PLACES: LA COUNTY FAIR

TodayI..am off to the fair with the entire school on a field trip! It’s probably going to be insane and hot, so wish me luck!! The students have been looking forward to this field trip all week and it couldn’t have come at a better time since we are all done with testing! Woohoo!

By the way…speaking of my students. Have I told you how proud I am of their science projects? They turned out pretty darn good. It makes me so happy to see students use their creativity!

Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend. As for me, I hope to be enjoying some nice r & r with the family. Oh..how much I’m appreciating sleep these days! Maybe also making time for…

Experimenting with this bad boy..finally!

Grabbing some grub at this place..It’s been way too long.

Wondering where I can buy a pair of these!

Um..salivating over these. (I don’t know what’s with me with pumpkins these days.)

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay tuned for a fun DIY project next week!

5 New Things I Learned About My Husband

Week #13:

1.  I think Eddie will make a really good father one day.

2. Every couple has their kinks. It’s inevitable. Don’t feel discouraged if there’s things that REALLY bother you about your significant other. No couple is perfect!

3. It really makes a difference when the two of you can share your spirituality together (i.e. go to church together on Sundays, serve in a ministry, etc). A wise guy once told me that you know if the person is right for you if you connect with them in 5 areas: mental, emotional, spiritual, sexual, and psychological.

4. Make each other laugh daily if possible. It keeps things fresh.

5. Take it from the quote below, it’s not worth it to go to bed angry. I cannot stress that enough.

 

REFLECTION WEDNESDAY

Well, well, well..if it isn’t Wednesday already. Why do you come so slow? And why are you not closer with Friday? Don’t you like her? She’s a real treat!

Things that impacted me this week:

1) Creative juices flowing

From joyeverafter

Hi. I’ve been feeling really creative lately. It might be because my students are turning in their 1st quarter science projects and I’m so impressed by them! They inspire me! Anyway, I still see these pallets and wanna make something, but I’ve come to the decision that I should probably wait until I have a house with a backyard and more space. Eddie would probably agree. I do really like the look of this outdoor/backyard wooden table w/ wheels. Sooo..useful!

2) Pumpkin season

From bhg.com

From tinyprints.com

I don’t know what it is about these round, odd-shaped objects, but I’m really loving them! I never used to appreciate them, but I remember watching an old home video of my dad carving a pumpkin and all of us kids in awe. Those were the days! They are so unique..not one of them the exact same as the other. And..there’s so much you can do with them.

Things that distracted me this week:

3) Jaw pain

So I’ve been into facial exercises lately mainly because Eddie always makes fun of my fat cheeks. I totally have chubby cheeks..ever since I was little! Thanks Mom. Ever since I’ve been doing these exercises though..my jaw has been making this weird, uncomfortable clicking sound. It can’t be good. I just hope it goes away soon.

4) Celebrity crushes

From Polaroidstars.tumblr

I have a friend who always has a crush on someone. (Haha. Hi Jenelee!) And, I never understood it until now. I have this mad crush on Ryan Gosling. I even dragged Eddie to watch his new movie, Drive. It was pretty good mostly, a little violent, but still didn’t care because it’s Ryan Gosling. I don’t know what my problem is.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Anyone have exciting weekend plans??

~Melinda

Unique Finds: Favorite Blogs

Today I…wanted to do something a little different. It’s been over a year since I started getting into blogs. There have been some blogs that have stood out to me, others that I’ve barely glanced and never revisited. However, I wanted to share with you today all my faves. I gain a lot of inspiration from them and I try to model my blogs after them..I should say they are my “idol” blogs. Haha. . if that even makes sense. So here are my Top 10 in no particular order: (Feel free to click on images to visit blogs)

1.

Okay, I’m not just saying this because she’s my sister, but I really do love her blog! She’s very creative…if you seen pictures from my wedding, she had a large part in all the details. She’s artsy fartsy as they say, and now she is a a full-time event planner for her job. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous of her. I get a little irritated that she doesn’t post everyday, but what can I expect! haha. You should check her out if you have time.

2.

This girl is very creative. I’ve never personally met her or anything, but she posts a lot of interesting house decor/vintage finds/blogger lessons/ and travel. This girl likes to travel, so if you’re like me…you’d probably melt every time you see pictures of all of the places she’s been. Definitely a must visit if you’re into any of those things I listed.

3.

This girl is like a celebrity in the blog world. I met her once at a craft show in Long Beach and I think I was a little star struck. She’s just super creative beyond belief. She’s been around for awhile and has her own shop on etsy and now her own online shop. She also had this amazing vintage~y wedding that was definitely an “must see.” I originally found her blog via one of my wedding photographers, Christian Cruz. She had him too.

