San Francisco… what is there to say. People love this place. It’s foggy a lot, it’s got the Giants and the 9er’s – two teams I never cheated on while living in LA for over 20 years. It’s got a couple famous bridges, some hippies, lots of homeless, plenty of weed and within that 7×7 bubble you can find all sorts of fun new things to explore and check out… aside from the homeless. They’ll find you.

I think I brought the LA sun because with the exception of a few morning fog bits it’s been amazing and sunny. I’m sure I’ll get the real truth come Fall, but right now I’m enjoying it. Walking to work, figuring out the ‘layers layers layers’ advice that everyone has given me, sorting out the grocery shopping options, mani & pedi spots, dog friendly bars and patios, where my local haunt will be for the perfect after work martini, aside from my darling little apartment. So much to get used to. I had LA DIALED. Here, it’s small but dang… those hard to see street signs, hidden stop lights signals on the side and those freaking one-way streets, which are ever so narrow, this is NOT LA.

The move went well, no real damage and am pretty much settled now after 6 weeks here.

oops… got a little stuck there

I live in a darling little area called North Beach. It’s quaint and very ‘neighborhood’esque’. People that have lived here forever take their part of the City very seriously and care for it greatly. Italian food, bars and tourists are o-plenty. Finding that everywhere is practically dog friendly so miss four-legs is loving it. pigeons, seagulls, new smells have made her a happy tail-wagger. Tini enjoys the sand, but not the water. Which is fine… less mess for the ride home.

photo opp!

So now the logistics.

What to wear; jackets, scarves, sneakers and how many ‘layers’ to plan for in 1 day! I’ve bought 8 pairs of sneakers and have returned 6 of them. Even with the 2 I’ve kept they’re not ‘walking’ shoes for my 2.5 mile stroll to work. I don’t wanna be that ‘running trainer’ wearing person…how touristy!

a couple i’ve tried

Good’ol Zappos – I tried some Privo’s which were too wide and some Pumas which just didn’t have the support I needed. So I’m still on the hunt. I do have an old pair of Merrells which are great for my long walks but I’d like some options.

Then one must assess the perfect jacket… not to hot, not too thin. After my (I miss her so much) old neighbor got this Patagonia jacket last year and has worn it to death I figured it would probably be a good item in the closet for this cooler climate living.

the nano puff jacket

It’s super light weight and squishes down to nothing – great for packing. And layering!

The other big deal? Where to get the right coffee… shit, these people are SERIOUS about their coffee. I haven’t used my Starbuck’s app in weeks! Philz, Blue Bottle, The Creamery, Cento, Caffe Triest… all ‘very’ hip and THE places to get the good coffee. There are plenty more hot spots but these are just the ones I’ve tried. San Francisco is a coffee snob city.

SF has ‘smaller’ appliances in the dwellings… like NYC with more compact stovetops or fridges or overall apartment size. In my move I ditched my once-worked-but-not-anymore Breville espresso maker. (It gave me 3 really good years.) I realized in my new digs that that large machine had no counter space love for it. Did a little research and asked a couple coffee snobs I happen to know and netted out with this little number. The Bodum Chambord Stovetop Espresso Maker. Gotta do things a bit more for yourself in this set up so I also purchased a milk frother. That little guy froths the crap out of that milk in seconds!

i LOVE this thing!

The routine is coming together, but very very slowly. At least I have a few of the essentials down. It’ll all just take a little more time. As find more of the ‘must haves’ and must figure out I’ll let you know. For now, I’m just getting ready for Fall… and the perfect black flat knee high black boot. Frye?