spring 2025

Night out at the Tonga Room

 in General Fashion  tagged outfits / restaurants / spring 2025 / staycation by

wearing: statement earrings / black sweater / suede bucket bag / black skirt / gemstone bracelet / spring nail polish / boots /

If you are local to the San Francisco Bay Area, chances are, you have been to, or at least heard of, the Tonga Room in San Francisco. Located inside the Fairmont Hotel, the Tonga Room is part of San Francisco history. It has been there since 1945 and has attracted celebrities, politicians, dignitaries and more. The Tonga Room is more than a fun place for dinner, it is an iconic experience.

The Tonga Room offers both dinner and a lounge/bar experience. Since I still have one child still living at home, we went for the dinner experience. Built over a 1920’s era swimming pool, the floating stage offers lounge music, and the decor surrounding the pool and throughout the venue is tiki themed. The restaurant has tables set up around the floating stage with the bar area on one side of the pool. Our table was opposite the bar which gave us a quiet location and a decent view of the live music on the floating stage.

It was really fun to enjoy good food, live music, tiki decor, and fancy drinks-mine is a non-alcoholic citrus soda, isn’t it fun! If you plan to go, I recommend making reservations. The Tonga Room is very popular, and the tables fill up ahead of time, so making reservations is the way to go. You can make them through OpenTable.

What I wore to the Tonga Room:

Have you been to the Tonga Room? If not, what are you waiting for? This is a bucket list item for San Francisco!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Handbag wish list 2025

 in Handbags / Shopping  tagged fall 2025 / spring 2025 / summer 2025 / winter 2026 / wish list by

Handbag wish list from top left: grommet shoulder bag / belted tote / midnight blue shoulder bag / ivory tote / chocolate brown boxy bag / east/west brown satchel /

There are so many fabulous handbags out there for 2025, it is really hard to narrow them down into a shopping list! So, I picked six handbags I feel like I would get a lot of use out of and would also fit into my California Casual style. Of course, the anonymous handbag is hotter than hot, so that makes it easy for me to create a fabulous handbag wish list sans logos. But, it also gives me way too many handbags to choose from! I love so many!

This year, I am going to try and stick with neutrals and smaller to medium sized bags. I don’t really carry a lot, and if I do, I already have several large totes to choose from. Um, when I type that it seems like I have a shopping tote problem, but I don’t. You can never have enough totes! They always come in handy at some point!

The handbag trends this year include timeless styles which are truly investment handbags. We are looking at slouchy bucket bags, suede handbags, east/west silhouettes, the return of studs and grommets, boxy bags, small baguette styles, neutral colors, and quality without logos. Love that!

I already feel like I have some handbags which fit into these trends, so this year, I am filling out my collection with at least one more east/west bag, a boxy tote, and I need a grommet bag in my life. Love!

Which handbag styles are on your wish list this year?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Charcoal latte outing

 in General Fashion  tagged outfits / saratoga / spring 2025 by

wearing: multi-color earrings / necklace / mocha sweater (under $50) / suede bucket bag / spring nail polish / black wide leg pants (avl in petite, reg., and tall) / black boots (old, also love this pair) /

There is a popular coffee shop in downtown Saratoga named Sue’s Gallery Cafe. It was featured on “Zip Trips” which is a local TV show that showcases neighborhoods in the Bay Area and surrounding areas. It airs on local channel two, KTVU. I love this show because it features places I have been, as well as places I didn’t know existed. I grew up here and there are still nooks and crannies I’ve never heard of. This TV show is amazing for showing those locations!

So, when Zip Trips came to Saratoga, I knew I had to watch the episode. One of the places they talked about was Sue’s Gallery Cafe. It is a popular coffee shop which is always busy and attracts locals as well as visitors. One of the customers they interviewed was the one and only Ronnie Lott! If you are a football fan, and a niners fan, you know who he is!

Ronnie Lott told Zip Trips he loves Sue’s Gallery Cafe, and he enjoys their Charcoal Latte! So, my husband and I made it a point to try the famous drink. I mean, we are huge football fans, how could we not try Ronnie Lott’s recommendation? The episode aired last summer, so it took us awhile! We tend to make coffee at home, that’s why it took us so long to finally try the Charcoal Latte!

We decided to grab one Charcoal Latte and one Vanilla Latte; my good ‘ol standby order. I have to admit, the thought of Charcoal in my coffee was a little bit scary, but since it’s served and enjoyed by many, it must be edible! So, this felt like an adventure!

OK, without further ado, here is my take. It tastes slightly different than a regular latte. But, if you sipped it without looking at the color, you may not notice it isn’t a regular latte. Since I tend to like vanilla, I am not sure it will be something I order often. Although, my husband did like it, and he ended up drinking it while I drank the Vanilla Latte. Sue’s Gallery Cafe makes incredible coffee anyway, and when I go there, I have always ordered a Vanilla Latte, so I might just stick with my favorite. That being said, the Charcoal Latte was good.

Have you tried this trendy coffee drink? What are your thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy