Destination - Glamping in Yosemite

(Listen to the playlist for the full experience)

This may make you question my authenticity as a Californian, but I'd never been to Yosemite during my 10+ years of living in California. And it was about time I changed that. The perfect opportunity arose when some of my friends got the permit to hike Half Dome. Was I up for it? No, I am deadly afraid of heights. And I was not the only one hesitating amongst our group of friends. So some of us decided to make this into a "glamping" (glamorous camping) trip while others fought for their lives, climbing up the notorious Half Dome Trail.

So what did our glamping trip looked like? Well we only had one full day, the day when everyone else went up on that deadly hike, and that day went like this: Sleep in, make ourselves a delicious breakfast, do yoga in the cabin, go on a relatively-short walk (Lower Yosemite Falls & Swinging Bridge areas), swim, eat lunch, take a nap, read, play music, and BBQ. If that sounds like your kind of trip, then friend, you are reading the right post.

Yosemite was as beautiful as I had imagined. Witnessing the greatness of the nature is always such a humbling experience. We are so vulnerable before the huge mountains, wild animals, and weather conditions, aren't we? Sometimes I would just stop and look around to soak in the world around me. And that alone was such a healing and restorative experience.

But what was especially great about our glamping trip was that though I didn't get to work out my body as much, I really got to work out my mind and heart. I got to sit on our patio and just journal, meditate, pray, read, and listen to music. That kind of retreat is so needed sometimes, isn't it?

The sun is setting behind the cabin

BBQing under the moon

We cheated and made s'mores in microwaves. But hey, who's going to say no to s'mores done ANY WAY?

But of course, the best part of the trip was when the whole gang got to be together. Turned out the Half Dome Crew had a miserably long 20-something mile hike that was both exhausting and frightening (so no FOMO on my side, thank you). When they returned to the cabin as almost-dead bodies, we the Glamping Crew welcomed them with some delicious food. And we just all got to eat, drink, and laugh together, and nothing could be better.

On a side note, it was so heartbreaking to see just how bad the drought has been affecting the nature. A lot of the trees have either withered or burned, and it was so devastating. The trip made me become more serious about saving water, because there's nothing more real than the nature slapping you in the face with reality.

Summer cabin trip hack: If you have leftover watermelon at the end of the trip, blend it up to make watermelon smoothie for the last breakfast before heading back home

Summer is finally coming to an end, and I am very sad about that. I will miss the sweet, sweet watermelons, the perfect weather of summer nights, all the awesome trips, white wines, BBQs, and everything else Summer lets us enjoy. But these great memories of the summer will sustain me until the next one comes around (hopefully). Goodbye for now, Summer!

Destination - Summer in Paris

(Listen to the playlist for the full experience)

Paris is probably the most cliché-ridden city in the world. Wine, cigarettes, lights, nights by the river, street musicians... you know what I'm talking about. And as someone fully aware of her helpless romantic self, I have to admit - I'm a sucker for these things. And Parisians - they're not ashamed of their tendencies either.

Canal St. Martin by night

This summer, I was fortunate to be invited to a wedding in South of France. So, my husband and I decided to make a road trip out of it - from Paris to Nice. We spent the most time in Paris, of course, and it was well worth it.

A beautiful lunch at L'Arpege

Taking a mid-day break at Jardin du Luxembourg

The thing I probably enjoyed the most during this trip was the slow(er) lifestyle of the Parisians. Coming from Silicon Valley, where how busy you are determines your worth, it was such a nice break to get away to a place where taking it slow is considered a virtue.

During my short stay in Paris, I got way too used to the afternoon breaks in the park, glasses of wine with each meal, and 9pm dinners than I should have. But I can tell you, the ending to this newly acquainted lifestyle came too quickly, and it was a bitter return to the busy office and hundreds of e-mails.

Dinner at the legendary Bistro Paul Bert

Croissants all day everyday

White sturgeon caviar on baked potato @ Caviar Kaspia

There was a period in my life when I dreamed of moving to Paris and living a "free" life. It was a place of escape for me, and I still feel that sentiment from time to time. I'm sure the locals' lives are not always about picnics and wine. I'm sure they also have bills to pay, jobs to go to every morning, and relationship drama. But how they still maintain to keep it so stylish and cool, I don't know. And that's something I'll always admire about Parisians.

Evening at Sacre-Coeur

Flowers @ farmers' market

The view from Centre Pompidou

Summer in Paris is brutal in many ways. The miserable heatwave, ridiculous amounts of tourists (myself included), and the occasional showers that get you soaking wet. But the summer nights by the river or Eiffel Tower, complete with a $5 bottle of wine, make life feel like a dream. 

'Til next time, my summer night's dream.

Event - Outside Lands 2015

(Listen to the playlist for the full experience)

I'm not sure how many more years I can do it before I'm officially too old, but I just had yet another great weekend at Outside Lands. Once again, along with the amazing music lineup with legendary headliners like D'Angelo, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, the Black Keys, Mumford & Sons, and Elton John, there was also an awesome lineup of local food vendors, wineries, and breweries - making the festival really one of a kind. Outside Lands, over the recent years, has transformed from trend to tradition, and though the growing popularity has brought some frustrating side effects like the impossible parking situation, I take great pride in the festival as a Bay Arean.

