Five Things

Posted on January 7, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hey y’all!

Anyone else feeling those January blues that tend to set in after all the holidays? I sure am. It’s in that sigh when you inevitably have to go back to work. It’s in the ritual of bundling up before you go outside: hat, check; gloves, check; scarf, check. It’s hard to get into January, quite frankly. Which is why you need your good friends around to tell you you’re not crazy, and to help you unwind with the occasional cocktail. Which brings me to the very first of my “Five Things” of the week.

(Like that segue? I like to pretend I’m smooth sometimes.)

I give you: Karl the Fog. A coffee-based cocktail from Bluestem Brasserie in San Francisco. I highly recommend them the next time you find yourself in need of some refuge in the midst of all the downtown SF craziness.

I finally took my Christmas tree down yesterday, but I wanted to share my newest ornament with you, dear readers. Yes, it’s a lemon wedge. It was a gift from a friend of mine, who told me I always had the ability to make life’s lemons into lemonade. It was a sparkling nod to optimism, this silly lemon.

I know it’s not yet Thursday, but this is a throwback to the evening when my friend Kelsey and I rang in 2013. I had a lot of change in store for me, but I didn’t know it yet!

I admittedly like to take photos during the odd moment of calm in the office. Yes, it’s a cliché Starbucks cup shot! And no, that’s not how you spell my name. But, I did get a row of new little gold Bowzer spikes from the fabulous Marrin Costello!

Doesn’t every good family dinner end with a large bottle of the latest pre-mixed cocktail brought to you by a famous rapper? Well, mine did. A family member works for a local liquor distribution/production company, and happens to be friends with E-40. Who knew? The best part of the evening was watching his wife cajole us with lines from “My Shit Bang.” I love these people.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

EVA♥

Oh, Hello 2015

Posted on January 4, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Wait, but, seriously…what day is it?

I ask this because the last few (or rather the first few of the year) have been a total blur. Admittedly, I still have that holiday feeling going on in my little apartment. Yes, tree, Christmas lights and all. My last week of December was quite work-filled and while I did quite a bit of shopping, I didn’t manage to get it together enough to by a 2015 calendar. So I still have last year’s hanging on my wall, turned to December, so you could see how this could be confusing.

Ringing in this new year’s was a success, I must say. I always say that I pretty much only need two things to make an evening successful: good food, and good company. I had both. My friend Kelsey decided to come up from Santa Barbara for an impromptu visit, and we decided to celebrate in style with my friend Courtney. This of course translates to applying lots of glittery eye makeup and watching “Magic Mike” whilst eating tacos. (There may or may not have been a “Magic Mike” drinking game involved. Rules: drink every time you see gyrating, and so on…)

Photo c/o Kelsey Tinkham

Our neighborhood bar and taqueria, pre-new-year’s-eve festivities. I’ve discovered the fried chicken taco everyone. Amazing!

It turns out that, out of all my friends, I’m one of the only ones who isn’t afraid of opening a bottle of bubbly. It’s one of my favorite things, actually. I managed to shoot the cork from this bottle of cava across the room! Please also note that while I was inept at taking pictures of my outfit this particular evening, I was, in fact, wearing hot pink pants and my most amazing new shoes.

Photo c/o Kelsey Tinkham

We went out all dressed in black. Like a band. A really classy one. That frequents wine bars.

Post-new year’s countdown. We went home that evening covered in streamers/silly string.

The next morning we did as all good San Franciscans do and spent some time in Dolores Park ringing in the new year with mimosas. I had a hard time keeping up with the conversation, as there were so many adorable dogs running around the park that afternoon. Also, in true San Francisco fashion, there was a rather large drone flying in circles around the park, enjoying its time interrupting people with its loud, mosquito-like whirring. The joys of technology.

Of course, regardless of it being almost 40-degree weather, we trucked over to Bi-Rite for some ice cream as the sun was setting. While I was tempted by the seasonal candy cane flavor, I could no longer feel my feet and figured that ice cream would be counterproductive to the whole staying-warm thing. Look at me! Adulting my way into the new year.

