Bob and Barb visit the Bay Area

My parents came to visit last week and we had a such a great time! It's really fun showing people around this city- San Francisco shows itself off very well. I also feel like just enough of a local to give tours to people but I still enjoy doing touristy stuff because it's all relatively new to me too. It's the perfect spot in which to be! Here's a rundown of some of the things we did:

• Had cocktails at the 'Top of the Mark'- the Mark Hopkins Hotel. An amazing view of the city and the fog swirling in
• Ate breakfast everywhere
• Ate lunch in Sausalito, explored the Bay Model (a building sized model of the estuary around San Francisco), looked at tons of sailboats (a huge hit with my dad)
• Found an apartment for me and Liz!!
• Explored the De Young museum and some of Golden Gate Park
• Took a freezing cold tour of Angel Island and a much warmer audio tour of Alcatraz
• Drank lots of wine
• Had great talks, laughs, and hugs

My mom shared an interesting fact with me: the last time my parents were in San Francisco together was 25 years ago...when I was in the womb! Crazy!

And last, but not least, is a picture from freezing cold Angel Island:

Fashion Forward Friday...

...is back in full effect! This week it finally got hot hot hot in San Francisco and I was ready with a sundress borrowed from my great friend Liz. Here it is:

It reminds me of an awning or something from the 80s. Growing up, my friend Ashley had awnings on the windows on the front of her house. I thought they were so cool! Now I'm wearing one.

Things I'm Excited About

Mermaid Polish

'Angela Chase' shades of lipstick

My new apartment, which includes:

A shared backyard with a lemon tree

A great friend of 6 years

A new gas stove

A bathtub

Rowboats in Golden Gate Park

Bike Rides

San Francisco Summer

So. Excited.

Of Mice and Men and Women

Alright alright alright so there's no Fashion Forward Friday this week. My bad. But I realized that all my 'fashion forward' outfits consist of a skirt, a belt, and a top. So, uh, hittin a dry patch here. Perhaps I need another style guide (hint hint)...

However, I've decided to post this AMAZING video of Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram singing Somewhere Out There from the Disney feature An American Tail. This song has been stuck in my head ALL week so the other day I looked it up on YouTube to give a listen. Do people still make celebrity radio versions of Disney songs? Because they should. They were so popular when we were kids! Consider this:

-Beauty and the Beast (Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson)

-Reflection (Mulan) (Christina Aguliera)

-True to Your Heart (Mulan) (98 degrees and Stevie Wonder!)

-Go the Distance (Hercules) (Michael Bolton)

and so many more.

Here's what went through my head when I watched this video. In order:

1. omg glasses

2. Linda Ronstadt's hair

3. They're both artists!

4. Fake window

5. Props dept. strategically placed a 'cool hat' in James Ingram's apartment

6. THEY'RE RIGHT ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER!!

7. The animation scenes during the guitar solo are kind of inappropriately violent/scary

8. Why is she wearing a blazer inside?

9. THERE'S A WALKWAY!!

10. They're probably in New York

Pretty soon I'll do a post completely dedicated to Linda Ronstadt. Until then I'll be staring out of a french door a cartoon moon and thinking of you (with Spanish subtitles).

Fashion Forward Friday

Better late than never! I just remembered Fashion Forward Friday and it's Sunday so I'm sure the anticipation was killing you. Here it is!

Lumber Jill, I think, is the name of this outfit. It's pretty much the same combo of skirt, shirt, and tights that I've been doing lately but with a Northwestern twist. And by that I mean the plaid and the boots.

Lumber Jill day was cold and foggy! I had the day off and had a wonderful 'alone breakfast', which is exactly what it sounds like: I have breakfast alone and read and journal. The rest of the day I spent looking at apartments. Exhausting and exciting! Fingers crossed that we get the first one we applied for because:

1. It's a great place

2. I hate filling out rental applications and paying for credit checks