From top to bottom: 1. NJ gal pals in front of the Bay Bridge at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. 2. Crooked carrots (that were delicious). 3. Beautiful bunch of wild flowers. 4. Sunlight trickling into the Ferry Building. 5. Britt and Lucy making eyes at each other. 6. Kunde Estate, Sonoma. 7. Giggles at Kunde. In Gratitude, Trish
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So it's clearly bachelorette party code #1 to *not* share any photos or tell too many stories of the cray cray that goes down at these sorts of parties (girl power! bff's fo' life! funny depictions of male parts everywhere!)....but I can't resist sharing these quick snapshots of the amazing property we were so lucky to stay at in Sonoma. Le sigh, amirite? Happy Bachelorette, Brookie! In Gratitude, Trish Thanks to cousin Meggie's company, I was able to spend a very quiet and nature filled weekend up in Truckee, just outside of Tahoe, by Lake Donner. The gals and I chose a hike we first believed to be about 4 miles, but turned out to be 9. Phew, what a work out! I stupidly wore my rain boots since we anticipated lots of mud from melting snow (and I figured hey, 4 miles in these comfy things will be no problemo compared to wet, cold feet) and thus paid the price with some achy hips and heels by the end. Ah well. Nothing a little aspirin couldn't help. Here are a few snapshots of this beautiful corner of the world.... For more photos of my adventures, follow @thegratefullifesf on Instagram! Be Well, Trish My furry niece and nephew "cuddling" like only a boxer and black cat would...
This gluten free pancake, with yogurt filling and a mixed berry compote topping, was definitely my favorite breakfast in Australia (I dragged B there 3 times for it...oops).
I'm wondering if anyone out there has a delicious recipe for gluten free pancakes they don't mind sharing? Or knows of an excellent boxed-mix brand? I've only tried to make g-free pancakes once a few years ago, and they turned out...well...nothing like the delightful dish you see above. I'd love your thoughts! Happy Friday :) In Gratitude, Trish The Grateful Life is on Instagram (or, as B likes to call it, "Instadork")! It's been fun starting to rummage through old photos, both iPhone and digital SLR, to choose which ones either bring back great memories, are Food For Thought worthy or just plain old would look spiffy with the right filter applied. I'm looking forward to adding on new images regularly!
Follow us @thegratefullifesf :) In Gratitude, Trish This is one of the best photos from our wonderful trip to Australia this month. It combines 3 of my most favorite things-- cute animals I can play with (this guy loved hanging out and having snacks with us), Penn State and B :) You can't tell from this distance, but that's a koala stamp on B's wrist. After the park tagged us for our visit, I insisted we not wash them off and rock them for the rest of the day as a badge of pride for checking off a bucket list item (Item #86: Hold a Koala). Lucky for me, B was too excited to be feeding kangaroos and wallabies to fight me on it...
...(I think he secretly loved it, too). love and light, Trish Is anyone else oddly soothed by the sights and sounds of a fish tank? I could sit in a doctor's waiting room for hours, so long as they keep me next to a bubbling, humming, colorful Nemo sanctuary. In fact, since Weebly is growing so quickly (yay!), we have begun the process of searching for a new office...which means potential new amenities...which means everyone can make suggestions/requests of said amenities...which means I already maybe sorta purchased a mini treasure chest that opens and closes and matches the little mermaid who perches next to it and named one of the fish Pizza Party because, like, who doesn't love a pizza party?..... I digress. In case you feel the same way as me, here's a peek (no zoom used!) into the greatest (pun intended) tank of all.... Sigh.
Instantly soothed. In Gratitude, Trish B and I landed around 10pm last night from Sydney (phew, epic flight, thank goodness for movies and melatonin) so I only have the strength of about 5 Tricia's today.
Thus, above you'll find a picture from our snorkeling trip in the Great Barrier Reef that features both my hand and a Blacktip reef shark. I figure if I can't offer much in terms of stories, musings or food for thought just yet...then I will show how much of a bad ass I am with proof that I swam with sharks on vacation (note: this kind of shark poses little to no danger to humans as it is categorized as timid and skittish). But still....I swam with sharks. Like a bad ass. Right? What day is it? In Sleepy Gratitude, Trish If only every Sunday morning could be spent stand-up paddle boarding (SUP!) on the sunny SF Bay.... Best $20 I've spent in a long time. Anyone want to join next weekend? love and light, Trish I found these photos last night of my first ever visit to San Francisco at the ripe old age of 16, in the summer of '99, and couldn't resist sharing them here. It was the shortest my hair has ever been...and will ever be. I'm about 10-15 lbs lighter (don't leave me, super teenaged metabolism!!) and not a drop less feisty than I am now. I loved this city (and the rest of California we visited, too) right away but honestly? If someone would have told me then about the life I would be living here, now, I never would have believed them. I would have looked at them like they belonged in the psych ward of Alcatraz and gone about my teenage existence wondering who my next boyfriend could be. But I live here now. I work, play and full time live here. Alcatraz may be a tourist attraction for most of the world's population, but it is basically a "house" in my neighborhood, for gosh sake. I guess it just goes to show you that we never really know how things will unfold for us; we can never fully predict the story of our days. Even our best laid plans fall subject to deviation and where we think we'll be at one point in our lives may actually be 3,000 miles off the mark. But, we can be open to it all. We can say yes to adventure and yes please to possibilities. We can dream and wonder, explore, try and occasionally fail. And then we can take action--this is a key piece to the puzzle. We can take action that supports where we'd like our paths to go and we can have faith that in taking this action we are bravely navigating this world of possibilities with the guidance of our spirits and support from the deepest, most loving, authentic places of our hearts. At least, that's how it's been for me :) Now on to the funny photos! Me and my old friend Jessica (Jess--how the heck are you?!) at Ghiradelli Square. Taking my turn posing at the super touristy Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Pier 