Getting Settled in Jax

After having our fun in St. Augustine, our next stop was my brother's place in Jacksonville :) 

Here's the house

Their cute little tree

A late-night dinner at Whataburger

Bear watching for squirrels

The kitchen

Bear's little spot

Colin making me poached eggs :)

Perfect start to our day in Jax

Day in St. Augustine

After getting settled in at my dad's house in Orlando, I went on a little road trip to visit my brother Colin and his girlfriend Genna. It was a lot of fun. I headed out on Saturday and met them in St. Augustine (since it is in between Orlando and Jacksonville- where they live)... Absolutely loved it there; so much history, so many cute little shops, and lots to look at. Not to mention having my brother, Genna, and Bear (their dog) made it even more special.

 One of the oldest landmarks in the United States

Colin, Genna, & Bear

The fort

One of the little shops in St. Augustine

The Cathedral of St. Augustine

Inside the church

Checking out the town

Bear was the star of the day haha

Where we stopped for lunch

Colin & Genna

Our shared plates- yum

One of the best discoveries of the day...

Pralines- something I have not had before

The verdict: pralines are GOOD!!!

And the last stop; a gelato place :)

Yum!!

Arrival in Florida!

Greetings friends and loved ones! Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season so far. I am writing from Florida today; made it down for Christmas with my dad, stepmom, my brother, and his girlfriend on the 18th. Everything is great so far! Spent the first few days getting adjusted to the time zone change (4 hours later than in Alaska), and have been loving every minute :)

My dad's living room; my stepmom has the house decorated so cute!

The living room (close up)

Little elves helping with Christmas stuff...

Beautiful Nativity scenes

Oooh- the tree :)

Dad grilling me supper- yummo...

I was SO ready for this after a day of flying! I did the veggies ;)

Supplies from my dad's favorite beer store... muahahaha

Santa (I mean my dad) making his list and checking it twice...

I had fun helping him wrap the presents!

Christmas Prep

Well, with Thanksgiving behind us, the Christmas season is in full swing lol. Or at least it is for me! I am going to my dad's in Orlando for the holidays, so I have to be ready when I get home from work this month...meaning presents have to be chosen, gifts have to be wrapped, packages need to be shipped, and card need to be sent! The race was certainly on before I came back to work last week! But I managed to get almost everydone done- yay. The rest is easily manageable ;) It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Presents ready to ship

My little wrapping station in the living room...

Festive feet! Yes, I managed to squeeze in time for a pedicure hehe



My card-writing station at work :)

Cheers!

Thanksgiving 2012

Hello all!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and that your 2012 holiday season is off to a wonderful start! This year was my first Turkey Day in my new condo, and it turned out really great. Made pumpkin cheesecake and had my best friend come over for dinner. We ate, had a few drinks, and looked through Black Friday ads lol. It was fun. Lots to look at, but I only went to two places for Black Friday deals, and luckily the stuff I wanted wasn't electronic haha. So it was actually not bad. My Thanksgiving dinner wasn't exactly traditional (since there were only two of us), but I did take some pictures of the dessert. This is one of my favorite holiday goodies...

Yummo! Sorry if I'm making you hungry heehee :)

What is scarier than Halloween?

...the election of 2012

God be with us...

San Francisco Treats

I definitely enjoy good eats, so I took pictures of my favorites... Sorry if they make you hungry!

My lunch at Amoura Cafe in Westlake Center- I can't believe I got this at a

mall it was that good!

A picture of a little souvenir from Cocotte, my absolute favorite from the trip...

Cocotte's Roasted Quail

Bay Scallops with Squid Ink Risotto & Basil Foam (also at Cocotte)

Cocotte's potato and cheese gratin

Locally-sourced cheese spreads at the Farmers' Market

Flavored cheese curds at the Farmers' Market

Fresh oysters from Hog Island Oyster Co.

The bar at Hog Island's restaurant

Some creative sourdough at Boudin

Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae :)

Cuban-inspired fish tacos

Proof of the divinity of Cafe Divine ;)

My perfectly-poached eggs and a toasted bagel with REAL cream cheese

The pate' at Cafe Claude (I was feeling adventurous)... I was a little nervous about

trying this, but it was good; the country-style pate' was my favorite

Coq au Vin at Cafe Claude- very good. A nice ending to the weekend :)