Almost Free!

Hi all! Sorry I have been absent from the blog world for so long! I am coming upon finals week at school and a very important Exit Exam. I have been studying like a mad woman! Once this is all over in a week I will be FINISHED with college! I am so excited for this new phase of my life to begin. But until then I just need to hunker down for a little while longer. Pretty soon I will be basking in the sun with a margarita in my hand dreaming up blog posts pool side, haha I don't know about all that, but a lady can dream:-)

Above is a fun picture of me and my Ian at Bay to Breakers, a crazy Mardi Gras-esque parade that happens every year in the streets of San Francisco. Thousands of people come out in costume...or nude! There are floats, games and house parties along the way, it's a crazy fun time! Ian and I will be participating for the third time together in May and we have been bouncing around costume ideas. You'll have to wait and see what we come up with! Until next time.

xo Autumn

It's all about balance.

Adorable print I got off etsy by Pilgrim of the Moon

If you don't know already I am a student in my last month and a half of graduate school. I can't even contain my excitement to be DONE with school. Part of me feels like I am already done, a little over it, kinda checked out. Senioritis I guess. But the fact is, I am not done, I have much homework to do and plenty of tests to study for. And not to mention three months of intense studying for a licensing exam. 

I have to keep my head in the game. Blogging, thinking about blogging, and following blogs is definitely my escape from school work. I just began this blog and I want to continue to improve my skills, my creativity and my expression of self on here. 

It's all about balance. This is just a reminder to myself to have discipline, to divide my time appropriately and to stay motivated. Anyone else have trouble with this?

xoxo Autumn

Birthday Fun Fun.

Tessa's birthday bash was so much fun! We started of with tapas at Picaros in the Mission district of San Francisco. Pictured above is the beautiful birthday girl and her bf.

Drinking sangria and catching up with good friends! I'm the pasty white one on your left:-) 

Getting serenaded by mariachi's...hehe!

So sweet!

Birthday flan complete with a candle!

Lovely ladies!

After tapas we made our way to Make-out Room for some dancing. Beautiful and amazing disco ball and sparkelies streaming form the ceiling! We danced to a dj spinning...polka music. So funny but so much fun!

And now it is Sunday. I am feeling tired, a little hungover. But very satisfied with my weekend so far and so ready to relax and enjoy this lovely day!

Happy Sunday everyone!

xo Autumn

Birthday Girl.

My good friend Tessa's birthday is coming up and we are celebrating with friends tomorrow night in San Francisco with some tapas in the Mission and dancing afterwards, soo excited! 

The box containing her present. I decorated this box myself...yes I did! I'm trying to be more creative, I know I know, it's simple...but whatev I tried:-)

Happy Birthday Tessa!

xo Autumn 

Dinner For Two.

Hey Lovely's, here is what I made for dinner tonight...and with the amount I made, probably for the next four nights! I thought I'd share it with you all, it is a delish, low fat and healthy meal!

Cioppino

2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dry red wine or beef broth
1 cup spicy veggie juice
1 bottle (8 oz) clam juice
1 tsp salt
1 lb halibut or haddock steak, cut into bite-size pieces
12 clams or mussels, cleaned (I just used canned clams...it's cheaper and whatev)
1 lb uncooked peeled deveined medium shrimp with tails on (I'm allergic to shrimp so I just used extra clams:-)

Melt butter in 4 quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook onion, bell pepper and garlic in butter about 5 minutes until tender.

Stir in tomatoes, wine, veggie juice, clam juice and salt. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in fish and clams. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in shrimp. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork and shrimp are pink and firm. Discard any unopened clams.

Serves 6 people (1 serving size: 1 and 1/3 cup) 

Enjoy!

xo Autumn

Fashion Inspiration for the Boys.

Here is another fashion post for all those fashion forward boys out there! That boy has got an eye for style. My Ian is not the stereo typical guy sitting outside on a bench waiting for his gf while she pursues the clothing store. Nope, he is right there with me, giving me his opinions, pointing out cute pieces...he genuinely loves it!

This is Ian being a little giddy over his new purchase...a West Coast Classic t-shirt. He is simultaneously rep-ing the West Coast and the Oakland A's with its green and yellow colors. As well as it looks like the Coca Cola logo...totally Ian.

