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Let's continue the schmoopyness of living with the one you love, shall we?

Makes my heart happy!

In fact, I'd gladly display any of the artwork below, inspired by this song from the quirky Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.

{1, 2, 3, 4}

Alabama Arkansas I do love my Ma and Pa

Not the way that I do love you

Holy moly, me oh my, your the apple of my eye

Girl I've never loved one like you

Man o Man your my best friend I scream it to the nothingness

there ain't nothing that I need...

Home, let me come home

Home is whenever I'm with you

Home, yes I am home

Home is wherever I'm with you

You (my sweet husband)

Earlier today I walked outside to call you. I flipped open my phone and scrolled through a loooong list of recent calls before I got to your name. 

Why hadn't we talked on the phone in so long? 

Oh yeah... I smiled. 

We just spent the whooooole weekend together. Who needs a phone?  

At first this made me sad because it's now Monday and the weekend is over. 

Then it hit me. I get to see you tonight when I come home from work. And tomorrow, too. And the next day and the next until it's once again the weekend and I can set my phone aside and spend a little time with you.

This was a big revelation today. It made my heart swell. 

I just love living with you. 

Butterfly Specimen Poster

I am not particularly drawn to butterflies and certainly avoid any clothing or accessories they find themselves fluttering on.

I am, however, attracted to this beautiful print from UO.

The paper appears vintage, as though recently ripped from an old textbook. My mom (who dislikes all butterfly decor) will probably be pained to read that I would love to frame and hang this print in my home. 

What do you think?

*I stand corrected. This bride happens to be wearing a lovely butterfly dress. 

San Francisco Guide: Good Eats

One of our favorite things to do when exploring a new city is discover the best local food.  We spent the week before our departure scouring blogs for tips on restaurants off the beaten path offering good eats at a decent price.

I can only remember one meal that didn't absolutely wow us. For your sake (and theirs), I've left that particular spot off our list.  Enjoy!

Pizzeria Delfina
We walked a mile and a half for this pizza.
Up and down each hill, we repeated "I sure hope this is worth it".  It was.

We kept it simple with a Margherita Pizza. The tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil need not boast of their freshness. Their strong individual flavors paired together made me oh so happy. But what really took it over the top was the unexpected extra virgin olive oil sitting above the sauce.

House of Nanking

We waited in line outside this Chinatown restaurant for a coveted spot inside their cozy dining area. And by cozy, I mean cramped. We heard from locals that there is always a line to get in. Eric requested the House of Nanking for the remainder of our trip and continues to do so when asked what he wants to for dinner at our home in Alabama. Ha! 

We both ordered the classic Chinese dish Sesame Chicken which, to our delight, came with sweet potato wedges and loads of white sticky rice. 

El Farolito

We rode the bus to the Mission district, past hordes of people and eclectic shops and nearly missed this particular burrito place among many others in the area. We ordered at the counter and helped ourselves to chips and a plethora of salsa selections while our burritos were rolled. 

I should mention that while I have a special affinity for Mexican food, I also have a special loathing for burritos. I never order them because it seems like each bite brings out only one boring ingredient. Bite of rice, bite of meat, bite of beans, bite of sour cream. No thank you. 

I set aside my disdain based on recommendations and selected the Al Pastor Super Burrito. Oh my.  Favorite meal of the trip hands down. Every bite packed a punch of flavors making me wish I had the stomach to actually finish the thing. Eric ordered a Chicken Super Burrito with guacamole and almost did.  

Nick's Crispy Tacos

We were wet from fog and starving by the time we reached Nick's Crispy Tacos, which operates as a taco stand by day and a creepy red themed bar by night. When the menu read "soft unless otherwise specified" we were thoroughly confused and prepared for disappointment. 

Luckily, we discovered Nicks way (any taco made crispy with guacamole and jack cheese).  Yes please! Crispy at Nick's means two soft shells with the outer shell lightly fried once stuffed.  Folks, I've gotta learn how to make these at home. We both agreed the chicken tacos were the best, topped with complimentary green salsa squeezed from a bottle. We also enjoyed the homemade chips loaded with fresh pico salsa. 

