A Side of Sweet

Beautiful Food, Travel & Design

Making the Perfect Cheese Platter + Cultivar Wine

Charcuterie Basics - the perfect fancy fruit, cheese and prosciutto platter

Pat and I are getting settled into our new place and it has a gorgeous living room that is just begging for a party! I’m not quite in the “throw a huge multi-course meal mode” due to needing a few more things to make our place perfect, but I’m definitely in “put together a gorgeous spread of wine and cheese mode”. I just wanted to share a few photos of the fancy cheese platter I put together and share some tips on how I put together the spread. Because I can never just keep things simple, read on to also find a recipe for an amazing lemon curd recipe as well as a bit about Cultivar Wine in Napa, which is our new favorite place to get wine from!

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Alcatraz Ai Wei Wei Art Exhibition

Ai Wei Wei Alcatraz - With Wind

Right now there’s something special going on at Alcatraz prison. Political activist and artist Ai Wei Wei has a special exhibit up in the prison and if you’re in San Francisco, it’s an absolute must-see. Ai Wei Wei is currently on house arrest in China, so all of his amazing works have been assembled here with the help of volunteers. The most stunning of all, With Wind, is seen in the above photo. The amazing dragon is the first installation that you see on the tour and is actually a fully functional paper kite! More on that later though, I want to take you through the Ai Wei Wei night tour as I experienced it…. Read More »

Blogging on a Busy Schedule

Tips for Staying Organized When Busy!

Sometimes I think it’s important to get real with all of you out there on the interwebs. I want to give you a sneak peek into what mornings really look like on my days off. A little look into my happy place. You probably figured it out, but my life isn’t all lengthening mascara and trips to wine country. Sometimes (aka most of the time) I just need to hunker down and get work done, without worrying about how I’m going to artfully arrange my coffee mug for Instagram or where to grab brunch. That means sweatpants, a comfy sweater and lots of coffee.

Warning, that means these photos are me with yesterday’s makeup and unwashed hair. In the spirit of real-ness, you know?  I also want to talk a little bit about how I fit blogging into my busy schedule. Being a full time pediatrician and running an almost full time blog takes a lot of careful juggling. So curl up in a blanket, grab your coffee mug and let’s chat…… Read More »

Top Style Posts of 2014

Top Style Posts 2014 - San Francisco Fashion Blogger

2014 marked a new blog adventure for me! I started doing style posts. These were a lot of fun, but also challenging for me! I’m definitely an awkward turtle and much more comfortable behind the camera taking pictures of food. Inspired by all the amazing San Francisco fashion bloggers around me, I took the leap and well, you can see the results below! Here are some of my favorite style posts of 2014. I look forward to sharing more of my personal style in 2015.

Before and After Holiday Makeup Look Tutorial

1. Bare Minerals Natural Holiday Beauty Tutorial :: My first beauty tutorial showing how to get that perfect holiday glow. This was a ton of fun, although a little unnerving to show a “before” picture all over the internet!

What to Wear to Work

2. Be Stylish but Professional at Work :: My first campaign with a huge national clothing brand. I showed you how I stay stylish, but still professional at work! I wear those jacquard pants all the time.

What to Wear to Brunch + Half United

3. Fashion that Feeds :: Pretty jewelry that has a great message from Half United. The navy shirtdress and suede boots is one of my favorite looks!

Fall Style :: Wearing a Cape

4. A Cape in a Pumpkin Patch? :: Capes had a major moment last year. I rocked the trend in a ridiculous way – sitting on pumpkins during my weekend getaway to Oregon wine country.

Jenny Cheng Dress Details

5. Jenny Chang + San Francisco Fashion Week :: I had the chance to attend San Francisco Fashion Week this year and wear a couple of really special dresses from local San Francisco designer Jenny Cheng.

Slouchy Travel Style :: Drawstring Pajama Pants

6. Travel Style + Harem Pants :: I talked about traveling in style but not sacrificing comfort on those long flights. I can’t wait to go on another international trip and stock up on those harem pants that backpackers live in.

Bonus Beach Day - Mixing blues and prints

7. Bonus Beach Day :: This look makes me remember those special walks to the beach with Pat on the rare occasions when we both had the day off. We’re all about lazy mornings drinking coffee and soaking in the sun at the beach.

Summer to Fall Looks :: Colored Tights

8. Bright Tights + Ever Ivy :: A fun look in a fun location in San Francisco wearing another local San Francisco label, Ever Ivy.

Thanks for following along on this new adventure as I pretend to be a Fashion Blogger!

Thanks so much for reading A Side of Sweet! For more Sweet in your life, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, Facebook, or Twitter, or subscribe to receive a weekly email with new posts (see sidebar).

Best Recipes & DIYs of 2014

VegetarianVegan

Top Posts 2014 Recipes & DIYs

2014 has been an amazing year for A Side of Sweet! Traffic around here has more than doubled and I’ve had my recipes pop up everywhere from A Fabulous Fete to the Huffington Post.

Even more important than that though, is the increased engagement and connectedness I feel with the community I’ve built around A Side of Sweet. I’m talking every comment, every email and every hashtag. At the end of the day, that’s why I blog. It’s about a sense of community – and y’all are truly the best darn thing.

People ask how I manage a busy ‘real life’ job with the time commitment that blogging takes. I always give the same answer – it’s so much fun to contribute to this amazing online community and connect with people across the world. I feel like I’m getting energy from blogging instead of expending it. So thank you, and here’s to so much more fun in 2015!

Without further ado, here are the top recipes and DIYs this year:

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Get Your Glow On // Holiday Makeup Tutorial

Holiday Party Makeup Tutorial Ideas

Hi pretties! I hope you had a great holiday! 2014 was a great year, but I’m so looking forward to 2015 – and all of those New Year’s Parties!

Experimenting with new makeup looks is one of my favorite things. I have just one rules for new makeup looks. I want to wear the makeup, not have the makeup to wear me. Bare Minerals is always my go-to when I’m buying new makeup. I know I can trust them for high quality, good-value looks that will look great and stay on all night.

Holiday kits are a great way to load up on new makeup without spending a fortune. I looked to the selection from Bare Minerals to help me try out a new look that will be perfect for ringing in the new year! Most of the makeup I used for this look is from the Bare Minerals Vision of Light kit. As a bonus, the kit is on sale right now meaning you can get an entire look worth of make up for next to nothing…. Read More »