A Side of Sweet

Tartine Lemon Shaker Pie

Use up your Meyer lemons in this Tartine Lemon Shaker Pie recipe. One of the best tart recipes I’ve ever eaten! The tartine tart dough recipe is the best.

It’s Meyer lemon season folks! One of the nurses brought in a bag of these beauties to work the other day and I snagged a handful. Being new to California, the idea of having a surplus of Meyer lemons is a bit hard for me to wrap my head around. Too many lemons to use? Not a bad problem to have.

Pat loves lemon desserts. I’ve been slower to warm up to them, but since marriage is about compromise, I’ve been trying to make more lemon sweets. It’s the little things, right?

Get the recipe and and also see how I set up this food photograpy shoot after the jump!

Birthdays Through the Years

As someone who loves to plan events and parties, I’m pretty hard to surprise. I would much rather surprise someone else! I’m usually thinking about ways to celebrate birthdays months in advance. My favorite way to celebrate is to get all of my friends together and feed them. In fact, the last eight years running, I’ve made my own birthday cake!

Face Savers :: My Skincare Routine

Face Savers :: My Skincare Routine to help my skin look young!

1. Purity Facewash by Philosophy | 2. Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion by Clinique | 3. Tretinoin Cream | 4. UV Plus Protective Day Screen by Clarins | 5. All About Eyes Rich Eye Cream by Clinique | 6. Daily Microfoliant by Dermalogica | 7. SPF 45 Powdered Mineral Sunscreen by Peter Thomas Roth

I used to be a low-maintenance skincare sort of gal. It wasn’t until the years of sun exposure from lifeguarding in high school started to catch up to me that I developed an actual skin care routine. I threw the book at my face, so to speak, once I did figure out in my early twenties that I needed to protect my skin.

That may seem early, but I noticed fine lines and signs of premature aging even then. It made me realize that it’s better to prevent aging and care for your skin then to try to reverse it later. Now, my skin routine completely revolves around keeping my skin looking as young and healthy as possible.

Thanks to medical school, my obsession with beauty products, and consults with my own dermatologist, I’ve come a long way and I have skin that I’m proud of.

See the products I swear by to keep minimize fine lines and keep my skin looking fresh after the jump!

Chai Pancakes with Berry Compote

On the rare mornings that Pat and I can sleep in and have a lazy morning together, we always try to make breakfast. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do with Pat, and making these flavorful chai pancakes was no exception. Topped with berry compote, we had no trouble finishing the entire stack you see here! Luckily one of our other favorite things to do together is to be active. We topped our breakfast off with a bike ride to the ocean and a run with Maddie on the beach. It’s all about balance, my friends!

Things I’m Loving / 03

Happy Valentine’s Day internet friends! Pat and I usually don’t make a big deal about the day so I’m declaring all of you my valentines this year. I’m working in the newborn nursery today, taking care of all the new little ones who will also call today their birthday. Can you think of a better Valentine’s present than that?

Here are some things I’m loving from around the web….

Expect a more affordable J. Crew in your future!

I want to build this…and cover it in gold leaf!

This sounds like an April Fool’s Day post, doesn’t it?

How big is your vocab?

Now this is my kind of s’more.

Image via By Mildred

Weekending :: Hiking Mount Tamalpais

Pat and I recently took advantage of the sunny San Francisco weather to cross the bridge to Marin County. We headed to Sausalito first and did a tour of the Heath Ceramics Factory, which was fascinating. I can’t wait to share our photos later.

We also spent some time hiking Mount Tamalpais State Park. Although Pat bikes in the area frequently, it was my first time exploring Mt. Tam. The trails are pretty easy and afford great views of the entire bay. You can see the bridge, San Francisco and the East Bay. It’s beautiful!

Weekending :: Hiking Mount Tamalpais, Marin County, California

Tamalpais. I was trying to spit out the mouthful of a word and one of the nurses at work corrected me. It’s TAM -al PIE US. It rolls around on your tongue nicely, doesn’t it?

All photos were taken with my HTC One. Oh so hi-tech! : )