4.

This blog has been a favorite of mine since the very beginning. They are photography artists who are married and traveled for about 6 months around the world for their honeymoon. I was one of them who followed their honeymoon adventures. Really amazing pictures! I want to learn how to edit photos like they do.

5.

This one is another celebrity in the blog world, but I mostly visit this blog for her motherly inspiration. She is a mother of 4 and still manages to have an amazing blog and continues to be creative.  I don’t know if I ever told you guys this, but my ultimate dream job is to be a stay-at-home mom who works from home doing something she loves. And Cakies does just that, which is why I keep coming back for more I think. For all of you moms out there, definitely a blog that will inspire!

6.

This blog has many creative artistic finds that I love looking at for inspiration. She posts things mainly about art and illustrations. I never met this person either, but I do feel like I have similar art styles because every sample of different art she posts, I’m in love with! You should definitely check out Pikaland. Her heading is just too cute too!

7.

This blog is a new favorite of mine that I check fairly often, if not every day. She is a newlywed who posts amazing posts about her wedding (super creative, by the way), different things that inspire her, and she’s really funny. I laugh out loud almost every post. I like those kind of blogs that make you smile.

8.

This one is an interesting one. ColorMeKatie is another popular one in the blog world. I actually found this via a fellow blogger who posted it as a comment on my blog. This girl is super crafty, has some funny pictures, and is obsessed with her cat. I think I might like it more because her cat obsession reminds me of my husband’s cat obsession. She also does a lot of improv stuff and has videos all over youtube which are pretty cool.

9.

This is a collaboration fashion blog. I’m not one who’s into fashion too much, although I’d secretly like to be more. This blog has a lot of great DIY projects and fashion inspiration that I often browse and dream of making, but never do. Haha. Definitely check this out!

10.

Okay, okay..I know this one isn’t technically a blog. BUT, how can you not LOVE Pinterest?!? Everything I see on here I want to blog about and it truly inspires me to be more creative. If you haven’t joined this site yet, it’s wonderfully addictive! It’s basically a bunch of images that other members pin that you can “like,” “repin,” and “comment” on. Visit the site here and you’ll see what I mean.

Quote of the Week

  ”The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone.”

~Orison Swett Marden

~Click on images for source~

PLACES: San Francisco Eats

Top 3 San Francisco Eateries

1) Arinell’s Pizza

 Really good, tasty and greasy NY style pizza. I cannot stress enough how good this hole in the wall place is. I don’t even like pizza THAT much and we ate it twice while we were there. Each slice is about $2.25 each and you can put as much red peppers, Parmesan cheese, and oregano as you’d like. I definitely recommend adding Jalapenos to it if you like spicy.

2) Philz Coffee

Alright, had to include a coffee place because of my new obsession. So, there’s this new Philz Cofee place that just opened up. It’s not really new in establishment, but I think the hype of this place is new. Anyway, they have some AMAZINGLY unique blends of coffee that I think the owner, Phil, has developed over a span of 25 years. Some of the names of their dark roasts are “The Canopy of Heaven” and “Ambrosia.” Yeah..that’s what I said. I had the Mocha blended with some other name I couldn’t pronounce. It was delish! But, to top it off, they have the best selection of Bagel Sandwiches! I don’t know if you’re like me and have a soft spot for bagels, but one of my favorite bagels (LOX) was soooo good. Here’s a snapshot of the Lox on an everything bagel that was nice and toasty:

3) Mama’s

photo from Kevin Y.

I don’t know what it is about the San Franciscans and brunch..but boy, the restaurants know how to do it right, especially Mama’s! We enjoyed a nice brunch there on Saturday morning. The line was ridiculous, but we ended up only waiting about 45 minutes, which is APPARENTLY pretty good. Eddie had the Monte Cristo and I had the Classic Eggs Benedit. Everything on their menu was perfect and fresh and tasted so good! They also have a small assortment of baked goods which were unbelievable. Definitely a must try if you have time to wait in line.

5 New Things I Learned About My Husband

Week #11:

1. I miss Eddie when he’s at school.

2. Sometimes (not ALL the time), but sometimes…it’s okay if you or your hubby make a BIG purchase. I’m very frugal when it comes to buying anything, but to see the smile on their face when they buy something nice for themselves is priceless.

3. Can you imagine yourself with another person? If so, you have the wrong guy/gal.

4. We haven’t really had any drinking issues lately, which is a great accomplishment! However, I think it might be more because I’ve been keeping us busy instead of having time to go out and be reckless.

5. Do you have TV shows/series that you watch together? Honestly, it gives us something to look forward to every week! Our current faves: Dexter, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Weeds, and Entourage.