New Orleans Roadtrip, May 2021

July 23, 2021Leave a comment

I absolutely love visiting New Orleans! The culture and vibe of the people, food, and place make it all so unique and enthralling compared to the day to day of other cities in the US. Every time I go I learn something new, connect with something or someone different, and dive even deeper into the cultural melting pot of the south.

Since we’ve been in COVID over a year John and I decided to do a roadtrip from Austin, stopping in Houston to stay at my sister’s place, and continuing onto NOLA to basically eat ourselves to death. We’ve done the drive before and while although parts can be so unbearable, it’s much cheaper than flying. True story flights were $600 roundtrip when I checked out of ATX! Plus, the drive reminds us of True Detective Season 1 so we rewatched it prior to our trip for inspiration.

We went over Memorial Day weekend since we had an extra day built in, so we knew this was going to be a short trip. We loved staying over in the Irish Channel by the Garden District when we visited in 2016, so we opted for an Airbnb in the same area.

First thing first we hit up Mahoney’s on Magazine Street for some delish po-boys. I am not normally a po-boy type, but when I want one I want it while I’m in NOLA. The crispy crunchy shrimp with the fixins and soft bread with hot sauce and mayo. It’s amazing and trust me on this – this is one thing you need to try when you are there!

We then headed over to Frenchman Street once things started opening up around 5pm for early drinks before getting too crowded. We are fully vaccinated but most people in NOLA don’t wear masks, so we wanted to have time before things there got real crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the debauchery of my 20s and drunken nights in NOLA – but not this trip! We were going for a more casual day drinking vibe with chill nights at nice restaurants.

Maybe I’m older or maybe the pandemic had me feeling safe and sound in my clean home, away from all the germs, being around people felt super weird! Isn’t it strange the things we did all of the time before that feel dangerous now? Blowing out candles on a birthday cake that will be shared with others, working out in a gym and sharing weights, riding public transportation and holding onto the rail. It made being in the Frenchman district feel super adventurous!

After an interesting happy hour with a full cop arrest and intervention on the sidewalk, we walked through the art market, bought a few unique items, and then walked across the French quarter, window shopping along the way.

We made our way towards Lafayette park in the Warehouse district for dinner at Sofia, voted best new Italian restaurant of 2019. It didn’t look like much online or once we got there, as it’s more casual, but let me tell you this was the best pasta we’ve had in ages!

We still talk about how good Sofia was to this day! I haven’t yet found my place in Austin with delish fresh pasta that is to die for. But until then I’ll keep searching for the perfect noodle…

Afterwards we walked through Lafayette Park (which I had never done before) and snapped the most beautiful spooky shots. I love the mystery and magic of NOLA each and every time I visit. I always do a ghost or voodoo tour, but we didn’t have the time this go-around. But NOLA is so spooky you don’t even need to go on a tour to feel how vibrantly haunted it is.

Afterwards we went to this snazzy little cocktail bar + lounge called Bar Marilou and it was the cutest lil spot! Due to COVID you had to make reservations in advance for limited capacity inside. I’m so glad we did this because this was one of the coolest NOLA bars I’ve ever been to. We got caviar and enjoyed the end of our day of driving and exploration before heading back towards Magazine Street.

After a long night of good rest we were pumped for a whole day of exploration in the Big Easy. We walked through the Garden District to admire the beautiful homes. Every time I’m in the area and see them I think about Anne Rice and Interview with the Vampire. She lived in the Garden District for a long time and then moved to San Francisco. And also – Interview with the Vampire was filmed in both locations! She must be a really neat lady. I love thinking about what a conversation with her would entail!

*Obsessed with this rhinestone* *fringe bandana from Gato Denim*.

It was a hot day and many people were out and about. I initially wanted to go to Cafe Du Monde for beignets but the line was outrageous (and I mean, OUTRAGEOUS), so we checked out the view and decided to save the beignets for later.

