LV POCHETTE ACCESSOIRES (w/ vachetta strap from ebay)
We took a four-day trip down south to the city of Angels. It was scorching hot, and I started questioning our decision to go escape our bustle and bustle to more of both. It was Ocep's birthday when we drove out. His only request was a coupon book, just like one I made him before years ago. Now, before you think anything naughty, the coupon book he wanted was mostly for "tickle time" because he loves tickling me, and I don't like to be tickled.
In light of the scorching hot summer in LA, and we didn't anticipate the museums we wanted to visit were closed on Mondays, we took pictures around the area instead. At first, I wasn't really up for it since I'm not really a big fan of the sun when I'm outside and it's ninety degrees. Nonetheless, the view is pretty spectacular from the Griffith Observatory Park, and it was hard not to be mesmerized.
The Zara shirt is a new addition I picked up on this trip. It was on sale, and I just couldn't pass up on the adorable cacti prints! I was thinking to use it as a oversized tee, but it totally works as a lightweight outerwear, too!
I still can't believe that we pulled it off. I am currently at the peak of my busy season as a tax accountant. When our friends shared their trips to see the Super Bloom at Carizzo Plains, my husband instantly asked me to go. Looking at the pictures, I didn't even think twice to say, "Let's go!" It was an impromptu getaway, a very short one I might add. I leave it to Ocep to share you the deets of the trip since he was the one who planned everything, but let me just tell you that 4-hour drive was totally worth it. We literally just had less than 24 hours to enjoy the flowers and everything before we had to go back but it was worth it. Continue on reading and watch our trip here!
Hello everyone, this is Ocep, Amadea's (awesome) husband. Since
it's only a two days one night trip, the planning was really simple! I booked a
room in Taft, CA. I just picked a hotel that has good reviews and value, we
spent $85 for a single night at Holland Inn and Suites. It's a good place to
stay, it offers free parking and free wifi. The owner was nice, too. He
actually gave us a copy of Carrizo Plain map when we checked out the next
morning.
Carrizo Plain has two entrances, north and south. From Taft, you can opt for either on as they are roughly the same distance from the town. We went for south entrance since we had to drive north anyway to go home. It took us about half hour to get to the south entrance. I didn't really think it through and just drove north on Soda Lake Road towards visitor center and stopped here and there (see map here).
The flowers surely didn't disappoint! About 10 minute-drive
from the entrance, we were welcomed by a hill full of yellow monolopia flowers.
People parked their cars at the side of the road and so we did. The hills were
literally blanketed by these yellow flowers, they looked ridiculous! We spent
almost a good hour there before moving on.
We drove another half hour until we noticed a huge patch of purple
flowers in the distance on the right side of the road. So we continued driving
until we bumped into a side road leading towards the patch. We turned right and
drove for another 10 minutes or so until we arrived at a parking spot. We
parked our car there and walked further inland following people. It was around
1.5 mile walk but it was worth it. We arrived at a field full of purple lupine
flowers! I was really excited since it was the first time for me to see a
single place covered by whole lot of purple flowers! We spent maybe 1.5 hours
there to take pictures and enjoy the moment.
Go early in the morning! Since it's
spring, the sun already rises by 6 or 7 am. That way, there will be less crowds and the picture will
be much nicer since the sun is not too harsh early on. So I would suggest for
you to arrive in the plain by 8AM at the latest.
From there, we walked back to the parking spot and got back
to the main road. We drove until we got to an area where on your left and right
side it was miles and miles of yellow monolopia flowers. The flowers were so
dense that you kind had to make your way if you want to walk deeper into it.
Lucky for us, there were already tracks left behind by previous visitors. We
took pictures, enjoyed our time and actually had our lunch with a view!
Topshop jacket (old), Old Navy Rockstar jeans, Nike sneakers, Old Navy crossbody bag
Two weeks before my working Saturdays start, my husband took me to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We've heard that it's the largest aquarium, and it's also the inspiration of the Marine Life Institute in Finding Dori! I am always fascinated everytime I go to aquariums. We have visited different aquariums in different cities, and nature always amazes me.
Monterey is about 1.5 hour drive from where we live, so it wasn't that bad. We even planned ahead and brought our own lunch because we just wanted to spend the whole day in the aquarium, since the entrance ticket is a bit pricey - $49.95 for one adult.
