Tag: Nordstrom

  • A Quick California Trip

    I’m sitting on a plane writing this and it most definitely won’t be uploaded until late tonight. Oopsies! I just had a wonderful weekend in California. I went to visit one of my really good friends from school. Her and her family live in Sacramento and were wonderful in letting me stay at their house for the time I was there. Just a heads up, this is going to be a long post, so get comfortable!

    I arrived late Thursday night and was welcomed by cooler temperatures (in comparison to the oven that Colorado has been lately). On Friday, my friend showed me around Sacramento and we went to Old Town as well as Downtown Sacramento. Old Town was super cute and there was this fun candy store we went into. They had the most taffy I’ve EVER seen in my life. As a recommendation, I ask you all to never never never try chicken and waffles taffy. It’s gross. That’s all I have to say about that.

    When we went to Downtown Sacramento, my friend and I stopped at this really pretty place for lunch called The Bank after walking around for a bit. We went to Pressed Juicery prior to lunch and both got rose lemonade and a watermelon pomegranate juice. Healthy and yummy juice options there for sure! I just wish we had one in Colorado. πŸ™ I’m pretty sure they’re expanding out of California, but not quite yet…

    The Bank, California

    The best way I can describe The Bank: its an old bank turned into an upscale cafeteria with really good food options. They had burgers, Mexican food, pizza, poke bowls, a bakery, and a bar. The burgers at Station 8 (that was the name of the little restaurant) were what my friend and I got. So yummy too by the way! I got the Bank burger and it came with mushroom gravy and sour cream on it in addition to many of the tradition things you find on a burger. The fries were good too, but too much for one person. If you stop by The Bank, I would recommend splitting the fries with another person.

    After lunch, we walked around Downtown a bit more and then my friend took me to the Starbucks Reserve, which is basically a fancy Starbucks. There are only a couple of them in the country, I think. That was pretty cool and then I got a very yummy drink from them and a couple cup to keep (I’m a dork). I got the nitro dirty chai. 10/10 would recommend!

    We finished out Friday watching movies: Primal Fear and A Few Good Men and then went to bed because the next day was going to be a long day. We were going to San Francisco!

    The next day started around 6:15 in the morning and we went to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast on the way. At this moment, I remember thinking, “Thank goodness Colorado time isn’t too different from California time!” Waking up that early wasn’t too bad. I think the drive was around two hours. After finding parking, we went to Union Square and went to this one mall that had a Nordstrom with like eight different floors. There was practically an entire floor dedicated to shoes! It was crazy. At that mall, we walked around Nordstrom for a while and then stopped by American Eagle and Lululemon. I was very excited to go to the Lululemon. πŸ™‚

    After some shopping, our next stop was the Museum of Ice Cream. Wow was that a fun place to go. If you’re ever in San Francisco, PLEASE go. The amount of ice cream you receive and the fun you have is worth the price. You do need to get tickets in advance though, just a heads up.

    The Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco, California

    You enter the museum by going through the “pink portal” which is just a pink tube slide. After that, my friend and I were greeted by a person in a jumpsuit with otter pops. We created ice cream names for ourselves (I was Ana Banana haha) and then moved onto the next room. The next room was a cute little diner where we got s’mores ice cream. The cone was dipped in chocolate and the ice cream was dusted with graham crackers. It fully tasted like a s’more! Room after room, we got more ice cream and got to take so many cute pictures. There was a lot of fun stuff to do in each room too!

    Like in one, we got to make bracelets, there was one where we got to play with fun mirrors, there was one with those giant frosted animal cookies you could sit on, there was another with cute unicorns you could take pictures with, and there was another room where you could write words on a wall with magnetic letters. There was also a room with a pool filled with sprinkles that had a slide and diving board. That room was pretty cute too. We got ice cream sandwiches made of chocolate chip cookies and pink vanilla ice cream at the sprinkles pool.

    Overall, the Museum of Ice Cream was a super fun, super interactive, and super cute place to visit. If you ever plan to make a trip to California, take your family to San Francisco and this place in particular and be prepared for A LOT of ice cream.

    After our ice cream adventure, my friend and I walked around Union Square a bit more and spent an hour inside Tiffany’s. No, we didn’t buy anything, but the gentleman assisting us allowed us both to try on a few pieces which was really fun. πŸ™‚ Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford some of that jewelry.