Cozy cute H&M shoes.

xo Autumn

Fashion Inspiration.

Here is a little fashion inspiration for your Monday! (I look real happy here don't I? Lol)

scarf: Crossroads (second-hand store)

cardigan: Crossroads

dress: Sway

tights: ??

shoes: ??

The boy wanted to get in on it too! Ian can be quite fashionable. He LOVES his hats, whether he's rep-ing his favorite sports team or sporting a cute up twist fedora.

 

hat: San Jose Sharks hockey

plaid long sleeve: Crossroads (second-hand store)

sweater: H&M

corduroy pants: H&M

shoes: Chuck Taylor's

xo Autumn

The Great Move.

Hello Lovely's! I have been so busy all weekend moving into our new place. We were so lucky to have amazing family and friends to help us, I'm pretty sure we could not have done it without them!

Some celebratory beers at our new local bar Cato's taste soo good after you've been hauling boxes and furniture in the rain all day!

Ian stocking up on condiments for his Obama burger, YUM!

One happy boy.

And one happy girl.

xo Autumn

A Little Fashion Inspiration.

Hi everyone, so I have decided to start this weekly "A Little Fashion Inspiration." cataloging some of my outfits to inspire you all, and me as well to start putting some more effort into what I choose to wear! This is a very typical outfit for me, you would almost say this is my uniform. I call it cozy cute. I got the stretchy leggings, the tall boots (I <3 boots), and the colorful patterned scarf to add some interest. Of course I switch up the leggings, boots and scarfs daily...and sometimes I even throw in a dress or a skirt! Although I must say, I have never been known to be a jeans kinda girl. I know everyone LOVES jeans, but I just find them a tad...restricting. I like to feel as though I can drop and do the splits at any point if I need to...just kidding:-) But you know what I mean.

Anyways I kinda like the idea of posting my outfits this way for you all to see, maybe it will encourage me to try new things and dress out of the box a little more. I do love fashion. How you dress your body is an art, it is a creative outlet, it is an expression of yourself.

xo Autumn

Artsy Fartsy.

Just look at these creative and beautiful prints I just purchased off Etsy from shop owner BlackBaroque. You can find just about any of your favorite images here artfully set on antique paper from 1890! These prints are petite, only 8x10...perfect as a sweet little filler for those nooks and crannies in the home. I can't wait to show future pics of what we end up doing with them!

I have a small obsession with peacocks, I am immediately drawn in by their colorful and oh so graceful feathers. I know I'm not the only one, they are just gorgeous!

This playful twin fox print was the first piece that I saw from BlackBaroque, which brought me to their main page. You see, this just screams IAN. First of all my bf was born in the chinese zodiac year of the dog plus + he is a gemini...equals = twin dogs! What would be even more perfect is if these were wolves, his spirit animal. But sadly not everything can be perfect...he will love it non the less!

xo Autumn

L-O-V-E

Tis the day of Love. I love Valentine's Day! I fully embrace any day that is devoted to celebrating love. This holiday does kind of fall by the way side for Ian and I because our anniversary of meeting/dating is only one month before on January 15th, and we always do that one up big with love letters, flowers, lots of presents and fancy dinners. And of course we always end the night at Triple Rock...where it all began. It is our own personal Valentine's Day.

This year for Valentine's Day we actually celebrated it a day early on Sunday. To begin the evening we stopped by our favorite local watering hole, Triple Rock. This place is near and dear to our hearts because as I alluded to before, this is where Ian and I met more than two years ago. They had a small brew fest going on that day so we had a good time tasting some yummy barrel aged brews and chatting with friends and regulars.

After that we headed to our fancy dinner reservations at the Wood Tavern and we overstuffed ourselves with deliciousness. We had a bone marrow appetizer that tasted very maple syrupy, and two entrees to share; a scallop dish and a duck dish. Yup we stuffed ourselves. Later that night came the sappy love notes. I heart my Ian!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

xoxo Autumn

In All Her Glory.