The view from inside the aquarium is just amazing. They have this giant floor-to-ceiling ocean exhibit, just like the one you see on Finding Dori. You can see a lot of different fish and non-fish animals inside, and it's just mesmerizing. I am kicking myself for not bringing my good camera, but really. I could just stand and watch the fish swim for hours, which technically what exactly we did for that Saturday. We watched the sardines swim in sync and it's just so mesmerizing.
I still remember the very first time when I saw the Golden Gate Bridge for the very first time. It was almost 8 years ago. Time surely does fly. We live about an hour away from the city, and we like to come up and visit new places every time we go there. I can't say the same about food, though. We always end up sticking with the food we have tried and loved, just like the wings and diced chicken from San Tung Restaurant. You'll find more recommendations below. Ocep is very good in finding out new places for us to explore. Even though we feel like we have visited all the spot there is, there's always more and there's always new things to go to, like the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Japantown in April. I recently posted a video of some of the places mentioned below!
If you're visiting SF for the very first time, you should go to all the places mentioned in any SF travel guide because they are the landmarks, but I'm trying to steer away from the typical tourists attraction like Pier 39, Lombard Street or the Golden Gate Park in this post. Below, you will find my recommendation on all of all the places I've been to and all the food I've had!
Things to Do
- If you want to see a lot of things at once, you can try riding the SF signature Cable Car. I believe it has 3 different route, but the one I've been on is from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf. You can pay one all-day ticket and hop on/off anytime you'd like. There's also an option of 3-day,7-day and 1-way ticket.
-Visit the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market for a bite to eat, or more! This place is perfect especially for my foodie friends. Just like typical farmers market you may find at your local area, but bigger. It has different kind of food, from the kinds you find at the grocery store (aka fresh and organic produce) to ready-to-eat food like porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti. The area is located by the pier, so it's always nice to walk around and enjoy the view.
-If you're not afraid of putting out some sweat, go to Muir Woods National Monument. It's located just less than an hour away up north of San Francisco. I've been there a couple of times, and I love it! The national park gives you great view of beautiful redwood trees. Since it's surrounded by tall redwood trees, the hiking will be pleasantly protected from the sun. The trees form natural shade to the visitors. The parking is quite tight, so be sure to get there earlier. The two times I've been there, we always get there around noon, and even though we got parking space at the end, it was not fun finding one during that hour.
Muir Woods
- Another option of exploring and exercising at the same time is to go to Lands End. We started from the top with this amazing view of the ocean and the remains of what used to be an indoor public pool aka Sutro Baths. We then worked our way down and find ourselves a giant cave where you can go inside and hear the sound of the ocean water against the rock cave. Then, along the hike, we finally got to the Labyrinth which I just found out was destroyed last year due to vandalism (ARGH!). Fortunately it was already rebuilt as we speak. Let's hope it doesn't get destroyed again!
I love wearing casual and comfortable outfits on the weekends( don't we all? ;) ). Pairing a simple tee and jeans is always my go-to when I don't know what to wear. Denim jacket has been my staple piece lately. It just goes with everything! It goes well paired with dresses as well as with simple ensemble like this.
I used to think denim on denim was a tad too much, ehm, denim. It is so '90s, yet I adore the look of it. It just instantly creates an outfit. I added some of my favorite pins on the jacket to make it my own.
Hi everyone! Long time no blogging. Lately, I post on instagram more than I do on my blog. I honestly find it really hard to form idea long enough for a blog post. If you don't know, I have another account on instagram under @byAmadea where I post mostly 99.9% beauty related products. I share makeup of the day, beauty products I've tried and my takes on them, and many more. All the pictures are taken by yours truly. I feel like it's a quicker way to share with you guys what I'm currently enjoying -- or not enjoying.
Moving on to my most recent trip. Every year after April 15 (or April 18 this year, when tax season is over), I take a little getaway trip just to refresh myself. This year, we went to San Diego and Universal Studios in Hollywood. We took a morning flight and arrived in SD at around 10 am. The check-in time was 4 pm, so we had plenty of time to kill. Instead of renting a hotel room, we opted for small studio with kitchen and its own backyard! The place is small but just enough for two. I forgot to take the picture, so I can't show you guys.
