drybar sanfrancisco

amazing little salon!! great employees!

i went to drybar in san francisco (oscar was my stylist - he was talkative, knowledgeable and AWESOME) while i was on my work trip to Dreamforce 2011. while the blowout didnt last as long as i wanted to (i touch my hair a lot and dont have the best experiences with dry shampoo), i still loved the entire experience!! i ordered a "cosmopolitan" which was lots of big curls! i also got a "shot" which is a deep conditioning treatment, it made my hair even softer than it already was from getting a keratin treatment a few weeks before. i should add, all of the products they used on my hair were sulfate free, so it did not affect my keratin treatment at all (if it did, i would have had an anxiety attack)!

...and for us DC people, there are plans for one to open here around Thanksgiving time! just in time for the holiday; i will most definitely be going back! this place is perfect for special occasions where you just dont have the time or energy to do it yourself!

post blowout and styling! i love it, the curls didnt last as long as i had hoped, but it looked pretty while it lasted!  {my eyes looked all wack so i put on some shades using picnik hahaha}

 

 chairs custom made for drybar and imported from italy!!

off to san francisco!

wheels up! off to san francisco!

this afternoon, im leaving to spend the weekend with friends outside of San Francisco, then 5 days in SF for DREAMFORCE 2011, then flying down to San Diego to visit some more friends, and ending my trip with a 24 hour stop in LA to visit another friend. if my friends would stop moving to california, this wouldn't be such a major trip!! see you sukkas in 11 days - i'll be posting in my down time (umm...so ya, talk to ya never)

California: Santa Monica pt 2 - w/ special guests!

DANA AND TREVOR CAME TO SAY HELLOOOO!! and they brought lina and dewey!!

it was so amazing to see them! Thank you guys again for making the 2.5 hr trek with the pups!!!!!

i love my dana :)

Meet Dewey - the precious pup!!

California: Santa Monica

Spent the day with Michelle and Christy walking around the Santa Monica Pier and 3rd St Promenade! it was so cute!!

such tourists!

bigger view of the santa monica pier

Hi, from the beach!

California: San Francisco!

gorgeous, *REAL* christmas tree at the wharf! it was huuuuugee and smelled so good!

California: San Francisco!

 a little bit of sightseeing, and quite a few pretty pictures!

i own all of these bad boys....

oh hello, taffy land. nom nom nom!

A pretty, yet foggy, view of the Golden Gate Bridge

Greetings from Alcatraz! The zoom on my camera is incredible!

i'm baaaaack!

it's been a long 10 days in sunny california....coming back to a dreary winter in DC is going to be a difficult transition!

{*via}

i'll be sharing my trip with you this week! it was amazing :)

Napa Valley - FINALLY

well....it's been 4 years since i turned 21 and that means i'm four years too late on getting to napa valley.

if you haven't been - go. if you dont like wine - go. basically, if you have a heart beat - GO! it's amazing...especially now since the weather is mild and people aren't swarming the vineyards! it was so beautiful, and so fun, and SO friendly, and surprisingly, so inexpensive! $10 a tasting isn't bad when the winery is empty and all the employees want is someone to chat with - they just keeeeep on pouring whether its on the list or not. HEYO cab sauv that scored 94 pts!

 black stallion winery! beautiful tablescape!

 me and donnell at black stallion!

 silverado winery!

 me and donnell outside of silverado

 SOLO - silverado reserve!

holiday greetings from us to you!

one of my best girlfriends from college lives in fairfield cali and napa is basically in her backyard! how convenient! lindsay and her bf brent took me to three wineries - and all three were great! we went to Black Stallion, Silverado, and Rombauer! they are located on the Silverado trail and all worth going to check out!  we had the best weekend together and it really makes me miss them not being in the area anymore.

 my awesome hosts - lindsay and brent

Rombauer Winery - great chardonnay!

i got in late friday night, we hung out and caught up on life - it had been wayyy too long since we chatted, so (clearly) i filled her in on the new gossip, and her the same. saturday we got up and made a delicious breakfast and started our day right with mimosas....in bowl-sized glasses - i dont hate it!! then we headed out to the three wineries and got back in time to watch the hokies murder fsu in the ACC Championship! go hokies!  on sunday, they took me to a mexican restaurant in vacaville and then we headed into san fran (40ish mins away). we drove over the golden gate which was not nearly as exciting as i imagined it in my head. it was raining and cold - blegh! we drove down the curly twisty turny part of lombard st and it was AWESOME. the hills in san fran are no joke - i saw a woman holding onto the wall of a building as she carefully shuffled her way down a sidewalk...thank god for the flatness of DC. we hit up ghirardelli square and a little bar near there and then (sadly) that was the end of our weekend together. bah....please move back to DC, donnell!! i miss you too much already!