Why Galentine's Day is Important

"EL TECHO IS LIKE THE FBOY YOU'VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE....

...that makes you wait forever, and as soon as you walk away, he texts you asking you to come back." We died laughing. Untentionally all dressed in dark shades with heels and boots, we walked from El Techo rooftop bar to Limon Rotisserie about two blocks away. 

The Galentine's Day game plan was dinner at El Techo, but after almost an hour and a half waiting for a text that read "your table is ready", we decided to move on to the next restaurant. A wait for a roof top view didn't seem as important as finally sitting down to eat, so like any fboy in our lives, we said on to the next. Luckily, we didn't come short of good food, good company or good conversation. This was our 2nd annual Galentine's Day celebration and we can count on this to be an annual thing.

Reasons to Celebrate

If you aren't already convinced, here's a few of our favorite reasons to start that group chat already, and start penciling it in annually:

“What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, Leslie Knope and her lady friends leave their husbands and their boyfriends at home and just kick it breakfast style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus, frittatas!”

— Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation

1. GET YOUR LADIES IN FORMATION

Galentine's Day is a holiday made popular through an episode of Parks and Recreation and preached by main character, Leslie Knope (my spirit animal). It's no surprise that it became something people really celebrated! You can search it on Pinterest; brunch party inspiration and cute free printables pop up immediately. With as much girl hate that goes on in this world, it's about time we found a way to celebrate our female friendships. If significant others get one hallmark day in the year to shower you with love, so should your females. So reason #1 is that simple: get together because it's ladies celebrating ladies.

Remember, like Valentine's Day, your love and appreciation for them should not only be celebrated once a year. Find ways throughout the year to show appreciation for your female friendships. Even texts, written notes or small personal gestures and favors go a long way. 

2. #Nofilter talk

There's just some things you can't talk about around guys, because bluntly, they don't understand. So if you want to whine with wine, bitch about body parts or just have a vent session about any topic that just doesn't interest the males in your life, now's the time. Take it and run with it cause your girl gang is all ears.

3. THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Galentine's Day is a perfect time to try something new! Do something out of the ordinary. This makes for both: great memories and photos. Last year, we saw 50 Shades of Grey when it was released and drank fishbowl cocktails until we couldn't anymore. This year we went to modern Peruvian restaurant, Limon Rotissierie for a family style dinner.

A few quick ideas for your next Galentine's Day

• take a class | Paint Nite, cooking, dance, terrarium making, etc.

• get outside | Go on a hike or have a picnic in the park

• over food | Host a brunch party, straight Parks and Recreation style: girl talk over waffles. Or easily, try a new restaurant you've never been to before. You can never go wrong with this, especially if it's brunch, or anything else that involves wine or mimosas.

#TBT Galentine's Dinner 2015 with the fishbowl cocktails

4. REMEMBER WHEN...

In between the bites and sips, our girl gang couldn't stop laughing about everything from our last Galentine's Day memories to recalling other shenanigans that happened the other calendar months in between. Always thinking back on your past times together will make you realize how far you've come in your friendship, and will motivate you to have more fun times together in the future. 

5. empowering your girl gang

On our way to Limon, someone on the street called us a "girl gang". Damn right. But the only violence these ladies are doing is killing it in their careers. It's nice to surround yourself with others that empower you. Individually, our work ethic is on point, we pursue our passions and we keep ourselves put together. As a whole, we're supportive of one another's successes, as every group of gal pals should be, even if we don't get to see each other regularly. 

Celebrate the successes each of you experience, big and small. If someone adopted a puppy, or finished a home improvement project...cheers to that. If someone got a raise, promotion or new job...cheers to that. Graduated?...cheers to that! Everyone has got their own goals and there is always something to celebrate. It's all about having supportive people in your life that are there for you, every peak and valley of life. That means you also GENUINELY being happy for them in return and always supporting them in all their endeavors. Being a good friend is not much of a secret, but that's how you keep the good ones close. 

source: buzzfeed

So in short: genuinely love your gal pals, have fun with them and support one another along the way. Make time to show them your love and appreciation, especially when this holiday rolls around in February.

