Check out the video below to see the highlights of our trip to Zion National Park!
The Wednesday before Labor Day weekend my boyfriend and I packed up the car for a long weekend getaway and drove the 7 hours from LA to Zion National Park in Utah. Where To Camp: We camped at South Campground which is first come, first serve and they do not start letting people check in until 7am. We drove through the night and were second in line at 6:00am. We were able to get a spot no problem but as the holiday weekend started to commence, not everyone was so lucky. The campground was super spacious, close to the visitor center and market and had a fire pit with a grate to you could cook. I would highly recommend! What to Do: We had five days to explore all that Zion had to offer. The morning of the first day was mostly devoted to setting up our camp. Once we were settled and had our tent up, we set out to explore. As I mentioned, our campground was very close to the visitor center which is where you can grab free shuttles to take you to all the stops throughout the park. A bus is pretty much always available to hop onto and if not, we didn't wait more than 5 minutes. We ended up hiking all three of the Emerald Pools; the lower, middle and upper pools. The waterfalls are breathtaking and upper pool is the perfect place to rest and eat lunch. Overall, the hike took about two hours. Afterwards we walked the grotto trail but towards the end of the trail, the thunderstorms rolled in so we called it a day and headed back to camp to make some dinner and relax with a fire. Day 2: This was the Friday of labor day weekend now, and we knew the crowds would be rolling in the next day so we decided to do Angels Landing. For those who haven't heard about this hike, it's a 5 mile or so round trip hike with a ton of switchbacks and the last half mile is a tough ascent. There is a chain to hold onto as you climb to the top, with 1,000 foot drop offs on either side. It's rated one of the top 10 most dangerous hikes and is not for those scared of heights. It certainly was a hike for the books and the top was filled with breath taking views. I must admit, coming back down from Angel's Landing was scarier than going up. We headed back to camp to relax for a bit and eat lunch then kept on hiking! We did the short 0.5 mile Weeping Rock trail and then did the Watchman trail for sunset. What I loved about Zion was that each hike was so unique, you didn't feel like you were just in one park. Day 3: On the third day we hiked The Narrows! The Narrows is one of the most beautiful and unique hikes you can ever go on. You're not hiking a trail but instead the Virgin River. It's about a 10mile hike round trip and can be a bit strenous due to the large rocks on the bottom. We rented our waterproof boots and socks and walking stick from Zion Outfitters for about $25. The hiking stick definitely helps you keep your footing and I would recommend having it. The exposed dramatic canyon walls are amazing and are sure to leave you in awe. It is a long day of hiking so be prepared. This was the only hike we did this day and it took us about 8 hours. Day 4: We originally planned to pack up our things and spend a night camping at Bryce National Park but instead decided to leave our campsite and Zion and just drive the two hours so the park. We just didn't feel like dealing with another first come fist serve parking situation the Sunday of Labor day weekend. Bryce Park is definitely cool to see but I'm glad we didn't spend more than one day there. Zion is filled with more hikes and is more for the adventurous type. In Bryce we did the Peek-a-boo trial which took about 3 hours and was the perfect hike when only having one day. It had incredible views of the hoodoos. I personally couldn't stop taking pictures. I recommend parking outside the park and then taking the free shuttle in to avoid paying the $30 park fee. Especially if you are not staying the night. We loved Utah so much and will be back to visit the rest of the national parks in the state!
San Francisco is a city that steals my heart again and again with each visit. The city immediately pulls you in with it's beautiful bay views, charming row homes and great restaurants.Although this past visit was for work, I tried to get out to explore as much as possible and this time around, I took the less touristy route. Day 1: When I first came to San Francisco in 2012, I saw Alcatraz, Height & Ashbury, rode the cable cars and wandered Fisherman's wharf. While I highly recommend doing all those things, I also had a chance to see places outside the city during my recent visit, starting with Sausalito and Marin County. Sausalito is right across the Golden Gate Bridge and is known for it's community of houseboats. There are great places to eat that are right on the water and offer breathtaking views of the city. Boats drift by you and the cool breeze from the bay gives you a break from the summer sun. After wandering around Sausalito, we drove a coastal road that offered up close views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Day 2:
One night while I was in San Fran we did head into the city for dinner and to show one of the coworkers I was with Lombard Street (the crookedest street) and walk around Fisherman's Wharf. Last time I only walked down Lombard street, so having the opportunity to drive down it was so fun.. and a little scary. We then headed to Pier 23 Cafe for dinner. I heard about this cafe after it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and I just had to check it out for myself. After dinner we walked along the bay to see the seals and stop at Ghiaradelli Square. I highly recommend you stop here if you are in San Fran and get the original sundae with hot fudge.. soooo good!
