Birthdays Are Perfect

Except this one.

I've spent next to no time exploring the Napa Valley. I have a business relationship with it. I commute 50 miles to get there, spend eight hours or more making sure employees get whatever they need, and head the 50 miles back home at the end of the day.

I wanted to do something special for Brandon's 25th birthday. I requested a night at the resort and luckily enough got approved! This was Napa's opportunity to show off. I wanted a speed date with it, and I fully expected it to leave a life changing impression on me.

The weather had other plans...

We began the day by grabbing lunch at Boudin, as requested by Brandon. The inside was packed so we sat outside...in the rain...and cold...Brandon had no jacket on.

Little did I know Brandon was coming down with a cold/flu thing.

I'd done a bit of research of possible cool places to visit. One of them was the Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park. I looked at the photos and thought it would be such a nice place to explore. Plus, it happened to be en route to the castle we planned on exploring! But when we got there -- and by there I mean the gate -- we realized the mill was not open at all. We were trying to play tourist in the middle of slow season, so I wasn't entirely shocked, though I was disappointed.

Then we set off to visit the Castello di Amorosa. It's a castle built using traditional methods of medieval architecture, even though the structure itself is relatively new. The owner has an extensive history of the project listed on his website. Pretty cool thing to nerd out over.

Anyway, I chose it because I knew Brandon would enjoy it. We pulled into the parking lot and the sprinkle of rain that had been trailing us turned into true rainfall. We sat in the car for a minute trying to decide if we should even get out. I was determined to (read: stubborn) have something to show for our drive out there, so we braved the rain. We walked up the steps and were quickly topped by a woman who ushered us into what I guess is the lobby to purchase our wine tasting passes. Uninterested in a tasting, we walked back into the rain to try and explore the grounds. We were unsuccessful, so we walked back down to the mini stables. The rain refused to let up and Brandon was feeling progressively worse, so we gave up on the outdoor activities for the day.

We still had a bit of time to kill before check in and were both pretty cold, so we headed to Bouchon Bakery in Yountville to get some pick-me-ups. We patiently waited in line outside under the awning until we could fit into the small bakery. We picked up some warm drinks (coffee for me, tea for B) and each got a large macaron to enjoy for dessert later that night. There's no indoor seating and it was still raining outside, so we huddled back to the car. At this point, Brandon was out of it. He was not feeling well and it was clear he needed to sleep. So I took the wheel...and the scenic route to the hotel.

Check in was a surreal experience for me. As someone who regularly interacts with all departments on property, I've come to know nearly everyone by name and face. So it was a little strange to have employees wait on me the way I usually wait on them. I have to give it up to my colleagues and superiors: they really treated me as a guest and not as their co-worker who was using her free night at a luxury resort. The reception agent that checked us in gave us a cottage in a "desirable neighborhood" (yeah, there are neighborhoods) with the most requested layout. I was thrilled even though I had no idea what it meant.

I'd made our dinner reservations for closer to 7:00 than 4:00pm, so we threw on the fireplace and the warmest robes and Brandon crashed while I relaxed.

Can you blame him? He was such a trooper.

♥ A

Miserable, Magical Monday

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I've been MIA for about a week and I feel kind of awful about it. Not because the content on this blog is anything life changing, but because I'd been on such a good writing rhythm (guess how many times I had to re-spell that word) and now I've lost it. But my resolve to bring you semi-consistent updates about the goings-on in my life won't quit, so I'm back this week to remind you I'm alive and well. Just tired.

P.S. I get slightly judge-y when I read bloggers post about needing a break from blogging to enjoy the real world. Obviously, I'm in no position to pass such judgement, but does that ever stop any of us from doing it? Oh yeah, my point. This isn't one of those posts. I've just legitimately had the busiest week of July. I've started looking back at my Costa Rica trip as chill, even though we had a pretty packed schedule despite it being a "vacation."

