see.sugar

Hello sweet readers!
I wanted to share this sweet sugar idea with you!
We sweeten our delicious hot coffee with sugar on the raw and a sweet little bird told me about this sugar flavoring tip...

Take a whole vanilla bean and cut about 1 to 2 inches off the end

Fill your sugar cup, bowl or in our case vanilla tea box 1/3 of the way with sugar.

Drop the bean into the sugar and fill the rest of the sugar box.

Within a short time your sweet sugar will have a warm delicious hint of vanilla!
Yum!

see.sunny.sf

I am fortunate that most of my friends are extremely hard working talented women. Art, graphics, education, design... it is astounding and exciting!

Michelle Steen is just one of those ladies.
Please, PLEASE check out her work at the link above!
This painting was by far my favorite, but it wasn't easy picking just one!
I made a short visit to San Francisco in July to see Michelle's art work on display in a downtown San Francisco Art Gallery. It was breathtaking. The trip and her artwork.

After a few days in which I am happy to say the camera was not present... we brought it along on a typical San Francisco outing. Filled with frozen yogurt, rice pudding, basking in the sun at Dolores Park, eating far too much delicious Mission Mexican food and just laughing until we peed our pants... I mean, till we ache.

Rice pudding and frozen yogurt came first. I won't name names but someone I know just happens to stop by this little 'Lovin Cup' Shop quite often. In fact they had her dessert half prepared before she even ordered...

Pre-frozen yogurt faces... "don't worry, its coming!"

First bite face... or little shop of yogurt horrors! you pick.

Post frozen yogurt faces... yes, it is that delicious!

Dolores Park

Dinner with Melanie and Melanie.
Whew! It is amazing what a short weekend with AMAZING friends right after an exciting week with family does for ya! I am still grinning from ear to ear!

see.family.friends.florida

More pics of our recent trip to Florida. The trip was full of exciting events. My pal Kristen married her beau Will. They met at the University of Florida and now live in Oakland, California while Will is finishing school at Berkeley. Will and Kristen were the first familiar California faces I saw when I arrived in the Bay area 2+ years ago. They also gave me a place to crash before I found a place of my own!

Groom's cake = Florida gator!
Congratulations to Kristen and Will Beeson!!

And no trip home would be complete without 1,000 pics of my amazing little group of nieces and nephews! Although... this trip I actually didn't take many pics. I kept my eyes out of the camera to actually be a part of what was going on!
Here are a few that I did manage to take...

Boundin'

Pre-movie make-up session!

Sisters playing pretend!
(I think something "scary" was lurking near-by)

Owen.
Last time I saw him, was the first time he saw any of us!
Can't wait to see him again!

Jeremy, this was his defense against very little "booger picking self control"
!genius!

You are NEVER too old to play dress up!

see.date.night

Date Night.

I think it is necessary to have Date Night. Mike on the other hand... well the concept confuses him because we are already together but he goes along with the idea because I like it!
Last night was date night and we went here and it was 5 starts delicious!

Getting ready for date night usually goes something like this:
I'm ready 30 mins before we have to leave and Mike starts getting ready when we have to leave!
Grrr!! So I find things to do like take pictures of me waiting... patiently... :)

All the food was so good and went down great with the pineapple + fresh ginger sake cocktail! YUM!!!

So can you tell who enjoyed Date Night the most here?