you know when...

you stress & you stress & there is this looming date and it takes up so much room in your brain... and then it comes & BAM, the day is over. and you are left being like "well that wasn't too bad" & "why was i so stressed?"

that was today.

today was a day when i turned to pete and said "you were right babe." 
because for the last couple months i've been a total basket case worrying about this big move. because it's not like we are packing up a few things & moving to another part of the state. it's not like one of those moves where you forget something & it's no big deal because you can grab it later on. connecticut to san francisco isn't a hop, skip, & a jump. and we are bringing with us a lot of stuff. and a lot of that stuff has been scattered all over different parts of my parents house over the course of a year. so in my head, it really overwhelmed me thinking about how we were going to pull this off. how was i going to box up all of our crap & get it into a corner so that the movers could easily load it and be on their merry way?

and so, they arrived this morning and (of course) started un-doing ALL of the packing i have done over the past few weeks. like literally taking every single cup, spoon, plate out of the boxes & re-wrapping them themselves. because the military (like pete told me many times) packs up your stuff themselves so that they are responsible if anything breaks. so that made me do an inside "ughhhh!!!" ...but then things went so smoothly!! & the movers were wonderful!! & really the only thing that went wrong was somehow my purse got mixed in with our things & is now chilling at the bottom of a box with my wallet & keys. so thank god for my passport otherwise i won't be flying on friday!!

and so, this day is done. and i can breathe a nice sigh of relief. & the next couple of days i can just relax and spend time with my family. and then we fly out friday, close on our condo the 17th, & the moving truck comes a week later. and then the fun part really begins: getting to decorate our beautiful industrial style loft in SoMa!


*below are the online pictures of our condo. this loft is an investment that pete, my in-laws, and i are making together. after much debate we agreed that it didn't make sense, from a financial standpoint, to throw away any more money on renting apartments (which is what we have done for the past four years).  with the help of an amazing realtor and our complete trust in my father in law's taste, we saw these pictures below online, fell in love, & now feel extremely blessed to call this beautiful place our first home!

i will be sure to post more pictures with my camera once we are moved in!

so roomie is on the cover of a magazine...

remember the stunning outer banks wedding husband and i went to in October? ya well, my college roommate/best friend is now smack dab on the cover of Outer Banks Bride. how awesome is that?! it was such a surprise to her & her new hubby and i couldn't be more thrilled for them. obviously they are dancing on cloud 9 right now! below is a screen shot of their story...

and to see the whole online magazine click right here for tons more beach cuteness and to see Aric doing back flips! congrats again Mary & Aric!

husband's travels: San Francisco

husband jumped on a plane last week & headed to sunny California to say goodbye to his parents who are moving to Switzerland for two years.  below are some of his iphone pics of the past week!

the corner of Haight + Fillmore

 Boonville beer bear (or moose?)

 the cutest little outdoor beer garden

 husband's new snap back hat

 Cafe Divine lattes 

 Coast Guard cutter Waesche

 their cat joining in on family dinner by sitting in my seat

 brothers

 half moon bay

 brother in law on the 18th

and because i couldn't make the long flight and therefore couldn't go... he brought me back my favorite cupcake mixes! you can buy them too! right here

 (they come with the frosting & sprinkles decorations... score.)

and husband surprised me with a new Upperplayground shirt :)

for those of you who haven't experienced the amazingness of Upperplayground click here for the best t-shirts & merchandise all designed by local artists & companies in San Francisco

a night out in San Francisco

on a rainy night in San Francisco, we headed out with some of my oldest friends from back home. all of them are currently living out there & it makes me want to relocate even more. the night was full of drinks, laughs, tacos, & a sketch of all of us done by a man at the bar. pete and i are top row, middle... i think it's pretty accurate :)

there's a first time for everything

while in california i tried sprinkles cupcakes

for the first time ever.

i even did my happy dance i was so excited, shown above.

red velvet. triple cinnamon (my favorite!). strawberry. chocolate marshmallow.

were the flavors purchased. & i ate them all. 

ok, i really only ate two & gave my in laws each one because i know how to share,

 but boy were they fabulous! 

glad i'm not scared of heights

 LONG SLEEVE: H&M

TOP: Ann Taylor

CORDUROYS: H&M

BOOTS: Kohls

BANGLES: Macy's

we headed up the pacific highway one morning to take in the views (and heights!) and stopped on the side of the road and sat in awe of these cliffs. you don't see anything like this back in connecticut! the sky was perfect, the sun was shining, & we had the best time before making our way to san francisco & enjoying one of my favorite stores, Upperplayground. happy saturday! 

polka dots for the mouse

on a rainy morning, that turned into a gorgeous afternoon, we scooped up brother in law Matt & headed for the Walt Disney Museum. But not before taking a few pics at the absolutely breathtaking Palace of Fine Arts. gorgeous right? the thing is monstrous. we had so much fun walking around in it, hurting our necks looking up, & trying to get close to the swans. and then it was off to the Disney museum & to see the Snow White exhibit. unreal. they show original sketches of all the beloved movies plus a miniature sized Disneyland. i could have spent all day in the museum and the gift shop, i could spend all day in any gift shop! 

 TOP: Lauren Conrad

JEANS: J.Crew

BAG: Madewell

BOOTS: Kohls

happy friday & have a fabulous weekend!

half moon bay

located on the most gorgeous cliffs you've ever seen. 

the ritz carlton, half moon bay.

(where american wedding was filmed for all you stifler fans!)

these pictures don't do it justice, it is that stunning

and it's also where my father in law golfs,

so naturally husband, his best friend, & his brother all played a round.