The first thing we did was get a decent brunch in the French Quarter followed with a visit to the Museum of Death. I had heard about it and thought it sounded interesting, as you know I’m a huge fan of true crime documentaries. A good friend of mine created the Netflix docu-series about Henry Lee Lucas (The Confession Killer) and I knew there would be some weird gems inside that I had to share!

The Museum of Death was a bit more of a roadside attraction than I thought it would be. They did have some cool original artworks from murderers on death row, and more detailed information/police composite sketches/crime scene details that were interesting, but they also had a lot of campy stuff in poor taste that felt a bit strange. All in all it was $15, but it’s not someplace I would visit again.

Walking around Bourbon was so weird on a Sunday mid day, because it wasn’t really all that busy. We were able to walk right into the historic Pat O’Briens for a super-duper strong hurricane.

Of course, we explored all of the French Quarter, even walking by the infamous haunted LeLaurie mansion!

I love the architecture of old New Orleans. So much rich culture and history. It was founded by prostitutes and thieves from France and also burned down twice 6 years apart! So much mysticism exists it permeates from everything you come across.

We drank along our route in the French Quarter, as one does, exploring and shopping throughout the niche NOLA markets. We tried to get beignets several times but it just wasn’t in the cards for us that day. So many people were waiting in endless lines at every beignet cafe we came across! That city loves those beignets…

Meanwhile, our last night in NOLA was spent out on Magazine street – which I had never experienced before! We freshened up at our Airbnb before walking over to the cutesy neighborhood. We got a beer at the Bulldog Bar before heading to Cavan, an adorable vintage house-turned into bar and restaurant, for cocktails. While we only had cocktails, next time I come back I want to dine here. The inside was magical full of Victorian chandeliers and bright bold interior design.

This side of NOLA was way more my speed. It was cute, cozy, a bit more eccentric and less crowded / less touristy. I would 100% stay here and hangout here again. Our dinner reservations were just around the corner at Atchafalaya, a real NOLA creole & Cajun restaurant.

Everything was so damn delish! Eat here, you won’t regret it.

After several days and meals of Cajun and heavy cream southern concoctions, we slept like babies from food comas. Our last morning before hitting the long drive on I-10 back to Texas was spent waiting for those damn beignets (for 45 minutes!) and finally exploring some cemetaries. While John was pretty pissed we waited so long for those beignets, he loved their pillowy softness and totally would get them again.

Thank you New Orleans! We ate, we drank, we explored – we wore our masks when we could and we enjoyed the twisty winding roads of the old French Quarter and beyond. Thank you for always being a fun culinary hot spot! Until the next time we cross paths (probably in several more years)…

Nashvillagers

May 8, 20181 Comment

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This past March was my dad’s 70th birthday, and my sisters and I celebrated by taking him to Nashville (similar to the Charleston trip we made with our mom back in October). My father has gotten pretty deep into genealogy research and discovering distant relatives, so he was stoked on heading to Nashville as his ancestors hailed from Tennessee. #TheOnlyTenISee 😉

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We started off at the Ryman Auditorium, the ORIGINAL Grand Ole Opry, with a show from the Gatlin Brothers! It was really neat to sit in the original auditorium pews where many others enjoyed their favorite country and western singers from so long ago. We even did a backstage tour and hungout in Johnny Cash’s old room. My dad was so excited!

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The main thing my dad wanted to do was genealogy research, so we headed to the Tennessee state archives for a deep dive into the history of Blount County, on a search for Cindarella Davis. We made memories that I’ll cherish forever ❤ …and if you’ve never been to a state archive, I highly suggest!

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One thing we weren’t expecting was the absurdly cold weather in April (it snowed one day!) so we opted for a tour of the Belle Meade Plantation to take advantage of being indoors. We learned that they bred horses, including the famous Bonnie Scotland, descendant of the majority of Derby winning horses! (What a crazy horse family tree that would be… 😉 ) Also the Derby used to be in Tennessee and only moved to Kentucky because of a law that outlawed horse betting in TN in the early 1900s. Oh and they made terrible wine and decent spirits, but the wine pourer HATED us…. HA ha ha.

