san francisco • day one

hi, friends.

i came up with a goal to fill my lack of traveling in the form of this: i told my best friend that we should have switch off trips. one of us gets to pick a destination, buy the plane tickets, make sure to keep the destination a secret, then.. we go!

this first time, it was hard on my anxiety because i had been so busy that i never gave the whole thing much thought. i hadn't realized i would be going somewhere without my control, or say in it whatsoever. which is, hey, the whole point.  alex sort of slipped during a conversation we were having when we were getting ice cream downtown, and said "CAL..", then cut himself short after realizing it.  later, he told me he switched the destination over in order to fix his slip, but.. yeah. he only changed the city, or so he says - which, hey. this girl has absolutely no complaints. 

aside from the slip, and whatnot, i was still under the impression that he had changed the location out, so with one and a half hours of sleep under my belt, the adrenaline was kicking, and i was so. so. so excited.

sweet. 

this is probably the coolest technology ever.  i always wanted to fly in a plane that had the maps visible to their passengers.  it took 1.5 hours just to get out of texas.  and we started near the center of it.

i got the window seat the first time around.

flight neighbors.

big papa burger.

b l t eggs benedict, with hashbrowns in the shape of a pizza slice.

buildings casting shadows.

approaching this beauty was surreal, but walking closer, smelling the salty waters that run under it - a lovely blessing.

dream house with the biggest flowers, giving off their sweet scent.

land's end facing the pacific ocean shore.

i always promised myself a trip to have the most authentic ramen i could get my hands on in austin, but never did.  i made up for that here, thought.  this place had about four different seating spots, close together, with a chalk board outside serving as the wait list.  we waited for about twenty minutes to get in, and sat with a couple that was probably on their first date.  silly conversations.  and A+ ramen & gyoza.

spicy soy base with bbq pork, braised pork belly, spinach, a boiled egg, mushrooms and green onions.

So. Good.

glittering streets, electric buses, and crooked streets everywhere.  goodnight, san francisco.  see you tomorrow.

reasons why I love my job, but it's become the death of my common self-esteem:

i love my job for the basic reasons- it gives me security, a versatile schedule which has allowed me to further my education in psychology, and pretty A+ health benefits [for a single woman]. more reasons why I love my job include, but are not limited to- the people I've worked alongside of and essentially became. best. friends. with. the stories I hear everyday, the smiles I help create, the smiles that appear almost instantly upon my face when I see my favorites, and lastly, all the incredible knowledge I've picked up. 

I can chop up veggies about 25 times faster, make a 50 person catering order in 30 minutes, make 50 wraps/sandwiches in, hmm, about 42 minutes, make a pretty badass pizza, tell you about all sorts of diets and allergens, help you point out the FAKE gluten-free folks, the celiacs, the short-term vegans, the ignorant vegans, the on and off vegans, the 5+ years vegans, the vegans that have "been a vegan before all this fake chicken crap became popular," and the beginner vegans. I have learned to cook a substantial amount of meals/recipes, - I know what temperature different proteins should reach before they're ready to be eaten, how many CUPS ARE IN A QUART and my favorite, bring my busy kitchen etiquette home and say "behind you!" to my girlfriend whenever we're cooking at home. <-- fun. 

but the downside.. the inevitable and the always painful parts of working in the food industry/retail are the ways that [some, mostly the 3% of the day] customers dehumanize you every. single. way.  if I was the kind of person to keep things short, i'd just say "be nice", but since I'm not, I'm going to say: WILL YOU HANG UP THE PHONE FOR TWO MINUTES?

I cannot stress - won't ever be able to stress - can't BEGIN to stress how, not only is it incredibly annoying to be on your phone when someone is attending you with something YOU want, but it's also just about the rudest thing you can do. if you do this, and you're never mean to the people helping you out, cool, thanks but still, ask mom or your boyfriend to hang on for two minutes. they won't stop loving you for being courteous and the person serving you what you want in those two minutes will L O V E you. 

this is true. this is a fact. there are countless of customers I really really like- even care about to an extent that they're in my thoughts after work. that part makes me love my "college" job. it makes me p r o u d to be naturally good to people, to go out of my way because I LOVE it. to walk customers to all areas of the store to show them where anything and everything is, just to have them ask for name, thank me sincerely and have them leave on the happiest note. 

in sum, in every single day trips, in all aspects of your trips to places that employ people that are there to help, that have been sufficiently trained and who are more than happy to perform A+ service, please, please remember that they are probably just like you. beyond the phd, the millionaire husband, the fake boobs - hey.  hey!  hi, we're all skin and bones. with a huge heart tucked in our center, protected by a set of ribs that can only help you with so much. so work for the other aspects; don't be that one person to hurt someone else for reasons beyond the both of you. 

and if you happen to find yourself in a situation with a grumpy, moody, rude member.. hey, kill them with kindness. it always works.  beeelieve me. 