Bags of chicharrones for sale @ 4505 Meats' booth

Cheeseburger and garlic chimichurri fries @ 4505 Meats' booth

Donut cheeseburger (yes, I said it) @ Straw's booth

Donut cheeseburger (yes, I said it) @ Straw's booth

As for me personally, the best act of the weekend was D'Angelo. And the most underwhelming act? Probably Chet Faker. But all in all it was a magical experience that I will be revisiting year after year.

The playlist is based on my favorite performers from this year. Hope you enjoy!

Cooking - Summer Night Italian Dinner

(Listen to the playlist for the full experience)

We are all generally on good terms with summer nights. Summer nights are like the angel that gracefully descends onto your sweaty head after a long hot day. Summer nights are an excuse to party on a weekday. Summer nights make you want to dine al fresco just because you can. Summer nights usually involve good food, drinks, and good company. Summer nights make you feel like you can eat lots of ice cream and never get fat.

I threw in some home-grown cherry tomatoes I got from a colleague and they were amazing

On a random Tuesday night, I decided to cook some fun, SUPER EASY, Italian-inspired dishes for a romantic dinner on the patio. Thankfully there were no turkeys outside (refer to this post for the turkey story), so we could actually enjoy the dinner in peace.

I used whole wheat pasta to feel less guilty about the dessert..

I cannot stress enough how easy yet delicious these dishes are. The only thing you even need to use heat for is to cook the pasta noodles. In literally 15 minutes, we had this dinner on the table.

Italian wine is something I know absolutely nothing about. Hoping for better luck next time I choose an Italian white wine (suggestions welcomed in the comments).

To end the dinner, we made some affogato with local ice cream from Mission Hill Creamery and Nespresso. Never appreciated the Nespresso machine in the house 'til I discovered I can make affogato in 10 seconds.

Note to self: Get an ice cream scooper. But seriously, this affogato was amaaaazing. Perfect way to end the beautiful meal.

Watermelon Salad

Susie Song

Published 08/05/2015

Ingredients

  • 1/4 watermelon, cubed
  • Sunflower sprouts
  • Goat cheese, crumbled
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Edible flowers for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Spread the cubes of watermelon on a flat plate
  2. Toss a generous amount of sunflower sprouts on top of the watermelon
  3. Throw a generous amount of goat cheese crumbles
  4. Drizzle two tbsp of balsamic vinegar on the salad
  5. Garnish with edible flowers

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Total time: 10 mins.

Tags: watermelon, salad, summer, summer salad

Summer Pasta

Susie Song

Published 08/05/2015

Ingredients

  • 1/2 box of pasta noodles (linguine, spaghetti, thin spaghetti, etc.)
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • Tomatoes (amount can be adjusted as desired; usually about 3-4), seeds removed
  • 10 large basil leaves, julienned
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Parmesan cheese, grated
  • Extra basil leaves for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Boil a pot of water, and cook the pasta noodles with salt
  2. In a large bowl, mix all other ingredients
  3. Drain the pasta and toss in the large bowl. Mix well
  4. Place the pasta on a plate, and top with a generous amount of parmesan cheese
  5. Garnish with small basil leaves (optional)

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Total time: 15 mins.

Tags: pasta, summer, summer pasta, italian

Activity - Mount Davidson on a Foggy Day

(Listen to the playlist for the full experience)

It feels a bit ironic to share this now (I'd kind of lost the timing), but I thought it might be a refreshing post in the midst of the heatwave.. so here we go.

Sometimes, life calls for an adventure. Adventure is different from disaster, because most of the time, it's somewhat voluntary, and it usually comes with a reward. And this post is about a short adventure I had.

I arrived at Mount Davidson early evening on an extremely foggy day, with two people I had just met (long story). We had met in a semi-professional setting (we were out there to shoot together, since they're professional photographers), but when I got to the closed-off entrance to the dark hazy trail, I have to admit I was a little scared. 

They both looked at me, slightly concerned. "Sorry, we didn't expect it to be this foggy. If you feel uncomfortable, you can stay out. But we're going in anyway..." Clearly there was no one on that trail. Perhaps there were wild animals, perhaps dead bodies. What if these people were murderers?! I heard the creepy music from the podcast "Serial" in my head. I pondered the offer for a few seconds, then eventually agreed to join their journey.

This is unusual, because I'm usually terrified: not over certain things, but just terrified in general. I have multiple phobias. I have all kinds of anxieties. But for some reason, my heart was in. So in we went.

Obviously nothing happened to me, and that evening ended up being one hell of a memory. The eerie silence, the blurred images through the fog, the weird combination of fear and excitement.. It was surreal.

Fog can be scary. You can't see what's inches in front of you. But once you step into the fog, you realize it's not so bad. If anything, it's calm, soft, and quiet inside the fog. This particular experience made me wonder how much I've been missing out because of my fear. How many times did I step away from something because I was scared? What is there to fear so much about uncertainty?

If you're ever in San Francisco on a foggy day (which is NOT hard to come across), go for a walk to Mount Davidson. It'll bring you the kind of peace and quiet that you don't get to experience often. I saw later that there was even an iconic cross at the top of the hill - an area to be explored on a less foggy (and slippery) day.