Adventure: Muir Woods & Lookout

Some days just call for adventure.  

Adventure just calls for the "real" camera. 

The real camera just calls for a long photo blog post.  Get ready.

Mill Valley is like 15 minutes from the San Francisco city limit, and Muir Woods is RIGHT there. I grew up around here and hand no clue that woods like these were so accessible!! Yesterday, we wanted a little family adventure without having to battle our sweet little toddler's resistance to long drives (this is where having no car during the weeks works against us.. for Maggie, it's kind of the stroller or bust!). For some reason, my husband- who did NOT grow up around here, but knows his geography- suggested it because of its proximity to the city, and off we went!  

We grabbed lunch before leaving, ate it on picnic benches before getting inside, and then started our little hike! It's an incredibly manageable hike with two little ones. Perhaps it's because our lifestyle is to walk a LOT, but the kids walked themselves most of the way to the end! The massive trees, creeks, bridges, and general gorgeousness were perfect for my girls. S and Brian went a bit off-road hiking on a high trail, while M slept in her little Maclaren stroller (which, by the way, is totally fine for the easy trails).  

Stinson Beach was totally nearby too, but pretty packed considering it was the BEST weather, so we just drove up to Muir Woods lookout and enjoyed the insane views of the ocean, city, and mountains! All in a little days' adventure. I'd go again in a heartbeat. 

It's funny, because before we left, I sprawled lazily out on my bed and said "ehhhh, let's just rest at home todayy (with a bit of whine), and when we got home from our adventure, I felt more rested and grateful than I've felt in ages. Sometimes you just need to get OUT of the house/neighborhood/norm, and get a little extra dose of nature and family time to be invigorated! :)

Date Night

There comes a point when you have children that you just need a date. The past couples months have been reeeallyy busy for us, and generally our babysitting hours have been spent being social, so this was a past-due date night. There is nothing like taking a moment to breathe, enjoy the fresh air, and look up and not down chasing cute little kiddos and keeping them from trouble.... and eat without bibs and spills. ;) 

I benefitted from Brian turning 30 last year, and we got to use a gift card from his birthday to La Mar this weekend. If you're going to San Francisco and need a REALLY good date for dinner, it's definitely a great option (there are a lot of great options here though... I want to make a giant list of favorites soon)! I could have eaten the "cebiche nikei" all night. SO GOOD.

We were able to chat about anything and everything and really just take our time with it all. I definitely didn't appreciate dates before children like I do these days.

How often do you get on dates? I'm always curious if once in a month- like we've had lately- is a lot or a little as compared to other couples. I really admire the people who can date weekly. It sounds so ideal.  

HERE is my little Vine video from our date (love this guy!).

xo, 

Kate

 (also, there are always simple cheap date ideas here)

SF Loving: Dolores Park

Dolores Park is super hyped these days, but it's legit hype. I mean, there's this brand new gorgeous playground that is PERFECT. Ages ago, my friends & I would have picnics there and occasionally watch a movie in the park, but now it's totally child-friendly too... as in: your children will ADORE you for taking them there.

Twisty tall slides, short sloooowww slides, climbing nets, swings, and everything in pristine condition because of the newness. Soph and I love to get super dizzy on the circles, and Maggie's favorite are the bouncing car things. A couple weeks ago, we grabbed burritos on a Friday night and picnicked as the sun set, and it could not have been more ideal. Actually, the wind wasn't awesome, but everything else was. There are a million good restaurants in the mission too (which I'll save for another day), so if the wind does pick up in the evenings, great options are everywhere. 

Ohhh, and there are fabulous buildings in bright colors everywhere in the neighborhood. Endless perks to hanging in the mission. Also, whenever I take pictures of Mexican food (even if it is only a salsa bar- this one from El Toro), I look at them later and want to eat more Mexican food. I mean, seriously craving chips and salsa as I type. Hopefully I'm not the only one...

Also hoping I'm not the only one who thinks that neon doors are basically awesome. :) 

Love, 

Kate

SF Loving: Ballpark

You know how some days, you expect to be good, and then they're way better than you even expected and you didn't know that was possible?

Sophie has been requesting for weeks to get to go to a Giant's baseball game. She watches games in the evenings with her daddy, and asks lots of questions about baseball to be sure that she can stall her bedtime. 

We rode in a bus the other day, and the bus driver was a fast driver (for a bus driver), so when we disembarked, she said "oh mommy, that bus driver drove really fast. I guess it's because he's wearing a Giant's hat." We're teaching her exactly right. She's been thinking about the Giants every day since the season started.

​we maybe should have given the camera to someone who realized we wanted to actually BE in the shot. :) you can see maggie's hand at least.

So it happened. Finally. This weekend, we went to a Giant's game. It was every bit as wonderful as expected, and more.  Warm weather, all the right smells and snacks to go with the experience. What we didn't expect is for Maggie to enjoy herself quite as much as she did. She giggled and squealed as we walked up the ramp to our seats. We somehow got last-minute seats right at the foul pole, so we got to take a picture with Lou Seal, the mascot, and Maggie gave him a high five and gazed at him and touched his whiskers. She also clapped on cue for the first inning. That was it.. she fell asleep in her stroller right after, but it was something. 

