Jeffrey + Flora

Pike Place

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:43:00 +0000

Jeff and I spent a day in Seattle a few weeks ago before getting on a train to visit his family for the weekend. We spent the day being tourists wandering around Pike Place Market and some of the other popular areas in downtown Seattle. I think the best part of the morning was sitting in a coffee shop, talking with Jeff, reading the newspaper, and spacing out a bit.

If we weren't on the go, I would have brought home a basket full of fresh produce and flowers. After a bit of exploring, I had to take Jeff for a yummy pizza lunch at Serious Pie, the place I went to for a bachelorette party a few months ago.

A lot of people say the weather in Seattle would make them depressed, but I really love the rain. Which is one of the many reasons I look forward to visiting the Pacific Northwest.

Driving to North Shore

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:30:00 +0000

Today has been a gray and gloomy day, and even with the heater on my fingers are still cold. In an effort to transport myself (mentally, anyway) to a warmer place, I thought about sunshine and beautiful beaches. And in doing so, I remembered that I never actually posted photos of our trip to Honolulu at the beginning of the year.

We spent one of our days on a road trip to North Shore. The drive from Waikiki was beautiful, and we enjoyed some huli huli from one of the many food trucks parked along the side of the road. We also got to see some brave surfers at Sunset Beach. The people-watching along the way was pretty good, too.

It was my first time on Oahu and even though it was late December/early January, the weather was nice and warm (and humid, much like Singapore). We had a great time hanging out, but I must say that my favorite island in Hawaii is Kona. How about you? If you've been to Hawaii, what's your favorite place/thing to do?

Airstream Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:23:00 +0000

Our annual trip to Las Vegas for one of Jeff's hockey tournament was a few weeks ago, but we did it a little differently this year. We stayed on the Strip like always, but instead of renting a hotel room, we stayed in an Airstream.

The idea to rent an Airstream came about after deciding that we wanted to bring our dogs with us on this road trip. We thought about renting an Airstream and towing it, but that was a) way too expensive and b) not possible with our car. Then we thought about renting an RV when we arrived in Vegas. Somewhere during all that Googling, we discovered the Las Vegas KOA at Circus Circus, which has two Airstream Flying Clouds available to rent.

After all that research on finding an alternative to a Vegas hotel room, we settled on renting an Airstream for the weekend. But it turns out the Airstreams don't allow pets, so the dogs ended up staying home anyways. Jeff and I absolutely loved not staying in a hotel though.

The Airstream was better than a hotel because it had a mini kitchen in it. It was chilly at times in the desert, but the heater in our Airstream kept us warm. It also came with a barbecue grill, lawn chairs, and even a small lawn all to ourselves. All that was missing were the pink lawn flamingos. We had a barbecue one of the nights we were there, complete with bonfire. It was surprisingly quiet at night even though we were about a block away from the Strip.

I hope we make renting an Airstream part of our annual Vegas hockey tournament weekend. Maybe someday though, the Airstream we stay in will be our own.

Mom's Cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 04:12:00 +0000

At some point along the two-hour drive to my Mom's house, one of us will wonder out loud, "I wonder what Mom is cooking today?" If she is expecting us, we will be greeted by her in the kitchen, usually flipping tortillas to accompany the meal she has prepared for our visit. She always offers me a cup of coffee, too. It's a routine of hers that never gets old: the warm greeting in a kitchen full of mouth-watering smells, sharing a meal with family, the bottomless cup of coffee.

Here's some advice if you ever come to Mom's house: wear loose-fitting pants because you'll probably eat a lot of delicious food. I have a hard time eating at other Mexican restaurants because I like her food too much. I love how comforting meals at her kitchen table are; clearly I am biased. But the more I cook in my own house, the more I appreciate why she prefers to entertain people in her home.

This past Christmas Eve, Jeff and my Mom made tamales for dinner. I think it's cute that Jeff likes to observe what my Mom is up to in the kitchen, and when we get home he tries to copy her recipes. He's getting pretty good at it and my Mom is proud of the fact that he is so interested in learning from her.

Also, it's not a meal at my Mom's house without her salsa or Andy trying to steal your food.

Oh hey.

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:18:00 +0000

I forgot I had a blog for a while there.

I've just gotten used to not blogging lately, so when I actually have things to post here it feels like a bigger task than it actually is. I've got a lot of things keeping me busy lately (like the magazine, this little old house, and of course hanging out with Jeff and our lovely pups). Life gets in the way, and I'm perfectly happy with that.

