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Life

19 Jul 2018

Yow Yow! to Yountville

Dress – Aritzia / Denim jacket – Gap / Purse – Vince Camuto / Scarf – J. Crew

Even though I’ve been in the Bay Area for nearly five years, I still get really excited to explore a place I’ve never been to. It’s not very hard to do and it’s never too far. I feel really lucky! My company’s holiday party this year was a 3-part event. It started in Yountville with a lunch prepared by Thomas Keller and his team and led up to a Warriors game in Oakland. The night ended with a company favorite: karaoke in the city. It was hard not to find something for everyone, but the part that I was looking forward to the most was getting out of the city and exploring Yountville. I had never been there before and it felt like a mini town centered around fine dining.

Aside from having one of the best meals I’ve ever had, we had the whole afternoon full of activities, catching up with co-workers, and taking a tour of [The French Laundry’s] garden. The entire space was a dream for a perfectionist. Look at these manicured lawns! I also did something a little outside of my comfort zone. We were encouraged to sample the lettuce straight from the garden. It might have had some bits of dirt on it and we most definitely did not have anything to rinse it off with. It went straight from the ground and into our mouths and I didn’t hate it. That’s how much trust I put into this place.

Getting dressed for this event was an ordeal. Before joining this company, I was used to [holiday parties] that happened in the evening. It followed your standard cocktail attire, dinner, drinks, and DJ format and never skewed too far from that. How do you get dressed for an event that includes three very different parts? It started with the little black dress that I had purchased at Aritzia. On its own, it felt fancy enough, but it would not have been appropriate to wear all day. The solution? A casual somewhat oversized denim jacket over it and swapping out heels and sneakers for a classic black bootie. It was an outfit that held up for the entire day and was sufficient enough for each event.

Even though we had the afternoon in Yountville, it still didn’t feel like enough time. I didn’t even have a chance to stop in at [Bouchon Bakery]! We’ll definitely need a second trip.

Blog Roundup

The Power of Positive People [New York Times]
How to Say ‘No’ to Others and ‘Yes’ to Yourself [Girls’ Night In Club]
Instagram Stars and the Hotels They Stay At [The Atlantic]
The Best Travel Tips That No One Tells You [Cool Material]
Spotify Still Won’t Enable a Feature That Would Let Its Users Block Their Harassers [BuzzFeed News]

A Spice Girls Exhibit Is Coming This Summer [Nylon]
The Emojis We Don’t Need [Vice]
Aly Raisman Takes The Floor [ESPN]

America’s Ramen Obsession, Explained – I don’t know if I agree with how yummy all these creations are supposed to be! [The New Yorker]

‘Sister Survivors’ and victims of Larry Nassar Accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS last night [Vogue]

Life

18 Jul 2018

Kamonegi in Seattle

These days when I return home to Seattle, I have a habit of retreating into my parent’s house and pretty much never leaving. Since I have to go most of the year without my mom’s home cooking, it’s all I ever want to have when I’m visiting. What is it that will get me out of the house though? When my friends introduce me to new Seattle restaurants highlighting my favorite comfort foods. Winny nailed this one on the head by bringing me to a recently opened soba noodle soup restaurant called Kamonegi and it was a dream! We started off with a small plate of Shishito peppers followed by duck meatballs with a side of a soft egg before getting into our entrees.

Is there anything more you could want than a hot soba noodle soup bowl in the winter time? The flavors together were amazing and came with a juicy and tender piece of duck that only elevated the taste of the soup. By the end of it, I’m sure Winny and I could have both had a second bowl each.

To top things off, we treated ourselves to a lemon-y dessert resembling a pudding type texture or brulee. It was the perfect ending to our fantastic meal and night!

Life

17 Jul 2018

At Home With Munchery

photo cred | Munchery

The last time I had mentioned I was having an extended break on Yow Yow! I vowed to try more home cooking. Okay, is that a stretch? I was open to the idea of trying out meal kits or meal deliveries. There is an abundance of them here in the Bay Area, but when it comes to actually using them, it can be a little tricky. If I order them, I don’t want them to be left on my doorstep while I’m at work. Additionally, I don’t want them sent to work. I’ve been holding onto a free Munchery meal for some time and if there was ever a better time to use it, it was now.

Luckily, my free meal coupon was not expired so I logged in and selected a meal for the following day (more options to choose from!) It took me quite a few minutes to make my decision. Did I want to take the healthy route with a fish entree or a salad? Did I want to select pasta – which I eat pretty much every day? I ended up landing on Pasta Primavera with Burrata. The check out process was simple. All I had to cover was the delivery – roughly around $5.95. Many of my friends do Uber Eats and Postmates around here, but since that’s not something I frequent, I didn’t know if my delivery fee was in line with other companies or if it was more expensive.

