Southern California Adventures

I decided to drive down to Southern California with my boyfriend this Fourth of July! We live in San Francisco so it’s about seven hours to get to the Los Angeles area. My aunt lives in Redlands, CA so we decided to spend some quality time with her over the holiday. We drove down around 8am on July 4th and made just a few pit stops on the way. I had been dying to try the Taco Bell-exclusive Mt. Dew flavor since I heard about it so (shamefully) we stopped on the way.

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I kept hearing how good it was on social media and I must say it lived up to its (artificial) expectations! I don’t drink soda too often, but it is fun to indulge during a summer road trip.

After an early dinner at my Aunt’s house, we went to a local ice cream shop before heading off to the Fourth of July festivities. This was not an ordinary ice cream shop…check out the flavors: Chocolate Lavender, Olive Oil Vanilla Bean, Beet & Goat Cheese, Avocado!

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We were so torn on what to order, but ended up splitting the chocolate lavender flavor. It had honey and cacao nibs on top and the ice cream was delicious!

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If you’re in Redlands, you must visit A La Minute! Next up, we headed to the fireworks show!

We did not know what to expect, but I think we were both surprised by how amazing the show was. It started out with skydivers and a live band, and the finale (the fireworks) was incredible and lasted for about thirty minutes!

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We got home and promptly fell asleep. I worked for part of the next day, but was excited to spend time with my aunt. She is an EXPERT thrift store shopper and knows all the best spots. By the end of the day, I had accumulated some amazing items! A new swimsuit, 4+ shirts for my boyfriend, silver plated spoons for crafting, and this:

After our afternoon of thrifting we threw together a delicious, colorful dinner.

We finished up around 8pm and my aunt and I went for a nice walk. Upon our return, my uncle told us there had been a 7.1 magnitude earthquake just minutes after we had left for our walk. We had felt nothing! I was a bit bummed I missed the experience, but glad it meant I was completely unscathed.

We had a very lazy Saturday morning; my aunt and I indulged in season 2 of the show “Big Little Lies” and we enjoyed every minute of the first four episodes. I met up with one of my amazing college friends that afternoon and we made the drive into LA. We went shopping in so many cute stores on York Street and found so many cool things. We ended our shopping spree with a stop at Donut Friend:

So beautiful, delicious, and vegan! After our donut stop, we began the 6 hour trek home.

All in all, we had a pretty amazing (and eventful) Southern California holiday!

A Short Trip to the Grand Canyon: Part II

This is the second post in my two post series on my trip to the Grand Canyon this April! It was a short trip, but we did quite a bit in a few short days. Read on to hear about our adventures in Sedona and Phoenix!

Day 3: Sunday

Since we woke up early and had a busy day on Saturday, we treated ourselves to a lazy morning. We did not sleep in since our Airbnb was filled with natural light when the sun came up, but we did relax in bed reading (and watching YouTube videos) while enjoying cups of tea. After our leisurely morning, we packed up our stuff, said goodbye to our beautiful Airbnb, and hit the road to explore Sedona.

We did not have a solid game plan for what we wanted to do, but I stumbled on a great guide book in our Airbnb that gave us a few good ideas. We wanted to check out Red Rock State Park; there are a few popular, tourist-filled spots that we initially planned to check out. Luckily our guide book provided a few other, and arguably more interesting, ideas.

We decided to explore Soldier Pass Trail. Parking at the trailhead was a pain, but that was the only negative aspect of this trail! The area was quite quiet and we ran into a few different groups, but it was not crowded at all. I loved that there were so many interesting stop-offs on the trail. Within just a few minutes of hiking you stumble on to Devil’s Sinkhole:

The sinkhole initially formed in the 1880s due to a cave collapsing. The hole grew even larger in 1989 after an earthquake.

After we checked out the sinkhole, we kept on walking and we quickly arrived at the Seven Sacred Pools:

The Seven Sacred Pools are a series of natural pools within the rock. Supposedly, there is always water in the pools, even during drought.

We had a great time exploring and climbing around in this area. We even spent some time rock balancing, which is how I learned that I am even less patient than I thought.

We had gorgeous weather all day–hot, dry, and sunny. After our adventures, we made our way back to the car and grabbed lunch at a local Sedona restaurant Pisa Lisa. We both ordered large salads, which was a perfect choice when you’re feeling hot and sweaty after a hike.

