faux fur and wine tasting: twisted oak

alright... on to day number 5 of what is now being dubbed "The California Reunion Tour"
Ha.
my friends think they are so funny, there was even talk of t-shirts listing all of the events that we managed to cram in last month while I was there.
srsly. we went absolutely nuts. and it was the best. time. ever.
I actually just scheduled a trip back for a week in 10 days and I'm really pumped. we have already planned a, wait for it..... tea party!
its at this posh little place in down town SF called Crown and Crumpet. and I am already dreaming of an adorable dress to take tea in. here is my top contender as of this moment. thoughts?
with some brightly colored tights and a fun flower headband?
y-e-s.

but ok, on to the post. so, the day after christmas my family and I headed up into the mountains to visit my grandpa. he lives in this auh-mazing cabin up in Arnold near Bear mountain. we decided to stop on the way in the cute town of murphys. dear northern californians: murphys is going to be the new sonoma/napa.
no joke
the entire town is made of of the MOST adorable shops, restaurants, and of course wineries. they aren't stuffy like the napa tasting rooms and everyone there is such a blast. the shots below were taken at my favorite of the day: Twisted Oak.
and yes, if you haven't gathered by now... my family loves to go wine tasting.
you can't blame them, they do live in sonoma. duh.

I was going to zoom on these photos, as to see the outfit better, but I just ended up LOVING this scenery too much to crop it out. this was one of the seating areas in the back area by the vineyards and it was just incredibly pretty to look at. sigh.

also, if you haven't gathered from the few posts already, there was a pretty simple formula for the outfits for this trip.
colored tights + funky shirt/dress +black/tan boots +jacket/vest = easy packing
I tried to keep it as interesting as possible, but I was only working with two suitcases for over a month. I was actually really loving this outfit. that faux fur vest can really do no wrong in my eyes. see? promised that it was going to get some action on this trip. also, it was perfect for that day wandering around the mountains keeping me warm. :)

I wanted to purchase this sign for my parents in the worst way, but held back. I have this really nasty habit of buying superfluous gifts for my friends and family just because. if I see something that reminds me of them, or that I think they would enjoy, I just go for it. sigh. I'm trying to be more conscious about money and not just go throwing it around on silly things. oh hai recession, thanks for teaching me some better skillz.

this place was so rustic chic with so many interesting colors that I was dying inside. my camera and I were doing our happy dance and taking ridiculous amounts of photos. what can I say? California is too pretty of a place. my heart really does miss it. arizona has that whole desert beauty thing going on, but man do I miss the color green. sounds strange, right? but down here everything is warm shades. brown, red, orange, olive, yellow....but in northern california, at this time of year, everything is this incredibly deep and vibrant green. and of course the most gorgeous sun sets.

on a side note, I am going to be posting some pictures of our wonderful, new, being-built-as-we-speak house on friday! I took a few snaps and a little video that I can't wait to share with you all.
I am already losing sleep over what colors I want to paint, what art I am going to put on the walls, and what type of theme and decor I am going to use.
can't wait to get my creative/DIY/painter side on!

we are also sneaking and inching our way up to my 100th post! fantastic. stay tuned next week for a special post and my first give away. hoorah. well cheers everyone and happy shiny tuesday.
xoxo

visions of sugarplums.

As I am posting this I am realizing just how far behind I am.
yikes.
well, I will be posting like a maniac the next few weeks to get us caught up. hang on tight.
with out ado...here is day four

now, as I was planning this outfit I was completely enamored by it.
all green for christmas day, since I had rocked all red for christmas eve.
was I thrilled with how it looked once I actually go it on?
nope.
dear Megan, please don't ever wear that shirt ever again. it looks kind of heinous on you.
sometimes you work an outfit, & sometimes it just doesn't happen.
while we are on the topic of how interesting looking I was that day, wtf happened to my hair?
it had only been cut for a few days and I tried, with out avail, to straighten and then curl it under. you know, cute bob style.
it did NOT work out.
sigh. I will get it next time.
I should mention on a side note that the lovely lady pictured above is my girl, Rene
we used her crazy cool new camera to get some of those shots and she edited them for moi.

