Holidays / Vacation

Union Square, SF

The past few weeks have been filled with holiday get-togethers: there was the ugly sweater party, the champagne party, a Santacon party, a birthday brunch, and an old-school-hip-hop dance party (gotta love SF).

I'm getting ready to take the next couple weeks off and end the year by catching up with friends and family on both coasts. Before I hop on the plane, I had to get some adulting done: cleaning up the apartment (which I try to do before any travel, as well as before each new year), drawing down on the food already in the fridge but having some staples in the freezer and cupboard ready for when we get back, and taking care of bills. Also, remembering to take some Airborne.

I'll probably write about the year-end activities and travels next month - in general, my only plans/responsibilities are to soak up time with loved ones and chill out. Hoping everyone out there gets to do the same.

Cheers :)

Snapshots

our Christmas tree

Saturday in the Mission

24th Street, Mission

Life & Links Lately

pinterest

Holiday activities are in full swing. I like the excuses to dress up (whether it's dress-up dress up, or an ugly sweater event (I found an ugly sweater at Goodwill for $7!)). We've started receiving Christmas cards and ordering presents. We've been decorating the apartment, too, although that's been a little more haphazard. Slow decor is a thing, right? Also, I am really enjoying that it's "the holidays" but it's 60 degrees outside.

Gift Guide 2015: Getting off the Hedonic Treadmill

Wondering what to give your loved ones when they are fortunate enough to have what they need and capable enough to go get what they want? Or, perhaps, thinking of what you can get to treat yo'self during the holiday season?

November Wrap Up

November was a mix of new and old: I went to my first-ever NFL game and also did a 5K fun-run with friends from the office (okay, I've run races before BUT this one was different). I also went bowling with friends (before they dropped me off at the airport!) and hung out in Dolores Park for the first time in a couple months... gotta love the warm temps in mid-November... and visited home for almost a week.

Travel to Make the World Smaller

A hastily (but carefully) packed duffel bag or carry-on suitcase, a laptop and a bunch of small items hidden within a sleek tote, an electronic boarding pass getting scanned from my phone - for me these are the hallmarks of travel. I like to think I'm pretty good at packing a bag and living temporarily on the go. Not that that is a vital part of travel, but it really really helps.

Inspiration: Home Design

from pinterest

This year marked three years of living in San Francisco, and it's been the longest time I've spent in the same apartment. Someone recently asked my husband and me if we were indeed still in the same spot, and we said, "yea, same place, but we did just rearrange our living room furniture, so it feels kinda new!" It really is the little things, sometimes. 

I've loved interior design since I was a kid but also had limited ways in practicing it. A few throw pillows here, an accent wall there - generally things a young adult on a tight budget would do. (This post on home decor to get rid of by your 30s actually came out on my 30th birthday, and my husband and I had a laugh reading it.) Being a little more settled now has allowed us to spend our time and effort on building a home, albeit in the confines of a city apartment that we probably don't spend enough time in. All the more reason to have it look like we want it to (within reason), so that we can fully appreciate times when we can be homebodies.

Our apartment is pretty open-plan, so you can walk in and see most of the place right away. Originally we floated the couch to create more of an entry-way, but it also closed off the room a bit. By switching up the positions of the couch and a chair/ottoman that had been against the wall, we changed the flow of the room. I know, deep thoughts, right? I can't point to one single photo that led me to consider this layout, but that's not how inspiration needs to work, at least not on me. Here, a few rooms that speak to my influences...

Life and Links Lately

This time of year is always busy at work for me, and with daylight savings it feels like I have less time to get everything done (I've spent the last two days practically glued to my computer). But, I'm getting through it and looking forward to some fun stuff coming up. Here's what's caught my eye in terms of good reads around the web:

This article on Daria is great for showing what a smart cartoon I was watching as a pre-teen and for pointing out that the show is available online!

Hooray for Steph Curry getting a wax figure at Madame Tussauds. The behind the scenes video for having a figure made looks pretty cool (and only slightly creepy):

In another Bay Area feature, artisanal businesses are moving into the Bayview. This article in San Francisco Magazine interviews how people feel about it, and it's a pretty balanced take.

This feature on How Women Define Success is fun (famous people!) and insightful (pretty good takeaways). 

