Monthly Archives: March 2013

Life

video recap: march 2013

March 29, 2013

In this month’s installment, we tour a weekend festival in Balboa Park, paint furniture, chill out at our current favorite beach (Windansea), practice yoga headstands on the sand, get fancy at a Fashion San Diego party at the W Hotel, hike the Climbers Loop Trail in Mission Trails Regional Park, visit L.A. for a West Elm event, set up our haft-seen for Persian New Year, get very excited to shop for a necessity — leggings to replace some ripped ones — since I’m on a bit of a self-imposed shopping hiatus and dancing the night away at the Persian celebration known as Chaharshanbe Suri.

And just to let you know, I don’t think it’s that weird to chop onions with swimming goggles on. (I’m really sensitive to the vapors!) But I guess it might be weird to do so while you’re in your PJs and you have a towel wrapped around your wet hair. See, it ain’t all glamorous.

Click ahead to watch.

read more

around san diego - San Diego eats + drinks

balboa international market

March 27, 2013

Given his Persian roots, naturally one of the first questions Eaman asked upon arriving in San Diego was, “Where can we get a decent kabob around here?” It’s a tough one to answer because despite a fairly large Iranian population, San Diego can’t lay claim to as many great Persian food options as you’d think. Iranians give most of the restaurants lukewarm reviews, and the food is regarded as average at best. (One that gets a lot of recognition is Bandar. We haven’t been yet, but if we asked where to find the most expensive kabob, Bandar would surely be the answer.)

That said, if you don’t have a Persian mother who serves up some of the best asheh reshteh and fesenjoon you’ve ever tasted, I’m sure you’ll be as happy as I was at Balboa International Market. Last week for Persian New Year, we checked out the part-Middle Eastern/Indian grocery store, part-fast-food joint, where we ordered the lamb koobideh (a ground lamb kabob) and boneless chicken kabob plates, both of which came with a roasted tomato, mound of rice, lavash bread and side salad. (The salad is a nod to Western customers because it’s definitely not traditional.) The quality of meat was great — tender, juicy and well-marinated — and I definitely went to town on the sumac, a spice gingerly sprinkled on the rice. In my case, it was shoveled on top. I really can’t get enough.

Despite what my lace top might imply, it’s certainly not a fancy place, but for the price, taste and quality, Balboa Market is your best bet for Persian food, even according to an native son like Eaman. (Oh, and they make fresh noon barbari, a traditional oven-baked flatbread, too!)

read more

Design + Interiors

it’s all in the details

March 25, 2013

One of my favorite things about living in San Diego is being surrounded by stunning real estate porn and Spanish-style architecture. (I’ve coveted a dreamy Spanish-style roof since I was a wee girl.) Yes, we live in a residential area named Hillcrest, but it’s the exact opposite of cookie-cutter suburb. Each house is so different and full of character that every time I pass one, I notice a new and interesting detail. Some have blooming gardens. Others have eye-catching patterns. Some embrace bright colors and others feel like the stuff of fairy tales.

Since I work from home (in a far less glamorous small-scale apartment building), I take my fair share of walks around the ‘hood to get some air. One day I decided to take my camera with me, and here’s what I saw…

read more

Creative Profiles

my rituals: rhiannon marquis of fashion week san diego

March 22, 2013

I met Rhiannon Marquis last month at a networking event and it wasn’t long before I realized this was my kind of girl. Of all the things she pointed out upon reading this blog, she told me that Cravory cookies, Clueless and farmer’s/flea markets were three (or I guess four) of her favorite things in life. Are we well-matched or what?

She’s spent time in both Hawaii and Orange County, but this born-and-bred San Diegan calls SD home. She studied film at Cal State Long Beach but went on to work in the wireless industry for 10 years before landing her dream gig: marketing and sales for Fashion Week San Diego and APA Consulting. “The best part is that every day we’re helping someone else achieve their dreams, whether it’s helping an emerging designer launch their career or a small business owner achieve success,” she says.

Today, Rhiannon tells us about wanting to direct music videos and jamming to Hawaiian music in her car. Let’s see what that’s all about…

read more

around san diego

neighborhood watch: university heights + normal heights

March 20, 2013

In an effort to get to know my city better, I’ve started venturing to different neighborhoods where I spend hours (literally) in checking out stores, talking to local business owners and trying new food. I must annoy my friends and boyfriend enough — making them wait to eat until I photograph their food, asking them to move out of a shot or filming them for my videos — so I also figured this would be a way to give them a break. It gave me some alone time, too.

