Author: Leigh Anne Zinsmeister

Currently: March 2016

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I seem to have fallen into the habit of writing these posts before sneaking off on weekend getaways! It’s currently Thursday, and at the crack of dawn tomorrow I’m flying to the Bahamas with ten of my closest friends for three days of sunshine and tequila. Be sure to follow along on Instagram and Snapchat – I’m @LeighAnneZin on both!

Reading: I’m currently in the middle of All The Light We Cannot See (Kindle) and Paddle Your Own Canoe (audiobook). Hopefully I can finish both of those this weekend and then start on the stack I have waiting for me!

Wearing: Skinny jeans, short sleeves, cardigan, combat boots, glasses. It’s been a lot of late night this weeks between the Oscars, church functions and working on freelance things, so I’m giving my eyes a bit of a rest.

Buying: I just got the iPhone 6S! I pretty spontaneously decided to switch to T-Mobile this week because they include international texting and data in some of their cheaper plans – so I’ll be accessible this weekend (and on future excursions!) even if the WiFi is less than reliable.

Listening to: A gem of a playlist I just discovered on Spotify called Island Beach Country. It’s totally getting me in the mood for tomorrow!

Eating: Rice and veggies for lunch (as I did this time last month, apparently!) Dinner tonight will be take-out before going to bed as early as possible – gotta be prepared for that 2:30 a.m. wakeup call to head to the airport!

Watching: Nothing! I gave up streaming things for March, although I won’t isolate myself on vacations if people have the TV on. I did watch all 13 episodes of Fuller House the day they premiered on Netflix last week. My verdict: The worst show I’ve ever enjoyed.

Planning: To do NOTHING this weekend except read, drink and soak in the sun. My friends are planning excursions but I will be perfectly content if nothing comes to fruition.

Excited for: This weekend of course, a week in Phoenix at the end of the month, and best of all – two full weeks in New York City in between!

Hoping: That the snow forecast for tonight (Thursday) holds off long enough for us to get off the ground in the morning. If you ever need to know when a snowstorm is coming, just check my flight schedule – seriously, I’m cursed!

Books read: 7/52

Trips taken: 4/12

This month’s challenge: No television, as mentioned above, with exceptions made (is that allowed? Do I care? I make my own rules!)

And how is YOUR March going?

Books I read in February

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Well, I definitely slipped on my reading in February: I only completed two books the entire month. Luckily, I adored them both and am feeling super motivated to read more moving forward! I’m currently in the middle of several books, so I know I can get my numbers way up in March. Here’s what I did manage to read last month.

City Lights bookstore, San Francisco

City Lights bookstore, San Francisco

More Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin

This is the sequel to Tales of the City, the fictional San Francisco-based book I read back in January. I liked it even better than the first! It was so fun to catch up with a group of characters I already “knew,” and follow their adventures in San Francisco and around the world. I also, as you know, got to visit San Francisco last month and explore the lane that inspired these books – such a fun, unique experience! Highly recommend, as usual. Five stars

The Martian, Andy Weir

I am honestly shocked at how much I enjoyed this book. Although I love space and astronomy, I’m not a science-minded person, and I also love to have a lot of dialogue when I’m reading fiction. Because of that, reading the science journals of a person stranded alone on Mars didn’t appeal to me at all, but I wanted to give this book a shot before I watched the film. And I LOVED it! Mark Watney – the title character – has a sarcastic sense of humor that completely held my attention, and I finished the novel in four days flat. Just in time to watch the movie before the Oscars! Five stars

So, that’s it. Quality over quantity for February, but I need to step it up if I’m going to read 52 books this year! Any recommendations?

9 delightful highlights of San Francisco

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As you know, my recent trip to San Francisco was my first – and therefore, I felt obligated to see as many of the “top sights” as I could squeeze into a four-day trip. Not only that, but I was on my own for three of the four days as Jordan was occupied at her conference. Not to toot my own horn, but despite the challenges, I think I did a pretty great job of sight-seeing! Here are the highlights of San Francisco.

Alamo Square

The Painted Ladies, Alamo Square, San Francisco

The very first thing I knew I wanted to see was the Painted Ladies, a row of quintessential San Francisco houses overlooking Alamo Square – which has incredible views of the city as well. Luckily for me, Alamo Square is just a couple blocks from the church I wanted to visit, making for an easy Sunday morning welcome to San Francisco.

Marina Green

Marina Green, San Francisco

Obviously getting a glimpse of the Golden Gate bridge was a must, and so I visited the Marina multiple times throughout my visit to San Francisco. I lucked out with weather – it was sunny and 70, with no fog to be seen, for four days straight – so this stretch of the waterfront became my favorite place to plop down with a book whenever I needed a walking break. (Which was often – there are A LOT of hills in San Francisco!)

Lombard Street

Lombard Street, San Francisco

Lombard Street, famous for being “the world’s crookedest” even though it’s not, was near where Jordan and I were staying in North Beach. I hopped a famous cable car and jumped off here with the tourists, snapping the necessary photos and wandering down the staircase. Although Lombard Street is gorgeous, it is a bit underwhelming – the famous part lasts only one block, perhaps a 15 minute activity if you take your time. Still, I’m glad I went!

