Baseball Games, Berry Picking and Other Summer Adventures

Now that summer is officially over (hear that weatherman?? over!) I figured I should recap a few of the fun things I did over the summer that didn't quite need a whole post of their own. Somehow these pictures did not end up in chronological order so just go with it.

After going to an escape room with a couple of coworkers earlier in the summer word got around how fun it was and another trip was planned.  This time we were about 2 or 3 minutes away from escaping so we were so sad we didn't make it.

I don't watch much baseball (or really an sport) on TV but I always enjoy see games live.  My sister in law and niece and I decided to get tickets to a game since they had never been to a San Francisco Giants game.

When at a baseball game calories don't count right?? It was a fun night of baseball, junk food and the Giants actually winning a game.

I was the committee that planned our yearly work retreat this year and one of the activities we had planned was for each unit to make a coat of arms that represented what they do. I thought our turned out pretty well and it was definitely the most glittery and colorful.

I am a member of a woman's organization and this summer our social event's theme "Class Reunion of 67". It was a dress up party so I threw on a long colorful dress and made a flower crown and called it a day.  

Since the party was a pot luck and we had moved about a week prior to the event I opted for easy.  Root beer floats for the win.  I just grabbed some ice cream, root beer and plastic cups. So easy and it was a big hit.

Almost every year since I was a little kid I have gone berry picking at a farm in Watsonville with family.  This year my mom and I were the only ones who were able to go. Some years we pick one kind of berry and other years we are able to pick multiple kinds. This year we picked blackberries and olallieberries. We were there right at the beginning of blackberry season so there were not as many as if we had come a week or 2 later but we were there at the peak of olallieberry season.

 Every good berry picking trip ends with a trip to the bakery for dessert and this one was no different. The strawberry shortcake was delicious!

In July my husband and I went down to my parent's house to celebrate my dad's birthday. My parents bought this thing at a charity auction where a chef comes your house and cooks dinner so the dinner was extra fun.

Not only did they cook all the food but they brought all the dishes and decorations for the party too.  The table looked so pretty.

The only food I managed to take a picture of was the meeting and cheese plate.  Once the party got started I was too busy talking to people and having fun to remember to get my phone out.

Only a few months late but that pretty much sums up all the fun little adventures of the summer.  Recap of our Las Vegas trip and my trip to see my sisters in NYC at the end of the summer still to come.

Stitch Fix #27

When I opened my Stitch Fix box this month I liked the colors I saw so I had high hopes for the clothes in the box.

Another wrap dress that theoretically should have been perfect on me but was not. The color was nice but the top was too loose and low while the bottom half showed every little bump I have. Not a good look so it definitely had to go back.

This dress was cute but a bit too tight on the top so it had to go back.  I am pretty sure even if I lost a it of weight my chest isn't going to shrink.

This high low grey t-shirt fit fine but was nothing special.  The fabric was just a bit too thin for my liking so it too had to go back.

I really sad that these shorts didn't work out because I loved the pattern on them.  They didn't have any sort of zipper or buttons on them so you just had to pull them on.  Once I got them on they fit fine but I can't imagine having to try and yank them on and off every time I had to use the restroom so they had to go back.

Loved the color and the fit of this shirt but with the sheer top and underarms my bra was going to be visible no matter what I did and I can't have that so back it went.

Still a couple more Stitch Fix boxes to catch up on...

Ice Cream Party

My job title is fancy government speak but what it really translates to is manager of special projects. One of the projects I have been working on is a remodel/reconfiguration of our office space.  We moved back into our new space in February but it took a few more months to finish up some of the common spaces including our new break room.

I like pretty much any reason to throw a party so I decided that to celebrate this phase of the construction being done we should have an official ribbon cutting of the break room.

I work on the 10th floor so our break room has a great view with 2 of the four walls being floor to ceiling windows. 

