It is always a bit sad to see a weekend end, especially when it is a long holiday weekend. Luckily, I'm done with school for now, so the beginning of a new week isn't too bad ;) We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and I am grateful for relaxing time spent with family.
On Friday night after work, Dai and I kicked things off with a date night in San Francisco. Though Japan was kind of like a 2-week-long date, we hadn't really gone on a real date since we got back. Of course, we spend a lot of time together on a regular basis, but there is something nice about going out with the specific intention of feeling like our best selves, picking a special restaurant, and connecting with one another after a long week. Am I right?
We had been talking about visiting Nopalito near Golden Gate Park to try out their dinner menu. I had been there once before and loved it, but Dai had never been. He saw that the "Totopos con Chile" were popular on Yelp, so of course we had to get them as an appetizer. They were like nachos covered in spicy chile rather than cheese. Very spicy. But so good!
We also ordered the strawberry lemonade (the best I've ever had!) and the almond horchata, which was so yummy and now has me interested in trying to make my own at home this summer.
I was hoping to maybe quickly sneak in an outfit photo shoot after dinner, but by the time we finished up and headed over to the park across the street, there wasn't much light left. We decided to snap a few anyway, even though I wasn't really convinced they would turn out too well.
Golden Gate Park was quite breezy this particular evening, but the chill felt good on my skin. I should learn by now that it isn't unusual for it to be 10-15 degrees cooler in SF than at my house! Nonetheless, it was lovely to walk hand-in-hand and to enjoy the bit of daylight left.
I purchased this top from Anthropologie last week on a whim, since it was on sale and I was feeling good about getting an A on my art history final. Perfect grounds for celebratory purchases, right? I've been on a mint streak these past couple months and just loved the feminine lace/tulle details of this top. I especially dig mint paired with black because it just so looks so fresh to me (and also kind of reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream, my fave).
It had been a while since I brought my beloved Madewell tote out for an adventure and I was missing her. She is an especially nice bag to bring along when I am toting my camera and Dai's personal goodies too. I also find something so classic and easy about a jean jacket, so it is definitely my go-to piece to finish an outfit.
The rest of the weekend, I wanted to put this outfit back together to attempt photographing it again because I didn't think that the first shoot turned out well enough. Once I uploaded the photos from this evening onto my computer, however, I saw things differently. Though they did not turn out like I thought that I originally wanted them to, I think these photos of our date together with my outfit tell a nice story of our real life. I wasn't planing to even post about our date night, but since taking photos of everything is just what we do, I am happy that I saw these photos strung together as a post.
Sometimes it is nice to remember that ultimately this blog is a journal for me, a collection of experiences and stories for me to look back on. While I love sharing it with others and doing my best to produce high quality content, I thought that in this case it would be much more memorable for me to post about our evening, with all of its bits and pieces, as a whole, rather than a re-creation of an outfit that may be represented in more 'perfect' circumstances, but glosses over my genuine memories. You know what I mean?
We finished the evening by taking in the beautiful sunset in the park and heading to a new-to-us spot, The Ice Cream Bar. It was definitely delicious and I would love to go back to try some of their unique soda fountain creations.
The rest of the weekend was just as relaxing and mellow, with a family birthday party, a visit to see my mom, and a day in the sun at a water park. All in all, I think it was the perfect way to welcome many more summer weekends of fun and time together!
How was your holiday weekend? What are your thoughts about real life vs. 'edited' life in blogging?
Outfit Details:
Top // Anthropologie
Jacket // American Eagle
Pants // Uniqlo
Sandals // Urban Outfitters
Bag // Madewell
Necklace // Forever21
Bracelet // Lucky Brand