I have a few more posts that I want to share, and I'll get to them eventually, but in the meantime I leave you with this photo of my brother Alex and the newest member of his little family, Chico. That dog is so cute!

A Sea of Santas (or, Our First 5K)

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:25:00 +0000

Jeff and I ran our first 5k ever yesterday, and we did it dressed like Santa Claus.

It was the inaugural race for Santa Run Silicon Valley, a fundraiser for Christmas in the Park. There were 2,700 people that signed up and almost all of them were dressed like Santa. Kudos to the organizers and participants for making it a well-run event.

Our Santa suits were kind of hard to run in (the pants disintegrated in some parts!) and I think I ate part of my Santa beard during the race, but it was so much fun. We want to make it a Christmas tradition to run it every year. Maybe next time, I won't opt for the Santa suit.

I've always liked running, so I don't really know what took me so long to sign up for a race. Jeff and I have already picked out a few more 5k races in the Bay Area to run in 2013. Who's coming with us? If you know of a particularly fun race, please let me know!

Photos (taken with my phone) from top:
1. Looking toward the starting line
2. Jess, Nick, Jeff and me in our Santa suits, waiting for the race to start
3. The sea of Santas looking back from where we were standing

Oh, Christmas Tree.

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:04:00 +0000

Our Christmas tree is pretty much the only decoration I put up for the holidays, but it is plenty. At 9' tall, it takes up half of our dining area and is so tall that the top pokes into the recessed lighting. Setting it up is an annual struggle worth doing, because there is nothing quite like a tower of twinkling lights and pretty ornaments to make you feel like you're home for Christmas.

This year, pulling out our boxes of ornaments felt almost nostalgic. Each ornament is meaningful in some way, and decorating the tree was like flipping through an old photo album. We had forgotten about a lot of the ornaments and memories because we were in Singapore for the past two Christmases. We've been back for almost a year, but there are still moments where I feel like I just got here. For some reason, pulling out our behemoth tree and all our special ornaments was one of them.

Here's a photo of our tree I posted on Instagram recently. I thought our ceiling was high enough for the tree, but I guess not! We bought the tree the first Christmas after we got married; choosing a 9' tall tree was a bit zealous of us, but it was our first apartment and first Christmas as a married couple. It still makes me laugh every time I think back to that first Christmas, with our enormous tree bent at the top because our ceiling wasn't tall enough. Now we'll laugh at having a recessed lighting fixture at the top of our tree instead of a star.

Click here to read a few posts about our Christmases in Singapore.

Ornaments from top:
-Alpaca from a trip to Peru
-California glass ornament, bought soon after we moved back to the US from Singapore
-Bride and groom, bought the year we got married

Thanksgiving in Santa Barbara

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 08:48:00 +0000

You know those photo shoots in catalogs or magazines of a fantastic dinner party where everyone seems way too happy? The kind where everyone is having a great time, the guests all look great, and the scene is just way too ideal? Well, this is what my Thanksgiving felt like this year. It was a delicious meal set in a beautiful backyard surrounded by family and friends, old and new.

Jeff and I drove down to Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving. I don't mean to brag, but California is awesome. We ate dinner outside under the stars in our friends' Teal and Jamie's inviting backyard. The weather was perfect and everything we ate was delicious. Teal barbecued the turkey (I don't think I ever want turkey any other way now for Thanksgiving), we sat around a bonfire afterwards, and had an unbelievably pleasant night.

I don't need a holiday to remind me of all the things I am thankful for. I just have to think of the really great people in my life and I feel really lucky and humbled. Life is good.

Photos from top:
1. The dinner table in the backyard
2. Teal, Jamie, and Austin getting stoked for the barbecued turkey
3. Moo Shu the cat watching Jeff prepping for dinner
4. Austin and Jeff
5. Teal and me
6. Too many cooks in the kitchen!

Bridesmaid Duty: The Bachelorette Party

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:27:00 +0000

I'm crossing two things off my bucket list this year: being asked to be a bridesmaid (I got asked twice this year) and going to a bachelorette party.

I surprised Jeff's cousin Sarah by flying up to Seattle for her bachelorette party two Saturdays ago. Her wedding is coming up and I'm very excited to be a part of it. Thanks to awesome maid of honor Shelby for helping orchestrate the surprise by getting me from Sea-Tac at 2 am, and apologies for the sleep deprivation. I think I slept a total of five hours the two nights I was there.