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After eating a late lunch, we swung through a Farmer’s Market then started our drive back to Phoenix. Luckily my boyfriend and I travel well together so even after hours in the car together we were still laughing and singing “On the Road Again” in harmony with Willie Nelson (I’ve left the video out to save your ears from my singing).

We arrived in Phoenix at our Airbnb, and we were exhausted! We got cleaned up, lazed around for a bit, then made our way to TopGolf! We ate dinner there and one of my boyfriend’s friends joined us there for a few games. The food was surprisingly good! I was on a goat cheese kick so I ordered the cinnamon goat cheese and candied pecan salad with grilled chicken and it was delicious (despite the poor photo quality). Also, check out the hilarious margarita glasses–you even get to keep the cups!

Unfortunately I didn’t take many pictures while we played TopGolf, but I can assure you that it is a ton of fun! Even with the advantage of being sober while playing, I was still pretty bad at it, but it was a blast nonetheless!

Day 4: Monday

We stayed out pretty late at TopGolf, but we both had to work on Monday. Luckily we rallied and were working from our Airbnb for most of the day. Our Airbnb host was gracious enough to let us stay late since no one else was checking in that evening (thanks, Ginger!). We took a quick break over lunch and went to Taco Guild since we had to get some good Mexican food while in Phoenix. The restaurant caught my eye because it was actually a converted Catholic church! The atmosphere was really neat and the food was great, even if the service was a bit slow. I loved the fun selection of different salsas that came at the start of the meal.

My boyfriend ordered a smothered chicken burrito:

I ordered three Mahi-Mahi tacos in lettuce cups and when you order three tacos you get a free side so I ordered a salad (getting in fresh foods while traveling can be tough).

These tacos were so good! Marinated Mahi-Mahi with a mango lime slaw–perfection. After lunch, we worked for a few more hours, packed up, and headed to the airport to return back to reality (aka San Francisco).

We had such a great trip! In an ideal world, it would’ve been a few days longer, but we made the most of our time and enjoyed every minute.

For a full recap of the trip, check out this amazing video my boyfriend made:

 

I feel so lucky that we both love to document our trips, which means we have both videos and blog posts to remember all the fun we’ve had!

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Have you been to the Grand Canyon? Have you been to Phoenix?

 

A Short Trip to the Grand Canyon: Part I

A few months ago I was talking to my boyfriend late at night when I had the idea of going to the Grand Canyon. I suggested it, flights were booked, Airbnbs found, and a few months later, the trip was coming up fast! It was completely uncharacteristic of me, but I did not plan too much for our trip. During the two weeks before we left, I scrambled a bit to try and book tickets for a few different sites. Unsurprisingly,  most tours were completely booked; the tours of Antelope Canyon were full and we had little chance of going. In case you don’t know what Antelope Canyon is…you’ve likely seen it as a screensaver at some point:

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While I was disappointed we couldn’t score tickets, I would not change a thing. Antelope Canyon is about two hours North of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon so if you are short on time, this is one place to cross off your list. I like to think that everything happens for a reason–so I’m pretending we simply were not meant to go to Antelope Canyon. We were meant to have a great time with the little time we had so without further ado, I’ll share a play by play of our trip!

Day 1: Friday

We woke up in the middle of a night to a notification that our flight was delayed by 13 hours–perfect. Luckily, we both stayed upbeat, called our airline and rebooked for an afternoon flight so we would leave only 7 hours later than our original departure time. We spent the day lazing around, enjoying brunch, and, most importantly, not working.

Our flight landed in Phoenix around 5pm and we were on the road in our rental car by 6:30pm. It was a full flight and I was amused by the two (adorable) tiny companions by boyfriend ended up seated next to!

We enjoyed a quick dinner in the outskirts of Phoenix, stopped for snacks, then continued our drive to Flagstaff to our Airbnb.

Day 2: Saturday

We both crashed as soon as we walked in the door, but the next morning we woke up to this beauty.

