Back in April I took the plunge to full time blogger after a ton of back and forth contemplating leaving my corporate job at Alternative Apparel. I loved what I did, loved the company, but the travel was becoming more demanding and I started to feel like I wasn’t going anywhere I wanted to go. Sure Raleigh NC is great, but it really wasn’t on my bucket list. Neither was middle of nowhere Tennessee, Florida and the like. It was tough to leave a job I actually LOVED to go to work to every single day. But because of all the travel, those days in the office became less and less. I decided to leave and focus on the blog, expanding The Blog Societies finally, and also getting to visit places I’ve never been to. It was really one of my main goals to travel more and although I didn’t do too much of it since April, I did however finally check two of my cities off my list this year, San Francisco and Napa. It felt really good to head to a new place with my best friend, Poor Little It Girl of course, and not do ANY work. We travel often together for The Blog Societies which is great, but it usually requires lots of meetings and very little time for exploring. For example, no clue what to do in Charleston because we’ve only worked in that city, never really got to enjoy it! Although that’s all changing next month when we head there for an extended work visit to finally be tourists.
So last month Cathy and I packed our bags, flew together for the first time (it included lots of wine of course) and headed to the west coast to visit San Francisco and Napa. It was so much fun, relaxing and we created super fun memories that are way better than any work meeting. Here’s a few photos of our adventures. I can’t wait to start checking off more cities in the new year from my bucket list.
The painted ladies that I of course played the theme song to Full House to the entire time we were there. I really imagined them to be brighter, but none the less, they were gorgeous!
Cathy and I stayed at the gorgeous Palace Hotel right in downtown. The rooms were stunning and their lobby was breathtaking. We enjoyed high tea there that included lots of champagne and the most delicious tea sandwiches and desserts ever.
For the first time in a long time I got to play tourist. I love visiting places that you hear everyone talk about. Sure they’re full of other tourists and usually pretty crowded, but it’s nice to say, yeah I’ve been there! We headed to Lombard Street and our taxi driver took us down the crooked road. I can’t believe people live on this street and deal with all the tourists. The view of the city from the top though was amazing and totally worth it!
This was my favorite house on Lombard Street. I’ll be moving in next month!
Hands down my favorite thing we did in San Fran was visit the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. My friend told me about this place and that it was a must see and I’m so glad we did. One of my favorite reasons I love to travel with Cathy is we’re good eaters (and sharers more importantly!) We had several breakfasts this morning and one of them was this amazing lox toast. The best thing I’ve ever eaten. We also spent the entire day sitting and drinking at Hog Island Oyster Bar devouring oysters and clam chowder.
After a few days in San Francisco, Cathy and I headed out to Napa for a SUPER short trip (barely 24 hours). I have to say, I need to go back. We did not do Napa any justice (although we did eat at Ad Hoc which is on my bucket list of restaurants and it was amazing). But overall, I was unimpressed with whatever we did. Didn’t love the winery we went to, the weather was awful and we were so exhausted from SF already that we stayed in bed most of the time. We did however eat at an amazing restaurant in downtown Napa and made friends with our fellow bar patrons. It was the highlight of the trip for sure! Here’s a few snaps from Napa.
A charming little market. This dog below was hanging out outside too and was so stinkin cute.
The French Laundry. Too poor to even walk inside.
My uniform the entire week. Leather jacket, chelsea boots and my backpack. 
The one and only winery we went to. So tell me, where should I go next time I visit Napa to make sure it’s an amazing trip?
