Summa Summa Summertime

I am absolutely smitten with Esther (via Esther From the Sticks) and her beautiful vintage-inspired swimsuit creation. I've been looking for a nice swim suit that shows off just the right amount of skin and this suit would be perfect. The detailing of the black buttons down the front adds the perfect flair to the suit. I can't wait for Esther to open up her etsy shop, but until then make sure to check out her blog and other sewing creations here.

All photos via Esther From the Sticks

Instagram Round-Up

Here are a couple of photos that I've taken on my Instagram recently.  It's mostly filled of pictures of my grumpy pig dog that thinks himself the champion sleeper of pugs. (16 hours a day seems to be the average) Follow me on instagram here.

Lip balm / Golden leaf with Pearls pin / Good read

Bathroom Boredom / MAC lipstick in Russian Red

Grumpy Pig being Grumpy

Brunch that I made for Z and I. Fruit salad, frittata (potato, bacon, arugula, cheese), and Vietnamese Iced Coffee.

Peter Pan collar and Polka dots? One of my favorite dresses.

Chickory coffee & French Press. <3

Woven cut-out shoes from Etsy.

Record from Z featuring one of my favorite songs, "Le Temps de L'Amour".

Favorite black floral headband that Pig dog ate one of the flowers off so I had to sew it onto another band to salvage it.    :(

Found this record while  thrifting in Niles. Crazy.

Coyote Hills Regional Park

Last Sunday, Z's aunts were still in town and wanted to get out and do something. Z suggested Coyote Regional Park for its proximity to the bay. Comprised of nearly 978 acres of marshland and rolling grassland covered hills, this busy park is located along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, northwest of the cities of Fremont and Newark. The walk was absolutely beautiful with trails that hugged the coastline and offered a splendid view of the city sky-line.

Snapping a photo of a very tired and grumpy Pig Dog.

Caught doing a Michael Jackson impression with the winds on top of a grassy hill.

I leave you all with a photo of Finnegan looking particularly pissed off because he absolutely LOVES hiking and all things outdoors.

San Daygo

Even though Z and I visited San Diego for a couple days, we managed to squeeze in some time to check out a few of our favorite places to hang out. We had so many other places that we would have liked to have visited, but I guess that means we will definitely have to come back again.  We stayed in Del Mar which was much more over-cast than the rest of San Diego, but still beautiful. Before dinner one evening, we took Z's little cousins to the near-by dog beach. We could view the Del Mar fair and its brightly lit Ferris Wheel behind us as we watched the setting sun.

Little Cousins

Del Mar Fair

I almost forgot how much warmer the water is and how soft the sand is!

Z relaxing in the hotel room after the long drive down from the Bay Area.

Z and I decided to go on a burrito binge and went to Rigoberto's (our old burrito place near campus that was perfect for supplying fuel during finals) and ordered a California Burrito (carne asada and fries!).  I almost cried eating the burrito because it was just that good. California burrito, I love you. Never forget. Never.

For the next burrito stop we went to Cotixan, which was closer to our old apartment in University City. Here we ordered the al pastor burrito and cried over how delicious the salsa was.  After eating the Mexican food down in San Diego, I will never again eat Mexican food up here in the Bay Area. I don't want to tarnish my image/memories of the perfect burritos.

Self-timer experiment before heading to the UCSD graduation. I am wearing a TBA dress that makes me feel/look like a little doll.

Packing up to check out of the hotel.

Frutilandia in Normal Heights. Z and I got the fruit salad topped with cottage cheese, raisins, homemade granola, and fresh honey. We also got the strawberries and cream, which is my absolute favorite.

After eating at Frutilandia, we visited a couple of our favorite stores in Northpark/Hillcrest for some vintage clothing and record store shopping. San Diego, I never thought that I would miss you. San Francisco, I still love you.

Con-GRAD-uations

I feel like I've spent the past couple of weeks running from one graduation to another. Z has three younger sisters and two of them happened to graduate in the same weekend. Z's mom decided to split up their graduation parties and we held them one weekend after the other. The first graduation was held in San Diego where Sister #1 graduated from Z and I's alma mater: University of California, San Diego. Z and I haven't been back to San Diego for 2 years, so it was nice re-visiting all our past hang-outs. Z and I want to go back again and spend more time since we were only there for a couple of days.

The next graduation party was in Fremont  for Sister #2. Z and I helped with the set up, decoration, and food preparation. His sisters and I made Lemon cupcakes (with lemon curd inside topped with lemon cream cheese frosting and candied lemon zest) and Strawberry cupcakes with strawberries inside and a Crème fraîche strawberry frosting.

The cupcakes were a hit and we did not have many left over. There was so much good food at the party that I am pretty amazed at his family's catering-like skills. Here is what I wore to Sister #2's graduation party:

Outfit Details:
Plaid Songbird Dress // Madewell
Cream Knit Cardigan // Forever 21
Green Stripped Market Bag // Etsy
Sky High Peep Toe Sandals in Cognac // Swedish Hasbeens

Please excuse the expression on my face. I think Z was taking too long to take the photo I was about to make a snide remark when he snapped the photo.