Day By The Bay!

Hey y'all!

So El Nino is in full effect in the Bay Area! We have had rain pretty much nonstop with no end in sight. On Monday, Matt and I both had the day off for MLK so we decided to brave the weather and spend the day in the city and going to the aquarium. While it was very cloudy and gloomy all day, we stayed dry and had a really fun afternoon! I took these pics on my phone so the quality isn't great, but I wanted to share this lil adventure with you guys. Enjoy!

We had lunch at our favorite lunch spot, Pier 23. They have amazing seafood options and you can sit right on the water. So fun!

Fish and chips. So goooood! The "chips" are garlic fries and it comes with d ranch for dipping. My favorite thing on the menu!

Matt and I hadn't been to the Aquarium of the Bay before so we were excited to check it out! This aquarium showcases all of the sea life that is found in the bay. It is a fairly small aquarium, but we really enjoyed it. Something you might not know about me is that I LOVE aquariums and sea animals. I think I was a mermaid in another life...

After the aquarium, we walked down along Pier 39 and played tourist. It is always fun to people watch out there! 

Before heading home, we stopped by Philz Coffee. Philz is known for their pour-over method of brewing. I had a Tesora (I think that's the name of it...) Philz Way (medium sweet) and Matt had a chai latte. Delish!

Back on the ferry heading home! Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our day!

Outfit Details:

Sweater is from Loft / Boots are form Nordstrom "Black Gloss" / Necklace is Kendra Scott in "Magenta" / Earrings are Kendra Scott / Bag is Longhcamp / Lips are Too Faced "Melted Fuchsia 

Good Morning!

Hey y'all!

I'm sharing my morning routine today! Hope you enjoy!

For the first time ever, Matt has to wake up earlier than me! My alarm goes off at 7:00am but I am usually awake before then because I hear him getting ready. Winston and I cuddle until 7:00...or 7:15. I get to wake up to this picture of my handsome groom. I also use my phone as an alarm clock. If the battery ever died in the night, I would be in big trouble!

Before I get out of bed, I do my daily devotional. I am really enjoying this Jesus Calling study. It is the best way to start the day!

Next up, COFFEE!!! A cup of coffee is a must have in the morning. I am currently loving the this cinnamon combo with Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce K-Cup and Coffee Mate Natural Bliss in Cinnamon Cream. Delish!

I am a devoted fan of the Today show. I always have it on in the mornings. On Wednesdays (my day off) I lounge on the couch drinking coffee all the way through Kathie Lee and Hoda! 

While watching the Today show, I look at my planner and make sure I am prepared for the day and set any goals that need to be accomplished.

Ok, finally time to get ready. I am loving this Philosphy face wash. It is so gentle and leaves your skin feeling clean and fresh! I use a rx for breakouts from my dermatologist but I didn't picture it. Gotta love being almost 30 and start dealing with acne again! Not. I use this CeraVe moisturizer in the a.m. and love that it is SPF 30 and oil free. Then I use this MAC eye cream. It is wonderful! De-puffs, cancels dark circles, and primes your eye area for concealer. Love it.

I turn on my hair straightener and go make some breakfast. I used to never eat breakfast, but I've made it a new year's resolution. I make a little parfait and prep some coffee to go! Then I put on some makeup and get dressed and it's out the door! 

I leave the house at 8:30. It does not take my an hour and a half to get ready, but I love having a relaxing morning and not feeling rushed. So I take my time. Makes my mornings so nice. I used to feel so stressed trying to rush to get ready because I had to get up so early and just wanted SLEEP! I hear ya. I'm sure that will be me again next year as I plan to go back to teaching full time, but for now I soaking it in! 

What is essential in your morning routine?

New Year / New Planner

Hey y'all!

Today I am so excited to share my new planner for 2016!!!! I absolutely love planners. I used to love writing in my planner in high school and college and was so excited to pick out a new one each year. I used it mostly for keeping track of homework, papers, sorority events, etc. Then I graduated college and tried using the calendar on my phone, and it just wasn't happening so I went back to what works for me. There is something about writing something down that helps it stick in my memory. Plus I love the organization capabilities of a physical planner. For the last two years I have used Emily Ley Simplified Planner. I fully intended on purchasing another one, but definitely did not plan ahead in time because those sold out so quickly! I have had a lot of friends swear by the Erin Condren Life Planners so I decided to give it a try. I thought I would share my unboxing experience with you and tell you how I will be using my planner. Do you use a planner? If so, what kind? Enjoy!

This adorable box showed up at my house today! So cute. I ran and jumped on my bed to open it. I always open packages on my bed...not sure why! 

When you first open the box, there are some cute little cards (see pic below), a planner info guide, receipt, and in my case a package of elastic bands that I ordered as well. Such cute packaging!! Loving this already. 

One thing that I love about Erin Condren planners is that you have the option to personalize them. This southern gal looooves personalization so I had my name put on the planner. I choose the geode design in turquoise (available in other colors too!). I am really happy with how it turned out! You can also see the metallic elastic bands that I ordered. You slide one around the planner to keep it closed. I tend to stuff my planners with notes, receipts, etc. so the elastics bands will really come in handy! 

You'll notice a little clear ruler looking piece attached to the coil on the left of the planner. This is a great little place holder that easily pops on and off the coils so you can save your place each day. Genius. I always used to use a giant paper clip so save my spot...this is so much better. 

I'm realizing now that I did not take a picture of the monthly view. Oops! Each month has a tab and when you open to it, you find a full month at a glance. I love to use this to pencil in important dates, appointments, days off, etc. so that I can see my entire month's plans at once. Then each week takes up two pages (see above). There are several designs you can choose from, I chose the horizontal design. I always plan out my meals that I will make for the week so I will be writing them in the little boxes to the right of each day. 