Here I am in all my glory...me after a hard days work...well maybe not that hard:-) I love to come home after a long day of being out in the sometimes cold hard world and cozy up on my bed with a glass of red wine. The lighting was bad for a photo-op but I was bored with nothing on TV and no Ian to accompany me.

Just being a dork taking pictures of myself. I never realized I have quick and dexterous feet until I met Ian. He always comments on it. I think he likes it.

I don't realize it but when I'm thinking about something I will wiggle my big toe or tap my pinky toe on the ground, and they are pretty quick I guess. I finally repainted them a fresh coat of crimson red after months of a dull plum. I was admiring my paint job. And yes my feet are big, I have a size 10 foot! I always say they keep me grounded:-)

Happy Sunday everyone!

xo Autumn

Tree of Life.

This is an ink drawing of the Celtic Tree of Life by my good friend and amazing artist Devin Woodard. This is one of my favorite images symbolizing the cycle of life; birth, death and rebirth. According to Celtic beliefs the roots which are the foundation, symbolize the Otherworld. The trunk which joins both roots and branches is attributed to the Mortal world and the branches signifies the connection to the universe of mighty entities.

Trees have always held a particular fascination for me, to me they seem so majestic and wise. I don't know if I would call myself a tree hugger, but I certainly understand why one would want to hug a tree. I have so many memories as a little girl running around in the woods with my older brother Jesse, making tree forts, climbing trees, sitting in the trees like monkey's looking down upon the world below us. Good memories. I was a little tom boy child back then; wearing my brother's hand-me-downs, knees all scraped up and grass stained, my curly hair looking frizzy, wild and free. We were adventurers exploring this world.

I am so glad I grew up in the middle of the woods with the nearest stop light or fast food chain being almost an hour away. It gave me an appreciation and a respect for nature. I feel like it made it easier for me to have a deeper understanding of Mother Earth and the natural cycles of life, and how everything is connected and interrelated.

I want pay homage to our Mother Earth, because Earth Day should be everyday!

xo Autumn

If you are interested in checking out more art from Devin Woodard click this link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djDyGRo8l4I 

TGIF

Fridays are lovely, Friday has been my only day off for the past couple of weeks…I took full advantage of it! After Ian and I did the walk through and got the keys to our new apartment (smile)...Ian went to work and I went on a solo adventure to Haight St. in San Francisco!

It was a beautiful warm and sunny day, uncommon for SF in February. Although I must say after living in the Bay Area for almost four years I've noticed the typical seasons don't typically apply all of the time.

I just love the old Victorian buildings in San Francisco, I could walk around these streets forever ooh-ing and awe-ing over the details and the different paint palette selections for these houses…there is art wherever you look around here.

I checked out some trendy clothing stores and boutiques, got some dinner at The People’s Café then slowly made my way back to Bart as the sun was beginning to set. It was a wonderful day, I was pooped by the time I got back home, Ian and I spent the rest of the night watching TV in bed with a glass of vino...love it!

xo Autumn

Today I Am Excited.

My life is changing, progressing...it is becoming what I only dreamed of one year ago. This Friday Ian and I will get the keys to our first place together. It is not much, but it will be ours, and that is enough for me. Not only that but the date of my final day of college, my graduation in two months, is at the forefront of my mind. I am getting so excited to embark on this new adventure. This Summer is a fresh start, I will be graduated, living in a new town with my boy...it's looking bright!

Me on our trip to Santa Barbara for the 4th of July in '09

A lesson that has been smacking me in the face lately is to let go and let it flow. Clearly there is a bigger plan out there for all of us and the trick is to let it unfold. A big part of that is listening to those quiet voices, those inner urges, the nagging feelings...and trust that if you are true to yourself you will be following the right path. There is no reason to push or fight to get something you want, if it is right for you it will happen easily.

xo Autumn

My Love.

This is my Ian, isn't he so cute!? He is the biggest dork and I love him so much. Ian is one of the most passionate, creative and artistic individuals I know. He is a lover of life, and he lives it in a big way. Just being in his presence makes me feel like this life is full of opportunity, of adventure, of fun! That is as much as I can post now, more for later, but I just wanted to introduce my love.

These pictures are from our very first trip we took together to Santa Barbara California for the 4th of July in '09. We had so much fun!

xo Autumn