For being the shortest month, Feb sure felt like one of the longer ones. I don’t mean that in a bad way… I’m glad at least one Feb in the last few years felt longer than usual. And so far, it’s been my favorite month. Full of trying a shit ton of new eats, seeing new cities, finding new favorite things, seeing some of my favorite people. My Feb was full of insane love from my friends, my support circle who’s been rockin with me for over 21 years. If I know what boundless unconditional love is, it’s because of them. They’ve loved me through all the rough and smooth stages of life from the jump and I’m so very thankful for every single one of them. Not having to feel like I’m being judged or having to censor myself is a feeling I took for granted, for sure.
Despite not really having a place to stay this trip, my BFF made sure I was comfortable. I literally didn’t have to worry about anything the whole week. He also had me drive and while I was SUPER nervous because it was a freakin nice ass car, it felt so good to drive through the streets of my hometown again. You don’t realize how free and liberating driving can feel after years of not feeling comfortable enough to do so. I also appreciate that if I’m PMS’ing he just feds me, tells me I’m funny and let’s me yell lol. I had the best week.
| WATCHED
I know I’m supposed to be working my way through my streaming queues but it’s kinda hard when you have a toddler who wants to watch Dinosaur videos lol. I’m not gonna knock her urge to learn things.
Attempted to watch In the Heights but I just… got lost.
I watched Crazy Rich Asians the first night I was in Napa and there’s just something iconic and inspiring about that movie every time I watch it. Def made me want to work harder on my business; I wanna build something that’s going to outlive me.
Watched Cars… while in a 2 hour queue line for the Cars ride. I forgot how the first movie even went. But Lightning McQueen was a little shit head.
Watched Hamilton on the plane ride home to kill time since I couldn’t sleep. The girl next to me was watching In the Heights. Yeah even watching the little snips I did, I still couldn’t vibe with it.
| DID
Finally got to try Sugar Factory since they opened up one in Dallas and honestly, it was more instagrammable than the one in Vegas I always walked into. The food was amazing and the drink I got didn’t even taste like a drink. Def coming back here.
Spent some time in Napa Valley since it’s one of my favorite places to go. It’s such a foodie heaven, seriously. And my BFF/Kuya has been taking me to all these high end places to eat. I’ve def been spoiled but man is this food good! Fine dining has always just been a dream of mine so it’s a bit surreal that I get to experience this every time I fly back to Cali!
I also stayed at this luxury hotel I’ve been wanting to stay at in Downtown Napa. It’s crazy how much this street has changed in the 10 years I’ve been gone. It’s like a completely different place now! What use to be a dead and abandoned looking area is now busy with good eats, luxury hotels and a serious night life. It felt so good to be out that late in Cali. I missed that feeling.
The hotel itself was gorgeous and I’m completely in love with it! They set out water bottles and caramels (that were SO GOOD), locally made, as welcome gifts. They also had a mini bar which I did drink all of the Coke’s out of. As well as books from the book store downstairs that you can preview! It’s the little things, for sure. But the interior, which I wish I had taken more pics of, was breath taking!
I also stayed in a pretty fancy hotel in San Francisco that I never knew was there! It’s a Japanese inspired and owned hotel. The decor was so pretty and the restaurant upstairs had the most interesting dishes. Everything was so good!
The Wagyu on the hot stone was super interesting and fun to do! It was so good too. The salad was really good (minus whatever that bitter red leaf is) and my cocktail which was made of Blackberries and Sage was also really good.
Monthly trips to Cali have been a thing since Jan and I’m so excited about them all the time. Being home for a week every month and being with my best friends and close to my family is something I’ve missed greatly. And since 2022 is the year of doing me, I took a road trip to SoCal and Disneyland for a few days. It was possibly THE BEST road trip experience I’ve ever had. I stayed up the whole time both ways. Found random spots to try. Stayed in a very very classy hotel that I think I’m in love with.
Got to meet up with my FFXIV BFF after 6 years! We went to this dope Italian spot with amazing food. Everything was amazing. I’m so sad I didn’t get a pic with her. But my friend and I had just dodged rain at Disneyland and I was getting drowsy. So glad I was able to see her though.
Also hit Oakland at night looking for Chinese pastries with my cousin. You know. Our usual hood shit lol. I forgot how my cousin drives, even though he’s been driving me around since we were 17. Got to get sushi with him twice and with our other friend. I look forward to dinners with them. But ya’ll can we get something other than Japanese next time? lol. Excuse my face. I was in the middle of laughing. B (on the left) has a tendency to just keep snapping pics even if we’re like “where do we look? It’s dark, I can’t tell! LETS JUST ASK SOMEONE TO TAKE OUR PIC FOR US. Nah, we got this.” we obviously didn’t “have it” but to be fair we had been there so long they were turning the lights off on us, so.
Got to see one of my favorite ex cousin-in-law’s; she’s more like a sister honestly. I got to see my goddaughter after 10 years of not. She’s grown so much and she gave me a hug before we left. I also got to meet the toddler who is the same age as Tums. He was such a happy little cutie! I can’t wait for them to meet some day.
| ATE
I tried a lot of new foods. I’m surprised at how many new eats I got to try in Feb; I posted most of the ones I wanted to talk about above. So. I’ll also be reviewing these places either here or on my food blog! There’s just so much to say about every place I’ve tried.
| FAVS
Song: Just Like Magic & Boyfriend by Ariana Grande
Eat: Wow… Idk if I can pick just one… but it’s between the Disney Churro’s or the Grilled Cheese with Avocado from RH!
Discovery: Oakland sushi… it hits different
Moment: Foodie road trip & every time I got in the car with my cousin
Photo:
This was taken at the Apple Visitor Center. My kuya had walked in, picked up air pods, went to pay for them and handed them to me like it wasn’t even that big of a deal. Meanwhile I was like wtf bro. It’s more for him than me though so. And it was a late Christmas gift. Thanks Kuya!
We went upstairs for this view. The whole time I was like: “you know, if I fell, this would be a really really high fall.” and my Kuya was like “just stand there. DO. NOT. MOVE.”
I like that he likes taking pictures and he makes sure to get candid or candid photos of me a lot. I don’t really have anyone to do that so it’s nice when it does happen. I really liked my outfit that day and I was having such a good hair day!
THat’s the gist of my Feb. It was super eventful. Super fun and filled with hugs, laughs and love. I’n so lucky to have the friends and the circle I have. And I’m so lucky they’ve been here for me 22+ years. I can’t wait until I’m in Cali for good.