Day 3: I've been dying to head to Sonoma Valley or Napa but unfortunately, the 45 minute drive wasn't feasible during my short stay in San Fran. However, after some research we found that a small town not far from the city, called Livermore, is home to around 60 different wineries and vineyards. My coworker and I headed up there for lunch and few wine tastings and I suggest if you are like myself and want to explore the Northern California wine selection, just head to Livermore. Not all serve food so make sure you check out their website (here) so you know which ones to head to during lunch time.
I cannot wait to head back to the West Coast and specifically San Francisco. There are still many places on my bucket list to check out in this amazing city.
Chicago is such an amazing city. So full of life and character. In just a short weekend, my friends and I were able to see so much of the sights and were lucky enough to attend a wedding that's reception took place inside the Chicago Bears stadium. It was magical.
I highly recommend the architectural boat tour as something to do when in Chicago. It allows you to see parts of the city you wouldn't necessarily be able to see on foot if you only have a few days to explore. Also, be sure to go the Signature Room on the 96th floor of the John Hancock building (and go into the girls bathroom). Great views of the city. I wish we had time to go to the lookout ledge at the Willis tower but the wait was an hour and a half and we were on a tight schedule to see the city. Leave any comments on more places to visit or things to do in Chicago! I will definitely be making my way back there at some point.
Now that Spring is officially here and the weather has finally caught up with calendar, it's time to bring some life into the indoors.. with plants! And what better to place to go to get some inspiration and the most adorable plants and accessories than Terrain at Styers. I ended up leaving with a few succulents planted in pots also purchased from Terrain.
Happy National Record Store Day! There are few things that bring more peace and calmness to my day than listening to a vinyl record spin. The not-so-perfect sound and the act of flipping the record over to play the next side is tranquilizing. I love the feeling of stumbling upon an old record that was filed away in some bin that at one point was in the hands of someone else or listening to my mom's old albums from when she was my age. It's a way to connect two people or even two generations. On Saturday, for record store day, I headed out in the city of Philadelphia and visited some record stores that were holding events or sales to honor the day. First stop was Repo Records on South Street. The line out the door proved just how much records are making a come back these days. I sifted through countless crates filled with old and new albums, discounted and full price. I ended up purchasing the Jack White album, Lazaretto, an album that I love oh so much. If you've never gave it a listen, I highly recommend you do. After Repo Records, I headed to Northern Liberties to grab some food and drinks with friends. We went to Johnny Brenda's who was also partaking in record store day. They had vinyls spinning and Dogfish Head specials. Between the weather and the music, it was a perfect Saturday.
As you may have read in one of my earlier posts, in February I was fortunate enough to take a 10 day vacation to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It was also my first trip being able to use the amazing Nikon D3300 camera my boyfriend gave to me for Christmas. I took a photography class in preparation for the trip (and because I had never used a DSLR camera before) and was excited to put my learning's to use. When we returned from the trip, I went straight to a local camera shop to have some of my favorite pictures from the trip developed. There were so many I wanted to display but I wasn't sure how to go about it. My friend Alyssa recently wrote a blog post (found here) for a how-to travel gallery wall and I decided that was a perfect use of the photos and a way to spice up an empty space on the wall.
First, I chose a variety of frames from Homegoods (different colors, sizes and styles) and printed out pictures from the trip according to the size frames I bought. I was able to buy seven frames for only $50 dollars! The map shown in the pictures below is from Urban Outfitters and I thought it was a perfect piece to add to the pictures of trips around the world and it gave the wall some extra flare. When you purchase the map from Urban Outfitters it's just a piece of thick paper so I went to AC Moore and bought the wood fencing seen behind it, painted it white, and attached the map with some gold tacks (it turned out awesome!).
Next, I measured the size of the wall above my dresser and I recreated the same size space on my floor. I laid the frames out how I wanted them on the ground first, this way, I knew how much space to put between each frame and it took the stress out of trying to figure out what I was doing after hammering nails into my wall. We used Finish nails to hang the frames.
I love the way it turned out. Now I just need to plan some more adventurers so my boyfriend and I can continue to add and expand the travel wall! (suggestions more than welcomed!)
