Germany Photos Uploaded!

Yes!  Almost 3 months after returning from Germany, I've uploaded my photos to share with friends and family.  Check them out now and let me know what you think!  I loved Germany - it's one of my favorite places in the world.

Berkeley's Little Gems - Morell's Bread & Jered's Pottery

Today for work we went out to Berkeley to check out some local vendors.  To my surprise, there were so many local foodmakers and artisans just a few blocks of where I live!  We first visited The Berkeley Kitchens, which is a food hub for food artisan makers.  The Berkeleyside wrote an article about it and you can check it out here.  Within The Berkeley Kitchens, we met the makers of Baron's Baking, Muffin Revolution, Living Hypothecary, Ruby Roast Coffee, Nuthouse Granola, Morell's Bread and Shrub & Co.  As always, it was a neat experience being able to meet the people behind all the amazing food that is being produced here in the Bay Area.  Besides tasting all the delicious food, here were some cool history facts I learned about each of the vendors:

• Baron's Baking - Tom, the owner, started the company about 2 years ago. He was a expediter in the restaurant business and personally loved baking so he decided to start his own company. He works really hard - 12 hour days, 7 days a week.

• Muffin Revolution - I'm not paleo, but Marirose and Christy, the founders, create amazing and delicious palo muffins and soon to come granola. They started their business after a local climbing gym, Ironworks, asked them to sell their muffins there. I can't wait for these muffins to be sold at Whole Foods. I can see myself eating them on the go after swim practice.

• Living Hypothecary - The owner started this company while she was a waitress (and still is) with another co-worker at the restaurant who was a mixologist. She creates great juices, kefirs and vegan milks. She's launching a turmeric almond milk which is soo good.

• Ruby Roast Coffee - A coffee roastery owned by 2 sweet ladies. They started their business through their pure love of coffee.

• Nuthouse Granola - These guys started their business after being in the hotel industry. The owner wanted to have a side business and when the hotel requested his granola, he started his company to sell to hotels and other retailers. He has a Orange and Fennel granola which is really unique and delicious!

• Morell's Bread - Eduardo is a self-taught baker who makes bread from whole grains. He had a Master's in Filmmaking and he always cooked to make money. He hopes to start a read subscription service and I'd sign up!

• Shrub & Co. - Their ginger shrub is the best shrub I've tried. A deep ginger flavor without any sugary aftertaste. The founders have background in the beverage and farming industry and are a power team!

Eduardo from Morell's Bread.

Eduardo explaining his breads.

Standard Fare - They make a delicious meyer lemon marmalade! Seriously, it's good.

Bread, cheese, and marmelade sampling.

One of the best local bread I've tasted.

Morell's bread with Standard Fare's Meyer Lemon Marmalade.

I love their logo!

After the visit at The Berkeley Kitchens, we walked a few blocks up to San Pablo to Jered's Pottery.  I've driven by this place soo many times and didn't realize it's kind of a famous place.  It's like a Heath Ceramics, but a different version and in the East Bay.  They use local California Clay to make their pottery and all the pieces were lovely in this place!  You should check out Jered's profile for his history - it's pretty cool.  Plus, his wife Sarah is the poet laureate of Emeryville!  One day I dream of having an entire dining set of Jered's Pottery!  

Italy Travelogue Complete!

Finally!  After a month returning from Italy, I've finally uploaded my photos.  Check them out here!  Now onto Germany photos, then Vietnam and Hong Kong.  Stay tuned!

Packing Efficiently

I learned a new way to fold my clothes today thanks to a video shared by swiss-miss. 

Check this out - How to Army roll a t-shirt!  This significantly freed up space in my luggage as I packed tonight.  I hate packing/laundry/folding clothes, so this video made my day. 

Watch the video below and if you love planning in excel spreadsheets, here's how i planned my pack list for Europe on Google Docs. 

How to Army roll a t-shirt

Europe Here I Come!

