We went to Canada for a gorgeous wedding, I’ve been busy planning my own wedding (complete with buying shoes!), we just got back from a beach vacay with the fam, I moved into a new apartment, and I’ve been hard at work writing about royal weddings and relationships on TresSugar. Keep up with what’s inspiring me lately on Pinterest!

I was going to write all about my amazing new gray striped tray from Ikea that inspired me to write this post on CasaSugar, and is perfect for holding little knick knacks and treats like these homemade chocolate chip cookies. And then I received something much sweeter (and, may I add, much sparkly-er) than any cookies or trays . . .

An engagement ring! So excited to share with you that I’m engaged to the love of my life . . . 2011 is gonna be a great year!

I finally updated my links, be sure to check ‘em out if you haven’t! Going through my favorite blogs every morning is one of my favorite parts of the day (besides my first glorious cup of coffee).

First I have to check up on all my amazingly talented friends like Crystalin, Heather, Sara, Jessie, Dana, Karrie, Stephanie, Ashlyn, and Kristen.

Then I have my recently discovered comic relief/eye candy sites Guys We Shouldn’t Be Attracted To and Babe City Babes.

Other FAVES are Creature Comforts, Cupcakes and Cashmere, Mrs. Lilien, Oh Joy!, The Sartorialist, and The Selby.

And finally, I added some local blogging gals (many of whom I recently met at a blogger meetup!): Amber’s Notebook, Cheetah Is the New Black, Sterling Style, Wonder Girl, OnTheRacks, Sacramento Street, and Polk Sheet.

Source

My recent obsessions have included three things: braids, comfy flats, and orange coffee. The caffe l’arancia at Bread and Cocoa is an espresso drink with cinnamon, vanilla, and orange, and it’s delicious without being too sweet. My new comfy flats are fittingly called “Fabulous,” by Corso Como ($99), and they have gel insoles and memory form, which make them great for running from bus to train and back again. And the braids have been a nice way to keep my bangs out of my face while I’m growing them out. It’s seriously so easy, and is gentler on my hair than bobby pins. These are just a few of my latest obsessions, hope to get back on a regular posting schedule soon!

Ethereal iPhone pic by Steve, husband of Stephanie Fay - stephaniefayblog.com

The blog is officially Sharp in the City! Check out my new About Me Page.

Life has been wonderful, stressful, busy, beautiful and exciting. I have missed blogging (here, that is), but once things settle down into a rhythm, I will be back in full swing. After the jump, what I’ve been up to lately:

First off, our friends Steve and Steph were house-sitting in San Fran, and Steph did a mini photo shoot of the bf and I in the magical Lincoln Park (near the Sutro Baths). We are so lucky to have such sweet, gifted friends! Stay tuned for more photos!

I went to my first hockey game! It was the Sharks vs. Canucks, and even though the Sharks are my hometown team, the bf is a hardcare Canucks fan…so I tend to find myself rooting for those Canadians.

First hockey game!

We spent Sunday in Carmel and I had really good luck in the shopping department… Hope to put up a post soon on my finds!

I <3 Carmel.

I’ve been doing some freelance work for SanDiego.com, and my latest article was about a gorgeous bridal boutique called Here Comes the Bride. I also recently wrote about the ladies of Carter & Cook Event Co.

Here Comes the Bride, By Tara Sharp

Speaking of brides, my wonderful bride-to-be friend Heather just sweetly included my engagement gift in a recent blog post.

I reunited with a friend from high school, Crystalin, and discovered she’s a fellow food and fashion blogger! Visit her fab site when you get a chance.

And finally, I’ve been busy, busy, busy at work. If you’re interested, check out some of my recent posts:

“Refresh Yourself” With This Coke Slogan Quiz

Before and After: An Airy Home Renovation

Roundup: Up, Up, and Away!

The Card Shop: Cute Tape

Minutes to Healthier Relationships

Roundup: Ruffles, Ruffles, Everywhere!

DIY Wine Cork Board

San Fran, here I come!

So…I may need to change my blog’s name in the near future! Next week, I’m moving back to my old stomping grounds – the Bay Area. I accepted an editorial position with a *sweet* company in San Francisco (more deets to come), and I’m positively ecstatic! I’m jumping into a new, exciting chapter of my life. I will miss San Diego, especially the food and the friends – BIG emphasis on the friends. All of the sweet Facebook and Twitter messages have really touched me, and once I get settled I hope to have many SoCal (and farther!) visitors. I may be a bit too busy to blog extensively for the next couple weeks, but I’m not abandoning SharpinSanDiego – I promise! In fact, I hope to revamp the site soon, so stay posted!

Oh yea, and thank you to all ya’ll who have voted for me for #influenceSD! I really appreciate your support. And there’s still a month left, so tell your friends!

My dear friend, Ms. Pearce: soon to be a fellow blogger!

I feel justified in shamelessly promoting myself for two reasons: First off, I just wrote a post about all my lovely blogging friends, and secondly, I was up until all hours of the night selflessly helping a friend with her first blog. (JK, Lisa, you know I love it!)

