Vegetated & Vegetarian

We're here!  We are officially residents of Berkeley, CA!  Today officially marks one week since we piled all of our belongings in a U Haul and made the trek up to Nor Cal.  So far, so good!

Scott and I absolutely love our apartment.  It's charming, cozy, and newly renovated with laminate flooring...something I've always wanted! (HGTV nerd).  AND it is QUIET!  In El Segundo, we lived off of a busy street and right next to LAX.  Due to the warm weather and no AC in unit, we had no choice but to keep our windows open...needless to say, it was VERY loud.  We are happy to report that our new place is off the street, and no airports are nearby, yay!  Finally, peace and quiet.  We have a couple more boxes to unpack, but once we are fully moved in I will post photos of our place.

Berkeley is so charming!  Our friends Dina and Justine who live in Sacramento gave us a grand tour of Berkeley last Sunday as they were former residents of this cute little city and know the ins and outs.  We grabbed a delicious lunch at Cesar located in the Gourmet Ghetto.  The Gourmet Ghetto is a stretch of blocks filled with fine eateries and cafes, AKA foodie paradise.  Scott and I will be having some fun there.  After lunch we drove to cool areas of Berkeley where Scott and I will definitely be exploring in the near future.

Berkeley reminds me of two things, vegetation and vegetarian food, hence the name of this blog post.  When I walk Sophie I'm astounded by the amount of overgrown plants, trees, flowers, hedges...it's beautiful!  Pictures to comes!  Berkeley is also VERY vegetarian/vegan friendly.  I've counted a plethora of restaurants that are strictly vegan/vegetarian which is great for me and my new lifestyle. The best thing about Berkeley?  We can walk everywhere!  I think I've driven twice in the week that we've lived here...1) Ikea 2) RedBox.

Our TV will be installed over the weekend, just in time for the True Blood season premiere...I cannot believe we have lived without our beloved television for this long.  Oh the horror :)

Until next time..

View of Golden Gate Bridge from above UC Berkeley campus

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It's Tucson Time! Pt 2

Could I have waited any longer to post part two of the Tucson trip?  Ugh. I'm blaming it on the big exciting move and all the stress that comes with that...not to mention, looking for a job!

Pictures below are from Josh & Heather's rehearsal dinner and wedding.  I'll keep the typing to a minimum and the pictures to a max. :)

Chris the creepy lurker in the background, lol!

And now for Static Session performance! (ps still learning how to handle my camera, especially in low light)

The next day, I met with a couple of my best girlfriends Krysta and Kindra for brunch at one of my favorite places, The Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress.  It was so good to see them and catch up while sitting on the patio sipping bloody marys and enjoying a beautiful spring Tucson day.

 delicious huevos rancheros

 The lovely Krysta

Krysta, me, and Kindra

Afterward, we took a stroll down 4th Ave and I a couple things caught my eye that I just had to snap a photo of..

 Go cats!

Pretty, right?


I'll leave it at that.  Next post will be dedicated to wedding photos.

Did you hear?

We're moving!

Ahhhh.....SAN FRANCISCO!  We'll be living in Berkeley, but it's just a hop, skip and a BART to the city.  Scott landed a job in the wine industry which is what is bringing us up north.  I can't wait for Giants games, irish coffees at the Buena Vista, good Italian food in North Beach, dim sum in Chinatown, and the great things that Berkeley has to offer as well!

We left our hearts in San Francisco...but we're going back to be with them for good!

Birthday Recap pt. 1

I felt so much love on my birthday.  Scott surprised me with a beautiful gift, my coworkers brought me breakfast in the morning and took to me out to lunch, and my friend of 16 years was in town to help celebrate! 

Firstly, I told Scott in advance that I did not want a birthday gift and to save his money for the birthday festivities we would be having over the week.  Soo on Thursday I came home to this:

Beautiful flowers, a card, and a cute owl dish to throw our keys/mail/etc in.  I've been recently collecting owls so I've got another thing to add to my collection!  After hugging Scott thank you, he asked if I could grab him a beer from the fridge..when I opened the door I found this!

I should have known...

Love it!

My good friend Laurie and her husband Matt were in town so we made plans to go to Fishbar for dinner.  While we waited for them we popped champagne and had an impromptu photoshoot.

