Monday, December 20, 2010

Welcome to 2011

Happy New Year on 1-1-11! 2010 is full of great memories for us. A couple of the stand-outs being our move out west and my completion of grad school. Neither one of us would have imagined that we'd be living in San Francisco last January....or that my brother would have made the move to SF too! We are blessed with wonderful families, great friends, good health, jobs, and two perfect fur babies...we can only hope for the same in 2011.

I've been obsessed with the beach from a young age and have always loved sea turtles. Our yearly family trips to Florida included visiting New Symrna Beach where we'd see the protected fencing around sea turtle nests. A couple of times while walking the beach at night, we'd stumble upon a female sea turtle laying her eggs. It's important to stand in silence without flashlights on, so that she can lay her eggs in peace and then follow the moonlight back to sea. What a neat thing to watch!

The beach in Key West that Mike and I were married on had protected sea turtle nests around the brush. There was even a "track" to help lead newly hatched turtles to sea and you can see it in all of our wedding pictures.

Mike and I love to visit tropical places (thanks to Mike's travel points!) and have seen/swam with sea turtles in the ocean. On our trip to Hawaii last June, we saw lots of sea turtles....some were riding the surf at North Beach in Oahu and others swam with us (or rather we swam with them) on the Big Island. I found the neatest postcard in a random souvenior shop at Volcano National Park. I loved the card so much that I had it framed and hung it above our mini sea turtle collection. I find the saying on the card fitting to share it with you this New Year's day. It's something I to strive to live my life by (notice I said "try").

Advice from a Sea Turtle

Swin with the current
Be a good navigator
Stay calm under pressure
Be well traveled
Think long term
Age gracefully
Spend time at the beach!
- Ilan Shamin


This is the sea turtle postcard I framed above our mini collection of sea turtles.


Sea turtle riding the waves on North Beach in Oahu.


August 2007 - Me pictured with my beautiful bridesmaids on Samthers Beach in Key West. Note the "track" for baby sea turtles behind us.

10 Things We've Learned During Our First Five Months in SF

In the last blog post I promised to share with you the top things Mike and I have learned so far while living in SF. I can only imagine what else we'll experience after another five months of living here.

10. Apartments don't have air conditioning.
9. More often than not a trip to the beach entails sweatpants and sweaters.
8. Always carry anti-bacterial with you while riding public transit.
7. Scarfs, boots and coats are worn year-round.
6. An in-unit washer and dryer and a parking spot is considered a huge luxury.
5. Dogs are welcome everywhere...boutiques, stores, restaurants, bars, etc.
4. The city celebrates any- and everything.
3. Coming to every intersection while driving requires concentration. Are you on a steep incline or headed downhill. Is it a stop sign or a light? Look out for pedestrians, CRAZY people on bikes, fellow drivers, and tourists (yes, tourists get their own category...not everyone understands a crosswalk).
2. There's unlimited activities in Nor Cal...we could live here for 5 years and still wouldn't see it all!
1. Going to a "Leather Festival" does not mean you'll find cowboy hats, belts and boots.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly...

Fa la la la la la la la la...This is one of my favorite times of the year! Lighted trees, stockings, fires in the fireplace, pumpkin-spiced foods, wrapping paper and bows, Christmas music, spending time with family and friends, and, of course, the reason for the season. Mike, Bella, Toby and I look forward to seeing many you when we travel back home for Christmas later this week. Mike and I both look forward to a week off from work (YES!!) and catching up on all things "Texas". Here's a list of a few things we miss from the Lone Star State:

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Tex-Mex (people out here don't know what chile con queso is and think I'm crazy for enjoying ground beef in a bowl of melted cheese)

4. Quality beef
5. A leisurely walk that doesn't entail a rapid onset of heavy breathing and strained calf muscles (aka....flat land...the hills are killer at times)
6. Thunderstorms
7. Kolaches/Pigs in the Blanket (people out here think it sounds gross...who doesn't love a juicy sausage mixed with cheese and wrapped in a croissant?)
8. One grocery store that contains everything you need...oh how I miss HEB! Trips to 2-3 different grocery stores/markets is a bit of a norm out here.
9. Mike misses driving his car...it basically sits on the street.
10. Really hot days.
11. Our Aggies!

I'll be sure to share with you a list of the 10 things we've learned from our first five months in San Francisco soon....it'll make you want to visit this interesting city. :)

Mr. and Miss Santa Paws wish you and your family a very, Merry Christmas!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Baby Boy's Birthday and Other Happenings

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
I can't believe it....my first-born is seven years old today! I bought Toby almost seven years ago after the Christmas holiday while in college at Texas A&M. The minute you meet Toby he's already won you over....he's quite the affectionate lil' man. And let me mention that Toby wasn't the only puppy in the house....my roommates also had puppies...it was quite the household! Here are some highlights of Toby and I look forward to many, many more with my baby boy.