1. One of my friends got married this weekend! Brandon and I carpooled out to Salinas with some friends and enjoyed a good old country wedding complete with a stunning barn. Seriously, this venue was awesome. I wanted to be sure I got photos of this wedding since I missed out on documenting the other wedding I went to a few weeks ago. Boy, did I deliver. I posted almost all of these on instagram but here they are once more (with feeling).

I kept my place card. Because nostalgia, that's why.

Bouquet toss.

Garter getting.

Blurry dance floor duck face selfies.

#blurry

The most boring photo we've ever taken. Seriously, I almost don't like it because of how
normal we look.

I had such a good time at this lovefest of a wedding. Seriously, the love was palpable and it made everything that much more beautiful. Also, I just love love so I was bound to enjoy this wedding.

2. So this summer I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm approaching my mid-twenties. Everywhere I look my friends are going through major moments in life; making a big move, getting engaged, getting married, buying houses, planning for a family, kicking off their careers. Seriously, just this weekend I had a cousin make the move from home to the OC, I witnessed a friend move into married life and another open her own business. It's kind of weird to finally find myself at this age. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd accomplish by 25 as a kid...I wasn't completely wrong about myself. I for sure thought I'd be married (check) and have my BA (check) but I also planned on being done having children by this age. And that's totally not in the cards right now. I guess the funny thing about being in my twenties is as much as I'm still a kid, I'm also starting to get the hang of this "real" life. I kind of like it.

3. Having finished New Girl, Brandon and I had been searching for something to watch during our veg sessions. I've written about us trying to watch The Office and Parks and Rec, but neither one of them really hooked us the way New Girl did. I wish Modern Family was on Netflix because I think that would help me transition into the mockumentary style of the other shows. Anyway, we finally decided to restart How I Met Your mother (HIMYM from now on). I've only ever seen it once through, so I'm rediscovering the hilarity and brilliant writing this show has. Also, knowing the end makes it more fun for me to put clues together that I missed during the first run-through. I firmly believe we as the audience judged the show by it's cover name and that's why we never saw the end coming. But that's an argument for another time (aka never).

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4. Almost all of you who read this blog already know this, but I have to share out of sheer excitement: I've secured a new job! It all happened very quickly. I sent in my resume and cover letter after some epic (and requested) scrutiny editing from my best friend, got an interview, wore the hottest office-appropriate LBD of my life (also courtesy of my best friend), rocked said interview, and then a job offer a few days later. I'll be working out in Napa starting next week. Although my commute is growing again, I'm still really excited about the opportunity. The position seems to be a really great jumping off point. I met at least five people who all started off in the position I'll be in before moving into management positions in other departments, which is super reassuring. Also the grounds are gorgeous and everyone seems a thousand times friendlier. I can't wait to start. But really quick, back to the LBD from heaven. I looked like freaking Clair Underwood in that dress. Plus I got so many compliments on it. As a person who almost always looks pulled together, if someone says you look nice, then you probably look really nice. Was that conceited? Oh gosh, probably.

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5. I'm reading Divergent right now in my effort to actually finish I book I pick up to read. I've literally started four other books and haven't finished them. I don't know why. I always say I don't have time, but if I have time to watch hours and hours of HIMYM then maybe I can spare one a night reading. Anyway, I'm enjoying the book so far. It reads in first person the way Hunger Games does, but this hits me as less choppy than Suzanne Collins' writing. I'm in chapter 11 or something and I still have no idea what Divergent means in the series. I think I found out more in the trailer for the movie. Still, I'm keeping in mind that it's a three part (?) series so I'm guessing I'll find out what the big deal is about the Divergent label in the book's unvierse closer to the end. I'll keep you posted.

6. The start of a new job will mean a new dress code. From what I saw it's a pretty casual office (jeans are allowed on all days of the week) but based on my one day of training, I can tell my idea of casual is sub par. I'm going to have to step it up on the cute clothes thing, which is the perfect justification for spending some money on clothing. I've been stuck in a style rut, anyway.