First, we went to Serious Pie for a lesson in pizza making. If you're in Seattle, I recommend signing up for a class, or even just going there for pizza. Their pizza dough is so, so good and the recipe for it is a closely guarded secret.

Sarah, me, and Shelby showing off our pizzas.

Shelby's reaction to a refrigerator full of meat.

Wine and pizza at 10 am? Um, yes!

After the pizza making class, we did a bit of shopping, had our makeup done, and went back to Shelby's to hang out before all the guests arrived for the bachelorette party. There was only one bachelorette party game that we played: everyone had to bring a pair of underwear for Sarah that represented them, and she had to guess which person they came from. Sarah guessed my pair right away...the ones I got had skulls all over!

Shelby made Jell-o shots for the guests.

Playing the underwear game.

Me with the bride, Sarah.

Ready to hit up West Seattle.

The first bachelorette party I ever went to was such a good time. I never had one of my own, because when I was a young bride I was in grad school and sadly didn't have time for one. In retrospect, I totally should have blown off a night of fervent paper-writing for an evening of fun with a few girlfriends. Sleep deprivation in exchange for lots of great memories = worth it. Congrats Sarah!

Sharks Cash Mob in Downtown San Jose

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 05:18:00 +0000

As San Jose Sharks season ticket holders, Jeff and I have been pretty bummed about the NHL Lockout that has kept the season from starting. Lots of fans are angry and upset (and not to mention bored) because there are no NHL games going on. But it's not just the fans that are affected by the lockout. Businesses that depend on pre-game and post-game sales are hurting, too.

In an effort to help the establishments in San Jose that have been negatively affected by the lockout, Content Magazine is organizing a cash mob (the first one ever in San Jose) on Wednesday, October 24 to bring in some business to the bars and restaurants in downtown San Jose and to create an immediate economic stimulus in the local economy.

How can you be a part of the cash mob? Come to San Pedro Square Market on Wednesday, October 24 between 5 and 8 pm and spend some money. Even buying a drink or a snack will help! Show up in your favorite Sharks gear if you want, or come as you are. The point is to come and support local businesses that are seeing significantly less traffic than they normally would if a hockey season was actually going on.

I'll be there with Content Magazine at San Pedro Square Market. Come say hello and show downtown San Jose some love! Diehards Co. will be hosting a drawing to win one of their Die Hard Sharks shirts, too.

Content Magazine Issue 4.4 Pick-Up Party This Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:58:00 +0000

I raved about Content Magazine a few months ago on the blog, but what I didn't mention is that I'm also a writer and editor for the San Jose-based publication. It's a magazine devoted to the innovative and creative culture of San Jose. I love being a part of Content.

If you live in San Jose, you should subscribe. I may be a little biased, but I read Content Magazine long before we moved back to San Jose. I think it helped me readjust to things here quicker because I felt like I knew what was going on and it gave me a lot to be proud of in my hometown. Whether you're a native or a recent transplant to San Jose, this magazine will show you what's inside our city.

I've got a few stories in this next issue, and our photographers did a great job capturing images to go along with them. I've seen the proofs and I can't wait to see the magazine in print. As with every new issue, Content Magazine holds a Pick-Up Party for people to come get their magazine (whether you're a subscriber or not). It also gives readers the opportunity to meet the folks inside the magazine, as well as those who work behind the scenes.

If you can't make it to the Pick-Up Party this Thursday at the San Jose Museum of Art, you can get a subscription or download the latest issue on Content Magazine's website, or pick up a copy of Issue 4.4 at one of these local newsstands.

What's inside matters.

Wined and Dined

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 06:40:00 +0000

I've been really sick lately, but that didn't stop me from going over to cousins Nick and Jess' place on Sunday for a five course dinner to celebrate my birthday. Yup, five courses! They even printed menus and everything was made from scratch. My mouth is watering just remembering what I ate that night. My favorites were the pea soup and duck with parsnips. These two are fancy, and great hosts.

It was fun to be wined and dined and we all agreed that dinner was a success. We also talked about how much we like to host people over for dinner, even though neither of us really do it that often. I cook at home, but usually not for others. Maybe this feast will be the impetus to get us cooking more often and for more people. I don't know how much I'll be serving duck at our house, but in the company of good friends, even a simple meal can be one worth savoring.

