{ we left our hearts in san francisco }

Over the weekend, we spent an incredible couple of days in San Francisco. In addition to seeing this magical production of Peter Pan, we had time to walk the city during the day. We decided to stay close to the Ferry Building and the strip along the piers...indulging in a perfect mix of tourist attractions and local hang-outs. I thought I'd share a few of the gems with you...

clear skies above the ferry building

{ ask a native...this is rare! }

a visit isn't complete without a sweet treat from miette

Gott's Roadside...my new favorite lunch spot {dinner was good too! }

I loved that it was warm enough to walk at night

Red's back deck was the perfect spot to enjoy our breakfast on a sunny San Francisco day

shared smiles with family {my favorite part of the weekend}

Did I mention how hard it was to leave?

P.S. I panicked when I realized that I didn't have a digital camera for the weekend {ours was stolen recently}. Then I remembered the camera on my new iphone. I was pleasantly surprised by the results, especially after a little experimenting and post processing with Camera Bag.

{ making me smile... }

barbecuing in our backyard on warm Spring nights

the rewards of {finally} developing my film

matching mother/daughter sandals for summer

buying bunches of sweet peas at the farmer's market

taking baby steps back to blogging

{ making me smile today... }

image source

a rare lunch date with my hubby

the daffodils blooming in my garden

my new shorter {and perhaps a bit sassier?} haircut

plans for a girls weekend in the wine country next month

my daughter's cheerful, "happy friday!" greeting this morning

What's making you smile today?

{ psst... }

I'm daydreaming over here today. I hope you'll stop by for a visit.

{ sunshine on a cloudy day }

from our garden to our table { oh-so-delicious! }

hope you're having a lovely weekend too.

{ winter c-h-i-l-l }

I'm back! Thank you sweet friends for giving me some PTO...I promise you, I used it wisely.

We approached our winter holiday break with one main mission in mind: to do as little as possible. By that I mean, under commit and over relax. By all accounts, we were wildly successful.

It's amazing how busy we kept ourselves doing nothing. Oh the fun we had...Stay in our our PJs till noon? Totally acceptable. Snowball fights at midnight? Absolutely. Hot Cocoa AND cotton candy at the ice rink? Well, of course! Sure, the laundry piled up, the Christmas decorations still haven't been put away, and I now have a to-do list that's about 3 pages long. The bonus is, we're relaxed, reconnected, and ready to take on this thing called twenty-ten*. Bring it!

P.S. Quite happy to say buh bye to 2009 I might add.

{ thursday thoughts...worth repeating }

A favorite "Thursday Thoughts" post from 2009...

and a perfect reminder of all that I hope to accomplish in 2010.

How about you dear friends...what is your wish for 2010?

Thanks to a last minute invite from friends, we're off to the snow for a few days.

Meet you back here Monday.

{ sharing holiday traditions }

photo courtesy of Jay Mather, found here

Ever since I can remember, visions of sugar plums...candy canes and snow fairies have danced in my head at Christmastime, thanks to my favorite holiday tradition, The Nutcracker Ballet. I still recall the thrill of going to see it each year in San Francisco with my grandmother and being utterly captivated by the music, costumes, and scenery. I've loved sharing the same tradition with my own daughter the last couple of years and watching her fall head over heels in love with the story as well. This year, our tradition continued with a very special twist when my daughter auditioned and was cast as a teeny tiny mouse in the Sacramento Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

Each year, The Sacramento Ballet casts 400+ local children to perform throughout the holiday season with their own company of professional dancers, creating unforgettable, tug-at-your-heart magic on stage. {I recommend having tissues on hand}. It's an amazing experience for the kids to perform with professional dancers in front of such a large (and adoring) audience and the opportunity to hang out backstage and discover the hard work and dedication behind the scenes is priceless. I chaperoned one of the performances and was able to take a few pics. I thought you might like a sneak peek through the eyes of my teeny tiny mouse...

we wait for the cue that it's okay to put on our costumes

and then, we wait...again

we watch the "big girls" & dream of someday playing the part of a party girl or Clara

we have our makeup done

and visit with the **stars** who stop by for a visit

we chase away the butterflies in our tummies

and then...it's SHOWTIME!!!

a new twist on a favorite tradition = a lifetime of magical memories...

what a gift!

P.S. I'll be taking a little bloggy break while my daughter is on winter break from school and will return after the Christmas holiday. In the meantime, I've invited some fabulous blogger friends to stop by S.HOPtalk and share their favorite holiday memories and traditions with you all {as the lovely Mary did earlier today } Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays! xo ~Suzanne

Local readers can find ticket information for the remaining Sacramento Ballet Nutcracker performances (today - December 23rd) here.

{ happy, happy monday }

Happy Monday friends! I am back and catching up after my daughter's fabulous, whirlwind birthday weekend. We kicked it off Friday with a surprise, first-time visit to the American Girl store in LA--so, so fun. She loves the historical characters/dolls and was in awe seeing them all in person. The celebration continued Saturday with a magical day at Disneyland which is still one of my favorite places to visit--and especially so now, seeing it through my daughter's eyes. There were moments we laughed so hard that our stomachs ached. My idea of bliss!