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Almost every day, I wake up and look at my clothes and hate them all. I hate that the only color I own tops in is blush. My one pair of gray pants are so old they're low rise jeans. I haven't purchased low rise jeans since 2009. If I'm honest my style rut feels more like a style crisis. But I haven't just been wallowing in my "ugly" clothes, I've been working on defining the look I'm going for. I've made lists, I've made secret Pinterest boards, I've online window shopped. I've even made excuses to go to the mall over my lunch break (side bar: going to the mall alone is the worst idea ever). My biggest obstacle is not being able to find the pieces I'm looking for. No joke, I've been searching for a freaking white t-shirt with small black stripes for ages and can't find one anywhere. I'm tempted to take BART into San Francisco just to shop at the two H&Ms by Union Square. Yes, there are two. It's almost heaven. 

7. My best friend Barbara lives in Northern California now which means I get to see her all the time. We got together to celebrate her birthday with pizza at Woodstock's then moved across the street to Wunderbar for some drinks and two very terrible games of pool. Then Friday, we reinstated our Friday Night Family Dinner tradition. She and I made orange chicken with rice and stir fry veggies. It was a simple meal but by far the most elaborate one I've co-prepped in a while. Usually I bake chicken or make pasta. I've gotta step my dinner game up. Anyway, we ate, watched HIMYM as well as the trailer for the new Assassin's Creed game. Not only is the theme music the song Lorde wrote/performed for the Catching Fire soundtrack, but the game's story line is based on the French Revolution. We all agreed that it would make a killer movie. Once Derek showed up we popped in Shaun of the Dead. It was the first time I'd seen it, I'm told it totally counts as a classic, so maybe I'll finally get to knock another thing off the 12 Things list.


I promise I'll keep telling you about Costa Rica one day soon.
Later, friends.
♥ A

Six Months Out: 12 Things Update

It's officially past the halfway point to my 25th birthday (no lie I forgot how old I was for three whole seconds). Here's how I'm doing on my 12 Things

1. Perfect the tiramisu cupcake

Done.

2. Read 6 5 books

I finished Mindy Kaling's book last week and am working my way through Nora Ephron's I Fell Bad About My Neck as well as Antoine Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince). So we're making some progress!

3. Explore a part of SF I've spent little time in

I can't remember the last time I was in the city.

4. Finish organizing and uploading my Project 365

Seriously slacking here.

5. Practice French everyday for one month

June. I will come back to this in June.

6. Make coffee art

Oh gosh. I don't even know why I added this to the list. I was hugely unaware of the equipment necessary to make coffee art. Plus, I need to find a proper method of brewing a shot (or two) of espresso at home. My keurig isn't the same as Starbucks' at home system. I'll still attempt this, but I'm telling you it won't be pretty.

7. Bake a cake/cupcakes from scratch.

Nothing yet. Brandon and I are doing everything we can to not buy groceries until after the move. I think we can make it.

8. Watch 10 8 classic movies I've never seen before

I've watched Some Like It Hot, The Usual Suspects (an excellent movie)...and...that's it. Annie Hall is for sure on my list of movies I need to watch. I think Brandon tried to get me to watch it years ago but I fell asleep. And if anyone has Casablanca, you should let me borrow it.

9. Complete 5 1 of my pins from Learn/Make/Do

I can't believe I've made the most progress with this one! Only one more pin to complete. It's the magnets. I'm decisively saying it'll be the magnets.

At-home make up brush cleaning.

Natural oven deep cleaner.

Sugar Lip Scrub.

Woven Map Journal

10. Hand letter something. Turn that something into art.

It's just written in chalk pen right now but I hope to still print out my other design and frame it in this frame.

It's not Pinterest or Etsy-worthy, but it's home.