October Wrap Up: Music Month

October was about simple pleasures - live music, gatherings with friends, and spending a personal milestone in Big Sur.

A California Castle

Wikipedia

At the beginning of our Big Sur roadtrip, we stopped at Hearst Castle, the publisher's former estate off Highway 1 just south of Big Sur. The property is now a state park and a gorgeous museum. It took decades to build, and was designed by Hearst and Julia Morgan, a prolific Bay Area architect who was also the first licensed female one in California. (She also designed a community center right in my neighborhood, no big deal.)

Big Sur, Big Birthday

Edge of the world (Garrapata State Park)

My Fellow Carpool Passengers

source; google images

I take Lyft Line as much as I can, since it reduces my costs (I mean, I know I'm still splurging by avoiding/being lazy about Muni), and since San Francisco is really not that big that a carpool would seriously delay me. I come across lots of different people riding Lyft Line. Presented, some of them, without (much) comment:

• the two people who I joined when we all got off Caltrain, and someone remarked, Lyft is like the school bus for adults
• the girl who joined carrying an Hermes shopping bag
• the guy coming back from a fancy restaurant who told me i HAD to go to the wine shop in our neighborhood if i really wanted to be a local
• the guy coming from a business dinner who remained silent and I think may have used the carpool feature by accident
• the guy and his visiting mom, on their way to church - mom is asking him about his bank account and about buying a new mattress
• the girl leaving happy hour to go home and walk her dog
• the couple eating Escape from NY pizza in the back seat (perhaps my favorite so far)
• the girl whose one-night-stand ordered a SHARED cab for her
• the guy who just moved from NY to SF and works with a friend of mine
• the guy who just moved from NY to SF to move in with a boyfriend, and then got dumped and now needs to find a new place to live

Role Models: Why Not Me?

goodreads

A couple weeks ago I read Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not surprising since I'm a fan of her first book as well. The "All the Opinions You Will Ever Need" section was my favorite (it featured the great essay on confidence). Her reflections on said confidence, body image, 4 a.m. anxieties, and hard work are hilarious and completely spot on.

September Wrap Up

Gloria Ferrer winery, Sonoma

Another wrap up post, another moment of disbelief that another month really has gone by. With a lot of hot weather ("hot weather" will always remind me of Uli from Project Runway Season 2) for San Francisco and the surrounding area, the theme for September (besides finding a fan for the apartment) was being outdoors and exploring different parts of the city:

Life (& Links) Lately

good advice, Mission district

I've had a bunch of ideas and unfinished drafts for posts that hopefully I'll get to soon. It's hard to believe summer is 'over' though in SF terms we are still drawing it out. This past weekend I was at Ocean Beach for a few glorious hours with friends (& their friends) coming and going. It was one of those serendipitous times when everyone is actually free at the same time and willing to meet in the same spot.


Links I've Been Reading:
Claire Mazur's My Beauty Uniform interview on Cup of Jo - I really love the Of a Kind newsletter by Claire and her business partner Erica, and I'd be lying by omission if I didn't say I admire Claire's curly hair.

a reflection on clothing purchases on The Billfold - recently I donated another (small) bag of clothes that mostly came from the "I haven't worn this in a while but maybe I still want it" pile. Luckily they weren't items I purchased in the past year.

Good news came today in that my alma mater made a gesture in support of Cosby's victims and women everywhere. This is the first time Fordham has taken back an honorary degree. Sometimes there is a little bit of justice in the world.

Elle's interview of Judith Light - I finally got around to checking out Transparent and love her in it, so I googled what was up with her.

[updated] This interview of travel writer Kelly Lack after I came across her instagram and heard about the new app Spot.

I also finished Mindy Kaling's Why Not Me? in less than a week (that's really quick for me these days) while commuting and waiting for a table at a trendy brunch place. I definitely want to write more about that - and some friends and I decided we should finally just create a book club and make that our first book. Coming up soon are a family visit, some concerts, and some friends' weddings. Finally, I have just a few weeks left of my 20s. I always consider my birthday my own personal 'new year' and, helped along with back-to-school season I guess, usually around this time of year I try to recharge and consider how far I've come (pretty far), and what else there is to accomplish (quite a lot).

