This brings a new definition to living on the water!

I’m sort of an architect dork that enjoys perusing Architectural Digest from time to time.  I think I got this trait from my dad who always had them lying around when I was younger.  There is just something so interesting about a home or space created “out of the box.”   Today on Architectural Digest’s website, I noticed this incredible looking home.

Can you imagine living here??

This is a 5 bedroom, 5 full baths, 2 half bath, 5,920 sq foot home for sale for a cool $17.5 million….

Pretty insane if you ask me but very cool to look at.  I can only wonder what would happen to this thing in a storm though!

Opening night at Totem by Cirque du Soleil in San Francisco!

Cirque du Soleil made it’s debut in San Francisco this past Friday night premiering it’s Totem show at AT&T park, home of the San Francisco Giants.  This was very exciting for me to attend because I have never seen a Crique du Soleil show before.  I’ve been to Vegas a few times and have always wanted to go but never was able to  make it happen.  I worked a lot on the media campaign for this show so I was able to attend opening night with one guest, so I brought my partner in crime (Ian) as he’d never seen a Cirque before either.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect but now that I’ve seen it, I can see why people rave about the show.  It’s really incredible for numerous reasons.  My favorite performances have to be the acrobats.  The show started out very strong with the trampoline acrobats spinning, flipping and climbing around this neanderthal like structure in synchronization.  I was also impressed with the women who rode unicycles that were about  15 feet high and balancing plates on their feet which they’d then hurl up onto the head of their neighbor.  It was truly out-there acrobats and talent.

The parts I could have lived without seeing were a few of the skits and the more clown-like acts.  Don’t get me wrong, the Borat type skits were hilarious and I laughed out loud through those but some of the others dragged on.  However without these, I’m sure the performers would have a hell of a time trying to get ready for their next act.  I also wasn’t so impressed with the baton twirling and circle dancing.  It’s impressive in it’s own way and I certainly couldn’t do it but it wasn’t the stand out of the show to me and I could have done without it.

One of my favorite aesthetic assets to the show was the set design…

This picture doesn’t do it justice but the way the stage was set up with the lighting made it transformable for each different set.  There would be ceiling projections of ocean waves crashing and shadows swimming in the water.  Then the characters would pull themselves out of the “water” from under the stage in perfect timing.  It was INCREDIBLE how fine tuned the show is in certain aspects.

There was also suspension from the ceiling of the tent and the “Crystal Man” was the centerpiece of the show.  He’d lower down and spin on his cable to these lights that would project prisms all over the tent.  It was so beautiful and unique.

I would absolutely recommend seeing Totem while they are in town here.  It was easy to get to with tons of parking (paid and free).  If you’ve never seen one, it’s worth seeing once in your life.

What Cirque’s have you seen?  I’d love to hear about other note-worthy ones.

Happy Monday 🙂

All photos from the Cirque site.

Where will you be 5 years from today??

Ian’s mom, Frida, recently gave him the book Where Will You Be 5 Years From Today by Dan Zadra and I think it’s safe to say I’ve abducted  it from him.  This book seriously re-vamped my attitude towards future goals and is a good reminder of the fact that nothing is out of reach.  Life is all about figuring out what you want and how to get it and this book is a good guide to searching for and obtaining those things.

Sometimes I find myself saying to myself I’m too tired to work on something I have in the works for the future but the future is exciting and should give me energy.  This book is really interesting and a good investment if you ask me.  The most important investment you can make is in yourself.

“This is your life, your one-and-only life.  You determine what’s possible.  Make choices, ask questions, take steps – today is the day“

Flashback Friday – Past Halloween Costumes!

Halloween is always so much fun to dress up for.   In college my two best friends (Kimmie and Amanda) and I lived and did everything together.  Naturally, when it came time to dress up we always wanted to do something together so we could create our costumes together.  Here’s a few ideas if you are still looking for something to dress up as this year!

Alvin and the Chipmonks.  Haha I love this silly picture.  We bought tall T’s and wore shorts underneath.  Most comfortable and fun Halloween costume ever!

Kat Von D/Greaser girls.  People at the bars thought A and K really had sleeve tattoos haha it was so much fun!

We went to a school in the middle of farm country which was perfect for me with my love of horseback riding but it also allowed there to be horse cops that patrolled the streets at night.  We bought stuffed animal horses on a stick and wore leggings, tall boots and cop t-shirts/hats one night and were horse cops.  I loved it and it’s a simple affordable outfit to dress as, too!

Happy Halloween weekend to everyone 🙂  I hope you have a safe and fun weekend.  I can’t wait to see everyone’s Halloween costumes!

Travel Thursdays – Sydney!

I learned to love travel from my amazing family.  They have shown me how important it is to see other cultures and enjoy the differences from around the world.   One of my absolute favorite family trips was to Australia.  I posted earlier about Cairns but didn’t get to share anything about Sydney in that one because I had so many photos.  I’ve decided to share only some of them today because I have hundreds from the trip.  It was one of my favorite spots to see and it was one of the last really big trips we took all together.  I made a movie from our trip and tried to take as many pictures as possible. These photos were all taken on a small point and shoot so the quality isn’t great but I think the subject matter does more of the talking 🙂

You absolutely can’t go to Sydney and not see the Opera House.  I know I LOVE modern architecture but even if you didn’t, you could enjoy it’s marvels.

The tiles!

It’s safe to say I was borderline obsessed 🙂

Even the bathrooms were cool! Ha!

The Harbor Bridge.  I thought it was so awesome that you could climb this!  I didn’t have the chance to but next time I won’t miss out 🙂

We got to explore Bondi and Manly beaches.  Both were beyond beautiful!

My brother and I watching the warm storm brew over the emerald waters.

