Category Archives: San Francisco

Friendship: How to make time for each other when life gets busy.

img_2092Ask anyone nowadays how they’ve been and it seems the answer is always “busy.”  There are so many events, work, kids, family, the list goes on and on.  Hopefully you are filling your time with things you enjoy doing but it doesn’t make you any less busy!  Chelsea, Lindsay, and I have by no means perfected the art of preserving a staple friend date but we’ve been doing pretty good lately with a few simple hacks so we thought we’d share.  We all live in different parts of the bay area now, separated by trains, buses, and boats.  Literally.  This past week, we had a standing dinner date and were talking about how consistent we’ve been lately and how a few things have helped us preserve our cherished time together.  In case you need some ideas to get your gal gang back together for some face time, here are some things that have helped us.

  • Get it on the calendar.  As soon as everyone can agree on a date, we add it to our calendars so we don’t accidentally double book and have to cancel.  Give it some space, too.  Every week might be too much of a commitment for everyone and being so frequent, might give people a way out since they can just join next week.  Not that we are suggesting tricking friends into hanging out :).
  • Make it convenient.  We’ve been meeting for coffee or dinner at the hub of transportation so before or after our meet ups, each of us can get on or off that train, bus, or boat.  Adjust for the groups needs, for example if someone is trying to stick to a diet, go for a walk.
  • Make it quality time.  If everyone only has an hour to give, make sure everyone has a chance to talk about what’s going on in their lives good or bad.
  • Try new places or specials on the menu!  We’ve been going to the same place for a few meet ups lately and have tried a few different menu items each time which has been really fun.  This brings an added touch of excitement to an already fun meet up.

img_2037Here we are trying the lemon shake and an assortment of fries.  What can I say, they were delicious!

I also have frequent FaceTime/phone dates with one of my gal gang who has moved out of state.  We have a standing calendar save for a phone date but even if we can’t connect that week, we still text and communicate so at least we aren’t letting too much time go by before checking in with each other.

What are some of the ways you’ve been able to make time for friend dates?

Bodysuit Hack – Turn it around!

img_2069(Bodysuit – Madewell they no longer carry this one but here are some others, Jeans – American Eagle, Bag – gift from my mom that she got in Italy at a market, Necklace – gift from my brother/sister in law from a fair trade market in Sonoma, Sunglasses – Forever21)

When bodysuits started to become a trend, I loved how flattering they were on people and I really wanted to try them out.  However, I could never find one that looked like it would fit well or wasn’t too skimpy for my body type.  I ended up buying this one here in this post from Madewell one day without trying it on with the thought process that since it was long sleeved, how could it go wrong?  Well the V-Neck cut of it was just too deep for my chest and it’s been sitting in my closet for months.  One day my friend and co-worker, Mallory, walked into the office with this adorable back swooped body suit that I had to ask about.  Turns out, she had a similar problem as myself and was crafty enough to figure out that a good way to still wear the bodysuit was simply to turn it around.  I went from never wearing my body suit to it being one of my favorite tops thanks to this hack!

img_2076I love how classy the high neck looks on the body suit now.  Someone even complimented it the other day and said it looked like an Audrey Hepburn look the other day.  I was so flattered!

img_2091A friend passed down these Madewell booties to me and they are so comfortable, I wear them all the time.  Also, props for all the clothing swaps I’ve had with my friends and family.  I truly get such great use out of hand me downs.

img_2072When in doubt, flip it around!  Thanks Mallory for your creativity and outfit hacking!

Happy 4th of July everyone – enjoy the holiday week.

 

Fresh Rain.

2015-11-01 23.58.39November brought a heavy rain to the Bay Area (Guns N Roses would be proud). It was so heavy that it actually woke me up from a deep sleep. My favorite thing is to stay under my comforter and listen to the rain hit the roof. It let up after I got up for the day so I was able to see remaining rain drops coming off of our cafe lights and trees in the backyard.

