We thought it was time to do a little more exploring in our neck of the woods so Chris found an urban trail and off we went! We walked from our little town of Cupertino all the way to downtown Mountain View. It was a great trail with lots of beautiful South Bay foliage. The best was ending in Mountain View where we could conveniently sit down and have lunch (we picked sushi). I’d like to try biking down this trail because it seems perfect for a nice ride. The weather down here is about 20 degrees warmer than San Francisco so I think we’ll be outside a lot this summer!

photos by jforjamie ©

I find Valentine’s Day to be mostly cheesy and annoying. But it can also be romantic and it’s a day solely dedicated to loving one another, so how can I resist wishing everyone a very happy super sweet Valentine’s Day? Chris and I will be laying low with a home cooked dinner and a relaxing evening at home with our pup. Hope your evening (and every other evening) is full of love, friendship and laughter. Valentine or not, treat yo’self to something sweet because you deserve it!

photo by breanna carin holderby

Given to me by none other than my handsome/darling/wonderfully romantic future husband. I came home Sunday night to the sweetest note and the most beautiful pair of Kate Spade shoes to wear on our wedding day. Chris snuck on to my Pinterest board to find them because he wanted to get me a present (oh how I love Pinterest!). He gave them to me just in time for my first dress fitting so I could try them on with the dress. According to my dress “entourage”, they looked perfect! Thank you so much my sweet and thoughtful fiance!

me with my wedding dress!
{photo by nova}

I am determined to find the little hidden gems that I know exist in the South Bay. So Chris and I woke up bright and early to go exploring/hiking near our home at the Fremont Older and it was simply beautiful! The weather was cold, crisp and sunny and the hike was perfect and leisurely. The view at the top showed all of the Silicon Valley and you can practically see the technology buzzing. I love that this place is practically in our backyard! And yes, that is a bunny rabbit on a leash going for a hike – and it’s not ours.

photos by jforjamie ©

Hello hello! I hope everyone has been having as lovely a holiday season as I have. I can’t believe it’s the day before 2013 already (and the world didn’t end!). It’s crazy how much can happen in one year and I must say, 2012 was an exciting one. Indeed, my fiance, family and friends like to keep life interesting. Of course, the happiest and most memorable moment for me was when Chris asked me to marry him. I’ll never forget the overwhelming joy and excitement I felt that night. The whole year wasn’t as blissful as that evening though, as we said goodbye to one of our beautiful dogs. Chris and I also started new jobs and moved cities which has been a huge and positive change for both of us. Overall, I feel really lucky to look back on this year and remember how much love and support we have been surrounded by. Also counting my lucky stars for our loved ones’ good health, despite a couple scares along the way. Here are a few memorable events that happened this year – I can’t wait to see what 2013 will bring. Have a fun and safe new year’s eve tonight!

{jan, feb, mar, apr, may, jun, jul, aug, sept, oct, nov, dec}
jforjamie ©

**What better way to end this year than with the birth of Chris’ niece! Received news that baby Cecelia was born at 6am today. Congratulations Nicole and Ben!**

Happy December! We recently packed up and migrated south to be closer to work and conveniently, it’s also closer to Chris’ family. We’ve been slowly getting our new home together but it’s definitely a work in progress. Moving into a new space is always an adventure, figuring out our furniture configuration, decorating, re-decorating and putting our personal touches. It’s interesting how we manage to fit all our things into a new space. Since we plan on being here until we buy some digs of our own, I really want to make this as lovely a habitat as possible. Here are some of our completed finishing touches thus far.

{entryway: upcycled vintage cabinet + made amy butler runner + fresh daisies + snow globe collection + found vintage frame + cardboard moose head }

{my baking cabinet: cookbooks and magazines + baking supplies + anthro aprons + tablecloths + dog bowls}

{kitchen counter: squirrel cookie jar + map tile of capri, italy + owl butter dish + mustard yellow tea kettle}

{chris’ pride and joy: vintage record players + beating heart poster}

{guest bath:  bird apothecary jar + french matches + candles + message in a bottle + ornate picture frame (kid picture of me) + west elm fragrance sticks}

{guest bath: west elm bath curtain + m (is for mieuli) hand towels}

{master bath: found soaps, match box from italy + anthropologie plate + candles + crabtree and evelyn hand lotion}

I am so so so excited, there’s a preview of our engagement photos up on Breanna Carin’s blog! We had so much fun taking the photos with Bree in San Diego and Julian. She’s really really awesome at making us feel natural and making it fun. Plus she had some great ideas for locations and props and whatnot. I can’t wait to see the rest of them and to pick which lucky photo will end up on our save-the-dates!

{photo by breanna carin}

**On another note, my blogging may be, and admittedly has been, quite sporadic for a few days with the holidays and us packing up and moving cities. Can’t wait to share the details of our new living abode in the South Bay Area! Until then, happy weekend, happy holidays, give thanks and safe travels!

Recently, we had a small family dinner to celebrate our engagement and so Chris’ family could meet my extended family. My family loves to get together for dinner all the time so we wanted this one to be casual and just like any other get together. My mom ordered some delicious Chinese food (of course!) and my lovely aunt and uncle hosted the dinner at their beautiful home. The best part was when my cousin flew in from Hong Kong and made a surprise entrance. She is also one of my bridesmaids so it meant the world to us that she was there! I was so busy socializing and enjoying watching our two families mingle, I didn’t take that many photos but here are a few from the evening.

photos by jforjamie ©

Chris and I went to the Oakland Eat Real Festival last weekend. I love when festivals happen in the East Bay because it’s conveniently close to home and the weather is always beautiful. We met up with some friends and tried as many food trucks/tents/carts as our stomachs could handle. We also thought we would test some food vendors for wedding research but we ended up wanting every thing we tried. My favorite was Gerard’s Paella – the line was well worth the wait!

photos by jforjamie ©

French Blue is now my second favorite in Northern California (my heart lies true to Summer Kitchen). On our way back from Indian Springs,we were hungry and stopped at this restaurant in St. Helena. So I can avoid sounding like a Yelp review, I’ll just say the food, decor and service was absolutely amazing. I contemplated scratching our wedding plans in order to have our reception here – Chris quickly talked me out of it when I remembered how much I love our wedding venue. This was the perfect cap to our weekend and I plan on making this a regular stop for our regular weekend getaways in the future.

photos by jforjamie ©