It’s Spring and it already feels like summer here in the South Bay. We love entertaining so we created a lovely little space on our patio for us to enjoy eating outside  when our friends are over. Luckily some of our very lovely friends live close by so we can (attempt) to have monthly dinner gatherings. During the weekend, Chris grilled up some steaks and whipped up a delicious coleslaw and cornbread (yes, he literally can just throw this stuff together like that) and we enjoyed dinner and drinks outside in the warm evening weather. Can’t wait for summer so we can have dinner on the patio every night!

photos by jforjamie ©

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For Mother’s Day, I treated my mom and future mother-in-law to a fun flower arranging class at West Elm in Palo Alto. We learned how to arrange flowers using the new Studio Choo book, The Flower Recipe Book. Our teacher, Caleb, gave us tips on using simple flowers to make beautiful arrangements. Taking the class was also perfect because we’re planning on making our own centerpieces for the wedding so the book will definitely be an inspiration and come in handy. This was a lovely way to spend time with my mother and mother-in-law and we all got to take home the book and flower arrangements we made. I definitely have flower fever now! See more photos from my weekend on Instagram.

photos by jforjamie ©

Buy the book!
Studio Choo
West Elm

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Off the Grid, a food truck organizer, hosts a picnic in Park Presidio in San Francisco every Sunday. Chris and I have been frequenting several food truck events to do “taste testing” and to pick which trucks we want at our wedding. Yes, you heard that right, we’re having food trucks at our wedding! Usually, food truck events are super crowded and the lines are really long but the picnic has a ton of vendors, trucks and restaurant booths, so the lines were manageable. There was even free parking and plenty of it (almost unheard of in San Francisco). The setting was beautiful and overlooks the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge and it’s right in front of the Walt Disney Family Museum. The picnic is kid/dog/adult/family friendly. This is a great Sunday afternoon treat, bring your picnic blankets, wine, cash and enjoy some delicious food!

Trucks we tried (all qualified contenders!):
Go Streatery
Fins on the Hoof
Del Popolo
The Creme Brulee Cart

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Specifically the Courvoisier baby, Moana. I’m about to overload you with cuteness. After our hike, Cheryl and I got pedicures and then went back to the Courvoisier abode and played with Moana. I must have snapped about 100 photos of her just drinking her bottle because she was so darn cute doing it. I mean, the whole family is gorgeous so no wonder their child is one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what’s in the water but our friends produce some pretty darn cute kids.

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This weekend, I spent a day with my lovely and gorgeous friend Cheryl in her city of San Ramon. We decided to go on a hike in the hills and have a picnic. The area of the East Bay where she lives is rolling with these lush hills that have peaks overlooking San Ramon and the surrounding cities. It’s quite beautiful! We were also some of the only people on the trails, maybe because it was 90-something degrees out. We got some girl-time, exercise and a lot of sun. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to pedicures and then spent some time with her gorgeous baby girl (more on that on Wednesday’s post). We’re making this type of outing a regular occurrence!

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Happy Friday everyone! On a trip up to Oakland the other week, I stopped on College Avenue in Berkeley to visit one of my favorite stores, Tail of the Yak. This store is truly one of a kind, you can find the most precious gifts, decor, stationary and handmade goodies here. I had a hard time not buying one (or a few) of everything I saw. I did pick up a few goodies – a letterpress calligraphy guide, a foldout paper flower garland, some gold glass glitter, bamboo paper clips and a Japanese pencil set. Once we get our wedding decor more finalized, I’ll be back to buy out the store. They don’t allow photos in the store but here are my purchases.

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Over the weekend, I woke up bright and early to go to the San Francisco Flower Mart. Our very talented and crafty friend, Liv, is making our wedding bouts and bouquets (so excited!) and I told her I would scope out the flower mart after it opens to the public. I could visit this place every day if I had to. I love all the vibrant colors and watching the flower vendors create beautiful bouquets. There are definitely far less flower stands after it opens to the public but there’s still plenty to choose from. The only hard thing was there were so many of my favorite flowers that I know won’t be in season for our wedding. However, I know whatever flowers are in season, there will be some amazing options. I highly recommend going straight to the source for your flower needs at the flower mart!

 photos by jforjamie ©

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When I saw Audrey Hepburn gracing the cover of May’s Vanity Fair issue, I literally squealed. Audrey Hepburn will always be my style icon – timeless, classy and so elegant. My favorite Audrey style era was in her post-movie-making years, when she lived in Italy. Photos from her son, Lucca Dotti’s new book Audrey in Rome, show her dressed perfectly simple, dashing across the cobblestone streets of Rome. My favorite photo, shared in the Vanity Fair issue, is the one of her strolling on the street wearing a long peacoat, dog on leash. Some of her signatures accessories were pearls, a scarf tied around her neck and a basket purse. If Polyvore were my digital closet, this would be my Hepburn-spiration outfit. Oh the things I would do to have that Kate Spade picnic basket – of course, I would use it as a regular purse, just like Audrey would have.

Style Icon: Audrey Hepburn by jforjamie featuring juliet & company

photos found here.

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I grew up in the Central Valley of California, one of the most productive agriculture hubs in the world (thank you Wikipedia). To this day, I don’t think I truly appreciate the Central Valley for what it is. Sometimes it’s hard to overlook the heat and smog and small town mentality but it’s my hometown and it will always have a special place in my heart. That being said, on a recent trip home to visit my parents (and to do a hair and makeup trial with one of my longtime friends), I stopped by this strawberry stand that’s literally down the street from my parent’s house. They had the freshest, juiciest, most vibrant colored strawberries I’ve ever seen, and it was 3 baskets-full for $5! I loved buying the strawberries on the strawberry farm, directly from the lovely people that picked them – who were as sweet as the strawberries! I don’t think a lot of people can say they grew up down the street from a strawberry farm, a dairy or a walnut grove, but I did! Oh, and one of the things I made with these luscious strawberries, was a sweet strawberry buttermilk cake.

 photos by jforjamie ©

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