San Francisco 2016

This past weekend I got to visit some of my favorite people in the universe in San Francisco and had a marvelous time. It rained pretty much all weekend but we still managed to have tons of fun. Let me tell you about it.

I arrived late Thursday night so Friday Stephanie and I went to Pier 39 so we could see the sea lions. As soon as we got out of the car it started to rain but we had umbrellas (I bought a cute new pink Totoro umbrella for the trip) so it wasn't that bad. The sea lions were super cute and one even swam right up to us to check us out. They were all so lazy and sleepy, it was adorable. They looked like giant melted Milk Duds. Next we walked all around the pier and got soft pretzels to eat while we looked at all the funny little shops. We were okay until it got windy and the rain started blowing right into our faces. At that point we decided to call it a day and got Chipotle back in Stephanie's neighborhood. After lunch I was pretty sleepy so I took a little cat nap in "baby jail". They had put a baby gate in the downstairs room that I was staying in to keep the dogs from jumping on me and all of my stuff so it got christened Baby Jail, haha. For dinner we got thai food from a place around the corner and it was really good.

Kelly Anne, Kiki, Stephanie, and I

The next day we met up with my dear friend, Kelly Anne and her sister in law, Kiki, at Japantown. Kelly Anne is a fellow crafter and we met through Instagram a few years ago. We wanted to meet up at Disneyland back in December but she wound up being there just a few days before our trip was scheduled. So I was super excited to finally get to meet her. Kelly and Kiki are oh-so-cute and were so much fun. I had the best time hanging out in Japantown even though the weather was atrocious. First we went to Daiso (my fave) and loaded up on goodies. I wish they had a store in Phoenix because everything there is the cutest. After we shopped we took a bunch of buddy pics since we knew the rain was coming soon. Kelly had the most amazing camera and it made all of us look tops blooby :)

Next we got crepes at Sophie's Crepes and got a chance to sit down and chat. We all got along like peanut butter and jelly (or jelly and jelly). There were lots of cute doggies around and I was in love with all of them. After lunch we went to a purikura (a Japanese photo booth) called PikaPika and took pictures. PikaPika is my FAVORITE part of Japantown and it was such a blast. You only have about 3 seconds between photos to decide on a pose so it's kind of stressful but the photos always turn out hilarious. After you take your pictures you get to decorate them and I gotta say, ours turned out SO GOOD!



It was just such a fun day and I wish we could have hung out longer but by 4:30pm a huge storm came in and it started raining like CRAZY which made it difficult for us to decide where to go next so we wound up just going home :( In retrospect we realized we should've gone to Kiki's place and hung out or gone back to Stephanie's house since it wasn't super far away but the rain made it hard to think clearly. D'oh! At least the time we all spent together was quality time. I already can't wait to see everyone again. We're talking about a future Disneyland meet up (that would be EPIC).

On the last day of my visit Stephanie, Manda, and I went on our first cable car ride and it was super fun. We got roundtrip tickets and rode the train up Powell to Fisherman's Wharf. This day we were blessed with nice weather and didn't get rained on the whole time we were walking around downtown. By the time we got to Fisherman's Wharf we were ready for some lunch so we stopped at a place called Boudin that's world famous for their sourdough bread. It was totally packed in this place but we got our food relatively quickly. I got a margarita pizza and they both got grilled cheeses and tomato soup. After lunch we walked down to Ghirardelli Square and loaded up on chocolate. It was just a relaxing and chill day and I had a great time. The line to get back on the cable car was kind of a nightmare but at least I was in good company (there was also a guy playing guitar outside so that helped the time go by). The ride down the hill was really cool and I was surprised how hard the guys had to work to just to get the thing to stop at traffic lights. By the end of our ride it had finally started to rain but we still wanted to take some pictures in the photo booth at Forever21 (it's become a tradition) so we dashed through the rain anyway.

