Aperture Enthusiast

I Like Big Cups and I Cannot Lie

I was never really a coffee person until I met Samir. For one, caffeine sadly does nothing for my energy level, which is a total bummer. But also, I don’t think I really appreciated what a good cup of coffee tasted like, and usually relegated myself the corner Starbucks (#coffeesnob #sorrynotsorry) out of convenience. 

Since coming to the Bay Area, we’ve explored a lot of coffee spots and I think I’ve discovered my favorite of them all- Chromatic Coffee in San Jose. Added to my to-do list for this weekend!

Our typical coffee order:

He: medium roast, with cream

Me: 2% latte, dash of cinnamon, touch of honey

Upping Our Art Game

When I heard one of my favorite painters Henri Matisse had a temporary exhibition viewing at MoMA SF, we swiftly made plans to make a Saturday afternoon of it. It was my first time at this spectacular museum, and we could have gotten lost in MoMA’s maze of modern art + sculpture for a few more hours. But we hit the highlights on and vowed to go back again in the near future. 

My love, appreciation, and admiration of art + artists will never temper! And this visit has propelled my desire to purchase our first original work of art for our bare white wall in living room...

Spring Has Sprung

...and with it, my eternal love for tulips! I’ll be hoarding these beautiful buds for as long as they’ll have me.

It’s Another Day of Sun 

My dear friend from Chicago recently moved to LA for a little change of pace and a total life re-haul... and I couldn’t be happier for her. I was/am overjoyed with this news- to me, this meant I had a BFF from home within driving distance (let alone, in the same time zone!)

Last weekend, I did the 5.5 hour drive from Sunnyvale to Marina Del Rey (while binge-listening to NPR politics and S-Town), which really wasn’t all that bad. Before I knew it, I had hit sun, sand, & surf, and our first stop was the beach!

Some places we explored and loved: Rustic Canyon, Bar Chloe, High Rooftop Lounge, Barrique, and The Penthouse @ Huntley Hotel, and also a little boutique-ing on Abbot Kinney Road. The boho-chic vibe of this vibrant beach town had me at hello- and I can’t wait to be back!

Sights + Sounds of Mexico City

Holy Mole

Pujol is the 20th best restaurant in the world, so that explains why I made this reservation right after booking our flight to Mexico City. 

Chef Enrique Olvera’s offerings were a study in patience, contrast, simplicity, and passion.

My meal progression (*accompanied by a cactus margarita and a tamarind margarita):

Street snacks (baby corn with powdered chicatana ant, costeño chile mayonnaise, smoke)

Sea bass, cacahuatzintle juice, celery

Softshell crab, meyer lemon, alfalfa 

Wagyu, fennel seeds, herb guacamole

Mole madre (1,258 days old), mole nuevo with hoja santa tortillas

Dessert: Nicoatole, Churro

A Day at the Museum

Thank God I found a partner who’s equally a sucker for a good museum. Samir and I wandered the National Museum of Anthropology for a couple hours on our second day in Mexico City, and we were thrilled by the depth and breadth of Mexican history this museum covered. It was a well-designed, architectural, modern space which made one thing clear: Mexicans are born storytellers, and giving them a chisel, hammer, and a piece of rock will guarantee an exquisite and expressive work of art. 

An A-maize-ing Thursday (!!!)

When we booked our trip, I knew I wanted to take a cooking class to learn authentic Mexican recipes. Enter Casa Jacaranda, a cooking school located in the Roma neighborhood lead by Alberto Estua and Jorge Fitz. What I really loved was the fact that we would also be guided through Mercado Medellín (in previous post) to shop for fresh ingredients beforehand. Although this experience was pricey, this was a lovely afternoon spent learning a whole lot about how much love, care, and patience goes into preparing a traditional Mexican feast.

Our menu:

Traditional sopes, guacamole, fresh tortillas, fish tacos al pastor, corn tamales, two salsas (roasted tomato and green tomatillo), grapefruit palomas. Salud! 

A Delicious Science Experiment

Samir has been dreaming about bringing home a canister of liquid nitrogen to make fresh ice cream at home. We are pretty obsessed with Smitten, an ice cream shop that churns out the creamiest ice cream using this method. With a Saturday that was completely plan-free (a rarity) combined with Samir finding a nearby place in San Jose that rents out dewars of LN^2, it meant that we were off to finding ice cream nirvana. Let’s just say it was a wild success and a ton of fun. 

Flavors we tried and loved: fresh strawberry, espresso + dark chocolate, peanut butter + dark chocolate, and classic vanilla bean. 

Can’t wait to do it again.

Fête with our Founding Fathers (finally)

Being as obsessed with theater as I am, it’s a travesty that I haven’t yet had the extreme pleasure of seeing Hamilton the musical. Well, that’s all about to change on Sunday, May 21 during our next trip to Chicago. I just about cried when these finally arrived in the mail a couple days ago (as I always pay for printed, mailed tickets!)

Vacation State of Mind

Living on the West Coast means that more than half the world is too far away for a short getaway, and what’s close is currently Zika-infested. That left us with few options when I yearned for a long weekend away- but Mexico City quickly rose to the top of the list. I am looking forward to food ranging from street-side to Michelin-starred, an all-day cooking class, a hike, and generally soaking in colorful Mexican culture. We leave next week!

Fifty Shades of Red and Pink

Two makeup-related posts in two weeks can only mean one thing- that I’m pretty obsessed with makeup (which I am). Samir is always making fun of the amount of lipstick/lip gloss/lip tint I own (brights, bolds, nudes, mattes, glossy, glittery- I don’t discriminate), as well as the fact that I’ve never actually finished a tube of anything. Alas, I just can’t get enough. 

Favorite splurge shade: Bruised Plum by Tom Ford, $53

Favorite steal shade: Cream Lip Stain #03 by Sephora, $14

Favorite everyday shade: Giggle by Chanel (sold out!!) but similar to Caresse, $30

Fancy Toast & Coffee

Him: Cappuccino, spicy ABJ (with passion fruit, apricot + habanero jelly)

Me: Burnt caramel latte, smoked trout

Verdict: Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Staycation (all I ever wanted)

This past weekend, Samir and I stayed three nights at the gorgeous Palace Hotel in Union Square, SF. Since moving to the burbs in September, we miss the fast pace of city life, and the fact that it’s so easy to accrue 10,000 steps a day when you’re walking everywhere. It was a productive (I had a psych conference), party- and food-filled weekend; but, nonetheless, coming home today felt pretty darn good. 

Happy Saturday!

What 75 and sunny in NorCal looks like.

Going Rouge

My new favorite makeup discovery: NARSissist Unfiltered I Cheek Palette. These six shades do a beautiful job of highlighting, bronzing and blushing your cheeks. Don’t be timid about the bottom right shade- it’s actually my favorite (but use sparingly!)

From top left to bottom right:

Watch Me, Me First, Takeover, Out There, Chic, Exhibit A

Le Café de Chopra

No, this is not our local coffee house. Rather, it is Samir, pouring me a delicious handmade latte in our very own kitchen. Samir has a huge affinity for all things coffee, so we had put the Breville Infuser on our wedding registry- with low hopes of actually receiving it. I still remember the look on his face when we opened a big brown package and this beauty was inside. Now, I’m spoiled with fresh lattes every weekend.