The words are lyrics from me and Brandon's first dance. Technically, the song is from our first kiss. Anyway, I wrote the lyric on this frame very soon after getting married and moving in, the only main difference being the frame's orientation. I was feeling semi-inspired on Sunday morning and decided to flip it and change things up a bit, including adding our anniversary date. The bottles with greenery are usually empty, but I had a bunch of bouquet fillers left over from the Mother's day arrangements I made the day before, so I thought I'd try that hipster look of branches in vases. I kind of really like it. And that flask looking bottle filled with layers of semi-combined sand is perhaps my favorite souvenir from studying abroad. It's sand from all but one beach I visited in my three months over there.

11. Volunteer at Coastal Cleanup Day

It shall be done in September.

12. Decorate our apartment

We move in three weeks!! Oh gosh, we move in three weeks! As you can imagine, I'm nowhere on schedule for a move. It'll get done. Brandon and I consistently talk about this apartment being a fresh start for us. It's not that we need a fresh start from anything, but more that we're looking forward to a new city with new opportunities. In a way, to get out of the suburb rut. I have so many ideas for the apartment, but I also know that you're supposed to slowly curate your aesthetic. I'm sort of looking forward to having to slow myself down back to reality.


There we have it. Only one Thing is fully completed but I'm on my way to another two! I have confidence I'll see this through.

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You didn't think I'd leave you without a single gif, did you?

♥ A

The Frosting Didn't Turn Out: The Alex Hood Story

My BFF awesome friend Barbara (we'd judge me if I called her a BFF) likes to make up memoir titles for all of our friends. Mine is Classy With a Touch of Skank: The Alex Pineda Story. I can see why you might be shocked by the use of "skanky" in my title, but it's really harmless. And it's an inside joke that would just sound stupid if I explained it.

Anyway, my memoir title inspired the title for this post. Lately (as in every time except one), my buttercream frosting results have been less than acceptable. As in I almost always have to scrap the thing and start over and still don't get the consistency I need. This time was no different.

Like I've said before, my mom has loved the tiramisu cupcakes I make since the beginning. So naturally she asked if I would make some for my bro's family birthday get-together. Of course, I said yes. I've made 48 cupcakes before no problem. But then the guest list expanded and so did the required minimum number of cupcakes.

I knew I wouldn't have time to prep the cupcakes during the week and they're always better when baked fresh, so I planned to spend the morning of the party baking everything. The marscapone filling is easy peasy, so I wasn't worried. Naively enough, I wasn't worried about the frosting either. I have childbirth memory with homemade frosting. It's always so stressful and difficult and yet every single time I use the same recipe and do the same thing...which I guess is to inevitably add too much liquid because it always ends up runny.

The baking went alright. I should have remembered that I like to make big cupcakes, though. Tripling the recipe only gave me enough to make like 54 cupcakes. So Brandon quickly scurried across the street to Walmart and picked up enough ingredients to functionally quadruple the original recipe. I ended up having some left over batter, but was so over the initial baking phase that I stopped when I hit 72.

Stop! It's batter time! (even though this is the filling)

Hashtag food photography. Hashtag baking.

Hashtag cupcakes. Hashtag oven.

I was trying to juggle my time (unsuccessfully, I might add) and started on the cream cheese whipped topping. In my perfect hindsight, I think I shouldn't have aimed to make three times the original recipe all at once. I definitely should have held back from going big or going home. After half an hour of attempting to whip cream cheese and whipping cream into stiff peaked frosting, I freaked. It wasn't happening. I needed to get dressed. I needed to get ready. The horrible reminder of my failure was all over my shirt and pj pants. And I'd just washed them. I threw the stuff in the freezer to see if getting it cold would help. I didn't have the time to actually let it cool through. It didn't work, obvi. 2:20 crept up on me and I still had nothing to top my cupcakes with. My 72 ugly cupcakes. Brandon even tried his hand at whipping. He wasn't successful either.

