Poems

On my recent trip to San Francisco, I saw a man sitting on a folding chair in front of the Ferry Building Marketplace. He had a sign that said "POEMS" with an infinity sign under it. On his lap was a green colored typewriter. His name is Zach. 

Zach writes poems for free to anyone who comes up to him and gives him a topic. He writes them within five minutes and a donation is optional. So if you're ever in the Bay area and you find Zach, ask him for a poem!

All Natural

I still play with leaves. Is that childish? 

All I Want for Christmas...

At Gumtree cafe during christmas time, they put up this christmas tree and leave tags on a little table for people to write down their wishes and tie them onto the tree. Super cute right? This one was the greatest. 

And I know Miley Cyrus has gotten cray, but she was great in Hannah Montana. 

Some Favorites.

Hi. Please enjoy this picture of some pictures I recently took. In other words, please admire what I was doing when I was supposed to be studying for finals. 

Featuring: Sperry Topsiders, Anthropologie milk glass, Anthropologie mini latte bowl, Anthropologie farmer's market basket 

Yes, I like the kitchen items from Anthropologie :) 

Love, 
Vanessa

Christmas Bao

On Christmas day, my grandma has made it a tradition to make these bread things called "bao" in Chinese. As the oldest of her grandkids, I was always forced to help. This year I took a break from kitchen work and became the photographer for the day. Please enjoy this picture of grandma scolding the second oldest as he kneads the dough. Merry Christmas friends! 

Love, 
Vanessa

Monograms

A Southern staple, monograms are the new obsession for my group of friends.  A personalized, preppy touch, these initials spice up anything from clothing to phone cases to even car decals. Try adding a few of them to your own items. Just remember, first name, then last name, then middle name. If you don't have a middle name, you can always have a two letter monogram, or you can pick a cute letter and have a fake middle name. Enjoy!

Love, 
Vanessa

Sweet & Crisp

For the past few months, I've been giving my friend a ride everyday to and from school, band practice, and football games. It's not really a hassle since our schedules are so similar and he lives ten feet away from me. 

A few weeks ago, as we were leaving to go to a football game, he climbed into my car with a brown Whole Foods bag and said, "This is from my mom." Inside the bag was a case of a dozen apples with an envelope attached to it that read, "Thank you Vanessa!" How sweet! Assuming that there was a letter inside the envelope, I asked my friend to read it to me since I was driving. Unfortunately he told me there was no letter in the envelope. 

Later that night at the football game, I saw his mom and thanked her for the apples. She thanked me for driving around her child and asked, "Did you get the $30?" I was so confused and asked, "Uhhh... What $30?" She said, "There's $30 in the envelope for gas! Don't throw it away!" and she ran off. WHAT. She's so nice! Anyways, Mrs T if you're reading this, thanks for being as sweet as your apples! 

Love, 
Vanessa

Navy Blue & Gold

When one of my friends started driving, she hated carrying her keys and would stuff them into my pocket all the time! I always asked her, "Why can't you carry a bag!?" or just yell at her "Carry them yourself!" And then... i started driving and I too, HATE CARRYING MY KEYS! I stuff them into my friends' pockets and it's so much more annoying because there's a giant dirty turtle on it! Many of my friend's suggested that I get a lanyard, but i'm extremely picky and I like simple things. My solution? Obviously craft one myself! If you hate carrying your keys, try making your own lanyard! 

Love, 
Vanessa

Happy Birthday!

Hello hello! Coffeestrokes recently celebrated a birthday! 

The two most important things about celebrating an event is good company and GOOD FOOD. Might as well make your table setting super cute! Here's some inspiration to set your table for any special occasion! 

Love, Vanessa