The Airbnb had a skylight so we woke up to lots of natural light as well. We were a short 1.5 hour drive from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and we were easily out the door by 8AM. We chose to stay in Flagstaff so we could enjoy more of our day at the Grand Canyon and it was definitely the right choice for us! We beat the crowds (more or less), snagged a great parking spot, and hopped on the bus to go to our stop for our hike on the South Kaibib Trail. After getting off the bus, we took tons of photos before even beginning our hike…

Then we began our trek. I was shocked by how chilly and how windy it was during our hike. We made it to the Ooh-Aah point which is only about 1 mile into the canyon, but the insane winds, small rain showers, and sand in our faces made us to decide to turn around and ascend back to the rim.

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We decided to go straight to the top during our ascent, no stopping, and we made it to the top fairly quickly (even if we were huffing and puffing). After our short trail hike, we decided to walk around the rim (~2.5 miles) to get a better look at the Canyon. We strolled leisurely around the rim and I was struck by how empty it felt; we came at a great time and it was unreal to see such a beautiful site in complete silence. We made it back to the visitor center, where I was suckered into a National Parks membership, and then we decided to explore other areas of the park by car.

We started out driving towards the Desert Watchtower and we stopped at a number of different places along the way. We pulled over at Grandview Point and caught some amazing views, plus we saw two elk!

After Grandview, we continued on to Tusayan Museum and Ruins. There were only a few other people there, but it was a wonderful (free) museum to learn more about the communities that lived by the Grand Canyon in the past. The ruins were definitely worth checking out too!

Afterwards we headed to our original destination: Desert Watchtower. The Desert Watchtower was designed by a female architect, Mary Colter, and was erected in 1932. It is in the Ancestral Puebloan Style and it is absolutely stunning on the inside and it offers  some beautiful views of the Canyon and the Colorado River.

By this point it was around 4:30pm and we were both exhausted. We made the drive back to our Airbnb, got cleaned up, and headed out for dinner. We ended up eating BBQ in the basement of a shopping complex–it was definitely a novel experience!

After dinner, we drove back to the Airbnb and took a few minutes to admire the night sky. Arizona is known for its dark sky, and Flagstaff is actually the first certified “Dark Sky Place.” It was breathtaking; I had never seen so many stars in my life!

Read more about our Grand Canyon trip next week…

 

Seeing My First Snow: South Lake Tahoe 2018

Since I’m from Nashville, seeing snow is a rare occurrence for me. Sure, every few years we would get a few inches on the ground for a few days, but nothing over six inches and nothing that would stick around for long. I moved to the Bay Area about a year and a half ago and have been dying to go to Lake Tahoe during the winter time. I don’t ski or snowboard, but I just wanted to see the beauty.

My boyfriend (J) and I decided to go for a nice weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe and we spent hours looking for the perfect Airbnb. We went in with few criteria, but quickly learned we were pickier than we thought! We ended up choosing a beautiful one-bedroom guest suite about ten minutes from downtown South Lake Tahoe (plus it had a hot tub!).

We left San Francisco on Friday evening around 5pm, with a quick Chik-Fil-A stop for dinner on the way. My favorite Chik-Fil-A pick: market salad–it’s full of flavorful grilled chicken, chopped fruit, nuts, and they have great dressing options.

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We spent about four and a half hours on the road, which is not bad considering the notorious Tahoe traffic we were told to expect. We arrived around 10:15pm and checked out the place before crashing into bed.

The next morning we both woke up around 6:30am just in time to make tea and coffee and watch the sun rise from our back porch.

We spent the morning relaxing and headed out to brunch around 10am. We ended up eating at A Cup of Cherries and the food was delicious; I might’ve eaten the best omelette I’ve ever had there (tomatoes, mushrooms, and basil). J ordered an egg plate with a side of French toast. We left feeling stuffed and ready to conquer the day.

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After buying gloves, which we both forgot, we headed off to go snow tubing. We arrived at Heavenly ski resort and learned that snow tubing was not available yet–they said it was too early in the season, which I found baffling given the amount of snow on the ground ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Even if we couldn’t go tubing, we decided to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain anyways to soak in the good views.

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Pretty unbelievable right? We thoroughly enjoyed the gondola right up to the top and explored the basecamp, saw skiers skate by, watched toddlers teeter on snowboards and then we headed back down. We walked around the shops in Heavenly village and went back to the Airbnb to recharge before dinner. I ended up napping, which is not something I normally do, but was much needed after our adventures.

