September 8, 2015
After a whirlwind few weeks, I am back with a fun little vlog for you guys! My bestie, Meghan, came to visit me here in San Francisco, and shenanigans ensued. Over the week, we visited a few SF landmarks like Lands’ End and the Sutro Baths, and also had a few chilled out afternoons getting brunch and going to the movies. We puttered around a few shops in Downtown Walnut Creek and ate our weight in brunch at Katy’s Kreek.
Check out the vlog to see more of what we were up to!
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August 10, 2015
– Photo by Andrew Sawyer –
Now that I’ve firmly cemented my status as a Bay Area resident, there are a few things I wish I’d known before moving out here a year and a half ago. If I could go back in time, these are the 10 things I wish I’d known before moving to SF.
To be fair, people did tell me this one before I moved out here, but it took living it firsthand to really and truly understand. Everyone here has their hand out (literally and figuratively), and it’s tough to make ends meet sometimes. Real talk: I’ve definitely had to cut back my “fun” expenses in order to have enough money for food and rent.
Everyone you meet out here is a transplant just like you! In fact, SF natives are so rare that people around here call them “unicorns.” I’ve only met a handful!
SF and the surrounding area (Silicon Valley) breeds the best of the best. Everyone out here is incredibly smart and incredibly good at their job, so it can be difficult to stand out among the many other gifted applicants.
Being the youngest person in your office has its drawbacks, and it can be challenging to make friends. Keep putting yourself out there, go to events, and be social. You only need to make one or two friends to get the ball set in motion, and the friends you make will be the genuine kind.
One of the best parts of living in the East Bay is the year-round sunshine, warm temps, and real California weather. If only I’d known before moving here!
We lived in SF for a year without a car and every day was a struggle. Not to sound like a princess, but I missed my car every.single.day. Without a car, getting groceries was an entire event on the weekends – and forget about taking a trip or showing around out-of-towners!
For every great restaurant, there’s a terrible one, and we’ve had our fair share of really, really great and really, really terrible food since moving here. Yuck.
I love the bloggers that I’ve met out here, and I feel that the blogging community in SF is so close-knit. I’m so grateful to be a part of it!
One of the things I love most about San Francisco is how non-urban it is. As someone who didn’t grow up in an urban area, I can appreciate the community vibe of SF.
XO, J
P.S. Things I’ve learned about living in SF (part I & part II)!
July 23, 2015
The Wink turns 2 today! While I loved the old look of the site, I decided it was time to freshen things up around here with a whole new layout and logo! I hope you liked the streamlined look as much as I do.
Two years ago today, I clicked ‘publish’ on my very first blog post. To my absolute amazement, The Wink has surpassed any expectations I ever had when typing in those two little words into ‘blog title’ two years ago.
In the past year alone I have managed to meet some of the people who have been inspiring me from the very beginning. So here’s to the next two years and many more! I have big plans for this little blog – this is only the beginning!
XO, J
May 26, 2015
A few weeks ago, I had one of those pinch-me moments when I found myself not only standing in a room with famous and successful women, but getting to sit and chat with them as well. I had the honor of meeting the smart and gorgeous actress Ali Larter, Williams-Sonoma president Janet Hayes, and author/founder of networking group A Band of Women Christine Brownstein. It’s days like this that have me thanking my lucky stars that my blog has allowed me these kinds of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to meet brilliant and inspiring women.
Gushing aside, I was there to attend an evening of empowering conversations, hosted by Real Simple and Fidelity. The panel discussed the pivotal moments that helped get them to where they are today, and the everyday challenges, biggest opportunities, and moments that inspired them to take action along the way. I appreciated the candor these women expressed while not only sharing their fantastic triumphs, but their devastating failures. Their stories were aimed to drive more awareness and discussion around the importance of women taking charge of their future – including the role engagement in financial decisions have on reaching short and long-term goals throughout their lives. This is so important, because 95% of women will end up being the sole financial decision-maker (because of either divorce or outliving their partner).
I felt like I took away a lot of important information from the event – I even set up a one-on-one conversation with a Fidelity representative to talk about my financial needs and goals for the future (and I’m excited about it… what???!). There’s so much more that I need to learn about budgeting, goal planning, and investing, and I can’t wait to take the next steps in my financial education. Remember: believe in yourself, don’t let money be a taboo subject, do your homework, and don’t delay (investments have a compounding effect!). You only live once – get your money’s worth!
XO, J
February 27, 2015
I’ve seen this list circulating around on a few blogs, so I thought it would be fun to put together my own answers. These answers are a reflection of my personal likes, dislikes, and tastes at this particular point in my life. It will be interesting to see how my answers change over the years!
What are your 8 things?
XO, J
January 26, 2015
I wanted to share a few more snaps from my New York trip. Meghan and I kept the trip pretty low key, with a small checklist that we wanted to follow. Even though we were only there for four days together, we managed to check everything off our list! It was fun to be able to explore the city at our own pace.
We OBVIOUSLY went to Serendipity but decided to order something besides the frozen hot chocolate. We were tempted to get the $1,000 Golden Decadence Sundae (kidding!), but decided to order this gooey, caramel apple pie cinnamon ice cream confection. Yes.
I want to move into this magical princess palace.
We were able to catch Chicago on Broadway one night! Razzle dazzle ’em!
Check out that awesome photobomb. :)
The highlight of our trip was the phenomenal brunch we had at Crema in Chelsea. Bottomless mimosas and chilaquiles to die.
The aftereffects of bottomless mimosas…
A trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the American Girl store! Who else had and loved this book???
We made it up on the #LOVEISON screen in Times Square!
Oh heeeey Naked Cowboy, you’re a trooper… January in New York. is. FREEZING.
Buttermilk fried chicken and creamy pesto pasta from Nino’s. Every single thing we ate in NYC was incredible! It was a great weekend with a wonderful friend.
XO, J
P.S. See more photos from my trip here!
