Hello from California! This morning I have a meeting here in the city and then Rob and I are picking up a rental car and heading to Santa Rosa for the night before the big few days of work with La Crema begin!

We landed in San Fransisco Saturday evening, got our bags, and checked into our lovely Airbnb before heading out in search of a very late dinner before going straight to bed. Yesterday, however, was jam-packed full of walking, eating, and hanging out with friends we haven't seen in far too long (also I took a ton of pictures).

Here's what we did:

• Stayed in Haight-Ashbury.
• Dinner and a walk around The Castro. 
• Coffee at Ritual Coffee Roasters in Mission.
• Brunch at Mission Beach Cafe--I had the best Benedict ever.
• Late lunch with friends at The Little Chihuahua (Rob got a burrito and I had tacos and they were amazing).
• Ice cream from Bi-Rite. We waited in line for at least 30 minutes and it was absolutely worth it. If you go you have to have the honey lavender. It's pretty dreamy.
• Met up with more friends while we waited for ice cream and we all spent an hour or two sitting in Mission Dolores Park.
• Headed to North Beach for dinner with Rob's cousin--we grabbed a drink and some appetizers at Balboa Cafe before doing the exact same thing at Rose's Cafe.

Rob and I are catching a flight to California this afternoon and I am beyond excited about the entire trip. We're spending Saturday through Monday in San Francisco before driving up to Sonoma for a few days, where I'll be working on a huge La Crema project with my friend Courtney of Sweet C's Designs. We've been dreaming about this since January, so seeing it start coming to life is just beyond incredible.

I'll be here and there on the blog next week, so if you want to follow along, please feel free to check out what I'm up to on Instagram--I'm sure I'll be overgramming the next eight days like nobody's business. See you on the West Coast!

Happy Friday, everyone! It's been crazy week over here as I've been trying to get as organized as possible for our trip to California, but I wanted to share some links that I've been holding on to with you before I go!

To Read: 

• What 10 Years Taught Me. Sam has such a wonderful way with words.
• A fascinating piece on what the use of one simple word can do to our credibility, especially in the workplace. Now I catch myself using it all the time and am trying to find better ways to communicate in emails.
• Barbecue is an American Tradition--of Enslaved Africans and Native Americans--an interesting piece about a southern staple.
• Beautiful thoughts on what it means (or doesn't mean) to change your name after you get married.
• My friend Julie of fitBallet wrote an eBook and it's fantastic. It's full of tips and workouts and meal plans, but also some really beautiful words--the first few introductory pages gave me passion eyes. It has been truly amazing to watch a friend take an idea and turn it into something real, something successful, and something that actually helps people. If you'd like a copy, you can take 10% off with the code FRECKLEDITALIAN; or you can enter to win one below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To See/Watch: 

• I just got around to watching Cake and it was totally beautiful.
• Conan interviews some of the cast of Game of Thrones. I love seeing these actors as regular people.
• Emilia Clarke's valley girl accent is too good. (Sorry, I guess I was in a GoT mood!)
• A fun infographic by Gym and Fitness.

Wishlist:

• Always on the hunt for another jumpsuit.
• This looks like the perfect tee.
• Love these glasses so much.

What are you guys up to this weekend? I hope you had a great week!

Photo: Another favorite from V.A. Photography's secret garden at Tuckahoe Plantation this spring.