Date Night + An Outfit

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

West Coast Love // Nopalito

This is one of my new favorite places here in the Bay Area. It all started two weeks ago when we were attempting a family photo shoot with my aunt, uncle, and cousin visiting from Texas. The last shoot I had done of them was last summer in Houston when I was living with them, so we wanted to try to fit in an updated session while they were here. We wandered around Golden Gate Park in hopes of finding the perfect spot for the portraits, but alas, when a two-year-old is over it, there is no hope. We decided that the best thing for everyone was to find food ASAP, so I quickly looked on Yelp for the best thing that was near by. That's when we found this gem.
Located in the Inner Sunset District, Nopalito offers traditional Mexican comfort food in a modern and vibrant environment. I loved it as soon as I walked up. I mean, look at that cute table, the modern chairs, the bright green paint around, and those huge succulents.

Also, I think it is important to note that I really love eating out with my Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jacob. Their company is lovely, of course, but it is really because they are 100% okay with eating Mexican/Latin food pretty much every day. Just. Like. Me. That's how you know you have found your food soul mates. (By the way, we ate at a place called Cafe La Taza the day before and then ate at Sol Food the next day. So, basically it was a perfect eating week.)

I appreciate details, so I loved the small fold up menus, the glass bottles some drinks were served in, and the interesting light fixtures throughout the restaurant.
Housemade almond horchata. I've never been a huge fan of horchata, but this stuff was delicious. If I could insert an emoji, it would be that one with the hearts for eyes.

I ordered the chicken mole enchiladas. WOW. They were so, so, so good. The sauce was rich and sweet with just a little bit of spice. I must say, I always choose enchiladas wherever I go, and these were amazing.
The best photo of the day. Not a photo session, but just a snapshot from the girl sitting across from this little family.
My mouth is watering as I write this and I am thinking of ways to convince Dai to take me here for a date night before we go to Japan. They have different menus for lunch and dinner and I am just dying to try their dinner menu as soon as I can.

I hope you enjoyed another peek at a spot around SF and that this restaurant maybe makes your bucket list for your next visit to the Bay Area!

As my Aunt Jenny would say, "You had me at 'Nopalito.'"

Nopalito // 1224 9th Ave,  San Francisco, CA