Thursday, February 27, 2014

you stay classy, san diego!

a little known fact about me: up until last sunday, i had never been more west than memphis, tennessee. and that was when i was in college for a unc basketball game, so i'm not even sure if that counts. 

so when i got the chance to fly out to san diego, i pretty much counted down the days. i'd like to take you through some of things i saw, ate, and did during my first trip to california. this post may be a long one, but these pictures will prove why i'm not going apologize for that. 

day one: 

first of all, that was the longest flight i have ever been on in my life. 5 hours. but once we touched down in the sunny state & 68 degree weather, it was worth it. i checked into my hotel and was greeted with beautiful views of both the mountain side & the water side. it's fascinating that you can look left & see one thing and look to the right & see the other. 



we headed to the old town district and had some margaritas and enchiladas at casa guadalajara




the rest of the day was spent exploring the old town area seeing different shops & architecture. check it out below.




that night, we dined at nobu sushi. i'm not really a huge sushi fan {insert long sigh}, but figured i could find something on the menu. we weren't disappointed. after some prosecco champagne, i ordered the shrimp & lobster with mushrooms & some crispy topping goodness. also ordered was the king crab dish. we finished with a drink at searsucker, a bar located in the gaslamp quarter, which is a popular place in SD. 



day two:

well i woke up to this.


beautiful right? the sun was right over the mountains at around 6am {since my body was still on eastern time of 9am}. i met the girls downstairs and we checked out chocolat bistro for some egg & ham croissants & caramel latte's. the croissant had to have been glazed with a sweet honey sauce. perfection.


after shopping around at horton's plaza, an outdoor shopping mall, we dined at sammy's california woodfire pizza for lunch. i ordered the brie & mushroom pizza with truffle oil. we spent the remainder of the afternoon walking the streets and enjoying the sun.





that night we drove up to la jolla {pronounced "la hoy-ya"} to george's at the cove. this place, y'all. it was an ocean front restaurant where we got to drink an awesome sauvignon blanc by honig & ate the following. do not lick the screen. 





day three:

we were pretty busy doing things we were sent out there for on day three, but later that night got to attend a party & see chris daughtry live! he puts on an awesome show. 



day four:

hands down, my favorite day. they say to save the best for last and this does just that. we rented a car and drove up to four different destinations for the day. if you have a chance to visit san diego, these places are must. it was absolutely gorgeous out there. 

destination one: del mar.

for lunch, we ate at brigantine. this overlooks the derby track, mountains, and the pacific ocean all in one. we had some amazing margarita's and fish tacos. 




destination two: la jolla.

we went back mainly to see the seals in the daytime. this beach is gorgeous! with a cove that has beached seals, beautiful shorelines, and crystal clear water - it was breathtaking. words don't do any of these pictures justice, so i'll just let you see what i'm talking about. 





destination three: mission beach.

surrounded by people on bikes, skateboards, and beach shops, this is where we decided to shop for a little san diego gear. i got lee and i a local shirt to take back home as a souvenir. we ventured over to cafe 976 for some coffee in this cute house a few streets from the beach. 



destination four: coronado island. 


this is the prettiest beach i have ever been to. with sand that felt like powdered sugar between your toes and a gorgeous sunset, i was in heaven. we ate dinner at a local burger joint which was a total hole in the wall. danny's palm bar & grill.


to end, we walked through the gorgeous hotel del coronado and the sun set on a perfect day. 




until next time - you stay classy san diego! you have my heart.

xo,
-A



Friday, February 21, 2014

the five.

did this week feel extra-long to anyone else? maybe it’s because i’m about to be out of work until thursday of next week and i’m just anticipating that. or maybe this work week has just tired me out. regardless, this post is usually one of my favorites because that means it is

 f  r  i d a y.

{one.}

harris teeter’s make your own 6 pack.


this is just the coolest thing to me. for $9.99 at harris teeter, you can hand pick 6 different beers to make your own. you can add some of your favorites or a few you haven’t tried yet. i kinda did the combo of that. i picked three beers i knew i would enjoy and three just because i thought the design was cool. that doesn’t always work in your favor i learned. here’s what i selected:



carolina starwberry – a favorite of mine
leinenkugel sunset wheat – another favorite. this tastes just like fruity pebbles. no joke.
woodchuck in granny smith – mmmmmm. apple goodness.

the other three that were at random are:

snakedog – this was a 7% ipa. super hoppy!
shocktop – wheat ipa. decent.
abita – no. ew. i hated it. i thought it was grape flavored, but no the label was just purple. next time i will read thoroughly.

{two.}

chima.

have you guys been here in uptown charlotte? don’t eat for 5 days prior to going because you'll have to be rolled out of that place. you’re seated and given a token – orange for: keep on bringing the meat to me! and black for: heck no i am stuffed right now. 



if your token is orange, servers come to your table with 14 different meats ranging from chicken, filet, sirloin, lamb, sausage and whatever else i forgot. i think i’m still full from dinner two nights ago.



{three.}

my cowboy boots.




so i know these are not legit. they are not $400 frye boots or even whatever other brand is cool these days. i’m not knocking those boots because they are beautiful, but for what i wanted to use them for, this was the best. honestly, they are the only pair of cowboy boots i’ve ever owned! weird, right? as i’ve talked about before, i have like 9 country shows to go to this summer, so i knew i had to grab a pair to wear with dresses. plus they look super easy to clean as sometimes the lawn in pnc arena can be muddy.

the best part? the price. i got these babies from target for $27! and i kept the $373 savings in my bank account.

{four.}

this weather.



can y’all believe that a week ago we were all snowed in?! i mean like 6 inches of snow as covering our cars, the roads, and kept us from going anywhere. but these past few days have felt like heaven! the 70s are my absolute favorite weather and last night before dinner at lee’s parents house, we all sat out on their front porch with a glass of wine. so relaxing.

bring on spring, baby I AM READY.

{five.}

SD!!!!!




sunday morning at 7:50am this girl is headed to san diego! i’ve never been to cali, so this is huge for me. i’m so excited to visit the pacific coast and i’ll have plenty of stories once i return. we have plans to go up to la jolla and the gastro lamp area.

honestly, i have no idea what these places are, but i cannot wait to experience one of the united states beautiful areas!

xo,
-A