Happy Halloween!

One of my most favorite Halloween costume ever -- a baby burrito! I hope this kid grows up knowing that his parents are geniuses. 

Happy Halloween, everyone! 

P.S. Chipotle is giving away $2 burritos to anyone who shows up tonight in costume, and it's all for charity. Ten years ago, Halloween centered around finding the house with the full-sized candy bars. Now? Cheap dinner options! 

P.S.S. Many more cuties...

Bridesmaid boxes

As soon as we began planning the wedding, I knew I wanted to ask my bridesmaids in some special way to join me on the "journey to the alter" as I like to call it. We are all scattered around California and across the globe (literally!), so sending a little box seemed like just the ticket. I'd seen a few inspirational ideas for bridesmaids boxes around the web (like these and these beautiful ones) and fell in love with the idea, but I wanted to make them unique with my favorite colors and filled with little treasures made just for my ladies. It was my turn to pop the question, after all!

Here's how they turned out, with a little tutorial on the project...

Secret trail

Feeling a little guilty that while all my relatives on the east coast are battening down the hatches to prepare for hurricane Sandy, we are enjoying radiant sunshine and crisp fall weather here in California...

I say, come on out west, folks! (we only have earthquakes to worry about...and sometimes tornadoes...)

Yesterday, Andrew and I went on a hidden hike up by Collins Lake, the kind in which you don't see another soul on the entire five mile trail and I'm constantly scanning my surroundings for mountain lions. But it was refreshingly peaceful nonetheless! 

We planned to hike to the lake, but an impassable flowing creek led us to a lunch spot and we stopped to enjoy the silence and fall colors and stringent scent of pines in the area.

I've realized that as soon as you start working full-time in your 20s, you understand how valuable these relaxing weekend moments can be! All part of growing up I guess...
:)

More coffee, please.

At the little on-campus café called Charlie Brown's at Sonoma State University, there was a sign hanging near the cash register that said “Instant human, just add coffee.” I can still picture it. Maybe it's still there.

Life is a little hectic lately, and I've fully realized my caffeine addiction as a result...so this artwork above made me chuckle. :)

I inherited a deep and unwavering appreciation for good, strong coffee. One of the best cups I’ve ever tasted is pictured to the left, from Zatori café in Nelson, New Zealand. And I’m sure there’s much more great coffee to be tasted out there in the world. Have you ever been coffee tasting? Think wine tasting but with sips of fine espresso and roasted brews. I just discovered they do tastings at Sacramento's Temple Coffee and classes on making latte art with foam and milk (which has become an intense competitive sport these days). Sounds like an energy boost!

And this concludes a very jumpy post. Happy sipping, and happy Friday, everyone.

P.s. Some insider information: Peet's Coffee locations have been giving away free cups of coffee every Wednesday in October. Halloween is the last chance to pick up a cup. 

Echoes: Launch yourself on every wave

Wise words. Happy Monday, everyone.

*My cloud photo from Torrington, WY

The coolest children's book

We live in an age in which toddlers know how to use iPads, grandmas chat on their cell phones and our cars recognize our voices.

So, when browsing through the toy store on my lunch break last week (doesn’t everyone?), I was amused to come across this children’s book: Press Here by artist Hervé Tullet. It begins with a single yellow, painted dot. You press the dot and on the next page, it turns into two dots. Then, three. Then they change color, get bigger as you press harder and shift to one side when you tilt the book. Genius! 

The New York Times bestseller was published just last year, but is a comical and refreshingly simple take on the power of a regular old printed page in a world of touch screens. But still, there’s an app for it. Lol. One day when I'm a mom, I'll have to remember this little story. You can watch the book trailer below: 

All "Ruffled" up

The wedding blog Ruffled is killing me softly these days with its luscious photos of vintage-inspired and handmade weddings--everything from immaculate bouquets to crafty favors to unique venues (like the one below on a dock!). It's all almost TOO perfect, but I'm not ashamed to admit I peek at Ruffled for a few minutes every morning -- right after reading Cup of Joe and right before answering work emails (woops!). I might still read it after the wedding...it's that damn pretty! Here are some glimpses...

Have you seen the blue trees?

Sacramento is known as "the city of trees," but recently we've become the city of blue trees. Twenty trees near the Convention Center have been painted bright blue from trunk to limb by Australian artist Konstantin Dimopoulos and local volunteers. The project has visited four other cities across the globe and began locally with the "Why Not Here?" column of Sactown magazine's June/July issue (go team!), quickly gaining momentum when the Sacramento Tree Foundation raised $25,000 in just a week's time to make it happen. But it doesn't just look really cool --like a page from a Dr. Suess book-- it serves a purpose. Read why HERE.

I walked by last week when the painting was just getting started and saw locals and tourists alike strolling by, scratching their heads and coming up to volunteers to ask, "what's going on here?" It's a project that instantly spurs curiosity and has caught the attention of the Sacramento Bee, the SF Chronicle and Fox40. The paint will only last several months, so go check it out now! 

The space shuttle visits Sacramento

When I was a kid, I stood on the side of a road at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California with my mom and brother, watching the space shuttle return from a mission and land on the runway. Years later, I watched the space shuttle retire...

It was definitely unlike any Friday morning at the office. We climbed up the narrow staircase to the roof of our building and stood waiting, scanning the skyline.

On September 21, the space shuttle Endeavor made its final flight through California. I was one of the thousands of people across the state who watched in awe and reverence as it flew overhead on the back of a modified 747. And I mean RIGHT overhead. It was incredible. But my favorite part of the morning was seeing through my zoom lens all the others who gathered on the rooftops and parking structures with their cell phones and binoculars or just their coffee cups in hand to watch as well. Sacramento truly stood still that day. I knew instantly I wanted to collage the images. So, here they are...

Here it comes...

And there it goes....right over the Capitol!

A brief haitus

Life advice: water and laptops don't mix. Ever. 

Yup, I drowned my loyal MacBook -- where I had all my notes and to-do lists and tidbits of writing for work and life and this blog and the wedding plans, all my photos, my email...EVERYTHING. I've gone three whole weeks without my laptop. In that time I've realized how much I rely on my technology, how frustrating it is to be cut off from it, and even how easy and sometimes refreshing it is to live without it for a while. 

Would you, or have you, ever given up your computer? Your smartphone? Your TV? Everyone should try logging off once in a while. Just don't do what I clumsily did and give your thirsty keyboard a sip of water, k?

I'll be returning from my blog break shortly...and bombard you with a slew of new posts that have been locked up on my hard-drive drying out. :)


*Wall art from Etsy. Made me laugh!