Solana Beach.

I may have forgot to mention that I also love Solana Beach's Design District. It is probably one of the coolest areas that I know of, at the moment. They have cute restaurants, one of a kind boutiques, and very friendly people.



The street/area is called Cedros Avenue Design District. Every shop, restaurant, salon is so visually stimulating and beautiful. I wish I could just walk there every morning but unfortunately it is at least a 20 minute drive, but well worth it!

It was my day off so I decided to make the trip up there and do a little shopping and perusing. Art is displayed everywhere, from sculptures on the street to the overall design of each building/boutique. It seriously feels like you are in a beautiful small town.

After walking around for a couple of hours, I picked out some flowers here as well as a pot for our front porch area. I felt like I was in a secret garden, I wanted to buy everything!

If you are ever in the San Diego area, Solana Beach's design district is a must-see attraction.

Grand Opening.

Saturday afternoon was the Grand Opening Party for Dress for the Nines. It was very successful! We had a lot of people shop up and many purchases were made. I forgot my camera but thank goodness for Joseph's obsession with my iPhone because he at least took a few pics with it.


It was on bar "duty", so I had to serve drinks & food to all of our guests.

The food was pretty good overall. It was catered by Terra Restaurant just a few doors down, and they provided, Teriyaki Salmon Tacos (pictured above), Blueberry Lemonade, & Mushroom and Asparagus Crostini's topped with Parmesan Cheese. Allison provided fixings for Alcoholic & Non-Alcoholic Mimosas.

This is my co-worker/friend Rachel, from APA Consulting. She came to enjoy the drinks, food, and company. She is probably one of the snobbiest people I know. :)

P.S.

Rachel, if you ever read this, I am sure you know you are a snob so it shouldn't be a big surprise.

Promotion?

Yes, at this point it is more of a question than a fact. The retail store that I work for (we aren't allowed to blog about them, so shhhh!) informed me that I am up for a promotion, if I'm interested, for the Visuals Merchansider. I was speechless. I had no idea that I would/could even be considered! I said I would love to be considered.

I went into work this morning at 5 a.m. to help the night crew finish displaying the Women's Spring/Summer collection. Our store director told the manager in charge of setting up that she needed to clock-out or else she would go into OT. So, the night manager asked me if I wanted to do the Visuals for the mannequins in the store, and I said "Sure"!

After doing a couple of them, the store director approached me and said that I was really good at it. She then said she wanted to offer me the position. Did I mention already that I was speechless? :) She said it's not official yet because she needs to get it approved.

A few minutes after she made the offer, she said that she was upset with me because I hadn't spoken up about wanting to do it before today since they had been interviewing candidates from FIDM and other colleges that offer Fashion programs, but hadn't found a good fit.

Since it's not entirely official yet, I am not getting my hopes up but I can't bear keeping quiet or not wanting to jump up and down screaming ecstatically!

Happy Place(s).

I have two Happy Places in San Diego: Coronado & La Jolla.

After a terrible week last week, I really needed to de-stress (is that a word? For the sake of this post, it is). To make a long story short, someone tried to steal one of our cars. Not only did I feel completely violated, mad, and sad but I felt unsafe. But, after some cooling down time, I am mostly over the entire episode.

So, I went to Coronado this afternoon because the high was going to be 93. I was so excited to just lay on the beach and not think about anything. No worries about bills, work, or personal problems. I was so happy. I window shopped and even made a very small purchase for a friend's upcoming birthday.

After finally feeling like I could breathe again or fully "de-stressed", I came home and waited for Joseph so we could go to La Jolla Shores. He surfed while I sun bathed. It's pretty nice having time to go to the beach before having to work, the down side is someone might try and steal your car!

What's your "Happy Place" & Why?

Del Mar.