There's something about the ballpark that is magic for little kids. We ate at Tres before the game, so we didn't even get the hot dogs and garlic fries, but the whole experience was just the way it should be. AT&T park is hands-down the most gorgeous park ever, and has a whole section in the back devoted to the little Giant's fans, and this was our first time ever taking advantage of it.

Sophie slid down the coke bottle, and then entered the children's ballpark. Kids line up on the bench to hit the ball. Sophie got up to the plate, showed the pitcher her swing, then came the pitch... first pitch and a hit. Her whole face was beaming and she ran the bases as fast as she could and ran directly into her daddy's arms. They hugged like she had just won the world series. One of those moments you want to never, ever, ever forget. Totally melted my heart. And I got a good picture. 

We celebrated with Ghiradelli ice cream. As it should be. 

Also, the Giants won. As it should be. 

Lately

Sooo, what did you do this week? Well, funny you should ask. What DIDN'T we do this week? It's all mixing together in my mind, but in the past couple weeks, we've had about ummm two little evenings home. SO, here's an explosion of pictures for you, rather than 1,000 words. Well, let's be honest here... you may also get 1,000 words when you come here. ;)​

(This is the cutest little niece there ever could be. Four months already, and beautiful as ever, just like her mama.) 

what's better than making a home of giant cardboard boxes?

​this little rainbow climbing thing in Diamond Heights was like a million feet off the ground and terrifying. I got to go "save" her from it after taking the proud pic. HA. I call it "healthy fear," which normally my overly brave girl doesn't have. ;) 

​I've mentioned these crab rolls before... in THIS post. 

We were all over the map this week. I mean, from this end to that end of the city!

Brian and I were able to attend my cousin's wedding and it reminded me how much I adore my family.

We helped a good friend move. By "help" I mean that Brian helped and the girls and I created legit homes out of giant cardboard boxes- which I believe is an essential part of childhood.

We got a bit of quality time with my little niece Camille, who gives me major baby fever.

My in-laws came into town, and we are eating and exploring our way through the city and beyond. 

In a nutshell, it's been a beautiful, chaotic, sweet, and BIG week. I'm thrilled that our plan this weekend is to chill.​.. AND watch the Warriors. Which is not chill, but TOTALLY thrilling! ​

Ps. I know my comment/likes thing is totally being glitchy. It's in the process of being fixed, but please feel free to "like" and "comment" regardless! I love it when you do! ​

​Love,​

Kate

SF Loving: Huntington Park

Ohhh, what a beautiful and busy week! I need to take my own advice sometimes, because the schedule has been crrraaazzzyyy... In a good way that requires little doses of "chill" in the afternoons, and not getting on the computer much. 

When I was a kid and teenager, I generally thought that if people were wearing shorts in San Francisco, they weren't from around here... clearly tourists, you know? In 2013, I think I've worn shorts more than any year in my memory. It has been SO.NICE.OUT. It's scheduled to be 70's & 80's again this week, which- as my husband says- pretty much guarantees that when my in-laws come to town the following week, it'll be 50's & 60's again. ;) Hopefully we're setting ourselves up to be wrong on that one. 

​Today we took a long adventure to Huntington Park in Nob Hill. It was just supposed to be a little Tuesday bus ride to a new-to-us park, maybe a slice of pizza in the area, then a ride home, but the girls and I weren't done with our adventure after the park... actually Maggie was (she fell asleep almost immediately), but Sophie & I still had a bit of energy and wanted to keep exploring. So we did. More about the exploring on Friday... today, just a little bit about the park.

So here's my take: the REALLY good things about it were that it was surrounded by gorgeous buildings, is in a totally prime area for visitors and tourists- (but strangely was almost all locals- prob because tourist season hasn't quite started), had tons of bench space, and the structures had like a 70's Sesame street vibe. The colors, the treacherous gaps between stairs... that sort of thing were not quite as ideal, and there wasn't a fence around the playground, which always docks a couple points for me. All in all, we liked it, but Sophie says she likes "the other new park better even though this one is pretty good." Spoken like a diplomatic professional, right? Anyway, we're going to try to hit up new parks around the city once every week because a) it's fun and b) we'll always know the best spots for kids to play!

On another note, thanks SO much to Tea Collection for Sophie's perfect shirt. It twirls like a princess dress but can be paired with the practicality of a pair of jeans (her Gap ones are my favorite!) for playing, so everyone wins. 

There's this stigma on Tuesdays around here, because they're not Monday where you get caught up on everything, but they're still so far from the weekend, so they really have nothing going for them... Today, I realized that maybe Tuesdays don't have to be so bad after all... right? 

xo,​

Kate

On Sophie: "Pretoria Tunic" (click Tea Collection banner below), Jeans, Sandals, Sunglasses On Maggie:​ Romper, Boots

Tea Collection provided Sophie's tank for review, but all opinons are my own. ​