We have a fun Friday night tradition of going out to eat every Friday night, getting gelato, putting Sam and and then relaxing to movie.  It works out perfectly: nobody is out eating at 5 pm so the restaurants are usually empty…or we’re joined with other young families like us.

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE our part of town?  It’s a ten minute walking commute for Mick, the Design Center happens to be on the same street as his office.  (Yes, I truly believe God led us to where we’re living.  It’s perfect for our family.)  It’s pretty residential, so there aren’t many tourists trafficing up our day-to-day lives.  I love walking through the design district and seeing the amazing window displays…it’s great inspiration.

This is our street.  I love the view of downtown.  Some days it’s so foggy you can’t see anything, other days it’s crystal clear.  On Friday, there was a storm brewing.

Sam asking with his eyes if could have a sip.  Somehow he’s already a fan.

I have a serious case of everything-must-be-perfect in order for me to post pictures of past projects.  I’m slowly getting over that.  Often times clients have to wait a month or two to get a certain piece…and then I hardly get the chance to send a photographer over.  Anyway, here’s a past project and everything turned out perfectly. :) Hopefully more to come soon.

I think I’m the only one not too excited about fall.  Yes, I love the boots, scarves, beautiful changing leaves, and crisp air.  And I LOVE the holidays and spending time with family.  But in all honesty I think  it all comes down to me liking a change in seasonal wardrobe.  The thought of a long, cold, stay-inside-for-weeks-at-a-time winter looms over my head for the nice two weeks of fall.  Making it hard for be super thrilled about it.  I love summer. I love the pool. And I like being warm.

Buuuuut, don’t think I’m a Debbie Downer all season.  We had a perfect weekend. Perfect amount of activity, relaxing, and chores.  There’s nothing like curling up in your thick duvet while listening to the rainstorm outside.  I did that twice.  You know what else we did?  We went to the pumpkin patch.  Yep, that’s right!  Everything is so much more fun with little kids.  Sam is still way too young to appreciate any of it, but we had a blast tromping through mulch and pumpkins.  I’d like to say we spent an hour searching for that perfect pumpkin to take home and carve.  But when it came down to it, we decided Whole Foods has them for less… and it wouldn’t be worth it since we’re all leaving town (again) at the end of the week.

This might be a little mean, but I’m a little confused with the role of the owner of the pumpkin patch/haunted hay ride.  Is he part of the cast?!

My friend posted this on FB.  I LOVE it.  I forgot how fun it is to see Muppets dance.  Give it a year and Sam will be groovin just like Elmo and Grover.  Will. I. Am. you are the man.

…would have been awesome.  Too bad there was a water ballet scheduled for later that night instead.  Sam and I got to visit the Olympic grounds while in China.  They were absolutely beautiful!  The grounds were so well landscaped, and the bird’s nest didn’t disappoint.  I went a little camera happy with the amazing architecture.  Both with the nest and the water cube.

Did you know that each bubble is literally a puff of air?  Trapped by some weird material.  Pretty interesting.

I am/was a big Michael Phelps fan during the past two summer Olympics.  So to see where history was made with him winning eight gold medals was a fun experience for me.

Working on a master bedroom right now.  Love the yellows, grays, and browns they requested.

It was a VERY rainy day when we left the city for the Great Wall.  But once we got to the base of the mountains it cleared up a little.  And once we hiked UP the mountains, the sun was starting to peak through the clouds.  Just pleasant enough for us to enjoy our time up there.  Every once and a while the fog would roll through and we’d be in the thick of a cloud…making us feel like we were back home in San Fransisco.

The Great Wall is such a magical place.  As soon as you walk up the stairs and step foot onto the wall there is a great feeling of reverence and awe.  You look one way and you can see the wall stretch on for miles and miles.  You turn around and see that it stretches on for more miles and miles.  Thinking of where you are standing is very surreal.

Being the responsible mother that I am, I forgot to pack warm clothes for little Sammy.  Thankfully friends stepped in and offered scarves to construct a make-shift rainy day outfit.  Five minutes into the hike Sam started fussing and one by one we started shedding the layers.  And then he was his happy little self, soaking in the wonders of China.  Again, the weather really was perfect for our day trip.

E.T. Phone Home.

Sam isn’t quite sure how he feels being sandwiched in between two Chinese Warriors.

More to come from our China trip.