SF Bucket List: Baker Beach and Huntington Square

A few of the first places I ever visited in San Francisco as an adult were Baker Beach and Huntington Square park. Their elegance and peacefulness have always held a special place in my heart.

One late night as interns we decided to take an 'adventure' out to Baker Beach. I remember climbing over the dunes as we followed the sound of the ocean because it was all pitch black. Since then I've been back numerous times with almost every friend. I knew I needed 1 more trip to see the pacific and then Golden Gate Bridge. Luckily we had 1 scorcher of a Sunday and after spending the morning being lazy in bed we decided to take the trip out to, hopefully, catch the sun set. It was absolutely perfect.

My very first weekend in the city my friends made us climb up Nob Hill to this delicious italian restaurant. Unfortunately, we were a little too early for dinner and we had to kill some time in the nearby park. I fell in love with Huntington Square Park, when I began to look for apartments Nob Hill was on the top of the list. I did end up finding a space just a few blocks away. In my 4 years there I spent many a weekend drinking wine, reading or just laying in the sun in Huntington Square. 

After our trip to Sonoma, my friends and I took our purchases over to Huntington Square Park to enjoy them one last time. 

SF Bucket List: Wine Country

I'd be lying if I was going to say my move to Chicago had been as sudden as it appeared.  I had been thinking about it for a few years and seriously looking for the last 6 months or so. That being said, the final 'Lets Do This!' did happen fairly quickly. I had 4 days after the lay-off to decide if I was going to give my 30 days notice for August, then had to hit the ground running coordinating a move, job searching and saying goodbye to SF. I tried to make a list of all the things I wanted to do before I left then went about squeezing in the activities with seeing people. I honestly didn't have that much I felt I wanted to do and most of it was just revisiting some of my favorite things.

• Wine Country
• Baker Beach
• Foreign Cinema
• Taqueria Cancun
• Huntington Square Park
• Craftsman and Wolves
• Paragon

Is it sad that having the beautiful Sonoma and Napa Valley's a short drive a way might be what I missed most? I was able to squeeze in 2 visits and they were perfect. I headed up for a bit of wine and sparkling wine tasting for a dear friend's birthday. The weather was absolutely perfect and couldn't have made some sparkling rose more refreshing.

A couple of friends and I had booked at cabana at Silverado Resort in Napa earlier this summer. Coincidently our reservation day turned out to be my last full day in California. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my last moments that laying by a gorgeous pool, soaking up the California sunshine with good friends and good wine.

Wedding Wednesday

As I'm in my (eh hem) late twenties, my news feeds are filled up with all things weddings. "Ask" gifts have always baffled me a bit. I understand to desire to get creative and be a little different, but flowers seem a bit ordinary, a custom cookie a bit tacky or a custom wine bottle unnecessary {can I drink it or do I have to keep it forever?}.

If you're able I love the idea of an "ask" brunch. These are your closest friends and you want to be there to see the look on their face when you ask, you want them to know they'll be appreciated and, quite often, you'll need to introduce them all to each other. What a great way to experience that all together!

I saw a similar post on the Glitter Guide (?) I think, but when I came across this one on Style Me Pretty I had to share.

This year I will....

.....travel more

.....worry less

.....budget better

.....find a new apartment

.....blog more

.....start a 5-year plan

.....own it!

This Week's 30 Days of Thanks

I should have probably seen this coming. I'm finding 30 Days of Thanks a little overwhelming in my super busy life. I find myself getting up in the morning, thinking about what to be thankful for, but never getting the time to sit down and write an amazing post....or even a sucky post. My goal is to condense them into a week. Yes, I realize this is not "Thankful Thursday", but it's better than nothing.

Here are the things I was/am Thankful for last Week!