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I LOVED our AirBnb house in East Nashville! It’s the sort of Bungalow meets Victorian style home of my dreams and I can’t wait to buy something similar someday. Our neighborhood was ADORABLE and we were even in walking distance (3 blocks) to the gayest, diviest bar around Nashville and had a phenomenal karaoke night out at Lipstick Lounge.

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It was so nice to have some quality time with dad as we stuffed ourselves with artisan donuts, southern fried chicken, BEER, and all the fixins! Eating out at The Flipside (must order the bloody mary) and The Mockingbird (cough cough GET THE COCKTAIL IN A BAG – you won’t regret it) were the most memorable and delish!

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Drinking in honkytonks were a BLAST and made me really question whether or not Austin was really the live music capital of the world….I really felt like I saw so many talented singers and groups all over town, on every floor of every available bar. Bachelorette and bachelor parties EVERYWHERE though, heads up.

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It was cold but these boots kept me fashionable AND warm 🙂

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I had a great time, TN! I hope to come back someday in the WARM WEATHER and swim in some water holes, hike, and also head towards Memphis to Dollywood…. SOME DAY.

City By The Bay

March 26, 2018March 26, 2018Leave a comment

It’s well known that San Francisco is gorgeous AF. We really are spoiled here, between the rolling mountains, wine country, ocean and bay, amazing Victorian architecture and more, it’s no wonder SF is one of the most sought out places to live in the world and why I thank my lucky stars that I have rent control.

But if you aren’t a local there are many other unique and interesting things that make SF eclectic….like:

Hanging out “in the park” is what everyone does – there are parks EVERYWHERE, and it’s a perfectly logical thing to get together at one of them (Golden Gate, Alamo Square, Dolores, Crissy Field – many more!) and picnic ALL DAY, day drink, play games, or even smoke on the weekends.
There are more costumed events here than in any other city! Bay to breakers, the binge drinking event built around wearing costumes and walking a running race route, is the biggest costumed event in the Bay all year. Of course there is also Halloween, but there are many themed bar crawls and events that require costumes at all times of the year (Victorian ball, anyone?!), no one bats an eyelash when seeing many people dressed up (or even nude, as we are the biggest nude town in America as well).
It’s perfectly acceptable for vendors to walk around parks, selling edibles and their baked good treats like brownies and truffles, for consumption in public.
Apparently, as I learned on a documentary show on Vice called Slutever (omg great name BTW) that there are weed oriented sex products and parties on the reg in the Bay. I’ve lived here 10 years and never knew that, but now I do and am not surprised one bit!

I love this goober’s smile ❤ R E S P E C T

Whether or not you want to partake in any of those things, the Bay is a CHILL place to be, where you can be a mermaid any day of the week and no one would think that is strange. I love this big weirdo of a town! ❤

Jumpin’ Jack Flash – It’s (almost) SPRING!

March 13, 2018March 13, 2018Leave a comment

We made it! Daylight savings has come and and now we have extra light outside! I am so glad because having darkness after work for a good 4-5 months straight up SUCKS. We live pretty close to Golden Gate Park and I enjoy a good jogging jaunt after work most of the time, so when it’s annoyingly dark outside for months on end – I need to get creative on how to hit my steps. I’ve resorted to running before work (if I can) which is a struggle because I’m not a morning person! GAHHH.

But alas…SPRING!

Pink and purple pastels! ICE CREAM! Cherry blossoms! BEING ABLE TO WATCH THE SUNSET AT 8-9pm! It’s all happening y’all … ❤

BTW – I’ve been loving this designer Hayley Elsaesser from Toronto. I found her through Instagram and bought this bold sweater dress late last year; I LOVE her funky style. Finding new designers and small business owners through Instagram is something that I thoroughly enjoy, and if it’s run by a woman – DOPE! Support small business owners!

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We have some spring travel plans coming up including a weekend in Carmel, a wedding weekend in the Santa Cruz mountains, and a trip to Nashville. Gotta get some rest in to catch up on my lost hour of sleep.