Macondray Lane

Macondray Lane, San Francisco

In nerdy vacation ventures, I just had to visit Macondray Lane. Remember in January when I got hooked on the Tales of the City books? Well, the series revolves around a house on the fictional Barbary Lane – which is based on San Francisco’s very real Macondray Lane. It was as beautiful and strange as I expected from the novels!

The View

Sunset over San Francisco from The View

As suggestions on things to see and do came pouring in from my friends, one thing that showed up on everyone’s list was to have a drink at the Marriott Marquis’ rooftop bar, The View. Jordan and I were hesitant because of the steep prices we knew would be waiting, but neither of us had any regrets when we got to watch the sun set over the San Francisco bay.

Pier 39

Sea lions at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

The epitome of San Francisco tourism seems to be Fisherman’s Wharf, and while I’m not big on tourist traps, I just knew I couldn’t miss it on my first visit. The highlight? Seeing the sea lions that gather on Pier 39! About 1300 sea lions take over an entire yacht marina each year – and they have for as long as I’ve been alive. These guys had such personality as they alternated between lazing in the sun and fighting each other for prime spots.

Ghirardelli Square

Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco

I’ll be honest, I only went to Ghirardelli Square because it is the only thing my mom remembers from her own trip to San Francisco in the ’80s. I love reliving her experiences (as I did in the swan boats in Boston last summer), and it was definitely cool to see how the chocolate factory operates behind the scenes.

Chinatown

Chinatown, San Francisco

Not far from our humble North Beach abode was Chinatown; in fact, we had to walk through it every time we wanted to go downtown. Needless to say, we really soaked in the culture as our senses were assaulted – and of course reveled in cheap souvenir shops and a delicious dinner. We also happened upon some Chinese New Year celebrations!

City Lights Books

City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco

City Lights bookstore is famous for a lot of reasons, including winning a huge free-speech ruling in 1957. Any place that sells books,  supports free speech, and is a part of history is a win/win/win in my book (puns!) I visited this iconic shop twice in our time, and would absolutely be a regular if I lived on the west coast!

After a whirlwind trip to San Francisco, I feel great about the things I accomplished – and can’t wait to return and check more off my list! What did I miss?

San Francisco in video

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Last fall, when my person came to visit New York City, I casually mentioned San Francisco among a list of cities I might like to visit in 2016. San Francisco is Jordan’s favorite city, and it turned out she would be attending not one but two conferences there this winter. Next thing I knew, I had lined up some vacation days and this week we spent four glorious days exploring the city by the bay. It was my first visit to any part of California that isn’t Los Angeles, and it’s safe to say I adored it! Here’s a little video of our adventures.

San Francisco 2016 from Leigh Anne Zinsmeister on Vimeo.

If you’re interested in how I make these videos, check out my post here! 

 

Catching up via Instagram: 2/21/16

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Believe it or not, between my little getaways to DC and Dallas and San Francisco (right now!), I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time hanging out in NYC this winter! The weather has been weird – record-breaking (and pipe-breaking) cold followed by 50-degree days the same week. It’s made getting dressed every day an adventure, to say the least. Alas! I’ve been having tons of fun this winter (weird, I know), and here’s a little peek!

Donuts from Holey Cream NYC

My roommate’s cousins recently stayed with us and treated us to donuts from Holey Cream in Hell’s Kitchen – delicious! This spot is actually known for donut ice cream sandwiches, which I’m dying to try out in the summer time!

Books and magazines

I’ve slowed down on my reading a bit, but there’s still so much I’m excited to dive into, and I just loaded up my Kindle with books I’m itching to read (including my own copy of All the Light We Cannot See – the physical copy from the library was just to cumbersome to carry around and I didn’t finish it before the due date!)

Cheesecake from Mayfield, Crown Heights, Brooklyn

In a desperate attempt to catch up in between our travels, my best friend and I grabbed dessert one night at our favorite neighborhood spot . To be honest, the cheesecake wasn’t the best, but Emmie loooooved her brownie ice cream sandwich!

Galentine's Day in Queens, NYC

Speaking of Emmie, by some miracle we were both free the night of our friend group’s annual Galentine’s Day celebration! We braved the cold, split a couple cabs and spent a night eating, playing games and taking pictures with our girlfriends.

The Painted Pot, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

On Presidents Day, a few of us were going to visit the Transit Museum, but were disappointed to find out it’s closed on Mondays. Instead, we headed to the Painted Pot in Carroll Gardens to channel our inner children! I’m anxious to see how that bowl looks once it’s been finished at the studio…

Snow in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

After painting, we walked to dinner – even though we could have taken the train one stop, we wanted to admire and take photos of the snow! (OK, OK. They wanted to. But I did get a good picture, so whatever.)

Beer in a stein from Strand Books, NYC

This week was National Wine Day, but I’m more of a beer girl myself. My friend Kelli got me this stein for Christmas from the Strand, a famous bookstore here in New York. I love how it combines my love of beer and books!

Golden Hour in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

Finally, we’ve been enjoying some spring-like weather, and I couldn’t help but admire the morning light on my walk to the train this week. Really I’m just excited that it’s light out when I’m commuting now!

What have you been up to lately? I’m in San Francisco until Thursday, then I’ll be back in NYC for some more adventures at home!