I didn't have a very eventful weekend. Sadly, I had to work most of it, but Saturday morning Joseph and I went to explore Del Mar. It was quite tricky getting to the beach but we managed. For some reason, I didn't take any pictures other than this one at lunch:

After laying on the beach for a couple hours, and Joseph surfing, we went to have lunch and a drink at En Fuego at the Plaza in Del Mar. We ordered some burritos and had a margarita! Del Mar was really cute, I would definitely go back again!

Attention: Fashionistas.

I was at working at Extraordinary Desserts last night, kind of bored because we weren't very busy and I started people watching. We have a lot of tourists coming in mainly Asian & European, so a lot of their clothing is very unique and cool. A family came in and the dad was wearing this awesome leather thong sandals. I fell in love with them. I really wanted to ask him, on more than one of the several encounters, where they were from but for some reason held back. Now I regret it because I have spent all morning searching through every single website possible trying to find sandals like these in men's:

Although these Stuart Weitzman are beautiful, obviously they are not men's & didn't have the shiny jeweled buckle or light blue patent leather, but they were very similar.

Even these, Donald Pliner's, are relatively close to what they looked like.

These are probably the closest to what they looked like. But, to me there is something off about these. They are men's though, made by FitFlop?

To my avid readers and fellow Fashionistas, I need your help! Let me know if you know of or find anything :)

A Year in Fashion.

This morning I drove downtown to get my car an oil change. I had about an hour to kill so I decided to find the nearest post office so that I could get Joseph & I's taxes post-marked today. Very last minute, I know. The nearest post office was all the way to the Gas Lamp District, which was fine because at least I could window shop on the way. I decided to stop into Urban Outfitters for fun, and guess what I found! A beautiful piece of art.

I Die :) It has gorgeous pictures, famous quotes from every fashion icon, and history on fashion forward ideas that bring us to the present. I really, really want this book/calendar. Unfortunately it is about $35, not too bad but still just pricey enough, especially because I already have a Coach daily planner that I barely touch since having my iPhone. I found it on Amazon, so maybe after I pay off my credit card this month and get my tax return, I can get it. Right?! As Joseph would say, "Is this a need or a want? You need to do a better job of distinguishing the difference..."

Easter Dinner.

While I was hanging out at Dress for the Nines on Friday with Allison, I asked her is she was going home for Easter, and she said she wasn't. Her and her boyfriend, Rich, were just planning on hanging out, so she invited Joseph and I out for brunch. I told her that would be fun, but I had to make sure that Joseph wasn't working. I got home and found out that Joseph did have to work! Shoot. I thought, "Why not have them over for dinner"?


So, on Saturday I sent her a text letting her know that Joseph did have to work but that we would love to have them over for an Easter Dinner after he got off work. She said that would work, and then that night Joseph came home and said he didn't have to work Easter morning after all. So, we went to brunch and got the house ready for our guests.





On our way back home from our own little Easter Sunday Brunch, we found this pretty little flowers growing behind our building. While I cleaned up the living room and kitchen, Joseph ran to the grocery store for me and picked these flowers for the table. They were so sweet.

To no one's surprise, I had come up with an entire menu for the night. And since I had not entertained in quite a while, I was kind of rusty and stressed especially because I'm not used to having to really look far for the ingredients and things that I need for recipes. Usually I could just drive up to Dahl's and know they would have what I needed or I could ask Carolyn for it. Not here, apparently they didn't even know what a honey ham was (long story & very frustrating). So I decided to have a couple of glasses of wine to calm my nerves while I prepared :)


For an appetizer, I made these little Bite inspired crostini's. I lightly broiled the baguette slices, spread goat cheese on them, placed three little cherry tomatoes on top of the cheese, and scooped a small amount of home-made pesto on top of the tomatoes.





The main dish, was of course, an Easter Ham.
I looked and looked for a quartered Honey Ham
but could not find one, so I bought a half and made my own glaze. I served it with mashed garlic mashed potatoes and fresh steamed asparagus. As you can tell, with four people eating, we barely even made a dent in it. But it will make some great ham sandwiches for the next couple of days. I followed the Barefoot Contessa's Orange Baked Ham recipe. It was fabulous and everyone LOVED it. I was so happy it turned out well.



