Thursday I woke up and had had the best nights sleep ever. I was so tired and I was finally able to sleep in without an alarm!!!! It was great. Also, Caitlin works for pottery barn so obviously her bed was dressed with complete comfort. Caitlin also decided she was real sick when she woke up so she just had to take the day off. ;)

We went to Red Door Cafe and wow do they have great food. C got french toast and I got 'roll my cuban' it was tortilla with tons of greatness wrapped up in it! Can't WAIT to go back with Cec on Saturday morning... right girl?? :)

Well the weather was perfect (shout out to kathy shussler about this weather! :) so we drove to Baker Beach. No fog so the Golden Gate bridge was in good sight! We took a blanket and talked and hung out.

Later that night all my Texas San Franciscans (Cecelia, Caitlin, Steve, Brett) all had a BBQ with their good friends. We ended the night with an awesome dance party. It was good to see Brett Wise. I miss that fool.

Today is now Friday and I just got yogurt with Cec and I'm sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops: Royal Grounds. They have the best chai tea latte. I'm serious when I say this drink taste like a cinnamon roll. Last trip I was here I watched how the people made it and quickly texted steve the name of powder. Steve then ordered it! Call us crazy but it's that good.

I'm off to the GooglePlex with Cec to have lunch. Can't wait to see Google!

i'm baaaaack

IT’S SUMMER. So of course I have to make a trip to San Francisco to see my good friends. Sadly, I won’t be spending 10 days here like last summer, but 4 days will do!

I read over my blogs from last summer’s trip and it made me laugh. That was a good trip.

Well I am currently a little delayed on my trip. I am sitting in the Vegas airport, people watching of course. I love seeing the groups of people that get on the planes. My favorite are big groups of girls ready to hit the town, also know as divas (I’ve loved using that word the past few days). I should have landed in SF at 11pm but it’s looking more like 12:30am (2:30am texas time… ah). I mean I am tired but Cec and Cait I’m sure will be very tired as they have work tomorrow! L However they promised to pick me up cueing “Californiaaaaaaaaa” and In-N-Out burger and fries for me. THEY ARE THE BEST. I wish the fog in SF would peace out so we can get the show on the road and fly there!

I am trying to think positive and just enjoy where I am at and go along with the ride. I started Donald Miller’s “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years” today and it’s awesome. I’m halfway through already and love it. It’s about living out your story and not just sitting back in comfort. And when you are out of your comfort zone and there is the unknown we are changed as characters and our perspective is sharpened. One thing he said was “Without an inciting incident that disrupts their comfort, they won’t enter into a story.” I’ve thought a lot about that today and it’s changed my view for the better. I also love how he said this “Be a grateful participant rather than an unwilling victim.” I am continually learning that it’s a privilege to get to be a part of God’s big plans. I like to be sharpened as a character and liven my story!

Love from Nevada.

day #8

wednesday. i ended my last post about the air mattress somehow losing air during the night. yeah so at about 2 am i woke up and was basically floor.  the hard wood floor. the mattress had lost pretty much all air. i moved to the couch and cec came in this morning saying "uhhh what happened to the air mattress?" it's a mystery!

today i decided i was going to go to union square. LOTS of shopping to do there. i can honestly say i was way overwhelmed. i took the muni, line 45, to the market street. i was a little nervous because i had no idea what i was doing/where i was going/when to get off. and people were so mad because as of july 1 the rate changed from $1.50 to $2.00. i got off the bus when i thought it looked right. i mean you can't miss all the stores! i walked around and didn't do really any damage. just a shirt and 2 headbands. they had a steak escape in the mall. i ate it for old times sake because my mom and i used to eat one everytime we went to north star mall when i was little. i continued to shop and talked to julie on the phone for awhile (there you go kathy shussler!). julie got on southwest.com and checked me in for my flight tomorrow and she is picking me up tomorrow (i knew i could count on you). 

i walked into tiffany's. big mistake. i had seen a ring called the "bubble ring", not an engagement ring. just a ring ring. i tried it on. and i reallllly like it. it's only $9,550! the lady probably thought i was so weird. and that's not at all like me to do, but i felt like going in and trying it on. i lied and said "uh just trying on to get the right size"... yeah right.

finding my way home i knew was going to a challenge so i tried not thinking about it. when it came time to leave though i didn't know where to catch the bus. i kept google mapping it (transit style) and walking around aimlessly in a big square. i was looking for bus stops like the one where i caught it, not bus poles. once i realized i quickly found the 45, deposited my $2 and found a seat. to get home you have to go through chinatown, which is really entertaining. i watched people not pay and get on the bus. i watched a really drunk, angry man yell at the bus driver because he didn't have correct change and get on the bus. i made me sad. 

