sweet baby faces.

this is kind of a "bleh" blogpost. well...not really. but there's just a lot of pictures that i just have to show someone before i burst! baby faces? bay area baby faces? honestly, you know you can't resist.

a couple of months ago (thanksgiving), i had the chance to meet up with my aunt and uncle who make their home in alameda, california. in case you don't know where that is, it's an itty-bitty island in the san francisco bay, right over here. they have two darling little ones, lydia and baby georgie, and they're expecting another one any minute now. i. can't. wait.

 

 

{how cute is this?!? crossing his hands behind his back? come on.} 

(which christmas tree do i want? hm, hm, hmm...)

four on friday.

ah, finally. it's friday. time to shut down the work computer, finish up my homework and curl up with "grey's anatomy."

or not.

sadly, it's now the end of my san francisco week on the blog, and friday officially waves good-bye to the rest of my sanity. the best friend and i will be moving out of our sweet little apartment later this week, which is so sad/hard. it was wonderful to have time with just the two of us, and i am going to miss our pizza nights/movie mornings. ah, well. onto the next thing, i suppose.

are you doing anything fun this weekend? i bet it beats goodwill runs and packing boxes... ;)

 {dusky twilight}

 {sneaky mirror photos at this neat restaurant}

{ghirardelli hot cocoa for the chilly ferry ride home}

let them eat... italian pastries.

north beach is a small district in san francisco that is recognized by it's italian heritage, marked by small flags on every light pole. it runs mainly along columbus avenue, which you can see here. this is where you'll find city lights books from this post, the yummy piazza pellegrini, and about a million tiny pastry shops. after running from the crowds of tourists around pier 39 and fisherman's wharf {overrated}, the best friend and i caught sight of oh so many pretty pastries in the window.

after drooling for a {very} short time, we decided both of us were simply ravenous and only a cannoli and scoop of spumoni gelato would do. i wish i could remember the name of this place, because it really was fantastic! if you visit north beach before i do, be sure to let me know! ;)

i might have a teensy bit of a sweet tooth, so italian delicacies really make me nice and happy. especially spumoni. it reminds me of my grandpa, who made his italian roots very clear with consistent trips to his favorite local italian resaurant {which is now closed :( } both he and my grandma were regulars for many, many years. maybe the love for carbs/spumoni rubbed off a bit on me, too.

east bay baby.

i am actually kind of in love with this picture. it's a neat way to view san francisco from the shores of the east bay {this is in alameda}. i've always been a huge fan of city skylines, but this one just takes the cake. it's san francisco, for heavens sake! until i set eyes on nyc, i think this beautiful city by the bay might just win. LA just isn't as excruciatingly beautiful through all the smog. 

the best friend and got some advice from my sweet aunt and uncle, and decided to forgo the BART train for the alameda ferry. it's a quick little trip across the bay, and absolutely gorgeous. it's cheap, easy, and super fast. so, naturally. since i was in the middle of the bay, i had to take a bunch of pictures of the shoreline/city. i might have taken a bit too many, but hey. they're pretty and fun to take.

this area really is stunning, so i hope you enjoy all the crazy/random photos.
makes me proud to be a bay area baby.

the poetry room.

 

one of my favorite places to go in the city {san francisco} is city lights books. it's an independent bookstore that consists of three stories of eclectic, sometimes downright crazy bits and pieces of the written word. located on columbus avenue in the heart of north beach, you'll be able to grab a yummy cannoli down the street in a hidden italian pastry shop and browse hundreds of books in a creaky, extremely satisfying store.

i first visited when i was eighteen, as my feet will show you.

you can tell by the converse {which i still own/love} that i had just recently graduated high school. this past visit, i thought it was about time to change up the photo. i'm sure you can tell i've changed a bit.

i'll always love this little piece of north beach literary heaven. my eighteen-year-old self, as well as my twenty-year-self, tells you to GO. and take a picture with my favorite poetry room sign. it makes for a neat picture, if i do say so myself ;)

recuperation.

my lovely followers {and amazing guests!},

i know i usually post a little DIY for a little monday inspiration, but i'm absolutely exhausted. the best friend and i just got home from some family time in san francisco, and five hours in the car? really drains you. honestly, if i did try to scrape out a post it would would sound a bit like this: lkdjagliewh'agiha

so. i'll spare you the trouble. make sure to check back tomorrow and later this week to read about a beautiful weekend in the city!!

four on friday.