1) Accountable Committee Members
Chairing a committee for a volunteer organization means you were one of few people that was actually accountable last year so you can handle doing all the work this year. We hold monthly meetings, delegate action items, close our eyes and pray they'll be done in time. So far this year my committee has been absolutely amazing. Only 1 ball has been dropped and it was promptly picked up by another committee member willingly! Knowing how intense this has turned out to be for me, even with delegating I am so so thankful I can trust them!

2) Michael's being SO CLOSE to my office
I've been working on gift bag design and Michaels has been an absolute savior. It's 2 blocks from my office so I've spent many a lunch roaming the aisles. It's also got me in full Christmas decoration mode (post to come soon on that), but sparkles and cinnamon and paper meche deer have got me ready to go!


3) The Ability to Give-Back 
One of my favorite quotes is "To whom much is given, much is expected" and volunteering has always been a passion of mine. It was easy in college, I felt like they had volunteer opportunities out like free pizza. When I moved to San Francisco it got HARD. I don't know if it's real life or being in a non-profit loving city, but it is impossible to find an organization with an opening. That lead me to Junior League, which not only has a huge monetary impact on the community but access to  grassroots, hands dirty volunteer experiences that make you feel great! Especially this time of year when people wear their gratefulness on their sleeve I'm so happy I'm able to be involved.

4) My Mom is Coming to Visit!
This might be a selfish reason, but my mom has always been willing to help where she can. There are certain areas of my life I'm been avoiding. Primarily room/home organization. As a young adult when your parents come to town, consciously or sub it starts an evaluation of the status of every aspect of your life. I realize that I've fully ignored any nesting instinct for at least a good year. My parents just moved, so I hope she's still excited about this stuff, but we're going scrub, hang, redesign, re-organize the shiz out of my apartment and I'm pumped!

5) Zipcar
I spent the first half of the week getting a bunch of Gift Bags put together for a meeting on Wednesday. I thought the Gift Bag assembly was going to be the hardest part, but boy was I wrong. To decorate the gift bag tables I needed a half dozen gold, metallic '8' shaped Balloons. Easy for any party store right? After arriving at work late due to a Doctor's Appointment and wrangling 8 members of my team together for a work lunch, I thought all I would have to do was make a phone call that afternoon and pick them up on the way to the venue. NO ONE had them! Well, one place did but it closed at 5pm and I wouldn't be able to get there until 6pm. Disappointed I switched my efforts to figuring out when to pick up the gift bags from headquarters.....when I found out that closed at 5pm. At this point I'd have to leave work immediately to get to either place in time. Zipcar saved the day, zipping me around town in an SUV full of gold tinsel and balloons. I really couldn't have gotten it all picked up and delivered without it.

6) Wine Club Memberships
I have a slight obsession with Francis Ford Coppola's Sophia Champs. So much so that when I stopped at the winery I decided to not only buy a case, but join the wine club. I've gotten 2 shipments already and my wine cabinet is filling up and staying full! With the insanity of last week, I had more then my fair share of glasses of wine. With the holiday season coming up as well, they'll be great hostess gifts!!

7) Laundromat Being Steps from My Front Door
No seriously it's 2 doors down, I don't even have to put a bra on if I don't want too. With my mom coming, I decided it was deep cleaning time. So EVERYTHING got washed.  Having it be right next door is almost as good as having one in house. If enough machines are open I can whip in and out of there in an hour with all 5 loads washed and dryed!

Bubbles {& Bitters}

One of my absolute favorite things about my Europe trip was the drinking culture. It's so normal to have a glass of wine with lunch, another one or 2 for happy hour and casual drink a bottle while enjoying good food and conversation at dinner. There's no rush, it's just simply there to enhance the magic of everyday life.
Needless to say we drank a lot of alcohol, but we struggled to find a drink or a wine that wasn't too sweet.  After a little googling last weekend for an 'american' drink for an Opening Ceremony party I was going to I believe I've found the perfect summer drink!

The Americana

served on ice, in a Collins Glass

1/2oz of  Makers Mark

3 dashes of Bitters

chilled Champagne

Garnish with a Peach Slice