and on a delicious note to accompany this sad, ill-written blog, here are baked apples that I was spontaneously asked to bake for our demo specialist today:  

sweet tango apples with pecans and currants, baked with coconut sugar, pumpkin spice, clove and cinnamon. 

hey, vegan & gluten-free.

thank you for reading. 

lunchtime at clark's

we'd been talking about trying clark's pan roasted hamburger, particularly because of their massive side of thin fries. 

their entire atmosphere gives you the idea of being seaside in the 50s, with a clash of being in a cute diner before a swim at the beach. 

their gold utensils, ~goldware~, ha really tipped the fancy scales. tiny blue anchors on their plates and the cutest booth seating really made me smile. I love a good meal at an aesthetically pleasing place. it shows passion in what they do.

the best bread starter ever. proof that salt & butter make everything better.  

so on with the burger:

 

even though I had seen a photo online, it wasn't enough to quell my excitement at the moment. so. good. 

inside the burger was a melted mixture of gruyere, which I'm normally not a fan of, but add their sauce gribiche, and the tables turned. 

 

an amazing side of their wood-grilled brussels sprouts. to. die. for. 

clark's isn't specifically known for these entrees, more for their seafood & such, but if what their known for is anything like this, I'm excited to try it a l l. 

chocolate pickles, sidewalk consumption, tattoos and school.

hi friends, readers, viewers, passers-by,

this past week has been pretty insane.  i can't seem to keep up with everything that is being handed to me, especially, school work.  i kept putting everything off till the last minute and after I submitted everything, I was left with that dreadful "what now?" feeling.  before all of this, though.. we did take another mini trip, and this time it was to fredericksburg, tx.  we like to pretend that all of these little places are thousands of miles away from where we live.  we just don't have the time to feed our lust for wander right now.  even though it's something i think about every. single. day.
it's all going to be worth it one day, though, right? 

so on to fredericksburg: this town is adorable in so many ways.  their main street (as i'm finding is pretty common in small towns [duh, laura]) is a strip of cute shops, restaurants and bars.  when we first got there, we noticed that there were other people drinking their beers on the sidewalk.  i mean, yes.  we found a bar and ordered two beers to go.  pretty weird to order them that way.

so.  we walked. talked. and drank. and shot.


thinning hair + baby braids



comfortable, cool, calm, and collected.  four things i'm not.  who layers this much?



::heart eyes::





this was the most amazing treat ever.  we hardly even ate half of it before lunch, but i mean.  come on, wouldn't you?



haha, flailing arms.  we were starving.  i can't deny shrimp tacos + rice.  they're probably what makes me weakest.  plus, 300 pounds of cheese.  plusplus, a peach margarita.  you'd think that with fredericksburg being this peach kingdom and all, it'd be made out of real peaches.  but, nah.



marked arms, oily hair, and a frozen drink.  pretty good day, so far.  i like pretending i'm running away and never going back to my damn responsibilities.  i guess pretty drinks like this will do that to you.  because then, you wake up and don't feel that way anymore.  it's a tiny vacation.











balancing act//





lazy eye .)




 





<3x123412341





favorite kind of pov photos. we're so different, but we go.



sweet ending.  first time creme brulee. (i know.)
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after the sun began to set, we drove back home and i got two tiny tattoos.  one on my finger and the other piece was on the top of my foot.



the tattoo on my finger is still peeling, but basically looks like nothing ever happened.  that's obviously to be expected with finger tattoos, and i'd normally go for a touch up.  but man, the artist was either having the worst day of his life, or seriously needs to learn how to treat people better.  at least my new birds are healing well.  that's what matters the most.

fin.

bastrop: rebirth

oh man, after thinking about things and surely feeling NOT 18 anymore, it's strange to sit and think about where my days are going.  i mentioned on my instagram recently that i was tired of feeling like i wasn't appreciating my days.  every sunrise, every sunset.  it's not that they go unnoticed, i just find myself forgetting to sit down and soak it all in.  soak in the idea that today is the last day i will ever be this young, and at the same time, it is the oldest i have ever been.

we took a trip to the bastrop state park a couple of days ago.  i kept thinking about the fire bastrop had last september that took an immense toll on their city.  such a small little town being overwhelmed by flames and smoke that can easily cause death.  we are so fucking fragile.

i kept picturing every area and how it might've looked engulfed in flames.  it's silly, i guess.  i'm too much of a realist, but i just can't imagine.

i have a thing about getting too dark too fast, so on to photos.  on to the photos my girlfriend and i took of each other.  is it strange to say this girl is in love with me?  and that i can tell by the way she was able to capture such a messed up being?  well it's real.  it's us.  - - -

                                           the in-between photos are always the best ones.

this bridge in bastrop felt surreal during the 'golden hour' of sunlight.  right before the sunset takes over and brings in the dark skies.  it was perfect timing.

favorite.

::lit up bridges and the sun setting::

the 'hands over the face' pose is sort of our tradition.  the first one during our first ever "photo shoot" behind the elementary school i attended.  back in the early 2008-2009 years.

my favorite hands.

leftovers.