffee shop, if he's a coffee addict
6. a scrumptious, but very masculine cupcake
7. dozen donuts to share with the rest of the office
8. swing by his office and surprise him yourself, take him out to lunch or bring him his favorite beverage
9. send him his favorite candy bar to get him through the day
10. a homemade card telling him how much you appreciate his hard work