once home, caitlin took me to the grove and i read some galations, while she worked on planning the bible study for tonight. after we met up with cec and went to dinner at a mediterranean restaurant. i had soup and a tomato, cucumber, and feta salad. and to conclude my meal i walked to royal grounds to get yet another chai tea latte. addicted. 

we walked to bible study. it was really great. i have enjoyed getting to know their friends a lot. they are so nice! in fact one girl who i just met tonight is taking me to the airport tomorrow. i am so blessed by that. 

ok i have to wrap it up as cait and cec are already in bed and calling me to come join them! my air mattress (we found a pin size hole, but it's all taped) is waiting. ah this is my last night and then i leave tomorrow! 

day #7

tuesday. today started out like every other weekday. i slept on the air mattress and then whoever gets up first (cait or cec) i move to their bed. i slept in until brett called me to bring over some keys. when someone calls and i'm sleeping (no matter what time it is) for some reason i get it in my mind that i have to lie that i'm NOT sleeping. it's funny because everyone knows i am totally sleeping. i don't know why i ALWAYS say "nope, not sleeping" like i am going to get in trouble or something. now that i think about it, i sound a lot like my dad and his mom. right mom?

i walked a lot today. in flip flops again. but this time they were my bernardos. i'm going to go ahead and advertise that they are the best things to walk in next to tennis shoes! believe it.

while leaving the apartment i called rebecca and got to talk to her for awhile. i am so excited that she is home from philly for a month! excited to see her when i get back. i walked to union street where there are a lot of boutiques. i told myself i wasn't allowed to buy anything just look. and i didn't! lots of cute clothes, jewelry, purses, shoes... but i didn't purchase anything! i looked up on my phone where the nearest royal grounds coffee shop was because i decided i wanted a chai tea latte. it was .7 miles away. perfect! with a quick call to brett to make sure it was a safe area i was off. these chai tea lattes are so good i wish i could just let you taste one. walking back, a guy asked if i new directions to two cross streets. i gave him the directions without having to look at anything! this is huge!

sipping my chai tea latte i strolled to the wharf again. i decided i wanted to take more pictures. i loveee taking pictures of people, places, and things. it's such a thrill when you get a really good one. my phone rang and it was scorbett calling me! i sat and talked with her for awhile but our convo was cut when i realized my phone battery was drained. great to talk to you katie and see you soon! i walked all along north point, into shops, stopping to take pictures of things. i got a bread bowl with tomato soup from boudin. very tasty. walking along the wharf there are funny people who do crazy stuff for money. example: lady sitting dead still dressed up in old clothes. a man spray painted all silver. another man with silver beading all over him. a man who sits behind a bush and scares people (mom, he is still there and it's his 30th year!). well i walked right in front of the man with silver beading and he said "hello dear. walking alone are you? i don't believe it!". to which i laughed. then he said "you need to get you a man". laughed again. then he started singing "all the single LADY. all the single LADY." good times.

i met caitlin down by the water and we walked back up to the apartment, changed clothes and went to a wine bar, bin 38. we were both feeling like something bubbly so we got prosecco and some cheese. then the real housewives of san francisco came and sat right next to us (not really, but they could have been). caitlin and i couldn't stop listening to their conversations and looking at their rings. i mean you couldn't miss them... they were huge, sparkly rocks. cec joined us at the tail end. we decided yogurt sounded good so we went to "the loving cup". it's really good, however they were out of vanilla! they only had chocolate. no vanilla=no thanks. so we left and picked up ben and jerry's "imagine whirled peace". 

the air mattress needed a little air so we pumped it up. however through the night it slowly kept losing air...

day #6

monday. sarah had spent the night and we were excited to hang out today. we were in freaking comas when we woke up. like we couldn't get out of bed. must have been all our jumping and dancing the night before. once we were up it was like impossible to get ready. talk about lazy!

we rolled out at noonish and headed to pier 39 to catch a ferry to sausalito. on the ferry it was windy and a little chilly. ok very chilly. i didn't bring a jacket because i've been tired of taking one on and off. so today, i said NO. turning into a local maybe? sarah said she was impressed. i think i'm just soaking it all up now before i return to the texas heat. on the ferry we went by alcatraz. that place amazes me, it's interesting. everytime i am down by the water i think about what it would be like to swim there. i mean it looks not that far to me, but it is. 1.5  miles, with currents, and very cold water... not to mention sea animals. maybe i'll train for it... ms. muto and ms. bass you down?? 