South Lake Tahoe has dozens of BBQ restaurants so we picked one of the top rated places  (Sonney’s BBQ Shack Bar and Grill) and headed over at an astonishingly early hour–5:30! We enjoyed a great meal of pulled pork, ribs, and classic BBQ sides:

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I don’t eat pork very often, but this absolutely hit the spot and left us feeling exhausted (again)! After dinner, we made our way back to the Airbnb intending to use the hot tub, but we ended up watching “Chicken Run” and falling asleep early.

The next morning was low-key with a later wake up. We enjoyed our coffee and tea in the hot tub, which was a wonderful experience! I have never been in a hot tub in freezing weather, but it was a fascinating experience–getting in was the hardest part by far. We both read or worked on side projects for a few hours enjoying the cute mini fireplace and sipping hot cocoa. Around 11, we started packing up our bags to head home. We made a pit stop for lunch at Verde Mexican Rotisserie and the food was delicious:

Cauliflower Rice Bowl
Chicken Taco

 

Chicken Torta

My favorite was the cauliflower rice bowl I ordered–cauliflower sautéed with peppers, onions, greens, and tomatoes. Topped with organic spring mix, chimichuri, avocados, and grilled mahi-mahi. I could hardly finish the bowl!

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The ride home felt a little longer, but the four hours flew by with good music and conversation. We made it back to the Bay Area by 5pm with plenty of time to get organized for the work week ahead.

For the full video experience of our trip, click here.

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Have you ever been to South Lake Tahoe? Any tips on learning to ski?

Making Chocolate in Peru: From Bean to Bar

I went to Peru on an amazing trip a few weeks ago–endless mountains, beautiful views, hiking, and freshly made chocolate. Chocolate was considered a “food of the gods” across much of Central and South America–and we still love it today!

My dad is a hardcore chocolate lover so we scheduled a special class at a Chocolate Museum located in Cusco. Cocoa beans are harvested from a variety of locations; and Peru (and the Amazon) is home to a number of plantations. Not all chocolate is the same–the flavor of cocoa beans changes based on what the plants are growing near. Some chocolate has subtle hints of bitter coffee, whereas other have a more fruity undertone. It’s not always easy to tell, but comparing the two flavor profiles makes it very clear.

After the cocoa beans are harvested, they are fermented and then dried in the sun. This process can take anywhere between one to two weeks depending on how dry the environment is. After the beans are dried, they are roasted. We actually got to roast the beans ourselves during our class. The beans need high heat and slow stirring and you can hear a popping similar to popcorn popping as they get closer to being ready. Our teacher/guide got really into it and asked me to sing to the cocoa beans–to show my love for them. If you know me, you know I always refuse to sing in public. It is simply a no-go for me so I politely declined and felt like a complete spoilsport!

Fortunately, cocoa beans are not dependent on singing and were roasted all the same without the affection of my *lovely* voice.

(*= heavy sarcasm)

Here are the freshly roasted beans with cracked skins prepared for winnowing, which is the process of removing the fibrous husk from the cocoa bean.

After winnowing, you’re left with cocoa beans that look like this:

When you break these up, you are left with cocoa nibs! If you like extra dark chocolate (like me), you would love the tiny pieces that come when you break apart the beans.

The next step is more intensive–grinding the cocoa beans by hand with mortar and pestle to create a smooth, creamy mixture without large chunks. This is when you can start to see how cocoa butter and cocoa powder can both come out of the same beans.

This is most of the way through the cocoa bean grinding process; you can see a smooth mixture start to form and it tastes incredibly rich (and bitter).

After grinding up our cocoa beans, we collectively made xocoatl, which translates as “bitter water.” We made ours with hot water, ground cocoa beans, honey, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

The mix was absolutely delicious and rich, but without the milky richness we often think of when we drink hot cocoa. The idea of mixing in milk with chocolate only came along in the 1700s in Europe.

We learned a lot during the class, but there was not much discussion around the importance of buying fair-trade, eco-friendly chocolate. Cocoa production often leads to deforestation as people chop down trees to make room for lucrative cocoa plantations.

