TRAVEL | Fisherman's Wharf, MONTERY, CA

I took a trip down the coast of California with my family a couple weeks ago. We stayed in Monterey for a couple of days. The Fisherman's Wharf is one of my favorite places; the Fisherman's Wharf also means mandatory clam chowder bread bowl . We ended up wandering down the municipal wharf first until we realized that it was mostly full of fishing people (this is also where Sandbar & Grill is located). Finally we found the Fisherman's Wharf and the first thing that happened was someone offered us clam chowder samples. And then we walked a little further and the next restaurant handed out clam chowder samples. As we made out way down the wharf we tried clam chowder from every restaurant. It was amazing!

xoxo, allison

TRAVEL | SACRAMENTO road trip

The other week I road tripped to Sacramento to spend spring break with some family in NorCal. My love of road trips probably stems from my hatred of flying. My case of extreme motion sickness has planes at the top of list. Since I went to college 360 miles from home, it was my only choice of transportation if I ever wanted to visit home. But once I got a car, I drove. 

It didn't matter to me that I it took 5 hours longer than the plane ride because I avoided the checking in, waiting at the terminal, waiting to get my luggage, waiting to get picked up, etc. I spent the time in the car calling friends with my car's Bluetooth, and when they weren't available, I was catching up on my Joy the Baker Podcasts. Joy and Tracy became my new best friends, and it was like I had Joycelyn and Traci in the car with me. (I know I sound crazy, but c'mon, they have the same names as my real life besties.) Many times I made the drive home without stopping once - thank you Pegasus for good gas mileage!

Road trips with my family are completely different. I get to nap a lot, my dad chooses the music, and we make many stops to eat. As you can see, we did a lot of eating in Sacramento as well.   

Mandatory in-n-out stop. neapolitan shake, well-done fries, cheeseburger with grilled onions and extra produce.  

Dinner the first night was at Orient Restaurant for clay pot chicken rice. The rice and chicken is slow cooked in a giant clay pot so that the juices of the chicken soak into the rice as it cooks and the rice forms a crispy layer on the bottom of the pot. My grandma and I love the crispy rice, but she loves me and let's me eat most of it.

My sister took us to Kansai Ramen & Sushi House for lunch. I ordered the Karaage Ramen with fried chicken on the side. It came with spinach, corn, and egg which made me a happy girl. We also ordered the Bob and Mufasa Rolls, Tempura Don, and BBQ Albacore. All were yummy and the server was super friendly.  

We took my sister grocery shopping and I couldn't resist buying these giant sesame balls. One of my favorite things to eat at dim sum! Fried chewy dough stuffed with red bean paste. 

Of course we had to get our BBQ fix so we took my sister and her roommate to A & K Barbeque. We ordered a full rack of pork ribs and 2 orders of tri tip. nomnomnom. Of course we had to order sides: mac and cheese, yams, and baked beans. 

Do you love road trips? Is it all about the journey or the destination? Hopefully, I have many more roadtrips in the future!

xoxo, allison

SOML| surprise GERMANY package

My bff has been in Germany the past three months. And she's really good at keeping secrets. Like the fact that she bought us BFF phone cases (you know the ones) before proceeding to convince me that I needed an iPhone 5s in my life. Our convo went something like this..

Me: I'm going to get a new phone today
Her: WHICH ONE!
Me: I think the 5s because you convinced me and i want to be just like you
Her: YES! and we can be just like each other.
Me: yesss and we can get those bff cases LOLZ...jk
Her: but really..
Me: hahaha and then we can iMessage again finally
Her: it'll be the best life ever. wanna know a secret?
Me: yes
Her: I already bought the cases..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Me: WHAT? HAHAHHAHAA FORREALSS????
Her: I WAS EXCITED AND OPTIMISTIC
Me: YES OMG. YOU KNEW BEFORE I KNEW
Her: I did.
Me: THATS HOW WELL YOU KNOW ME OMG IM SO EXCITED. BEST. IDEA. EVER

The other secret she kept was sending me this package on April 8, almost a full month before my birthday to make sure it got to me on time (also to celebrate my baptism). We've spent more birthdays apart than together, but getting to send & receive care packages is definitely a plus! (Remember when I sent her this ice cream party in a box?)

i love Haribo!

Milka chocolate = always a good thing. (Kinder Happy Hippos not pictured because I ate them all.)

Scrap fabric from the pants she cut into shorts. Some say trash, I say treasure.

Arm knit double circle scarf! She says it's to prepare for the winter weather (that we are definitely not having right now).

Basically sparkling apple juice in a bottle. We love apple juice. (When I was younger I used to drink apple juice like water...until I realized that I was basically drinking sugar water.)

Books! The first one is Eleanor & Park that I started reading the night before she left.

to add to my collection of one haha

I hope you're inspired to send a care package to someone you're missing right now. With flat rate boxes, it's fun to try to fit as many heavy presents as you can inside. 

xoxo, allison

TRAVEL | SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Took a much needed vacation last week to Seattle with some friends from college! We spontaneously booked during a JetBlue sale and I'm so glad we did! It rained most of the time, but it was still a blast walking around the city with our umbrellas and rainboots. 

First stop was of course, the Space Needle!

Signed up for a FREE walking tour around Pike Place. Our tour guide was great and we got tons of samples and discounts just for being on the tour!

They have the prettiest flowers!

The famous (and kind of gross) gum wall.

Seriously the BEST greek yogurt I had! It's located right across the street from the famous fish throwers. They caught my eye with the pretty display of all their flavors and yummy samples they were handing out. My favorite was passion fruit. Sam and I were trying so hard to think of a way to bring some back home, but we didn't want to risk it going bad on the plane. :(

Look! It's named after me :)

Checked out the Olympic Sculpture Garden since it was just a five minute walk from our hotel. They had a bunch of interesting artwork scattered throughout the area.

So surprised the boys actually cooperated with us and did this. Isn't it cute?! haha

We stumbled upon a little rock beach at the Sculpture Park and had fun throwing the rocks around. 

My coworker recommended that we go to Chihuly Garden and Glass and I'm so glad we went! The museum was so colorful and the displays were breathtakingly pretty.

We were so lucky that the sun came out when we went to Kerry Park! It was a long walk uphill from our hotel, but totally worth it. The view was amazing and it was a nice place to sit and relax.

Our last night in town, we ate a fancy dinner at the top of the Space Needle. It was pretty pricey, but definitely worth the experience. For dessert we ordered ice cream served over dry ice! It was pretty neat :)

Right before our flight, we made a quick stop at Pioneer Square-the historic part of Seattle. I'd definitely recommend the Underground Tour which takes you underneath the streets into an old abandoned town. Very cool!

And just for fun, aren't the bathroom doors extremely short?! hahaha.

Had such a blast here! Where are some of your favorite vacation spots? :)

xoxo, traci

TRAVEL | THOMAS R. RILEY WILDERNESS PARK

My best friend loves to hike. Me? Not as excited...but I'm up for it as long as there is a waterfall or beach or mountain peak view somewhere along the trail. My favorite part about hiking is breathing in the fresh air and reflecting on all of the beauty in the world that God created. He didn't have to make so many different kinds of plants or trees, but he did; and we get to enjoy them.  Last weekend I went hiking with my sister's American Heritage Girl troop at the Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park. We hiked up the Mule Deer Trail and followed the Vista Ridge Trail down which was probably around 2 miles. The highlight: watching a group of deer cross our hiking trail!

All of the trails allow bikes, but I would suggest that if you haven't mountain biked before, you probably shouldn't try it out here because part of the trail is pretty rugged and steep.

I know, I know, I need better hiking shoes.

Oh, deer!

Where are they going? I have no i-deer!

Hiking is a great way to go exploring, get some fresh air, and exercise a bit. Where are some of your favorite hiking spots?

xoxo, allison