I'm heading to Europe in 2 days!  And as usual, I haven't started packing and probably will be scrambling to pack the right things in my luggage tomorrow night.  This is the first time I will be traveling for work internationally!  

I'm heading off to Emilia-Romagna, Italy for a Whole Journeys Team Member Educational Trip and then spend some personal time exploring the Allgäu region in Germany.  

Why am I going to Italy for work?  

1. To learn where our Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, and other Italian products are sourced.  
2. To experience a Whole Journeys trip.  Whole Journeys is Whole Foods Market travel agency company.  They organize food related vacation trips.
3. To eat good food.  :)

Anyways, I'm super thankful and excited to be heading off on another adventure.  

Stay tuned for more details!  This time I plan to document my travels everyday!  

Ciao!

A Season of Travel

This year my schedule is packed.  I've been flying out or traveling to some place every month.  It's a bit hectic at times, but nothing makes me more happy than exploring.  Though there are challenges in a season of travel, in that staying grounded with the Lord and community is something that isn't easy when I'm constantly on the go.  However, God has been so good to me in this season of travel.  Everywhere I've been, He's met me there.  This year of adventures started out with Austin in March where I went to SXSW and was still able to go to church service and a Christian SXSW Meetup in the midst of the SX chaos.  Then recently, I went to Hong Kong and Vietnam and was able to visit my friend's church in HK and attend her discipleship class and women's group.  I am so thankful for his presence wherever I go and it reminds me that He is constantly present.  As long as I seek out his blessings and provisions, He provides! 

So where off to next?  New York!  I'll be heading to New York to attend 99U Conference.  Then in June, I'll be going to Italy for work and then spend a few days in Germany. 

I am thankful for the spirit of exploring and I look forward to sharing more about my trips to you all soon!  I have so much to share from my trip to HK and Vietnam.  And o yea - I just came back from a weekend trip at the Russian River!  Here's a sneak peek of my photos from HK and Vietnam.

Keep exploring and seek His blessings!

Day Trip: Linda Del Mar Beach - Pacifica, CA

I finally caught my first full wave today at Linda Del Mar Beach in Pacifica!  I was so happy once I popped up on my board and felt the wave.  :)

I've been taking advantage of our warm winter and spent the day at the beach with my friends Jenn and Mary.  I went surfing and surprised Jenn with a surf lesson from the University of Surfing LLC as an early birthday present.  And our wonderful friend Mary stayed on shore to watch our bags and capture the shots of us surfing in the water.

Pacifica has become one of my favorite places up in the Bay.  The water is beautiful, the people are nice and it's only a 30 minutes drive from the East Bay! 

We spent the morning surfing and in the afternoon we enjoyed the sun and relaxed on the beach.  I was even able to squeeze one game of Bananagrams with my friends.  Then to end the day we walked up Morri Point and caught the sunset. 

It was a perfect weekend day trip.  I'm hoping to practice catching some waves at least once a month!

Here are my are my tips for a day trip in Pacifica:

• Surfboard Rentals:  Rent surfboards from Sonlight Surfshop.  They have everything you need to go out to surf - board, wetsuit, booties.
• Surf Lessons:  I would recommend University of Surfing LLC.  Super easy and great.  My friend Jenn had a great time learning with them. 
• Parking:  There is free parking on Crespi Drive.  It's the same street of Sonlight Surfshop.  There are several paid parking lots off Highway 1 and Crespi Drive, but hey, why not go free when it's available?
• Beach:  If you want to avoid the crowds, head out to the beach that is directly to the left of Crespi Drive, away from the Taco Bell.
• Morri Point:  For a nice sunrise or sunset view, walk up to Morri Point.  It only takes about 5-10 minutes from the beach. 
• Food:  There's a Taco Bell on the shore of the beach and a Safeway in a mini shopping plaza across the street.  I would recommend to bring your own food and enjoy it on the beach.