Bacon Brussel Sprouts

DSC_0710I spent my weekend in an insanely beautiful house/mansion on the lake in Tahoe. While the views were gorgeous accompanied by a hot tub and fire pit, I was in love with the industrial sized kitchen. We took the opportunity to cook a great meal and I wanted to share one of my favorite sides with you. Our friend Jeff cooked up this amazing dish so all credit goes to him!

DSC_0655(Dice up 4 cloves of garlic)

DSC_0649(Cook up a batch of bacon until it is just barely crispy)

DSC_0648(Halve a pound of fresh brussel sprouts)

DSC_0673(Add a bit of olive oil to the bacon and add the brussel sprouts and garlic. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes)

DSC_0675(Place the mixture on a baking sheet. Cook at 350 for 10 minutes or until browned if you like it crispy)

This side is super easy to make and has so much flavor! The bacon adds some saltiness so you don’t need to season it at all. Enjoy!

Winter Romper.

DSC_0585I recently had a binge at Anthropologie and grabbed some great pieces from their Winter collection. In between seasons is my favorite time to make purchases because I get things for low prices and because I like in San Francisco, the temperature is always mild so I can make most things work all year round. This romper is one of those pieces.

DSC_0581(In the summer I would wear this without the tights accompanied by black sandals)

DSC_0576(I can also unbutton the top if I want to wear a decorative camisole underneath)

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DSC_0588(Honeycomb print, my favorite!)

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I’m pretty excited for my first romper. I love anything I can slip into and not have to worry too much about piecing together layers.

When Fashion Fails You.

I feel like people and designers have really been upping the ante lately, especially when it comes to everyday fashion. I’m not sure where I first saw these boots below but they essentially gave me the idea for this post. It sparked a thought, ‘was there ever a time that I have seen an article of clothing or accessory that I had to have regardless of the fact that it was virtually unwearable’? And the answer was YES! I have MULTIPLE pairs of heels that I have never worn, simply because I can’t walk in them. It has been absolutely impossible for me to walk ten feet in any direction and I didn’t even factor that in when making my purchase. What came over me? From this day forward I am making a conscious decision to never purchase anything that could potentially break my ankles, stab me in the face, or make it impossible to operate a vehicle. Please join me in this movement.

Screen Shot 2015-03-26 at 7.57.54 PM(Ok, Hunter. You’ve got me here. So, you’ve designed a high heeled rain boot to wear in the rain. Rain is usually wet, slippery, and harder to walk in then when it is dry. This seems crazy dangerous and all around uncomfortable. But let’s be real, you’ve probably sold a ton of these)

Screen Shot 2015-03-26 at 7.58.02 PM(Hello Kitty. Yes. Love. Sanrio fan for life. However, there is a limit. And while I feel that the limit has only been slightly  crossed here, that isn’t even the issue I have with these nails. Try typing, driving, riding a bike, or even tapping a number into your phone. Most of these things will end in tears. The only thing these nails will be good for is flipping the bird)

rodarte-fall-2013-barb-wire-earrings-necklace(Rodarte, you murderous genius. Truth be told, I find the mixed metals and general design of these pieces to be quite beautiful. But one accidental fall on a sidewalk and it’s straight on decapitation. Marie Antoinette, anyone?)

Maybe we should stick to our converse sneaks and stay safe this weekend!

Arabian Adventures.

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Ever since my big horse trip in Bosnia, I’ve been chasing that fun riding and have been checking out new places to go riding trails.  A friend of mine had a great recommendation and wanted to go riding as well in Point Reyes, CA last weekend so we went here and had an awesome and beautiful ride with Susie and her beautiful Arabians.  She can accommodate all levels and has very well behaved horses.  It was a great chance to explore northern California in my most favorite way 🙂

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On our way to the trail head, there were some great horse signs on the road.

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My adorable horse was named, Cody.

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The mountains and the views were stunning.

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Trish and I on top of the trail with our sweet horses.

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We rode through so many different terrains.

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The redwoods were beautiful, too!

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We packed the horses up to take them to the trail so we also put them back in after the ride.

We did about a 2hr ride and there were about 5x of us as guests.  The drive from San Francisco to Point Reyes was beautiful and the town is adorable with a little main street.  I can’t wait to go back and check out more of Susie’s trails!