For dessert, I had my mind set on Strawberry Tarts. I had never made them before but have always wanted to. So earlier in the week, I stopped by Williams-Sonoma and bought a six pack of miniature tart pans. I could not wait to make them. I thought about them all week. They turned out wonderfully. Allison and Rich were in shock that I had made everything from scratch. She said "I don't know that I will be able to compete with you, when we have you guys over for dinner". I was so flattered and ecstatic that everything turned out so well.

Unfortunately, we didn't even have a chance to take pictures of all four of us! The conversation (and wine) was just flowing. Overall, it was a great Easter, even though we really missed everyone back home. I wished we could have shared it with all of our friends & family.


I can't forget to mention that our lovely guests, brought us a bottle of wine and this beautiful Easter Lily. It smells great and makes us so happy that Spring is finally here.

Care Package.

Sadly, we could not make it home for Easter but Carolyn was still thoughtful enough to send us an Easter Basket care package. We got some great stuff, mostly all Iowa themed :) except for the Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies (which were not photographed because we ate them all already!) Yummy.

Around Christmas time, Carolyn bought this awesome hand-held mandolin, and I loved it. It makes slicing everything so much easier. To my surprise, she sent us one for Easter. I used it to make our Easter dinner and loved it!
















These shirts are from SMASH in Des Moines. Obviously, mine is the one I am wearing and Joseph's is the yellow one. He wore his yesterday out to our Easter Brunch at Bread & Cie.

The last but certainly not least was this Iowa sign, which I love, love, love. Yesterday, Joseph hung it in the kitchen for me. It makes it smile every time I see it :) We love & miss you guys!

La Jolla Sunday.

Last Sunday (I know this is past due but I couldn't figure out how to load the picture from Joseph's camera onto the computer until today), Joseph and I had planned to have a beach day but to my disappointment I had to work at J.Crew and didn't realize it until the night before! I was so upset, but at least I only had to work until 3 p.m. So, we decided not to cancel our beach bum day, and instead making it a beach bum afternoon instead.



I was so excited, (A) because it was a 74 degree day, and (B) because I got a chance to debut my KiWi shorts! :) I told Carolyn I would post a picture of me in them. Beach bumming days are the best ever.

P.S.

I almost forgot...

My friend and co-worker from APA Consulting, Kim Kong, took a picture of me and said she wanted to blog about my outfit because she liked it so much. For some reason I got a lot of compliments on my style today :) Yay! Kim is super fashionable and très chic, so of course I was totally flattered.

Dress for the Nines.

Today, Dress for the Nines officially opened its doors.

Allison asked me to come and

hang out for a while

and since I had the day off

at Extraordinary Desserts &

J.Crew, I thought it would

be a great

way to spend

the afternoon.

She did all of the decorating, merchandising, and lay out by herself. I think it looks great. The pictures don't do it justice. She also has a great business partner, Kyle, who has owned Style Child, across the street for over 2 years now.

She's selling maternity clothes, diaper bags, lotions, Er'go Soy Candles (An Oprah Favorite), and Putumayo Kids CD's. Dress for the Nines, is all about being green by using recycled and sustainable items, being an SDGE Summer Saver participant, and even offers bamboo & organic clothing!

For helping Allison do some last minute

merchandising and hanging out, she gave me a Coconut Pineapple Er'go Candle because I loved the scent

so much. I am still helping plan the Grand Opening

Event on the 25th. I can't wait, it should be fun.

I hope to post pictures of the Grand Opening Party, but I have to remember to bring my camera! We are going to have nibbles, drinks, an informal fashion show, and give aways. Don't miss it.

Little Italy Mystery.