I spent christmas morning over with my in-laws who are a blast with a capital b.
and of course we rocked some pajamas. no other way to do it.
and I'm the awesome sister in law that purchased that gem of a scene it game for my little sis.
oh hey twilight edition, could you be more awesome?

while we kicked in in our PJ's, the dogs felt it was necessary to be a little fancier for the occasion.
nice bow tie wylie.

case in point: please see example a to understand how goofy and awesome my in-laws are....
the upside down christmas tree.
rest my case.

note to self: you have the coolest brother-in-laws because they own ron burgundy pajamas/shirts.

and of course, the mom and pop in-laws wrestling it out. no holiday would be complete without that.
also, thought that pop's present was hilarious.
iron man underwear since he competed in the iron man in kona hawaii last year. BIG deal in our fam. :)

on a side note, this weekend was an intense amount of fun for the hubby and I. we FINALLY got everything squared away with our house!
*squeals*
I may have to break the rules and post some pics in the coming days, and go a little wonky and out of order. you don't mind, right?

happy monday ladies and gents. xoxo

Christmas glitter.

Away we go.... day three. I give you the Christmas Eve ensemble. I was completely and merrily in love with this outfit. I felt like a little Christmas ornament myself between the bright red tights, and the sequin skirt. I was also sporting my brand new coach sequin purse! Usually I opt for the bigger, funkier purses, but I adore this one. Its tiny, and shiny, and oh so adorable. Unfortunately, it really does not fit all of my stuff. Well, sometimes fashion takes precedence. Christmas Eve is always our big night in my family. We eat a HUGE Italian meal and make my mom's famous Italian cookies after dinner. It was such a fun night, and by the end everyone was exhausted, including the dogs!







merry christmas! one month late :) happy almost weekend! xoxo

hair sneak peak

So, in honor of a few of you lovely ladies (heres looking at you Kyla *wink wink*) I am posting a small, teeny, little preview of the new do'. Now, for me it was a pretty big change. However, I have had it pointed out to me by close friends and family that it really isn't AS drastic as it seems to me. So before the preview picture I have posted some photos of what my hair looked like going into the trip home.... you have to remember it was WHITE BLONDE!

so, as you can see it was pretty bright, and long... though I usually wore it up like in the below photos. Anyways, I love it a little darker, and in the sun light you can really see the reds and the auburns streaked throughout it now...


ta-da. shorter, and darker. well to me anyways! Since the majority of my posts for the next few weeks still feature the bright hair, I thought I would show you what it looks like so you wouldn't have to wait! xoxo

a day in sonoma

Hello again, and thank you for all of the welcome back love yesterday. I have missed catching up with you immensely! It is wonderful to be back and to be sharing all of my adventures the past month with you. Away we go... Day two. And I apologize for my gratuitous use of the phrase "away we go", but really have you seen that movie? phenomenal. and saying it makes me feel ever so artsy, so just go with it. Anyways, my mom was incredibly anxious and excited to have me staying with her for so long. She has an empty nest, and a husband (hey dad) that is constantly traveling for international business (are you in Germany this week?). While sometimes she gets to tag along (hello Barcelona in two weeks!), mostly she ends up having a ton of time alone. When I used to live in the bay area it was a quick one hour jaunt to get up to wine country to visit her, or a short bart ride to the city to meet up for some theater or shopping. Now that I am a state and a plane ride away, we no longer have our coveted "mother-daughter" time. While I was anxious to see my mom, I was equally anxious to see all of my long lost friends (you know, back from when I had a social life). However, I knew a mom day was in order right off the bat. So after day one (hair escapades), day two consisted of a little wine tasting day.