Happy New Year!

EVA♥

One Tree, Many Santas

Posted on December 15, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

For those of you who are not familiar with San Francisco traditions, this last weekend was the famed Santa Con, a day in which everyone dresses up in Santa regalia and bands together for a city-wide pub crawl. Now, while I did not participate, but I did have friends visiting from out of town who absolutely had to see the crowds of mischievous Santas for themselves.

Of course, we had to visit the big, bedazzled tree in Union Square.

Photo c/o Rachel Suzanne

Although we anticipated only catching the very end of Santa Con, we wandered into a bar and lo and behold: all the Santas. And, there weren’t just Santas- there was also a Grinch and a few very festive snowmen. Even better, they were all mid-song when we found them, crowded into the small bar, bellowing out Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Of course, I took a “stealthy” over-the-shoulder selfie to document the moment:

In a nutshell, my Saturday night was a little something like this:

And then we went to the Cheesecake Factory.

No, seriously…we did.

EVA♥

Oops, I’m in Arizona

Posted on December 9, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

I hope I’m finding you well this lovely Tuesday.

Despite the title of today’s blog, I’ve actually just gotten back at home to the state of California. But I sure was in Arizona five minutes ago…

I was visiting this lady, Emily; one of my college roommates and good friend who always lets me crash on her couch/air bed/army cot…?

It was a trip of many firsts: the first awkward bathroom-selfie, the first time I tasted a Bloody Mary, the first time I ate a habañero pepper, and the first time I played cornhole. Luckily, I have photographic evidence to verify that I did, indeed, do all these things!

See! Cornhole! Considering my hand-eye coordination is horrible, I didn’t play too badly. Don’t worry, you’ll get to see my reaction to the habañero pepper I ate later…

I flew in to the Phoenix area for a whirlwind trip over the weekend. It’s been many years since I’ve been back, and it was lovely to see it through new eyes.

We hit the ground running with plans to have dinner and drinks at the new Yard Tempe. The brainchild of Culinary Dropout, it already had a stellar reputation, despite the fact that it had yet to officially open. Of course, our group didn’t know this as we clambered out of our Uber SUV, walked into the restaurant, and casually asked to be seated. We were informed that it was, in fact, the soft opening, and that they were only accepting reservations. Not at all dismayed, we started to make our way to the bar, only to be intercepted by the hostess, who indeed turned out to have a table for six.

Then…things got interesting.

We were handed the menus and informed that we could choose a number of cocktails and antipasti, an entrée apiece, and multiple desserts to share- all on the house. The blurry photo you see above is the result of our damage done over a few hours of dining: $0.00. We had an amazing time, and a very sweet waitress (whom we tipped heftily). We couldn’t figure out what was more astonishing: the fact that our bill was entirely comped, or the fact that we inadvertently crashed an invite-only opening night party. Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

Has anything like this happened to you, dear readers? It was certainly a first for me!

As always, more adventures later.

EVA♥

A Week in Photos

Posted on November 24, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since Watch Me Juggle has seen me- I’ve had the craziest week of all this last week. I’m the absolute worst at saying ‘no’ to projects, so almost every day has been substitute teaching during the day, and picking up extra ballet classes to teach at night. That’s almost 12 continuous hours of standing/running around to the tune of “Miss Eva! Miss Eva! MISS EVA!” It’s really rewarding work, but I’m honestly proud of myself that I got through it. It’s not easy, by any means. Working in public schools has really renewed my appreciation for teaching dance. As much as I love working with the kids in the local schools, it’s truly my goal to be able to throw myself entirely into dance- whether that be running a company or a school, or teaching. It was something I dreamed of doing as a kid, and being able to be creative on a daily basis is truly a blessing.

Oh…and I also got another new job, that happened as well.

cue the bad juggling

Just throw all the balls into the air, and keep them there. That’s apparently my M.O.

