photography – Page 5 – East Bay Mama

Batteries to Bluffs

The face of a tired but very happy puppy!

Batteries to Bluffs is by far one of my favorite “urban hikes” in San Francisco. I love this hike for so many reasons. The views are incredible, even on a cloudy or slightly foggy day you get beautiful scenes of the Golden Gate Bridge. On a clear day you can easily see the Marin Headlands & the Point Bonita Lighthouse. In the springtime the trail is lined with countless wildflowers that you can see in my photos. Another reason why I love this hike? STAIRS! With more than 500 stairs along this trail you’re guaranteed a good workout & pretty spectacular view for “leg day”. It’s also a sure fire way to tire any puppy out. Not only will you experience phenomenal coastal panoramas but there’s also plenty of history along the hike. These batteries were built in 1900 & designed to protect underwater minefields outside the Golden Gate. By 1943 it was closed & all the guns were scrapped. It’s pretty cool getting to walk literally on top of history where men before our time fought to protect our lives & now I’m hiking with my puppy across the same batteries they stood guard at, crazy! So if you find yourself in San Francisco wanting to try something new & off the beaten path (no pun intended) definitely check out Batteries to Bluffs trail. On the weekends the hike can get a little crowded but most weekdays you may only see a handful a people, another reason why I can’t get enough. Do you have a favorite urban hike? If so I’d love to hear about in the comments below!

Minden Mountains & Summer Heat

^Gorgeous valley floor views

^Bailey, 13 years old, sweet as can be & 0% interested in playing with Juno.

Last weekend we decided to skip the city & head into some summer heat. San Francisco is suffering from “June Gloom” so it felt great to escape the fog & enjoy some sunshine. We met up with my family in my aunts tiny town of Minden NV. It was so nice just getting to enjoy family time & being surrounded by incredible scenery. Minden is basically on the other side of the mountains around South Lake Tahoe. Theres a ton of farmland & ranches. Chris & I love driving out here with country music on & day dreaming about living somewhere slower. Despite both of us living in cities (SF/NYC) the last 8 years we’re actually both country people at heart. (More about my love affair with San Francisco to come.) Needless to say Juno loved our trip. She even spent the night in her first hotel room, luckily she was so exhausted from running and playing in a yard all day that we didn’t hear a peep from her the whole night, or the next day!

Bainbridge Blues

^ Bainbridges oldest coffee shop.

^^ I came home with a few sets of these soaps, they smell incredible!!

Bainbridge is an adorable island off the Puget Sound that can be reached by a quick 30 minute ferry ride. The town itself is home to about 20,000 people, many whom commute to the city on the ferry each day. A ferry ride will cost you about $12 per adult & there’s no return fee! If you’re feeling adventurous you can even drive your car onto the ferry. The little town is scattered with shops, restaurants and a beautiful waterfront trail that goes along the docks. Each little store is like walking into Anthropologie, filled with home goods, candles, and warm weather wear. We at Public House which not only had delicious food but phenomenal views of the harbor. It also happens to be a 21 and over spot, which we didn’t realize until we were already inside. The seafood is absolutely delicious in Seattle. I’m planning to do a post on our must eats from this trip to Seattle. But Public House certainly makes the cut!

Bainbridge was the perfect day trip outside of the city. It was so much fun walking around and exploring the little town, stepping inside little shops & finding delicious bakeries along the way. You can see more of our trip Here !

Easter Bunny Fun

This year I couldn’t resist putting together a little Easter package for my two year old niece. Everything photographed, except the California bear sweater came from the dollar aisle in target! I hadn’t planned on getting any Easter gear but after strolling through the aisle I couldn’t help picking a few things up, Target’s Easter stuff was just too cute! The sweater dress pictured is from baby gap & I absolutely love how it’s the California bear. I love getting seasonal items and sending little packages to family and friends. Now that my niece is starting to get old enough to appreciate all the holidays I’m sure the Targetaisle will be getting frequented a lot more often. 🙂 I wanted to post this & show you can easily put together a seasonal basket for less than $20 & it’s sure to bring some happiness to who ever received it.

Valentine’s Getaway – Tahoe City

^^^This sunrise woke me up – talk about forgetting you went to bed at 3am!

^^This photo reminds me so much of a Bob Ross Landscape…

I swear this dog and look so majestic one minute ^ and then so goofy then next …

^^My two Valentine’s this year – I’m one lucky girl.

^^Juno actually does really well on car rides – she usually just snoozes the whole way, like below…

^^True Life: Being a Puppy Mom is Exhausting.

When it comes to Valentine’s Day low-key has always been Chris & my take on the holiday; especially since my birthday falls two weeks afterward! Usually a nice dinner out is the extent of our Valentine’s Day plans. This year however we had no plans up until the last minute when we decided to drive up to Tahoe once Chris got off work on Friday. We ended up leaving SF at 9pm which made for a lonnnng & sleepy car ride but thankfully we made it & woke up to the most beautiful sunrise over Lake Tahoe! I can’t remember the last impulsive decision we made that turned out this good, except maybe adopting Juno on Black Friday 😉 Tahoe was the perfect escape – we took Juno down to the lake for a few hours on Saturday & let her play in the snow & she even decided she wanted to go into the frigid lake – she would have kept fetching indefinitely – so we finally had to end the game. The rest of the weekend was spent with good food, great wine & bouncing between soaking in the hot tub & tiring the puppy out. All in all it was a Valentine’s to remember. Hope everyone had a great day celebrating love in all it’s forms, I was thankful to be with my little family in such a beautiful location.

Baker Beach Day

^^^ Happiness is a sandy snout – Juno spent a good portion of her time yesterday trying to dig gigantic holes in the sand! It feels like a lifetime but we’ve only had Juno, our black lab, for 2 months. It’s been so fun getting to explore San Francisco with our newest fur-baby. Yesterday we ventured out to Baker Beach. The weather was so strange but when we got to the beach the sun was actually out. The cloudcover made for some pretty amazing photos, especially with that little bridge in the back drop. Baker Beach is an awesome mile long beach tucked beneath the Presidio Cliffs with phenomenal views of the Golden Gate Bridge & Marin Headlands. It’s hard to believe that a beach this beautiful can be empty enough to let my puppy run around! Yesterdays beach trip was the perfect start to the weekend! We’re off to the foot hills this weekend to let Juno explore the 4 acres my parents live on. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Wintery Weekends

Chorizo & Potato Hash with sauteed mushrooms, topped with micro greens, cherry tomatoes & an over easy egg! So.Nomz.

Our Cheat Day Cheese Board

Slate Board & Cheese Knives : Williams Sonoma Here & Here

The first two weekends of 2016 have been pretty low key I’ve had to work all or part of the weekends so we’ve been just enjoying San Francisco Winter! Juno has been enjoying kissing / biting all the Christmas Trees good bye around our neighborhood, it’s kind of hilarious.

In terms of New Year resolutions? I’m sure ours are a lot like some of yours. I have a few for 2016 that I listed below. The last two years I’ve tried to step up my reading game. I fell short of my resolution last year to read 15 books, I managed to read 13 so I’m still counting that as a victory! My reading resolution makes the list again this year.

2016 Resolutions

Read – I dropped my goal back down to 10 books for the year. Stay tuned for some of my favorites & what books that will be making this years reading list! [pro tip: if you want to try this I highly recommend choosing lighter reads toward the end, I was trying to finish a pretty dense & lonnnng book & ended up struggling the last two months.]

Consciousness Eating – This year I’m going to try to stick to allowing myself one cheat day per week as well as minimizing my snacking at work. The nursing station is littered with temptations: chips, donuts, candy, you name it, it’s there.

10k Steps – I started the new year with a new Fitbit & I couldn’t be more excited for this resolution. When I graduated college I had one of the original Fitbits & I was really into all the tracking. Over time & two trips in the washer (oops!), it eventually died. I’ve been talking about replacing it for ages & courtesy of my husband I’m back tracking steps, flights, mileage & I love it.

52 Week Money Saving Challenge – this is part resolution part challenge. If I just resolved to “save money” I’ll fail. I need specific, goal directed, assessable, realistic goals / resolutions. So using a simple week by week saving chart keeps me on track & motivated; The same way my Fitbit keeps me motivated to get active. Here’s the challenge I’m doing, thanks to the Stingy Saver!

