San Francisco!

Mark and I had such a great time in San Francisco and I survived my first time away from the kids with flying colors. In fact it was so much fun, that we vowed to do it every year. I mean the flight is only an hour, we love the city and there are so many great places to eat and walk. 

Here are my favs from our trip!

Of course staying at the St. Regis was AMAZING and you get treated impeccably your whole stay. But part of why we stayed there is because we are Starwood Preferred Guests and we have been involved in their program for years now. We use our Starwood Preferred Guest American Express for any credit card purchases which earns us points towards hotel stays. We also bought a Starwood timeshare years ago, which gave us bonus points from our purchase. So basically our stay at the St. Regis was FREE because we used our points and had earned a free night from previous stays. If you read my blog you know we love staying at the Westin hotels, The W Hotels, and the St. Regis hotels and they are all part of the Starwood network. I highly recommend going this route if you or your husband uses a credit card for work expenses or can earn points by staying at Starwood hotels while traveling for work. We also had free flights we earned from traveling too, so this vacation was almost free!

We found these robots in a candy store in North Beach. We loved them and bought them for "decorations" in Brody's room. But when we got home, Brody was obsessed with them! So he has one as a toy and one for his room. The company that makes them is called Schylling and they specialize in recreating classic toys. Their toys are pretty rad, especially the tin ones like these robots. But they do say that they are for collectors only, ages 14 years and up. So take that into consideration.

We found a version of these slippers in Chinatown in an upscale store called Asian Images. I love the ones I bought for Piper and imagine my surprise when I saw them in the Chasing Fireflies catalog after we got home. They are just so delicate and sweet and will be great for dress up as well. I think I will be purchasing another pair as Piper grows.

Our hotel had a great selection of cool magazines in our room and dwell magazine was one of them. It's a magazine about homes in the modern world and caters to architects and interior designers, but I loved reading it and looking at the houses they have featured. The designs are incredible! 

We loved our dinner at Betelnut Restaurant with friends Dan & Leslie. Apparently it's a hard place to get into and I see why! It's been around for 15+ years and is really cool and had great food. It was packed on a Sunday night. The menu is delicious and at a great price. You should definitely go there, but make reservations first.

After all was said and done, our favorite parts of the trip were just walking all day and getting lost in the city. We walked from one end to the other and enjoyed every blistered step. My feet are still recovering. There is something about visiting a familiar city and ditching the regular tour. For the first time, we toured ourselves and enjoyed every step and cab ride along the way.

Until next year!

let's rewind

We went to Georgia & Alabama a few weeks back and it was my first experience in the South. We had an amazing time exploring and visiting family. Some of my best moments were just driving and look at the landscape before us. I have to share some of my favorites from the trip.

First, a shout out to all the really nice people in the South. I get what people have always been saying. People were genuinely nice and had a deep respect for each other.

So, I am a bit of a hotel snob but I let my dad do the hotel booking in Georgia. After all, there are not many hotels in Americus, Georgia. So he booked us at a particular hotel (no names) that was pretty disgusting. It wasn't his fault, he didn't know and my dad has great taste. There is something about being a mom that makes you see exactly how dirty things are. I many not have cared as much before I had kids, but watching my daughter crawl on that floor made me want to vomit. So, after one night I told my dad that I couldn't do it and we drove over to the Hampton Inn next door. Wow, when we walked inside it was a breath of fresh air. There was actually someone on their knees scrubbing the tile floors. So I have to say that my hero of the vacation was the Hampton Inn, a hotel I probably would have never gone to before, but I hold dear to my heart now. And of course to my dad for moving us.

I had sweet tea for the first time. Okay it wasn't a favorite but I was really excited to try it!

All the beautiful churches everywhere you went. They were all different and amazing in their own way. 

The run down houses, although sad for the people who no longer have them. They added a realness to the landscape that I found beautiful and both sorrowful. 

There were so many of the same So Cal restaurants on our trip that we always eat at. I was a little disappointed. Plus, we had home cooked meals every night so we didn't get to explore too much. On our last day there, we stopped at a Zaxby's, which I had never heard of, and it was good! I wouldn't eat there every day since everything is fried, but it was yummy and so clean.

My true favorite though, of all the vacation, was just spending time with my dad, my kids and my husband. Sitting in a car for four hours is not a bad thing when you get solo time with busy people. It was awesome. And of course, seeing family that you love, especially when you see them every few years. I love to rediscover people in my life as I get older. It takes on a new meaning.

XO