i've been mia....

I've been so bad at posting this summer....definitely not off to a good start with my blogging. Oops.

I've been staying at my parents house in Southern California since mid July, so I am essentially on "vacation". However, I am proud to say that I actually have been somewhat productive this summer. Remember when I wrote about re-decorating both of my sisters bedrooms (here and here)?? Well, right now were working on some final touches before I go back to San Francisco next week. I will definitely be posting pictures of their new-and-improved bedrooms!

Here's a short recap of what I've been doing:

-I went to the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood for their "Hollywoodland" event where my sister (a synchronized swimmer) performed. It was very classic and very Hollywood, and I am going there again tonight!!

-My lovely friend Elizabeth got married last Saturday, the wedding was beautiful. I was a bridesmaid and I also did her makeup for her special day!

-Went to Disneyland! ok, not as exciting because I grew up 20 minutes away so I've been plenty of times. It's always fun to relive your childhood though...

-Last but not least....bedroom redo's!! I've been shopping with my sisters and picking up a few things here and there for their new and improved bedrooms. The rooms were finally painted on Monday, so now I'm working on styling them pretty!

.....which leads me to some pretty bedroom inspiration photos

*sources: home sweet home for some, can't remember where others are from

back from the east coast...

I was in New Jersey last week with my family and I'm finally back so I wanted to share some pictures of the trip. We stayed in north Jersey, but we went to New York City and Delaware...

I love the NYC skyline, it's amazing how big the city is. I think SF's skyline of skyscrapers would only take up a quarter of this skyline.
We only went to the city for a day, but we met up with my aunt, uncle and cousin from NJ and went to this great Italian family style restaurant called Carmine's (if you go to NYC with a big group I suggest you go here, it's great!). Afterwards, we saw Hair. Great show! I love the theater district in NYC, the amount of theaters and people going to all different kinds of shows amazes me.

This is the house where my maternal grandfather grew up in Forest Hills Gardens in Queens, NYC. The neighborhood is absolutely beautiful. It's called a "garden city" and is very similar to the St. Francis Wood neighborhood in SF.

The boardwalk at the Jersey Shore! We went to Point Pleasant for dinner one night with my uncle and then walked along the boardwalk for a little bit. My mom said it looked almost exactly the same as it did when she was a teenager in the 60s.
This is my beautiful niece Julianna. She and my brother drove up for the day from Delaware to go to the memorial service for my grandpa in NJ (the reason we went to NJ).

My brother Neil and my Dad, father and son (I think they're starting to look alike) except for the fact that my brother is 6'6" and my dad is only 6'.

...and Julianna again with my sister Catherine.
Mmmmm. Ice milk. My favorite. I seriously don't know why they don't sell ice milk on the west coast, it's low fat but it tastes so creamy. This is my favorite ice cream parlor, btw. It's been open since 1934 on Cedar Lane in Teaneck, NJ. My grandma went there when she was little, and my mom went there too. When we used to visit my grandparents house when I was younger my sisters and I would walk there too.This is the house where my mom grew up in Teaneck, NJ. Looks exactly the same. My grandpa planted all those plants in the front yard (the backyard too, it was always such a beautiful yard). My grandpa had quite the green thumb, something I did not inherit. He had a vegetable garden in the back yard and when I was little I used to help him pick tomatoes and green beans. We also used the pick the mint and put it in our iced tea that my grandma would make.

We drove down to Delaware one day to visit my half-brother (from my dad's previous marriage), his wife and my nieces and nephews. All six of them! Above is the youngest Jacob (almost 1 years old!) with his toy phone that he says "hello" to.

Kids like to use my brother as a human horse/car/plane/whatever. I know, because my sisters and I used to do the same thing when we were little.

Jonah and Jacob. So cute!
Here are the crazies, Joshua and Jonah, 4 and a half and 6.
Joshua and Jonah with my mom. They insisted on drinking their soda in the picture, there is a long sequence of these soda drinkers that I didn't post.
Here's all of my nieces and nephews except Jacob. Oldest to youngest is Jessica, Joel, Julianna, Jonah, Joshua and Jacob.

i can't believe it's almost the 4th of july....

source: elle decor

This summer is going by so fast! I can't believe it's already July!...doesn't really look or feel like summer in SF this week though.

Right now I'm wishing it wasn't so foggy outside. What's funny though is that I was watching the news this morning and they showed a picture of downtown SF to show that the weather is so nice and clear. I guess that's what happens when you live in the Richmond district....always, always foggy.

Today I'm off to do some laundry with the boyfriend and some other errands. I'm going back east on Monday with the family, I will post some pictures of the trip when I get back the following week.

The good thing about going back east is that I KNOW it's going to be hot and humid! I can finally wear all of my summer clothes and sandals! woohoo!

on "vacation" until monday...

...well, kind of.

I flew home to visit my family in Laguna Hills, CA.

Posting might be light for the rest of the week :)

I love the 70s...

Below, in all of its glory, is the house that my boyfriends family rented at Bass Lake last summer...and no, they had no idea that the interior spaces would be so AWESOME! It was a complete time warp, and I loved every minute of it. From the larger than life lamps and sofas, to the fluorescent accent lights in the ceiling, and lets not forget the moose head mounted above the glorious stone fireplace. PURE BEAUTY!

Notice the lovely drapes that are on every wall...and the sofas that were 8 feet long and probably 1 foot high. Made me want to put on my favorite trapeze dress like one of these...

...and throw a fabulous cocktail party. Maybe my dress could even coordinate with the couch...too much? or not?

This is some intense wood paneling, and I think the owners had a weird thing for strange statues.

Best part of the house, besides the decor (of course), was that it was right on the lake and we had our own dock where we could park/crash in one case, the Sea-do's and boat...

...and here we are, next to a lovely statue of a knight in his shining armor.

...and this would be Ryan's younger brother who is the most entertaining person I know!

...and now for the pièce de résistance, my favorite piece of furniture in the entire house.

What kind of upholstery is on this lovely armchair you ask?

What are those buttons?

....well that would be some fabulous avocado colored vinyl, and those buttons would be the controls for this vibrating armchair. After a long day of Sea-doing and boating, this chair was such a fantastic place to sit and relax and have your muscles massaged, oh and don't worry if you haven't completely dried off from the lake, this chair is waterproof so just wipe off the water residue from your bathing suit when you are finished with your massage.

This chair, and house, make me kind of sad that I missed the 70s by 6 years....