Some of the trees had the largest, most interesting roots!

One of the large modern fountains.  You can’t tell here but this thing was huge.

We also ventured outside of the city to see the Three Sisters.  They were in the most beautiful area and we took this very steep ride-like “train/tram” down a rock face!  Very cool to get deep down in the tall trees.

The forests went on for a long ways.

While outside the city, we saw so much wildlife!  We ended up going to an animal reserve where we got to get up close and personal with some native animals.  This was one of my favorite things that we did in Sydney.

They have so many beautiful birds.

I liked this one 🙂

A wombat!  So fitting for my love of the Wombats (a band) music!

These koalas were fighting or communicating somehow.  I thought they were such sweet animals but come to find out they are actually pretty aggressive!

They are also nocturnal, they sleep all day and scavenge at night.

I loved the kangaroos!  They were so friendly and soft.

Obviously they were friendly because  we were feeding them but they were so gentle and sweet.  It was neat to get to interact with them.

They are also known for their reptiles which I didn’t as many pictures of because I’m deathly afraid of snakes, let alone me take a picture of one!

Here’s me and my family.  This was one of the best trips of my life and I can’t wait to go back someday.  I’m so thankful I had the chance to have such a great experience with my family.  We visited so many other places including the Olympic grounds and other beaches so I may post about those on another Travel Thursday but for now, enjoy!

Santa Cruz with Ian

Ian and I spent this past Sunday on the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk.  It was such a fun day and a great way to spend time together!  I lost some of my favorite photos of the day somehow but I was able to save a few.

We went on the cozy chairlift first that sweeps across the boardwalk.  It was fun to check out all of the rides and scenery before we started our extravaganza.

Here’s the older part of the boardwalk.  There were some interesting and creepy old keep sakes from the original boardwalk.  The boardwalk is over 100 years old but the infamous rides didn’t start until about 80-90 years ago.

I LOVE that the beach is hugging the sand on the boardwalk.  It’s so great to have so many different options of things to do while your there and the best part is… you don’t have to pay ANY admittance fee!  You can go peruse the boardwalk, fee free.  You just pay for rides, food, and/or any of the other givens.

People strewn about.  I loved this picture until I realized the two center piece people are drinking tall cans of beer… ha!  Oops.

I don’t know if you can tell but these donuts were HUGE!

This was inside the old “bathe house.”  They used to have a swimming pool inside this building where swimmers would put on aquatic shows through trapeze, diving platforms, and other amusements.  Now it’s an arcade and mini-golf house.  A sign of the times 🙂

The Giant Dipper!  Childhood memories… I remember this coaster being so much bigger when I was younger, funny how that happens.

The beautiful swings!

I had one of the best days on this day.  The sun was out and I was in great company.  What more can a girl ask for?!

Florence – new album leak!

Gahh!  Listen while you can, before I am forced to take it down!  New Florence album leak… Sooo in love already.

Good Monday tunes

Some weeks I just need a good song or playlist to keep me motivated.  This song is a good upbeat jam to get me started and staying focused throughout the week.  Passion Pit is good for road trips as well 🙂

Also, here are a few photo sneak peaks of where I went this past weekend and a few future blogs to come…

Enjoy!

Jacuzzi – the wine!

Another stop on our wine tasting tours was a place called Jacuzzi.  It had a very interesting story behind it and is most definitely connected to the bath tub Jacuzzis!  Here are some photos from the stop at Jacuzzi winery.

One of the entry ways to the winery.

I love this stonework!  I’ve always loved the mixture of stone and wood on a house.  When I lived in Lake Tahoe I noticed that it was much more common in less populated areas.  It’s truly a beautiful combination.

Entryway and the amazing Chandelier.

My mom in the entryway of the wine barrel room 🙂

Their vineyards!  The grapes had all been harvested this year.

Someone had put sunglasses on the statue… ha!  I think it added a nice touch 🙂

Then we saw 5 little planes fly by together.  It was really neat to see.  They were flying pretty close together.

A closer view.

The gardens on the way out.

After the two wine tasting excursions we decided to head to grab some food.

We headed over to a burger place called Gott’s.  It was SO delicious!  I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a good burger in Napa.

Ian was lucky enough to have a home-made cheesecake made for him on his birthday by his family friend, Lauren.  She’s notorious in their family for making the best cheesecakes and now I can officially say I know why.  This cheesecake was next level delicious!  She definitely has some baking skills 🙂

After a full day we headed back to the bay area.  Here is a picture of Ian’s family.  From left to right – his cousin Courtney, cousin Damon, sister Eryka, Ian, dad Ron, and mom Frida.  I’d go anywhere with this group 🙂

Sonoma – Champagne Country?

Another excursion we partook in over the past weekend was venturing up to Sonoma and Napa for a day.  Ian and his family had never been and I’ve only been once or twice before (my last excursion to Napa).  I’d never gone to the places we went to this past weekend though so it was another adventure together.  My parents helped guide us around and Ian’s cousins were also able to make it along for the fun day.  It also happened to be that special loverboy of mine’s birthday, so it was an extra special day 🙂

I had to break the trip up into a few different postings because I took that many photos… Ha!  So here was our first stop, a Champagnery if you will.

Domaine Carneros known for their bubbly.

This time of year in wine country is called “The Crunch” because all of the wineries are harvesting all of their grapes in preparation for their wine making.  Most of the grapes were off the vines so no grape tasting for us.

Ron and Frida!

It was very castle-like.

Large doors!

Champagne tasting!

Red wine tasting.

Very large bottles of Champagne.

There were these little birds all around.

That’s a lot of Champagne and wine bottles!

Eryka, me, my mom, and Frida!

This was only one stop from our day.  I have many, many more pictures to come!