But seriously, I heard about #influenceSD, a new media awards event, from my friend Anne at Bolt PR – which is nominated for the Agency of the Year award, BTW – and I think it’s great! I’m always curious about what other San Diego bloggers are up to…and now I have a whole list of them to check out! Also, if you want to vote for me in the Best in Lifestyle category, that would be nice as well.

Thank you to everyone who reads my ramblings!

Love this photo by The Sartorialist! - thesartorialist.blogspot.com

I just updated my Links section, and it reminded me how creative and entrepreneurial my friends are! I visit most of these sites on pretty much a daily basis, not just because I know the bloggers behind them, but because they are well-executed, informative and inspirational. 

After the jump, some blogs/sites created by my photo takin’, music writin’, graphic designin’, surfin’, fashion wearin’ and cake bakin’ buddies! 

Creative Swell

The Concrete Catwalk

Review Stacks

Treats To Share

Envirosurfer

Stephanie Fay Photography

My favorite thing of all: spending the holidays with friends and family

Well, 2009 is almost over – hellooooo 2010! It’s been a good year, with plenty of traveling, from Vancouver to Portland to Palm Springs; beautiful weddings full of family and friends, old and new; discovering delicious eateries, near and far; just a modicum of shopping :) ; and quite a bit of blogging. To everyone out there who actually reads this silly little thing, thank you! Here’s to a new year that’s even better than the last. Cin cin!

In lieu of a list of favorites from the past year, I’m just posting my current obsessions, many of which are birthday/Christmas presents I had to share! Check them out, after the jump.

new camera = self portraits

I’m back in San Diego! Can’t wait to put up some new posts! (I think some sparkly New Year’s Eve dresses and accessories might be on the horizon…)

But first: Before I left for vacation, I made two small contributions on the Web. One was an article I wrote for sandiego.com about modern holiday decor. You can read it here. The other was a blog banner I created for my friend Heather’s wedding blog. Heather has taken some time off from her Treats to Share blog to focus on planning her July wedding. You can follow her new venture – and see the banner I made - here!

iPhone photo by Lisa Pearce

After an early Christmas in the Bay Area, I just arrived in Kelowna, British Columbia, for my second round. I’ll be there for the rest of the week, so I wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas – I’ll be back next Monday! Cross your fingers that this Californian gets a white Christmas!

andylawdesign.com

Techy blogger/graphic designer Andy from the very cool Andy Law Design Blog just put up an interview he did with me about my blog! Thanks buddy!

Check it out here.

So I completely forgot to mention my 100th post, whenever that was, but I saw TreatsToShare’s post acknowledging the occasion and felt that I should at least write something in honor of my 200th post…crazy!

Thanks to you all that actually take time out of your lives to read about my life in San Diego and musings on food, fashion, travel and the minute details of Jillian Harris’ wardrobe. It feels great to find out that my friends and family actually keep up with it, much less complete strangers!

Now normally I stray away from listmania (would anyone really care what my favorite color is?), but I’m making an exception. After the jump, 10 top 20 lists (totaling 200, get it?) of my favorite things. They are not in a particular order and I’m sure I forgot some favs – I pretty much put down what immediately came to mind.

Top 20

Movies

1. Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2. When Harry Met Sally
3. I Heart Huckabees
4. Edward Scissorhands
5. Once
6. The Life Aquatic
7. Lars and the Real Girl
8. Bridget Jones’s Diary
9. The Darjeeling Limited
10. The Virgin Suicides
11. Marie Antoinette
12. So I Married an Axe Murderer
13. Wet Hot American Summer
14. The Lives of Others
15. 500 Days of Summer
16. Away We Go
17. Harry Potter (1-6)
18. Man on Wire
19. The Savages
20. Funny People

TV Shows

1. Bones
2. Pushing Daisies
3. Wonderfalls
4. Grey’s Anatomy
5. 30 Rock
6. The Soup
7. Flight of the Conchords
8. Weeds
9. Say Yes to the Dress
10. Project Runway
11. What Not to Wear
12. Law and Order
13. CSI
14. Saturday Night Live
15. Community
16. Glee
17. The Daily Show with John Stewart
18. The Colbert Report
19. Conan O’Brian
20. Sex and the City

Blogs/Sites

1. Treats To Share
2. TJ Talks
3. Tighten Your Belt
4. Dooce
5. Apartment Therapy
6. Decor 8
7. Etsy
8. Salon
9. Jezebel
10. Cupcakes and Cashmere
11. Who What Wear
12. Go Fug Yourself
13. The Pioneer Woman
14. The Sartorialist
15. Stephanie Fay Photography
16. Citysearch
17. The Lucky Stone
18. Goodreads
19. 100 Layer Cake
20. Style

Books

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. The Virgin Suicides
3. Harry Potter (1-6)
4. To Kill a Mockingbird
5. Therese Raquin
6. Siddhartha
7. The Shack
8. Ragtime
9. Shakespeare (all)
10. The Plague
11. Steppenwolf
12. Nancy Drew (all)
13. Faust
14. Julie and Julia
15. In Cold Blood
16. I’m Not Stiller
17. The Brothers Karamazov
18. Bridget Jones’s Diary
19. Blue Like Jazz
20. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass

Musical Artists (Country)

1. Jason Aldean
2. Kenny Chesney
3. Blake Shelton
4. Gary Allan
5. Dixie Chicks
6. Carrie Underwood
7. Miranda Lambert
8. Lady Antebellum
9. Garth Brooks
10. George Strait
11. Tim McGraw
12. Sugarland
13. Reba McEntire
14. Keith Urban
15. Martina McBride
16. Eric Church
17. Little Big Town
18. Alison Krauss
19. Dierks Bentley
20. Trisha Yearwood

Musical Artists

1. Mariah Carey
2. Elton John
3. Amy Grant
4. The Beatles
5. Justin Timberlake
6. Coldplay
7. U2
8. Rilo Kiley
9. Ryan Adams
10. She & Him
11. Pete Yorn
12. Ray LaMontagne
13. Feist
14. Bob Dylan
15. Weezer
16. The Arcade Fire
17. Tom Petty
18. Lily Allen
19. John Mayer
20. Train

Restaurants

1. Cafe Chloe
2. Urban Solace
3. Tender Greens
4. Alibi Room/Kogi BBQ
5. Nobu
6. Jayne’s Gastropub
7. Acqua Al 2 (Florence)
8. Turquoise St. Bistro
9. Dussini
10. Umi Sushi
11. Con Pane
12. Cucina Urbana
13. Turf Supper Club
14. The Hall
15. China Inn
16. Bijou, Cafe
17. The 3rd Corner
18. Bin 38
19. Caffe Panini
20. Saffron

Clothing Designers/Stores

1. Bloomingdale’s
2. Barney’s CO-OP
3. Anthropologie
4. Urban Outfitters
5. Aritzia
6. Marc by Marc Jacobs
7. Chloe
8. Matthew Williamson
9. shopbop.com
10. Sam Edelman
11. Ella Moss
12. Milly
13. Nanette Lepore
14. Ted Baker
15. Chris Benz
16. Betsey Johnson
17. Theory
18. BCBG
19. Paige Denim
20. Holt Renfrew

Artists

1. Monet
2. Renoir
3. Van Gogh
4. Klimt
5. Mucha
6. Botticelli
7. Degas
8. Jeanne Kefer
9. Fernanda Cohen
10. Jessica Doyle
11. Olka Osadzinska
12. John Singer Sargent
13. Whistler
14. Jennifer Sanchez
15. Theodor Geisel
16. Robin Preiss Glasser
17. Sujean Rim
18. Marion Bolognesi
19. Séraphine Louis
20. Yellena James

Places/Activities

1. Giverny, France
2. Stagecoach Country Music Festival
3. Palihouse Holloway
4. Viceroy Palm Springs
5. Cirque du Soleil
6. San Diego Art Department
7. Cinema Under the Stars
8. Pismo Beach
9. Orsay Museum
10. The Getty
11. Legally Blonde The Musical
12. Les Miserables
13. Phantom of the Opera
14. The Louvre
15. Just Java Coffee
16. Better Buzz Coffee
17. Voodoo Doughnut
18. Sprinkles Cupcakes
19. Granville Island
20. The Nutcracker

zgallerie.com and amazon.com

We’ve been celebrating our two years of dating for the past week, in a whirlwind of traveling and eating. First with a trip to LA (note the gorgeous flowers Ryker surprised me with at the hotel above), and then with a Restaurant Week dinner last night at Cucina Urbana (post to come!). But when we finally exchanged gifts, I was so excited to see the makings of a lazy day – snuggled up in a (super) soft throw, reading a good book.

**For fellow bookworms or amazing boyfriends of bookworms, you can find the Taylor Throw in Platinum (on sale!) at Z Gallerie and The Complete Illustrated Sherlock Holmes at either Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com.

The Sartorialist (SABA ad campaign) - thesartorialist.blogspot.com

I have been a major slacker when it comes to blogging lately. Work has been hectic, my mom was in town for week (lots of food and fun!) and I’ve been too busy fixing up/decorating my house and watching Bones to blog. I promise to try to get my act together!

In the meantime, how great are these shots by the wonderfully amazing Sartorialist? I love all his recent photos of women on bikes! (The images above are for Saba. Learn more about the Saba Denim Campaign here.)

While I’m in Pismo I’ll have limited access to Internet. So from now until Sunday I’ll be pretty much MIA. (I’ll be back in time for The Bachelorette Monday – can’t wait!) Have a great Fourth of July!

**side note** In case you were wondering…I went with the high-low strategy at the concert. I paired my Citizens denim shorts with an American Eagle tank the first day and my Milly halter with distressed light wash AE denim shorts the second. Stuck with my good ol’ J Simpson boots both days.

1. I’ve been super busy at work (yea, crazy, I know).
2. I helped out Jeanenne with a banner for her new blog. Can’t wait to see what she puts up!
3. I was making a new banner for this blog…and it’s finished! Yay!

So the plan was to get up a post on summer dresses before Stagecoach (which is Saturday…too excited for words), but we’ll just have to see if I have any brain power left to do that. I need more Starbucks!