I will be back with a fresh post tomorrow. In the meantime, treat yourself to a visit to Cafe Mom, where the lovely Sheri has gathered affordable gift ideas from some of my favorite bloggers. { You may even spot a few from moi }. xoxo

25 Gifts for $10 & Under

15 Gifts for $20 & Under

{ thursday thoughts }

I'm off to find some happily ever after at the Happiest Place on Earth...

a certain little someone is turning nine.

P.S. Did you hear...the t.ruffle girls have opened a shoppe where you can find all kinds of happy & magic!

{ holiday card outtake }

I grabbed my daughter and the pup and headed to the park the other day to shoot some photos for our holiday card. It felt reeeeeally good to dust off my good camera {film} and take something other than quick snapshots. Must make a point to do it more often! This shot is one of my favorites from the day. From a technical standpoint, it may not be perfect, but there's something about it that I love. {Obviously there was something much more interesting than the crazy lady behind the camera.}

P.S. Do you have a recommendation for good photo cards? I've been really happy with Shutterfly, but would love to explore other options as well.

{ gratitude }

via theresca

As I reflect on our Thanksgiving -- a most enjoyable day spent laughing, loving, and celebrating with our families -- I am reminded of what's truly most important and grateful for all the blessings in my life. Wishing you all a joy-filled holiday weekend. Meet you back here Monday.

{ 29...again! }

+

=

all my wishes come true!

P.S. So happy to learn that my sweet imaginary friend and I share the same day. Please make sure to wish her a happy, happy day!!!

{ celebrating the little things }

After discovering this gated entry while walking my daughter to school today, I had to smile. I've walked past this spot hundreds of times and never noticed it. That I also happened to have my camera with me made it all the sweeter. It seemed serendipitous after giving myself a much needed attitude adjustment yesterday...one of those "Snap out of it!" moments if you will. The start of a new month seemed like the perfect opportunity for a fresh perspective and I vowed to find the good in each and every day. Who knew it could be found in a weathered gate?

P.S. Karey's bits of magic were the icing on the cake!

{ happy halloweekend }

Yes, that is moi in the bunny costume...circa 1970s something. I absolutely loved celebrating Halloween as a child, didn't you? My mom made all of my costumes and I vividly remember each one. This year, my daughter's going to be an astronaut thanks to our amazing visit this summer to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

What are your halloween plans...I'd love to hear about your and/or your kiddos' costumes. Whatever your plans...enjoy!!!

{ life...unplugged }

It's amazing what can happen when the power goes out for a couple of hours...

bigger

I'm reminded of the importance of creating unplugged time every once in awhile. It's not always as easy as it sounds, but the payoff is priceless!

{ storm buddies }

As forecasted, we woke up to a huge storm this morning (at least for us Californians, it was huge). It ultimately knocked out our phone, internet and cable T.V. access all morning--meaning no distractions to take our minds off of the howling winds, broken tree branches, and pounding rain. I think our scared pup was just as happy to have little one around as she was to have him.

Thanks for your patience as I catch up on a backlog of to-dos. I'll see you all here tomorrow with a shiny and new post. xo ~Suzanne

{ the good stuff: wee wishes }

Last week, I attended back-to-school night in my daughter's classroom and had the opportunity to peruse some of the projects the children have completed this school year. In one corner of the classroom was a wall covered in kites that the children had colored. I went to take a closer look at their artwork and realized each student was also asked to write their "wishes" along the tail of their kite. Rather than a litany of requests for the latest video game gadgets, the kids' responses were quite thoughtful (and adorable). These were a few of my favorites:

"I wish I was the nicest kid in the world."

"I wish I was rich so I could help poor people more."

"I wish Obama could be the President forever."

"I wish Peter Pan was real so he could take me to Neverland."

(imagine who wrote this one)

image credit: jonas peterson ~ an incredible (incredible!) photographer

{ the good stuff: quiet sunrises }

Thanks to the new (furry) addition to our family, I am now awakened at the crack of dawn each and every morning--a tough transition given my notorious night owl ways. The plus side of this early morning ritual is my new found appreciation of sunrises. I can tell you first-hand that the early morning light bouncing off the cloud formations is absolutely stunning. And though I wish I could take credit for these lovely captures, I haven't yet pulled it together enough in these early morning hours to actually pull out my camera and snap away. Apparently though, there are people who can actually function at this hour and who share their their captures with the lovely Cloud Appreciation Society (who knew?!).

So tell me...will you be joining me for a sunrise start to the day or hitting the snooze button and snuggling back under the covers? (I wouldn't blame you if you did.)

All images via The Cloud Appreciation Society

{ back to school }

I'm sure gonna miss having my little rock star around the house.