Flashback: San Francisco

{Chartering a private sailboat through the Bay provided a unique perspective of the Golden Gate Bridge.}

The second leg of our California road trip (click here to see Napa Valley) was San Francisco.

In spite of being colder and foggier than I planned, I thoroughly enjoyed this segment of the trip.

We saw city highlights like Pier 39 and Alcatraz, shopped in the famous fashion district, ate truly delicious cupcakes at Kara's, and still managed to squeeze in an award-winning musical.

San Fran was not as relaxing as Napa, but it compensated with a truly amazing atmosphere.

{Taking a snapshot with a friend at the base of curvy Lombard Street.}

{The landscaping on Lombard was incredible.  I've never seen so many beautiful plants and flowers!}

{We alloted a night to see Wicked at the Orpheum.  What a phenomenal theatre/show!}

{After our sailboat tour, a seal pup beckoned us back to shore.}

{Since half our trip was spent in foggy conditions, this is the best Golden Gate Bridge snapshot we could get. :( }

{I've never seen so many Louboutins as I did shopping Union Square!}

Spring Sparkle

I planned on saving this leather skirt for a Bond Girl shoot 

(you know the look: black stockings, ankle booties, dramatic cat-eye, etc...),

 but I got impatient and the weather was too gorgeous for all-black.  

I feared the netting on this green BCBG tank might limit it to beachware, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well it complimented my Dolce Vita heels.

Now that the weather in Florida is beginning to sizzle, I'm having a lot of fun mixing casual tanks and tees with polished pieces to create a more sophisticated look.

Oversized Jewelry + Simple Tees + Bright Skirts...

Ideally, this post would feature 3 neon maxi skirts, but it seems the trend is taking its sweet time finding its way to retailers.

I settled for the only bright maxi I could find, but all three of these looks scream Spring to me!

1.) Sequin Tribal Necklace, $145.00

2.) House of Harlow Tribal Cabochon Ring, $80.00

3.) House of Harlow Tribal Triangle Pendant Necklace, $60.00

4.) House of Harlow Triangular Zig-Zag Earrings, $98.62

5.) Sequin Hammered Large Link Necklace, $60.00

6.) House of Harlow Black Cluster Ring, $110.00

7.) Your Eyes Shh Cropped Tee, $50.00

8.) T by Alexander Wang Classic Short Sleeve Tee, $81.00

9.) Vivienne Tam Embroidered Cotton T-shirt, $80.00

10.) Minimarket Tiered Jersey Skirt, $81.00

11.) Tibi Pleated Silk Maxi Skirt, $295.00

12.) Lisa Marie Fernandez Color-block Skirt, $88.50

13.) Steve Madden Fantasha Pump, $99.95

14.) TopShop Peach Flat Top Sunglasses, $32.00

15.) Dolce Vita Jade Suede Wedge Sandals, $190.00

16.) Christian Louboutin Greissimo Peep-toe Pump, $895.00

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies are my absolute favorite.  

Something about them makes them drastically better than a standard chocolate chip.  

I adopted this recipe (here) from good ol' Betty Crocker.  

If you've never made an Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookie yourself, give it a shot!

Foyer

Personally, I think the entryway to a home is one of the most important places to showcase your style.

As the first spot a guest sees, it's often a snapshot representation of the whole house.

As evidenced here & here, my husband and I purchased an older home and made several updates to the space.

Throughout this process, there were several moments (when the amount of work felt overwhelming) that I wished we'd bought a house in a new development- one that was actually move-in ready.

However, an older home provided us an established neighborhood with lush landscaping.

 Unless we planned to build our house from the ground-up, it seemed newer developments had trouble competing with the charm of older neighborhoods.

In our foyer, we took a sledgehammer to the brick and ripped out the antiquated wood paneling and trim/baseboards. 

We replaced the brick with the wood-shaped tiles that run through much of our home, and opened up the room with a simple white column in place of the wood paneling.

After a fresh coat of paint, a new light fixture (my husband calls it a PF Chang's light), & a romantic art piece, the space is good as new! 

Obsessions

Super-sized Lizards in Key West- we just booked a trip for July!

Oh Starbucks, it's been months since I've had a Dark Cherry Mocha.  I do want one.  I really do!

Strawberries!  They are 3 cartons for $5 at the grocery store.  You can't beat that!

The bouquet of tulips sent to me by my husband.

Swan peddle-boats at Lake Eola- a truly romantic and fun way to exercise with your significant other.