39. Once a tree hugger, always a tree hugger. love and light, Trish Yesterday morning I received a super sweet email via The Grateful Life from a reader in Cape Town, South Africa (which in and of itself is such an awesome feeling--my blog has readers all over the globe!?). I so appreciated hearing her thoughts and kind sentiments. Katherine, thank you for reminding me that I am, indeed, really blessed to live here. It's not hard to find peace and grace right in my backyard; it's not hard to feel so, so grateful...but your email was just the motivation I needed to grab my camera and get outside to once again appreciate the beauty of where I live. A mini road trip up to Sonoma was the perfect way to spend a sunny January afternoon--proof of the treasures that extend beyond city limits, just waiting to be explored. Thank you for reaching out to me! I hope to someday visit Cape Town, just as you were able to visit San Francisco. You are always welcome in our city! These photos are for you :) Good grief I love it here. In Gratitude, Trish Two things: 1. All of the following photos were taken within San Francisco city limits. Wow. Humbled to live, work and play here. and 2. Friday the 25th was my one year blogiversary! I nearly forgot! What an amazing year it's been. Check out my first ever post here :) Exploring the city the past few days, camera in tow, reminded me of how thankful I am to be in the place that I am. I want to share a piece of an email with you that I sent to a Grateful Lifer almost a year ago in response to her questions about career paths...I've edited it a bit out of respect for the public nature of this blog, but it's essentially a cut and paste job of my original sentiments. I share it here because I want to emphasize to you, my amazing readers, the importance of listening to your inner guide--no matter what anyone else may think. "I started working for my last company a few months after graduation and was thrust into a very sexy world of consumer electronic start-ups; fancy dinners, cool perks, travel, etc etc. I moved up the ladder pretty quickly in the 3 years I was with them and when it came about time to possibly move up again I finally vocalized what I'd known pretty much from day one; I hate this job. I am not a tech sales gal and somehow I'd ended up being one for far too long. Though I am SO grateful for the original opportunity...while I'm thankful for the experience and the lessons and the fun times...I just didn't care for so, so many other aspects. In a male dominated industry it was becoming increasingly difficult to be taken seriously as a business professional and not just a young chick with a decent ass (hey, I give credit where credit is due). I found myself being a ball of unnecessary stress all the time, practically in tears every time a new email came in. Quite simply, I had no passion for it. So I quit! I packed up the PA apartment and followed my heart back to San Francisco! I know I should've been nervous but I just wasn't. I felt liberated. I never doubted that I could make it work somehow. I was fortunate at the time to have a partner willing to make this transition with me, and while that relationship is no more, I am still eternally grateful for his support. Then came funemployment. I worked 2 part time jobs, only about 4 days a week, for a year (at a cute little boutique in my neighborhood and at a dentists office) and took every spare day that I had to just have fun and enjoy this amazing city. I went to beaches, parks, museums, flea markets, cafes, free outdoor concerts and movies. I read, I played, I explored. It.Was.Awesome. Financially of course it was a huge difference from the prior years; I had been making a very generous salary for my age and now I was budgeting down to the hourly penny. But it was fun. And it was soothing and important and I learned so much about the value of money vs the value of my time and happiness. I knew eventually I'd find the right path if I had patience and was living in the moment. And THEN came Weebly. I have a mutual friend with the 3 founders of my small company and have hung out with them a few times in the past. During a random hang out it was mentioned that they may be in a position to be hiring soon and I just knew...instantly...that this was the next step for me. So I patiently waited a few more months, sending good thoughts and visualizing the potential of this job every day, and voila...I got hired! As hokie as it sounds, I truly believe I manifested this opportunity by remaining calm and believing in myself. Here's the thing; you're obviously a smart, educated young woman and if you're anything like you were in high school, then you have a zest for life that is such an asset to any company. People will see this. We are fortunate to be of a generation of women with so much potential and opportunity...I'd hate to see any of us settling for something that is less than what our hearts truly desire. I'm sure other folks will tell you not to quit in "such a bad economy" (I know people were shocked when I left my last job), but I say f*ck it. Money will always been an issue if you let it be. If you're not happy, then you do what you need to do to change that. Whatever it is that makes your pulse race, go for it." So before you go ahead and check out some of my photos below (and really, thank you so much for taking a look at them) I guess I feel it's worth mentioning that I'm here...in this beautiful, magic, alive city...because I made it happen. I believed in myself and that little voice in my heart (not the one in my head...she's crazy. kidding!) when it told me I would be safe and well in this decision. Even when everyone else thought I was nuts; when they doubted, questioned, worried. Even when the hows, whys, whens were a conjumbled mess of unknowns, I grasped tightly to my "what." and pumped it full of love and light. It takes hard work and it takes patience. It takes courage. And maybe it even takes a little bit of crazy. But mostly, it just takes faith. A little nautical visitor popped up to say hi :) I'm not from here, but I sure got here as soon as I could.
Where is your heart pulling you? Be gentle with yourself. Be encouraging and loving of your dreams. Keep the faith. The Universe is on your side. Thank you for an amazing year of sharing and growing and loving with me here, on The Grateful Life. I am stoked for many great years to come! In Gratitude, Trish My love of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay, as seen through a lens.... And with a bit of editing, the above photo looks like a painting of the bridge... I'm off to take more photos! Wish me luck, this is fun :) In Gratitude, Trish |
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