it’s been a while since i posted a travel post. i’ve been so busy lately with…well life. whenever things start to get a little hectic and overwhelming i begin to daydream about my next travel adventure. there’s sure to be a new one coming in the near future but in the meantime, i’m getting back to part 2 of san francisco adventures like i promised here.

every trip we’ve taken to san francisco has been a special one, and this last adventure was certainly no exception. july 6th was our 1 year wedding anniversary and since san francisco is where my husband proposed to me, we though it suiting to celebrate this special occasion in this special place.

now, i have to preface this story by saying that i am madly, deeply, truly infatuated with…treehouses. we had a treehouse growing up in the woods of montana- well actually i can’t remember if it was ours or our neighbors up the hill but either way i remember spending many afternoons in that tree house. i think i’ve made it pretty clear how much i love trees. i talked all about it here. i’ve been dreaming about having a treehouse in our yard. the only problem is that we don’t really have  a tree so we settled for the next best thing and decided to stay at a treehouse on our anniversary adventure. it so happens that the treehouse i was eyeing is usually booked at least a year in advance but when i contacted the owners they just happened to have an opening the very same week we were visiting san francisco. things seem to happen for us like that often and we are always so grateful when they do. we found this treehouse on airbnb. this is the greatest thing since sliced watermelon. we like to stay in places with personality and are always looking for something different and adventurous and this site is the best way to find such places.

here we are when we first arrived to the treehouse. we were so excited and giddy. like little kids.

that’s what’s so fun about treehouses. they bring you back to that carefree feeling from when you were a child. i plan on re-visiting that feeling as often as possible in this lifetime.

the treehouse was tucked away in this beautiful little town called burlingame. it was just what we imagined a tree house would look like. cute interior with lace curtains and colorful quilts. a cozy little loft bed for afternoon naps.

candles for quiet romantic evenings and a outside deck to listen to the sounds of birds in the morning while sipping tea and a sweet little breakfast nook with fresh flowers.

i loved the way the treehouse looked when it was lit up at night. it looked and felt so cozy and welcoming.

i’m a nature girl at heart and would take treehouse living over a 5 star hotel any day. there’s a beauty to simplicity and being in touch with nature. did i mention it had a swing!?

here’s the porch i spoke about above. not a bad place to start the day.

we had plans to see an art opening with our  friend casey gray and his fiance in the city while we were staying at the treehouse and i had brought the perfect dress to wear to the occasion. it was suiting that the treehouse was decorated in lace and my dress was lace. there’s a beauty to the rough textures of nature combined with the elegance of lace. i had just bought this audrey3plus1 dress at my favorite local boutique mimi and red. you’ll be hearing a lot about this shop. i’ve been shopping at mimi and red for years. they’re local, reasonably priced and i love the owners and the girls they have working for them. good people, great style. can’t beat that! i’m crazy about lace. i always have been. it’s tough to pass up a good lace dress. my husband took this quick little cell phone photo before our adventure into the city. the back is my favorite thing about this dress. beautiful lines, shape and detail.

we spent this evening catching up with casey and seeing art at the battery. this place is an interesting social experiment. i have my opinion about their vision, but then again don’t we all have our opinions. what’s your take on this place? i’m interested to hear.

there are a few places i feel obligated to mention that we came across on our anniversary trip to san francisco. when we first arrived to the city it was our actual anniversary date. we hadn’t made dinner reservations but had heard from a friend that there was an amazing dim sum restaurant in china town that was to die for. we took our chances and took an uber to the location, not knowing it was a “speak easy” kind of place and was tucked away from the public eye. no signs displayed. we mistakingly found the spot when we saw someone walking inside an unmarked door. state bird provisions. i love the name. the food is incredible and they are very accommodating to vegetarian and gluten free customers. they basically just bring dishes around to your table and if you like the way it looks you take it and if not you wait for something else to come your way. we walked in and asked if they had a table and the host looked at us cross eyed. we explained that it was our anniversary and said we would be happy to wait to see if any reservations cancelled and sure enough…apparently it takes months to reserve a table or you have to wait in line at 5:30 in the morning to get on the list. must have been all that positive thinking and manifesting we were doing while salivating over the dishes as they passed them around from table to table.

we even had a chance to see a few local bands play at our friends commune event. commune wednesdays are all about social change, going against big tobacco companies and encouraging youth and others to quit smoking. what better way to educate youth and the surrounding community than through music and art? commune focuses on supporting local musicians and artists. you can read more about these social change makers here. we had a fun time with the photo booth. we never plan to grow up. i’m all about growing inward and growing forward but i think we can tend to lose our playfulness when we get older. we get so bogged down with the to do lists, work, chores, that we forget to play. my husband and i try to come back to this playfulness whenever we start to take life and ourselves too seriously. laughter is the what keeps us young. we should spend more time laughing, being silly and less time worrying about what others might think about us.

it wouldn’t be a trip to san fran if we didn’t make a stop at muir beach. the spot where my hubby proposed. i’m sure you already read about that here.

i love this lace trim sweater. the perfect accent of lace to add a little character and texture. you can find it here. the jeans i am wearing are my favorite jeans. you know when you find a pair of jeans that are comfy, a great fit and the perfect shade of denim. the ones you wear all of the time? those are these jeans to me. if they’re not comfy, they’re not for me. you can find them here. i’m a big fan of accessorizing with hats. i buy most of my hats from brixton. they have the best styles, colors and textures in women’s hats and the men’s styles look great on women too. they’re based out of oceanside,ca. buying local is the way to go. i’ll be sharing more of their styles in future posts no doubt.

of course we made a stop at pelican inn. if you read our story linked above you know all about it but it’s just not the same unless you visit it yourself. hope you decide to take an adventure and do just that! life is too short to stay in the same place. there is so much to see in the world outside of our comfort zones.that reminds me of one of my favorite quotes…

“I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth, then I ask myself the same questions”. Harun Yahya

i plan on flying away to as many places as possible in this lifetime. how about you?

we ended our trip with a little stay in the haight-ashbury district, another place with a cute loft in an amazing location through airbnb. my hubby took this photo at the park near hippie hill. he bought this hat at the rvca store. i love the style and color. you can find it here. 

can you see by my expression that i’m having a hard time saying good bye to san francisco? it’s always so hard to leave this amazing city but the beauty is that it’s always there for us to come back to.

lace, treehouses, speak easy restaurants, beautiful beach, amazing city. this was a trip that will forever be in our memories and our hearts. after all, isn’t life about making memories and spending time with the ones we love?

i hope this post inspires you to travel to a new place, go on a new adventure, fly away to some place you’ve been dreaming of.

i’ll leave you with this advice from a tree. i couldn’t have said it better.

much love, Shawnee