these were taken in front of our house. how cute is my mom with the giant Christmas ornaments hanging in our front trees? love her holiday spirit. I was also loving my purple ensemble topped with my black, faux fur vest. It has been far too hot to wear this baby in Arizona, so I wasted no time in busting it out of the suit case immediately. rest assured, you will see this vest in many of the photos to come from this trip. you will also be seeing these little boots. I brought 3 pairs of boots with me and kind of set them on a rotation. remember people, only two suitcases to work with here!

we headed over to one of my favorite wineries, Jacuzzi. Its right smack in the middle of the carneros wine strip and its fantastic. seriously, if you are in town don't miss it. It has the most beautiful Italian architecture and it reminds me of sitting at a chateau up at Lago di Garda and sipping prosecco.

my new ride.
HA. gotcha. I wish it was my new ride. that is my mama's hot, little ride. my dad upgraded her to the new audi for Christmas. dear dad, I'm still waiting for mine. is it being shipped to Tucson? I'm hoping that one magical day my mother will tire of this joyous car and hand me the keys in thanks for being such a wonderful daughter. a girl can dream.

oh, another bonus of visiting Jacuzzi? My auntie marie works there, and hooks us up with free olio tasting. whats olio, you ask? olive oil! they make the most delicious oil there and you must go try some. Tell auntie who sent you. :)
now this was a new one for me. they had little, chocolate cups that they poured port into! De-lish! we ended up buying some cups and doing this Christmas eve back at the house.
oh him? yeah, that's my new boyfriend. the ever so hot Christmas butler. don't be jealous.

this is the back of the vineyard. just in case the front wasn't gorgeous enough, right?


we ended the day by driving up the hill to gloria ferrer to sip some champagne. they have one of the best views of the valley and their champagne is killer. hope you enjoyed my day two escapades. ciao ladies and happy tuesday! xoxo

lets take it back

Helllooooo blog land. After a much needed, and much enjoyed hiatus I am happy to be back. :) As you know, I have been at home in San Francisco attempting to see everyone and do everything in the the 35 days that I had there. It was a wild and crazy ride that I needed a few sleepy days in rainy Arizona to recover from. Despite being lonely this past autumn, I had gotten quite used to the quiet, and the solitary schedule. Being back home was wonderful, but it was like being on sensory overload. By the last week I was incredibly tired and had run out of clothes! I ended up bringing only two suitcases in order to challenge myself to be more creative with my outfits. You will notice that for the next few posts of the trip, that my outfits are not as intricate as usual, but fun none the less. I opted to bring lots of solid colors, lots of black, and ALL of my warm clothes that I have been missing with the warm Arizona weather. So with out further ado, I take you back to a month ago when I first arrived in Sonoma. After a 16 hour drive I was ready to get going. My first day back I took a well needed trip to the Spa to visit my girl Carly. She was the genius behind my wedding day hair and she is a stylist extraordinaire. I haven't trusted anyone in Tucson to touch my hair as of yet, so if anyone has a suggestion it would be much appreciated. So, my hair was in fairly dire condition and in desperate need of a cut and color. I had my hair done a few times over the trip and gradually went shorter and darker. On this particular visit I chopped 3 inches off! It was still pretty blonde here, and after just sneaking a look in my mirror, looking at this picture it was still bright blonde. Its much darker now! Some browns, and yes even reds and I'm loving it! Stay tuned for a few weeks and you will get a peak yourselves... So away we go... Day One....






happy monday ladies! xoxo

away we go. to tucson.

I'm back! well, sort of. I have returned from a glorious 35 days back in the bay area and am currently editing a TON of photos to start posting on Monday so that you can all hear about my crazy, Californian adventure. It was beyond helpful to be home, and I have made some life changes over the break that I will share with you soon. :) For now, I am going to share a link with you to my girl, Rene's blog. We cooked up a storm over break and here are our tasty chicken enchiladas. Enjoy! until Monday.... xoxo