Since this was took place in the middle of summer I decided it was only fitting to throw an ice cream social ribbon cutting party. A quick trip to the dollar spot at Target and I was able to come up with some fun decorations that fit the theme perfectly.

After cutting the ribbon everyone made their own little ice cream sundaes.  I think mine turned out picture perfect if I do say so myself!

Wine Tasting and other Disneyland Adventures

A couple of months ago (before the summer crowds descended) I took another trip down to Southern California to go to Disneyland. I didn't go down with anyone but ended up getting to see lots of family while I was down there.

After a quick flight down I arrived and headed to my hotel.  I found a great rate and was able to stay at the Disneyland Hotel for the first time in forever. (You're welcome for getting the Frozen song that is now stuck in your head)

The Disneyland Hotel has so many fun Disney touches everywhere including these fun tea cup shaped chairs in the lobby. 

I ended up staying on the 4th or 5th floor with a view of the pool so I can't complain about that! I had every intention of going in the pool at some point but it just didn't end up happening. I guess this just means I will have to stay there again at some point.

The beds were very comfy (as expected) and had super cute classic Disney pillows. "A dream is a wish your heart makes...when you're fast asleep"

Anyone who has been to Disneyland knows that Fastpasses are a great way to skip some of the longer lines but still get to ride the ride. The one ride that I love enough to stand in a long line for (since it didn't have a Fastpass) was Midway Mania but as of about a week before my trip they opened up the Fastpass option for this ride.  I was so excited!  The other ride that got a Fastpass option was the Matterhorn but I didn't open until the week after I was there.

As many times as I have been to Disneyland (and I have been many many times) there are always things I have never done and new things to do. The Napa Rose in the Grand California has started doing a wine and food paring experience on Saturday afternoons.  It is a little pricey but as a special treat it was well worth it.

As I was on my own for this trip this was a nice way to spend a bit of the afternoon meeting some nice people, drinking wine and eating delicious food.  All the food and wines were delicious and the wine tasting portions were fairly generous for a tasting portion.

After my food and wine experience I headed back into California Adventure to use the Fastpasses I had grabbed earlier for Toy Story and ride a couple of other things before I got hungry.  I headed back into the Grand Californian for what I thought was going to be a small dinner at the Hearthside Lounge.

I sat down at the bar, ordered a drink and started snacking on some pub mix. I decided that a nice cheese plate sounded good for dinner so I ordered that.  When it came it was huge! I ate maybe 3/4 of the plate before giving up since I still had one more Fastpass to use in the parks.

After using my Fastpass for Sourin' Around the World I went back to my room to enjoy the beautiful headboard and a nice comfy bed.

The next day I got up, put on some Disney accessories and headed into the park. In a total coincidence a bunch of my family that lives in Washington happened to be in Disneyland part of the time I was there. I had an aunt, an uncle, 2 cousins, a cousin in law and 3 mini cousins (what we call my cousin's kids instead of first cousins once removed) there at the same time I was.  

They took a little longer to get up and going in the morning (understandable with 3 little kids) so I was on my own for a while until they got there. I am not a big breakfast person so when the Little Red Wagon opened at 10 AM I had a corn dog for brunch.

I didn't take many pictures of the whole group but here are 2 of the little ones meeting Pooh.  I know there are tons of pictures out there just not on my camera.

My last morning there I decided to take the monorail into Tomorrowland instead of walking through the front entrance.  Adding to the things I had never done in Disneyland before was getting to ride in the front of the monorail.  After we arrived in Tomrrowland they even let people take their picture up there. Super fun!

Later in the day I met up with my sister-in-law and manged to only take pictures of our food...

In my final first of this trip we had lunch at the Cove Bar and I had the famous lobster nachos.  They are delicious and worth all the hype.  The sliders we ordered were kind of meh and the roll up thing were pretty good but it was all about the nachos (and the drink of course).








I was sad to leave the Happiest Place on Earth and head home but as usual after being gone more than a day or so I was really missing my husband so I was happy to get home.