I heart...spring break.

It's here! The last day of school before spring break. We'll be doing a little spring cleaning in the classroom and then I'm treating my students (and let's be honest myself) to a little movie watching in the afternoon... and then.. I'm off to New York for some much needed family time. Hope all of you have lovely weekends wherever they take you. I'm leaving you with a few lovely vintage New York City images that make my heart flutter.

Until next time my loves.

xoxo-miss v.

What I'm Loving Wednesday...Favorite things.

Happy Wednesday friends! Maybe it's just me but this week seems to be moving at a super slow pace. It could be that I'm in countdown mode for my impending Spring Break!! (overly excited) With that said I can't really complain it's been a great day spent with friends, getting my hair done and then arriving home to a clean house and dinner in the oven...lucky me indeed. I wanted to share a  few fun pictures from last weekend for memory sake. Perfection from beginning to end.

Our weekend consisted of ice cream, stand up comedy, chick-fil-a and babies...just a few of my favorite things. I was in heaven all weekend long ;)

Friday night was date night, which consisted of sushi, ice cream cones and watching two of our favorites, Ray Romano and Kevin James live...unbelievably funny and a date night that will be hard to beat. 

Swensens Ice Cream Parlor a San Francisco treat ;)

My handsome date.

 Funny Guys ;)

On Saturday we headed up to Sacramento to visit our friends the Christophersens and their sweet baby girl...of course we had to make a quick detour and head to Chick-Fil-A for lunch!!! This is the closest Chick-Fil-A to us and it's a good hour away. 

It's probably best that it's not very convenient... or else this blog might just be filled with me and pictures of my food ;)

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with sweet baby Makena, catching up with our friends and just enjoying family time with them. I only wish we had more free weekends to spend together just like this one. 

 And... I'm pretty sure this look is, "are you kidding me lady, you're still taking pictures!"

I can't help myself when she's that cute.

So that's it for What I'm Loving Wednesday just a few of my favorite things all wrapped up into one wonderful weekend. Hope you've all had lots to love this week as well!

XOXO- Miss V.

Weekending.

Happy Friday friends! We made it!

We're kicking off our weekend by seeing these two funny guys perform tonight and probably grabbing a bite to eat.

I am soo late to the game with these shows.... but they have become essential viewing just about every night. Mr. Jones was a real sweetie when he offered to get us tickets when I found out they would be in town!! I love Ray & Doug!! (Ray Romano & Kevin James)

On Saturday we're headed to Sacramento for the night to visit our friends The Christophersens and their little sweetie Makena. This reunion has been long overdue and I cannot wait to catch up with these friends and just love on their little one!

 Pretty family.

And while I have plans to see The Hunger Games next week I can't wait to hear reviews from this weekend! Will any of you be watching?

Too funny not to share.

Hope you have fun and relaxing plans for the weekend friends! TGIF!

XOXO- Miss V.

What I'm Loving Wednesday...Happy Spring.

Happy Wednesday friends and happy Spring! In between all of the early "April Showers" we've had a few lovely days like today where the sun is shining and I've got a little extra pep in my step. Sadly the rain is headed our way again and I fear we might be in for a very damp spring. Luckily, I have lots of little things to love that brighten even the dreariest of days.

I'm Loving... my Spring/ Easter decorations. Simple and sweet.

I'm Loving... taking full advantage of a few hours of sun to stroll around the "burbs" on Tuesday with Mama Kylies little one Ryland. 

I'm still Loving this trilogy. Late to the game, I know. Catching fire is excellent so far!

I'm Loving... my green St. Patrick's pistachio pudding cake. In fact I wish I didn't love it so much. It is rapidly disappearing before my eyes.

I am Loving...the return of Mad Men tomorrow! Oh Don, how I have missed our love/hate relationship.

I'm Loving... that despite the rain my mind seems to be in a warmer and sunnier state. These pretties are en route as we speak. (ps ALDO has tons of cute sandals on sale right now!)

Last but not least, I'm Loving that dragging myself out of bed before dawn for morning workouts is totally rewarded with this lovely sunrise, and extra time at the end of the day! Totally worth it.. (at least that's what I'm screaming in my head at 5:30 am)

 

That's it for today loves. Wishing you a lovely week and a very happy Spring!

 

XOXO- Miss V.

Movie Monday.