Places we visited
Since we had hours to kill before we could check in, we made Balboa Park as our first stop. It's a signature San Diego spot with plenty of museums, a vast range of parks and great amounts of sight seeings. You haven't been to San Diego if you haven't visited Balboa Park. We didn't really do anything there besides walking around and taking pictures. Parking was pretty difficult when we were there. It was on Tuesday afternoon. The heat also made me more exhausted than I actually was. Being in South California, San Diego is always about 5 degrees warmer than the bay area.
Death Valley had been on my bucket list for a while, so when my friend invited me to join him on this camping trip I said nothing but, "YES!". It was about 9-hour drive from San Jose to the campsite, Furnace Creek. We left at around 5:12 am and stopped at Barstow, CA for lunch. We met our two other friends who drove from San Diego to meet us there. The initial plan was In & Out Burger, but seeing Panda Express was there...
There were 19 of us, and we rented two big vans. I was a bit surprised that we were on top of schedule. We arrived at the campsite at around 3.30 in the afternoon. The weather was really nice. It was around 75F. It did drop more in the evening. I did a rookie mistake on the first night for not checking my sleeping bag. I was using Ocep's sleeping bag, and for some reason I just couldn't get it zipped. I was really cold in early morning when the temperature was at its lowest. My nose was freezing.
The #HeathyHike is going strong. We went hiking again last Saturday to Pleasanton Ridge National Park. We hiked 6 miles for about 3 hours. The view was so beautiful!
Yesterday we went for a Sunday hike in Pogonip, Santa Cruz, CA. We started the day pretty late. We had lunch nearby our place and by the time we got there it was already around 1:15 pm. I knew we wanted to go hiking, but the destination was a last-minute decision. We saw our friends photos when they went here last week, so we decided to follow them. It was a very nice day and weather, too!
It was a relax walk/hike for a total of 6 miles - 2 hours 35 minutes. Not bad for a weekend workout. Now that I'm incorporating exercise back in my life, I invite you all to start too if you haven't! Start by incorporating little workout in your daily schedule, such as 30-minute walk, 30-minute swim or whatever it is that you want to do. Try doing them for 8 times a month - which means 2 times a week. Start small. Let's do this #healthy2015 together! Let me know if you want to join the "challenge" and let's motivate each other =)
I gotta say, the makeup looked pretty good when I got home!
This used to be a tennis court. There was an abandoned clubhouse - Pogonip Clubhouse.
We found "Crazy Love" book abandoned on a log.
It was a great book. I've read and am inspired by it.
Ok, it's spring. Tax season is over. I want to re-start my 2015 healthy goal. This time I want to really do it. I keep saying i want to exercise, but for some reason the spirit always falls short. I want to start #HealthyHike this year where I go hiking with my friends at least once a week..? Haha.. I know I set my goal too high for myself, but if I don't I would just end up not doing anything.
Last Saturday, we went hiking at Lands End in San Francsico. The view was amazing. The trail was not hard. We walked for approximately 4.72 miles. It was a pretty good workout, considering.
The ruins of Sutro Baths
Back in the late 1890s, it was the largest indoor swimming pool built by Aldolph Sutro. Sadly, with great depression and all, the pool lost its popularity. A developer bought the site in 1964 with a plan for high-rise apartment building,. The plan never went through, and the building was finally detroyed by fire in 1966.
Muracci's Japanese Curry
It's claimed to be the best curry in the bay area. Yum!
We weren't full sharing one plate of the chicken katsu curry. Thankfully, there was Sushirrito not far from Muracci. We walked there and got ourselves one Geisha's Kiss.
We did a little tour around the city on Christmas day. Almost all stores were closed for the holiday, hence the traffic was really great. We planned to do it on the day before Christmas, but my boyfriend insisted to wait until Christmas so I could wear the coat he got for me. That's right. He got me this red coat. He went to the mall all by himself, and I'm really proud. I love the coat. He really got good taste! ;)
My Quincy trip was a low-key/relaxing trip with a lot of time spent outdoors. I didn't pack a lot of stuff in makeup bag, just the essentials, most of which you probably are bored of =).
I just wanted to stick with the product I am comfortable with. I do have a couple of new products with me, one of which I have been enjoying for the past month and the other I have been trying out to create different looks with.
