Our final day pulled us back to two favorites: coastal cliffs and wine country charm. Napa offered up some unexpected insight, while the rugged shoreline kept stealing the show. And yes—getting to the airport felt like its own plot twist.
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Our day in San Francisco started with a jolt of classic charm and ended with a splash of unexpected adventure. From cable cars to winding streets, impromptu food tastings to techy detours, the city served up a full plate of surprises. What looked like a mellow day turned into something much more memorable… even if we were left a little soggy and very hungry by the end.
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Day 7 brought a shift in scenery and energy as we left San Francisco behind and crossed the bridge into Oakland and Berkeley. What started as a plan to catch an evening baseball game soon turned into a full-blown city-hopping adventure—one filled with scenic detours, surprise gems, and a few moments that had us laughing, squinting, and maybe even tearing up a bit. California just keeps unfolding in the best ways.
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Our final morning in Palo Alto unfolded with a gentle mix of insight, discovery, and coastal charm. What started with a guided stroll through Stanford’s campus bloomed into an unexpected trail of sculptures, stairways, and shoreline beauty—with just the right touch of whimsy and surprise tucked in along the way. The transition from academia to ocean air was seamless… and delicious.
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Day 5 marked a bit of a transition—one filled with peaceful campus wanderings, playful wildlife encounters, and thoughtful goodbyes. With the morning unfolding in familiar company and the afternoon spent exploring Stanford’s storied corners, this stretch of the trip offered a slower, more reflective kind of magic. And the evening? Let’s just say it ended on a high note… quite literally.
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I wanted to share a few photos from Caitlyn’s maternity shoot. We did these at The Botanic. All of these were taken with an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max because if I would have used my big SLR camera they would require us to pay $50. I think these turned out pretty darn good with just a little bit of editing.
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LIFE Happenings Here’s my weekly posts to catch you up. Week 49 Week 50 Week 51 Loving these Electric Salt & Pepper shakers that Alex got me for Christmas. Happy we might get snow next week. Excited that Auburn Men’s Basketball is #1 right now. Reminiscing Every December, especially on the 26th I remember my Dad. (posts about that) Social We had dinner with Rob’s men’s group and their wives at Fratelli’s this year. Work Memories We learned that our coworker Patti is retiring in January. That means I’ll be the only female in the office for at least a…
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Every year for the last few years, Rob and I and Rob’s brother, Nick, have taken Rob’s sister’s kids out for a fun day. Well, 5 out of the 8 (the school age ones). We started doing this in place of giving them “things”. Even though we live in the same town, they are running here and there practicing and playing Lacrosse and just living life with a large family, so just don’t get to see them much. We picked them up about 9:30am and headed to Atlanta. Since Atlanta is on Eastern time, we lose an hour when traveling…
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Back in November, I planned and organized a baby shower for Caitlyn. The theme was “A Little Cutie Pie is on the way!” I have never thrown a baby shower and it was so much fun planning and creating all the things. It was a lot of work, but I know she loved it so much, so it was definitely worth it. I have linked to as many items we used at the bottom of the post. If there’s anything I left off, feel free to comment below. Here’s what the invitation looked like. I designed them on Canva. I…
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Just a quick little post to remember this Christmas 2024…the last one before our granddaughter is here! Breakfast Casserole (recipe) I made the weekend before Christmas since we had company. Christmas Eve Since Rob’s dad is seriously considering moving from Huntsville, TX to our area, so we hooked him up with one of our realtor friends. He was gracious enough to show us a couple houses on Christmas eve morning. Later that day, we attended church and then came home to have our traditional Christmas Eve meal (Ham, Hash brown Casserole, and Teriyaki Green beans). Always love having this guy…
