A day in SF

Oh, I miss this city! I'm hoping to move back up in February or so. In the meantime, it's only a 40 minute drive (at non-rush hour times) and I really should make it up there more than I do. Regardless, I did spent this past Thursday there, and it sure was lovely. I basically ate my way through the city.

A club and a vietnamese iced coffee at Maxfield's House of Caffeine. Ohhh yes.

My good (and maybe a bit complicated) friend Scott visited from St Louis for the first time since he moved away this summer!

My SF outfit - tank top and scarf. It was perfect until after dark - brrr!

Scott was excited to ride the above-ground rail muni. I personally prefer underground.

hi muni.

Stop #2: Ma'velous. A delicious and brand new coffee shop on Market. I got a 17 hour cold brewed iced coffee, and oh my goodness was it delicious! 

Some fancy brewing equipment and Stumptown coffee.

My second lunch - Chile Pies at its new location on Church.

Just look at this place!! 

I got the frito pie, reminiscent of the southern favorite, Petro's. (it may be fast food but I miss it so!)

authentic. 

Ready for pie!

Scott's - red chili carne asada pie. A wonderful twist on a chicken (or perhaps beef?) pot pie.
And oh, that crust!

We passed on dessert, but I will have to go back. They have tons of sweet pies, too, including some oddballs, like green chili apple. And they claim to be the home of the pie shake (which is just what it sounds like). YUM.

Later that night, I met up with my pal Alex, and we got our first taste of Nicaraguan food at Rinconcito Nicaraguenses - it exceeded expectations and was absolutely delicious! At this point I stopped carrying my camera around, so my cell phone pic will have to do. 

I got: fried pork, two types of fried plantains (left - green; right - ripe), cabbage salad, and fried cheese (top). Alex got something with fried fish, rice, refried beans which she says were the best ever, and more plantains and cheese.

We followed dinner up with pie (banana cream for me, plum frangipane for her) from Mission Pie and some amazing/terrible reality TV. We hit the pie shop just before closing, but they also serve coffee and have seating - I would love to go back during the day and get some work or blogging done sometime.

You can tell fall is starting...

I am back from camping and from half-hosting a Labor Day party, and phew. I am finally getting caught up on sleep. I haven't sorted through photos yet, but in the meantime, here are a few things I love this week:

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

You had better believe I am excited about the return of the pumpkin spice latte. And pair that with my favorite thing to make, cupcakes? *swoon* I don't know if I'll use this recipe or make my own (see: mocha cupcakes), but either way, I plan on making some of these asap!

image: Annie's Eats

Cuppies & Joe 

Not exactly on the internet (the shop is based in Oklahoma City), but this is as close as I'll get for awhile. This is exactly what I hope to make sometime - a cute little dessert cafe with some delicious, high quality local coffee. (Maybe Blue Bottle if I'm in SF.) Isn't their site just the cutest? I do wish I had some photos of the cafe itself, though.

Grocery list magnets

These are so fun, although actually converting them to a shopping list wouldn't be the easiest thing (cell phone photo? maybe?). Still considering getting a set.

found via Design Crush

Homemade Chai concentrate

You can tell I'm getting excited about fall (and the food and drinks that come with it). I would love to make this to keep around and make my own chai lattes whenever the mood strikes.

image: A Wooden Nest

Update 9:33pm: Oooh, one more!

Rainbow Ruffle Panties

So.. I'm not really sure when I would wear these. But I sure do love them a ton. Maybe I can learn to sew ruffles by making my own pair?

A bit of everything

This week...

I got some more farmer's market fruits and veggies...

... and some fresh goat cheese and roasted garlic raviolis. I made a delicious dinner and mini pies (pie recipe here, except made in a muffin tin and baked for a bit less time).

After making this, I realized it was really similar to the last farmer's market pasta I made, except this time the mushrooms and peas are from Trader Joe's and it's the pasta that is fresh from the market.

This is actually half the pie recipe - if you make the entire thing, you can make a dozen.

I finished one of two chair covers for my kitchen table, to replace the old striped IKEA ones I currently have. I made the "pattern" (which is kind of a strong word for what I did) on my own! I reused the old cushion from inside the striped cushions. Now I have to get around to making its twin.

See: the old cushion in the back

The underside

I finally locked this year's accompl.sh list this week. Although the requirement of 101 goals has been removed since last year's list, I still like the idea of it - plenty to keep me busy! So I took a week or two and thought of all of the things I wanted to do this year. Since starting the list, I already checked a few things off. Check it (and my all-food list) out here!

Go make your own! And let me know so I can follow your progress. You only need 10 to get started, although I always recommend adding a few extras - you have a whole year!


I also got a haircut, after trying to grow it out for ... 6ish months. I am so impatient, and the longer my hair gets, the less likely I am to put all the energy needed in to keep it looking cute. I'm actually kind of impressed at how not-terrible the before pictures look. I'll have to play with it a bit more in the coming week, as I'm not thrilled with the blowout from the stylist, but I do love my teeny tiny ponytail (as per usual) and look forward to the straightening process being much quicker!

Before:

After:

 

I'm off for a camping trip for the rest of the weekend, and then cohosting a Labor Day party on Monday afternoon (just hours after getting back from the Sierras!) so I will be off the grid for a few days. Hopefully lots of fun updates and pictures next week!

Oh, and one last thing - poll! Do you like big summary posts like this, or would you prefer I split it up into lots of little posts, one per topic or day? Leave a comment and let me know please!!

Future DIYs

The aspiring seamstress in me is thrilled to have just discovered the Elle Apparel blog. I found a link to this lace pencil skirt tutorial via Pinterest, and just look at all the other featured tutorials down the right side! *swooooon*

Some of my favorites, can't wait to try them:

Lace For Days skirt

Winter shirtdress

Lavender striped dress