The Characters of Dolores Park

come here often?

Fogust has ended and I am fully enjoying San Francisco's Indian Summer... which has actually started with a bit of a heat wave (80s/90s) in the area. I know, I know, I can't complain... but I am about to buy a fan for my very warm apartment.

Anyway, this was the perfect weekend to head out to Dolores Park. I never have a bad time in the park. I've been going about once a month since early spring and besides enjoying the scenery and the sunny weather, I am always entertained by the good people of San Francisco. There was the time a group of fun-lovers took a rainbow parachute (the kind we used in gym class/playtime growing up) and ran around to cover different groups of people in it. Another time, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the drone that was watching all of us - was it friendly? was it recording? was the owner even in the park? Just realized I haven't seen the dancing robot in a long time... not sure what to make of that.

August Wrap Up - NorCal Summer

urban sidewalk garden, Mission district

Lately, I haven't had much free time during the week outside of work and work-related events, so I've particularly savored any down time. And while I took a few much-needed moments to space out on the couch as well as to clean and organize my neglected home, I also wanted to continue taking advantage of free time to hang with friends and explore the area. I've gone around the Bay Area a bit (floating down the Russian River, barbecuing at China Beach in Marin, chilling out in Half Moon Bay). In the city itself I've mostly stuck to my part of town, going to a couple more Giants games, checking out some new-to-me restaurants and bars, and trying to avoid Karl the Fog during the month of Fogust. A while back I read this post on Apartment Therapy and realized I adhere to the mantra: "The city is my living room." In words and pictures here is what August looked like:

Summer Weekend: Mendocino Farm Life, Beaches, and Brews

Last weekend I had a quick getaway with some family up in Mendocino County, which is about three hours - and a world away - from San Francisco. My husband and I have visited the area before (wrote about it here) and each time we head up, we get to see a little more of the area. Here are some photos...

Links I'm Reading

Mindy Kaling on gaining confidence: 

Work hard, know your shit, show your shit, and then feel entitled. - Glamour

I have been thinking about role models recently and Mindy is definitely one of them. I can't wait to read her new book when it comes out next month. For some more Mindy goodness, I liked her recent post for The New Yorker on TV tropes.

I've never been that into Goop (although I dig their travel guides), but this FastCo interview with Gwyneth Paltrow and CEO Lisa Gersh is fascinating: Fast Company

An old(er) article on San Francisco's Get Out and Lean (GOAL) program that helps students finish high school. Sadly, the teacher who founded it died recently, and his family, friends and students have been paying tribute to him on the local news and in social media. Here's hoping the program continues. NYTimes

Looking forward to having friends and family visit San Francisco soon, and dreaming up how to entertain them:
Golden Gate Park
Restaurants Galore
Ocean Beach
Wine Country
HMB chillin'
anything outdoors

In the meantime, I'm heading on a weekend trip and watched this (from CNTraveler) as inspiration:

Summer Style

Over the last couple years my wardrobe purchases have slanted toward neutral/minimalist/basic (it just makes it so much easier to get dressed in the morning!) but that doesn't mean I've completely ruled out the fun and bright pieces. Here are some of the items I've bought in recent months to round out my summer wardrobe, aka what I throw on when I'm headed to the park, to brunch, to the stadium, the beach, the woods, the bar, etc. 

Except for my Birkenstocks, my sandals from previous years are pretty worn and I need more comfortable options. I found the above brightly patterned cloth espadrilles on the clearance rack at Anthropologie and they have been so fun to wear around; they are actually padded which I find rare in espadrilles and they feel like I'm walking around in slippers. They're a jolt of brightness to otherwise neutral outfits. The sandals below are a Nordstrom Rack discovery, and the silk pineapple-print top was a sample sale find from Amour Vert, a local sustainable (& beautiful) clothing line. I also bought printed silk pants at that sample sale though sadly I haven't taken any photos with them; you'll have to trust me when I say they go nicely with a plain top and sandals.

