Treasure Island Flea

I've been meaning to go over to Treasure Island and see what it's all about since I pass the exit for it every time I go to work. I got an email for the upcoming flea market and knew it was the perfect excuse to check it out. My DB and I woke up bright and early and headed over to Treasure Island.

   

We started our day off with some donuts. Mini donuts, to be exact. We got the half and half (half powdered sugar, half cinnamon sugar) and devoured them in a couple of minutes. They were served hot and fresh from the fryer. Look how cute their machine is!



Once our stomachs were satisfied, we browsed through the inside and outside areas. Let's just say.. there was a lot of junk. It was not a good junk sale, either.





The good thing about this flea market? There were food trucks galore. It was a little too early for us to eat, so we took a little gander at each menu.



Have I mentioned the view from Treasure Island? It's awesome. You can see both the bay and golden gate bridges. The day we went just happened to be extremely clear. No GDP in SFO!



The boy never says no to coffee. We stopped at the Drip! Mobile for some... wait for it... drip coffee.







It was pretty windy and chilly there, but that's normal for SF, even when there isn't a cloud in sight.









My final thoughts about the flea market? Well, it's small. There wasn't a lot to go through and there wasn't a lot to find. There was plenty to eat and parking was free. Nothing special here. My favorite flea market has to be the Rose Bowl.

Wearing: J Brand jacket, Current Elliott pants, random tank, sunglasses from Ebay, and TOMS shoes.

Venus

My DB and I had a double date brunch with a couple of friends at Venus in downtown Berkeley. Even though we had to wait 15 minutes or so to be seated, the food was worth it. I'm one of those people that always looks at a menu of a restaurant before we go so I know what I'm going to order, but when we got seated, I did a last minute change and ordered the full plate of french toast instead. Totally worth it.

Top to bottom, left to right: Country Breakfast with homefries, challah french toast, lemon-ricotta hotcakes, and the 2x2x2 with french toast.

Uh-Murica

I'm a sucker for things with the American flag. I'll buy it almost immediately. Check out these boots! You can wear them folded down and show your Uh-Murica pride.. or wear it up when you want to be a bit more conservative.

Wearing: Victoria's Secret tank, Mossimo cardigan, A&F shorts, H&M leggings, and Forever 21 boots.

Dresses in the Winter

It may be winter, but I'm a firm believer in wearing dresses year-round. The weather's actually been pretty warm for the past couple of days in NorCal, so I didn't look too crazy. PS. Do you know how hard it is to find bras for low cut back dresses? Nearly impossible.

Wearing: Empyre cardigan, Forever 21 dress, and Mia sandals.

What kind of Archetype are you?

Many people often ask what "type" I am. Am I more dominant or easy going? Am I more right brained than left? Do I have to have everything planned and organized or do I just tend to see where the day takes me? Am I a risk taker? Do I tend to look out for myself more than others? When asked these questions, I usually just give a smile and shrug. How am I supposed to define myself?

In general, I'd say that yes, I'm more of a pushover. That's only because I like to see everyone happy. I'm a people pleaser. I have my own ambitions, but am aware of my surroundings. People say that I'm too nice. They rarely see me without a smile on my face. I wouldn't say that's a negative thing. In fact, I'd say it's the complete opposite. The only downside to wearing a smile on my face all the time is that I'm harder to break down. I'm harder to get to know, to find out how I'm really feeling.

In other words, I'm guarded. I have an imaginary fence up that keeps people from getting to know the real me. I am this way because of my past experiences. Everyone is how they are because of what they've gone through. History doesn't define a person, but it does make up a person.

How well do you really know yourself? Is what I portray myself to be really true? That's what ArchetypeMe is here to help out with. This new website will open up the real you, understand why you get along with some and not others, and help understand why people act the way they do.
Check back later for my second post in this series when I reveal my archetype!

What's your archetype? Discover now by taking a short quiz on: www.ArchetypeMe.com.  If you want to look even deeper into archetypes, you can check out the book, Archetypes: Who are you?
I'm giving away a $50 Visa gift card and a copy of Archetypes: Who Are you? book, signed by author to one lucky reader!  To be entered for a chance to win, answer this question in the comments section below: Why do you think itís important to really know who you are?

