The East Bay is the best place for exploring neighborhoods and discovering all the flowers. There’s always something in bloom! The Hubs and I have put “walk new neighborhoods” on our list of fun things to do together. 🤗 First up: the Glenview neighborhood of Oakland. See Glenview through my eyes… Where should we explore next? Share your neighborhood stroll ideas below!
The Feyoncé and I entered a bike photo contest sponsored by Whole Foods Marin and Mike’s Bikes. The challenge was to post your best cycling photo in Marin County. Naturally, we had a photo shoot. It was a great reason to go outdoors and explore on a semi-rainy day. Yay adventures! Feyoncé was the star; I was the photographer/support crew. We drove up to the Mt. Tamalpais area, stopping every now and then for photos. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day. I ended up entering a photo from a previous bike adventure together…and I won!! My caption: He lets me pretend we’re a peloton. Adventures and silliness since 2008. 💕🚴🚴 #fuelmarincycling @mikes_bikes and @wholefoodsmarketmarin – We’re getting married next month! Help us get more bike gear and nutrition for our bike touring honeymoon! 😉😘😎 A huge shout out to Mike’s Bikes and Whole Foods Marin for the feature and prizes! We can’t wait to use our gift cards to get some fun gear and yummy energies for our minimoon bike adventures! Where …
Ice cream date on a chilly afternoon in the Bay Area? Yea, why not! Some lovelies and I ventured to Little Giant in Oakland for an afternoon of sweets. You can try a few flavors before committing, but I always end up with either coffee or dark chocolate (or both!). I had, you guessed it, the coffee ice cream…with chocolate sauce! It sure was photogenic. This lovely had her cranberry sorbet in a cone. Oh, and robots. Fill in the blank. My favorite ice cream shop in the whole wide world is ______.
BOBA!!!! I’m always down for a boba date. Morning or late evening, rainy or sunny, let’s go! Here is my top five for where to get milk tea in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ten Ren Pacific East Plaza, Richmond This place is a legit tea store so their boba base is perfectly brewed teas. I first got addicted to their avocado ice teazer (pictured); it reminds me of my childhood, spending summer days eating avocado and milk snacks. But my favorite TenRen milk tea is the roasted oolong milk tea. I can drink this on the daily. It’s not too sweet, and has just enough caffeine to provide a workday afternoon pick-me-up without the jitters. I usually don’t get tapioca, but when I do I literally ask for ten balls just to have a little extra sweetness. Mr. Green Bubble Piedmont, Oakland Mr. Green Bubble is just down the street from my favorite bead store, so boba and beads pretty much go hand in hand when I’m in the area. I really enjoy their jasmine and chai milk teas. Another …
My fiancé and I celebrated our 8th love anniversary a few weekends ago by adventuring to the Sutro District and Land’s End in San Francisco. It was our first time, and it was spectacular. We felt like big kids playing in a (somewhat dangerous) playground. Our first stop was the Sutro Baths which used to be an indoor saltwater swimming pool complex pre-1967, but is now an historic site, popular amongst both locals and tourists. I for one, was extremely stressed out climbing on the ruins for fear of falling and hitting my head on something hard. But it was a must! The views are lovely. We continued our adventures through the cave and heart spotting. Can you spot the hearts below? And then it was onwards towards Land’s End. This is a wonderful place to hike, explore, and spend time outdoors. Best part – you can’t get lost because most of the trails are loops, and there are plenty of signs and maps around. There are many places to stop for photos and enjoy the crashing …
I’m throwing back to the time my feyoncé and I explored Memorial Grove (Fall 2015). The view is lovely, especially on a clear day like this one. Ok, this isn’t really our backyard but it’s so close, it’s basically our backyard. We can see our apartment complex from up here! There are patches of trees and scattered benches. Beware of poison oak and narrow pathways that look like trails – they aren’t trails! We got a good workout climbing back up a path we thought maybe led somewhere. Wherever you walk, you’re close to neighborhoods and roads. There were many people hiking around solo in this park. It’s the perfect local getaway when you need a simple nature break. We spotted a rock spiral, too, and decided it would be a good idea to walk through. It wasn’t. We both got dizzy real fast. Whoops! On the way back home we found a smiley happy bush. Now that’s crafty! Where do you explore in your neighborhood? Share below!