2015-11-01 23.55.33(The trees got to soak up the rain, which they really needed)

2015-11-01 23.58.54(We strung cafe lights above our mini orange tree- they provide a ton of light in the evening)

2015-11-01 23.56.10(Any excuse to pull out my Sorel rain boots- obsessed)

I can’t wait for more rain, it rinses all of the stress away. Do you love the rain too?

A Celebration of Life.

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My dad passed away very recently after a 9 year long battle with liver cancer. I miss him every day but cherish the memories and laughter that I had with him for the past 32 years. This past weekend my family and I boarded a schooner and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge to scatter his ashes alongside San Francisco, the city that he loved so much. It was a beautiful day filled with crisp air, an adventure that he would have loved, and a wonderful family. It was a day I will remember for the rest of my life and a trip that he wanted us to take to see the city and bridge as he saw it- magical and one of a kind. Here are some photos of the journey we took, I thought I would share them with you because it was such an amazing ride that I feel so honored to have taken.

IMG_0004_2(SF Bay Adventures was kind enough to let us use the magnificent Frida B for the afternoon)

IMG_0013_2(Alcatraz and the city in the distance)

IMG_0016_2(Approaching the bridge)

IMG_0024_2(The fog rolling over the trees)

IMG_0034_2(The fog came in as we were heading back to Sausalito)

IMG_0036_2(We toasted him under the bridge)

IMG_0053_2(A view I never tire of seeing, the fog over Sausalito. It doesn’t get much better than this)

Nick took a lapsed video of the fog hitting Sausalito. This was our day, it was everything that makes the Bay Area perfect and every day I feel so lucky to live here. I know my dad left this world but I feel him all around me, all I have to do is look at the bay and I know he is there.

Color Matching.

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I’ve been into purple hues lately when it comes to nail polishes and lipsticks.  Since I tend to wear simple colors, this helps me add some pop.  It can be hard to get the right tones for your complexion but once you find the right match, you can rock the color combo through all seasons.

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{{ lipstick – MAC’s Up The Amp  – Nail polish – OPI’s Lost My Bikini in Molikini }}

Blue Angels Recap.

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Over the weekend, Fleet Week was happening in San Francisco and you can’t help but notice the planes flying overhead.  With a brother who is a professional pilot, I’ve seen a lot of planes and I can say they never get old.  I am fascinated by them and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Angels fly this past Saturday.  I sat on a beautiful roof top with some friends and watched the show while snapping pics.  Here’s my photo re-cap.

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Half of the Blue Angels flying upside down.

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There were many other planes that flew as well like this little red trick plane.

Balancing Jacket.

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My good friend, Harry, is always fun to talk fashion with as he usually keeps up with the latest trends.  He was telling me about the balancing jacket trend and I decided I love it.  Your jacket keeps you warm but if you are already in kind of warm weather, you may want to put it on and take it off intermittently.  Such is the case in San Francisco, it seems the weather can never make up it’s mind.

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This is a trend I think I’ll keep around 🙂

{{ Photos by: Harry Go }}

Friday Photography Tip.

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When looking for a good spot to shoot photos (for your blog or of others if you are a photographer), one really good tip I’ve picked up along the way is where to place the background.  Your subject will pop out much more if they are further away from the backdrop so long as it’s not a distracting background.  This will leave your subject the main point of focus and everything else will be slightly a little more out of focus.

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As you can see with the above photo, the floral is nice but a tad distracting.  The background is also really close to me so it’s very much still in focus.  Not that this is a bad photo but the first photo is much more interesting.

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Get outside and play around with it this weekend (and don’t forget to send us a link if you post photos with this technique)!

The Golden Hour.

IMG_5497{{skirt – H&M, top – H&M not online but alternative here, tank top – Nordstrom BP}}

Chels and I did a quick shopping trip to H&M recently and were pleasantly surprised with all of the fun work clothes they have right now.  I got this fun patterned skirt and sheer lace bottomed top that I paired together.  It’s an easy way to jazz up your work wardrobe for those who don’t want to spend a lot.

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I love the combo of patterns and colors.

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Get some fresh air after work today if the golden hour is just right :).

(Photos by Roberto Jimenez)