And here are some of the more neutral pieces making up my wardrobe, aside from the usual jeans and t-shirts:

July Wrap Up (Three Years in San Francisco)

from Pinterest

This month is my three-year anniversary of moving to San Francisco! Since I moved here during the summer, every year around this time I am reminded of that whole process, especially the housing search. I remember thinking, somewhat arrogantly, that if I could survive the NYC apartment search and even the DC market, then surely I could secure a place out in this "little" city. 5 days and 15 appointments/open houses later, I finally put an earnest deposit down on a spot, and it's become my home base for the past few years of West Coast adventures.

With that, here's the latest...

Summer Travels: NY-NJ-DC

ESB

I just spent about a week across the country back in New Jersey, New York City, and Washington, DC. Since I'm from/have lived in these places, I stayed with family and friends. My luggage mostly stayed in one spot, and I'd have a tote bag of everything I needed for the next 1-2 days (all hail the mighty tote bag). Even though I was out there for a whole week, it still felt like a whirlwind because there's always so much to do and so many people to see.

New Jersey to me is always family time, first with my family and now including my husband's. I don't have any pics from that time but I enjoyed seeing the relatives as well as catching up with old friends. Usually in the summers I get to go down the shore at some point, but this year I just didn't have the time, although the weather hadn't been that great for the beach so that's how I'm comforting myself. This trip did have a some mall shopping (NJ loves its malls and no sales tax on clothes), breakfast at a diner, and late night disco fries, so that it was good quality Jersey time. 

New York is always fun because even though I'm fairly certain I'll never live in the city again, I love going back to visit and walking around to see what's changed and what is still the same. Even though it was ridiculously humid on the days I visited, I walked about a cumulative seven or eight miles through the city. I was in Brooklyn (walked from downtown to Fort Greene), Chelsea, Midtown and Harlem. I finally got to go to The Grange which my friends had recommended for a while now... I am a little sad it didn't exist back when I lived up the street. 

Ft Greene

Yo is Brooklyn in the house...

street art

Then the reason for traveling this specific week was actually to end up in DC for a friend's wedding... actually two classmates of mine from when I went to grad school in DC ended up falling in love and getting married, and they decided to have their wedding near where they met. It was at a beautiful vineyard in Virginia, the weather was perfect, the music was this awesome 90s cover band whose concerts we loved back in school, and of course it was wonderful to have such a wonderful reason to hang out with good friends.

Bluemont Vineyard

Of course being a whirlwind trip, we ALSO saw a friend of mine from undergrad - a friend I had met when we studied in Spain, who moved to DC after I moved out of there. I hadn't seen her since my own wedding and it was good to spend a little time with her and her husband, see their new condo, and meet their adorable rescue dog. Again it was fun to see all the latest changes in a city I used to live in and see old friends make their home there.

And now I'm back home, back on the grind. It'll be another few months before I head back East but I am already looking forward to it.

homeward bound

Quick Links

Currently stuck in an airport and writing this while waiting for my delayed flight back home (& deciding what fast food meal to bring on the plane). I've gotten to read some good stuff while traveling over the past week, such as:

The first chapter of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman, which is like catching up with an old friend:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-read-the-first-chapter-1436500861

I liked this piece because I am very anti-princess-wedding. 

http://intothegloss.com/2015/07/wedding-makeup-inspiration/

I finished reading The Martian, which was highly recommended by a friend and now I'm recommending it as well:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EMXBDMA/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Another benefit for naps (as if we needed 

more convincing):

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2015/07/10/naps-may-improve-our-frustration-tolerance/?referrer=

(late) June Wrap Up

flower arrangements by Bloom That for Negroni Week

I like to have a recap of each month so that I don't just let it fly by without some reflection, or at least acknowledgment. Summer is flying by, though, and so much has been happening, and I can't believe it's July (wasn't it *just* MDW?).

June went by so fast because there was so much going on. It started off with Negroni Week, and a friend & I got to attend a special party thrown by Women & Whiskies. I hosted a couple events for my grad program (one bringing together alumni, and another for our incoming & current students interning in the Bay Area this summer). And I also attended batting practice with a couple friends before a Giants game, and we got to walk along the field before the game started!

pre-game!

For more nature-oriented activities, I went camping (for the first time!), up at Lassen. It was quickly followed by another camping trip at Marshall, part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. On the first trip we had a cabin that we drove up to, but for the second trip we kayaked to the beach and set up tents along the shore. Our tent was on a bed of clover and protected from the wind/mist under some pine trees. In the past couple months I've gotten a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and tent... basically I can go anywhere now.

camping @ Marshall, CA

Farewell to a fun June, and cheers to a great upcoming July!