Truth be told, I love shopping alone and actually hate shopping with company. Anxious thoughts run through my mind: Am I holding them up? Are they bored? I’ll come back and spend more time in this shop later. Sometimes, a girl wants to spend 2 hours in one shop and 5 minutes in another. Am I alone here?

Anywho, I knew where I wanted to go first: Adams Avenue. We’ve driven down this street in University Heights/Normal Heights/North Park/Kensington (the neighborhood boundaries change as you go east and are in turn, hotly debated) a few times but there are so many small local shops that I told myself a by-foot exploration was in order. San Diego neighborhood divisions aren’t as drastic as they are in, say, New York, but each ‘hood does have a slightly different flavor. Adams Avenue, also dubbed Antique Row for its handful of vintage shops, feels like Old Town, U.S.A. One store owner told me that people liken it to what Greenwich Village was back in the day. Most businesses are mom-and-pop operations, traffic is virtually non-existent and bikes are a popular mode of transportation. In the last few years, the area has witnessed an influx of noteworthy shops and a burgeoning food scene. It’s no surprise that it’s becoming a new favorite.

Let’s take a stroll down Adams, shall we?

read more

around san diego

the weekend at a glance

March 18, 2013

I didn’t know if it was possible just two months into a new life in a new city, but this past weekend felt like the first normal weekend in a long time. Even though I’m still making weekly Target trips for apartment essentials and despite spending a good chunk of the weekend painting furniture in our still-incomplete apartment, I finally felt rooted. It’s a feeling I missed a lot while backpacking.

Until now, I had felt like I was being led around town, trying desperately to take mental notes only to be overwhelmed by how much I didn’t know. But this weekend I felt like I was starting to get the hang of things. I knew a good cafe for a late Friday night. I wanted to go to yoga taught by a great teacher on Sunday morning. And I knew I wanted dedicated girl-time.

Girlfriends: That’s something worth mentioning. I think it’s tough when a couple moves somewhere new where they know so few people; it’s hard to do anything on your own without making the other person feel left behind. But Eaman and I are starting to make friends and able to get in some bro-time and girl-time, respectively. It’s healthy, fun and necessary because he can hear about my eyeliner issues and I can hear about fantasy basketball only so many times.

Here’s what the weekend looked like…

read more

Creative Profiles

my rituals: jessica packard of with love, design

March 15, 2013

I always thought it was total baloney when people said they became friends through Twitter. How do these relationships start? How do you maintain them when Twitter can be such a smorgasbord of people and information? Surely it can’t happen. Well, I’ve been proven wrong, and it’s all thanks to Jessica Packard, an interior designer and blogger based in San Diego.

I first got wind of Jessica and her talents when I stumbled upon her feature on one of my favorite sites, The Everygirl. Three things stood out: She lives in San Diego, has a keen eye for clean design and is from — wait for it — Oklahoma like Eaman! (They even have a mutual friend — crazy!)

In the spirit of being proactive in a new city, I introduced myself to Jessica over Twitter, told her about my blog and asked if she’d be up for a coffee date sometime. Not only was she game, she was also kind enough to meet me on her birthday when she had a day off. Ever since, she’s been a wonderful guide to the San Diego blogging community and a constant source of career inspiration.

Jessica co-owns the interior design company With Love, Design with two college friends — one of whom lives in Dallas and the other in Tulsa — and together they’ve established a collaborative studio that specializes in residential and boutique commercial design, photo shoot styling and events. Jessica also blogs about all things decor over at Oh I Design. Let’s take a look at the rituals that this interior designer calls her own.

read more

Life

celebrating chaharshanbe suri in san diego

March 13, 2013

Shahs of Sunset is about as accurate as Asa’s idea for diamond water is brilliant. That is to say, it is not. But what we can glean from the Bravo series is that there are a heck of a lot of Iranians in California — the second largest population in the U.S. actually. And while Los Angeles — or Tehrangeles, if you will — is the epicenter, San Diego boasts a decent-size community, which now includes Eaman (and me by default). As we approach Persian New Year next week, there are a bunch of events to usher in the upcoming holiday, and last night we kicked things off with Chaharshanbe Suri at NTC Park in Liberty Station.

The holiday, which translates to Wednesday Feast, is celebrated on the last Wednesday of the Persian calendar — a.k.a. the last Wednesday before the start of spring — and represents a cleansing before the new year. The goal is to wash away any negative energy and purify yourself by jumping over a bonfire multiple times, while singing in Farsi, “My sickly yellow paleness is yours, your fiery red color is mine.” It’s a more poetic way of asking for warmth, wellness and a fresh start.

So what did that mean for us on a misty San Diego night?

read more