Labor Day Weekend Getaway

The week before Labor Day, Dai casually suggested that we drive down to LA to see his sister and nephew for the holiday weekend. After gushing over recent photos of his 2-year-old nephew floating around in the family group text, Dai was really itching to see that boy. We didn't have any plans for the weekend and neither of us mind the 6 hour drive too much, so I said why not? Plus, I know what it is like to miss my nephews and always feel like they are growing up so fast, so I want to support every opportunity for Dai to bond with his own nephew :)

Friday was the last day of my internship (bittersweet, but more on that later...) and I immediately went home to pack for our weekend road trip. We hit the road later that evening and arrived tired at Dai's sister's doorstep at 2am.

We mostly did just normal, low-key things like go to the farmer's market, hit up the gluten-free bakery we love, check out a coffee shop, go to the biggest Whole Foods we have ever seen, eat lunch at Porto's (a local fave!), go to the beach for a swim, take Marly to the dog park, and make a Costco run. Dai and I also had dinner with two of his childhood friends who live in LA, so that was pretty special too!

The one thing I was not too fond of was how HOT it was alllllll weekend. A major heat wave swept the Bay Area this past weekend, but I was not expecting it to be so grossly hot and humid LA since the weather leading up to that weekend had looked pretty moderate. Anyway, Marly was not the biggest fan haha. Any chance he got, he would just lay on his side, preferably on the bed in front of the two tiny fans I was using to desperately try to make sleeping not so uncomfortable (no AC!!).

One night while we were there, Dai and I went to the beach to catch the sunset. We sat in the sand together, watching the waves roll in and be sucked back out to sea, and talked about life as it is right now. Honestly, it was simple and it was wonderful. I feel so lucky to have this man by my side as I face all that life has to offer.

I had no idea that seeing him with a stroller would be so attractive ;) Oh man, talk about baby fever! Don't worry, I will resist for several more years haha.

While we were there, Dai took me to this cute little nursery that he had seen during his last solo trip to visit his sister. He saw succulents and knew I would obviously love it (I mean, have you seen my Instagram??) I got to do a bit of browsing (read: giddily taking photos with my iPhone) and picked a new pot to plant the succulents I recently got from the farmer's market while I was visiting my family in San Diego last month. I also got a new little succulent friend because I just couldn't resist and they were super reasonably priced!

And of course I had to include the neighbor's cute pack of dogs that I met. They just happily chill out here in the front yard and greet everyone that goes by. I love it.

We were prepared for the worst holiday traffic heading back home, but we got lucky and didn't hit any traffic at all! We had already accepted our fate of traffic and that was the only part of this trip that we weren't looking forward to. I guess we were being rewarded for our spontaneity!

This was the perfect little weekend trip and has made me want to say yes to more adventures because why not?

How was your holiday weekend?

Adventures with Danica

Over Labor Day weekend (which was already a month ago, WOW), I had the pleasure of finally meeting the beautiful brunette to my right in person! Miss Danica of the blog Dust Particles (formerly Love, Danica) lives in southern CA and happens to visit the Bay Area every year around this time. I remember first coming into contact with Danica when she left a comment on one of my posts this past winter/spring and we have followed each other's blogs ever since! We talked for months about meeting during her annual trip up north and I was really happy that we were able to make it happen :)
After whisking her away from her sweet husband who drove her all the way into the city to meet me instead of having her take the train all alone, we started things off how every friend date should start in my opinion: with coffee. Dai told me about this cute little place called Front Cafe in Potrero Hill and Danica seemed like the perfect special person to share it with. I got a simple cold brew, while Danica got a drink that had a nice big scoop of vanilla ice cream in it. I definitely know what I'm getting next time! Also, the drinks came in mason jars, so obviously I was sold on the place.
After we finished up our coffee, we decided to head out near the Embarcadero and wander around the Ferry Building. We parked the car and walked along the water towards downtown, snapping photos and chatting as we went. It was sunny, warm, clear, and not too windy. We really couldn't have asked for nicer weather! We got a lunch of cheese toasties from Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building and sat outside by the water to enjoy it. 
When we were finished, we made our way up Market Street a bit before deciding to ride the cable cars! Danica had never had the pleasure of riding them, so we figured why not? It was a fun and rather crowded ride the first leg of our trip, and then on the return trip the cable car decided to break down right in the middle of an intersection! No joke. The driver ended up being able to move us out of the intersection, but we were stuck there for a good 30+ minutes. After a while, all but three riders decided to walk it instead of waiting for the cable car to start running again. Just as we were about to do the same, it thankfully started back up and we were able to finish our ride.