Let’s be honest, I will travel for all things crafty. Now, Berkeley isn’t much of a trek, but I convinced my friends that we should visit uBe Art on San Pablo and Dwight for their holiday party and ornament decorating station. What a lovely art space! The gallery is filled with all kinds of art (watercolor, collage…) – each piece inspiring. The owner, Winn, is major friendly and all smiles. She had sweets and warm beverages for all, and a full buffet of craft supplies to create handmade ornaments. I loved all the gold and textures. I created a glittery acorn and a golden tag. My friend created a fuzzy snowman, which she gifted to me and is now the angel atop our Christmas tree. Head in to peruse the art, enjoy some conversations, or to get crafty — uBe has a line up of workshops, too. Are you creating your own ornaments this year? Share below!
I love soup. Even if it’s warm out, I’m game for a hot bowl of comforting pho, chicken noodle, curry, hot & sour, egg drop, sinigang, soon do boo…Mmm. Feast your eyes on these beautiful bowls of comforting broths, tender meats, and fresh greens. Beef Noodle Soup While waiting out an oil change, the fiancé and I found ourselves having lunch at Taiwan Bento in Uptown Oakland. I had the beef noodle soup which was especially delightful on this day because I hadn’t had it in at least seven months. The pickled greens, melt-in-your-mouth beef, and the sweet carrots provided a nice balance to a rich, savory broth. Recommendation: pair with the house-made soy bean milk. Korean Noodle Soup Ah, Spoon, one of my favorite East Bay eats for two big reasons. (1) They have delicious spicy tofu soup. I can’t get enough! And (2) they open at 10a so I can get a Korean soup fix for weekend brunch! On this visit, I had symptoms of an oncoming migraine and I was feeling dehydrated. …
I love me some farmers markets. I finally visited the Tuesday market in Berkeley put on by the Ecology Center. I was very pleased. Lots of people walk to/from the market, and street parking is easy, too. My first stop was flowers. I only like flowers that don’t have that ‘flower smell’ and there just so happened to be dahlias – they just smell like plants. (That should go on a shirt.) Aren’t they gorgeous? Heck, I might just come back the Tuesday before my wedding next year and use these as my bouquet. Just put a ribbon on it! Onto the food. There are a few booths with ready-made foods including gluten- and soy-free baked goods by Triple Heart Bakery, Andy and Cindy’s Thai food, and vegetarian Mexican cuisine by Flacos. The star of the market is definitely the fresh produce, though. I mean, look at these veggies! Long okra, the cutest and chubbiest bitter melon I’ve ever seen, and beautifully vibrant red tomatoes. The selection is amazing. What is your favorite farmers market? …
One of my favorite things in the world is watching fireworks. Sparkles… Lucky me, there happens to be a holiday for that. Since 2009 my fiancé and I have watched the fireworks display at the Berkeley Marina (Fun fact: This is also where we got engaged last year. Another fun fact: We just celebrated our one year engagement anniversary – Do normal people celebrate those?). Lots of people come out to sit on dirt and rocks to watch the show up close. There’s really no other way to do it. There are food vendors and rides and games for the littles. The first time we watched the show we were total noobs. We wore shorts and basically shivered all night; it is the Bay area after all, in the “summer.” We’ve since learned our lesson and have made some upgrades. We now dress in warm attire; we’re serious about wearing snow jackets, closed toe shoes (I prefer boots with fur), gloves, scarves, and beanies. We also come ready with our travel chairs, blankets, and neck …
