San Diego | What to do for a Weekend Trip

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I went to San Diego for my friend's bachelorette party back in April and it was an action packed weekend filled with fun games, food, plenty of site-seeing, and tons of wine =). I love San Diego and it's been well over 10 years since the last time I went so being able to go back this year was great and I got to do a lot more than expected. When you only have 3 to 4 days for a trip, you want to get the most out of it without being overwhelmed. Today,  I wanted to take some time to give you all a few tips and suggestions to help plan your short weekend stay if you do decide to venture into SoCal!


 1) Reserve a day or half a day for the beach.

Chances are, you're going to San Diego to enjoy the beautiful weather and as weird as it may sound, planning your schedule/itinerary for relaxing is very useful. Depending where you stay at (we stayed at a beach house rental right on Mission Blvd!), the  beach may be in your backyard or a short drive away. If you do have a chance to, check out Coronado Beach!

San Diego Beach House Blvd
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At Coronado Beach - hotel in the back!

2) Save some time and eat around the area you're staying at. 

Living right on Mission Blvd. there was an abundance of food and grocery stores so we didn't have to go far for food. There was a taco shop right across the street where we took food to-go for tacos on the beach and further down the was a cute ice cream shop with some delicious cake batter ice cream!
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Ocean's Ice Cream foodie cake batter waffle cone

3) For whatever reason you're there for, if you're of age and enjoy wine, then I would highly recommend checking out a few wineries out in Temecula.

Temecula is basically wine country of San Diego where they allow you to try a flight of 6 in your tasting. There are companies that will even bundle a couple or more wineries in one trip and drive you around. We did a mini tour of 3 wineries so we had a whole lot to drink, haha. The ones we went to were Carter Estate Winery & Resort, Monto De Oro Winery & Vinyards, and Bel Vino Winery.
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3) Pick a few sites that interest you and plan your day around there such as: Belmont Park or Balboa Park. 

Both places have a lot to do and see and you will spend a good chunk of time at both. Other places of note that we didn't get a chance to go to that you may also be interested in are La Jolla and the San Diego Zoo. It's a good time to check out a few places to eat between venues to make the most of the time instead of spending too much time figuring out what you want to eat!

BALBOA PARK

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San Diego Botanical garden ootd
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BELMONT PARK

San Diego amusement park roller coaster
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4) Enjoy a night out in the town at Gaslamp Quarter. 

This area is filled with clubs, bars, lounges, and food! We came here twice but were a bit tired to do too much after eating to hit the town, but everyone else was definitely out and about.
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5)  Have a few foodie places on your list to schedule them in between the day (see tip #3).

We definitely wanted to hit up In-N-Out (it was my first time there ever!) and another one of the girls really wanted to try out these ice cream flights (yes, ice cream flights!) at Hammond's and of course we couldn't pass that up. We ended up using our last day to fit in all the foodie items as we had a later flight at night.

Hammond's Ice Cream

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In-N-Out

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6) My last tip would be to try and schedule your flight back home to be able to have a whole day to do any additional site seeing.

 This works best for 2-3 hour flights back home, more so if you don't have to work the next day. That way, you save on an extra night at your hotel/rental and you don't have to miss out on major sites. Our last day, we checked out of our rental by 10 AM and had a day filled with adventure and food before we had to check in at the airport for our 8 PM flight.

Those are my suggestions and tips for a fun weekend trip to San Diego! Have you been to San Diego before? Any other places you'd recommend, especially for first timers?

-Kirstie



Tokyo Photo Diary | Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Akihabara

Harajuku japan tokyo
Here are the rest of my photos from Japan ( or just more, haha). These were places I visited in Tokyo and I would say are some of the main spots to hit when you're in this city! 

SHINJUKU

Shinjuku has a lot to offer from shopping, food, night life, and so much more including a huge garden (see post HERE). If you want to get a feel of a major city, definitely stop by this special ward!
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Kabukicho

Probably not one to visit with your parents, but if you're looking for night life, bright lights, and tons of food, stop by this neighborhood. It's also nice to go during the day.
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Golden Gai

The amount of bars and clubs packed into this small area is amazing. It's a bit more touristy now but definitely a cool spot to check out, especially for some good eats.


SHIBUYA

Harajuku

Stop by here for all things cutesy and kawaii.
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Tokyo shibuya cafe tokyo harajuku
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Shibuya Crossing

If you can catch this area during rush hour/work rush - you'll get to see the real effect of this busy crosswalk.
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Tokyo Japan fast and furious drift

AKIHABARA

For all my otakus and gamer friends, you'll want to stop by this Electric Town and buy all the things, haha.
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That's it for this photo diary! I'll post an overall recap of places I recommend to visit while you're in Tokyo but for now, I hope you enjoyed these images!