Photos, clockwise from top left:

Jess' delicious pea soup, served with crème fraîche

Dodger, Nick and Jess' dog

Pear salad with homemade dressing

Nick and Jeff

Our custom dinner menu

Happy Birthday to Me

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:05:00 +0000

Now that we actually have a backyard we are taking full advantage of it. The nights are getting cooler, but we are trying to extend our summer as far as we can. I think we spend more time in the backyard than we do in the living room, actually. Having a backyard (and a husband who loves grilling) makes it really easy to entertain people, too.

I invited my close friends and family over to the house last weekend to celebrate my birthday. It was a small gathering, but I had so much fun. My Mom had originally said she wasn't coming and I was kind of bummed out, but I understood because she lives two and a half hours away. But then she totally punked me by showing up with my brother, who I also thought wasn't showing up. That totally made my day! I was also really happy to see my niece Gabby and cousin Austin's daughter Amber come over to our house for the first time.

Jess, Austin, Lisa and Fauna (Amber too) getting ready to play bocce ball.

Amber and Gabby.

Thanks to Jeff, Nick and Jess for prepping and grilling.

I love party favors.

I told Jeff to get me a birthday cake that said happy birthday to me on it. He took it literally.

All of the cousins in one place. This is kind of a rare occurrence, but awesome!

I tried something different this time when I invited everyone over. Usually, I just send out an email to let people know they're invited to something at our house. For this BBQ I created a Google+ Event. It has a cool feature called Party Mode, which allows guests who have RSVP'ed for the event to post photos to the Event page straight from their phone. Instead of me being the only one running around with a camera, other people shared photos as well. Everyone invited can see the images posted to the Event page. Here's a video to see how it works.

Camping at Mt. Madonna

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:41:00 +0000

I can't remember the last time I went camping before this past weekend. It must have been several years ago. Luckily, Jeff and I kept some of our camping equipment in storage at my Mom's house so we were pretty well-equipped to go up to Mt. Madonna for a couple of nights. We realized the pump for our air mattress doesn't work when we tried to inflate it at the campsite. Jeff ended up blowing up the mattress with his lungs. Poor guy said he almost passed out twice!

Mt. Madonna is in Watsonville, and although it's pretty close by, it feels like you're so far away from any city. You're still far away enough to not have any cell phone reception, though.

We managed to book a campsite only a few days before we arrived, which is kind of hard to do with the state parks. It is a really well-maintained county park and of course, dog-friendly. A lot of families were there with kids and dogs. There are some great trails to hike on from the park, too.

Just a short drive down the 152 from Mt. Madonna County Park is a great little produce stand, selling all kinds of food and flowers. It makes for a great stop to stock up on food and snacks before heading to the park.

I know it seems like we're on a camping and hiking kick lately, but it's fun and addicting. We are trying to squeeze in more of these trips, whether a day hike or a weekend camping trip, before the weather starts to get rainy. Who wants to join us?

I wasn't going to post this picture from our trip, but it's kind of funny so I had to share. Jeff was trying to find some little bit of cell phone service at the campsite to download his homework assignment (he's taking some programming courses). He got enough reception to get his assignment, and then got to work on his laptop in the middle of the woods. It's hard for us to disconnect sometimes!

Skyline to the Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:42:00 +0000

I'm not sure where I first heard about the Skyline to the Sea Trail, but it's something that Jeff and I really want to do in the near future. It's a three day hike that starts off at Saratoga Gap and finishes at Waddell Beach. Some people start the hike at Castle Rock State Park instead. Much of the hike goes through Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

Two Saturdays ago, Jeff and I wanted to do the last part of the hike, which starts at Big Basin headquarters and finishes at Waddell Beach. We drove up Highway 9 early in the morning through some fog (Highway 9 is so beautiful!), parked the car, and headed towards the coast through the redwood forest.

This particular segment of the hike is twelve miles long. We finished it in four hours. We weren't weighed down by backpacks and even ran for parts of it. It will probably take us a bit longer when we'll be backpacking. I've heard the other days of the hike aren't quite as easy, but I still want to do it.

The hike was beautiful and easy for us, even though a sign on the trail said it was "strenuous". Waddell Beach is a great place for windsurfers and kite surfers. Because of all the wind it's not that great of a place to sit and relax. Jeff's cousin Austin, who was surfing nearby, met us at the beach to drive us back to our car. Next time we do this hike, we'll probably hike back up to park headquarters instead.

