Last stop on our Grand Tour of 2018: San Francisco!

J had a work conference that mandated a trek to San Fran, and I was all too eager to leap at the chance to experience a bucket list city of mine. We (a mere four days after returning from Texas--don't know how you frequent fliers do it) boarded another flight to California, admittedly a bit anxious about the wildfires that were feverishly tearing through the state nearly 200 miles north, as we'd heard the smoke was creeping as far south as the city. Sure enough, the sky gripped a thick, haunting sheet of gray as we descended into SFO. We trudged on with weekend plans, mindful of the residents who--in addition to the constant donning of surgical masks--were tasked with going about their days-to-days while dealing with the uncertainty of a horrific disaster looming counties away.

Saturday, we concluded our five hours of flying, then settled in at our downtown hotel for a bit. before finally skirting out for burritos at a local place that came recommended (Papalote--pretty decent! The salsa was unique and really good). A couple blocks away, we indulged in late night coffee and sweets at Mission Pie, which I can absolutely recommend.


Sunday morning, we set out exploring--first stop was the Ferry Building Marketplace. Such a unique smattering of shops and eateries under one walkable roof, overlooking the beautiful bay. We sampled small batch chocolate at Dandelion, snacked on empanadas at El Porteño, and scooped up macarons at Miette. We ogled pottery at Heath Ceramics and I grabbed a tea towel and Christmas ornament (my favorite travel souvenirs) at Village Market.


From the Ferry Marketplace, we Lyfted over (at the hand of perhaps the most SF-sports-trivia-informed driver known to mankind--bless you, Chris) to Baker Beach-- a locale we'd been recommend due to its being a bit off the standard tourist path, and therefore a little slower and less populated. Thankfully, the smoke had dissipated a bit and we lounged in the cool sand and took in the sputtering of salty, breezy waves for a lazy, early afternoon.



After retiring to the hotel for a bit so J could get conference-ready, we departed a while later for dinner at flour+water. Sweet Lord, can we pause a minute to reflect on one of the best meals of my life?

...

Thank you.

After dinner, we walked over to Trick Dog for cocktails... a painfully cool (and easy to miss, unmarked) bar right up the street. Fun fact: the folks there create a cookbook once every six months, which doubles as their bar menu. The drinks were superb and the atmosphere really hip, and yet inviting.

Monday, I ferried over to Alcatraz and was completely transfixed for the duration of the morning. I'd always known the island to be the site of the infamous prison, but never gleaned many details beyond that. The audio tour is incredible--I highly recommend fitting this experience into your San Fran travel plans. There are fascinating details woven into the 3-4 hours of exploring there--for example: did you know the site was considered too expensive to keep operable in the '60s as a prison, therefore it was closed--a handful of years later, a group of American Indians staked their claim there for nearly two years in an effort to protest their having been removed from their native lands across the country? Oh, I ate it up. So much detail and a very well curated excursion.


I made my way back to land and grabbed an underwhelming lunch at the Wharf before admiring the smelly sea lions, basking on their piers. I found my way to Ghirardelli Square, bought my body weight in peppermint bark and chocolate, then carefully selected souvenirs at Lola, an adorable shop in the cluster of retail at Ghirardelli Square. A long afternoon done, I settled in at the bar at San Francisco Brewing Company for a flight before ambitiously walking the nearly completely vertical climb to Russian Hill Bookstore. After grabbing some gems, I quite literally stumbled into the Loving Cup for some froyo before meandering back to the hotel to my sweetie.


Night two of dinner began at Finn Town, in the Castro District, followed by cocktails (and attempting to avoid what may have been the most awkward first date ever) at the Beehive--a '60s-vibey lounge with drinks to match.


Tuesday, I again kissed my guy goodbye, as I pounded pavement for my last morning in the big city. First up was breakfast at Wooden Spoon--incredible huevos rancheros and an adorable vibe--not to mention fabulous conversation with the bartender, who shared her San Fran story with me. I walked deeper into the Mission District to grab a beverage at Bi-Rite and all of the baked goodness at Tartine. I finally found myself at Dogeared Books (are you finding a trend here?), where I got lost for a bit before needing to make my way back to J at the hotel, and our awaiting departure for the airport.