once in sausalito, known for it's mediterranean flair, we ate at a cute little restaurant over looking the water. i had a chicken gyro and sarah had eggs and potatoes. we spotted a candy store and treated our sweet tooth. we walked along the main street and i bought a t-shirt and hat. i admit that it's a t-shirt of the california flag. i just told cecelia and she is excited..."one step closer to being here." 

on the ferry ride home we sat inside since we were so cold on the way over. off the ferry we walked to the grocery store. i bought brie and crackers. sarah bought club soda and yogurt. haha randomville! we both were banking on a diet coke, but sarah made the better choice of club soda for us. back at the apartment we have been watching the food network for a looooong time while falling in and out of sleep. so sad... we didn't do anything but walk around today! that's what i love about summer. cecelia and caitlin came home and tonight we are hanging out and eating leftovers for dinner. or maybe not because cec just spilled her entire plate on her white dress and white couch! oh gosh oh gosh. 

day #5

sunday. let me first say that i should have just changed my cell phone to san francisco time the second i got here. but last time i was here somehow the time changed messed up my phone, so i decided not to change it. so it's been on texas time since i got here and i constantly keep subtracting two hours. that being said, we planned on going to 10:45 church. i woke up in the morning, looked at my phone, and saw it was 9:40. when i got up i thought it was odd that cecelia wasn't gone to breakfast with her brother and caitlin wasn't up. oh well i thought and started getting ready. in the middle of getting ready it hit me... you are ready at 10:45 for church in TEXAS. dang it. time change. idiot.

arriving at church steve had a chai tea latte waiting for me. he claims it is the best one he has ever had. Sure enough i agree, so i made him get me one too. it tastes like a cinnamon roll. thank you steve! The church is called city church san francisco, which is the church where brett works and they all 3 have been attending. it's in this old theatre and it's cute as a button. the music was awesome. the pastor talked about communion for his message. i really enjoyed it and the best part was there were so many people that i had met and it was great to see them all again.

after church we went to "elite cafe". sarah, my twin (as we have grown to find out), and i split eggs with hollandaise sauce on top, cheesey potatoes, and biscuits. SO good. we ran ten deep at the table and it was so nice to hang out with their friends again. 

we came home and watched usa vs. brazil. usa looked like they were going to win but brazil snuck in there! after the game caitlin and i watched walk the line. i had forgot how good that movie is!

well it had been a little bit since we ate so we decided in-n-out sounded great for dinner. we walked to fisherman's wharf to grab the burgers and fries. i bought 3 watercolor prints: golden gate bridge, trolley, and lombard street. i had been looking for the perfect ones and i finally found them! i'm excited to frame them. after dinner we walked to a little grassy area. in front of us the sun was setting over the bay and on the golden gate bridge. behind us was ghirardelli square. gorgeous. i got out my camera and we began playing around. we all were so hyper and just being ridiculous. kelly, our new friend we met snapped some pics of us.

we walked back to the apartment and watched tv. i crashed since i got up way too early. 

day #4

saturday. cec, steve, robbie, jdub, and i went to tarpine to get some morning rolls. we ate them down by the marina over-looking to water. it was a BEAUTIFUL day. sun was out, weather was perfect, little fog by the golden gate bridge. and there was even a little boy and girl selling lemonade. very tart lemonade. yatzee.

we went to fisherman's wharf and played some old time games. i can't get enough of that place, or maybe just skee ball. strolled to pier 39 to see the seals. we saw some street dancers who were hilarious and really good at dancing (reebs you would have loved them!). 

trader joe's was our next stop to get all the works to make hamburgers. since it was such a gorgeous day we went to golden gate park and had a picnic. laying around on a blanket, throwing the frisbee. 75 degrees and summer. amazing. we called our friends alissa, katie, porter and tyler and talked to them while they were at the lake (ps wish y'all were here)! 

after the park we were on a mission to find "creme brulee man". it's this dude with this little cart and he takes these small custard bowls, pours some sugar on top and blow torches it. very tasty and thanks to twitter we found him.

for our late dinner we walked down union street to a restaurant called "perry's" (shout out to allie and matt perry!). brit and dave met up with us. it was great again to see them. well maybe just brit, after dave insulted the sport of baseball (jokes jokes!). on the walk back brett and caitlin got ahold of the my camera and just started snapping. everyone was acting ridiculous in front of the camera. ok so maybe just brett, caitlin, and i. apologizes to robbie and justinwimberlake for us being older, yet more silly.

i'm really glad i am here. i love this city and living the life of cecelia and caitlin! :)