Have you done the Skyline to the Sea Trail? Know of any good hiking trails in the Bay Area?

Its Beach, Santa Cruz

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:00:00 +0000

One thing I really missed about California while we lived in Singapore was dog-friendly places to take Stan and Joe. I've taken advantage of the fact that lots of parks, beaches, and even businesses are dog-friendly here. The dogs come with me everywhere I am allowed to bring them. They're really good with car rides and going to new places.

We (all four of us) recently visited Its Beach in Santa Cruz. Its Beach becomes an off-leash dog park before 10 am and after 4 pm. We showed up in the afternoon and so did lots of other dogs and their owners. Jeff tried getting Stan to jump in the water, but we've come to the realization that our dogs aren't really fond of water. It was fun watching other dogs dive into the waves though. Our dogs would rather sniff around in the sand or the tide pools.

The weather started cooling down a bit this week and fall is definitely around the corner. I'm not sure how many more trips to the beach we can squeeze in before this summer weather is officially gone for the year, but I'm going to try to take the dogs out at least a few more times.

If you're in San Jose next weekend and you're a dog owner, you should check out Bark in the Park. It's such a great event for dogs and humans. We'll be there!

Hiking in Alum Rock Park

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:01:00 +0000

San Jose from the hills of Alum Rock Park

I felt like going for a hike a few Saturdays ago, so naturally I pulled out my phone and Googled "hiking trail." The first search result was the Boccardo Trail in Alum Rock Park, a relatively short drive away from downtown San Jose. I packed a backpack with snacks and some bottles of water, and off we went to climb the mountain.

The sun was beating down hard on us that day, but working up a sweat while enjoying the view of San Jose below was just what I needed. The Boccardo Trail is short and parts of it are really steep; it was harder than I expected, but we enjoyed the challenge. It's also part of a longer hike through the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve. I'm putting this 12.7 mile hike on my bucket list.

To learn more about the Boccardo Trail and other Sierra Vista trails, check out this website.

The High Line

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 03:39:00 +0000

While in New York for a conference recently, I managed to sneak away to the High Line, a beautifully landscaped park built in what was once an above-ground set of train tracks. The park is a mile long and I walked the entire length of it, taking in the beautiful landscaping and architecture along the way.

The High Line, in its previous life, was used to transport meat, produce, and other goods by freight train directly to the warehouses and factories that surround it. It opened in 1934 as part of a redevelopment project to improve New York's West Side. Prior to the High Line's existence, trains shared the road with street traffic which resulted in many accidents and deaths.

In 1980, the last freight train to run on the High Line made its delivery of three carloads of frozen turkeys. A couple decades earlier, the southernmost parts of the High Line had already been demolished due to a decrease in freight train usage.

Twenty years after the last train ran on the High Line, New York City began taking steps to save it from demolition and to turn it into a public space. In 2006, construction began to convert the train tracks into a linear park. The first section of the High Line (Gansevoort St. to W. 20th St.) opened in 2009; the second section (W. 20th to W. 30th St.) opened in 2011. The third and final section was recently acquired and has yet to be rebuilt and opened to the public.

I love learning about reclaimed urban spaces such as the High Line (Paris has a railway-turned-public park too, the Promenade Plantée). Although San Jose doesn't have a defunct above-ground train track to convert into a public park, it got me thinking about what other spaces this city can reclaim for public use, even on a smaller scale.

For my San Jose readers: What urban spaces would you like to see reclaimed for public use?

Perks of the (Husband's) Job

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Jeff's work has been taking him on lots of business trips lately, including a weeklong stay in Singapore, the place we once called home. I was planning on meeting up with Jeff in Singapore to visit our old haunts and to hang out with friends, but at the last minute I changed my travel plans and decided to stay in San Jose. Which meant I couldn't do a bit of shopping in Singapore like I had hoped.

A lot of the things sold in Singapore can be found here in the US, but there are a few things that I can't find. In particular, I miss buying handfuls of funky earrings (three pairs for SGD5!) from the jewelry vendors at Bugis Street and my favorite type of BB cream that is not available stateside.

I knew Jeff was busy with work while he was in Singapore, but I ~~begged~~ asked him to pick me up a few things while he was there. I gave him turn-by-turn directions to find my favorite stall at Bugis Street. I even got a bonus gift of a few scarves from a layover in Paris (his business trip took him to Dublin, too).