Laurie and Matt arrived after experiencing the glory that is LA traffic, and we were off to Fishbar!  Fishbar never ceases to amaze me, I've posted about it before...everything was delish!  AND we even met the Chef!  Laurie and Matt tried their first oyster!  I don't think they're sold on them quite yet, but taking the oyster plunge is definitely tough so I will give them that! :)

Work the next morning was a bit tough, but we had a blast..and that's all that matters.  Pt 2 birthday recap will be posted soon!

Meat-Free for 3 weeks!

I decided to give up meat and become a vegetarian. Actually I guess I am a pescatarian since I continue to eat fish. For about a year, I've started to become somewhat, for lack of a better word, disgusted my red meat, pork and poultry. I would hardly eat it, but when I did I couldn't help but think about all the chemicals I'm consuming along with the meat product. Hormones and antibiotics were all I thought about. I started to buy organic and grass fed beef, but I would still feel awful...not to mention, my wallet became lighter.

It was hard for me to wrap my head around this whole vegetarian idea because I grew up LOVING meat. Steak and baked potato was my absolute favorite meal. The last time I had a steak was probably six months ago, and I barely finished half of it. My have times changed...

I needed to try being meat free for a while, so I thought what's a better time to give something up than for lent. So many people give something up for lent, regardless if they're Catholic, so I won't be alone.

I've been meat-free for three weeks and I don't miss it at all!  I have even noticed that I can fit into a pair a pants that I haven't been able to wear in forever!  YAY!  All in all I'm pleased with myself for having the strength to do this. It really hasn't been too difficult, and I am feeling great now that I'm eating clean! 

I do have to admit, I miss bacon.  After lent is over, I will probably continue to stay veggie...but I will submit to the occasional bacon strip from time to time.  AND I apologize in advance but when Scott and I go back to Tucson in a few weeks, I WILL be consuming a sonoran hot dog.  I must.  Those things are non-existant in LA and I need it.

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10 Things That Currently Make Me Very Happy

1. frozen thin mints

2. beach volleyball

3. when Scott surprises me and comes home from work early

4. scented poop pick-up bags for Sophie (it's the small things..)

5. oysters from Fishbar

6. sleeping in on Saturdays

7. my new wedges for spring

8. the scented oil vent clip for my car

9. the yummy primitivo I discovered at Trader Joe's for $3.99

10. homemade pizza

febphotoaday Pt 1

During the month of February, Instagram (follow me @ emwinks) is doing a photo-a-day challenge where each day users post a photo based on that days theme.  I thought it would be nice to document my current #febphotoaday's to date.

1. My view today...the view from my desk looking towards the Hollywood Hills

2. Words...I use this baby to type many words every day

3.  Hands...throwin' up a peace sign

 4. Stranger...Scott posing with a stranger at the Irish Bank in SF

5. 10am...beach volleyball

6. Dinner...chicken marsala with asparagus

7. Button...the button that doesn't stay put on my pants that I wear regardless

8. Sun...no caption necessary

9. Front door...boring

 10.  Self portrait...5:30am, just woke up

11. What makes me happy...my family

When did I become old?

Ok I'm a bit dramatic, but seriously. Ever since I got the email notification that this is the year of my 10 year high school reunion, I've been noticing small thing that make me think I'm an elder.

First, grey hair. Not just a couple grey hairs here and there, I'm talking TONS. Most of them are WHITE. My hair seemed to have skipped the grey cycle and went straight to white. I'm blaming this on generics as my dad turned grey at a young age.  But it is still rather alarming when combing through your hair and realizing that your once brown hair is no more.  I spent a good part of last weekend picking out a color of hair dye at Rite Aid to mask these pesky greys/whites. 

Back pains. Ever since I was in a car accident back in 2007 I've always suffered from lower back pain. Lately it's been getting worse. I can hardly bend over to wash my face when I get up in the morning. Old age?  Maybe. Time to brush up on my yoga skills and get into that locust pose to strengthen my back muscles!

Exhaustion.  I remember the days when I would stay up until two in the morning every night. Now it's rare if I make it to 10:30.  I have really learned to appreciate sleep.  In fact, I'm not exactly thrilled if I don't get at least 8 hours every night.

I know, I know...I'm in my late 20s so I shouldn't complain about old age, but I think this is an important time.  This is when us 27 year olds realize that we're not kids anymore, and that we're really growing up.  Hard to believe.  Better go pick out that dress for my 10 year high school reunion that is taking place in a few months...