I’m sort of on a women-entrepreneuers-rule kick—you must read this, by the way!—so it’s only fitting that today’s 7 Questions With highlights a female business owner who combines a creative passion with self-employed power. Katarzyna Rosales’ line, Simply Kasia, is a San Diego-based jewelry collection of delicate, handmade necklaces, bracelets, rings, and more. This ring is one of my favorites!
Today Kasia (for short) talks about no-breakfast breakfasts and that butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling…among others thing:
The fact that Mexico is just 20 miles from San Diego still boggles this former East Coaster’s mind. And the fact that you can just walk across the border? Insane! I’m getting to know our neighboring country more now that I live in San Diego, since before I moved out West in 2013, I had never even been to Mexico! For shame.
But as much as I like exploring on my own, I wanted some guidance for this new-to-me Baja world, a tour that didn’t reek “follow the flag” and “this way please,” but something that felt more hip and modern. My search led me to Club Tengo Hambre, a roving supper club started by a collective of bloggers based in both San Diego and Los Angeles. Their trips focus on dining and drinking in Tijuana, Ensenada, Valle De Guadalupe, and now Mexico City, and they bring a wealth of knowledge with them. For example, our guide, CTH co-founder Antonio, grew up on both sides of the border and had been to many of the spots on our trip.
My friend, Lauren, and I went on their Tijuana Tacos + Craft Beer tour last weekend and had so much fun pushing our taco boundaries (i.e. a manta ray, tuna fun, and blood sausage version) and getting a feel for the high-low food options and emerging craft beer scene.
I’m still recovering from such a fun and busy weekend with friends that started with dinner at the great Venga Venga restaurant in Chula Vista, followed by a taco and craft beer tour in Tijuana and the re-opening grand party for Local Habit in Hillcrest, and ended with a day trip to Julian for some apple pie and hard cider tastings that somehow led us to crash a stranger’s birthday weekend at a Julian cabin. I’m exhausted but nostalgic just thinking about it.
Come back Wednesday for a full recap of the taco tour!
One of my earliest neighborhood guides for this blog focused on Adams Avenue, the main drag in Normal Heights that lays claim to “Antique Row,” as well as cafes, bookstores, and mom-and-pop shops. That was then, and this—a more in-depth and updated guide to Normal Heights for the latest issue of San Diego Magazine—is now. The area is a quiet, almost snoozy neighborhood, filled mostly with cottage homes and families, yet somehow also includes some of the city’s trendiest dining and drinking spots, like Polite Provisions and Sycamore Den. It’s a wonderful place for somebody with the conflicting personas of homebody and foodie explorer like me.
You can read the full feature here, which includes info about a new gourmet deli concept and a fun craft and cocktails event going down at the end of April.
Today I start a temporary and part-time editor position at San Diego Magazine, filling in for one of the staffers who’s headed out on maternity leave. I’m all for the change of pace, but I’m less enthused about packing my lunch. Freelancing and working from home had allowed me to make lunches on the fly—whether it’s a just-mixed salad or freshly pressed panini. Now my meals have to be a little more portable, but I’m up for the challenge. After all, I’m a planner by nature.
I’ve rounded up six to-go lunch ideas, all of which are vegetarian, because that’s how I roll when I cook for myself:
My spring is full of visits from my East Coast- and Midwest-residing friends, who’ve been plagued by a horrible winter. My mission is to fill all their vacation time with sun and outdoor activities. On Friday, I took my friends visiting from chilly Chicago to Fairweather, a second-floor bar above Rare Form in the East Village that specializes in tropical drinks. They also make the best mocktails I’ve ever had.
Today marks the first day of spring, a new moon, a supermoon (when the moon is closest to Earth), the South Indian new year, and Persian new year. To top it off, early this morning, certain parts of the world were treated to a solar eclipse. People living in northwest Africa, most of Europe, and northern Asia saw a partial version, while those living in some of the northern stretches of Europe—think the Faroe Islands—saw the eclipse in its full glory. (The next time a spring equinox aligns with an eclipse will be 2034!)
So I’d say those are more than enough reasons to welcome change. And my spring is full of change/renewal.
In addition to the recent blog makeover and my and Eaman’s nine-year (WHAT!) dating anniversary coming up, in about a week, I’ll be starting a part-time editor gig at San Diego Magazine, filling in for one of their editors who’ll be going on maternity leave. (You may remember that I did a similar stint last year for a different editor there.) It’ll be a big change to relinquish my flexible freelancing schedule, which involves everything from mid-day yoga to grocery shopping on a Tuesday at 10 a.m., but freelancing is also incredibly hard and exhausting. Many who do it will tell you it’s virtually impossible to survive on freelancing alone. And in January I accepted the reality that a side gig was crucial for both my bills and my sanity. (Luckily, I had this editor gig already lined up.) This part-time work is going to give me some much-needed stability and will be such a good break from working at home. Maybe I can finally feel like there’s a division between work and home? Probably not, as I’ll continue to moonlight as a freelancer, but it’ll help!
I also turn 30 in a few weeks. I can’t really believe it, not because I’m hung up on the number, but because I feel like such a kid still. Sure, I have the responsibilities of rent, a car, self-employment, and other grown-up tasks, but sometimes I feel like Eaman, Teddy, and I are all just playing house in this little San Diego apartment. Maybe it stems from going backpacking for a year and then starting fresh with a new job and in a new city; it’s like the experience added a few more years to my 20’s. That said, who says you can’t be a kid in your 30’s anyway?! I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on the new decade when the time comes, but for now, I hope you all can take a few minutes today to think about what this new season brings—hopefully warmer weather for my friends on the East Coast and in the Midwest—and what you’d like to see change.
And if you’re in San Diego, I can’t think of a better place to welcome spring than in Balboa Park (above). Happy Friday!