Life Lately: Friendships & Gratitude

Stable Cafe, SF (taken a couple weekends ago)

Yesterday turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day in the city (& I was in the Richmond, Cole Valley/Haight and Potrero Hill... aka neighborhoods with quite different microclimates.). Today I'll be hanging in the park for a coworker's birthday, and it looks to be as equally beautiful outside. Summer is in full swing and I've been getting to see lots of different friends. Friends from high school and undergrad have passed through the area recently for work and we were able to meet and catch up. I am so thankful our paths keep crossing even as we've each moved around, and know that it helps I live in a major metro area.

Overall I have so much gratitude for the friendships I've developed in the last few years, whether deepening relationships with old friends or forming new friend circles. Making (& keeping) adult friends can be tricky what with scheduling, multiple social circles and other commitments. It's no longer the cliques of middle school but an ever-evolving/expanding crew where everyone is welcome. It helps that many of us are recent transplants to the city and are exploring together. I have always tried to be open to new people but that doesn't mean I wasn't a little concerned about making friends when moving out here (or rather, moving further from a well-established network). Since I'm not sure yet if I'll be settling down out here for good or making another move (though not anytime soon), it's in the back of my mind that I may have to redevelop friendships again down the line.

Other things I'm grateful for: current good health among loved ones, since this hasn't always been the case; upcoming travel plans to see family and friends, including a wedding; the ability to pick up the phone and call a childhood friend to catch up on life; a busy but productive week at work. 

Weekend Off the Grid

home sweet, no-electricity-or-plumbing home.

I'll admit, camping per se has not been on my bucket list. Mainly it's because I wouldn't be good at it. If the apocalypse came and we'd have to use basic survival skills, I probably wouldn't be around for much longer. I still appreciate majestic views and the chance to unplug as much as the next person, though. Back in January when a group of our friends decided to reserve a cabin in a national park in northern California we said "sure!" (and then I had to order a sleeping bag). Well it was finally time to go. I took Friday afternoon off from work, told my team I wouldn't have internet access until Sunday evening, and peace'd out.


We drove to Lassen Volcanic National Park which, I have no shame in admitting, I never heard of before moving to California. I'd first heard of it a couple years ago when a coworker went camping up there, then when I read Wild last year. It's far enough from the nearest city ("city") that camping is basically your only option to make the trek worth it, and it's not as crowded as other big name parks. I think our group definitely looked like a bunch of 'city folk' but we're fairly outdoorsy and we were pretty gung ho about camping, or rather, glamping. We cooked all our meals over the campfire and used only one gas stove, mostly to boil water... and everything was delicious. My husband chopped firewood, taught our friends all about campfire-making. We had a hammock, the ultimate slow-your-roll piece of "furniture". Our phones were on airplane mode... we weren't getting service anyway... but we still used them as cameras, of course! I brought my kindle and did a little bit of reading among the redwoods, but mostly just hung out admiring nature and chatting with the friends (You know you're in good company when you don't need outside entertainment).

Creativity

from The Muse

When called for, I am all about just being heads down and working through busy periods. I find that having a routine is a big part of keeping stress away, as it requires less taxing decision-making. But I can't live in a bubble and let the routines make life monotonous and so I also enjoy seeking out new things and exploring more of the world around me. This helps me feel rejuvenated and often informs other parts of my life, even if not immediately. Some things I've come across lately:

Check out Type Drummer, which creates a beat based on your name (or whatever else you want to type in). I appreciate someone creating code for this simple little musical entertainment.

I went to the BottleRock Napa Valley Festival and while they've had local food and wine purveyors for the first two years of the festival, this year they added a culinary stage featuring the musicians cooking alongside chefs. This elevates it from traditional cooking show to musical and foodie entertainment. The show we got to see at this stage featured Michael Franti, Zella Day, Wavy Gravy and the folks from Ca Momi in Napa. They discussed their philanthropic endeavors and even sang a couple songs, and of course passed out some wine and fresh made pizza. It was corporate-sponsored so I assume it brought in money to the concert organizers, but also it provided another dimension to this festival that I haven't seen at others.

