It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Ahh the holidays…  I LOVE this time of year, when the air gets really cold and still, and at night you see twinkling fairy lights in all the windows as you pass by.  I WISH it snowed here, but honestly I’m such a whimp, I could never imagine shoveling the driveway before work.

Today is so cold and foggy – the perfect day to curl up and watch all my favorite Christmas movies, but alas, I am at work.  Tonight, we are headed downtown for a little pre-Christmas shopping event.  We are so lucky, and spoiled – we are meeting one of our sales reps at Bloomingdales, and we get to pick out a new pair of swanky holiday shoes.  Lucky us!  In addition to being spoiled rotton, I am very much looking forward to seeing the tree and the ice rink in Union Square.  That will get me geared up for the holidays – some mulled wine or a hot toddy would be amazing too 🙂

Speaking of delicious holiday drinks I found these fabulous mulling spices at Williams Sonoma – they are amazing in mulled wine, but I have also found that seeping them in simmering water gives your house this yummy “been baking all day” smell.  I think I will surprise Kris tonight with a delicious smelling house, and a bowl of ice cream.  I know how to win him over 🙂



Photo, courtesy of Beyond Bones
http://brandonferney.blogspot.com/2007/12/san-franciscos-union-square-at.html

Funny story here – one of my all time favorite bloggers, Jordan Ferney is from San Francisco, and I believe her husband is a photographer/artist… I wonder if this is him or if its just an uncanny coincidence…

We Made It!!

This past weekend was utterly exhausting – I unfortunately have been battling my first cold of the season, and perhaps it’s in my head, but the aches and pains have become noticeably more acute each year.  Regardless, I powered through, and after 3 full days of packing, lifting, lugging, and transporting, everything we own is now in the new place!  Last night marked a new beginning for me – it was the first night since we’ve moved in that I’ve slept the entire night all the way through, and it felt great.  Today I am making a conscious effort to cancel all events for the remainder of the week so I can focus on nesting at home and getting things in order.  I know this grace period of not minding the clutter will be gone before I know it, so I had better get a handle on organizing it all early.

It is AMAZING how much stuff two people can accumulate.  I spent all of Friday going through my stuff with my mom – she was so sweet and spent her day off helping me pack up my life… the things mom’s do!  We sorted through clothes I no longer wear (or no longer fit, eeks) tossed old things I’ve been hanging on to, and organized room after room.  Right now, the trunk of my car is filled to the brim with garbage bags, stuffed with clothes to give away.  From a glance, it looks like I’m some mob queen with bodies ready for dumping. Ha!  Saturday the movers took care of the big stuff, and on Sunday Kris and I went through his stuff – much more fun to toss his things out than mine, but it was so therapeutic   Getting rid of so much stuff, really gave us the feeling that we were starting fresh together.

The weather has taken a turn, and our San Francisco summer is just a memory now.  The air has a chill in it that I have not felt in a year, the leaves have changed overnight, and we need an extra blanket on the bed.  The new apartment is wonderful – it’s still packed to the brim, and I am trying to find a home for everything.  This takes a bit of strategy since closet space is limited, and my shoe collection has ballooned over the past several years.  Luckily, the boxes and clutter have not gotten to me yet, so while the new place is a huge mess, I am unfazed (for now).  Ask me in a week, and I will be going out of my mind that we are still not settled.

With the change in weather and the new apartment, it feels that with the new season is a new part of my life.  Shedding the old, and moving forward with the new.  It’s exciting, and scary, and weird, yet so normal to wake up with the love of my life in our new home together.

I found these super cool photos of San Francisco covered in fog – while the weekend was rainy and today is crisp and clear, these shots are so cool, and sooo San Francisco.

Is this the one?!

As I mentioned, Kris and I have been apartment hunting for the past few months.  To cut the story short, it has been an extremely frustrating process.  Rent is at an all time high, and there are very few options right now… BUT… tonight we went to see an apartment, and I think this could be it!!

I can feel myself getting my hopes up, so I really need to take it down a few notches, but I left the apartment feeling so excited, I could barely contain it!  Kris just kept laughing at me – you’d swear I won the lottery.

I can just imagine how lovely this new home is going to be – the living room has tall floor to ceiling windows, and the whole unit gets a lot of light.  We can have dinner parties in our formal dining room, movie nights in the expansive living room, and order in because the kitchen is VERY small.

While we don’t have it yet, I have already started dreaming about the nesting… I can’t wait until the suspense is over and we can plan out our new apartment together.  Kris likes modern and I like more classic, so I think we can find an easy balance with what I am going to call… contemporary classic.

For fuel I headed over to House Beautiful – the epitome (I feel) of contemporary classic.  Some of the homes and rooms are a bit too fashion-y for me, but this magazine truly inspires me to experiment with more colors, fabrics, and textures to create something really interesting… I want practical meets stunning.  Kris wants what I want

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

LOVE this slide show…
http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/designer-living-rooms

Must remiknd Kris that I am “streamlining” and “exercising restraint” when his bachelor couch goes bye-bye
http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/ideas/designer-decorating-secrets-ideas-0511


*Sigh* if only this were our house
http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/sophisticated-san-francisco-house?click=main_sr