Hmmm. Sorry for the total lack of creativity in my title. I just can't be bothered. It is Monday after all and I've been on the go since 5:30am.

So... if you couldn't guess this post is going to be about movies. (ha) We spent a good amount of time this weekend curled up under blankets on the couch and eating our fair share of Irish treats and we definitely took advantage of having a Friday evening and Saturday with nothing planned other than hanging out together. Heavenly. As soon as the sun broke through on Sunday though we were both out the door, Mr. Jones to his soccer game and me off to a girls day out with my darling friend Dana. In between the two days I saw three fantastic movies that I wanted to recommend!

First up...

This is the inspiring and heart warming story of the puppeteer who is "Elmo". It's a wonderful story of following your dreams and doing what you are passionate about. Kevin, the puppeteer has accomplished so much in his life already and if you are at all or ever have been a fan of Sesame Street, The Muppets, Jim Henson, etc. you will love this story. I would also recommended it to teachers because it's  a great message to send to our students about how being different and loving something that may not be "popular" like making puppets, is ok, and not only is it ok but it can lead to incredible places. Highly recommend this. Please check out the link for more info.

Next up...

The Oscar winning film Hugo. I have to be honest I had been intrigued by the trailers I had seen, visually it looked stunning, and then it took home so many awards, but I honestly was clueless about what the story was about. I am so glad we watched this. It's touching and sweet. It takes place in 1930's Paris which is a beautiful backdrop for the story of the young orphan boy Hugo who is desperately trying to find his place in this world. Again following your heart, believing in miracles, and never giving up are themes throughout this film. A lovely story that's beautiful to watch. Please do yourself a favor and rent this! Here is the link to the website with a great trailer that provides a little more background.

And last but not least... on my girls day out we saw this...

A star studded cast shines in this story of friends searching for the answers in this sweet and poignant movie. I loved all of the characters, the intermingled stories and lives and a glimpse at what happens "next", after children. Parts of the story are predictable but not in the way that makes the movie feel any less touching, the somewhat predictable parts are also the parts that pull you in because you relate in one way or another. A lovely little film that I would encourage you to see whether it's right now in the theatres, or rent it for a night in with someone you love friend or partner. Here's the link to the website. And let's be honest, Ed Burns, John Hamm, Adam Scott, and Chris O' Dowd the cute love interest from Bridesmaids, it was pretty easy on the eyes too ;)

Well there it is friends... my brilliantly titled Movie Monday. ;) Feel free to start planning your weekend downtime now. Only 4 more days to go!

XOXO- Miss V.

Family.

The dictionary definition of family is...

 

a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not: the traditional family.

 

I would like to argue this. To me, family is a group of people, not just parents and their children,who support each other through all of life's seasons, that grow and change together, that come together in good times and bad and continue to love one another regardless of time or distance between them. I love my "traditional" family but I also consider my lifelong friends my family, Mr. Jones' family my family and their friends part of my family too. Mum & Dad Jones are a wonderful example of what it looks like to have lifelong friends who have become family members and I look forward to watching my friends and I grow and change together over the years, blurring the lines between friends and family until it seems that there's never been any difference in the two at all. 

We were fortunate enough to host The Joneses the other night and their family friends who were visiting from the UK for dinner at ours. Sitting around the table together it didn't feel like sitting with Mr. Jones' parents and their friends, it felt like sharing a meal with my family, regardless of whether or not we are related I know that their lifelong friends will also be the people that will be in my life for forever as well. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life and I will forever be grateful to Mr. Jones for sharing his family with me. 

 

 Jen, Geoff and Mum & Dad Jones

We went with an "Italian" theme, with Mr. Jones making my grandfathers famous spaghetti and meatballs and I served biscotti, fruit and coffees for dessert. Perfect for a chilly night in.

 

The crew!

Wishing you all a happy Sunday. Hope this week is filled with those you love, friends, family, or both.

 

XOXO- Miss V.

 

 

Twinsies.

A princess after my own pink jean lovin' heart.

Gahh... could she be any cuter? I think not.

Happy Friday Friends.

Watch the video of the pretty in pink princess here ;)

XOXO- Miss V.

Feeling Lucky.

I'm a sucker for a good Holiday theme so of course we'll be celebrating St. Patricks day with a few fun treats, activities for my students and some yummy food on Saturday. I'll be wearing my green on Friday to celebrate at school and have this fun Lucky Charm math activity planned as well as a cute Shamrock art lesson!

