Houseguests

Last night my parents left San Francisco after staying with me for five days. We had one-bedroom-apartment campouts which included an air mattress on the floor of my living room and testing my hot water heater’s shower limits. Good news is everyone was able to sleep somewhat comfortably and keep clean, so it was at least one step up from outdoor camping.

Their vacation, and my staycation, was a combo of staying really busy with fun, San Francisco local treats (not rice) and making time for naps, peppered with a few adult beverages and many delicious meals. I have some fun pictures and stories to share from our time together, which I’ll be doing over the next week or so in a couple different posts.

Despite all the plans I packed into their five-day stay (including our first time in Napa!), it was really great to just be around my parents, doing regular stuff. We took neighborhood walks, grilled at my house, fixed a few things on my car, and talked a lot about everything going on in each of our worlds. My parents are so great; I really miss being able to share regular dinners and day trips with them in Seattle. But I look forward to us exploring SF together a couple times a year, and I’m working on convincing them to move to Napa wine country! Sneaky, sneaky…

Currently Feeling: So sad about Ben’s proposal on The Bachelorette finale. Man, that was brutal! I JUST caught the finale – what did you think?!
Currently Anticipating: A pirate pub crawl tomorrow for a friend’s birthday, and a barbecue birthday scavenger hunt in Sonoma on Sunday!
Currently Loving: Tamales! I’m obsessed now!

First July in San Francisco

Have you all given up on me, yet? I swear I’ve had every intention of filling you in on all the FABULOUS things I’ve been doing this summer in San Francisco (and how equally fabulous the city is). But then somewhere between writing nonstop blog posts for multiple clients, I oftentimes give up on my own blog. I guess a friend of mine couldn’t have said it better:

I’m sure that getting settled into a new city seems much more exciting than sitting around writing about it.

True story! So, after that half-hearted rationale, here’s a recap of my first July in San Francisco:

I was super lucky to be included on a cabin trip to Lake Tahoe for the Fourth of July with a new friend of mine (and three of her long-time friends). The popular SF summer and winter destination is a gorgeous juxtaposition of snowcapped mountains and royal blue waters with temperatures around 80 degrees. Perfect! We spent most of the weekend relaxing, sunbathing (reading on the beach for me, of course), and grilling amazing meals. Peppered with a few adult cocktails, Drinking Jenga and laughter with new friends, it was a welcomed break from the city and a fun new way to spend my favorite holiday of all time (next to Halloween).

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Hippee

This past weekend I pumped up my bike tires out of the tired winter slump and bought myself a little bike basket! I’m so excited! Mostly* because the basket will fit my bag (with my laptop) or grocery bags (and Trader Joe’s is within bike-riding distance), meaning less driving my car and more exercise to get to coffee shops for work or to run errands. Win, win!

When I texted a pic of my new basket to one of
 my BFFs, she called me a "Hippee." Ha!

I accidentally bought too much at Trader Joe’s my first go at bike riding home with my goods. Like a 30-pound bag of stuff! It made the front of my bike “top heavy,” and my balance was all thrown off. It was a treacherous ride home! Lesson learned: bike riding my groceries home will not only be great exercise, but it will decrease my over-spending too! Yippee!

*Partially because I see more bike riding time in my future this year while living in a less rainy and cold city.

Currently Feeling: Great after burning k-cals on the elliptical tonight – I’m excited for all the group classes at the new fitness center I joined (across the street from my house).
Currently Anticipating: Figuring out my Fourth of July plans! Lake Tahoe might be on the horizon… it’s weird to try to make plans with a bunch of people you don’t know very well for such a big holiday! Normally I would have been the one planning a cabin trip or joining best friends at a lake house… oh comfort zone, you’re by-and-by.
Currently Loving: The seven-layer bean dip I made (with carrot chips instead of tortilla chips)!