Here are some snapshots from my week:

Let’s all just take a moment to appreciate these lemon ricotta pancakes. Wow! I only made it about half-way through these.

On Friday, I had a little time for yoga in the park with the kindergarteners I was teaching for the week. We weren’t sure if we would be able to do it, given the recent weather’s propensity for downpours, but the sun came out just in time. It was wonderful to see them all jump into something new, and like it. I had an amazing brunch the other day with a long-lost girlfriend of mine, and I think we have many standing blow-out appointments in our future together. Despite my crazy week, I also managed to make it out to Hawthorn in San Francisco for cocktails. And, by cocktails I mean reliving my college days by taking shots of tequila. I (embarrassingly enough) spent most of my Saturday shopping, and was in desperate need of a red bull by the end of the day. The trick is just to not sit down! Poof! Instant energy!

Anyway, I can’t say enough amazing things about the supportive people in my life. It’s so heartening to know that I have wonderful people who will back me up, under any circumstances. When things get overwhelming, as they can do sometimes when you have three jobs, it’s important to be able to accept a helping hand. It’s also equally important to “pay it forward,” when the opportunity presents itself. I’m a firm believer in an honest, kind word. I know how those simple things can perk up my day, so I try to keep it moving full-circle.

Now that the craziness has died down, I’m hoping to be back on my regular posting schedule, and have many fun things planned in the upcoming weeks to share. Here’s to adventures, and more adventures!

Hope this finds you well, dear readers.

EVA♥

Five Things

Posted on November 13, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Congratulations are in order- we’ve made it halfway through the week! Although, some of you have been lucky enough to have a long weekend in honor of Veteran’s Day, so your week may just be starting. I, for one, am jealous, but also can’t complain because I’ve already enjoyed the random weekday off.

This weeks Five Things features quite a lot of coffee- I didn’t intend it that way, but there you have it…

I enjoyed one of the best mocha’s I’ve ever had at the popular Jane Cafe on Fillmore st. on Sunday. I’ve never had marshmallows in my coffee before, but it’s a brilliant idea!

It was my fabulous friend Sarah’s birthday recently, so we’ve made plans to have a girls’ weekend in the near future to celebrate. Stayed tuned, as you’ll undoubtedly see this on the blog soon! Also, please forgive my thumb in the frame. Selfies are harder than they seem.

Here’s a little throwback to last year’s Thanksgiving festivities. Our resident baby, Ewan was busy being adorable, so it’s only a natural response to want to eat him, which you can clearly see. I’m so looking forward to spending some time in San Luis Obispo this year for the holidays.

Oh look! More coffee! Did you know that our local artisan coffee roasters Blue Bottle have a book out? I certainly didn’t.

I give you: the Corpse Reviver from Sens San Francisco. I ended the last week with a much needed cocktail with friends. How they get their logo on the egg white foam of this drink, I’ll never know.

Hope you’re doing well, dear readers. See you again for next week’s Five Things!

EVA♥

Post-Halloween Post

Posted on November 3, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

I’m baaaack! 🙂

If you haven’t guessed as much, today’s post is an official Halloween recap. It’s technically the final post of Blogtober ’14- how I will miss you! I know it’s already November, and that there’s the unspoken rule that all talk of holidays has to immediately cease once said holiday has passed. It’s already Christmas at Starbucks….need I say more? Always on to the next best thing. But first, let me share all of my ridiculous Halloween photos with you. Bonus points to you if you can figure out what our fabulous theme-costume was! Hint: We are not witches/fairies/anything from Frozen.

We found a rubber snake on the dance floor. And also found 800 ways to pose with said rubber snake.

Big shout out to fabulous photographer-friend Rachel. She kindly shared all the good pictures with me.

Some of my favorite gals and I went to the Starlight Room in San Francisco for their annual Halloween party. One of favorite parts of the night, aside from the dancing, had to be the amazing view. 21 stories above Union Square, we made some new Australian friends, got some free cocktails, and gawked at all the ridiculous costumes. (My favorite was possibly the person who decided to dress as a tornado.)

