Not much fazes Sammie and Olive. Which isn’t surprising as they have no time to be scared of anything because they NEVER SLOW DOWN. There are just too many squirrel’s to chase, cats to bark at and toys to destroy….or couch cushions…either way.

Needless to say you can find them wagging their ‘tails’ or what’s left of them…and  a grin ear to ear – all the time.

Except….

When we turned on our new bug zapper.

Hell had come to Sammie and Olive’s world. Shear terror and panic was now all over our adorable little puppies faces.

It was a disaster.

Olive, “If you’re under Shannon’s desk, the evil zapper can’t get you.”

I think this might be the first time in my life I’ve used the word ‘hootenanny’ in any form of communication.

But a hootenanny it was indeed.

This weekend we celebrated my husband’s birthday. And for us parties and any form of celebration revolves around – food. Milan’s favorite type of food is anything southern or Cajun. Last year we started the tradition of a southern style cook out…hootenanny…eating extravaganza and I think we will keep it up as long as possible. Or until we get tired of crawfish or shrimp….which probably isn’t anytime soon

Andouille sausage which I purchased at my favorite local butcher shop – Chico Locker & Sausage Co.

This was the first time I had eaten head on shrimp, which we ordered from Louisiana Crawfish Company. It was absolutely delicious and had an extra sweetness to it. If you want fresh, authentic Louisiana crawfish, shrimp or gator I highly recommend ordering from them. They are very friendly and the order arrives perfectly packaged and on time.

The chef and birthday boy himself. Milan, I am so incredibly thankful to call you my husband…my best friend. Here’s to many more shrimp boils… and hootenanny’s

There are some people in this world who are extraordinarly thoughtful and kind. Who always think of others first. Somehow I was extremely lucky to have married such a person.

Knowing that I was not feeling well, he knew just how to make me smile – A bag full of gummy candy. Not flowers. Not chocolate. Gummies. Because he knew I loved them best.

Thank you Milan for always knowing how to make me smile.

P.S. The bright pink gummy bear is a ‘Techno Bear’ and the little orange one is a ‘Baby Bear.’ I’m still trying to figure out why they call it a ‘Techno Bear.’ Is it a gummy bear that is supposed to be going to a rave? Or loves techno music? If anyone out there has any idea as to why it’s called a ‘Techno Bear’ I’d love to hear it.

I bought mustard colored shoes.

Which shouldn’t be a newsflash or anything important by any means.

But I love shoes

I have been on an endless search to find cute, comfortable flats. Ones that won’t make my feet look ginormous…because lets face it, they are. I have franken-feet. Super long, narrow, nothing fits except high heels. Now, I looooove high heels, but I can’t wear them while shooting because I am so focused on the task at hand (pun intended..heehee) I’m afraid I will twist my ankle…break my neck. Either way – hazardous and way embarrassing.

So the search for stylish flats continued. After trying on the umpteenth pair, I found a shoe that I liked and they fit. Miracle of all miracles.

Except they only had my size in mustard.

I have never worn this color in my life, but secretly loved it. From afar. Like it was a high school crush that I never dared tell a soul that I liked.

I told myself – ‘It won’t go with anything.’ They are impractical.

Thankfully Milan was there and could read the inner monolgue/dilemma going on in this brain of mine. And he said – ‘You should get them.’

So, I said – Pfffft to practicality. Life’s too short to be practical all the time

Years ago, living in a closet of an apartment…The one so close to the train tracks I could wave to the engineer as they rolled by…The one with the ubiquitous, poorly done off white paint…The one that I honestly love dearly despite it’s faults. You can read more about it – here.

If you would have asked the Shannon of back then what her life would look like (did I just refer to myself in third person!?!) she wouldn’t have any idea that it would be what it is now.

Is our home perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But we have been working on getting it there.

When we finished our guest bathroom remodel, I had to pinch myself…because what I had been envisioning and obsessing about in my mind – Had finally come true.