K bye!

Dat Big Apple

September 26, 20171 Comment

Hello again, world! I have been so lame with blogging the last several months…my bad! I really have been meaning to post but have been unusually busy – so much so that this post has sat in my drafts for months! EEeeeee!

With that said, who is down to read about John and I’s NYC trip from 4 months ago?! Saddle up…

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I have been to NYC about 8 times in the last decade, mostly for work. My first job in SF was for an agency that was based out of NYC that handled Broadway musicals, and I had the Wicked account. That office was in the same building where TRL was filmed for MTV back in the 90’s/early 00’s! I have definitely had my fair share of the NYC tourist experience, although not for a long time. John had never been to NYC or the East Coast, so when my boss suggested that I visit again for some clients, we decided to make a jam-packed trip out of it.

I told John that I knew the best rooftop bar with super secret, private views. He was all about it! Andddd that’s how I tricked him into visiting the Empire State Building <cry laugh emoji>.

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❤ viva l’empire state building!

Later that night we spent a whopping $5 for tickets to COLIN QUINN at the Comedy Cellar! Anyone who knows me knows that I always wanted to be on SNL, so when the opportunity to see an SNL alumni and comedy legend struck, for ONLY $5, I crossed my t’s and dotted the i immediately. HE WAS SO FUNNY! At the end of the show we got a picture together and I drunkenly told him he was hot?? NO CLUE where that came from, because I have never once thought of CQ as “hot” per se, but I was so star struck it was like the first thing that came out of my mouth….and once I realized what I said, it became the last thing out of my mouth. #stillfunnytho

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We also had a blast hanging out in the East Village, going to art galleries, shopping at quirky boutiques, checking out happy hours at various bars, and also THE FOOD. I can finally say I’ve made it to Veselka! And as a lady of Eastern European descent, I can proudly say that I approve.

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Then we did more basic AF things, like strolling through Central Park and checking out the Googenheim, which surprisingly I had never seen prior!

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Kandinsky – my FAV! ❤

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Luckily we had amazing weather on our trip so we were able to check out many rooftop bars. My favorites were The Roof NY (much more bougie) and Roof at Park South (more relaxed and down to earth). NOTE: Not all rooftop bars have “roof” in the title…not to confuse you but these two are both great in completely different ways!

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Me, standing by the ledge trying not to look down.

We loved the Roof at Park South SO MUCH! Located in a great spot in the East Village. The East Village might be our favorite neighborhood in Manhattan.

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Getting around NYC is so quick and mostly easy (WAY more efficient than getting around SF!) – we made it to 4 of the 5 Burroughs in a few days. YES, we went to a BOMB DOT COM Mediterranean restaurant in QUEENS, called Taverna Kyclades and sat right next to skinny JONAH HILL!!! We also made it a Yankees game in the Bronx, as we found $10 tickets against the Oakland A’s (which was kinda like second to seeing The Giants play since they are from the same bay I GUESS). Now all we have left to see is Staten Island…(and I’m pretty sure John is set on that)!

John outside of our home away from home.

Because I had some work to do we stayed in Manhattan the first two nights, and opted to get an Airbnb through the weekend in my favorite neighborhood in Brooklyn, Park Slope. I love the fun vibe because it’s a perfect mix of exciting bars, restaurants, and boutiques spread throughout a chill neighborhood that doesn’t get too touristy. And I’m so happy John LOVED it too. ❤

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NYC had a lot of firsts for John, but one for me as well. I had never walked the famous Brooklyn Bridge, and it was a cute NEW thing for us to do together. It wasn’t too far of a trek from where we stayed and we managed to squeeze it in on our last day, before we made it to the airport where our flight was delayed 3 hours. FUN TIMES!

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We packed a lot in and had a blast! John can’t wait to head back to the East Coast and hit up that Staten Island ferry, I tell you what…LMAO. Until next time, NYC! And I’ll also do a better job of not waiting so long to document my travels! xo ❤

Team Palm Springs

June 20, 2017June 21, 2017Leave a comment

Palm Springs had been on my list of vacation getaways ever since I moved to California. I don’t know how it is that I’ve been living in this beautiful state for 9 years without ever crossing paths with PS, but it finally happened, I loved it, and I can’t wait to go back!