Before Friday I had a variety of costume ideas swimming around in my head, but at the very last minute, I decided to go as a part of the four seasons. My friends still needed someone to be Spring, and I luckily already owned a fabulous crown of flowers to stick on my head. While our costumes were quite thrown together, they turned out really well, if I may say so myself! My girlfriends are a creative bunch. Meanwhile, I, while attempting to be crafty, managed to hot glue myself into my costume while wearing it. I did not think this through and am not the best when it comes to crafts, clearly. Seeing as I had absolutely no idea as to what I was going to wear two days prior to Halloween, I’m happy with the way things turned out. I loved running around with my little green bustle flowing out behind me and felt a bit like a superhero.

Despite having to call it a night relatively early, I had such a nice time and even managed to fill my purse up with candy for the road.

Treats all around.

EVA♥

Halloween circa 2008

Posted on October 10, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Here’s a little belated #TBT for you!

Halloween is coming up, and is frequently the topic of discussion between myself and my students. (“I’m gonna be a dead race car driver!” Creative.) I sometimes make a point of telling them that Halloween is not quite the same when you’re an adult. The emphasis is less on your fantastic costume, and more on how to get the more belligerent trick-or-treaters to stop doorbell-ditching your house.Yes, I’m slowly turning into the “Get off my lawn!” woman. Sure, some of my more festive friends host little parties, usually involving pumpkin carving or a horror film screening, but that’s about it. While I lament this “aging-out” of Halloween fun, I’m totally satisfied knowing that there once was I time where I celebrated Halloween in the most ridiculous manner conceivable.

As some of you might already know, I went to college in Santa Barbara, which also happens to be land of the week-long Halloween. This is not an exaggeration. Every year, thousands of college students would make the pilgrimage to Isla Vista, and fill the flood light-lined streets. It was a whole weekend of mayhem- streets were closed and mounted police invaded our beachside town to corral the mob of costumed students. Speaking of costumes, you were some sort of loser if you didn’t have at least three different costumes lined up. Case in point, the below photos are all from a single Halloween my senior year.

I was an 80’s rockstar, who, by the end of the night looked like Alice Cooper, as we all got caught in a surprise downpour and my mascara ran down my face, leaving black tracks.

A pirate, a rag doll, and myself, alongside the Powerpuff Girls. Oh, and a grown man dressed as a crayon in the background.

Walking down Del Playa Dr. One of the main streets in Isla Vista.

I was also Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, which was possibly the most comfortable costume ever! My version of Lara Croft wears Uggs, okay.

My roommate Maren and I made quite the team; she went as Indian Jones. I brandished my two-dimensional guns, and she discovered the lamp in our living room…so many adventures.

Photos c/o Maren Masterson & Jessica Rodriguez. Hi ladies!

We always managed to host a new group of friends in our living room every year. It’s not everyday you come back from class and have to step over five people to get to your room! Costumes not pictured that I wore the same year are: Mango, the Chris Kattan inspired exotic dancer from SNL, “Super Gaucho” our school mascot, and a fairy, specifically for ballet class the day of Halloween proper. A total of five, altogether.

After that, it’s hard to find anything that lives up to the Halloween memories of my college years. No matter how spectacular your costume is, it’s just one costume. And you might be surrounded by friends, but not all of them want to sleep on the floor of your living room, or want to take twenty deliberately embarrassing photos to post to Facebook. Those were the good, uncomplicated days. There’s a lot of things that I miss about them. Gaucho ’til I die.

EVA♥

Life Lately

Posted on September 22, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone,

Today is the first official day of Fall! We’re obviously horribly spoiled here in California, because rather than the autumn chill I expected this morning, things are typical: 70 degrees and sunny. The grass is always greener I suppose, because I’m dying to pull out all my soft, over-sized sweaters and boots. We may not have the traditional autumns here, with only a few turning leaves, but I’m looking forward to a little much-needed rain and chill.