After that interesting adventure, it was time to start making our way to meet Danica's husband, Stephen. He kindly let us change the plans a bit to meet him in a city across the Golden Gate Bridge so that Danica and I could have the memory of driving across it together. I really wish I had photos of this because it was so beautiful! I have been over the bridge countless times, but it really never gets old to me, especially on a clear, sunny day when you can see the entire bay and the water is glittering blue.

We got caught in tons of traffic, of course, because it was a beautiful holiday weekend in the city and we were panicking just a little because we were super late to meet Stephen, but he was the most patient man I think I had ever met. Just so sweet! So very understanding and really just wanted Danica to have a great time, even if it meant he had to sit in a coffee shop and wait for her for an hour. Claps to him! He has really earned my respect by taking such good care of his lady :)

I guess to sum this all up: I love Danica and can't wait until we meet again! It has been quite a while since I have met another gal pal who I click with so much. I felt like she really understood me and that we could relate to each other in so many ways! I think I just may have found myself a new BFF!

It is really a bummer that she lives in southern CA, but luckily Dai and I will be down there at the end of this month and we are already planning to see each other :) We are also going to try to have our guys meet since it turns out that they are both baseball fanatics. Double date! Yay! And of course you know I'll be documenting all of our adventures together for the blog ;)

Here's to more blogging friends! How lucky am I to have gotten to meet two blogging friends within one month?!

P.S. I just can't get over how much I love that first photo of us! It's just perfect!

The unplanned hiatus.

Hey guys! Did you miss me? You were probably wondering where I disappeared to! I didn't mean to take a hiatus and not tell you all, but it just sort of happened that way. Things have been busy with adjusting to school and my new job as a nanny, being pretty sick, AND working 13 hours on Saturday. But no fear, I'm back!

Over the weekend, I went exploring in the Mission District of SF with my friend and a map of where the best thrift stores are that his coworker made us. It was a nice walk around the area on such a beautiful sunny, hot day. I got these jars at the first store we stopped at for only $2.44 for all four of them. I was satisfied. I actually ended up only buying those jars, but my friend and I made it a mission to find him all seven Harry Potter books at the thrift stores. We did pretty well, getting 5 of them for $5 (2 were hardback!). I am so proud that I have converted him into a HP lover :)

I love going to thrift stores, but I wish I had the patience to sift through all of the clothing racks to find treasures like the ones I tend to read about people finding on blogs. Tell me, what is the secret?! I'm sure it is patience, which I very much so lack. 

After walking around, we decided to get some ice cream to cool off since it was so hot in the city. We stopped off at Bi-Rite Creamery, but the line was around the corner and up the street. Holy cow. But we found the loophole! Which was the Bi-Rite Creamery soft-serve hut right next to it, which only had two flavors, but only a few people in line. We were in. I got a mix of salted caramel and chocolate. Soooo good. I'd show you a picture, but I didn't care at that point to take one!

On Monday, we played bocce ball by the lagoon near my house (they have actual bocce ball "courts"!) and sat on the grass to read and take in the beautiful blue lagoon as people walked along the water. As you can see, Marly did some reading of his own (or begging for snacks). I have been loving being able to tote around my drink in a mason jar. It just  tastes better for some reason ;) Also, mixing my own drinks are so fun! Some of my favorites are Trader Joe's Pomegranate-Limeade mixed with lemonade, and TJ's Mango Green Tea mixed with lemonade as well!

Well, there you have it, pretty much what I've been up to! Sorry to abandon you guys last week <3