My meal arrived 30 minutes before the hour long delivery window I had selected, but I was home anyways. It arrived in a plain bag with the company’s logo on it and ready to be microwaved with simple instructions. Since Kevin and I went out to dinner last night, I crossed my fingers that the meal would last until the next day which it did! In just three minutes, my meal was warmed up. I microwaved the pasta, veggies, and sauce and when it was done, topped it with the fresh burrata and pine nuts that were in their separate containers. The portions were reasonable and left me wanting more. Another impressive fact about this dish is that there was any excess oil. It is one of my biggest pet peeves when microwaving something up because it makes something that could have been fresh and healthy not anymore. The veggies were crunchy and felt like they had been prepared the same day. The flavors altogether were just my favorite part. Munchery and I did not work together on this post, but I was quite pleased with my first experience and would definitely be open to trying this same meal again and another one.

Design

16 Jul 2018

Brit + Co Holiday House

Merry Christmas from Brad and I halfway through the year! Last December, I got wind that Brit + Co was hosting their Holiday House down in Cow Hollow and needed to see it for myself. I had missed it the year before, but wanted to see their version of an infinity room and DIY craft stations. It was a small space, but Brit + Co utilized it well. Brad and I ended up spending a good 45 minutes there checking out every single nook and cranny. We posed in front of what feels like every single backdrop on display, took polaroids and put them in the best frames and lastly took this photo above where a real life Santa should have been, but wasn’t.

I know it seems like I can’t seem to make up my mind about these Instagrammable pop-ups and the truth is, I still haven’t come to a conclusion. I love to see how other businesses and companies put their spin on it. Brit + Co’s holiday house was up for the majority of December and completely free for visitors to stop in. Brad and I went the first week it opened so it ended up being a little less crowded that evening – perfect for us to try everything out!

The Time in Between

One thing I always ask my candidates when I’m extending an offer is when they want their start date to be. Some of them will want to start sooner rather than later, but most will ask for some time off – two weeks at least. Some news on my end… I was just recently a candidate! And the time off I’m getting? Nearly a month. I can’t remember the last time I had this amount of time to myself, probably never. The last time I had a month in between jobs, I was moving cities and that in itself had a lot of tasks tied to it that made it less relaxing than I had hoped. This time, I get to spend it being here. For weeks, I’ve been asking friends and family to share with me all of the tips and advice they had on how to spend my time and it seemed to align with what I had intended for myself!

For a brief moment, I wondered if I would get bored. Then I remembered that I never get bored. In my time off, I’m celebrating a couple of weddings and taking a trip that I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time. I’m very grateful to have friends that can take a vacation with me on such short notice! We’re headed to Las Vegas, Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. Normally, I probably would have tried to find time to squeeze Seattle in, but as I have been visiting more frequently, I thought I would use this time to travel somewhere new. I’m going to get some adult errands out of the way – all the things I couldn’t do or made myself too busy for while I was working. Lastly, I’m going to spend a lot of time creating new content. Yow Yow! has never had my undivided attention and for the first time ever, I get to focus entirely on it. However, I don’t want this time to be used only for work because yes, even writing for Yow Yow! is something I consider work. I want to explore the San Francisco neighborhoods I haven’t been to and get out of the city. I’m going to catch up on the articles I’ve been meaning to read and find the time to listen in on more podcasts so that I’m continuing to learn as well.

If you’ve ever had this kind of luxury with time before, I’d love to hear how you spent it!

Life

15 Jul 2018

Sunday Words

[Source]

Life

08 Jul 2018

Sunday Words

[Source]

Life

07 Jul 2018

Golden Gate Views

Tee – Everlane / Sweater + Scarf – Oak + Fort / Pants – Uniqlo / Hat – Nordstrom

You guys, no matter what anyone ever says, I will never get tired of the Golden Gate Bridge. Even if you’re visiting me and this is the most touristy thing you want to do, I’ll pretend like I’m not excited, but internally it’s all I hope you’ll ask to do. The Golden Gate Bridge is the equivalent of Pike Place Market to me. It never gets old and it continues to be more beautiful with every visit. Even if it’s a nice day, I will never go close to the water unprepared without many layers. I actually topped this outfit with my denim jacket (not pictured!) but had it taken off for photos for fear that it would be too clunky.