 I'm so thankful for the internet for brining all of these wonderful people into my life. I feel so lucky to have so many amazing friends all over the world who I can visit and go on fun adventures with. I wish I could see them more often but it's cool to be able to communicate with each other anytime online. Not too long ago I could count all of my friends on one hand but in the past few years I've met so many incredible people and I'm so lucky to have such supportive and loving people in my life. They're all so special to me and I love them dearly. Thank you, Stephanie and Manda for taking such good care of me this past weekend. I can't wait to see you both again!

San Francisco 2k15

me and 1/4 of the golden gate bridge

This past weekend I went on a mini-break to San Francisco to meet/visit my all-time favorite crafter, Twinkie-Chan (aka Stephanie). When I left Phoenix it was 115 degrees and I was wearing a crop top and shorts. When I arrived in San Francisco it was 66 degrees and WINDY. AS. HELL. It took a while for her to find me since I'd never been to this airport before and wasn't really sure where I was but eventually she found me. The funny thing about being friends with someone online for so long is that when you meet them irl you kind of already know them so it's not exactly the same as meeting someone for the "first" time. As soon as we started talking I felt totally comfortable around her and that I could just be myself. Since I hadn't eaten since lunch (and US Airways gave me no peanuts OR a cookie) I was STARVING when I arrived so we went to a place called Indochine Vegan cuz mama needed some protein in a bad way.

After dinner we went back to her house and I got to meet her doggies Bibi and Bunny and they were soooooo cute! We ended up talking about anything and everything and I don't think I went to bed til 2am (zoinks!). Stephanie's roommate happened to be out of town that weekend so I even got to sleep in a bed. Party. Bonus. The next day we both got dolled up (I even curled my hair) and we drove over to the Golden Gate Bridge. The traffic was kind of a nightmare so getting there took 1,000 hours. When we actually got there we could NOT find a parking space! It was suupppeerrr busy since A.) it was Father's Day weekend and B.) it was a Saturday so we drove around and around until eventually we found a free lot and snagged a space. The moment we got out of the car it was windy as HECK and my curls were instantly blown out. :(



Twinkie Chan and Iggy Starpup

After we'd about frozen our buns off on the bridge (and after I'd petted the most beautiful husky) we headed over to Alamo Park to see the Full House house. Driving in downtown San Francisco was totally terrifying to be honest. The hills were so steep that you couldn't see 15 feet in front of the car and you had to just pray that nobody on a bicycle went flying in front you. We stopped at a few stop lights and the car would lunge backwards a bit when you'd hit the gas. Seattle was the same way and I had a massive anxiety attack every time I had to drive downtown. The weather in SF is pretty cuckoo because by the time we got to Alamo Park it was sunny and nice. There were lots of doggies playing in the park and it was just lovely. We walked over to where the Full House house was and there were all of these fancy people standing in front of it. Welp, it turns out they were having a wedding there so I'm probably going to be in the background of all of their photos taking pics of the house. Whoopsies!



You got it, dude!

The painted ladies were so beautiful but it kind of made me sick imagining how expensive they are. We were taking pics on the steps of the pale blue one and Stephanie was like, "Is is okay for me to sit here? Are they gonna come out as soon as I sit down and yell at me?" and I was like, "NO WAY!" The second after I took her pic like, 3 people came out of the house and we were like OH SHIT! and scurried away :p We had made plans to meet her family in Palo Alto at 5pm for Father's Day dinner and it was about 3pm by then so we decided to hit the grocery store before we headed over so we could make Cap'n Crunch Crispy Treats later.

We got to Palo Alto around 5pm and met her family at a French restaurant called Zola. Being vegetarian I was a bit worried when Stephanie told me we were getting French food because I do know that the French looooove them some meatz. Luckily, there was one vegetarian entrée on the menu so I got the ricotta gnocchi. Her sister in law ordered us some carrots as an appetizer and I remember thinking, "Carrots? Really?" but the carrots turned out to be AMAZING! OHMYGOODNESS! My gnocchi was very good as well, especially these tiny little mushrooms in a brown butter sauce. Mmmmmm...My favorite part of the dinner was getting to meet her nephew. He was sooooo cute and really smart (he could even pronounce my name). I'm not usually a big fan of children but I couldn't take my eyes off him.

