San Francisco {The Final Installment}

After running the race and getting ready at the hotel we headed down to the wharf. We were starving for lunch so we headed over to Boudin Bakery. We had ran past it in our race and could smell the sourdough bread, so tempting. So of course we wanted to try it out for lunch. I got their tomato soup in a sourdough breadbowl. Yummmy! We sat outside while eating our lunch, it was a perfect day.

 

After lunch we walked around Pier 39. We did a little shopping. (Most of which was at a candy store).

Me at Pier 39. Not sure why I decided NOT to smile for this picture. Trying to be serious?

We stopped by and looked at the seals. Man they were so stinky. As soon as you started to walk towards them on the pier you were overwhelmed by their stench. They just lied there, didn't do anything interesting but it was still neat to see them like that.

Looking back at the city line from the wharf. What a beautiful city San Fran is.

My sister in law Lindsay and I just HAD to take a picture of us together because we were practically matching. Yep, pinkish/purplish pants and a dark striped top. Too funny.

The view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I love this picture. I was so bummed that the fog was too heavy during our race for me to see it that I was so ecstatic when I finally did get to see it while walking along the pier.

Then we had a little mother-daughter photo sesh:

Sis in Law Lindsay & her cute mom

Aunt Cathy & Cousin Brooke

Me & My Mom- Yep, it was so windy that I was practically eating my hair. Whatevs

After walking around the wharf we headed to Chirardelli square.

My mom and I shared a chocolate malt shake for dinner. It was the best chocolate shake I have ever had. A great way to end the night.

I would love to go back to San Fran and do a few things that we weren't able to like Alcatraz, Chinatown, etc. We were going to try Alcatraz but it was sold out. Bummer. Until next time San Francisco!

San Francisco {Day One}

My trip to San Francisco didn't really start out as planned. I had planned on leaving for San Francisco on Friday afternoon at about 11am and meeting up with my Aunt Cathy & Sis in Law Lindsay. I was also flying standby. (I have family in the airline industry, so I thought I would save some $$$) Well, let's just say after spending the ENTIRE day in the airport and lots of tears I didn't make ONE flight out on Friday. My mom decided to help me fly out the next morning so we woke up at 3:30am and headed back to the airport. We didn't make our first flight but made the 8:30 am flight and off we were to San Fran! We got picked up from the airport and we  all decided to head to downtown SF.

 

Can you tell how happy I was to finally be in San Fran?

(Sis in Law Lindsay, Me, & Mom)

 

 We headed to Union Square because we needed to pick up our race packets. There was a really long line so we decided to grab lunch first.



 

 

 

My Girls Trip companions!

 

We were starving and had no idea where to go or what we wanted to eat so we stopped at one of the first places we saw that looked and sounded good: Cafe Bellini.  I spotted crepes on the menu and knew that is what I wanted. I ordered a Chicken Pesto Crepe. After a long wait, we got our food and it was delicious. Even though we waited a really long time to get our food it was still delicious. My Aunt Cathy told me I need to work on re-creating that recipe so you just might see that up on the blog if I don't fail! ;)

 

Me & My Cousin Brooke - BFF's since birth. We used to call eachother and plan out our outfits so that we could match.

After lunch we headed back to Union Square to get our race packets. The line was TWICE as long and wrapped around twice. It did move pretty quick though. 25,000 women running in the race so of course the line was going to be long!

 

Lindsay, Me, Brooke & Aunt Cathy 

 

 

After we got our race packets we walked around and did some shopping. There is SO much shopping to be done in San Francisco. After walking & shopping we went to dinner at Chevy's Mex and my mom and I shared a meal. We didn't want to stay out too late so we went back to the hotel to get some zzz's in before the big race. 

 

 

 

The World Needs More...

RITA'S

I was first introduced to Rita's while visiting my sister in Maryland two years ago. They ranted and raved about it. What is Rita's? It is not your typical custard or ice-cream shop. It is light and refreshing. They serve Italian Ice and custard. With different flavors of the day you never know what flavors they have but you know it is going to be good. You can get it with just Italian Ice, Ice & Custard {Gelati}, Blended Ice, Custard and cookie {Blendini}, custard only, or Blended Ice & Custard (Misto Shake). My personal favorite is the Gelati. The last two days we have had LONG days at six flags. On our way home from Six Flags today we stopped and picked up some Rita's. Just what we needed. Mia had her first Rita's and it was love at first Rita's. She ran around eating it saying "mmm yummy".  Dear Rita's: I wish you were in Utah. THE END.

