San Francisco {Part II}

my last day in San Francisco I woke up thinking I'd grab breakfast in the hotel, but since I felt the need for a walk I found a cute Vietnamese coffee shop and breakfast sandwich spot with great reviews just a few blocks away, so I headed that way to grab takeout.

the prices were reasonable and the wait really short at Fresh Brew Coffee.....

.....and though it didn't look like much from the outside, it was the perfect breakfast and coffee to start my day.

i made the steep walk back up to my hotel....

then promptly got back in bed with my breakfast and laptop to work a bit while watching the Today Show.

later that afternoon my boss came to pick me up at my hotel, where she insisted on taking a photo of me {which would become a theme for the rest of our day together}.

we headed down to the ferry building and since the sun was shining, we had our Peruvian lunch {which ended up being giant} outside by the water.

after lunch we went for a walk and she insisted on taking a picture of me in front of the Bay Bridge....

.....then asked some friendly people to take one of the two of us!

we then got back in the car where we continued our tour of SF, stopping by the Chase Center which is right near our office.

we took pics in the giant spheres outside.....

....which were a pretty fun photo op, especially with nobody around.

we then headed up towards one of our hospitals, where she insisted we walk around a bit.....

.....and we discovered these cute heart statues all over the campus.

she was kind enough to drop me off at the airport before my flight, where I had a glass of wine and continued working until it was time to board the plane.  The trip is such a quick one from SFO and once home we did a big loop over Seattle seeing some beautiful views....

.....and flew right over the Home Run Derby at the All Star Game!

It was such a fun trip and I'm so glad that I decided to extend it for one extra day exploring San Francisco.  I can't wait to go back!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

San Francisco {Part I}

Since I technically work for a San Francisco company but have never actually been there since I started my job, I decided to stay on an extra day from the Bachelorette party on my own to meet up with my boss before heading back to Seattle.  The girls dropped me off at The Fairmont in the afternoon on their way to the airport, and after a little snafu with my room, I was given an upgraded room with a cozy bed and city view.  Even though I was exhausted I didn't want to waste my one afternoon alone in the city, so I got ready and headed out on foot for an adventure.  I slowly walked through Chinatown, one of my favorite parts of the city, on my way down to the Ferry Building where I checked out the cute shops before grabbing a burger and a beer at Gott's Roadside.  It was just the fuel I needed for the uphill walk back to my hotel, where I promptly got ready for bed by 7pm and was snuggled into my bed for some hotel tv and an early night.  

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Staycation with Mom

On Friday Mom and I decided to call in sick {cough cough} and have a little staycation in Bellevue.  We headed over to the Eastside and after dropping off our stuff at the Westin Bellevue immediately headed out to lunch at Tavern Hall.  After lunch we shopped until we dropped, but besides getting a bunch of returns done for me we couldn't find anything to buy.  We headed back across the street to the hotel to freshen up then downstairs for happy hour at STK, a fancy steakhouse that had great happy hour prices including some yummy tuna tartare tacos, giant tots, and a tiny burger with 4 fries {which made us laugh}.  After happy hour we tried our luck at the mall again, but when we struck out we decided to grab a to go piece of cheesecake and head back to the room.  We spent the evening eating cheesecake and drinking wine in bed while watching some wonderful Friends episodes - the best kind of hotel night in my opinion.  Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to try a few more shops when the mall opened, but we again came up empty handed so decided to finish our staycation with lunch at Paddy Coyne's before heading back home.  Even though our shopping trip didn't produce much for either of us, it was such a fun getaway that I already know it's going to become an annual thing.  Thanks Mom for a great weekend!

xoxo,

stephanie marie

New Mexico {Cafe Pasqual's & Going Home}

For our last morning in Santa Fe, we decided to go out for brunch at Cafe Pasqual's, a cute James Beard award winning spot in downtown Santa Fe where the menu looked like it would totally hit the spot after a birthday celebration full of margaritas the night before.  The breakfast burritos we ordered while sitting in the sunny windows were absolutely perfect and the art filling the walls of this bright space gave us something fun to look at while we waited.  After breakfast it was time to pack up and head back to Albuquerque for our afternoon flight where we drove around looking at more Breaking Bad locations and of course stopped at Costco to check out their selection.  It was such an awesome and relaxing trip and I cannot wait to go back and explore more.  Thanks for the memories, New Mexico!

xoxo,

stephanie marie