philly in photos

City Hall. An architectural delight.

Independence Hall. I can only imagine the lavish meals that took place in this dining room.

Ben Franklin Bridge. I was snoozing while B took this photo.

Our AirBnB accommodation  One of the most inspiring interiors I've ever slept in..and an added bonus, we were near a bunch of Vietnamese sandwich (or hoagies as they call 'em) shops!!

the before and after

b and i were ready for some new color in our living room.  here's the before:

and after with YOLO's Night Beacon. The wall carries its own drama and needs nothing else.

 

paint, booze and the harlem shake

Yesterday was miraculous. It made me think that if B and I were in a couples competition like The Amazing Race or something of that nature, we'd totally kick ass. We repainted our living room, which involved running back and forth to paint stores for supplies and to Berkeley because we underestimated the amount of paint we needed. We like YOLO Colorhouse because it doesn't smell, dries fast and is good to the environment. The only bad thing is that the one shop in San Francisco that carried it closed down! It was a good day's effort. My hands are calloused and still sore from working that paint roller. I was working like a mad woman. I'll share some video footage in a future post. 

Then that evening we hosted a cocktail party AND, wait for it..

DID THE HARLEM SHAKE.

During the party, a friend brought it up in conversation -- and the mystery continues-- but another friend suggested we recreate the video (some hadn't heard of youtube sensation so we played a few versions)-- and then we all thought it a great idea to follow. After two takes and one too many cocktails, we went cray. It was ridiculous and fabulous on so many levels.

Some photos of last night with a sneak peak of the new living room color!

And my absolute favorite..

p.s.

I'm saving the before and after living room photos for a future post. Stay tuned!

valentine's day

I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate love than with my honey, and one of our favorite past times-- cooking. And let's be real, eating!

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2012 in cities

Anh-Minh of Anthology Magazine inspired me to think about my past year in travel. The rule is that one or more nights must be spent in each city. Going through my calendar, I realized how many times I visited home. This past year may be a record!

1. San Gabriel, CA

2. Pasadena, CA

3. Seattle, WA

4. Buenos Aires, Argentina

5. Los Cabos, Mexico 

6. San Gabriel, CA

7. Las Vegas, NV

8. Pebble Beach, CA

9. San Luis Obispo, CA

10. Napa, CA / Healdsburg, CA

11. San Gabriel, CA

12. San Gabriel, CA

Some notable moments include:

- Catching Dashboard Confessional with my big sis (even though I hadn't planned to go with her because we got in a big fight). I'm glad we did and made up.

- Eating non-stop Vietnamese meals with my Aunt Tina in San Francisco (she was visiting from Minot, ND and one happy camper!)

- Taking my cousins out to get ice cream and play at the park. I remember when they started singing this repetitive song (I think it goes like this "This is the song that never ends...")that they thought was getting on my nerves. I tried to play it off like I liked it, believing in reverse psychology, but in reality, it was driving me nuts! There was another time we went to the beach and we scarfed on cheesesteaks and fries.. These memories make my day.

- Falling in love with Seattle, their food, decor, walkability and cleanliness (oh the fresh air!) and being there with my honey (We had the hippest airbnb studio)

- Getting creeped out in our old Buenos Aires airbnb apartment (not the fondest memory, but one that stands out). And then coming home to host a fabulous cocktail party with fernet and alfajores. 

- Celebrating my 25th Birthday and first girls' trip to Cabo. It was full of drama, sunshine and warm water. 

- Reuniting with an old college friend in SLO and celebrating her 30th birthday.

- Going wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma with some of my favorite lady friends. BILL. Or was it Bob? 

- All the holiday parties (the one at Marta's, Dennie's, our holiday brunch, and Alice's at the Tonga Room and the Fairmont that ended too quick to remember, but is fully accounted for on Facebook). 

- The meals with my family-- there are so many!!

I can go on. So many memories come to mind, and now I'm getting tired and have to pee! I am so, so thankful for the people in my life, the experiences, new adventures, and for my job (just the other day, I realized I have a dream job, live it up!) While I tend to think that the grass is greener on the other side, and am always striving to improve myself, I'm taking this moment to live in the present. I am oh, so lucky and grateful. 

xoxo,

connie

p.s. Hopefully 2013 will bring more regular blog postings!

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