Pescadero Days.

image_2Last weekend, Nick and I took a drive up the coast to a tiny town called Pescadero. We went on a small hike, enjoyed the cliffsides alongside the ocean and stopped into the popular Harley Farms Goat Dairy. Harley Farms has hundred of goats and makes all sorts of delicious treats to enjoy as a result.

image_9(Plain goat cheese with edible flowers- we got this, it was out of this world good)

 image_4(Goat cheese truffles? Yes, please!)

image_10(You can’t see it here but they have light green eggs!)

image_13(We tasted this spicy mint olive oil which was tasty on a piece of sourdough)

image_14(Goat cheese soaked in olive oil and sun dried tomatoes. I didn’t try this but will consider it when we go back)

image_7Everything there was so quaint and beautifully presented. The people were extra friendly and we had an overall wonderful experience there. We even got to see some of the baby goats try to climb up a slanted piece of wood with very little luck. If you ever find yourself in Pescadero, you should stop into Harley Farms.

 

Santa Barbara Escape.

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I spent last weekend in beautiful Santa Barbara celebrating a good friend’s bachelorette party.  We rented a house in the hills overlooking the ocean and truly had a serene weekend.  The weather was absolutely perfect and we soaked up the sun.

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The view from our coffee deck every morning.  We spent almost all of our time at the house outdoors on this patio.

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Sunset selfie with the bride to be!

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Having the most tasty breakfast on State St here!

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Two of the girls rented a convertible and we were cracking up at our convertible hair.  That’s the way to go when you are driving along the coast!

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Sheena, the maid of honor, enjoying the morning light.

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We rented paddle boards from here!  We paddled out in the ocean and came across these adorable seals!

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Paddle boarding through the harbor.

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The inbetweens enjoying the garden at our house.

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The flowers were so vibrant.

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These beautiful daisies with vibrant centers.

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A day at the beach!

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Strolling through the adorable downtown area.

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We went to tea/champagne at the Four Seasons Saturday afternoon.  The views were gorgeous.

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Everyone got their own pot of tea and a glass of champagne.  We were well stocked on the liquids.

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Some delectable desserts.

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We spent an afternoon cruising around the Funk Zone which was a very hip, small district of restaurants/breweries/wineries.

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Even the bathrooms had awesome art haha.

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Beautiful sunsets.

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And gorgeous nights.

Santa Barbara was a wonderful place for a bachelorette weekend!

Cabo Activites.

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While I was in Cabo recently, we ended up doing a lot of fun activities that I would recommend to anyone.  I thought I’d share them all since people have been asking me what places we booked for the other adventure lovers out there!

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We used Eco Tours for an awesome day snorkel trip and also an amazing sunset catamaran cruise (see below).

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The sunset cruise!  We liked Eco Tours because they are all open bar with fun music but not too crazy.  We heard a lot about other boats that were a bit more Spring Break style.

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Sunset Catamaran views.

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Pesos – are they necessary?  Nope!  We got some for safety measures and used them but you can use American dollars pretty much everywhere.  Be weary of the ATM’s!  A few people used them and ended up with some credit card fraud after the fact.

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The most popular restaurant in Cabo is most likely The Office.  It’s colorful, festive, and fun!  We came here for dinner and margarita’s where we were front and center by the stage.  They played games with guests, walked around pouring tequila shots, and did dances.

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One of the entertainment acts at the Office.

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We rented a villa, so for good easy fun we hung out on the patio catching up and making drinks together.  A good resort for this is Villa la Estancia.

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We were also on the beach front area where all of the activities were.  We took full advantage of these.  Renting jet skis ran us $40 and was one of my favorite things we did!  We rode up to the famous arches and by lover’s beach.  We also jumped off the skis to swim and just bobbed along in the ocean.  You have to be careful to not cross to the other side of the arches because the tides are dangerous so make sure to listen to the safety tips from the place you rent from.  There are some serious tips to take note of but not to be scared of.

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Water taxi’s.  We took these to the harbor and to the day party @ Mango Deck where we spotted reality tv stars and overall was the most interesting people watching.

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The sunsets were beyond beautiful along the beach!

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The swim up pool bars were over priced but very convenient and the pool felt so nice!

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There’s something about a poolside pina colada.

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We rented paddle boards and loaded a bunch of us on to the boards.  We tried yoga and just laughed a ton trying to balance with so many people on the boards.

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Trying yoga on the paddle boards.

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Underwater tea parties.  We were lucky because we could swim in the ocean where we were but some places the tide is too strong so if you love the ocean like us make sure you research where you will be staying and the ocean tides!

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We did a snorkel boat ride which was awesome.

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On the snorkel catamaran (also ecotours), we saw tons of Humpback whales!  This baby was really putting on a show jumping and twirling around.

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We had a blast and really tried a ton of activities!

I’m headed to another exciting bachelorette party this weekend in Santa Barbara so I will make sure to post lots when I get back!  You can follow along on instagram for live postings.