I moved to this amazing city when I was a young squirt fresh off the plane from Australia and I was so nervous and excited all at once!  Fashion school at FIDM was starting on Monday and I was still unpacking my boxes filled with albums, clothes, picture frames, and kitchen appliances that were donated to me from my family.  It was like entering college all over again!  I had an awesome room mate, Lauren, bay windows, and hard wood floors throughout…I was living the dream!  We lived right on the trolly tracks on California  Street in Nob Hill.  I literally used the “DING, DING” of the cable car as my alarm clock and soon after would run out and hop on it to get to work or school…I had moments 6 years ago where I would pause in my step and get emotional because I was walking the streets of San Francisco, a magnificent city that you can only truly appreciate once you live here, and was so very thankful.  It is full of people that come here from all parts of the world, and being 23 and single in this city was one exciting day after the  next!  I mean, I had no idea I had just moved to a city where I would be joining kickball leagues, slosh ball leagues, and have beer pong competitions in a bar.  This wasn’t college, this was way better!  You are surrounded by working professionals making money, but with the mind set of work hard, play hard…and why not live it up a little?  We are the chosen ones to live  in this 7 mile by 7 mile city where housing is so scarce that you literally have to beg, bribe, or stalk the land lord to get an apartment built in the 1800s where there is probably mold growing in the walls…oh, and pay $2400 for a one bedroom.  However, this all makes it that more appealing, and you still find yourself feeling very lucky.  It has been 6 years and I still walk to work everyday, but a few things have changed since my single life in the city.  I met the man of my dreams way back in Australia, and he moved to this city for me.  We live in North Beach, have bay windows, hardwood floors throughout, but this time its different…we have a dishwasher!  This city really makes you appreciate the small things in life!  Someday I hope to have a washer and dryer and a parking spot, but I would sacrifice those things for one more day living in this city.  I am experiencing this place with new eyes with my husband.  We traded beer pong for dinner parties, kickball leagues for photography and golfing, and slosh ball for a long bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.  Don’t get me wrong, I have never missed a Union Street Fair, still attend the Bay to Breakers, and maybe we will even walk down to the gay parade today where hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world will be.  Now 6 years later, I still find myself pausing in my step and getting emotional, because everyday as I walk to work, I see the bridge to my left, and straight ahead, the Trans America building and I feel so blessed!

It is amazing that in 7 square miles there could be so much to explore!  We have a coffee table book of the history of San Francisco.  Matt and I have come to appreciate history a lot more since college.  It is fun to read about the battles that took place on the very hill that we live on.  There is so much culture too!  It is a mixing pot of all kinds of people!  If you ever get the chance, hang out at Dilores Park for a day!  Our first trip there, we sat up on the hill.  We could see the SF skyline in the distance, but in the foreground we saw just about every type of person lounging in this huge park.  We couldn’t figure out why everyone around us on the particular spot we chose was either naked or wearing a speedo!  I found out later we were sitting at the “beach” part of the park!  Never a dull moment!  We try to do a tourist day in SF every once in a while cuz it is so easy to have the mindset that I could always do that and then end up never doing it!  We did the hop on hop off bus tour of the city one day and that is actually where most of these shots came from!  The high up open air bus is perfect for capturing views of the city that otherwise aren’t possible.  I hope you enjoy this little montage of pictures of the place I call home 🙂

The best part about San Francisco is that you can go on just about any roof top (the city’s version of a backyard) and see panoramic views of the city in all its glory!  From our roof deck, it looks like you could throw a rock and hit Coit Tower.  The sunsets are absolutely breathtaking!  One of our favorite things to do is go on the roof with a glass of wine and sit in the lounge chairs and watch the clouds descend over the bridge, and watch the sun slowly sink as it illuminates the already golden Bridge.  6 years isn’t enough time here as I still haven’t seen it all yet!  On any given day walking around you can see a couple hundred people on scooters, a clan of naked people taking over the streets on their bikes, or even walk around Fisherman’s Warf and still get startled by the Bush Man!  My goal is to explore the Mission District more as there are countless good eats, boutiques, and beautifully painted murals…so I have heard 🙂  North Beach is our new territory now, and we probably eat out 3 times a week as we love to try new restaurants a jump and a skip away.  I guess you could say the one thing that this place has not done, is domesticate me! haha!  Why cook when there are thousands of cooks just waiting down the street!