Two Birthdays and a Wedding

So last week was crayyyyy.

On Tuesday, Benny, Scott, and Grant came over for an early birthday celebration for Bobes and I. Pizza, beer and far too much fun was had by all.

The next day, I did a glorious dinner with Alene, Aline and Seda at Church and State. We ordered mussels, the charcuterie plate, mac and cheese, a flatbread, steak/frites, lavender honey goat cheese, and market veg plus the salted caramel chocolate tarte and the pot de creme. Yum.

Then I drove up to Santa Cruz and partied it up with Kat (the most lovely host ever), Nika and German, Aimee and Danny, Megan and Molly, Alicia and Conner, and the old/new Wanzer crew: Emil, Raj and Rameet. There was dog beaching, whiskey-drinking, crepe-making and burger-eating. It was wonderful. After Rob gave me the best surprise by showing up at Wanzer on Friday, we hit The Red. So funnnnnnn

Then on Saturday, after recovering with coffee and a walk with Emil, I went to Megan and Mark's crazy gorgeous wedding at Nestldown. It was a fairy-tale, intimate wedding in the redwoods. Megan looked ethereal - I can't even describe it. I was so grateful to be there that day. And then I caught the bouquet. Crazy times.

I hit up the city and met Rob and Eric at their apt. I took it easy, because the next day we did bottomless mimosas at Pasion with Alexandra and Carrie. Then we went to Golden Gate Park for the afternoon while Sophie stole toys from small children. We ordered a ton of Chinese and watched Zero-Dark-Thirty. Phenomenal day with phenomenal people.

So now I'm in a crunch with school and life. More updates on that later.

much love

- A

Memories of Memorial Day

I've had some legit Memorial Days - Vegas, Santa Cruz, Vegas & Santa Cruz... Last year at this time, we had just celebrated Senior Send Off and I was in the car with KB blasting music and driving to Sin City with an iced latte in hand. Two clubs, double digit drinks, and a legit tan later, I jetsetted to Santa Cruz to celebrate Benny's birthday, Aimee's senior solo, Connor's birthday, a host of mistakes and a day at the beach with Cahill and Scott, followed by a trip to a taqueria and watching Precious, at which point, Grant, Scott, Rob and Max all cried and were effing adorable doing it. It was a good weekend.

Now?

I'm in the a room in the library basement, pining after ocean waves, cilantro and lime, and the days where my skin was more tawny than pasty. C'est la vie.

On the bright side, one month and finals will be over! And I'm meeting Elisa for lunch AND I beat my mile time yesterday AND I'm happy :-)

Some memories from last year:

Santa Cruz Recap

Um I don't even know where to start. Obviously, the last few days were legit as trips to NorCal usually are... I got to spend even more time with my lucky charms, Carrie, Tawsh, and Bobes. We attended organic plant sales, went on hikes with Kat, Leah, and Grant, enjoyed microbrews and had some good old-fashioned exploits (aka party city), which I am still recovering from. Let's be real, the mornings after were a little rough but the last day we made an amazing brunch with Maelle, Leah, Grant and Jas after a night out with that crew plus Benny, Emile, Kat and a few other friends. I am also so glad I could spend time with Aimee, despite our conflicting schedules (the lucky girl was on a cruise the week I was in Santa Cruz.) The only thing I really regret is my Burger King breakfast on Sunday - omg barf barf. Check out my post on SF with Carrie at bohobeat.com. The overdose of bowls of soul from Lulus, several successful thrifting trips (including finding a vintage Coach purse I've been looking for!), much time playing Words with Friends, and Nicki Minaj on repeat made this a memorable trip, although I wish it were just three minutes longer. Already missing California, although so glad to be back in London with my girlz. Some of my favorite pics from the last few days in Santa Cruz:

Oh Vacation

Pretty eventful last few days - enjoying great food, good company and sunshine. Tuesday and Wed were so much fun - hit up the Red with some amigos, wonderful recovery on Wed including Philly cheesesteak sandwiches with Jason and then a trip to the Farmers' Market and Penny Ice Creamery (yummy rose ice cream) on Wed. Tawsh and I headed to Oakland after for a legit game of Apples to Apples and reliving 90s music moments. Tawsh and I spent the day in the city yesterday and met up with some legit peeps - which you can read about on BohoBeat.com tomorrow. Carrie is coming to visit me as we speak and I can't wait to do Santa Cruz again with her - coffee, shopping, beach, wonderment, hikes, tattoos - beautiful life.

Some pics from the past few days:

Snaps of SC So Far

Gingko. We have a love/hate relationship.Jacob made Hannah and I an amazing chili dinner. Yum.



Walking on Westcliff with Tawsh and Rob.
Tequila at The Red.
Brunch with Cass at Kelly's.

I love this place and its people. xoxo.

Sunshine on My Shoulders + {Music} The National

Sipping on some hazelnut cream coffee, blogging and pretending to work on papers before my bro-bro arrives. Went on a jog this morning (I use the term jog loosely - I'm so congested from allergies, my lungs may give out.) Can someone write my papers for me so I can enjoy CA sunshine?

In other news, The National released a new song. I've played it 15 times... in the last hour. Cool beans.

MIA in Santa Cruz

Whoops, I got distracted and kind of, sort of, totally forgot about my New Year's Resolutions. Now I'm back in the game despite some stressors, i.e. I forgot my camera in Rob's car so he is overnighting it. However, it looks like I won't have it when I go back to England which is a bummer. But my mom is being sweet enough to let me take her point and shoot to tide me over.

Anywho, after that little bump in the road, I want to talk about Santa Cruz and the amazing time I had there. Highlights:

1. Our Indian Feast: Tash and I decided to do little Indian cooking lesson and we cooked Aloo Gobi and Tandoori Chicken for a few of our friends and also enlisted the help of Scott and Grant to do the sous chef work. I'll post the family recipes later. The meal was a success, especially because I have never cooked for that many people. The best part was seeing all the people that make Santa Cruz such a special place to me sitting around the table and talking. It made me feel all mushy inside.

2. First Day of Class: Days like this make me question why I didn't think about Santa Cruz as a place to do my Masters. Beautiful weather, ocean, baby deer and a latte. Plus, I got to work on my paper.

3. Seeing Rob, Max, Sara and Carrie: Everyday was like another day of Christmas. Sara, Amanda, Matt and I had lunch at Walnut Cafe - yummy and amazing to see my best friends. Carrie came for the day on Sunday - we did Cafe Brazil, the beach, vintage shopping and then did The Poet and The Patriot with Max, his great amigos, Grant, Tash, Scott and Jas. And then I got to celebrate Rob's birthday a couple of days early - being able to see him made my week. I love these people so much it hurts.

4. Being with my brother: despite our ups and downs, he is my best friend and I love spending time with him.

5. NYE at the Cypress Lounge: Good music, great company, hazy memories - an amazing time was had for sure, although it will never cease to perplex me as to why I ask for Jack and Coke. Ew.

6. Taking time off: Santa Cruz is a sanctuary for me. It has always allowed me time and a place to think about where I am in my life and what I need and want to do. Spending this week in Santa Cruz made me feel better about going back to London and what I need to do. In addition, it also helped me find the strength to address the issues in my life that I have putting off. Now it's time to get to work on the New Year's Resolutions!

xoxo