godly friendships

my cravings for closer godly friendships surfaced when i experienced community with those from my bible study group. i had been attending for years but it wasn't until i put effort into sharing my vulnerabilities that i began to see the importance of surrounding myself with other believers.

being intentional with friendships that mattered is something i place on my priority list, most especially with girlfriends. their is a sense of accountability that is unique when god is at the center of the bond. it challenges you, encourages you, & moves you out of your comfort zone according to his word.

while i feel it is important to have deep, authentic, meaningful friendships regardless of who is at the core of our beliefs, more & more i find myself desiring godly friendships & community. god answered my prayers when he reunited me with an old elementary school friend who i kept in touch with during junior high but lost contact with in our high school & our college years. social media re-connected us. we bonded over our love for crafts. one day we had a sweet reunion when i visited her in SF. we both came to know that we were no longer active in the catholic faith of our childhood upbringing but rekindled our love for jesus within the christian faith.  just a few months later i found out i was pregnant & she has been such a source of wisdom & guidance for me during my pregnancy. during the month i juggled 2 jobs & was to tired to go home, she let me take naps at her house. she sent me off with crackers to keep nausea at bay on my commute's home. she's a wealth of advice about what i "really" need as far as mommy gear. she encourages me when i have doubts if i will be a wonderful mother. she reminds me of god's calling. its a friendship that draws me closer to him & keeps me connected with god. i'm thankful for my answered prayer.

san francisco outting

the bff & i had a day date in sf today. i haven't seen her since our wedding so it felt great to be reunited again. we started our morning walking around haight street. we also scoped out the area in which she will be working at starting tomorrow. 

the bay area has been undergoing odd winter weather. while the east coast is experiencing their coldest winter, it feels like spring here. sometimes it's almost even like summer. with fall & winter being my favorite months i certainly miss cold & cozy winter days. however. we took advantage of sun's prescence & had lunch at delfina & ice cream at bi rite. 

i ordered my favorite spicy cauliflower dish. it's a combination of chewy, crunchy, soft, spicy, mild, & briny. absolutely delicious! we also shared pizza. after lunch we walked down the street for an obligatory salted caramel ice cream. 

it's a party

a friend recently came into town from seattle to celebrate her birthday & we all had a blast celebrating her! one thing definitely is for sure...i can't party like i used to in my early & mid twenties. i was beat! i spent the next day in bed, sleeping, resting, & recovering. how did i do it back then? partying until early morning with only a few hours or even minutes sleep before reporting to work. only to go out again the next night. thinking about it is exhausting! nonetheless, good times were had!

2013 first post

happy 2013! my year began much like last years..sick in bed with the flu. after finally recovering, while out to dinner with a girlfriend, i suffered a severe allergic reaction to something i ate. i most definitely freaked out as ive never experienced a food allergy before, let alone seen my face riddled with dime size swollen lumps. i was horrified & scared to say the least. ive finally recovered & back on track.

today, i made my first attempt at project bridesmaid. it was a complete bust with my sugar cookies looking like they were decorated by a 5 year old. piping icing sure does skill! however, through my failure emerged the theme & the direction of how I'll be asking my girlfriends to be my bridesmaid. an idea that i'm happy with! brainstorming will now cease after months of ideas bouncing around in my head. it's time to execute.

with the extra cookie dough i had on hand, i made nutella stuffed sugar cookies & got the two thumbs up from my taste testers!

tea time

as a little girl one of my favorite play time activities was tea time with my cousin or stuffed animals. one year i was gifted a pink plastic tea set that once tea was poured, depending in the temperature, the cup would deepen from a pink to a deep red. it had matching butter knives & biscuits that magically turned colors when i would pretend to spread jam on it. id play tea time for hours & hours.

except for trading in my plastic tea set for the real one, not much has changed as now a woman in my late twenties. i still love tea time but instead of non living objects as guests that don't talk back...i can enjoy tea time with the great conversation in the company of great girlfriend.

pyrex hunting

sissy first took a liking to my vintage pyrex's when she came over for dessert. since then ive managed to convince her to come along for the hunt & start her own collection. luckily, her mom had a few in storage including a yellow loaf pan & a few bowls. i was also able to find her two more pieces to add to her collection both of which were excellent condition. i was tempted to keep the ombré bowl for myself as i had never seen anything like it but i parted with it knowing id find luck elsewhere & that she was just building her little pyrex family. happiness tastes much sweeter when shared!

next thing you know, just a few minutes later...karma blessed me with a divided dish in the pattern i had been searching for. score!

belated birthday post

the bff took me out for my birthday at what has come to be one of my favorite places, in napa, to have brunch. everything was superb including my favorite part of any meal..dessert! i love anything infused with lavender. from lotion scents all the way to food! my lavender creme brûlée surely didn't disappoint!

brix also proved to be much better in person than what the website shows as far as a wedding venue is concerned. we walked around after brunch & enjoyed the intimate setting it offered.

did someone say seafood

i recently discovered a gem of a spot that satiates my craving for seafood. best of all garlic noodles is offered as a side dish unlike boiling crab in san jose or rockin crawfish in oakland. i was delighted to try hot & juicy when visiting my parents in las vegas several years ago & excited when boiling crab opened in san jose. the bay area was finally going to have its own version of hot & juicy so the bf & i tried it opening weekend. since then business has been successful as wait times can be lengthy. spoiled by the quick & attentive service when it first opened driving quite a distance while waiting hours to be seated isnt worth it. also, i have yet to master a garlic noodle recipe & until then cajun is my go to spot. best of all i dont have to wait in like for hours in san jose, pay toll to cross the bridge for SF, or drive 30 minutes to oakland. its about mere 10-15 minute drive from my place. in the past week & a half I've been to cajun 3 times!

i noticed after swirling my seafood item of choice into my favored sauce (she bang extra spicy) im left extremely thirsty since its laden with sodium. nonetheless, delicious & i can't wait for the next visit.