When I first moved to Southern California, I was pretty excited to live just a short drive away from the San Diego area's wine region, known as Temecula Valley. I would bring visiting family and friends there to go gallivanting around the area's wineries tasting wine, noshing on snacks, listening to live music, and enjoying the beautiful wine country scenery. This year, Temecula celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first commercial vineyard. These days, over 40 wineries exist in the small region. It's just a drive away for residents of San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County, so it's a popular spot for city dwellers to have a weekend country getaway. In fact, my husband and I visited Temecula in August for my birthday, and we've spent weekends there for our anniversary and ... [Read More]
San Diego
10 of My Favorite Things to Do in San Diego
When I moved to San Diego, I immediately fell in love with the area for its beauty and all that there is to see and do. From gorgeous beaches to majestic mountains, the area has it all. With so many pockets of awesome areas throughout San Diego County, you can be here for years and still have so much to see... I know that was the case for me! Even after living there for over 7 years, I feel like I left without exploring every area. Even so, I know that one thing is for sure: I took full advantage of living in San Diego and was constantly having fun. I wanted to be able to leave one day saying that I lived it up in beautiful California, whether that meant exploring the beaches, eating my way through the city, taking road trips through the state up the coast, or trekking through as ... [Read More]
An Ode to San Diego
When you move somewhere totally foreign to you, everything is new. You never know where you're going (I don't at least!), and you don't yet have go-to places and familiar faces. You go through this surreal time when you keep thinking, "Do I really live here now?" When I first moved to San Diego, there were so many unknowns. My husband and I had recently gotten married, and he was fortunate enough to get San Diego as his duty station in the Marine Corps. We didn't know if he'd get deployed anytime soon, and once we arrived in a cross-country move from Florida, where we lived for a short stint while he was training, we found out that he would be getting deployed in just a couple of short weeks. Moving 2,500 miles from family, then finding out I'd be there alone was an ... [Read More]
MindBody BOLD Conference: Magic Johnson’s 3 Pillars of Success
A neat perk of being a healthy living blogger is getting invited to a lot of cool local events. Attending Southern California area events geared towards health & wellness enthusiasts & pros is a great way to network, learn & have fun! Last week I had the chance to attend the MindBody BOLD Conference in beautiful downtown San Diego. Many of you workout buffs probably recognize the name MindBody as the platform that you use to book studio classes, and spa and salon businesses also use them as their booking platform. The BOLD conference brings together people from all over the place that work in the wellness industry. I was able to fit some of the BOLD seminars and events into my schedule, and my two favorite events of the conference were 1.) an outdoor yoga class with ... [Read More]
The Ho Chi Minh Trail: A Hidden San Diego Gem
One thing that I love about exploring California and all of the places I travel to is finding hidden gems. Sure, I like to see what all of the fuss is about at touristy spots too, but there's something special about experiencing a place that feels like a little treasure, an area unknown to most, a secret spot. A few weekends ago, I went on my most recent San Diego hidden gem adventure. Nestled in the multi-million dollar mansions of La Jolla lies the Ho Chi Minh trail. The hike leads down to Black's Beach - a secluded spot that partly attracts local surfers, and partly attracts people that come for freedom from clothing at the nude beach. Over the bunch of years that I've lived in California, I've hiked most of the San Diego area trails, but I only heard of Ho Chi Minh very ... [Read More]
My 7 Favorite Hikes in San Diego County
Since I moved to California 7 1/2 years ago (cannot believe it's been that long!), I've become an avid hiker. Hitting the trails offers a workout, stress relief, time in nature, and exercise for my dog all at once. I've realized that hiking is also a spiritual experience for me. It leaves me feeling centered, grateful, and connected to the earth. I believe in the interconnectedness of everything in life, and hiking seems to always remind me of that. It's also a lovely chance to practice mindfulness. I can only describe it as losing myself for a few hours to really find myself. Hiking just with my trail buddy, my pup, also gives me time and space to clear my head. There's always so much going on - lots of noise, distractions, and busyness - but on the trails, everything sort ... [Read More]