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If you've ever been to a class of mine, I've probably mentioned coffee or I've been drinking it at the start rof class - I don't have a problem, I swear... ? But really, it's one of my favorite things and I truly look forward to enjoying my cup of coffee in the morning and I am super grateful to live in a city that has a really great coffee culture. Lady Falcon Coffee Club originated in my neighborhood (Outer Sunset) + while many establishments thought the Bay Area sell their drip coffee or bags and you can order coffee from them to your home if you're not in SF, my favorite way to enjoy their coffee is at their little coffee truck at Alamo Square. They sometimes have Bob's Donuts to pair which is just a true delight when sipping on a delicious latte or Black and Tan (cold brew and homemade whip, YES) while gazing at the Pink Ladies and dreaming of your life in one of those beautiful victorians. Should also mention it's a female founded and run business which of course is always a great thing to support!

(photo from yelp)


It's been so exciting to see new places pop up in our corner of the city and in true Rachel fashion, I had pizza two nights in a row last week. One being the second heart shaped deep dish pizza I had mailed to our home from Lou Malnati's for Valentine's Day because NOTHING says I love you like pizza. And the second being this damn fine pizza. It was damn fine, and the restaurant is called damn fine. They don't deliver (at least for now) + it looked like you could enjoy the pizza outside the restaurant in a makeshift parklet but their inside looked amazing and I can't wait until we get to enjoy that! Anyway, they put baby pepperonis on the pizza and it's fantastic and I would recommend it. They also offer natural wine, yay!

(photo from the damn fine website)


An app I actually use! 1SE is "1 second every day" and it gives you the prompt to upload a one second video or photo every day for a year. I've somehow kept up with it so far and it's been great to know I'll have a cool little recap of my year at the end of 2021, but even better - I'm loving this idea that I'm looking for that little one second I can highlight every day. If I find myself working a lot one day where I haven't found myself outside or carved out time to do something that brings me joy worth highlighting, this little app and my commitment to sticking with it prompts me to get up and out, even if it's just for a short while. I'm grateful for the nudge it gives me and the way it helps me look for the joy in my day.

I had an amazing day of learning on Thursday - I started my 300-hour yoga teacher training with Jason Crandell, enjoyed Fort Point Brewery's beer week event where they talked through the history behind the landmarks on six of their cans and was fortunate to be invited to a talk by Windy Chien by a brilliant friend of mine who curates art for public spaces. Windy is a San Francisco native and she grew up here in the 70s (jealous). I immediately felt connected to her through reading about her pre-artist life as a record store owner for 14 years and then as an Apple employee working on iTunes in its early days. While I haven't owned a record store nor have I worked at Apple, I have also worked in music for a very long time and have had my experiences in corporate America with dreams of a flexible and creatively fueled working lifestyle. I resonated with what she had to share and while I won't go on forever about her (I could), what I truly loved about her was that she left her almost decade long career at Apple, to explore creative mediums so she could make something tangible she could sign her name to (where as when you're in corporate America, that just doesn't really happen - you're rarely personally credited, you know?). She found her stride learning a new knot every day for a year and that developed into her current artistic career. She wrote a book, which I look forward to reading, because it goes into all of this in depth - but the wisdom she shared when I asked her about how she made the call to leave Apple and all of the stability that job brought to go rogue and explore her creativity was that she had chosen to focus on her creativity vs. just always supporting other people's - which I resonated with big time. She also said she gave herself permission to prioritize her own creativity above everything else and when speaking about exploring what was next for her by leaving Apple, which was a non-traditional move, she said "no one's ever going to give you permission to do this, so you are going to have to give yourself permission." It all comes down to knowing what you need to do for yourself, checking in often to make sure your life is in line with what your heart and soul truly wants to be doing and taking calculated risks. I loved hearing her speak and I hope you'll check her beautiful work (picture of it and her below from her website) out!


Speaking of calculated risks, this brings me to the amazing book I'm reading currently by Adam Grant. It's about how non-conformists move the world and exploring the minds of people who make big impacts in this world. If you haven't already gathered, I'm a dreamer in many ways and I have a LOT of ideas and I want to live this life to the fullest; paving a road that leads to the life I want to live, not going down the same road others have decided is the way to do things. I first heard of this book through the Design Time podcast I love (and have mentioned before) on Domino and it's truly fantastic. It's great perspective around originality, how and why ideas succeed, creativity and people who go against the grain. I'm really enjoying it. Here's my favorite excerpt so far:

"Ultimately, the people who choose to champion originality are the ones who propel us forward. After spending years studying them and interacting with them, I am struck that their inner experiences are not any different from our own. They feel the same fear, the same doubt, as the rest of us. What sets them apart is that they take action anyway. They know in their hearts that failing would yield less regret than failing to try." -Adam Grant


You may have already heard of this, or you may be like - gua, what? Long story short, this is an ancient technique of relaxing the face and stimulating the lymphatic system through using a stone massage tool on your face and neck. It feels great, and does take time - but it's a beautiful thing to add into your self-care routine. I was fortunate to enjoy a tutorial from my skincare queen Yoli at Vera during a virtual Galentine's Day event - which you could definitely set up for yourself and some friends or book a session with her! If you'd rather try it on your own, this is the most simple article on it I could find - I suggest reading up on it or watching a video and giving it a shot using a natural face oil to help the stone glide. The stone I use (below) is from Often Wander and was $16.


Traveler is offering 2-for-1 day passes! Just use the code: LOVE (after you add two passes to your cart) to get you and a loved one (or new pal!) into their backyard outdoor haven for $20 featuring hot outdoor showers, heated furniture and more (COVID has the cedar sauna closed, very sad). This is a great way to make a fun day at the beach a little more cozy + to support a local business. It's also a way to force myself to get back in the water and on my board (I'm a newb) before the passes expire end of April (accountability!).


So we made this feta/tomato/basil/pasta situation and I have to say, it's a delight. It's easy, delicious and we loved it. We decided to cut up and roast the garlic with the tomatoes - but of course if you're one of those pungent garlic fans (sometimes I am too), follow the recipe as is!


Advice from Devil's Teeth

I once was at Devil's Teeth on Noriega trying to get a half loaf of bread, but told the woman how I always struggle with how hard the bread gets so quickly and she gave me advice that changed my life. She said if you wrap a loaf or a baguette (!!!) in saran, then put it back in the paper bag, it'll stay soft much longer and she was RIGHT. I hope this helps your gluten habits as much as it did mine.


*photos are not my own

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