'Twas the Weekend Before Christmas...

View from our balcony...
View from our balcony...

Before dins on the first night...

Trying to capture the festive lights of the hotel...

Trying to get in on the festive lights...

Full of yummy food and lots and lots of vino...

And the adventure begins...

Action shot... I refused to stray far from the wall...

Inching away from my comfort zone...

Merry Christmas!

We had a fabulous time at the Hotel Del Coronado this past weekend... although a little wet - it didn't put any dampers on our fun ;-) The rain didn't actually get super heavy until yesterday when we were leaving.

We spent the evenings enjoying good vino and delish eats... strolls through the streets during the days and even got our ice skate on! Oh boy was that an experience! It had been raining before so there were puddles on the rink which seemed to make it a little more difficult... or at least that is our story and we are sticking to it!

Happy Weekend...

The forecast calls for rain all weekend... me and the boy toy are escaping our cold home to a much warmer place... the Hotel Del! We are taking a mini vacation and staying down in Coronado for a few days. Our original plan was to travel to NYC and then San Fran... but plans kept getting altered due to the boy's work - so we decided to save the city fun for another time and travel 30 min south for a little bit of holiday cheer... and warm hotel rooms! The Hotel Del is a sight to see around Christmas time!

We were hoping for weather like last weekend... so we could enjoy bike rides and strolls in the sand... but now it is looking like time will be spent cuddled up next to fireplaces with vino in hand... fine by me!

Have a fabulous weekend... see yall Tuesday!

Ps... did I mention there is an ice rink on the sand!

pic: weheartit

Here Comes Santa Claus...

* Tights $10 via jcrew * Socks $8.50 via gap * Earrings $20 via 1928.com * Cocktail Ring $16 via modcloth * Scarf $25 via piperlime * L'Occitane Hand Cream Trio Collection $25 via sephora * Cosmetic Bag $20 via endless.com* Debra Lippmann Nail Polish $20 via nordstroms * Glass Candle $25 via anthropologie * Thermal Mug $16 via lilly pulitzer * Penguin Classic Books $20 via Penguin

I am sure many of you have Secret Santa parties to attend this weekend or early next week... here is a last minute guide of gifts that I wouldn't mind unwrapping :-) There is no need to get those cheesy gifts that go unused because there is a tight budget... you can find fabulous gifts at any price... even under $25!

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go...

Dress - here

Pumps - here

Clutch - here

Cocktail Ring - here

Earrings - here

Nail Polish - here

If I had somewhere fabulous to attend this holiday season (and unlimited funds) this is what I would be wearing...

Just My Luck...

Our second attempt at decorating...
The boy toy bowling... he would be mad if I didnt say that he bowled a 132 this game ;-)

The view of the beautiful weather yesterday - 85 degrees in December!

Although I had a fabulous weekend... spent with family and friends - I seem to be going through a bit of bad luck... hoping that today is the turn around point!

It all started Friday night... the boy toy and I went out to get our tree (I know a bit late... but he has been out of town). We got our tree home... excited to decorate... vino in hand and Christmas tunes in the background. Checked tree trimming off our list and went to bed. At about 11:45pm (don't judge that we were already in bed before midnight on a Friday night!) I heard a glass break downstairs... I got out of bed thinking it was an ornament from the tree... to my surprise - the entire tree had fallen over!!! Glass was everywhere (all of our ornaments are glass - I now realize isn't the smartest move considering we have wood floors)... the tree stand fell right over with it... so needless to say the downstairs was flooded! Not exactly how we wanted to spend the wee hours of the night... after about 45min we had it semi-cleaned up and salvaged what we could of the ornaments and went back to bed...

Saturday was a great day... we experienced summer like weather... around 85 degrees at the beaches... we spent the evening with D's parents as his niece was in a school play, School House Rock - Ammmmazing by the way - still in awe over the kids! On our way home we decided we weren't ready to call it a night so we made a very spontaneous decision to go bowling - to our surprise it happened to be Rock 'n' Roll bowl - seriously a great night! However, I did not get into the groove of things until our last game... standard :-)

Which leads me to yesterday... My Mom and I had planned to go to the mall to get some Christmas shopping done... I agreed to help her carry boxes to be shipped... the Postal Annex is in a small, local shopping center. I saw a friend of mine from across the courtyard so I waved and because the boxes were so big I didn't see the cement block in front of me and I tripped and the boxes went flying - sunglasses flew off - I went sliding into home... as if it wasn't humiliating enough - people from all directions came running to our aide - I quickly got up... both legs skinned up and bleeding, threw on my sunglasses for security and scurried off to the post office to try and quickly forget what had just happened - however, my knee are a pretty good reminder that what happened was a reality... one word... mortified!

