California Looove

My craving for the beach was at an all time high the past couple of months with the rising temperatures in Vegas, so when the opportunity arose to get away with our friends to Newport we didn't think twice. Southern California is my favorite place to decompress after life gets a little too packed with routine, mostly because it's so close, so beautiful, and so massive. You have never seen or eaten it all..which is (one of) the best part(s).  I didn't think I could love Balboa any more (THE BARS.DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE…THEN TOFFEE), but then I discovered the buttered popcorn Jelly Belly dispenser in the candy store. They also had strawberry belts. How did they know?! Yes my sweet tooth is out of control, but so is my love for long beach days and salty hair, so the countdown starts now for our family trip to Oceanside in August! Maybe we will even sneak in a weekend trip before then. Fingers crossed. 

San Francisco Photo Diary

I'm just going to jump right in to the most important part of our trip: I completed a 7.5 mile bike ride, mostly uphill, part of which was the stretch of the Golden Gate Bridge (cue scoffs from bikers more experienced than I am which is everyone). For me, this was monumental. Sidenote: when we rented the bikes I had NO idea the bridge was so far away or else I might not be reporting on this experience.  I thought we were biking across the bridge...not pioneering into the western wild for miles and miles and miles and THEN crossing the bridge. Aside from my over-exaggerated sidenotes, this was absolutely an epic experience. During the ride I discovered one of my hidden talents, which is taking selfies while biking across the Golden Gate Bridge. Who knew? 

At first we rented a Tandem bike, but that caused a lot of unnecessary bickering because of the whole two people trying to balance on one bike thing, so even though we got the hang of it we decided to keep the peace, switch it out for regular bikes, and not kill each other on Valentine's Day (...still laughing about this and wishing our GoPro was on to capture our conversation).  

San Francisco is a food lover's (me) dream, so I'm already dreaming of a return trip to try everything we didn't get to in the 2.5 days we were there. It was the perfect Valentine's getaway and I love adding moments like these in abundance to our memory bank. 'Til next time, beautiful city by the bay! 

auf Wiedersehen january

January was funky and full of transitions. I had too many "just make it through the day" days this month, so that's how I knew I needed a change of pace and new eyes for new goals. Petty challenges have the ability to push a reset button in my mind, bring me back to what's  important, and push aside what isn't. I am so excited for February.  It houses my favorite holiday and this year we are spending it in San Francisco! Along with that I have a lot to look forward to, especially a fresh beginning, which I need every once in a while. My goal for February is to "enjoy" a little more in general and take more pictures! I just got a new camera so that shouldn't be too hard. Out with the old in with the new.