So, if you didn't realize already, Joseph and I go to Little Italy quite often for drinks, food, & friends. I did not really pay attention to this, but Erica made me aware of the fact that there is this young Italian guy who walks around Little Italy all day long, dressed in a full suit. Seriously. He wears the dress pants, jacket, button-up shirt, tie, hat, Wing tips, and even a pocket square! I couldn't believe it, but he does look pretty cute though.


I decided to keep my eyes open for him. We were eating lunch at Zia's Bistro for Erica's Birthday, and he walked by our table outside on the patio, and then went to talk to the Hostess. Having been drinking a little bit of bubbly, I wanted to ask the Hostess, but Erica was totally against it, so I didn't. Shoot.


On Friday, Joseph had to go the Petco Baseball Stadium for his photography training, so I told him that I would go with him and I could go to the Gas-Lamp District and then walk to Little Italy so I could meet Erica for a drink after she got off work. To kill time, I went to a little Italian Gelato placed called Pappalecco's, and had a Cappuccino. To my surprise, the young Italian guy was there! I was so excited. He knew everyone there, but I didn't know what to say or ask him! So, I took a few pictures of him with my phone :) Haha.




















I, Blogspot Promise, to find out what his M.O. is and blog about it. I am determined. Wait and see! To be continued...

"Proud" Iowan.

I woke up this morning to the Iowa Supreme Court decision that "marriage should not be limited to one man and one woman." I could not believe what I was reading! I was overwhelmed with so many emotions. Could you imagine not being able to marry the person you love so much because the government said so, and then all of the sudden it all changing?! I ♥ Iowa.

I really liked this paragraph from the Des Moines Register article this morning, “I think it’s significant because Iowa is considered a Midwest state in the mainstream of American thought,” Socarides, a senior political assistant for Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin in the early 1990s, said Thursday. “Unlike states on the coasts, there’s nothing more American than Iowa. As they say during the presidential caucuses, ‘As Iowa goes, so goes the nation.’”

Everyday Prorsum :)

Invitation Making.

Last night, Erica called me because she needed help making invitations for her mom's surprise 50th Birthday Party. She had seen something like it at Seaside Papery in Coronado, so we used the same idea and made these really cute invitations. Take a look!

Sushi Deli.

This posting is for Katie. We were talking about Joseph's new job yesterday afternoon, and I was telling her how anxious I was for him to come home because he was going to bring some sushi home for lunch! Both of our mouths were watering, and it made Katie want to go out after she was done working to Gateway Market to get some too! Well, I forgot to take a picture of it because as soon as I opened the box, Joseph and I devoured it, seriously. It was probably the fastest I have ever eaten in my life.


So, today after work, Joseph brought home more :) Yummm. From left to right, they are the Hot Hot Dynamite, Dragon, & Hot Hot Crunchy rolls. They were all so good, even the Dragon, which has eel on the outside of it. If you have never tried sushi, you are missing out! I told Joseph he would probably get sick of it before I would, I could eat it everyday.

Bite.

Yesterday evening, Joseph and I wanted to get out of the house. Joseph wanted to go some place that had an outdoor patio so we could get a drink and appetizer or something. So I told him that I had seen this really cute/chic place a few blocks from our house. We walked, and walked, and walked until it became evident that perhaps, according to Joseph, I had dreamt this place up. :) I know I saw it, and rest assured that when I find it again, I will be blogging about it.

With no ideas where to go, and the clock ticking, we thought about going to this bar called Baja Bettys. It was packed, I mean packed. Their Happy Hour was even over and they were still so busy! So, we went next door to one of my favorites, Bite. It is a very cute restaurant that features small plates, probably somewhat similar to Trostel's Dish in Des Moines, but even better. It's locally owned, so they are very attentive and everything is so fresh and delish.

We ended up each having a Strawberry Bellini, which is champagne and strawberry sorbet. For an appetizer we had French Fries with Aioli, just a light snack before dinner. The last time we went, I had sliders (Amazing!) and Bacon Wrapped Dates (something I will attempt to make soon). All in all, it was so nice to go out.