A weekday morning hike in Tilden Park filled with beautiful views.

Shrimp on my pizza at Jupiter in Berkeley.

Nighttime sight-seeing on the Cal campus with family.

Hers & His at Capone’s Speakeasy in Alameda.

Photo c/o Patrick Baron. I mean…c’mon, I wish my camera was this nice!

Beautiful chandeliers at Capone’s.

I feel as if I’ve been rather quiet on the blog front lately, and that’s primarily due to the fact that both my phone and my computer are on their last legs. I awoke this morning to a cryptic message that my iPhone storage was just about at capacity, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only blogger and 20-something in existence that still uses an HP laptop circa 2008. No exaggeration; my battery is so shot that I’m constantly chained to the outlet with a frayed cord that looks slightly like a fire hazard. It’s definitely time to upgrade.

In other news, I’ve been attempting to find that “work/life balance” everyone’s always talking about. When I’m not working much, all I want to do is work, and vice versa. I’m still jumping through hoops trying to get myself into teaching at the local public schools; I look forward to the day when I can write about my first day and my experiences there. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to be out and about, but in a different way. Not so much “cocktailing and sample sale-ing,” but more family dinners and calm walks with friends. This is, of course, not to say that I’ve removed myself from the local nightlife completely. I recently visited the long-anticipated new speakeasy, which, despite some of the not so stellar things I’ve heard, was a pleasant surprise! It gets the requisite bonus points for being walking distance from home. I’m attempting to become more of a homebody into the fall and winter, so this is the closest I’m going to get. That and visiting other people’s’ homes. Good food, good company, as I oft say.

Happy Autumn!

EVA♥

Five Things

Posted on August 13, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

We’re officially half-way through the week and still alive, so give yourself a great big pat on the back! This week, I’ve developed the rather unhealthy bedtime habit of changing into sweats, turning on the tv, and subsequently watching Youtube beauty videos on my phone until I completely lose consciousness. My life is clearly very glamorous. Remember the concept of “blackout” that I once wrote about? I think now might be a good time to instate it. I promise one day I will, but for now, enjoy this week’s Five Things- courtesy of a few blackout free nights.

I enjoyed my beautiful birthday flowers so much this last week. These Stargazer lilies from Trader Joe’s made my apartment smell so amazing. Better than any candle I could have burned.

I’m rather a rare breed in that I’m a dancer who rejoices (maybe sometimes too frequently) in the occasional cheeseburger. Ok, make that a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake. My absolute favorite as of late is Super Duper Burger in San Francisco. It’s comfort food at it’s finest, in my humble opinion. While it may not be the healthiest option, I do feel like I’m not eating anything overly processed or frighteningly manufactured. They’re house-made pickles are also some of the best I’ve ever had, and I often end up eating several of them as a makeshift appetizer while waiting for my meal.

I came across this amazing clip of the famous Nederlands Dans Theater while perusing Youtube the other day. While I had the privilege of seeing them perform live a few years ago, I have to say that I find the most beauty in the studio work that dancers do. I love how this video is essentially a collage of that work, showcasing the intensity and evolution of the pieces we come to enjoy on stage.

Along with a few birthday festivities came a Saturday night out on the town, complete with dancing of course. My favorite spot of the night had to be a relatively no frills bar in San Francisco, that is, of course, if you happened to miss the staggering amount of disco balls on the ceiling.

and, lastly…

How Y’all, Youse, and You Guys Talk.

A good friend of mine introduced me to this fantastic dialect quiz courtesy of the New York Times. Quite a few of us took it at the most recent family dinner, and had some fun comparing our results. Essentially, it analyzes your everyday idioms and pronunciation to predict where you’re initially from in the United States. It’s incredibly accurate, for the most part. According to this quiz, I was either originally from Fremont, San Jose, or Corona, California. I guess it picked up on my stint of living in Southern California!

EVA♥

*cue the bad juggling*

cue the bad juggling