coming out of hiding.

{milano photography}

10 things to explain my absence:

1. this perfromance took just about every second of every day, there for awhile.
2. a lovely girls trip to san francisco. rain or shine- we know how to shop, eat and have a good laugh.
3. midge's visit that was long, but still not long enough. mother's are the best visitors, especially when she's your best friend, too.
4. indulged in the time to sleep- or rather caught up on the lack of sleep from the last busy month.
5. lovebird's spring break seemed to have distracted me with kisses, a gossip girl marathon, an adventure or two, a temple trip and an unusual amount of heart to heart talks.
6. truthfully, i needed a slight break from technology. i did the whole "unplug" thing for a little while. it was beyond refreshing. instead, i've been on a big reading kick.
7.  san francisco, again. and again. we have literally been up there every weekend for the last two months. {now, i'm trying to convince lovebird to move up there. help me please!}
8. mowgli is quite possibly been my biggest distraction. his need for attention has grown rapidly. but, i don't mind; days at the dog park, walks around the block and never ending games of fetch- i love them just as much as he does.
9. teaching and then more teaching. between teaching piano and pilates, my days seem packed. however, i wouldn't want to be doing anything else. i love it.
10. my mind has been somewhere else lately, trying to make sense of the future and the unknown. while it's been slightly exhausting and stressful, it leaves me eager and excited to see what's next.

i'm so sorry to have been gone for what-feels-like forever.
life seems to happen so fast, and it takes us with it sometimes.
i'm back and here to stay.
at least for awhile.

tell me what i've missed. catch me up, pretty please. 

weekend in ten.

our weekend in ten simple sentences:

1. work hard, play hard. 

{school and dance all day and night friday, lead to lots of playing.}

2. it's never to late to start new lifelong friendships.

{go ahead and meet them yourself; here and here.}

3. a slice of pie + five scoops of ice cream = a heavenly pie milk shake.

{must go to chile pies. the make one delicious, totally scrumptious, dessert.}

4. a weekend getaway to "our" city, san francisco.

5. a little hooked to watching a thing called, gossip girl.
that's not the issue, it's staying up into the wee hours of the night to do so.

6. leaving your dog at a "day care" for the first time is ruff. yikes.

7. wonderful visits with two of my best friends in life.
{who both ironically live is san francisco now.} 

8. food is a big part of my life. in a good way; i love to eat.

{we ate dinner here. great pizza if you're in the city!}

9. lovebird is a sucker for bubble tea. boba, in particular.

10. i fell in love all over again. 

i'm smitten, i tell you. 

hope you had a lovely weekend yourself.

what are a few weekend items on your list of ten?

i'm hoping to have a full week of blogging- wish me luck.

i've got to get back in the swing of things- 

my life journal here on the blog, has been neglected-

 plus, i feel so out of the loop on all of your darling blogs.

{it looks like i have my writing and reading cut out for me this week.}

i'm anxious to click through to your blogs- leave a comment below and

let's quickly get reacquainted. xoxo.

p.s. happy martin luther king day.
hope you are a lucky one who gets work off; if so, enjoy! 

"save me a bite".

one thing is for certain:

we had our fair share of dessert this weekend.

actually, it's safe to say solely ice-cream, gelato and frozen yogurt.

what is it with us?

or maybe i should ask, 

what is it with our desire for a cold treat every night at about 9:00?

it's slightly pathetic, but utterly delicious.

we were spoiled by san francisco's finest this past weekend.

 which, if in the area, you must go treat yourself!

{and yes, it's okay to visit all three. we sure did- all within 24 hours of one another.}

1. smitten

unique and tasty ice-cream in hayes valley. 

they literally pour the ingredients in a nifty ice-cream maker right in front of you,

then whip up your individual serving right before your eyes.

flavors change daily due to the ingredients being organic! yum.

{make sure you click the link above- it's fun to watch.} 

2. swensen's

a tradition and classic of san francisco. 

plus, it sits in one of my favorite neighborhoods to shop. 

two things you can't go wrong with.

go for the toasted almond if you're taking a stroll down hyde. 

3. yogorino

certainly the fanciest way of displaying gelato i've ever seen.

arguably, the tastiest gelato i've had up to date. 

{i can't imagine i'll be saying that much longer- italy is just around the corner. yay!}

their frozen yogurt is to die for too-

a necessary treat if you are on chestnut! 

obviously, we have turned into ice cream, gelato and frozen yogurt connoisseurs. 

perfect timing, considering we arrive in the
land of gelato {italy} in just two weeks. 

some may say it's weird that i'm already anxious to take 

my first bite of pistachio gelato on the streets of florence...

but, what can i say? it's that simple: gelato in florence, italy. 

if only i could bring back a taste for each of you.

as my mom would say, "save me a bite".

"pac heights and epi shots."

little road trip into san francisco.

golden gate bridge. {75th anniversary}

"mamma rich bucks".

six flags. too much fun.

trying on ugly shoes. 

best friends forever. 

silhouettes on a poolday.

lovebird being awfully handsome at blue barn.

laying out {more like relaxing}.

memorial day weekend has been an absolute blast.

but, that's expected when your favorite friends come into town.

we had too much fun together, and were so sad to

have to say goodbye to them today.