All in all, it was a whirlwind weekend tailored to exactly what we love: indulgent food and cocktails, history, time outside, some solid retail. A few tips, before I go:

• We spent a lot of our time in the Mission District. This wasn't planned--it just happened to fall into place based on the places we wanted to patron.
• It should come as no surprise that the heavily tourist areas are around the Wharf, and Pier 39, and sure, Alcatraz too. When we travel, we gravitate toward the holes-in-the-walls, or at least, places that are highly reputable, but don't necessarily top every tourist list that is google-able in a five-second whim.
• Some elements surprised me about San Fran too. The homeless population is expansive, and parents of downtown are considerably gritty (as most large cities can claim). There were entire streets dedicated to rows of tents and clusters of people gathering together. 
• While a lot of areas are adjacent enough to each other to glance at a map and think you can walk, be wary of the incline! There is substantial fluctuation in elevation throughout the city--so consider yourself warned.
• Something that dazzled me was the depth and span of culture and ethnicity that covered the city--as millennial-esque as it sounds, of our 8-10 Lyft drivers, they all appeared to be from a vastly different background based on physical traits, the music they were listening to, the conversations we had. This fascinated to me to no end--I drank it up.

All-in-all, a pretty magical weekend! I can't wait to go back.

And hey, 2018 is half over!

The past six months have been so good to me. SO ridiculously good to me. I've always been a glass-half-full kinda gal, but reflecting back on this year sends me into a fluttery tailspin of giddy gratitude, and I'm more aware than ever of this charmed life I lead. I just feel so full--full of experiences, full of love, full of excitement and anticipation--as much as I've always leaned "optimist", I've never really known a sense of happiness like this.

Where have I been, you may ask?

Where haven't I been?

I wrapped my first full year in a job that was made for me--a hectic event season, driving all over the southeastern US, breaking fundraising records, and a TV appearance thrown in there. It's been a whirlwind, and I couldn't be more grateful to work toward ending the illness that took my mom, alongside a team whose time spent laughing is only rivaled by its collective dedication to do good work.

I finished up serving as a VP for Junior League, and--while the year was exhausting to say the least--I walk away with a better grasp on my leadership skills, sweet new friendships, and a clearer focus as to what drives my volunteer heart.

The boyfriend is just a dream. We've skedaddled from concert to concert... then playoff hockey games where he dutifully threw the catfish. We've indulged in lazy afternoons, sampling beers at our favorite taprooms, and laughed til our sides split at wine nights with the Smiths. We've binged more than our share of TV shows, thrown all of the tennis balls at the dog park, and graced all of the sporting events. We've trekked home to Kentucky for weekends surrounded by his huge, hilarious family, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder cooking together in our kitchen, pups weaving in and out of our legs, hoping for a clumsy spoon bobble. Our life is so sweet... hokeyness aside, I wish I could pause time sometimes.

I've capitalized on my Rent the Runway subscription, as we've danced the nights away at the weddings of dear friends and a spring gala, and I've co-hosted a couple of sweet baby showers and felt my whole soul light up, receiving the news that these babies were born.

I spent a far-too-short weekend (accompanied by negative wind chills) with my sweet dad, visiting his stomping grounds in southwestern Pennsylvania, loving on his people as he played tour guide to his sleepy hometown--down to me convincing him that roller skating at the exact rink he grew up spending his Friday nights in was how we needed to spend our Friday night.

I've caught up with friends and made headway on my ever-growing reading list. I've simplified where I can, and streamlined so much in my life. My relationships are stronger, my purpose continues to become clearer, and I've never felt so loved, supported, and fulfilled in my three decades on this earth. (It's nauseating, right?)

Thank you for still reading here, and supporting me despite these prolonged absences... I'm still here, I promise.

So what's next?

More weddings and roadtrips. Baylor homecoming and a jaunt to Austin. Piggybacking on one of his conferences in the fall and visiting the east coast.

More writing, more reading, more involvement in Nashville. Who knows what the back half of 2018 holds? I'm perfectly content with letting the chips fall where they may.

Fifty-five days sit between today and 2017. That's seven Sundays until Christmas Day, eight before a new year is sparked. Everyone seems to plow through this last stretch of the year at a feverish pace, but it's always been my favorite to try to savor... my birthday and Thanksgiving, and all things Christmas are reason enough to slow down and breathe it all in, but there's more to it than that.