Hope every one had a smoother past couple of days...

pics: blame the poor quality on my blackberry!

Shopping Bags Galore...

I absolutely fell in love with this idea while catching up on one of my daily favs, Bromeliad! Seriously I thought I was the only one that had this problem. I always hesitate throwing away pretty (and lets be honest - shiny designer) shopping bags... and low and behold there is a whole club out there that has this same problemo!

Obsessed with the idea of crafting up some wall art with lovely used shopping bags; however, I am thinking the boy toy would not be too keen on this idea (sort of like a trophy wall displaying all the money gone to shopping) - hopefully one day I will own my very own walk-in closet to decorate as I please... and you better believe these will be adorning my wall!

pic: Bromelaid

Busy, Busy BEE!

Oh how I have missed my dear blog... well actually more accurately - oh how I have missed reading all of my daily favorites! I have been extremely busy the past month with updating my Etsy shop, holiday bazaars and boutique orders. I have so much to fill you all in on!

But I will take it slow :-) For now... check out some of my new items in my Etsy shop! I still have a ton of pieces to add... slow and steady is the name of the game right?!

This is what my office has looked like over the past few weeks... anyone that knows me - knows this is driving me bonkers!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday season!

Civic Duty...

I spent the day at jury duty - for the first time in my life. I have been summoned every year for as long as I can remember but I was either a student or working... so I have always gotten out of it. I literally had no idea what to expect... seriously I even called my Mom this morning to consult on what to wear - I know - I am that ridiculous! But the most experience I had with jury duty was watching Carrie Bradshaw serve her civic duty on SATC... when she encountered the man that would bring a different piece if fruit each day in his briefcase - no ordinary fruit but fruits like a coconut and a mango - so I knew I would be in a treat for the people watching aspect... there were some positive things to come out of jury duty... I caught up on every one's blogs (I luckily brought my laptop) and also got a two hour break in which I got to a chance to catch up with my good friend, KO... so the day wasn't a total loss :-)

Spooktacular Recap...

So I got home from Puerto Rico just in time to partake in my favorite holiday... Halloween! In my personal opinion there is nothing better than a holiday that requires everyone to dress up... anyone that knows me knows that I love any party with a theme... also I went to school in Santa Barbara which boosts the largest college Halloween festivities in the country - seriously look it up! Anyways getting home just in time for Saturday's festivities meant I didn't leave much time for figuring out a costume... I made a trip down to the thrift shop to see what I could come up with... I am totally against spending $50 on a costume - not to mention that buying a bagged costume at a Halloween store almost automatically guarantees you that you will run into your twin on the street...

So... I decided I would be a flapper... in my 28 years of dressing up... I surprisingly have never been a flapper... grabbed a black slip at the thrift shop for $2 and made my way to the fabric store... quick stop at Michael's for a boa and then came home and got to work - made my finishing touches just in time for my friend's party!

Time Flies When You Are Having Rum...

Back to reality... boo! I had a blast in Puerto Rico - amazing weather... crystal blue water... all the rum a girl could ever dream of! The boyfriend was mostly busy during the days - his company brought the first major surf competition to Puerto Rican waters - so needless to say he was extremely busy, which was fine by me - I spent my days bronzing in the sun... frolicking in the 85 degree water (seriously heaven!) and catching up on all of my magazines and read a book (The Recessionistas - highly recommend).

We landed in San Juan and spent the first half of my trip there. I seriously fell in love with this city! The downtown area, Old San Juan, is amazing. From it's cobblestone streets to the multiple fortresses that still stand dating back many centuries to the impressive governor's mansion - there is so much rich history in such a small radius. The beaches are picturesque... they seriously look like they are straight off a post card!

The second half of my trip we traveled to Aguadilla. This is where the contest is being held. This area is literally a 180 from San Juan. It is located in the north west of the island. In San Juan you could feel the hustle and bustle of the city... Aguadilla was much quieter... actually an understatement - it was sleepy! The water was also polar opposite from the crystal blue, serene waters of San Juan. Aguadilla's coastlines were much more rough.

I enjoyed numerous yummy meals filled with Puerto Rican eats... like plantain chips, mofongo and churrasco!

Overall, it was a fabulous trip and am already looking forward to my next visit!