when a casual bike ride turns into a full blown sunday funday.

i get the feeling people throughout the country are experiencing unseasonably warm weather. 

for us, that means a sunny 77° in january. we couldn't bear the thought of wasting the spring weather inside, 

so on sunday afternoon we dusted off the beach cruisers and went for our first ride of 2012. 

a ride that lead us to postino for $5 pitchers until 5 p.m.... 

then to check out the little woody, a newly re-done bar in our neighborhood, for beers & a rubix cube challenge... 

and then to tee pee for greasy mexican food before the chilly ride home.

it was a totally unplanned and ridiculously fun sunday funday for two. 

a sassy saturday with steph.

my girlfriend stephanie and i spent saturday afternoon lunching & craft shopping. she needed fabric for her daughter's upcoming 2nd birthday party so we headed to SAS (i call it "sass" but it's technically s-a-s fabrics) to find supplies to bring the disney themed party to life. i talk about SAS all the time, because i really do love it. most people find it pretty gross and overwhelming, but it always gets my creative juices flowing and i usually walk away inspired (and with a bag full of stuff I may or may not ever use). but when you're paying $.15/yard for things... come on, you can splurge. here's a peek inside the wholesale warehouse that sells ribbon, fabric... you name it - by the pound.

{need ribbon, sequins or leather?}

{bins and bins or ribbon}

{buckets and buckets of buttons. $.60 for a dozen? sure.}

{steph with her minnie mouse fabric (for tablecloths) in hand}

{buckets and bins filled with all kinds of embellishments & supplies}

{thousands of yards of every type of fabric you can imagine}

{lace anyone? heaven.}

{more ribbon, elastic & trims}

{not glamorous, but a goldmine of cheap crafting supplies}

after braving the warehouse and finding the perfect supplies, we treated ourselves to an open-aired lunch at St. Francis for wine and girl talk.

saturday night lock-in.

we must still be in relaxation mode after our weeklong vacation because neither of us felt much like going out this weekend. well, i guess that isn't entirely true. on friday night, danny met me after work for drinks at "my office" aka lux coffeeshop before going to dinner at the locally famous barrio cafe (yum). but it was one of those nights when you get home from dinner and instantly want PJs and your bed. 

so last night we stayed in. we picked up some beers, made delicious spicy buffalo "chicken" ranch wraps (we love the faux chicken morning star nuggets), baked fries and finally watched moneyball (good flick - watch it). unlike last year, we haven't seen the majority of this year's oscar nominated movies so we're catching up before february 26 (which happily means many more of these types of nights in our near future).

christmas gifts :: to thank or not to thank?

well, of course you should always thank people.

but, as we near the end of january, i'd love to hear your thoughts on written thank you cards for christmas & holiday gifts. 

do you send them? (be honest). why or why not? do you receive them? is it the one time a year that a written thank you is not necessary? or is a written thank you for a gift always proper etiquette?

okay, go... i'm really curious to get your feedback.

{design via minted}

cruising the british virgin islands.

the eight of us chartered a private 35'-foot boat and hired a captain to take us around the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) for a day. it was one of the best decisions we made on the trip. our excursion started with a snorkeling stop for the boys while us girls chatted and got the cooler situated & tunes going (turkey sandwiches, anyone?). 

{up bright and early and hitting the seas}

{our first stop was to let the boys do some snorkeling}


{matchy matchy... green & coral}

the first island we stopped at was Jost (pronounced Yost), to get our passports stamped. Jost "barefoot island" is the smallest of the main BVIs at approximately 3-square miles, has a population of 200 and boasts having 25 bars. awesome. 

{first stop - the island of Jost, BVI}

{Jost population: 200 // Number of Bars: 25}

{heading onto Jost... beers in hand}

{Danny & Dewey on Jost}

{exploring the little island}

{the Jost Van Dyke police station}

{danny and dewey}

{rasta thomas wasn't in quite yet... it was only like 9:30 a.m.} 

next up... jenny's favorite island. a super tiny island with some shrubs and a single palm tree in the middle. kevin, our captain, anchored the boat and we had to jump off and swim up on to shore. this was a big feat for colbs who is deathly afraid of sharks. such a neat feeling to be on such a small island.

{ting taking his time getting to the island. enjoying the water}

{matt... this eye candy is all yours}

{the eight island hoppers}

and then we asked our captain to take us somewhere off the beaten path, so we docked and hiked about 15-minutes through an island to get to "bubbly beach" a private little lagoon. 

{"Bubbly Beach" ... so we brought champagne to drink. Obviously.}

{private little lagoon}

{jake never made it to Bubbly Beach}

  

{the moment ting outted me and my keens}

{love these girls}

{our hike from Bubbly Beach back to the boat}

{jake and danny dancin' down the dock}

{off to the next island!} 

pulling up to the other side of Jost... "White Bay" and the famous Soggy Dollar Bar where the Island's "Painkiller" drink was created. hands down the prettiest water we saw... you could see pebbles on the bottom of the ocean floor. this was another spot where your boat anchored and you had to jump off and swim. i kept jumping off the boat into the water because i loved it that much.

{pulling onto the north side of Jost island, home of the Soggy Dollar Bar}

{ready to explore}

{the most gorgeous water ever}

{ting helping Captain Kevin anchor the boat}

{ocean dance party for jenny and teri}

{happy island hopper (especially after a couple of 8-Rum cocktails)}

{the infamous lightning bolt sunburn}

{"yacht" dance party}

{swimming to Soggy Dollar Bar - love Colby's face. we're so proud of you}

{could this island be any more picture perfect?}

and then it was time to leave the BVI's behind... just as an intense rainstorm hit. the ride back to St. Thomas was crazy. miserable to some, a roller coaster ride to others.

{drowned rats.}

{preparing for haircuts}