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

• Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
• Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry #whoareyou"; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
• Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
• For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 1/17/13-2/12/13.

Be sure to visit the ArchetypeMe brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggersí posts and find more chances to win!

Brenda's and Philz

I ventured over to the Tenderloin to have lunch with a couple of friends. Why would I ever go to the Tenderloin, you ask? For Brenda's French Soul Food!

We wrote our names on the chalkboard wall and only had to wait about 10 minutes before we were seated. They were serving both breakfast and lunch, and all four of us ended up ordering off the lunch menu.

From top to bottom, left to right: Croque Monsieur with french fries, a close up of it, Cornmeal Fried Shrimp Po'Boy, and the BFC (two pieces of fried chicken with fries, cole slaw, & a cream biscuit). 

The inside was decorated pretty modern and quirky. Overall, we loved it! I didn't care for the fries, but everything else was top notch. I can eat a croque monsieur everyday. It was my favorite meal in Paris!

Next, my DB and I had our first Philz experience just a block away from Brenda's. 

I know, I know.. how could we not have visited Philz before, living in the Bay area for a year and a half now? My excuse is that we serve Philz on the airplane... same difference, right?

Wrong! We ordered the gingersnap ice coffee.

It was like slurping down ice cream. I added sugar and cream to mine, so it was nice and sweet, just the way I like it. Best. Coffee. Ever.

What's your favorite coffee shop chain? 

A Pop of Color

My DB got me a Kate Spade handbag for Christmas! He picked it out himself, but asked quite a few people for their opinions. In the end, he chose what he liked the most and I couldn't be happier. I was extremely surprised because 1. he never shops and 2. purses to him are like video games to me. I just don't get them.

Perfect example: I got my DB the Wii U for Christmas, but I bought it in Portland to save money on tax. I thought it was a little handheld attachment for the Wii, but after I purchased it, the salesperson walked out with a huge box. It turns out that the Wii U wasn't just a handheld, it's a brand new console! I had to lug that thing with me for the next two days of my work trip and stuff all my clothes into my lunchbox since it took up all the space in my luggage. Womp womp.

Wearing: Mossimo pants and jacket from Target, American Apparel tank, random brand of shoes from Ross, Ray Ban sunglasses, and Kate Spade handbag.

Book Review: The Willpower Instinct

I am not one to read self-help books, but I was sent The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal and I had some downtime while working on an airplane so I figured why not.

In my mind, self-help books are for people who can't figure it out themselves... people that are too lazy to try and work it out. I've never read a self-help book in my life, so I'm definitely "judging a book by its cover."

Once I actually got into the book and past the stereotype in my mind, I grew intrigued. McGonigal didn't just say her thoughts and gibberish about how someone could solve a problem, she went beyond that and through scientific research, explained why we do the things we do. Her writing is easy to understand and she makes it simple for readers to reevaluate their lifestyles.

Follow along on our discussions on BlogHer to read more!




This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

My Nail Polish Collection

Let's start off the year with something that I love the most.. nail polish! Hopefully this post will get my blog kickin'. More posts for a new year!

I can be a tomboy is many ways, but when it comes to nail polish, I'm as girly as it gets. Okay, maybe not... I've never had a manicure or pedicure in my life. I just like to paint my own nails and buy quite a bit of nail polish. Who can blame me?

Here's my little collection:



Can you tell I favor OPI? They just have the most amazing colors and brilliant names. "Belize It or Not," "Argenteeny Pinkini," "Do You Lilac It?," "Ladies and Magenta-Men," "Espresso Your Style," "Mauve-lous Memories"... Need I keep going?





Let's split 'em up so you can get a closer look.



My dearest reds. My collection of shades of red is the largest because that's all I'm allowed to wear for work.



Now for my less tame shades...



and the nudes...



and all my glitter (my favorite)!!



Put them all together once more...

What are you favorite nail polishes?