{quality time with my crafted camera bag from this post}

it's been such a fun week. i don't know about you, but this has definitely has been a good one. monday night was full of laughter and fun with some friends, tuesday? criminology class. honestly, you can't mess that up. wednesday was a lazy/homework/catch up on 'desperate housewives' kind of night...then thursday. the best friend and i got to enjoy lots of pizza and packing. yay. 

but the best part?

i might have maybe...woken up early to watch the first episode of,'american horror story: asylum.' it's pretty freaky/phenomenal. if you like watching psychological thrillers with not too much gore? then you're all set to get hooked on a new tv show. it's definitely a lot eerier than season one. which was amazing too, if you get the chance.

 here are a few pieces of the last couple days that simply made everything just that much better. it wasn't a crazy week, but the weekend is sure to be filled with loving family/my favorite city.

i'll be in san francisco. 

 {the first cup of cocoa}

 {reading this book on my lunch break. amazing.}

{it's fake fall in LA. we're still in shorts.}

four on friday.

it has been a crazy, hectic week. one complete with a bout of the flu, lots of orange juice, biology lab and eighties rock music. i was supposed to head up to san francisco this weekend to see my favorite lady {great-grandma cusamano}, but i don't want to bring all my germs up north. i'll be up there next week, thanks to my sweet/flexible aunt. you can be sure there will be lots of san francisco lovin' on the blog soon!

this saturday? is a special day in los angeles. not hollywood, not santa monica, but los angeles. downtown los angeles. {i might have watched this movie recently..} i hope your weekend is just as amazing, full of skyscrapers and crazy people and good food. i can't wait to catch up on all your blogs on monday and see how each and every one turned out :)

 {fried egg gummy candies!}

 {too many pictures}

 {black tea lemonade, courtesy of the best friend}

{baking cookies on sunday afternoon}

too many plans.

so...i went to work on my second, "make it your own" post. but then i realized that best friend had sorted laundry all over the floor, my closet was a mess and the trash was still in it's place. i don't think you want to see that ;) i'll be posting the next in my little baby series next monday, when my home is once again clean and photo worthy! for now, i've made this space my own with some clutter. great.

instead, i decided to do a blurb on san francisco. i'm headed back next week to spend some time with my grandma {shh! she doesn't know yet!}, and to spend some time in that gorgeous city by the bay. i've always loved it, and my heart catches when i see the bay bridge, think of powell street or the embarcadero. i'm sad that i live so far away now, but it's neat to know that there are so many other cities out there to explore.

i first visited when i was four months old, which was fitting, because i would be a bay area kid for roughly ten more years. after we moved {and i moved out}, i started making trips. it wasn't very far, and the theaters called my name. i ate lunch under the golden gate, and walked crissy field. i was introduced to amazing street vendors and tumbled my way down the filbert steps of telegraph hill. tip number one? throw away your map. i found these stairs by accident ;)

i've run up and down the hallways of city hall, toured a million coffee shops and had the best pizza in the richmond district. my camera fairly exploded with pictures of the golden gate, and i've lost myself quite a few times up and around all of those crazy hills {in a stick shift, no less}. san francisco was the place where i went to clear my head in college, and after the move to LA, where i took those who had never been. somehow, it never gets old. it's a place that's different every time you go.

what about all you lovely people out there? i left my heart in san francisco, but where have you left yours?

 {go here.}

 {bring your walkin' shoes.}

 {don't be afraid of the parking}

{change your life here}