I am a modern woman OK. I KNOW Valentine's Day is a made up holiday by corporations who want you to spend your money on whatever. But I ALSO love holidays and presents and chocolate, so. Real holiday in my book. And on that note, here are some VDAY GIFT IDEAS, LOVERS! For anyone you love (including yourself.)View Article
This weekend, Tony and I celebrated our first Valentine's Day as a married couple! (One of the many fun aspects of being a newlywed is you get to call every mundane thing a "first," annoying EVERYONE). Since it fell on a long weekend, we decided to drag the celebration out over three days. To us, the word "celebrate" means eating too much in sweatpants, which is exactly how we rocked our 3-day-V-Day... I'm keeping it going, inhaling a leftover brownie as I write this. And because Tony is the most romantic person I've ever met, he woke me up with a gift every morning. In general, I think taking Valentine's Day too seriously is silly; trying to make it the most ROMANTIC.DAY.EVER. puts too much pressure on everyone. But, I like any excuse to focus on love, whatever that means to you - and to us, it meant low-key time spent together with our dogs and friends, eating and laughing.View Article
Tony and I are low-key when it comes to Valentine's Day (one of the few times in my life I can honestly say I'm "low-key.") Restaurants are packed, the waitstaff is stressed out and the prixe fixe menus are obscenely expensive. That, coupled with the immense amount of pressure to make this the most romantic night of the year, is a recipe for disaster. That said, I LOVE Valentine's Day! It bums me out when people say it's just a Hallmark holiday. Why not have a day to celebrate love, however you have it in your life -- your partner, friends, kids or pets? I love embracing all of the other cheesy holiday cliches: Flowers, candy, sweet notes and lots of pink. For Tony and me, celebrating means spending time outside with our dogs, whether it be a hike or a picnic, and cooking dinner at home before curling up in front of the TV. Sure, we do this most days... But on Valentine's Day, Tony eats carbs and I put on my nice sweatpants. It's a win for everyone. Still, this girl loves presents (you show me a girl who doesn't and I'll show you a liar), and a few people have emailed me to see what I'm getting Tony this year, so I thought I'd put together a gift guide. Here are a few ideas for the loves of your life, whether it be your lady, boyf or bestie (for the love of love, do NOT forget your single friends who want to crawl into a time machine and come out February 15). Happy Heart Day, lovies!View Article
The extent of my wine knowledge is that I LOVE IT. So, I'm super excited for this week's edition of Coffee with Friends to introduce Alex and Ali of the Cheap Wine Girls. They're sharing the best vino varietals to throw back this holiday season, and I can't wait to taste test them all. SALUD!View Article
For the latest installment of Coffee With Friends, guest blogger (and one of my best friends // mother to our flower girl Matisse) Barbara King is back with her series on mommyhood in L.A. Even though I don't have kids, I can totally relate to her obsession with taking the perfect holiday photo... Luckily for my dogs, they already posed for photos at our wedding so they got a year off from having to dress up and visit Santa in their stupid dog-elf outfits that I love so much. Here's Barbara's take on getting that perfect Pinterest-worthy pic AT ALL COSTS.View Article
