samovar (and marycarl)

I've never thought of myself as someone who makes friends easily. But somehow last September, I found myself at my second Jimmy Eat World concert, sharing a table with a lovely lady at the Fillmore.

It's hard to really say much at concerts, but I learned she was sweet and we exchanged contact information.

Flash forward to January, when we finally met up at Samovar to actually talk. It was nice having this time with Marycarl-- someone who loves to travel, understands the importance of live music, believes in soul mates.

Almost two months later I remember this afternoon and can't be sure this was me. Me, the flower girl who was so shy she ran away crying rather than sprinkle flowers at her sister's wedding. Me, the 22-year-old that can't speak up during hair cuts and ends up losing 3 years of hard-earned growth (this happened last week).

But it must have been me.

So maybe, I'm growing up.

crown & crumpet (raiza's first tea)

Unlike her big sister Raine, Raiza was a handful during her first tea (which wasn't actually tea but apple juice). I can't really blame her. If I was 2 years old and found myself in a brightly colored room with pretty objects and candy galore, I would run around wild, too.

The spilt water, the goldfish everywhere, the chase around the tea shop and the loud, occasional "HIIIIIIIII"s to the strangers behind us were well worth seeing her itty bitty fingers grasp a cup that was almost as big as her face.

raine's first tea

Raine's first tea was actually hot chocolate. Alice invited us out to Lovejoy's for a holiday afternoon tea just for the girls. It was Raine's first time meeting most of the women in David's family (his mother, grandmother, two sisters and aunt were all there!) and I think she loved it.


















We, of course, ate like queens and Raine was the most patient little girl you could have imagined. Everything for her seemed to come last but she always remembered her please, thank yous, and no thank yous. She had her own tier of fruit, cookies, jelly-and-cream-cheese sammies and a scone all to herself. And her own pot of hot chocolate and a cup of whipped cream.

She was in little girl heaven. (To be honest, I was in little girl heaven, too.) Alice was the sweetest for inviting us and making it such a lovely afternoon.

a little get-together

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I hosted a little get-together with some of my friends from high school. It was really simple: tea and coffee, mini pumpkin apple streusel muffins and a box of millefoglie.

We sat around the coffee table on my living room floor and just chatted away. Mismatched tea cups, warm hearts and everything.

lovejoy's tea room

On Sunday I went to tea with a lot of the women in David's family (his mom, grandmother, sister and two aunts) and it was so perfect. Most people who've been reading my blog for a while have seen me obsess over tea parties (here and here and here) and Sunday just reinforced my love for all things tea-related.

Lovejoy's Tea Room in San Francisco is the cutest little nook you'd ever imagine. All of the teapots, cups and saucers are mismatched. Lace table clothes on every table. Antiques everywhere to decorate the tea room. And, to top everything off, everything they have is delicious. Your own, bottomless pot of tea, the tiny perfect sandwiches, and the scones. And let me tell you, I have missed scones.

I can't wait to go back.. or at least try to recreate the place in my own apartment!

weekend

I know I'm not one to really talk about clothes or fashion, but the runway event I shot on Friday really changed the way I thought about myself. It's a nice feeling to wake up, look at yourself in the mirror and decide that you don't need makeup. That's not to say that I wear makeup a lot (in fact, I rarely do), but confidence was never the reason why. When I was in eighth grade I bought a polka dot dress from Goodwill that I adored but was too afraid to wear because I was too shy to make any "style statement." I wore it for the first time on Sunday and it felt amazing. I still love that dress (and I'm so glad it still fits!).

Dear dress, thank you. It only took me eight years to finally wear you.

This was such a good weekend. A fashion show with African inspired dresses, my beautiful mother's birthday (with a homemade cake!) and high tea in San Francisco. This weekend was full of everything I love: photos, baking, the library, family, food, sleep, tea and dresses.