My old roommate (or as we used to joke, wombmate, since we were practically attached at the hip for a good several years) is getting married next month, so she invited a gaggle of girls to celebrate the end of her single-hood in the glamorous desert city. Our AirBnb house was AMAZING, complete with a salt water pool, and I don’t think I would ever stay in a hotel in the future knowing how beautiful and affordable the homes are.

Some of the only pictures I took from the inside of our retro place.

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I practically lived in this pool all weekend.

Once I knew we were headed down south, I looked to see if there were any crazy art exhibits close by that we could check out and I found out about the mirage house. A full house art exhibit, completely covered in mirrors in the middle of the desert! IT WAS GORGEOUS!!

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The only picture of all 11 ladies!

It was fun to be with a good group of women who, even though we are all spread out across the country, we are all from Texas (except Amy I still got you girl!). Just to be silly together and celebrate #Merkelle was exactly what the doctor ordered. Plus, because we are Texan women, we brought our own INFLATABULL float! (This thing is a terror if you aren’t careful! I could NOT mount it at all #fail. Also look how HUGE it is – takes up SO MUCH SPACE and also took forever to inflate, but man was it WORTH it).

This little PRICK nabbed my hand! We pulled out about 10-15 little needles and it wasn’t too bad, although I still have scars.

We all heard stories about gay bars in Palm Springs not being particularly welcome to bachelorette parties and for us to be cautious. We didn’t dress up in sashes or crowns or penis whistles or anything because that is TACKY AF, but we were pleasantly surprised at how accommodating every place was once they knew we were a bachelorette party. It was the exact opposite of what we heard! RetroRoom Lounge was a complete delight and had some of the best Whitney Houston drag I’ve ever seen! Long story short, Palm Springs is like the Austin of California in the way of many bachelorette parties everywhere. #gonnaseeleythedealy

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A few girls stayed an extra day over at the infamous Saguaro Palm Springs hotel, and I SWEAR it felt like MTV Spring Break 1994. The pool was so intense: people danced on floats, shots galore, there was a full on bathing suit photoshoot, and an EDM DJ at like 9am. It was so lit! I am glad I went because I got to see the hotel without having to stay there, PLUS there was thee cutest Barbie doll shadowbox exhibit in the lobby and I almost DIED. It’s no secret that I love Barbie art…

It was a great time! We LOVED celebrating Raquel, and hope it was everything she dreamed of ❤

Baiiiii Palm Springs, let’s not let another NINE YEARS go by without saying hi.

Bodega Bay With My Bae

April 17, 2017April 17, 20171 Comment

In case you didn’t know, Alfred Hitchcock filmed The Birds in Bodega Bay, which is about an hour and a half drive north of the city. We recently re-watched The Birds and since we had an amazing change of weather, decided to make a day trip just to see if could spot any of those crazy birds…

While this movie makes no sense to me (the relationship storyline at least, not the bird plot. That makes the most sense of all! What woman meets a man and instantly takes a trip hours away to secretly drop off birds in his house while he is gone?! SOMEONE PSYCHO…) it was still fun to watch and hang around Bodega Bay and find where certain scenes were filmed. We ate at The Tides restaurant which has a scene in the movie too, and the food wasn’t the best and was super touristy, but now I can say that I ate there so I don’t ever have to again… <laugh crying>

The California coast truly is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, so the fact that we were able to hike the Kortum Trail right off the coastline was a breathtaking experience.

We easily made our way down to Shell Beach, where ironically there were no shells, just a bunch of rocks but still really chill.