My stubbornness had given out to my hatred of being late. I looked up a simple royal icing recipe because I just needed something and within minutes had a sugary icing for my cupcakes. Brandon lovingly made the executive decision that he would frost the things while I got dressed. We transported the cupcakes in what felt like a million containers and showed up half an hour after the party had already started. I'm the eldest sister and I was late. It still doesn't sit well with me.

Luckily, I have a very understanding and gracious family. My parents were both thrilled with the cupcakes and my aunts and uncles all told me they tasted delicious. I guess the taste really is what matters.

Happy birthday, brother!

It was a great party. There was lots of laughter and absolutely scrumptious chicken and so much food. I still can't believe my little brother is 13. Good grief, man.

♥ A

Crustaceans, Coffee, a Concert in the City

That up there is my lazy attempt at alliteration and haiku.

I'm pretty sure I slipped in a mention of a Los Lonely Boys concert Brandon and I were going to in a previous post. Well, we went. And it was awesome.

Brandon and I watched a live DVD concert of the Boys (that's my nickname for them, totally not official) sometime before Christmas and Brandon made a remark about how cool it would have been to see them live. We both assumed they weren't currently touring. Then one day at work, I was clicking around my Spotify and bam! There was a notice telling me the Boys were going to be playing in SF in February. Um, it was fate. My plan to get us tickets to a Sharks game was going to fall through because we just didn't have that kind of cash at the time and I needed something. So I got him the tickets.

Sunset loooooovvve.

Flash forward like a Taylor Swift song and we find ourselves in February, four days before Brandon's birthday. I skipped my lunch hour so we could beat some of the traffic into the City. Now, most if not all of you know Brandon. And you know he's incredibly laid back. Like, so laid back that all he wanted to do for his birthday was have his friends come over and play video games all night. I was not going to participate in the "junior high boys' night" as he called it, so I insisted that we grab an extravagant dinner at the Fish Market on the Pier. It's pretty touristy. One, it 's on Pier 39. That's really all it needs to be considered touristy haha. Anyway, we ordered a shrimp appetizer (we never order apps) and delicious lemonade and tea and just ate so much seafood. We even got a bread bowl of clam chowder on the house because our server accidentally prepped an extra one. Who knows if he was just buttering us up or if that was the truth. Either way, we gorged ourselves. We ate so much we were too full to go to our mini donut go-to spot, Trish's.

Off we set to the other side of the city to get to the Independent. We got there without much of a problem but could not find parking to save our lives. Go figure that all the side streets would be packed full of early-comers. Anyway, we eventually found the easiest most perfect parking spot...about a 10 minute walk away. Brandon's tea was ready to burst through him by the time we got to my current favorite latte experience ever: The Mill. An old friend friend posted a foursquare thing on Pinterest a while ago and the place intrigued me. I convinced Brandon to find the place with me on our trip to SF after Christmas. Brandon practically ran to the bathroom once we crossed the entrance's threshold. I quickly went to order a drink to avoid the dirty looks from the hipster baristas. Too bad they didn't see me for a good 30 seconds. I just watched them wash dishes and murmur about the strange man who just shot to the back without even ordering anything. They were definitely judgy. I would have made an actual judgmental face at them and walked out had the coffee not been calling out my name. So I smiled a fake smile and ordered my yummy latte. And I forgave their judgment on my husband because the coffee was so good. And homegirl could pour her milk. That sounds way dirtier than it should.

It was finally time for the show!! The Boys were so down to earth and so chill and so talented. They can really jam. I sound like such a poser saying that, but it's true. These dudes love each other, their music and their fans and it showed. The other cool thing was the fact that literally all ages and demographics were represented in the audience. I'd be the person to notice that kind of thing, but it was cool to see girls I would scowl at in my brain rocking out to the same music I was. Plus, the Independent is s relatively small venue and everything was standing room only so we got pretty close to the stage. It was pretty legit.

Yeah...super proud of iPhone for this shot.

Blurry selfies.

Can we all just appreciate the fact that they're playing the bass and guitar parts on the SAME GUITAR?!

Until next time, Boys.

♥ A