I was so excited as Jeff unpacked his suitcase and pulled out several small bags full of the trinkets I had asked for. And I felt lucky to have a guy willing to navigate his way through a crowded market in Singapore just to bring his wife some quirky pieces of junk jewelry. He forgot a jar of kaya, but I think I'll manage.

Photos from top:
1. A few of the earrings Jeff brought me from Bugis Street, a covered market in Singapore that sells clothing, jewelry, accessories, and food
2. My favorite BB cream ever
3. Scarves from the airport in Paris

My BlogHer '12 Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 07:10:00 +0000

It's been a little over a week since I came home from BlogHer '12, a conference for (mostly) women bloggers, which was held in New York this year. I wanted to go to learn more about blogging and social media and to meet other bloggers like me. This was the first non-academic conference that I've ever attended and I didn't know anyone else that was going, but I thought it might be good for my personal and professional development.

I really wanted to say that I had an amazing experience at the conference and that I learned a lot, but I guess I didn't take as much away from it as other bloggers did. Don't get me wrong: I had a fun time (it didn't hurt that the conference was in New York, which I love) and met a few bloggers and social media folks, but I left the conference feeling underwhelmed and kind of disappointed.

Martha Stewart speaking at BlogHer '12 to 5,000 of us attendees.

Part of the draw for me was being able to attend sessions held during the day on blogging and social media-related topics. However, the sessions I attended were mostly about things I already knew. I wish these sessions could have been broken down into skill levels, such as "newbie," "intermediate," and "advanced." I'm not some super talented blogger or anything, but I think the sessions were really watered down for the most novice of bloggers. The only session that I felt I had learned something new and exciting at was the Media Training for Bloggers one by Elaine Wu and Julie Crabill.

Other than this one session, I'd say the conference was not really for me. I'm not a mommy blogger, I don't really work with brands on my blog (I've done a few sponsored posts, but it's not something I actively pursue), and I didn't care for the expo hall full of BlogHer sponsors giving out free stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with being or doing any of the above. I also got the feeling that a lot of people there were looking for ways to make money off their blogs, and this is something I don't put much a lot of thought into.

On the plus side, the lack of engaging sessions at BlogHer '12 made me realize that I need to find some other way to challenge myself and to improve my technical skills. I used my blog in Singapore to make friends and connections; I need to figure out how to do that again and to do it better, but this time in San Jose.

And here are some conference-related links I think are worth sharing:

Here is the link to transcripts of most sessions from BlogHer '12.

I sat next to Sally McGraw from the blog Already Pretty. I wonder if I chose to sit next to her because I subconsciously recognized her from her blog. She was one of the nicest people I met all weekend.

Have you ever really wanted to see where people are reading and clicking on your blog? Crazy Egg has a heat map that tells you exactly that.

Rachel from Rachel & The City sums up the BlogHer '12 experience and I loved it because I can relate.

Did you attend BlogHer '12? What'd you think? Are you thinking of going to BlogHer '13 in Chicago?

Content Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 04:42:00 +0000

I've always been fiercely proud of my hometown and the talented people in the San Jose community. I know I'm not the only one.

Content Magazine started out as somewhat of a hobby a few years ago for Daniel Garcia, a talented photographer from San Jose. He felt as though a magazine focusing on the creative and innovative people, places, and things of San Jose didn't exist. Out of the need for a publication that presented these stories in an aesthetically pleasing way, Content Magazine was born.

The magazine focuses on the people behind the stories, all of which are rooted someway in San Jose. Whether it's an interview with District 3 Councilmember Sam Liccardo, a story on the history of Henry Morris Naglee, or a photography spread featuring the fashions of a local designer, each issue is full of the people and things that make San Jose such a vibrant place.

The stories in Content Magazine showcase the pride that people have for their talents, their creativity, and their city. These folks are doing what they love and in turn, they are positively changing the landscape of San Jose. The magazine serves as a way to promote the very people and things which make me love my hometown so much. Content is such a fitting title, too—because it's what's inside that matters.

For a list of places to purchase Content Magazine, click here. Or order from Content's website here.

Beach Day in Carmel

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 07:59:00 +0000

Did you know there's an off-leash dog beach in Carmel? I only learned of it recently and knew I had to take the dogs there. My friend Laura came with me and brought her dogs Bella and Dylann too.