When we got back to San Francisco we watched one of my fave shows "My Mad Fat Diary" and made the Cap'n Crunch Crispies. When I make Rice Crispy treats at home I always use 5 cups of cereal instead of 6 like the box says because I think it makes them too dry so when Stephanie and I were making them she asked me to put 6 cups in. I was like, "You're a six cup person? Whaaaa?" and she was like, "That's what the box says." and I was like, "Nah, girl, that's just the suggested amount." Well...as you can imagine they came out HELLA GOOEY. Stephanie was majorly grossed out by the stickiness but it didn't slow me down one bit (truth be told I ate all of them the very next day).

Instax Pics

The next day we went to Japantown cuz mama needed to do some SHOPPING. First we went to Daiso (which if you haven't been, is a Japanese $1.50 store). I'd only been to a Daiso store once before in Seattle so I was really excited to load up on stuff. Oh, man, did I get a lot of stuff. I think I spent $30 so at Daiso that's like a million dollars. Next we popped in and out of various shops (each time Stephanie had to leave her Bobba Tea outside because every store had a "no food or drink" sign, haha). I couldn't resist getting some stickers and a Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma plush from a cute shop called Maido Fine Stationary and Gifts. My favorite part of Japantown, though, was a photo booth place called Pika Pika. I'd been wanting to go to a Japanese photo booth for ages so I was so excited when Stephanie and her bff, Manda, wanted to go with me. I'm glad that they'd been before because it can be pretty intimidating for a first-timer. You pay up front then you go inside a booth. As soon as you touch the screen the timer starts and you have to pick your lighting setting and backgrounds. There's a buttload of choices so you have to decide very quickly. Once it starts taking pictures you have 2-3 seconds between shots to change your pose. We hadn't really discussed our poses ahead of time but they came out pretty cute anyway. After you're done taking pics you get to decorate them. I think we decorated ours for like, an hour :p

Hello, boys!

Next we went downtown so we could get some lunch and also to check out the gianormous Forever 21. We got Chipotle for lunch and since it was right in the downtown you had to use a code to get into the bathroom. As proof to how intense my bathroom issues go, I can tell you two weeks later that the code was 4294. I was super excited to go to the three story F21 but for all those stories I think all I bought was a necklace and some hair bows. Everything I liked was either too pricey or not my size--boo! It was a bummer but since my carry-on was already jammed full of knick knacks it was probably for the best. While we were in F21, though, we stumbled upon another photo booth that was only $3 for 3 strips so we all three climbed in. I had wanted to see the seals in Fisherman's Wharf and ride the trolley but since I had to leave for the airport at 6pm, we just didn't have the time.

Babies <3 td="">

When Stephanie dropped me off at the airport there were lots of hugs and she said that next time I visited we'd do the things I didn't get to do this time. I was super happy that there would be a next time since I worry that I'm 100% annoying all the time. I went through security pretty quickly so I had a lot of time to kill before I boarded so I went in search of food. There weren't a lot of choices so I stopped at a coffee shop that turned out to have crepes! OMG! Tbh, I'd never really had a crepe before so I decided that today was the day. You had a choice between a sweet crepe and savory crepe and since I wasn't getting into Phoenix til 10:45pm I figured I should have a dinner crepe. I got mine with mozzarella, mushrooms, tomatoes and pesto. IT WAS FRIKKIN' AMAZING! I parked myself down and ate my yummy crepe as I scrolled through tumblr. While I was sitting there I felt really peaceful and reflected on how far I'd come with my anxiety. There was a time in my life when just the thought of going to the airport would cause a major meltdown and eating in one was completely out of the question. But there I was in San Francisco International Airport eating a massive crepe by myself cool as a cucumber. It's proof that people really can change and that life can get better. I'm so proud of myself and how strong I've become. <3 comment-3--="">

Well, thanks for reading about my little mini-adventure. I'm still counting down the days til my next one in October. I'll fill you in on that in my next post. Mwah!