Theresa & Johnny's Comfort Food

After a world tour our bodies craved a comforting home-style brunch. The sign out front reading "just real good food", the walls lined with vintage posters and gadgets, the couple drinking milk shakes before noon and the waitress with a healthy girth and hearty smile all invited us to relax and enjoy. 

I took comfort in a plate sized (extra thin) pancake, bacon and crispy fried french toast.  I still have no idea what that slice of bread went through but, suffice it to say, it tasted amazing. Eric relaxed with a giant breakfast burrito and a bowl of fresh fruit. 

We surprisingly spent almost no more money on food than we do here in Birmingham and enjoyed each meal as much as the one before. 

Do you have a city food guide you'd like to share?  Feel free to link in the comments below. 

Also, can you tell who obsessed over taking food pics based on these shots?  Ha!

*Another SF post coming soon!

Yosemite

Eric and I recently spent our second anniversary on the west coast.

Being the well-balanced travel partners that we are, we stayed in both the city of San Francisco and the wide open spaces of Yosemite. It was the perfect kind of vacation, where each day brought a new and unexpected adventure and we were truly sad to say goodbye.   

This week, I'd love to share pictures and tips from our trip. 

We'll start with the breathtaking Yosemite (I may, or may not, have had a slight panic attack driving into the valley). Rock walls shoot up thousands of feet from the ground, wild life intermingle with visitors and the scenery is absolutely stunning. 

A brief summary: we slept in a canvas tent in Curry Village, rode bikes around the valley, explored Camp 4 and Yosemite Falls, hiked 4.8 miles up (at an elevation of 3200 ft) to Glacier Point and basically jogged all the way down for pizza, which became the staple meal of our stay. Anything with a smell was stored in the bear box outside our tent. My knees and hips have never hurt so bad and I have never slept so good.

We stayed in Yosemite Valley for two nights and crammed as much activity as possible into the one full day we were there. A hike up Glacier Point is a must for anyone wanting multiple viewpoints of the park including Half Dome and El Capitan.

I can't help but adore a husband who pushes me beyond my limits and encourages me to find beauty in the simplest things.

Have you visited Yosemite? Do tell... 

*San Francisco guide coming soon!

Kneepad Tights

I already pine away for a wonderfully plain sweater with elbow patches and now, after browsing ASOS, I hope to also add a pair of painfully cute kneepad tights to my winter wardrobe. 

I'm curious: would you wear these tights? 

Have a lovely day!

Pick Up the Phone

Today I am suited up with a scarf, boots and printed tights. It's quite cold outside and a strong case could be made that the end of the year is drawing near.

How pleased I was, then, to come across this article while defrosting in my office. 

The article documents what we already know: people simply don't call each other anymore. It's quite funny (and relatable) to read about typical reactions to the phone ringing. At first, a sense of dread that the person on other line is the bearer of bad news, only to be followed by an altogether different sense of dread that they merely want to talk, interrupting important time that could be spent doing other things. 

Funny. Relatable. But sad, too.   

Which brings me to the point of why reading this article on a cold October day makes me happy. As you may recall, I started out 2011 with a list of goals, written in a small notebook that successfully made the rounds of purses as the seasons changed. As the months passed, I shared a few of my goals here and took time to evaluate my progress. This article, however, forced me to take a hard look at one goal I've let slip by unnoticed. Digging into the pocket of my latest purse (a red saddle bag, in case you needed to visualize it), I grabbed the notebook and reluctantly flipped through the pages until I found it. 

Goal number 6: Learn to be a better friend. Take risks. Pick up the phone. 

Ouch. 

Let me explain. It's not that I don't want to be a better friend. I most certainly do. But insecurities and laziness often get the best of me. This particular goal was written with purposeful intention. It's long been my desire to be the kind of woman who not only remembers birthdays and has cute parties at Christmastime, but also relates during hardships and rejoices during victories. Who is vulnerable enough to be herself and and relies on God to be better than herself for the sake of others. 

Who picks up the phone for crying out loud! 

I'll spare you the details of my insecurities and laziness to simply say this: I've got a lot of work to do. I'm so grateful to have the remainder of this year to focus on being a better friend. 

How are your 2011 goals coming along? Can you relate to this one in particular? I'd love to hear!

(yes, it's been a while. let's just skip the reasons why and dive back in, shall we?)