    Our day in San Francisco was still not over! We went to Pier 39, where I got to see Alcatraz from a distance, ate a bunch of mini doughnuts covered in cinnamon and sugar, went on a carousel, and navigated my way through a mirror maze. After our fun at Pier 39, we headed to a small beach where my friend and I took some more pictures and I truly got to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

    California

    By now, dinner was rolling around and so we hopped back in the car and took a short drive over to Ghirardelli Square. There, we had dinner at the San Francisco Brewing Company (great pizza and virgin drinks there by the way!), and then went to get some chocolate. I would have ordered a milkshake or some ice cream but I was all ice-creamed-out from my adventures earlier in the day.

    After dinner and some more shopping, we began the journey back to Sacramento which began with a stop at a viewpoint of the Golden Gate Bridge. Oh my goodness was it cold and windy, but the view of the bridge and San Francisco as the sun set was spectacular. Lots of good pictures from there! Then it was another two hour drive back to my friend’s house. I crashed that night, that’s for sure. The next day was going to be much more relaxed, THANK GOODNESS.

    On Sunday, my friend and I went to see the new Lion King movie which I am proud to say that I really enjoyed. Disney did a fabulous job sticking to the plot of the original movie (which they’ve struggled with in their remakes, in my opinion). That made the movie a lot more enjoyable to me. After the movie, my friend and I stopped for lunch at In-N-Out because what trip to California would be complete without it?

    In-N-Out California

    This was my first time ever going to In-N-Out and I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the menu and of course, the tastiness of the food. That was a good burger. Does it beat BurgerFi? In my opinion, no. But it was still a very yummy meal. After lunch, we went back to her house and just relaxed until it was time for me to head to the airport for my trip back to Denver and here we are in the present time. πŸ™‚

    To my friend, if you ever read this, thank you so much for showing me Sacramento, San Francisco, and just California in general! I had a blast with you and your family. And thank you to your family for allowing me to stay at your home and have fun with you all for a weekend! California is a fun state to visit and explore and I look forward to visiting it many more times to come. Have a good week everyone!

  • Taking Care of the Skin I’m In

    Being a teenager, acne and breakouts are common. I deal with a lot of stress and being in sports, I sweat a lot. As a teenager, and I hope that many of you teens out there can relate, but our bodies undergo some pretty big changes in the teen years and our hormones are up and down and all over the place. This puts our bodies out of whack and we’re left with a struggle. Being the active person I am, it’s also very important that I wear sunscreen to protect my skin from the sun’s harsh UV rays. Here’s how I take care of the skin I’m in and control my acne.

    It took me forever to find something that actually helped shrink my pores and keep the acne on a down-low. I first sought out a dermatologist who recommended Cera-Ve products and a prescription lotion called Clindamycin, which would supposedly attack the acne and help dry it out and then vanish eventually. While that did work for a little while, I found my skin becoming easily irritated and more dry than ever. I floated around with a bunch of different prescription lotions and products that were less sensitive and more effective than what I was previously using, but the acne just wasn’t controllable.

    Finally, one day, I found my fit with a toner and exfoliant by Paula’s Choice. (Sidenote: The toner is specifically for dry skin.) My mom and I were strolling the makeup aisles of Nordstrom and there it was. I really like Paula’s Choice because it doesn’t irritate my skin, helps clean out my pores, and get rid of acne and flare-ups. Another product I found to be extremely helpful is a lotion you can get at Walgreen’s called Differin gel. Differin gel is pretty awesome in that it helps dry out whatever yuck is on your face and it’s gone the next day. I was really surprised with this product actually.

    Taking Care of the Skin I'm In

    So to take care of my acne, Β after I wash my face, I apply a thin layer of Differin gel with a q-tip in the morning and then apply moisturizer. In the evening, before bed, I wash my face (typically without a cleanser) and then apply the toner with a cotton ball and then the exfoliant with a cotton ball. After those have dried, I moisturize with a Cera-Ve moisturizer and it’s off to bed.

    Skin

    As you probably know by now, I play tennis, and most of the time,I’m outside, and that means I’m exposed more to the sun. SUNSCREEN! I always apply sunscreen before getting on the court and even most of the time when I know I’m going to be outside for a while.

    Also, living in the desert that is Colorado, I drink A LOT of water to stay hydrated, hydrate my skin, and flush out any toxins. Drinking water is like a detox for your skin to keep your skin clear and happy.

    It’s always good to have some fun in the sun but you don’t want to get sunburnt let alone increase your risk of skin cancer. Make sure to apply sunscreen multiple times when outside regardless of what you’re doing. You want to keep your skin healthy and happy.

    Have a good week and enjoy the great summer weather, everyone!