It's intentionally considering the conclusion of another year... of what began as another list of weighty goals and proposed plans, dripping with promise, to months later, finally reflecting fondly and finding the grace for yourself to accept what was and what wasn't, all of the good with the bad. To not allow the holidays to drain you, to not feel down about not tackling enough of those resolutions, but to button up the year knowing it was exactly what you needed in one way or another.

That's a deeply accurate description of the stage I'm firmly planted in right now. My personal history of loss around the holidays always casts its own shadow, but with each passing year, the ache is dulled a bit more. Also? I've learned more about myself in the past year than maybe ever (get ready for that annual birthday post), and as much as I am grinning through these last few bustling weeks of 2016, I'm really, genuinely excited to embrace a sparkling, fresh, new year.

Until then...

T-minus two days until the most effed up election ever. TheSkimm has done a pretty fantastic job of informing voters this election cycle--can you believe it? 95,000 voters were registered through this insanely cool start-up.

Oh. In case you are still in need of a November desktop calendar, here's the one I'm using.

I'm ridiculously excited for one of my all-time favorite books to make it to the big screen.

New emojis?! Predicting I'll be using the crossed fingers and avocado a'plenty.

It's old news at this point, but did you watch the World Series? I adopted the Cubs for the week, so I'm thrilled that they pulled it off--side note: I had not one, but two lengthy conversations with guy friends who teeter on psychotic when it comes to sports--on whether adopting a World Series team is considered being a bandwagon fan. I say no--that it's just a little luxury afforded to Americans who crave competition and love sports. They both think otherwise. What say you? Regardless, there was just a lot of goodness to come out of this year's World Series. (there are three links tucked in there, don't miss them!)

True to my long-standing November tradition, I bought my 2017 planner this week... can't get enough of Sugar Paper's sleek and playful paper goods.

Nashville has been ridiculously warm for November--but I'm really itching to make some ratatouille. What's your go-to chilly weather recipe?

I finished Jessica Valenti's Sex Object today. So, so, so grippingly good--a solid memoir, alongside highlights about how society has basically encouraged and embraced the objectification of women, and what that means for us as a culture, and as individuals. My synopsis doesn't do it justice--I definitely recommend it.

Kacey Musgraves gifted us all with a Christmas album, and one of my BFFs surprised me with tickets to see her for my birthday! "Excited" doesn't even begin to cover it. Christmas music, Kacey, the Ryman... all the heart eyes.



What are you most excited about this season?

Hello, hello, hello!

Summertime, man. And all at once, 2016 is half over.

I'm in the throes of planning and doing all of the things (baby shower! independence day feast! etsy store! book draft! show after show! travel, travel, travel!) and wanted to pause for a breather to catch up on my little corner of the internet. I'm (finally) perfectly okay with just checking in when I want to, versus stomaching the blogger's guilt that formerly ensued upon realizing weeks--nay months--had passed between my ramblings. But these warmer days have been treating me just fine, thank you, and I've stayed all kinds of busy... I've bounced around on planes and highways for the past six weeks (six states in as many weeks!), but you know? Life is good, and I daresay, the living is easy.

(forgive the variance in photo sizes. I don't have the time or patience.)

Between ample pool time and girls nights,


 and skipping around to shows,

(Mayer Hawthorne)





(The Lone Bellow)



(Punch Brothers)



(Lumineers)





(Avett Brothers)



(Wild Feathers--show two of three for the year)



tearing it up at hockey playoff games,


lazy weekend mornings together that turn into the coziest of afternoons,



dinners spent belly laughing with friends,




lots of QT with my best girl,


first of many trips to The Peach Truck,



marveling at the my new shelves,



a gorgeous, breezy Memorial Day in Kentucky,





a long, rejuvenating weekend home in Texas,













hosting sweet friends for weekends of exploring my city,


requisite summertime snacking,



a little bit of work travel in one of my all-time favorite cities,




starting a new study that I'm crazy about with my small group girls, (go get a copy of Brene Brown's Daring Greatly),

to finally, finally, savoring some sunshine and dipping my toes in the Atlantic,




...sleep hasn't been a top priority, per se, but I guess you could presume that summer in Nashville is looking pretty fabulous from where I sit. And that 2016 has been pretty good to me so far.

I really, really hope yours is shaping up to be as wonderful!!