“…a 7-ounce bar of milk chocolate produced from a cleared rainforest has the same carbon dioxide emissions as driving 3.2 miles in a car. Furthermore, a dark chocolate bar of the same size has the same emissions as driving 4.9 miles.” –Hello Giggles

While large companies like Hershey’s and Mars are seeing the perks of doing social good they have made numerous commitments to the environment and use of child laborers. Unfortunately a lot of this is just talk and no action.  With the price decline of cocoa during 2016-2017, a lot of efforts towards fair production took a hit. Farmers bear the brunt of the price dip and can easily end up operating at a loss. There are approximately 2.1 million child laborers working on cocoa plantations in West Africa–and this is after companies have committed to making changes.

One way to make sure you are choosing ethical options include looking for fair-trade labels as well as brands that are “bean to bar,” which means the brand or company is fully involved from the growing of the beans through to the final stages of manufacturing.

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Do you prefer dark or milk chocolate? Did you know how your chocolate was made before reading this?

Becoming a #FutureHuman with Orb

I have posted a lot about my difficulties with sleep, usually I fall asleep within 45 minutes, but I struggle with staying asleep. I’ve tried so many different supplements, teas, and pills with little help.

I decided to try Orb Sleep Complex at Costco after the brand reached out to me with their new release to Costco stores (not all stores carry it, but you can find it on Costco’s online store.

I’ve worked in the health & fitness industry so I know about the smoke and mirrors involved with many supplements out there. I’ve tried a lot of products and have done my research, and I think it’s important to know exactly what you’re putting into your body.

So what makes Orb different? It has time-release technology with a blend of supplements that help your body calm down for sleep, plus B12 for energy support. Plus, the pills look pretty cool:

See the beadlets floating in the liquid? The ingredients are separated for ideal absorption; vitamins best absorbed in liquid are in the oil and the the vitamins in the beadlets are better absorbed in dry form.

The Orb Sleep Complex contains:

  • Melatonin
  • Valerian
  • L-theanine
  • GABA
  • 5-HTP
  • Lavender & Ylang ylang oil
  • Vitamin B12

Our body naturally produces a hormone called melatonin; we make it based on our circadian rhythm, which follows the sunset and sunrise. Melatonin production also decreases with age. Melatonin supplements can help with insomnia, jet lag, and general sleep troubles. I’ve taken melatonin for years with mixed results.

Valerian is far less popular, but can be found in Celestial Seasonings’ Sleepytime tea varieties. Valerian is made from a root and helps with insomnia, and many claim it helps with anxiety as well. Research suggests it acts like a very mild sedative.

L-theanine is an amino acid naturally found in tea (and some mushrooms). L-theanine boosts the neurotransmitters that make us feel good and happy–seratonin, dopamine, and GABA. These neurotransmitters work in the brain to regulate mood, emotion, concentration, and sleep, as well as appetite and energy. L-theanine has recently grown in popularity because it doesn’t make you sleepy, but instead makes you feel calm and relaxed.

GABA is crucial to our brain’s health; low GABA activity has been correlated to anxiety, depression, and difficulty focusing.

5-HTP increases the synthesis of serotonin, a neurotransmitter I mentioned earlier. It has been shown to diminish depressive symptoms in high doses (500-1400mg daily for at least two weeks).

Lavender and Ylang Ylang oil both provide natural soothing properties. I actually take lavender oil capsules when I’m having a particularly stressful day and they definitely help me calm down.

Lastly, vitamin B12. Our bodies don’t make B12 so we must get it from food or supplements. Vegetarians are at higher risk for B12 deficiency. This is included because in the Orb supplements because lower than healthy levels of B12 can make you feel groggy or tired.

I’ve started taking Orb regularly and am loving how relaxed it makes me feel. I bought mine at Costco at a bargain price– 120 capsules for $28.99 in-store, $29.99 online (it’s regularly $39.99 for only 60 capsules).

I even brought it with me to Peru to take and share with my family.

They’ve been using it and enjoying it so far! I’ll keep you posted as I get in a rhythm and use it over the next few weeks; some of the ingredients work better over time (5-HTP for example).

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Do you have trouble sleeping? What have you tried that does or doesn’t help?

Disclaimer: I received this product from Orb, but all opinions, thoughts, and photos are my own and represent my own experience.