XOXO,

Whitney

ATL Day 3: Visit to Babyland

Yesterday (day 3) of our trip we decided to have a day dedicated to Mia. We let her sleep in that morning. Went to lunch and took a drive out to Cleveland, Ga. What is in Cleveland you ask? The Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland Hospital, where Cabbage Patch babies are born. I thought it was going to be a tour where you get to see where/how Cabbage Patch dolls. Instead you took a small self tour in Babyland where you view vintage Cabbage Patch dolls and some LPN's {Licensed Patch Nurse} perform a live "birthing" of a new Cabbage Patch each hour. Mia was literally in heaven surrounded by all of the baby dolls. She had to touch every one, play with them in the stroller, comb their hair, re-adjust binkies, and rock them in a rocking chair. Luckily she isn't quite old enough to think she needed to go home with a new doll. She already has two and I would have bought her one but they were $70+. {YIKES} I think Mia was definitely in her happy place at Babyland.

After Babyland we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant and visited yet another Marshalls. Then came home to watch some Olympics, which we are doing right now. Love the women's gymnastics! GO USA!

XOXO,

Whitney

ATL: Day 2

Yesterday we went to Chick-Fil-A headquarters and met up with my father in law's friend who was going to give us a tour. As we drove up to the entrance my breath was taken away by how beautiful the property is. It is set in the middle of trees and you take a nature path from the parking lot to the entrance. We were given a histroy lesson on how Chick-Fil-A was started. Towards the end of the tour we got to see the car collection which was neat. My favorite car in the collection: The Batmobile. After our tour we went down to the cafeteria where they offer the employees FREE lunch everyday (and their guests) It was a full on buffet with anything you would ever want. They also have a complete gym next to the cafeteria. Overall it seems like a fantastic company to work for who really values their employees. {I know there is a current Chick-Fil-A controversy and that some refuse to support their company. I however, love Chick-Fil-A because I LOVE their food. I also feel that everyone has the right to their opinion/beliefs whatever side they may be on and that we should respect and love one another.}

 After our Chick-Fil-A tour we did some more shopping at Marshalls and found some fabulous finds. Then we made our way into Downtown Atlanta and our first stop was the World of Coca-Cola. In here you can learn all about how coca-cola was started, watch a 4D movie, see the CocaCola polar bear, and taste different coke products from around the world. That was definitely the highlight. There were some seriously nasty drink flavors and some suprisingly good ones.

 Across the street from the World of Coca Cola is the Georgia Aquarium. Apparently it has been recently re-vamped. It is super nice inside and had some great exhibits including penguins, beluga whales, whale sharks, otters, and much much more. Mia loved all of the fishies and we even found Nemo! {a clownfish}

What a great day 2 in the ATL! Can't wait for Nicole to join us. She is enroute to ATL as we speak!

XOXO,
Whitney

Welcome to the ATL

We are officially here in the ATL having a grand ole' time with the family. We had good luck and Mia was pretty darn good on the flight here. I love getting off the airplane and immediately feeling the humid air. I know some people dislike humidity but I love it. It makes my skin feel so soft and smooth and I don't have to worry about continously applying lotion or chapstick. We slept in the next morning and decided to lounge around at the pool. This was a genius idea so that we weren't struck with jet-lag.

One thing you must do when you go to Atlanta is SHOPPING. After swimming we headed out to the North Georgia Premium Outlets. Also, they have the best selection at Marshall's so make sure to check those out too!

{My dream purse...Orange Michael Kors. I had my MIL take a picture of me so I know how good it looked on me ha ha}

After shopping we were starving. My hubby had seen a billboard for some Southern BBQ and since we are in the south he felt that it was a perfect choice. We were a little worried because sometimes he chooses sketchy places/dishes to eat. We decided to try out Big D's BBQ.  It was a pretty small BBQ place with a giant pig on top of the restaurant. Uh-oh. I don't eat pig. Luckily they had chicken! :) It was pretty delicious, my favorite part of the meal were the hush puppies. Pretty good choice by the hubs.

Classic Pig Pic

Great first day in the ATL. Today we went on a tour to Chic-Fila, World of Coca-Cola and The Aquarium- more on that next time.

Peace,
Whitney

Deer Valley Family Photo Shoot

We were up in Deer Valley to celebrate my hubby's Grandparents 55 year wedding anniversary. What an accomplishment!!! 55 years together and still going strong. His grandparents are the funniest couple and they make me laugh whenever I am around them. I definitely think their sense of humor and ability to have fun has helped them make it to 55 years. Since we were all up there with the family, Grandma wanted to take a big family photo. There were about 50 of us there in the photo so you can imagine that it took a while trying to get everyone situated. One cousin almost fainted due to the high elevation, so she had to sit down and have a little snack before we started snapping the photo. And of course it was Mia's naptime so she was a peach, crying to go "night night". Yep. It was fantastic for us. So in all our photos she is glaring at the camera, ha ha, oh well.

The Allen Family

 Our little Fam (Glares and all)

 Nicole and I

XOXO,
Whitney