Saturday night we went to a fabulous Oscar party.  Some were creative and dressed up…

While others were lame and didn’t…

We had fun walking the red carpet, playing “guess the celebrity”, and eating amazing food.  Too bad we had to leave before dessert…

I could really go for some of that Baked Alaska flambe right now.

Love me a free day at the museum.

(Sam has taken a special liking to my friend Mariam)

Sam sporting attire from our alma maters.  At such a young age, he’s learned to support his dad’s company.

I hardly ever talk about Zinch, so I thought I’d give a few updates.

- Ever since they got funded the company has grown.  With about 60 team members, and three different offices. {SLC, San Francisco, Bejing}

-They were awarded one of the top 100 North American Tech Startups

-And were given a shout out by the first lady.  Yep, Mrs herself Obama recommends Zinch!

on another note, Sam has also

A.) learned to pose perfectly for the camera {head tilt and hand on the lap}

B.) do SO BIGS!

C.) look off into the distance and ponder

He may be the smallest of the Decker boys…

But there’s a lot of greatness in the man.  Love my dad and the awesome example  he is.  Happy Birthday Daddio!

It was cold and pouring rain.  All. Day. Saturday.  So instead of going downtown to the parade , we stayed warm and dry inside.  In honor of the Chinese New Year, we celebrated by eating homemade Sukiyaki.  A traditional Japanese dish. Yeah, it’s not Chinese, but at least it’s on the other side of the world…

Speaking of traditional Japanese dishes, perhaps I should try this fantastic looking tempura recipe.  Have you guys read wabasabi mama?! It’s a great blog by three Japanese-American sisters who are trying to find the zen of motherhood (and how sweet of them to nominate me as one stylish blogger!).  Great stories, Great advice, and great girls.

Spotted.  A good looking 21 century dad hidden amongst the 1933 Coit Tower mural.

A few weeks ago we hiked the Coit Tower with some friends. And when I say hike, I really mean walked up a few stairs.  They have the most gorgeous views up there, and I love studying the mural.  I’ve been several times, but for some reason find it very fascinating and quite entertaining.  The scenes just have so many fun stories.  Clearly Mick and Sam didn’t think much of it though.

“Will you accept this flower I picked from my mother’s garden?”

-Sam takes these decisions quite seriously…or maybe his upper teeth are coming in and he’s just ultra cranky.

Happy Valentines Day. :)

We’re dog people.  Even though Pixi is REALLY testing my patience, I love dogs and the unconditional love they give.  So when the Golden Gate Kennel Club hosted a dog show, naturally we went to go check it out.  People who compete in and attend dog shows are definitely a different breed.  Pun totally intended.  And I can say that, because I was one of those people attending.  I didn’t know that beer and nachos was what you consume while observing dogs compete, but hey, I guess it works.

We walked around where all the show dogs waited when they weren’t competing.

While this might look like your ordinary ridiculously-looking poodle, it gets better:

May I present to you Poodle Gaga.

In honor of my family dog Freckles (may she rest in peace) and Penny (May you live a lot healthier life than Freckles.  No table scraps for you.) I had to take a pic of the Brittanies getting ready to compete.

And of course little Sammy dressing the part.  In all honesty, he was the show stopper.

You go for a family run along the embarcadero…

and take little detours to visit the farmer’s market…

and try and figure out why there is a giant bow and arrow sticking out of the ground…{it’s cool though, I like it}

and take more pictures of beautiful bridges… {I’ve got a thing for bridges}

and make the cutest little donuts that you ever did see.  A must have for any super bowl viewing.

I’ve proven myself wrong: it is possible to do a construction project remotely.  Right now one happy family is getting a lovely update to their already favorite room.  Just think how much MORE they’ll enjoy it now that the teal counter tops are replaced with a beautiful carrera marble.  Here are a few pictures of what’s going on today.  I’ll post more once everything is done.  Appliances, new stained floors, window treatments…oh it’s going to look good.

I’ve been so flattered with many of you in Utah still wanting to work with me, and I’ve been really happy with the outcome of several projects.  I established so many good relationships with subs, seamstresses, upholsters, and modern technology has made it possible to do these types of projects.  And did I mention I have an awesome assistant there that helps out too? Nothing seems impossible now.

Interested in working with me?  Why, I’d love to! Just send me an email/call and we can make something work. :)

While rest of the country is snowed in, we’re enjoying the week gardening and having picnics out on our deck.

Nothing like a fresh grapefruit in the morning with the highs at 67.

Sleepy eyed, crusty nose, and some serious bed head we can never seem to tame.

There’s nothing like standing inside a giant tree to make you feel small.

Trees as tall as the sky they make you dizzy when trying to look at the top of them.

I love how taking a day outside the city to step into God’s creation can really re-energize you.

This is one of my favorite places about the area we live in.  Just 45 minutes outside the city is the beautiful Muir Woods.

Really. I can’t get enough of how giant these trees are and how beautiful their bark is…

Sam taking it all in…

Ever since we got back from our Christmas break in Utah, I’ve been having a hard time.  I think a lot of it has been because of Sam’s new neediness.  He used to be such a good, independent player.  But now he’ll scream bloody murder the second I leave the room.  Needless to say it’s been hard for me to get anything done.  Then his sleeping schedule has changed.  For a couple months it was AWESOME: fourteen hours at night with two, two-hour naps during the day.  I’m still very spoiled with a thirteen hour night sleep, but his naps have changed to one hour.  Again, adding to the difficulty of getting things done.  I was so spoiled with his sleeping, that I dove into a design project with expectations of his sleep schedule.  Now I’m falling behind.  Ugh.

My family at Christmas time. Seven kids, four spouses, nine grandkids, and two parents.  There are a lot of us. :)

On top of these new developmental things with Sam, and trying to fight of a cold, I’ve been missing family like crazy.  While we were in Utah it was so nice to pawn him off to his Grandparents who loved taking him for a couple hours.  I could run errands, and Mick and I could enjoy some much needed husband-wife time.  With Sam’s new neediness, I wanted/needed so badly a little break.  But alas, Mick’s demanding work schedule left us both wanting what we couldn’t have.  Mick wanted time with his family, I wanted time alone. :)  I was chatting with a friend one day who has a baby the same age as Sam.  She was off getting a pedicure, and I was so surprised she could bring a squirmy seven-month old to get a pedicure. When she told me her mom was watching her kid, a ping of jealousy went through me.  Oh I so badly wanted to relax with my feet in a warm tub while reading the latest celebrity gossip.  A break was much needed.

*cue the Hallelujah chorus* My family arrives at perfect timing. (not ALL of them. just parents, brother and sister)  We had so much fun hanging around the city, going down memory lane with a few old childhood houses, and letting the cousins get to know each other.  It was such a nice pick-me-up and just what I needed.  I even snuck away one night and got my much needed mani/pedi. :)