recently

lovely cherry blossoms in napa (and first signs of spring)

stopped for lunch in st. helena. fried chicken!

random, but i liked the colors.

bay bridge, coming back to san francisco

birthday cake for a friend (i used this recipe for the cake and this one for the frosting – definitely making this again!)

sunday breakfast: oatmeal, sprinkles and coffee while catching up on blogs.

as always, thanks for stopping by!

apartment snapshots

a couple of weeks ago, the boy and i stepped into west elm where i sort of went a little nuts. you see, i love that place. i would move in if they would let me, except… i don’t want to live in emeryville. dealbreaker. i’ve also resigned myself to the fact that my place will never look like their catalog – our design tastes don’t exactly overlap very often, and as a result our decor “situation” isn’t exactly cohesive (read: you wouldn’t know a girl lived here unless you looked in the closet…okay and maybe the bathroom). we left empty-handed and on the ride home, i’m pretty sure i had a decor identity crisis. it was fun for all… i assure you.

when we got home, the boy went to sleep and i placed an order online (heh heh). all was well in the world! and when the package(s) finally arrived and i had set everything out, he actually sort of approved, meaning nothing “disappeared” the next day.

west elm chevron bath mat, anthropologie towels (similar here), mor hand/body wash

ikea striped throw (also featured here), west elm bijoux dots and triangle pillows

yeah. there are a lot of fake dogs in this household (not shown: z gallerie pug bookends).

cookie decorating for lazy bakers

i love the idea of meticulously decorated cookies, but the process makes me nervous.

here’s what i do.

step 1: bake cookies. i used target’s store brand sugar cookie mix – super easy and just as good, if not better than scratch. there is a time and a place for store-bought mixes. this is one of them!