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Here’s some memories, dreams, and reflections from 2024. See the bottom of the post for the ‘rules.’ This year I posted the Link Up post early. It’s here if you’d like to share your Memories, Dreams, and Reflections 2024. 1. Me! 2. I Love You Just a quick meal out for some ramen with my love 3. Still Laughing… I was lost on this prompt, but I do love this photo of us laughing at Christmas. I think we were laughing because when he picked her up she laid back in such a funny way. 4. Winter Wonderland Yeah, kind…
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This year, we tried to scale back the travels a bit from last year…We still take advantage of when Rob has a work trip. I think last year and maybe the year before I did a separate post to list all my travels, but I’m so behind on posts right now that I decided not to do that. Here’s a quick run down… April Not sure you can even hardly count this as a trip. We were only gone a few hours, but it was so good for my mental health. After several days of being cooped up after my…
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+ Our yard (after) being cleared. I may try to write a post about this and share more photos. + Rob’s Dad and step mom got in to town on Saturday, Dec 21st. This is a photo of our normal Sunday lunch along with Randy and Pam. + On Saturday, we took Randy and Pam to the restaurant that Alex works at as part of their Christmas present and so they could see Alex in his element. He always treats us to an appetizer or 2 and dessert. This time he sent out a dessert tray. + On Saturday afternoon,…
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+ This week we were in full-fledged get ready for Christmas mode. I made sausage balls. + My car rolled over to 275,000 miles! + Rob and I went out to eat to celebrate his promotion to a manager position. + I made lots of Christmas treats. + The Christmas tree was looking and smelling awesome! + This is a before photo of our yard that we had cleared (underbrush and some trees).
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Back in 2011, one of my favorite blogs (no longer online) shared an end of year post that I just loved, so I decided to do it that year. I started sharing this post again in 2020 and have done it ever since. Last year several people expressed wanting to share their year through this post. With that info, I decided this year that I would share the blank version early in case anyone else wanted to do it. I’ve started gathering photos for my 2024 edition. Here are the ‘rules’ of this post The beauty of Memories, Dreams and…
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Sometimes the slower-paced days sneak up and charm you the most. With a bit of extra sleep, familiar company, and breezy moments between conference prep and rooftop catch-ups, days 3 and 4 brought a welcome ease to our California rhythm. Not every day needs to be jam-packed with sights to leave an impression—some unfold through the quiet joy of shared breakfasts, casual strolls, and conversations that linger.
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+ Saturday we went to get our Christmas tree. Tradition of this picture makes my heart happy. Need to go do a collage of them here through the years. + Rob and I at the Christmas tree farm + Alex and I standing next to the tree we got. + Earlier in the week Rob and I went to the Gogue for “Ain’t Too Proud” which is the story of the Temptations. Really good! + After getting our tree on Saturday, we continued with our tradition of stopping for Chinese food. Santa and his family were there too! + Sunday…
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LIFE Happenings Here’s my weekly posts to catch you up. Week 44 Week 45 Week 46 & 47 Week 48 Loving that the show Yellowstone is back on, but also sad that it’s almost over. Happy for the Christmas season. Excited that AU basketball season has started as well as getting my house decorated. Reminiscing back to 2010 when Drew had a soccer tourney in Greenville, SC. (post here) Social Rob is way more social than me and that’s ok. Work Memories Pretty chill month at work. Interviewing for Spring this week. Lesson Learned I had something for this… Current…
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Last Tuesday after work, we headed towards Texas, planning to spend the night in Shreveport to break up the trip since its a 12 hour drive. We ended up having a delay when Google Maps told us to take a detour near Selma. We went over some railroad tracks and ended up going over a pot hole that gave us a flat tire. There was another car that had pulled over who had also gotten a flat tire. Long story short, God paved the way for us to get our tire switched to the spare and got a new tire…
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Day 2 of our California adventure took us from misty morning farmland into the heart of towering redwoods, tech landmarks, and quiet college-town charm. It was a day of contrasts—ancient trees beside futuristic design, crispy waffle chips alongside creamy panna cotta—and one that reminded us just how layered a single afternoon can be. Spoiler: even the hotel fan had something to say.
