Toledo, Spain

With the first official day of summer only 3 days away, I'm posting pictures from my Toledo, Spain trip from last year.  Toledo was excellent in location relative to Madrid (only an hour bus ride) and we loved the idea of seeing the medieval castles and more of that old-world charm.

Living in Purple

We saw these patch of flowers near Great Highway- I had to take a picture they were too beautiful for words.


I was getting a little bit of cabin fever this morning and wanted to go out and get some fresh, sea salt air.  We headed to Ocean Beach after lunch and didn't realize it was closed to traffic, but we didn't mind.  I have to admit though, walking along an empty highway with nobody in sight gave me a strange feeling...I felt like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky where he walks around in Time Square without a single soul/car in sight.

Dreaming of brunch for dinner

I heard about Mama's (1701 Stockton, at Filbert) through family and friends who went out of their way to come here (okay not completely, they live in Daly City) and Yelp had over 1000 reviews of this establishment.  It had to be good...



I went here during my week-long Christmas break thinking there would be less people...wrong (and yes I'm only just writing about it due to the discovery of long-lost pics on my cellphone).  Granted we got there around 11 am thinking people were either a.) at work b.) busy with their Christmas shopping at Union Square, but it turns out it wasn't the locals we were competing with for a table- it was out-of-towners, which was completely unexpected.  Most of the people we scoped out in line were reading their guidebooks while others snapped random photos on the street with their sleek, expensive cameras that hung around their necks.

Anyways, I had the Cinnamon French Toast and it was out of this world.  My significant other had some kind of omelette that I don't recall but he loved it.   Mama's is exactly the place you expect it to be - downright cozy and where you'll be taken care of and fed really well, just like your own mama would.  These pics already have me salivating...

Meet the ladies

I have a thing for flats.  Since moving to the city and using my feet as my main mode of transportation, it just doesn't make sense for me to wear high heels.  It's been so long since I last wore heels that when I do, I feel like a giraffe on stilts- pretty embarrassing and so not cute.

So one of the best kept secrets of where to find really fashionable flats for under $30 is TJ Maxx on Harrison, between 4th and 5th Street.  There's parking, it's not a crazy mess like all the other TJMs around the Bay and it's never crowded!  How can people not know about this place?


I have a few heels thrown in there for good measure but they haven't seen the light of day- they're mainly for nights out, which is when we drive in.  This is just a small sample...I'm embarrassed to say at last count I already own 30 pairs

i want candy

I can't help but get a little nostalgic every time I venture into my old 'hood - Inner Rich.  And it's not like I live that far away but when I make it a point to go there (gotta love Johnny at Trend 2000, my only go-to guy for hair in the city), I always make a pit stop at the Green Apple bookstore.  There's something I love about their creaky floorboards, handwritten index cards with staff recommendations, and books you just wouldn't see out in the open at any other bookstore - The Big Penis Book 3D (I was too bashful to flip through it, haha); it's a bookstore with lots of character and authenticity with the freedom to browse without that library stuffiness.

After Green Apple, I headed over to Genki Crepes- it's next to impossible to walk by and not be lured by a whiff of their crispy crepes.  Coming in here always makes me feel like a kid in a candy store.










My nutella +mixed fruit + whipped cream crepe.  It didn't make it home...