THANKSGIVING
My great friend, Brittany, and her husband, Drue, hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving for fellow Texans and Aggie California transplants at their home. Other than their generous hospitality and fantastic cooking abilities, the highlight of the day was celebrating the Aggie win over t.u. The Aggies finished the season as a ranked top 25 team and will be headed to a great bowl game in January. WHOOP! We have much to be thankful for this year....family, friends, health, and jobs....we hope you and your family had a blessed holiday.




PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (PCH)
So, we thought it'd be a great idea to drive an extra six hours out of our way to experience the beautiful PCH. We left Brittany and Drue's house around 9:30am and did not arrive home in SF until about 7:30pm. In the end, the extra drive time was worth it! We stopped at various spots along the way to soak up the sunshine (in 50 degree weather), listen to the waves and smell the salt air (I LOVE the smell of the beach!!). We plan to make this drive again, but down to LA next time in warmer weather and with the top down. Here are a few pictures of our mini adventure.


Elephant seals sunbathing on the beach.



Check out Bella....I had just picked her up and she noticed the seals....I could not get Bella to turn her head around for the photo. She was so intrigued by the them!







IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!
Have I mentioned I love this time of year? Yes, you say? I thought so. I've been listening to Christmas music since November 1st, the apartment is decorated and I've had many a fires in our mini fireplace (thanks to Duralogs). Here are pictures of our mantel and Christmas tree. Since I've changed the color scheme of our apartment to blue, white, and sand colors to reflect a more "beachy" vibe, I decided the tree needed an upgrade. So, I enhanced our "travel tree" (our travel souveniors are ornaments from everywhere we visit) with blue ornaments, blue lights and a white tree skirt.


Anytime I light a fire, Toby is sitting as close as possible to the warmth on the couch.


Look at Bella posing by the tree.


Christmas tree is up at Union Square! There's even an ice skating rink around the tree.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

A Weekend of Beautiful Hiking

Last weekend Mike went fishing with his friend, Mike, who will transfer to his company's Houston office in a couple of weeks (really?? the one friend we have in SF is moving?? boo!). They spent 8 hours at sea fishing for rock fish and caught 20 between the 2 of them. I'm looking forward to Mike grilling some fish for us!

I'm a member of the Junior League of San Francisco (http://www.jlsf.org/) and spent 8 hours volunteering for the League's annual fundraiser called Home Tour "Into the Wood". Great timing because this was the day Mike went on his fishing excursion. This year, Elle Decor Magazine selected San Francisco for their annual home makeover project. I was assigned to greet guests at this home for half of my volunteer shift. The decor was amazing!! I even met a couple of the talented designers. The home will be featured in a spring edition of Elle Decor....be sure to pick up a copy!
SATURDAY
Mike and I tend to stay busy on the weekends...there's just so much to explore in here. We spent Saturday hiking the beautiful trails around Lincoln Park and Ocean Beach. This is an area of SF that tends to remain foggy, but the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky and man, was it beautiful! I wish I knew about this gem when my mom visited a few weeks ago...next time she and other family/friends are in SF, we'll be sure to take you here! There is nothing I enjoy more than sunshine, sand, and hearing/smelling the ocean...what I refer to as my happy place. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to live 10 minutes away from my happy place. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

























SUNDAY
It was another warm, sunny day in the Bay Area so we hiked through Muir Woods. It's a forest just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and is filled with different types of coastal redwoods...some of the largest trees I've ever seen. After an afternoon of hiking, we drove to an amazing overlook point...check out the pictures below.








Sunday, October 31, 2010

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This is a special greeting from the Land of Oz.....Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion wish you and your family a safe and fun Halloween!






And here are a few pictures from a Halloween party Mike and I went to. Our friends' last names are "Adams" so they had a themed "Adam's Family" party...too fun! Check out some of the other costumes! Mike and I were the "Count and Countess".





Haha!!! Best costume of the night....he's wearing stilts and made the pants!!



Tuesday, October 26, 2010

First Visit to Beautiful Tahoe

We were very fortunate to be offered Mike's boss's mountain home for an extended weekend up in Tahoe. His home is in Truckee which is northwest of the lake and it is BEAUTIFUL in the woods! We headed to Truckee Thursday night after work and arrived after a short 3.5 hour drive. The next morning we ate breakfast at the Squeeze In...a hot spot known for their omelettes...it was even featured on the Food Network show "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". After stuffing ourselves with eggs, we went down to the lake and explored the area by hiking.

Our friends met up with us that evening and we had plans to hike the following day, but we woke up to snow!! The snow was not sticking, but it sure was cold outside. So rather than freeze our tails off in the woods, we headed to "The Biggest Little City in the World"...aka Reno. I'll refer to Reno from now on as "The DIRTIEST Little City in the West". :-) Let me just say that we enjoyed some fantastic people watching!

Below are some pictures of our Tahoe adventure. We definitely plan to go back!!