 In the back of the planner you have two pockets for receipts or notes. It also came with a cute little datebook (seen sticking out of the pocket). I love that these planners come with a clear little ziplock pouch. They throw in some cute stickers and extra goodies in there for you. I plan on keeping a pen and some sticky notes in mine. Also, the planner has some built in pages of stickers for you to mark special events like birthdays, doctor appointments, days off, vacation, etc.

Overall I am very impressed with this planner. It is much lighter than my Emily Ley planners and little bit smaller too. It will be easy to throw it in my purse everyday. The cover and tabs are a laminated, plastic material so I hope that it will be durable enough to last all year. These sell for $50-$60 depending on the design you choose. The only thing extra I ordered were the elastic bands ($10) but the website has tons of other extra goodies to check out! I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my planner. The weather here has been nonstop rain so hopefully it will clear up soon so I can squeeze in some outfit pics! Thanks for reading and have a wonderful rest of your week!

Emerald and Navy

Hey y'all!

Happy Friday! Hope you survived the first week back to work after the break (if you were lucky enough to get a break!). I'm still not caught up on laundry and cleaning after getting home from our trip. Oops. We've had rain just about every day this week. Its been cloudy and gloomy and no fun. I thought I'd share a look from sunnier days to make me feel better :) I love dark greens and blues. There is something so calming about those colors. Pair them with neutral basics and you've got yourself an outfit! Hope you enjoy!

Outfit Details:

Top is from Nordstrom / Scarf is from Antique Garden / Cords are old from Loft / Boots are Dolce Vita / Necklace is Kendra Scott in "Navy Cat's Eye" / Purse is Tory Burch / Lips are Too Faced "Melted Berry"

I'm excited to continue to share outfits in addition some other types of blog posts in 2016! Thanks for reading!

Photos by C. Fox Photography

Road Trippin

Hey y'all!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and NYE. We survived our road trip and our settling back into a routine. Today, I thought I would share a little bit about our trip.

Road trip day one. We drove from SF to Albuquerque. Y'all, that is a LONG drive. No makeup, little sleep, and a whiney pup for most of the day. Luckily, this was the only day that Winston was uncomfortable. He quickly figured the whole road trip thing and was amazing the rest of the time!! Hooray! 

We were so excited to get to caravan with my sister in law, her hubby, and their pup Lola. Winston loves his cousin Lola!! They had so much fun together. It was awesome. We parted ways with them in Williams, AZ and continued on to Albuquerque. The next day it was only 8 hours to OKC! Seemed like a breeze after the first day.

Things were fast and furious once we got in to Oklahoma. My mom, brother, and sister in law and I went to see the Nutcracker (one of my favorite Christmas traditions!). I had a little high school besties reunion brunch and mom and I had lots of last minute shopping to do. I snapped the pic above on Christmas Eve. We went to Life Church in OKC then celebrated with friends at my parents house till it was time to go to sleep and wait for Santa!

Christmas morning! Love my little family :) So happy we were able to spend Christmas with my parents, brothers, and sister in law. We opened presents then headed off to go see Star Wars! OMG it was amazing!!!!! 

The next three pictures are of our little Winston getting his presents. He knew which bag belonged to him! Too cute. So happy to spend our first Christmas with this lil guy!

The entire Martel family on Christmas day! Starting at the top left: Mom, brother Asher, me, Winston, Matt, sis in law Kayla holding Mac, brother Addison holding Blaze, and Dad. Love my family!

Another one of my favorite things about Christmas is that we always have Christmas day dinner with the Frost family. They are our very bestest friends and really are more like family. Devin and I have been BFFs since 1st grade!!! 

The day after Christmas, we drove to Dallas to visit Matt's side of the family. Sweet Winnie was worn out! How cute is he in the back seat?!

Celebrated my hubby's 31st birthday!!! Around his neck, he is wearing the gift I gave him. A pass for the Sonoma Raceway to drive Audis around the track. He was so surprised and excited! #wifewin

You guysssss I got to meet my sweet nephew Parker! He is just the most precious little squish ever. Aunt Lexi loves you Parker Steven!

We had dinner at Javier's in Dallas to celebrate Matt's b-day with some friends. So delish!!! We tried to eat as much Mexican food as possible while we were home. Sadly, we haven't found any good Mexican food here in SF. Fortunately, the incredible Asian and seafood cuisine available here is amazing and helps make up for it. 

Okay, so now we are heading home. We saw every type of weather during this adventure. Loved seeing a little snow at a random rest stop.

The Grand Canyon!!!!! Wow. There are no words. God is amazing isn't he? This is such a powerful example of His beauty and majesty. It seriously blew my mind. It was also FREEZING. Actually, it was below freezing. 30 degrees to be exact. We were crunched for time so we didn't stay too long. Definitely plan on going back and spending more time there.

I was not brave enough to stand on the rocks. Matt almost gave me a heart attack when he jumped up there!

Some final thoughts as we arrived home from our trip and enter a new year....The best decision I ever made was to marry my best friend. Matt is always there and supportive of me through the good, the bad, and the ugly (by ugly, I'm referring to both ugly crying and frizzy hair/face mask/sweatpants ugly). Marriage is hard y'all. It takes work and patience and lots and lots of grace. 2015 brought the biggest challenge for our marriage with our move to San Francisco. I did not want to go and had a hard time adjusting for the first couple of months. Matt was hurting because I was hurting. Fortunately, we have put enough work in our marriage to know we would get over this hurdle. Now that we are more settled and are really enjoying our new home, I am excited to see what 2016 brings! Happy New Year everyone!!!