In Search of Deliciousness

Some of you may already know that my husband and I love to spend quality time in the kitchen (proof here and here), but that doesn't mean we don't love a great restaurant! Since before Silicon Valley was even a twinkle in our eye, I've been following a great blog called SFoodie. Over the past year or so, it's been fun to follow all of the great food markets, festivals, and featured restaurants, and now I can't wait to actually try them!

Honestly, is it even possible to not look at something like this and want to find it's source?

On a Different Note

Disclaimer: This is another post about me moving. If you're tired about me blogging about our move, you can stop here.

Now that just my mom is reading, here goes. Lately I've been verbally dreaming about all of the great things waiting for me in California, but just today it hit me that there are actually a lot of things I'll miss about Fort Wayne.

JK O'Donnell's Most people who know us know that we love, love this little Irish pub in downtown Fort Wayne. In fact, on any given Friday night, you could find us tucked into a corner or hanging out at the bar. We've met some of the most interesting (and most odd) people there.

Cheap cost of living Where else can you rent a 1,000+ square foot apartment for a little over $600?

Lots of friends and acquaintances After moving to Indiana less than 5 years ago, I knew about 5-10 people. And now, I can't count the number of great people I've met.

My Aptera co-workers I started off at Aptera as a lowly intern. A year and a half later, they took a gigantic chance and made me the web team lead. It's been a fun challenge, but the best part has been all of the great people I've been able to work with.

Our nephews (and the rest of our Indiana family) Who wouldn't miss these adorable little guys?! Seriously though, my husband's family graciously accepted this quirky Kansas girl into their lives. I've got amazing in-laws.

All photos by Jenna at Andy & Jenna Photo Design

With all of this said, after being apart for nearly a month, I'm really ready to spend some quality time with my favorite man. January 29 come quickly!

Parts 2, 3, and 4: Road Trip to California

At this point it's safe to say that our moving adventure is nearly complete. We made it to our brand new home just in time to unpack and head out for a late, quiet dinner on New Year's Eve.

Part 2: Kansas to Salt Lake City We left Kansas on Tuesday morning with at grueling 15 hours and 3 states of driving ahead of us.

Driving through Nebraska is like driving through Western Kansas. Not an exciting view.

Gorgeous weather ahead! ...or so we thought

And then came the 60 mph winds

Part 3: Salt Lake City to Reno The third part of our move was quite the adventure, with the most memorable being our attempt to put chains on our tires in a sudden blizzard outside of Salt Lake City, and then being stuck in Reno, Nevada for a night.

We came across this odd sculpture while crossing the Bonneville Salt Flats. It looked like something out of a Dali painting.

Little did I know that 20 minutes later I would be attempting to help my husband put chains on our tires in a wild blizzard!

Part 4: Reno to San Jose After waiting out the night in a town that feels like one giant casino, we got up early to conquer Donner's Pass *insert Donner's Pass joke about eating each other here* and the rest of the drive was a breeze.

Getting ready to head up to the infamous pass

On Saturday, my husband took me past his new office where I was able to catch my very last Aptera Around the World pictures.

If you ever come to visit, be prepared for the deliciousness of Pinkberry. It's my new frozen treat addiction. Yum!

I'm safely back in Indiana for the remainder of January to finish out my job at Aptera, while my husband is enjoying the much warmer climate of our new home.

Speaking of jobs, I'm still looking for one in the San Francisco area. If you hear of any cool design boutiques who are hiring, let me know!

Part 1: The Road Trip to California Begins

As promised, I've been documenting our move to California. It's day 2 and we made it to Kansas to hang out with my family. So far we've enjoyed 11 hours in a car, ice skating, tearing down wallpaper, painting my parent's kitchen, and lots of raucous conversation with my over-opinionated, fun-loving family. We're looking forward to at least 24 more hours of driving, possibly meeting a friend in Salt Lake City, and our brand new home sweet home!

If the rest of the trip is this action-packed, we'll be completely out of it by the time we hit California.

We made the mistake of a very early 5:30AM departure. Yowza!

A trip through Kansas City wouldn't be complete without a stop at Sheridan's.

My gorgeous sister is killer with a trim brush

My brother admiring his addition to my parent's home - a dimmer switch

And To All a Good Night

As most of you are already aware, it's been a ridiculously crazy holiday season in the Francesi household...and it's not even Christmas! We've gotten this far so dare I say we've nearly survived? Posting this requires me to admit yet another of my blunders. My blunder being that I didn't order nearly enough Christmas cards this year. So few that I was having to choose between good friends and family. Yikes!

That being said, I've decided to bite my tongue and post our card for those who weren't fortunate enough to receive it. I'm really sorry if you typically receive a card from us and didn't get one. I promise I'll order more next year!

Moving: Part 1

Well folks - it's done! Three days early in fact. We were planning to pack everything into our U-Pack moving pod this Friday once my husband was back in town. But in true Francesi style, it didn't necessarily go as planned. My sleeping quarters for the next couple of days

Monday evening I found out that U-Pack (who was ah-mazing to work with, by the way) needed to pick up our moving pod today in order for it to arrive on in California the day we needed. Needless to say, Monday night and Tuesday morning consisted of me frantically packing the last of our items and deconstructing furniture...which includes our 200 lb. solid wood bed.

However, as I type this, I'm proud to say that our moving pod was picked up on schedule. And we now have an address in Cali, thanks to my relentless, apartment-searching husband. Amazing! (and can I mention how proud I am that we fit our entire life into a 6ft x 7ft x 8ft moving pod?!)

All will be merry and bright in this little family for Christmas.

Brooklyn Bride Holiday Handmade Card Swap

For the second year in a row, I decided to participate in the Brooklyn Bride Holiday Handmade Card Swap. Last year, I repurposed our personal Christmas cards and created a custom cut, typographic card. This year, however, I wanted to use materials that I had on hand. I printed my design on old magazine spreads, cut them into 5 x 7 pieces, and sewed them onto chipboard using red thread. My favorite part about these cards is that each and every one of them is completely different. Is it conceited to say that I'm completely obsessed with the result?

I've got a couple of extras on hand if you want one for yourself - just shoot me an email with your name and address. At the same time, I have to admit, it may be January before I can send them (we're in the middle of moving across the country).