BottleRock Culinary Stage

Moving on from performers and chefs, Fast Company featured its list of Most Creative People and I especially enjoyed the Q&A with Megan Smith, CTO of the country:

What are some things you do to refresh your mind when you're in a rut?
Sometimes I go different places. One of the things is, for me, my job is so broad that I'm constantly moving topics. Traveling around. Context switch. Whether it's doing different things within the city I'm living in or being with different communities. I like to see what this group of people are doing or what that group. Shift context and location. There's a really cool place—Chautauqua. My mom used to run the children's school there. There are lots of different topics people are talking about. So it's a good refresh place. It's like a TED conference founded in the 1870s. My mom lives there now. All my cousins go. We all go. They'll do biotech and then the Civil War. Edison was there. Mostly for me, I think it's just good to context-switch a lot, and I do that a lot in my job—work on different topics.

Finally, these tips on boosting creativity from The Daily Muse... they are simple actions, and I like that. Being creative doesn't necessarily mean only having a burst of genius influence. Having a blog is one way for me to keep up some creativity, at least in getting my thoughts out of my brain and into a share-able narrative. It may not be a creative endeavor in that it doesn't produce a tasty recipe or catchy song, but it's somewhere I can document my experiences, and the way we process our experiences can contribute to creative problem solving skills down the line.

May Wrap Up

sunset at Bodega Bay

Some favorite moments of May: witnessing dear friends celebrate marriage; having my best friend visit from out of town; celebrating my husband's birthday with a weekend getaway and hiking among redwoods; and as always enjoying San Francisco during meals with friends and meandering through the Mission. I'll be at a music festival this weekend, which is the best way I could think of to start the summer.

Travel Bug

from a 2012 trip to the Philippines

I love exploring and traveling - they're not necessarily the same thing but travel in particular has always excited me. It was instilled in me from a young age - first, my parents put us on a plane and moved us to the other side of the world; then we would pile into the van and go up and down the Eastern seaboard seeing all the sights. Since then I've loved going out to see the world around me.

Exploring Guerneville, CA

Guerneville, CA

This past weekend I went up to Guerneville in Sonoma County. My first time up there was last summer, going up to Johnson's Beach (on the Russian River) with friends; separately my husband had gone through there for work, and we both wanted to explore the area more...

Treat Yo'self

Mashable/Getty Images

This weekend I got a haircut, foot & back massage, a Pilates class and a new sweater. :)

It would be nice to say I planned this weekend to be full of self-care but in truth it just came about somewhat organically.

April Wrap Up

Well, last month felt like a blur. There were milestones to celebrate with friends: birthdays, a baby shower, and I kicked off May with a wedding of dear friends last weekend. April started with Easter weekend, and ended with watching the team my husband coaches win against their biggest rival in the last game of the season. (Then May started with watching them win their league championship, in double OT!) My favorite activities in April included volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club (an event I set up through my office) and seeing The Book of Mormon. And in between all these things there was work and sleep and such...

personal photo

A Number (Thirtyish)

April at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

This month marks my half-birthday, which maybe isn't a big 'thing' but I remember using it in college as an excuse to party. This year, it marks a six-month countdown to turning 30. I remember being 25, living in Washington DC and going to drinks after work for someone's birthday. It was their 30th and they asked me if I wasn't anxious about turning 30. I shrugged and said something like, "Nah, I don't see a reason to be... plus that's a long way off." Welp, those five years have come and (are almost) gone!

A lot's changed for me since then. Some changes were big milestones (grad school, moving cross-country, new job, marriage) but I'm sure there are many more changes that have been subtle and slow-burning. So when I turn 30 it may not feel like much of a change from today, but compared to 25 (and especially to 20!) it's huge.

I still don't see a reason to be anxious, but I do find myself more reflective on aging recently:

Life Lately

Fable, San Francisco

I went to brunch with my husband and a friend and my husband kept commenting that the restaurant patio reminded him of being in another country. I love traveling but don't have any set plans coming up, so hearing this made me smile. I love feeling like I'm on vacation when I'm actually right at home. The above photo is what he was looking at. The food was really good, too.

