lighthouses

Number 9 on my 101 in 1001 list is to visit another three lighthouses.  For some reason, I think of lighthouses as an east coast thing, but the west coast definitely has some beautiful lighthouses too! My best friend Hannah and I had plans to go on this lighthouse road trip sometime during college, but never got around to it (although that seems to be the story of our friendship; we've got a google doc full of things we want to do but haven't.  instead we order takeout and watch stupid movies.) So now, it's on my list of things to do.

Fisgard Lighthouse

However, I did get the chance to visit two lighthouses while I was vacationing in the Pacific Northwest last summer with my family.  We stopped at the Fisgard Lighthouse in Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, and the West Point Lighthouse in Discovery Park, Seattle, WA.  The Fisgard Lighthouse was restored inside, so you could go in and explore.  The West Point Lighthouse was being repainted when we were there, and I'm not sure the current state.  But neither are particularly out of the way of their respective city, so I would definitely recommend visiting both!

West Point Lighthouse

san diego

This past weekend, my mom and I took a day trip down to San Diego. We didn't do too much - mostly just shopping and some eating. Most of these places were suggested by Design Sponge's city guide. Here are some of the places we went to.

Food:
Cafe 21: we went here for lunch based off yelp reviews, but weren't really impressed? there was a decent wait outside too, so we were surprised by the quality of food.  maybe people went for the drinks? they had six selections of sangria, and huge bloody marys etc etc etc. it also took forever to get our food, and all we ordered was spinach crepes and a spicy cristo sandwich.
Rim Talay Thai Cuisine: we ended up grabbing dinner in Oceanside on our drive back home.  Yelp didn't steer us wrong with this one. we ordered their fresh rolls (aka spring rolls), an island curry (red curry plus pineapple etc), and a tom yum noodle soup.  great food for a decent price, but service was a bit slow at times.  they also do a pretty popular takeout. we parked next to a barber shop full of marines getting their high and tight sharpened up; it was amusing.

Shopping:
Pigment: super awesome store in North Park, with a "plant lab" where you can create your own terrarium with their selection of glass globes, plants, sand, etc.  
Progress: also wonderfully curated, with an awesome selection of cards and home goods.  in South Park
Bubbles Boutique: a clothing and accessories store in the Gaslamp District.  apparently they only (mostly?) stock local artists/jewelers/etc? Depending on what you're going for, may not be worth the drive and parking, but if you're already in the area, definitely worth a look
Bixby & Ball: in the Cedros Design District in Solana Beach, a little bit north of San Diego. I'd visited this place before, and wanted to show it to my mom. the last time I was there, they had spread out onto the steps and driveway out front for a sale, which was great for me. this time, it was just the shop. pricey goods, but the ambience and quality is fantastic.
Solo: just down the street from bixby & ball.  lots of great stuff, plus it's in this warehouse-y looking cement brick building that they managed to make inviting and not like costco at all.  you could probably find a lot of their goods elsewhere for a couple dollars cheaper, but it's still a great place to browse and get inspiration.  the rest of the store in the Cedros Design District also warrant a visit.

and some places we didn't get to, but wish we did.
Food:
Maza Grill Kabob: apparently they offer good, cheap food.  unfortunately they were closed for the long weekend.
Alchemy: had a delicious-sounding menu, but we weren't hungry when we got to the South Park area, so decided to move on. also seems to have a community aspect to it, which is exciting
Craft & Commerce: their lunch menu looked fantastic, but they only offer food from their brunch menu on weekends, which wasn't as exciting.