{we are still trying to convince them to move closer}

i can't count the seconds we spent laughing this trip.

so many inside jokes and memories were made.

life is about friends, laughter, holidays, excuses to shop, poolside relaxing,

frozen yogurt, roller coasters, food, deep conversations, bbq's, hot tubbing,

marriage, big cities, road trips and time spent in the company of those you love.

or at least that was what this weekend was all about. 

happy memorial day!

xoxo

a new friend and pink lipstick.

sorry for the lack of blogging over the weekend. 

i was busy spending time with dear friends up in the city.

oh, how i love san francisco, friends and ballet.

what a lovely weekend i had. in fact, i didn't want it to end.

p.s. i'm extremely jealous of all you out there who actually get a three day weekend.

for some silly reason, my school decided it wasn't a holiday.

but, regardless i had a wonderful weekend without an extra day.

 pictures:

1. on the way to the city wearing pink lipstick. my current favorite. 

{i had to take bart this time due to the closing of the bay bridge.}

2. ceiling in the theater. {war memorial opera house.}

if only you could see it in real life. it is absolutely breathtaking. 

3. lunch at one of best friend's favorite restaurants. la boulange.

bonus: it's in one of my favorite neighborhoods.

open face sandwiches plus window shopping is delightful. 

4. anthropologie in the city. it get's me every time. 

i'm convinced it's the prettiest anthro store. i die and go to heaven every time i step foot in there.

5. view from best friend's apartment. 

isn't he lucky to wake up to that ever single day?

6. lovely friends i went with to see the san francisco ballet perform. 

i finally got to see chroma live/in person. remember this? 

it completely beat my expectations. and let me tell you- my expectations were set high. 

7. waiting for the train on the way home.

this was definitely the worst part of the trip. 

i didn't want my weekend in the city to end so quickly. 

i wish i could replay the weekend all over again.

i'm grateful for a new friendship that i knew would happen once "the gap" was filled. 

true friends are the best. 

especially ones that bring you together with the ones they care most about.

happy three day weekend.

i promise to be a regular blog poster again. 

p.s. i have a surprise to show you this week. 

i can't wait to see what you think.

make sure you check back daily! 

xoxo

playing catchup.

is it weird that i feel guilty when i don't post something for a couple of days?

i wish neglecting the blog wasn't a result of life being so busy.

however, being busy for the holidays is something i truly love.

the hustle and the bustle of it all.

running here and there. wrapping this and that. going from party to party.

this weekend {and now week} has been crazy busy.

we spent a beautiful day in san francisco eating seafood, walking, shopping 

and exploring the crazy city with my family.

last night we hosted a little christmas party for my friends from my ballet company.

we did a little {white elephant} gift exchange.

we ate homemade lasagna and yummy goodies all while playing apples to apples.

and lastly, we visited one of our favorite families who just had baby #4.

we are so happy for them. congrats tui's! 

due to the"big event", we lucked out and got to babysit the three other kiddos.

who we try to steal and call them our own.

{i'll post pictures soon amongst getting approval}

after all the business that the holidays bring in,

lovebird and i find ourself cozying up next to our christmas tree and a fire...

sitting for more than five minutes on the couch. it's a miracle, i tell you. 

farmers market

remember how i told you big brother was in town?

well, one of his bucket list items was to visit the

san francisco farmers market.

so we did. it was incredible. beautiful too.

we did all the walking

so i'll let the pictures do the talking...

there are so many pictures to choose from.

however, i didn't know if pictures of fruits and veggies 

would bore you to death. 

i will definitely be returning to this farmers market.

maybe with gimper lovebird.

caloric weekend.

another saturday in san francisco. i am there so often, i might as well live there. which, frankly, i wouldn't mind a single bit.... other than paying twice as much for rent.  but regardless, the day was marvelous. i actually went up to the city to rehearsal with val caniparoli for a piece we are doing in out upcoming show. click the link and read up on him. he's is a remarkable person. so incredible to work with; so inspiring and positive. i am so lucky to have such and experience of working with an accomplished artist and choreographer.

and to change subjects quickly, after an exhausting-calorie burning rehearsal, lovebird and i stayed in the city and enjoyed a scrumptious italian dinner. yep, i ate every single calorie (plus more) that i just had burnt off. that's life, right? it definitely was worth it though.

we then crossed the street and grabbed a taste of heaven; chocolate. my favorite. 

this chocolate is to die for. i guess you could consider it "exotic". it's definitely expensive. 

however, in it's defense it is worth every penny.

after being as indecisive as i am, we chose caramel with fleur de sel and madagascar.

{the caramel one was my favorite. by far.}

look how pretty they are.

all in all, it was another beautiful weekend.

i already hate the fact that it is monday. 

we we weeeeee.

this past week....

we went to school and work a lot.

too much, actually.

we enjoyed three deliciously yummy homemade goodies. 

{chicken enchiladas, zucchini bread, and granola}

we "picked" our new home.

which we are anxious to move into this weekend.

we spent another week in love.

we spent the weekend in san francisco.

we saw a beautiful performance of giselle.

we spent the night at joe's incredible apartment.

{watching the making of oprah's shows. insane, i tell you.}

we ate a yummy breakfast.

we raced off to church.

we spent the rest of the day just as lovebirds

walking the streets of "our" city.

and unfortunately,

we didn't take one picture.

lame, i know.

hope you had as good of a week as we did.

cheers to another week!

i'll be spending the last few hours of the weekend snuggling up

to the most incredible husband in the world.

jealous? you should be. 

craving

this last weekend, lovebird and i walked into a yummy little store 

and discovered these deliciously colorful macaroons.

we tried just about every flavor.

wedding almond, pistachio, purple carrot, coconut, carmel...

my mouth is beginning to water just thinking about it.

which explains while i still have a massive craving for one right now.

oh, how i love sweets.

and san francisco, for that matter.