We hiked about 4 miles total with the loop, and ended up on top of the hill which was super steep but worth it. Driving around the Bay Area will always be something that brings me joy, everything about this part of the world is absolutely beautiful inside and out, from the diverse and open minded people, to the coastal views, to the vineyards, and everything in-between, (northern) Cali is where it’s at. ❤ ❤ ❤

Spring Cleansing

April 4, 2017April 4, 20171 Comment

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Spring has sprung y’all and I am feeling it! I think this last winter was a bit of a roller coaster for me, emotionally and mentally, and I feel like I’m in a good spot at the moment, taking it all in, and working on my “spring cleansing” if you will.

I am an idealist. My Myers-Briggs personality profile is INFP. It’s literally part of the idealist category. I also struggle with perfectionism. I think of grandiose “shoulds” in my mind and get down sometimes at the fact that I’m not even close to my grandiose vision, when in reality, the only person who could even be close to those goals would be a superhuman like Oprah or Elon Musk. And I’m NOT a superhuman, so why do I create superhuman goals??!

We live in a very different world now than our parents and our grandparents. Everything is a lot easier now. We communicate much more quickly. Think about the middle ages and how long it would take to even get a love note!!! And now we live in a world where people can “swipe left” and instantly connect with a love interest. We NEED instant gratification now, and not everything is set up that way. So we get down on ourselves when we don’t lose weight fast enough, or we didn’t save as much money as we thought we would, or the fact that we don’t have a boyfriend just yet. It can make you crazy and it definitely makes me nuts sometimes. And when you toggle a lot of things ongoing like work goals, fitness goals, hobby goals, relationship goals, financial goals, etc – it’s pretty easy to be “goaled out.”

I do this to myself. I am my own worst critic. I give myself way to much to focus on and when I start to feel like I’m stretched thin or that I don’t have the energy for something I get REALLY down on myself, that I didn’t get to where “in my perfect world” I THOUGHT I would be. But one thing I’m trying to focus on this year, is removing this way of thinking from my patterns and be more present. At the end of the day, I want to congratulate myself on what I DID vs. what I DIDN’T accomplish.

I’ve also decided to pause my efforts on some things that I didn’t feel I was putting 100% of my energy into, like my radio show. I just got to a point where I had my obligations, work-life balance, social calendar, fitness calendar, etc etc and I wasn’t happy allotting my precious time to hobbies or interests that weren’t making me happy anymore. And you know what, I feel a lot less stressed out! I want to talk about music, how it’s influenced my life, where I am now in a bigger post, but right now I wanted to share that it’s ok to take breaks. It’s ok to feel like you can’t do everything. It’s ok to take time to yourself for a breather and re-focus. Some people call it spring cleaning, and I call it spring cleansing 🙂

You got this! Pause the things that aren’t working for you anymore, reflect, and listen to yourself. Maybe there are new interests waiting for you around the corner!

El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve

March 31, 2017March 31, 20171 Comment

A few weeks ago, John and I pleased our inner trail bunnies by hiking the El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve trail in the South Bay. We had a VERY long San Francisco wet winter (yay we are FINALLY out of the drought!) so it felt amazing to have gorgeous weather and be outside in nature. With how busy things were for us in February on top of my crazy work schedule, we decided to hike this spot and relax right before I made my way to Vegas.

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The trail was a 6.2 mile loop in the very removed forest. For a long time we were the only people and I wondered if some creepo would pop out of the woods to abduct us into their underground lair, but I’m a weirdo who has seen too many creepy things… #dontabductme

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I never hiked much in Texas because of the damn heat and the fact that I sweat profusely. But ever since I’ve moved to California, hiking has really become one of my favorite things to do on the weekend. It’s just so gorgeous along the coast! I can’t get over it and am always telling myself how lucky I am to live here.

This tree was pushed over, at the roots, due to a crazy storm we had the weekend before! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF STORM DOES THIS TO A REDWOOD?!

Apparently a plane crashed in the middle of this forest way back in the 50’s, so there is a memorial at the top of the view point. I was hoping to see any sort of debris but it just didn’t exist anymore. I would totally come back and hike this trail again, as it was a nice remote spot and there was THEE CUTEST little mountain tavern a couple miles down the road. We had a celebratory drink there after we ended our journey.