All posts tagged: san francisco

nearcation’s all I ever wanted.

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For our second wedding anniversary, Hubs and I planned an almost 24-hour nearcation adventure across the Bay in San Francisco. Since we thoroughly enjoyed last year’s SF nearcation, and there is so much to see, do, and eat in the City, we decided to do it again. Plus, we lazy and didn’t want to drive or fly far away. 😉 This time, we stayed at Hotel Nikko. I love the art in the rooms and throughout the hotel, and the squishy beds, and the touch pad on the nightstand that welcomes you by name. They have the most amazing line of bath products, too; the custom scent is bamboo lavender, but to me it has notes of chai spices which I love. Also, I’m into the separate stand up shower and bath options. Note to self for future home. The hotel sits between Union Square and the Tenderloin. I made sure we stopped to see some of the mural art nearby. A lot of the ones I wanted to spot were either painted over or …

fogrise.

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I’m a big fan of sunrise adventures. They are glorious! Behold, our sunrise adventure to Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands. We started our adventure walking through a tunnel and entering what seemed like a scene out of Lord of the Rings… It was super foggy and we didn’t expect to see much… So I took to taking photos of the plants. It was already bright on Hawk Hill… But then nature pulled through and we saw the most amazing sunrise, beginning with a peachy/orange glow. Pictures, of course, don’t do this sunrise justice. Which is probably why my camera battery decided to die midway through my photo taking so I could simply enjoy the view. 😉 Above: the tunnel we came out of + the trail we walked to see the views. Below: early morning wefie filled with excitement because coolest sunrise ever! West Coast, where are your favorite spots to see sunrise? Share, share, share!

good goods.

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Small batch artisan goods?! I’m on it! My friend brought me to the Epicurian Trader because she thought I’d appreciate it. Beautifully packaged goods all sorted nicely…dreamy. She knows me so well! This is a great place for finding a special gift (the stuff is basically already gift wrapped!). Chocolates, spirits, wines, cheese, baked goods, snacks, hot sauces! They had it all. Who is the curator? I must meet them. Also, I want a whiskey wall. Market hop much? Share your fave boutique markets below!

case for making.

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I learned how to make my own watercolors! Talk about taking my crafty skills to the next level. When I discovered Pinta PH I became interested in learning about making watercolors by hand. Then, I discovered Case for Making – and handmade watercolors is what they are all about! I quickly signed up for one of their watercolor making workshops. When I arrived to class these beautiful pigments were all lined up on the workshop table. AHH, I couldn’t wait to get started. Our instructor (and shop owner) Alexis shared her watercolor making wisdom and demoed one of the colors – fluorescent magenta! The watercolor base is a propriety mix of distilled water, gum arabic, and honey. You gradually add the base to the pigment and mix and smash until you get the right consistency. For the fluorescent pigments we also used a few drops of rubbing alcohol to get the pigment to mix well with the base. We each got to make two colors for the entire class. Each pigment behaves differently so it was …

minamoto kitchoan.

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Kawaii sweets! Minamoto Kitchoan carries Japanese specialty treats with unique flavors and impressive packaging (and super realistic fake food displays!). I stumbled upon this cute shop a few years back and love stopping in whenever I’m in the area. They have lots of jellies, red bean treats, mochi, and cream-filled sweets. I enjoy the pancake treats most, but it’s fun to try different things. They always have special holiday treats. On this visit: Year of the Dog red bean jellies. Each item is ready for gifting; you can purchase individual treats or gift sets. If you’re a regular, they’ve got a rewards program, too. For every $100 spent you get $10 off your next purchase. If this is any indication of what treat shops are like in Japan, I’m in big trouble when I eventually get to visit. Everything is perfectly portioned and wrapped. Can’t wait to have another occasion/reason to return and try more delights. I particularly have my eye on these rainbow waffles. Ohh la la… Do you have a favorite super kawaii sweet treat …

take your wifey to work day.

