Twenty-Five In San Francisco

What ever happened to predictability? ;)

For my 25th birthday, Jared and I took a mini vacay and headed up north to do a little exploring in San Francisco. The only thing we planned ahead for was the Alcatraz tour (completely and utterly worth it) and, of course, where we'd be eating (duh). A couple of weeks before we left, I mentioned that, rather than plan every single detail, I wanted things to happen more organically during our trip; well, that statement quickly bit me in the ass as Jared repeated it multiple times just to piss me off (brat). Anyway, like I said, our itinerary was pretty, well, non-existent, but I have to say that we really made the most of our time there (so much so that we ended up in bed pretty early each night because we literally explored from 10 to 10). We roamed through Chinatown, shopped at Union Square, had clam chowder bread bowls at Fisherman’s Wharf, a bougie brunch in the Fillmore District, a puppy play date in Little Italy, and even grabbed some delicious banh mis from the Tenderloin  (Saigon Sandwich; best I’ve ever had). So, to SF and all of its delicious eats and quirkiness (scenery and citizens alike): thank you, we love you, and we'll be back soon.

Fashion Friday: His & Her

Crème de la Crème: The 86th Annual Academy Awards

I'm keeping this short and sweet because I'm sure you're sick of all the Oscar talk by now. Care to discuss? If so, leave a comment below. Don't really care? Then at least do yourself me a favor and watch John Travolta screw up Idina Menzel's name. Okay, at the very least, Travoltify your name. Now.

Shields Date Garden

Nope, not getting married. Not even engaged (not complaining). This weekend, in effort to avoid the rain, the mud, and the shitty drivers of LA/SGV, I fled my suburban life (AKA my parents' house) for the desert to hit up one of my new favorite spots: Shields Date Gardens.

Fresh Kicks: Nike Free 5.0 V4

Okay, I realize that I'm super late on hopping on this whole "sporty chic" train, but it took me so long to find a style/color scheme that I knew I wouldn't get sick of. Well, I finally found the perfect pair of Frees right before my SF trip because I knew I was going to do a whole lot of walking. I brought approximately four pairs of shoes to SF: some riding boots, a pair of Madewell flats, my Free People kitten wedges, and my Frees. Can you guess which pair I ended up wearing the entire trip? Yuuup, you got it. I hate to say it, but Free Runs definitely live up to the hype. Not only are these babies comfy as hell, but the army green/brown combo compliment so many pieces in my wardrobe. Plus, I get a lot of compliments on 'em. :) On da real doe, when it comes to shopping and fashion, versatility is key for me (and should be for you, too!). Oh, I guess I should also work out in these since my old New Balances have seen better days (to New Balance's defense, I've had them for 7+ years and they still feel great; they're just really gross now). Anywho, cop a pair of these shoes here. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Bloggin' Ain't Easy

There, I said it.

But seriously, I started yet another new job and things are going great so far. I may have said that last time, but things quickly went downhill after my last post. Let's just say I found out first hand what it was like to be Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada, but instead of a glamorous high fashion job, I had a shitty job. A really shitty job. Anyway, my new gig allows me to do something that I actually kind of love. Yep, you guessed it: write.

A couple of things to note before I start this thing again...

1. I'm not living in LA for the time being, which means you'll be seeing a lot of the SGV and other areas that are more east. Yeah, I never thought I'd be frequenting areas that are more east than my parents' home. You'd be surprised though; I've found a lot of gems.
2. Speaking of my parents... I have two new roomies and their names are mom and papa (hi guys!). That's right, folks, I'm typing this post in the room that I grew up in. Surprisingly, it's not as bad as many would assume (free food, no rent, free parking galore, etc.). So once my company moves to the new office in LA (it's under construction), I'll be moving back.
3. My new living sitch doesn't mean I won't be in LA at all for the next several months. My sister and most of my friends are still out there, which means I have an excuse to visit a lot. Plus, I still have the keys to my old place, so I guess I could sneak in when the tenants are sleeping? Lolz.

Stay with me, guys. I promise to share some goods eats, laughs, pop culture/fashion insights, and hopefully bring some purpose or meaning to your guilty pleasures. Like why you're still obsessed with The OC and why you wish Jennifer Lawrence was your best friend and -- okay, I'll stop there. Feel like you've been missing out? Here's a mish-mash of my life as of late (well, sorta).

snippets of my birthday in SF, where I finally got to see the Painted Ladies on Steiner St. AKA the place where Uncle Jesse used to live / my birthday dinner at the new Plan Check location on Fairfax and a little birthday dessert at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in Rancho Cucamonga / the puppies of my life that don't belong to me, but I like to pretend they do / my fancy broiled avocado with heirloom tomatoes and sea salt; so Pinterest and so perfect / just because peonies from my boyfriend's mom that blossomed right before my eyes / cronuts, which were exactly what they were hyped up to be / delicious date shakes from Shield's Date Garden in Indio and a killer view from the Palm Springs tram / beach day in Santa Monica because, duh, I'm a Cali girl; plus, it was still warm in January / finally found Colette Miller angel wings at the Century City mall / Lock & Key in K-Town, which is just as hip as their sign suggests / my bestie threw a surprise birthday party for her BF, which included a cameo by his favorite animal: a sloth

The Big 24 in San Diego

I'm a little late (5 months to be exact), but here is a little something I put together from my birthday in San Diego with the bf. In this video, you'll see good eats from Hash House A Go Go, the scenery at Balboa Park, little critters at the San Diego Safari Park, and The Keating Hotel in the Gaslamp District. I have to admit, I developed a little crush on San-D while we were there, but alas, Los Angeles still has my heart. Enjoy!

San Diego, Febrary 2013 from Genevieve Capul on Vimeo.