Saturday, March 16, 2013

Pack it Up

This weekend hubs and I will be taking off for a much needed and deserved 2 week vacation.  I've been super excited to take some time away from work with hubs and do some traveling, but the thought of packing for well over 7 days away from home is a little daunting. Not to mention that we'll be experiencing 2 very different climates.

When I was in college and I'd go home to Hawaii for extended periods during Christmas and summer break. During those long trips I just tossed anything and everything I thought I might remotely have a desire to wear into a huge suitcase. Needless to say hubs, who would lovingly chauffeur me to the airport,  didn't love lugging around my huge baggage.

Through the years hubs has helped me pare down the amount of clothes I travel with... mostly by convinving me that if I don't start off with a full suitcase I have more room to pack things I buy throughout the trip. But I have yet to be able to reach the coveted ability to pack a week's worth of travel necessities into a carry-on luggage like this popular pin on pinterest.

For this trip I tried to be as disaplined as possible. I uaually try to pack a few extra shirts so I'm not stuck wearing an outfit I'm just not "feeling" at the time, but that usually means that at the end of my trip I usually have a ton of unworn clothes. This time a took a note from other bloggers who suggested to plan your travel outfits very specifically - including matching outerwear and accessories. I even laid out each outfit and took pictures of them so that I'd remember them all and no pieces would be left unworn by the end of the trip.

I like to pack my bras in a sturdy box so that I don't have to worry about them getting crushed and misshapen during travel
Thanks to my all my hard work, this is what my suitcase looks like. I know it looks full, but rest assured I will be fit a lot more in there...not to mention I have 20 more pounds till I reach my 50 pound luggage limit.

Do you guys have any tips for packing for extended trips?

Friday, March 8, 2013

Anniversary Celebrations

This past weekend hubs and I celebrated our first year of wedded bliss. We've had an amazing year full of fun and laughter. I couldn't in my wildest dreams have imagined our first year of marriage would include traveling to Rome, buying our first house, and surviving a bathroom rennovation. We're truly blessed to have had such a memorablefirst year of marriage.

Everyone know it's good luck to eat the top tier of your wedding cake on you're first anniverssary. However, being the non-conformists we are we didn't save the top tier of our wedding cake (we actually ate it the day after the wedding while we opened gifts with family). I've heard a few people say that after being in the freezer for a year their cake was as delicious as their wedding day, but the majority of stories I've heard were that the cake tasted like poo. Not to mention we got married in Hawaii and would've had to transport the cake back to our home in California. Instead I baked a replica of our funfetti cake with buttercream frosting. It was delicious and I wouldn't have had it any other way.


We spent the day in our favorite way, lazing around and watching the first season of Game of Thrones. Hubs spent the majority of the day assembling my anniversary gift to him, a Lego R2D2. And I got to open my anniversary gift which was tickets in the lower level to the next Warriors basketball game.

top L to R: bacon bread with seared ahi amuse bouche, maguro bite with lobster tempura, hybrid wagyu filet
bottom L to R: A5 wagyu NY with truffle foam, handsome hubs, complementary dessert, chocolate fondant
Then we had dinner at, 5A5, a steakhouse in downtown San Francisco known for their class A5 (highest grade) wagyu steaks. This was easily the most expensive meal we've ever consumed, but OH MAH GAWD was it worth it! We started with some complementary breadand a seared ahi amuse bouche. Of particular note was their bacon bread which quite a tasty conundrum as it tasted exactly like bacon, but had the texture of bread. Then we moved onto a maguro appetizer bite, which we shared since I only wanted a taste, and a delicious lobster tempura. Then it was onto the main course. Being the gentleman he always is hubs let me get the A5 wagyu NY cut and he got the hybrid wagyu filet. We always trade plates halfway through, that way we can both enjoy a little of everything. The A5 wagyu NY cut was litterally the most amazing thing I've ever put in my mouth (insert "that's what she said" joke). It was so amazingly tender and juicy...it's making my mouth water just thinking about it. Unfortunately when we were there they were out of the A5 wagyu filet - of the NY cut was so tender I can't even imagine what the filet would've been like. Hubs' hybrid wagyu filet which was much more moderately priced than mine; and while not quite as tender as the wagyu I had, it held it's own and was very delicious as well. We also got some truffle fries and truffle mac n cheese since these fancy schmancy places always seem to be ala carte. The truffle fries were good. Definitely a solid side, but nothing to write home about. The truffle mac n cheese was super cheesy and creamy - delicious. And for dessert we were treated to a complementary chocolate cake that was a real disapointment when compared to the chocolate fondant we ordered. Holy cow was that yummy - I had to resist licking the plate since we were in such a classy joint.

On Monday I got to enjoy the hubs present to me, lower level tickets to the Warriors vs. Raptors game. We've gone to many Warriors games over the years and have even sat in some pretty good seats, but nothing compared to the midcourt seats hubs got us this time. It was a fun and exciting game, but best of all it was a winning game.

We had an amazing time celebrating our first year of marriage together and I look forward to many more with the man of my dreams.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Good Reads

Just spending a lazy day at home today. Here's a few links to some good reads found on my google reader this week to keep you occupied on your lazy day.

Food: Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps - Can't wait to try these out at the next dinner party.

6 Awesomely Geeky Snow Projects - My inner geek is totally jealous that it doesn't snow where we live

Before & After: "Barnwood" Coffee Table Ikea Hack - I always love me a good Ikea hack

Artist Spotlight: Scott Zaragoza - Now that we're mostly settled in our home I'm always on the hunt for some good art