Here is the hideous BEFORE of our small…I’ll call it cozy guest bathroom…

Ewwwww….. That white tile, not to sound like a drama queen…was the bain of my existence. Whoever put the grout in before, decided white was a good choice and guess what…that white was no longer white…No matter how much I scrubbed and bleached it. It always looked dirty and that bothered me. And probably bothered Milan because I constantly shared my contempt for it.

Now here is the AFTER!!!

A big thank you to Don of Integrity Tile & Natural Stone for installing the tile. He did a fantastic job and I strongly recommend hiring a professional for tile installation. There is so much that can and does go wrong if you try and tackle the job yourself.

I do have to say the best part of the remodel? Shopping for accessories :)

Bathroom Remodel List of Products

1. Vanity – Danze, Ziga Zaga Collection
2. Toilet – Danze, Ziga Zaga Collection
3. Mirrored Cabinet – Danze Ziga Zaga Collection
4. Decorative shelf – Home Goods
5. Shower Curtain – West Elm (looooove them)
6. Lantern – Z Gallerie
7. Paint – Light grey color is ‘On the Rocks’ by Sherwin Williams, Teal (my favorite color!!) color is “Gulf Stream’ by Sherwin Williams
8. Tile – Eleganza, Metropolis in ‘Olive’ (which it looks nothing like olive, it is a grey tone through and through) purchased from Tile City
9. Tile Demo & Installation – Integrity Tile & Natural Stone (scroll down on Tile City’s list of contractors to find his info – here

I’m sitting here thinking of a way to describe this deep need I have. The need to be embraced by the arms of the city I love so dearly – San Francisco. I have to visit this city at a bare minimum of once a year. Even then all it does is make me want more. More time to explore new neighborhoods…the people…shopping and food. But more so than that. There is an energy and feel to this city that I have been trying to put into words for years now and fail at every time. So I take my camera and make images to remind me of that feeling…And when I wasn’t documenting, I was grinning ear to ear – shopping….or eating

We stayed at the Hotel Kabuki, located in San Francisco’s Japantown. We splurged a wee bit on the traditional Japanese suite, which was totally worth it. The room is multi leveled, with Japanese screens, traditional Japanese style bath (aka, best thing ever) and small zen garden. Serenity and relaxation? Yes, yes indeed. Times a million.

Although I loooooove the shopping, the food and the adventure….I cherished the quiet moments I got to spend with just Milan. Time with out tv…with out having to worry about the to-do list for tomorrow. The simplicity of sharing a cup of green tea late at night was a feeling I never want to forget. I’m not really sure how you do it, but I think I fell even more in love with you.

I carried my giant, heavy, fancy DSLR everywhere and the funny thing is…I rarely used it. I was too busy having fun making images with instagram

While perusing through yelp to find fun places to eat I ran across Woodhouse Fish Co and instantly emailed the link to Milan because….THEY HAVE LOBSTER ROLLS! Lets just say I have been on a mission to eat one of these for sometime now. Thank you Milan for putting up with my quirky obsessions The verdict? It was delicious, but…oh, yes there is a but…not as amazing as Milan’s butter poached lobster he made for New Years Eve (which you can see – here). Am I happy we splurged on possibly the most expensive lunch I’ve ever had – YES.

Woodhouse Fish Co, happened to be over in the Fillmore district which neither of us had been to so, when driving through hunting for parking I couldn’t help, but Oooh and Ahh over the cute stores flying by as we drove around. Guess what I did after lunch? Mmm hhhmmm… I got me some shopping on and scored big at a little second hand store for BOUTIQUE CLOTHING. I kinda died.

If you go to Bar Crudo get the seafood stew. I’m still dreaming about it….

For our last dinner in the city we decided on a Friday night to go to a very popular German restaurant, Leopold’s. An hour and fifteen minute or so wait later we got our table. This place has so much energy and life packed into a small space. The food was exactly what we were looking for, hearty and rich…where you don’t need to eat for days after. I can say I am a fan of German food after eating here.

And then it was time to say goodbye. I’m still in withdrawal, but returning to happy puppy faces makes it all better.