Valentine's Day Getaway at Chico Bungalow

We love living in San Francisco, but life goes by quick here, and sometimes it's really easy to lose touch with what really matters. Our goal was to pick a quieter town without crowds to set some time away for ourselves. Oh, and it had to be furry pal-friendly. There's no way we wanted to leave our pups behind! 

Yoshi loving the car ride to Chico.

I absolutely love booking a stay through Airbnb. My favorite part about it? The unique experiences that come with some of the places you can book. To name a few, I'm eyeing a tree house and a Joshua Tree desert home to try out sometime in the future! If you are looking for a unique stay, give them a shot. They have locations you can reserve all over the world! This time around, we found a cozy vineyard bungalow in Chico, CA and it was a perfect fit.

The kitchen was clean and fully equipped! *heart eyes*

We arrived to find a clean guest house that looked just as pretty as the pictures. The two of us spent the entire weekend cooking our meals from scratch, watching NBA All-Star weekend, and taking our dogs on walks. It was so simple, but exactly what was needed to find us again back at our core.

Pizza dough made from scratch. I will never take advantage of pizza delivery again. 

Two of the goats on Robyn and Larry's property.

While there, our pups got to run around freely, and made friends with Robyn's two dogs Lily and Katie. Robyn, one of our hosts, showed us all the vegetation they grew on their property, gave us some lemons picked from the tree and even let us feed their goats! Before leaving, we explored Chico a little more, and took the dogs to a nearby park for one last walk.

The same way people escape to the city for Valentine's Day, we escaped from the city. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself (and your other half) is take yourself out of the day-to-day routine for a new adventure. It doesn't have to be over the top, and it doesn't have to be too far from home...just go somewhere new with people you love. Thanks to our super hosts, Robyn and Larry for helping us find a home away from home.

Yoshi and Socks. We too, expectantly landed ourselves into the non-traditional San Francisco dog family and don't ever regret it.

If flowers are ever involved, red roses have always been our tradition.

Find Your Roots at the Mission Murals

A little wobbly after a few mimosas, brunch and solid heart-to-heart, we walked down Valencia Street aimlessly. That's when the Clarion Alley caught my eye: the entire thing curated with beautiful murals. I've passed it once of twice before, but it was the first time we took a closer look.

Of course, I easily gravitated toward the desert-inspired piece as all things inspired by the outdoors. Anjuli is both filipina and indian, so this was an ode to her roots, and little did I know I'd find my own too.

We peered back at the opposite wall, and that's when we found this curated right next to the desert-inspired mural. 

The word "bahay" (meaning home in tagalog) caught my attention, and I took a photo with it knowing it had to do with my culture. It wasn't until I got home, when I deeply interpreted what the mural reflected.

Filipino History in San Francisco and the Mural

In the SOMA district, the International hotel was a place where filipino immigrants settled in San Francisco during the 1920's. Most of which, were bachelors and this included my grandfather, Santos "Pete" De Pedro. It was located in a community of affordable housing units called Manilatown. In the 1970's, the International Hotel was one of the last buildings to be demolished in the area due to Urban Renewal and bringing BART into the city as white collar jobs made their way into the Financial District. The filipino community did not go down without a fight, but the building did get demolished. (read the history here) 

It is a story of resilience, and reflects a comparable struggle of gentrification we still feel today. I give you context not as a history lesson, but to bring light to how we can learn from this. How many different communities have left their footprints in the roots of the ever-changing city, even if their buildings no longer stand? We need to learn from these stories to help us know how to survive and overcome the struggles we may face.

San Francisco is a city of change; constantly growing and redeveloping. Week to week, we see the city unfold into something new. It was a reminder that we are not the first generation or community to feel uprooted from our homes here in the San Francisco. We build from what we know, and what we are taught from the stories that come before us.

THE ROOT OF THE LESSON (YEAH, PUN INTENDED)

Although you may not be looking for it, this city always has something to teach you. When you open yourself to explore every turn of the city, every nook, you'll be surprised what you can discover. You may learn a little more about yourself, and your roots in the most unexpected places.