Original Thought, and Renaming This Blog

Lower Nob Hill

At a yoga session this past weekend, the instructor talked about our brains having no original thought, as well as how difficult it is to completely quiet the mind, even with yoga. Therefore, we could practice being aware of our thoughts and guiding them. After all, no one actually controls your unoriginal thoughts but you. (And also, when going through a challenging yoga practice, my thoughts were completely guided by what my muscles did and didn't want to do.)

Today we have so many platforms to express our thoughts and see what everyone else is thinking about every possible subject. There's so much content to consume, if we let ourselves. Social media can be great, but it also tempts many of us to spout off whatever is on our mind at a given moment, without any further consideration. Is that really the stimulation we want, for ourselves and those around us? For me, the practice of composing a longer post also helps me guide my thoughts and express them more coherently. It makes me slow down and pay attention, to be more mindful of what I send out to the world. Because of course it's also not just about  "me" or even "you" but the world around us.

And that is the overall purpose of my blog, and why I rechristened it this year as "Mindfully Modern." Throughout the content blitzes and hectic schedules, my goal is to remain discerning and to still be able to see the simplicity in life. Enjoy the world today, and reflect on it. Namaste.

Productive Relaxation, Recent Inspiration

It was so nice to have a three-day weekend soon after the holidays. The extra free time quickly got filled up and I tried my best to be productive while taking time to hang out with friends. After all, I am happiest when my free time matches up with my loved ones'. Luckily winter here is pretty mild so being outside and getting around the city is still pleasant. Yoga and a short hike, both with friends, made physical activity even more fun... though probably did not fully make up for the good food I had this weekend. :)

Recent jaunts around San Francisco:

• getting a post-holiday facial at Credo, an organic beauty boutique/spa that opened in the city last year (thanks to a former Sephora exec). I've been here a few times in the last year and every time has been so relaxing and good for my skin. For anyone interested in cleaning up their beauty routine, check out their site!

Tata Harper Spa at Credo

• catching the views from Twin Peaks... slightly cloudy on the day my friends and I went, but you could still make out the bay, the ocean, and the bridges and see how gorgeous the city is:

view from Twin Peaks

• picking a wonderful charity to benefit from a happy hour organized by a friend:

the samfund

And lately I've been reading...

• different perspectives on the recent (kinda scary) activity in the markets: by Schwab and by NYMag
• a millennial's take on getting a financial advisor 
• after watching the movie Joy last month, a friend recommended this article on selling on the QVC network 

Back in San Francisco

NYMag

Happy New Year! (Can I still say that?) I didn't make a New Years resolution but that's mostly because I don't have anything 'new'*, I just need to continue aiming for the things I've been trying to work on: being healthy and productive and having fun. That's about as detailed a manner as I want to conduct life right now. So now we're almost two weeks into 2016 and I've just spent some time just refreshing the things around me and getting back into the flow after the holidays:

Cleaning up: 

I cleaned up my phone by deleting the apps I don't use, ~1,000 photos (after backing them up, duh), texts and the media still embedded in them. I freed up 4+GB's of space which is pretty awesome since my phone is two years old now and I want to keep it for a while longer. I also went through my closet and cleared out items to donate. It's funny that I've spent a few years supposedly paring down my wardrobe but still had a bunch of stuff that I don't wear anymore. 

Shopping:

Related, I'm putting myself on another shopping hiatus for the month (11 days down!). I still keep a running list of 'wants' on my phone, so this will give me time to consider what I should actually buy. I did have 'new sneakers' on there for a while, but I got a gift card for Christmas so I was able to get them. I still have some gift card funds left, so I'll use those on the 'wants' that still make the cut when my hiatus is over.

Eating:

I did a big grocery run with the aim of planning/making more meals and filling the kitchen with healthy snacks. I spent one afternoon making a pot of bolognese sauce and meatballs, and they came out wonderfully. I also gave up coffee... and succeeded for a weekend, because on Monday I accidentally ordered a cup along with breakfast. The habit is strong, apparently. But, I'll start over and see if I could skip it for the rest of the week, then maybe reward myself with some good SF coffee this weekend.