This past Sunday was my cheat day & earlier in the week I had decided I was going to try and make a Chorizo Hash for breakfast! Well it turned out even better than expected, it was so good I forgot to put cheese on it… that never happens! But don’t worry cheese came later in the day when Chris & I broke out our fancy Cheese / Charcuterie set & enjoyed pre – dinner appetizers & cocktails & started Making a Murderer (so good!).

Hope everyone is having an amazing start to the year! Do you have any awesomely attainable New Years Resolutions? If so I’d love to read about them in the comments section below!

What A Year.

When I scroll through 2015’s photos it’s hard to believe so much has happened in just one year! Here’s to all that 2016 will bring! Cheers!

I can’t believe 2015 has already come & gone. It was quite the year, when I think about everywhere we traveled & all the milestones that have blessed us this year it’s hard to believe it all happened in the same year! 2015 marked the year Chris and I got married; I celebrated 25 in Kauai with my bestfriend; we watched many other friends say “I do”; I opened, sold & profited on my etsy shop, tried out this bloggin thing, and we rounded out the year with the addition of our black lab puppy Juno. We spent Christmas in Texas, if you get the chance to spend Christmas with a puppy, do it! It’s bliss. We are beyond excited for the start of 2016 & can’t wait to keep blogging it all! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy & safe new year! I’ll be spending NYE working in the ER so I’ll be ringing in 2016 with my work family but please stay safe & stay out of ERs!

Carmel-By-The-Sea – To Celebrate 30.

This past weekend we celebrated Chirs’ 30th birthday with a short trip a little ways south on the California coast, to Carmel By The Sea. We left Friday morning & took our town driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping along the way in Pescadero to check out Pigeon Point Lighthouse, which in case you can’t tell by the photos, was awesome! Next we stopped & had lunch at The Bench at Pebble Beach. This famous spot overlooks the 18th hole at Pebble & is open to the public! After refueling, we continued on & enjoyed the rest of the 17 mile drive & stopped to watch the sunset, it was so beautiful. I’ve lived in California all my life, but I’m constantly taken aback by just how breathtaking the coastline can be.

We stayed at the amazing Carmel Valley Ranch. The ranch is on 400 acres overlooking the Carmel Valley. Not only do they have phenomenal suites with their own privates baths on the balcony (swoooon) but the ranch offers activities for anyone and everyone (golf, archery, yoga, swimming, bee keeping, etc). With our limited time we took advantage of the complimentary smores & hiking trails. Saturday morning after a quick mimosa filled breakfast we hiked to the top of the ridge that overlooks the valley! It was gorgeous! Then we headed out to Carmel proper to spend a day wine tasting and get lost in the seaside town. The cobble stone streets are filled with galleries, boutiques & wine shops. We even found a store dedicated to everything Alice In Wonderland related! The downtown is also lined with Italian restaurants, we stopped in and had homemade pasta at Casanova, which is listed as the romantic restaurant in Carmel, verified by our friendly uber driver, haha.

Sunday morning we packed up early & headed back. I dropped Chris straight at the airport as he’s traveling for work this week, but Carmel felt like a world away & such a wonderful escape from our busy hectic lives!

Do you have a favorite California Seaside town? If so I’d love to hear all about it! 🙂

Tuesdays with Ocean Beach

My favorite time to visit Ocean Beach is mid week when you share the 3 miles of beach with just a handful of people. I swear there were more people in the water than on the actual beach itself on Tuesday. After living here for 7 years Ocean Beach just never loses it’s appeal, even when it’s foggy and cold I still think it’s one of the best / most beautiful places in the city. Tuesday was a perfect day to head to the beach in sweatshirt with a good book in tow. Above are some of the photos that were captured on this spur of moment beach trip. Hope you enjoy.

	February Round up… on Legos in the Laundry
	February Round up… on Tahoe 25′
	January Round up… on 25 in 2025 List
	25 in 2025 List… on 20 in 2020
	25 in 2025 List… on 21 in 2021