-Kirstie

A Look Back | 10 Things I've Learned in 10 Years after High School


It's 2017 already which means it's been 10 years since I graduated from high school (ahh!)! With a potential 10 year reunion in the works, graduations happening left and right, and a little inspiration from one of my favorite photographers, Jenna Lynn Photography (who also captured these amazing shots), I wanted to share something a bit more personal with you guys and open up to my life experiences over these past 10 years and important things that I have learned.

1) I really enjoyed my time in high school and I still value my friendships I've kept from them till now. I'm still close with my core group of friends and I keep in touch with them regularly. I've learned that it's okay to have friends in different groups even if they're completely different from the other. Be friends with who you want to be friends with.
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At the Columns of HNA
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2) You will lose contact with some people and some people who were in your life who just aren't meant to be there later on. As much as you want to be in contact with everyone or maintain those friendships, sometimes, they just don't last or you simply grow apart.

3) Adulting sucks! Things were really so much easier in high school when you're biggest worries about college, going to prom etc. Now you have to worry about bills, insurance, pressure to date/start a family, job security, and more. It can be a bit overwhelming at times!

 5) A traditional four year college plan isn't for everyone and school sometimes just isn't your thing. It took me 5 years to earn my BA degree and back then, I thought that would slow me down, but in reality it was just the time I needed to complete school. Your schooling doesn't always define your careers. It can be for some, not not always for all. There's also nothing wrong with going to a trade school for something you actually enjoy such as beauty school, mechanical school, massage school, and so much more.

4) You may not have it all figured out then, and it's definitely okay if you still don't have it all figured out. I didn't find my ideal "career" until well after I graduated from college and I started internships later than the 'normal' age. And that's okay. You're not always going to find a job in your major, and it takes time and hard work to be where you want to be. I can't say this goes for everyone, but it was the case for me.
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6) It can take time to find yourself and be comfortable in your own skin. Some people never have this issue, but some people do well into their adult life. I've seen it all around me, especially as a pole dance instructor, and I see that everyone grows in their own time. There's no time frame to figure it all out and to fit it all in, it comes when you're ready and no one should pressure you or push you to be something you don't want to be. This can go for any scenario. I was definitely comfortable in high school but not in all aspects. What I may thought of as being 'myself' was probably somewhat of an illusion as I truly know presently that I am more 'me" than I was back then.
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7) Try things that may make you uncomfortable and don't be afraid to put yourself out there. For me, this included blogging. I used to be wary of putting myself out there or voicing my opinions on items even as simple as beauty products, but I found it to be a creative gateway that I thoroughly enjoyed. Blogging has grown on me and has also expanded to so much more than beauty with some amazing opportunities along the way. With the rise of social media in the few recent years, I'm able to share even more with whoever is willing to listen (read, haha). I've also made some amazing connections and friendships through social media which is pretty cool =) . I used to care a lot about what people thought about me, or afraid to be judged by others, and hey people even talked sh*t about me behind my back. But as I got older, I learned that their opinions of me really don't matter and if they want to talk bad about me I can't stop them. Not everyone will like you: you will always have people out there that just have something bad to say about you and you learn to just brush it off and be the bigger person and still wish them well.

8) Spending time with my family has been more important to me the older I become. You tend to want to spend a lot of time with friends, going out, doing whatever when you are a young adult, but now that I'm in my late 20s, I value my time with a family a whole lot more.

9) Travel as much as you can. Traveling is one of the greatest experience in life, especially to a foreign country where you are immersed in another culture. Even if you travel within your own country, visiting another state/city has many new experiences tied to them as well.

10) Do what makes you happy. This can be a simple as reading a new book in the park to as extreme as dining at a 3-star Michelin restaurant. Life really is too short to not enjoy life and being bitter isn't good for your or for those around you that care about you. I could go on and on at this last point, but we'll keep it at that.
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Mimi Chica Kimono - Marshalls (similar HERE)
Pink Slip On - Target (similar HERE)
Earrings - Korean Store in Kent

There's so much more I could say in what I've learned these past 10 years but that would be a novel that no one (not even myself) would have time to read, haha. I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little bit more in this blog space and if you have anything you'd like to share about what you've learned these past years, please do share! I'd love to read them =)

-Kirstie
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