The smooth, white sand at the beach was surprisingly clean for a beach with lots of dogs running around. Our dog pack ran around greeting other dogs and humans. Stanley is a social butterfly, while Little Joe prefers to stay right behind me like a shadow.

After a long walk on the beach with our pups, Laura and I took them to Diggity Dog, a dog boutique in Carmel with lots of great stuff. As you walk in, there are large buckets full of dog treats sold by the scoop. I let Stan and Joe pick out which kind of treats they wanted. I think they thought I was fooling them at first, but then they got excited when the treats went into my bag. They earned it for being such good dogs.

Carmel is such a dog-friendly town. Dogs are welcome in so many businesses there. If you go to Diggity Dog's website, they have a list of all the dog-friendly establishments in town. As a dog person, I really love that and it makes me want to visit Carmel again soon.

Homebrew and Kraftbrew

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Things don't feel right in our house if there isn't a batch of home-brewed beer being made. Jeff recently bought new beer-making equipment and wasted no time in using it. For him, making beer is more than just a weekend hobby. It's a way of clearing his mind from all the things that stress him out during the week. A few weekends ago, Jeff and his cousin Nick made a batch of IPA. Can't wait to see how it turned out.

Our house has turned into a mini-brewery of sorts. I had a plumber come to the house yesterday and he asked me if I liked to cook when he saw all the kettles and propane burners. "No," I said. "I make beer." He laughed because he thought I was joking, but then quickly realized I was serious. I wish I could pay him in beer.

If you're like us and love the art and science of beer, check out the Summer Kraftbrew Beer Fest going on tomorrow in downtown San Jose. Besides tasting beers from 60+ breweries from all over the world, there will also be panel discussions with brewers and other folks in the beer industry. The organizers of Kraftbrew want to focus on the passion of craft brewing. There will be good food and music to enjoy, too.

I'll be there, and I'm looking forward to learning more about local craft breweries.

Learn more about the Summer Kraftbrew Beer Fest by checking out this post on the Better Beer Blog.

Siblings and Sparklers

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 20:08:00 +0000

I used to feel the need to upload photos and blog about them right away, but lately I've started to realize that not everything needs to be documented. Or documented, but not necessarily shared on the blog. I leave my camera at home a lot more now. And if I do bring it somewhere, I tend to forget about the photos I've taken. I guess that means I'm too busy having a good time this summer. And as much as I love blogging, I love enjoying myself and not having to worry about capturing every moment.

A perfect example of this was 4th of July weekend at my brother Alex's house. He had a bunch of people over and set off fireworks in the street as the sun was setting. Other neighbors set off fireworks too; someone down the street had the illegal, professional kind which made for a rather impressive pyrotechnic display. It was a fun way to spend a warm, summer evening. I can't remember the last time all of us three siblings hung out together on a 4th of July.

I forgot I took these photos of my family playing in the street that evening. Alex was handing out sparklers and I tried my hand at photographing them, but I still don't have that down yet. I'll keep at it. Summer's not over yet.

Photos from top:
My niece Gabby
Alex, my little brother
My sister Fauna with Gabby

Road Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Flora Moreno de Thompson) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 17:09:00 +0000

Jeff took these photos on our drive down to San Diego last week. I may be a little biased, but California is so beautiful. You don't even have to go very far to find somewhere to get lost in the scenery. You don't even need to get out of your car, but exploring by bike or on foot is much more satisfying. I took this for granted when we left the country for a while and now that I'm back, I make a conscious effort to look at the mountains every single day. Luckily, I can see them from the backyard.

I've driven along just about every major California highway at some point in my life. As a kid, we took a lot of road trips and as a college student, I traversed the state to go from school to my Mom's and back whenever I had the chance. Unlike some people I know who groan at the thought of sitting in a car for hours on end, I'm one of those weird people who actually enjoys road trips. The longer, the better.

It's been about the journey and not the destination for as long as I can remember. Some of my fondest memories are about the random pit stops we've taken along freeways, like rest areas, fruit stands, and restaurants. I still have a silver and turquoise ring that my Mom bought for me at a rest area somewhere near the Mojave Desert that always conjures up road trip memories of my childhood.

We have a few more road trips planned this summer and hopefully we can go on a few unexpected ones, too. I'm usually the one that does most of the driving because of my high tolerance for long drives and I make sure to hand Jeff the camera when I can't take pictures myself. Wanderlust strikes again as I look at these photos and think about driving somewhere. But for now, I'm just glad I get to see the mountains just by standing at the back door.