Soakin' Up San Francisco

My day off today called for a few treats, including but not limited to some pampering and an internet-free, iPhone-less date at one of my favorite caffeine escapes. I decided to treat myself to an iced mocha from Alfred , despite having no date this morning and very few friends who can typically day-date with me anyway. Rather than miss or dwell upon this memory-filled neighborhood of West Hollywood, I figured that I should do exactly the opposite of what my mind was telling me to ( drive far, far away , that is). No, instead I was determined to enter it whole-heartedly, embrace the stomping grounds and comfort spots which used to (and still do) bring me so much joy, and start to re-create some new memories within them: alone, and with new friends once in a while. Take this cafe, for example: In my entire year of living in my second WeHo apartment, I’d frequent this quaint spot with my nearby neighbor Ailie and sometimes my second roommate, Nili. I fondly remember their kind supply o...

Recently inspired by this month's letter from the editor of Los Angeles magazine, I've decided that it's time to truly explore my greater city. I have known for a long time that I was born to be an explorer of the world. It began with long days of playing Rainforest beneath the backyard sprinkler, naming our most dependably recurring flowers and blending concoctions of pollen and au natural aloe-vera jelly in ivy leaf petri dishes. It continued on trips to Grandma's "mountain house" in Frazier Park, CA - where we'd take walks in search of craft-worthy pine cones bigger than our hands, and cousin Nick and I would set out sledding between the icy backyards, gone long enough to worry my usually laissez-faire Gramz. The childhood strand of my travel bug peaked when Mom and I jetted off to France and Germany for cousins Greg and Elvie's 1996 nuptials... in which I side-starred as the all-American flower girl. Mom and I fed the birds outside Versailles, to...

On the eve of my quarter-life crisis (seven days until age 25): As I chatted with my oldest and bestest friend Chels while driving home tonight, I noted the topics we touched upon. Superbowl, our parents and siblings of course, the notion of "college envy." We talked about our finances, the imperative-yet-impossibleness of saving money, and our constantly teetering living situations. I envy her current downtown apartment, with gorgeous skyline view and desert-weathered patio... she reassured me of the wisdom behind my current situation: living at home rent free with Mom and Dad. It's just for now; at first it was intended to be "just for six months," and it would also make a lot of sense for it to be "just for this year" while happy and thriving at my current workplace - a twenty-minute commute away. We then discussed our impending dream destinations: #1 being Hawaii for Chels's sister's wedding, where she'll be a guaranteed guest as MO...