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I finally visited my Hubby at his work! 🙂 I got a badge and everything. Sure, I still don’t quite understand what Salesforce does, but my Hubby works at the cafe there so I got to explore, meet the cute characters, and enjoyed a Tuxedo Mocha with a view.   The cafe was crazy busy and loud up until closing time which keeps Hubs on his feet all day. There’s cold brew on tap, as well as tea and snacks up for grabs. The vending machines are filled with lots of tech…and Twix, too. Also cool – each quarter the cafes feature a new coffee roaster who staff can meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. This quarter’s brew: AKA Coffee.   Once Hubs got off work he took me around to visit all the cute character statues. First, we visited the lobby of Salesforce West, which reminded me of New York Times Square because of the giant bright TV lights.   I like all the nature brought into the building — the plants, …

holiyay!

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Had to, had to visit the Brit & co Holiday House this year. What a cutie! The venue is small and homey but packed with tons of colorful fun. At the front and headlining the welcoming committee are the featured local makers. On my visit it was Marley & Alfie and An Astrid Endeavor, super talented ladies with lovingly made goods. I snagged a lucky horseshoe from Marley & Alfie! Ahhh! The coolest! There was hot cocoa for all, free make and takes, and lots of backdrops and decorated nooks for all the photo taking. Everyone got to decorate a postcard and take home shimmer frame. There was a snow globe jar making station and a pom pom station, and for extra credit you can make pom pom earrings or a snowman. I made earrings! There’s a candy wall, a silver corner, a washi tape city, a white texture wall, a tassel /fiber wall, disco ball wall, a colorful geometric shape wall, a gold wall, an ugly sweater room, and a peppermint room – it …

shop feature: local take.

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You may remember previous posts about me popping up with craft workshops at Local Take (Clips! Terroriums!). Now it’s time for a peek into Local Take the store! Owner Jenn carries over 140 local artists in her stores, including me (spot my felt garlands above). Jenn knows everyone. On this visit I recognized a few of my crafty friends’ goods, but it was exciting to learn of other makers in the area. I love the selection of art prints and colorful goods. You can shop Local Take in the Castro and the Inner Sunset neighborhoods of San Francisco. The Castro location also participates in the now monthly Castro Art Walk on first Thursdays, and the Inner Sunset location hosts the annual Vagabond craft show in the backyard. Stop in for a handmade gift this holiday season!

moic.

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I visited the Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco. So, here’s a bunch of pink photos! We arrived with ice cream pennants in hand reppin’ our favorite ice cream flavors. Before you enter the installation you are grouped with strangers and you have to come up with a team name. Behold: Team Toffee Ooh La La (minus two girls who didn’t want to hang out with us, lol)! I was named team leader, which was kind of stressful even though I consider myself a hype girl, ha! Too much responsibility; I just wanted to play! There were over a dozen rooms and attractions to enjoy – mostly in pink! There were ice cream fun facts on the walls, a ring toss where you can win a free scoop of ice cream (Protip: Let them know if you’re celebrating something awesome like a birthday and you’ll snag a free scoop without having to win one.), a juke box room with ice cream tunes, mochi ice cream to sample, a pink letter magnet room for spelling …

color factory extras.

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At the end of your Color Factory visit, you leave with a map full of extra sites and experiences to discover around the neighborhood. We visited three of seventeen stops. Our first stop was BOBA (obvi). Stop #8 on the map was Boba Guys on Stockton. They had a limited edition strawberry cream boba (jasmine tea fresca with milk). And, it came with a hot pink straw (versus their customary black straws). I had mine with hemp milk and it was delightful, made with real strawberries. Cheers! Next, we visited stop #15, a colorful stairwell and an ode to the flavors of Chinatown. Each step along on the stairwell was painted a different color and represented a particular food or drink. Oh look, another boba picture. (And if you’re wondering about those flags, scroll on down.) Lastly, we visited this lovely mural (stop #16) by type designer Jessica Hische. Only fourteen more stops to go. 😛 And a little extra for this extras post — I made food and drink pennants for my Color Factory …