Shopping:
Vocabulary: we ended up passing by this part of town completely. =[

101 in 1001

inspired by Danni's list of 101 things to do in 1001 days, so I decided to make my own.  will be continually updated as things get accomplished!
legend: in progress (13) || completed (32/101) || completed after 1001 days (2)
start date: Thursday, 8/29/2013
end date: Tuesday, 5/31/2016

TRAVEL & OUTDOORS
01. visit chicago
02. hike up half dome in yosemite
03. visit san francisco again
04. go tree house camping
05. ride in a hot air balloon
06. go on a road trip (maybe with #3?)
07. visit europe
08. visit an independent bookstore
09. visit another three lighthouses (0/3)
10. spend an entire day enjoying nature and nothing else
11. sleep under the stars
12. watch a meteor shower
13. go on six new hikes (sturtevant falls, devil's lake, night hike at the uw arboretum, governor nelson state park, pheasant branch creek, governor dodge state park) (6/6)

s'mores party

My high school friends and I do s'mores at least once a break.   They're usually just your average s'mores, made over a bunsen burner (so nerdy!), a bonfire at the beach, or the fire pit in my parent's backyard.  This time, though, I wanted to make it a little more exciting.

hand-lettering

(a blog post for Holstee!) I've been blessed with neat handwriting since I was a child, but I never really saw it as a form of art until recently. Despite short stints of trying to learn calligraphy from a kit (I'll master it eventually), I've learned that you don't need any fancy equipment to get some pretty neat results. Just a ballpoint pen will do. Here are some little projects I've accomplished (lazy instagram pictures are the best!).

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] by e. e. cummings 

grown-up dinner party

I feel like graduation is the line between pseudo-adulthood and actual adulthood.  To celebrate our entrance into the world of 9-to-5 jobs and bills and loan-repayments, I hosted a dinner party in July for a couple of my high school friends.  It was a pretty simple set-up, but came together to look pretty fancy.

Spring Break Round-up

I love visiting other cities whenever I get a chance, and being on the East Coast means that I have so many choices to choose from. This spring break, I went to Washington, D.C. and New York City.  Here are some my favorite places.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Food:

Founding Farmers: we were in the area on a Sunday night, when the streets were all empty.  you wouldn't have realized it from the restaurant, however; both floors were completely packed.  good food and quality ingredients that are made in-house or carefully sourced.

Standard: great barbecue. 'nuff said.

Shopping:

GoodWood: they have a shop puppy that makes a visit worth it.  They mostly carry 19th and 20th century antiques, other vintage finds, and some locally-made products.

Tabletop: a wonderful collection of modern accessories.

Proper Topper: runs the gamut from hats, dresses, baby toys and clothes, books, and more.  good for treating yourself with something beautiful or for gifting a friend.

Trohv DC: huge place chock full of home goods, furniture, party accessories, and more.

Other:

Museums (obviously).  Most of the Smithsonian museums are free, which just makes it all better.  The most popular are the Air and Space Museum and the Museum of Natural History, but some other gems include

National Gallery of Art: beautiful art in a beautiful building.

Freer/Sackler Gallery of Art: Asian art plus a random gallery of American Art.

Museum of American History: I learned so many new things about this country.  Made me proud to be an American, even with all the hiccups we've had (and are still having).

Botanic Garden: and many other gardens dotted between the museums are beautiful.

NEW YORK CITY

Food:

Doughnut Plant: huge donuts with innovative flavors.

Russ and Daughters: cream cheese and cured salmon all made in-house.  lines are long, but worth the wait.

Patisserie Claude: best croissants ever.

Pearl Oyster Bar: lobster rolls and shoestring fries

City Bakery: pretzel croissant.  better than it sounds.

Eataly: Mario Batali's food extravaganza.  a mix between grocery store, deli, cafe, and restaurant.

Momofuku Milk Bar: crack pie is a must-have.  cereal milk ice cream as well.  heck, just try everything.

il laboratorio del gelato: wonderful flavors.

Mast Brothers Chocolate: handcrafted dark chocolate with beautiful packaging.

The Cinnamon Snail: vegan food truck bursting with flavor.  the pastries are wonderful too.

Shopping:

Brooklyn Flea: better in the spring/summer, but still great in the winter.  fantastic collection of clothes, craft, antiques, and food.

Papel New York: cute shop featuring cards and paper goods

Moon River Chattel: kind of like a thrift store, but classier and higher quality and wonderfully curated.

Brook Farm General Store: possibly my favorite store ever.

Purl Soho: quality yarn and fabric shop.  their website also has free patterns for a variety of projects.

Other:

High Line Park: built on abandoned railroad tracks above the city, with great views of the Hudson and surrounding streets