Not much to write about today but these are some interesting articles I've read lately:

• A happy ending for a female exec getting support to advance her career
• Put a good spin on your life - it's healthy
• How the Apple watch got made
• The danger of faux oppression

Not-so-impulsive Buys

For the past couple years, I've been paring down the contents of my closet, donating all the things I just don't wear anymore, and usually buying only classic basic elements to round out my wardrobe. A few things factored into this endeavor: I started a new job (w/quite a commute) and wanted to make getting dressed easy despite not being a morning person; I moved across the country, got married, and began sharing an apartment (& closet!) with my husband; and I just didn't want to keep adding to the fast fashion industry. It's not like shopping ever put me in debt, but the Pareto principle definitely applied to my wardrobe, so I also realized I didn't need to spend money on additional items beyond the kinds I wear most often. I had started viewing shopping as more of a hobby and not a necessity, and there are other things I'd rather spend my free time on.

I've been trying to practice a little more simplicity and minimalism rather than impulsively buying the trendy stuff at fast fashion spots. I am definitely inspired by sustainable brands (like Amour Vert's awesome basics) but also I can be more 'sustainable' by refraining from buying cheap things made to fall apart. I keep a running list of items I want/need on an app on my phone and a Pinterest board of wardrobe workhorses. These mechanisms remind me to consider my purchases in the full context of my closet, and choose things I can wear for a long time. 

I am still a design-loving consumer for sure. I'll flip through magazines and check out Remodelista and WhoWhatWear and random blogs. (Brooklyn Nine-Nine had a nerdy joke about going to a museum to see an exhibit of a chair, and my husband & I burst out laughing because we both knew I'd totally do that.) I've just tried to be more mindful of my personal style versus fashion trends... I'm no "minimalist pixie dream girl" but I can read about trendy items and still feel alright wearing an old sweater and simple jewelry out in public.

I've noticed, over the last couple of years, that I make fewer impulse buys and I'm pretty happy about that (so is my closet). But this winter I tried putting myself on an outright shopping fast for two months and almost got through it. For over a month I didn't even go into a store. However, I would still browse e-commerce sites, basically for sport, fully aware I wasn't going to put anything in the shopping cart.

At the end of March, just four days shy of hitting my two-month mark, I ordered a pair of shoes. This week, I ordered another. Both pairs (suede d'orsay flats, and black ankle boots) are ones I've wanted for a year or so (I have older versions of each), and they could match nearly every outfit I wear. I ordered them now because I found out the exact ones I've wanted were on sale via some fashion blogs, and they were still available in my size. I thought I might feel guilty for not making it the full two months, but then I realized these weren't impulse buys per se and I'm glad I could pull the trigger on items that my closet has been waiting for.

March Wrap Up

I've been having this feeling all winter where I think it's more like May or September, maybe because the climate is so mild... I keep pinching myself that I haven't been buried in snow like the East Coast. Now it's actually Spring which means glorious 65,70-degree weather in the Bay Area. Granted it gets cooler in the evening, particularly in San Francisco, but it still feels great to get home from work with the sun still out. Here's what's been going on this month:

Whiskies & Weekend Walks

This week I had the absolute pleasure of attending Whisk(e)y 101, hosted here in San Francisco by Women & Whiskies. More and more women are drinking whiskey (or 'whisky' if you're in Scotland, Japan, or another country without an "e" in its name, as I learned) and smart companies are taking notice. While I've attended tastings for Jameson and The Macallan, this event was the most educational/enjoyable for me by far. Hosting ~20 women in a fun, nicely decorated venue, with a Bi-Rite spread(!) shows the Women & Whiskies team knows what they're doing. For this class we had the chance to taste Scotch, Canadian, and American Whiskies... and now I definitely feel more knowledgeable about the different kinds. I already ordered a bottle of my favorite from the night. 

Also recently... The weather has been awesome and I've tried to be outside during my free time as much as possible. My legs were sore from this picturesque hike just north of the Golden Gate, and I've been checking out the architecture in North Beach and the Financial District. There is nothing I love more as a city-dweller than being a tourist in my own city and admiring everything it's made of:

The Sentinel Building in North Beach, in the shadow of the Transamerica Pyramid

The Shell Building (1929) reflected in the Crown Zellerbach Paper Company Building (1959)