Relaxing: 

I started/finished both seasons of Mozart in the Jungle which is really enjoyable. I'm happy for GGB winning the Golden Globe, and counting on Amazon saying yes to a third season. The show is quirky and kind of like a Wes Anderson film turned into a modern-day sitcom. Reading-wise, I've started a couple books in the past month - Gloria Steinem's My Life on the Road and Aziz Ansari's Modern Romance: An Investigation. Enjoying both so far but not really rushing through them, so maybe I'll write more later on.

Finally, I've started catching back up with friends since getting back home, and walking around the city. Travel plans are being dreamed up. In the short term, hiking/brunch/yoga plans are actually being made. I'm excited to have some friends and family visit soon, too, so I can share what I love out here and see my home city through their eyes.





*In case it sounds really boring to not have anything new, last year I went camping and ice skating for the first time, and those weren't planned out resolutions, so I'm not worried.

New York & LA

Back home and back to the grind. Here are some photos from the holiday break, when I was visiting family and friends:

I got to spend a couple days in New York, and the weather was so mild that I ended up walking about 60 blocks (~3 miles) through the Upper West Side one evening. I caught up with old friends over drinks and Shake Shack. 

Another afternoon was spent strolling around Central Park, going ice skating in 60-degree weather, and browsing through the Plaza Food Hall. It was a Kevin McAllister-inspired afternoon, if he were a 30-year-old woman visiting from California. [Side note- I'd never gone ice skating before, so hooray for finally doing it and not even falling on my tailbone.]

Columbia University

Columbus Circle (with a visit from Karl the Fog)

Plaza Hotel

Plaza Food Hall

Central Park ice skating

Then it was back to the West Coast but instead of heading straight home, we took a detour to Southern California. We spent a couple nights in LA, concentrated in Koreatown, Silver Lake/Los Feliz and Downtown, plus Glendale. We stayed in The Line hotel and enjoyed their views, their design, and their food (check out the loaded "notchos" in the pic below, they're addictive). This is probably the coolest-looking hotel I've stayed in - "concrete chic" as you can see in a photo below. I like the desk-as-headboard move, but I love the serape-covered chairs. Pretty much every design-y item in the room was available to buy, which is a pretty smart marketing move. We walked up and down Wilshire Boulevard a couple miles in sunny weather, and hit some golf balls at Aroma driving range. 

We had a lovely tour guide in the form of the husband's childhood friend and long-time LA resident. We grabbed lunch at Grand Central Market in DTLA (like The Plaza Food Hall, but seemingly less touristy) and walked around the Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall before popping into MOCA. I also caught up with a grad school friend over brunch at Messhall Kitchen in Los Feliz (no pics but check out their site)... We've gotten to hang out in a few cities now. All this was before heading out to Joshua Tree, and it was a lovely way to end the year. 

The Line Hotel

way over yonder, the Hollywood sign

concrete chic at The Line

POT Notchos at happy hour

breakfast at Commissary

Commissary at The Line

memorial at RFK Community Schools

Grand Central Market

Disney Concert Hall

New Years in Joshua Tree

I spent the long New Years weekend staying near Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. We rented a house with friends in a little desert town ("town") that was fairly close to one of the park entrances. We made our own meals, watched movies on VHS, did a puzzle, and read. The place was rustic, but it was nice to come back to after exploring the park: a couple hikes, some leisurely walks, and a (tame) rock scramble. Amazing views were abundant, as were feelings of being just so tiny in such a big world.

our 'home' for the weekend

a hike up Ryan Mountain on New Years Day

view from a lone Joshua tree on Ryan Mountain

Cholla cactus garden

sunset from the cholla garden

view from within Hidden Valley

views from the Barker Dam hike

sunset from the Barker Dam