 Love that green milk! How fun would that be for kiddos in the morning?

Adore this sweet vintage postcard.

On Saturday I'll be baking this delicious sounding pound cake and we'll spend the day simmering corned beef and cabbage! You have no idea how much I LOVE corned beef. It's one of my top three favorite foods and by far, my favorite part of St. Patrick's day. The funny thing is Mr. Jones plays soccer with a lot of Irish guys and they don't even eat corned beef, I guess in Ireland it's not considered a nice cut of meat, it was brought to the US by Irish immigrants and became a popular Irish food here. I was going to bake Irish soda bread, but I might just pick some up from the grocery store, another favorite of mine.

 via

And to round out the festivities I thought we should watch an "Irish" film. It's going to be a good weekend for snuggling inside so I thought I would share two of my favorites. I'm pretty certain I won't convince Mr. Jones to watch either of these with me so I'll either watch one while he's busy with soccer or here's a list of ten more Irish themed films for our or your viewing pleasure!

One of the loveliest films ever and now a broadway musical.

Hope the luck of the Irish finds you this weekend! Happy early St. Patricks day friends!

xoxo- miss v.

What I'm Loving Wednesday...Rainy day reflections.

Happy Wednesday friends. Another dreary rainy day here in SF, luckily for me I have today off so I've spent the majority of my day finishing The Hunger Games ;) Now I'm really excited for the movie and the next book! I have lots of little loving snapshots to share today, things that make my heart swell and remind me that the little things in life really feel like the biggest rewards sometimes. Yesterday was a not so fun day as I had a "minor" unexpected car emergency that of course turned into a larger more expensive one. So trying to keep things in perspective and thinking about these things helps me to remember that with the bad always comes the good. Life is a collection of ups and downs all with their own yin and yang. So even though I had to cancel work yesterday and deal with car troubles which was a bit of a pain, it left me with two quiet days at home, to sit and reflect while the rain came down outside. 

 Loving that I was able to squeeze some spring gardening in last week...

 Loving my sweet Mr. Jones for volunteering his time and soccer skills to help out at my schools International day the other weekend... loved watching him interact with my sweet students.

 Spring will soon be here and with that the promise of precious new babes... loving this girly shower hosted for my darling friend Erin.

 The cutest pb&j I've ever seen.

 Proud mommy and her little girl.

 Loving that we made a special stop by my college house in San Diego.

So lucky to have called the beach my home.

 Luckier that this is what awaited me at the end of my block...

 Loving vacation time with dear friends... sunny patios, yummy sangria, and lots of laughs.

And, rain or shine, loving San Francisco and morning runs.

For today the rain can fall, I'll happily stay perched in my little apartment above the city watching it come down, and thinking about all of the lovely things that bring sunshine to my life.

XOXO- Miss V.

Sweet Sunshine.

It's hard to believe on this damp and rainy San Francisco day that only a few short days ago I was happily sunning myself on the beaches of San Diego. We had a whirlwind of a weekend filled with so much happiness and love. I have to admit I'm left feeling a little like a rainy day on the inside too, a little dreary missing some wonderful friends. The rainbow at the end of all of this is that I'll be back again soon, and if this weekend was any indication, we are in for one amazing wedding come July.

Thought I would pass along a little of my sunshine to brighten your day...and a special shout out to the future Duceys.. LOVE you both immensely and will happily celebrate the two of you any weekend. Hearts, rainbows, and lots of sunshine, your friend Miss. V.

 Their adorable new house..

 Reliving our Sorority days...

 Things got... slightly silly, as they do. Love my friends.

 Waking up to a beautiful SoCal day at this historic hotel was like waking up during Old Hollywoods golden era. So many famous faces had stayed here!

 Italian Kitchen bridal shower... in keeping with their "Roman Holiday" honeymoon

 Showered with love... and a lot of Crate & Barrel

 Bridal Bingo!

 College Roomies and forever friends.

Our Bride to be... my sweet Melissa. 

Many more photos to share, but there were just so many from the weekend I'll have to break it into a few posts. So lucky to have such wonderful ladies in my life and college friendships that have stood the test of time. Nothing like heading back to an old familiar place to celebrate a new chapter.

Wishing you all love and sunshine.

xoxo- miss v.