Chill at Coachella

Coachella with my bellas

Festival life... I'm all about it. When I take time off to go to a festival, I unplug from my day-to-day life and commit to living in the present. I go in with zero expectations, other than to leave with lessons about something new... about myself or the world around me. I treat them like a modern day retreat for my soul. 

Exploring Coachella with Kamp Kawaii

For the most part, Coachella was a blast. Looking at the event from an event planner's point of view, it's a well-curated festival. Coachella is infamous for it's legendary and diverse musical lineup with food vendors that redefine what carnival food should be. It's so well put together, it's earned itself a reputation that "any body that's anybody" must go, and is one of the country's most media-covered and branded music festivals. 

Day two during it's golden hour. It made for perfect sunset vibes and good lighting. 

In the Campground

Every morning, I woke up to beautiful palm trees and desert views, and walked on lush grass that felt good on bare toes. Though we did get some pretty bad wind at night, having a little park ranger background always goes a long way in these circumstances.

One the first day, we woke up and lined up to try the beauty bar, where they styled or braided your hair any way you wanted! The line was pretty long to return to one day two, so we tried doing something else. One of my favorite moments was the detox yoga session I participated in that Saturday morning. It brought me to tears.  

Inside the Festival

As expected, almost every performance had a special guest and the Yuma tent was lit. I wish I spent more time at the Do Lab stage, but I allowed my experience to follow where my group was headed. 

Heading into the festival from camp with Abbie and Nisa.

My festie bestie, my soul sister, Abbie.

Did I make the most of my experience there? Of course, that's what it's all about. Being present. Leaving Coachella, I did gain an appreciation for attending more multi-genre music festivals, and through the lack of, it confirmed my love for festivals with a focus on community and self-growth. Time to revisit my festival bucket list!

Besame Mucho.... or same, much?

Wine Tasting Trip to Napa

Call time to depart for Sonoma: 8:00am at Union Square. 

There was definitely a mandatory Starbucks stop before heading to meet these beautiful ladies. Many of which, I've known since my freshman year at Carondelet High School in Concord, CA. This month, we celebrated another year around the sun for Anjuli, one of my best friends since 2005. Once we got on the bus, we were greeted by cheese plates, fruit, croissants and fresh mimosas to get the morning started. She was so quick to treat us, when it should be the other way around! 

First quick stop was the overlook on the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge for some mandatory photo opps.

The ladies getting in formation with Abe, the best wine tasting host in San Francisco. He is accommodating, hospitable and has quite the sense of humor that compliments your experience just perfectly.

We poppin' champagne like we won a championship game! She had those mimosas ready for us bright and early!

THE WINERIES

We stopped by four wineries throughout the day: Cline Family Cellars, Larson Family Winery, Madonna Estate and Kieu Hoang Winery. 

Cline Family Cellars

The first stop was already a favorite we've visited before,  so it was easily a great start to a day in wine country. Cline Cellars is located in Sonoma, California. It has a beautiful historic property, has been family owned since 1982 and all wines are sustainably farmed. I can only imagine how many weddings and gatherings happen here annually, with a property this nice. 

During the tasting, I learned that an Estate wine is one that is grown and exclusively distributed on the winery's property. Even if the winery sells products in your local city, it won't be the Estate wine. So if you're hoping to bring yourself a bottle, it may be best to grab the Estate wines while you're there visiting.

First stop: Cline Winery. The first lineup of tastings were awaiting us as we arrived.

Larson Family Winery

When we got off the bus, we were greeted by 3 large, sleepy Labradors who were insanely irresistible. Quickly, they stole the show, and everyone almost forgot why we came there. It wasn't long before Anjuli grabbed me by the hand and reminded me to go to the picnic tables for our tasting. Sorry, I'm a sucker for pups!

Once we managed to walk through the store, we saw the three dogs on the label of the "Three Lab Cab". The dog lover inside me died inside...again.

After we spent time enjoying the winery, accompanied by a few games of corn hole and rubbing the dog bellies, we loaded back on the bus. Before we departed, I bought a delicious truffle honey mustard that is so good with pretzels or crackers. Definitely a tipsy-buy, but it was a good pick! No regrets. Also, you must know that the chocolate wine sauce here is a MUST HAVE. I didn't bring one home, but damn, do I regret it. 

The three labs on the bottle are the Larson Family's dogs, who were there to greet us when we got off the bus.

Pete loved getting belly rubs.

Just a few of the many beautiful ladies there to celebrate Anjuli's big day!

Acting casual in the vineyards.

Madonna Estate

We arrived to the third winery, and we're still kickin'. Oh, Madonna Estate! Such a cute little boutique winery. This family-owned winery is known for their tradition for minimal intervention with the wine-making process. Their philosophy states, "...wine should reflect the vineyard, the vintage, and the varietals. Any winemaker influence should be subtle, must enhance and complement, but not overpower the fruit." A personal favorite? The Gewurztraminer.

After the wine tasting, we hobbled outside to the picnic tables and were served lunch in honor of the birthday girl. Some sandwiches and greek bites go a long way after several glasses of wine. Brought back to life in a heartbeat!

Lunch was served to us, and for dessert, Anjuli was surprised with a cake.

So much vino, yes yes yes!

Kieu Hoang Winery

Last stop! At this point, one by one, many of us started to nap. Fluffy pillows and throw blankets were also part of the blame. Good thing this winery was perfect for that.

Kieu Hoang has a breathtaking back patio that overlooks the vineyards. You can enjoy the view with the comfortable patio furniture, and iced fruit infused water. Their property was designed with tree trunk tables, and succulent centerpieces. My tree hugger side was at ease.

The back balcony view over the vineyards!

Enjoying the view with Anjuli.

Succulent centerpieces in the middle of all their patio tables.

We hopped back on the bus and headed back to Union Square for drop off. Another belated Happy Birthday to one of the most kind-hearted best friends in my life, Anjuli. If you have the honor of calling her your friend, you know what I'm talking about.  Until next time, wine country!

Working out at Studiomix

The entry way to the stairs to Studiomix

Why I Made the Switch

My colleagues introduced me to sweatworking. It's basically like networking, but rather than getting to know your coworkers over drinks or happy hour, you pick up group fitness together! 

After they got me to attend my first class, I knew this gym felt like home. For me, it was conveniently on my route home from work, the facility was sparkly clean, and the quality of the classes and instructors were beyond my expectations. It's also great to note they have classes starting almost every half hour, so every day you have options to pick from. Since I've joined, I've been generous with trying different classes from yoga and pilates to weight training and TRX before pinpointing my routine. Let's put it this way, I have yet to take a bad class. 

In addition to quality and quantity of classes, I rationalized how much it would cost per class. I took their membership of $150 a month, and divided that into how many classes I'd attend weekly...3-5 or so. That's $7.50-12.50 per class, which is considerably modest for San Francisco fitness classes! Yes, I did have to really consider the financial aspect, going from paying $35 a month at my previous gym. Sure, at first glance, the price took me off-guard, but after the first class, it's no hard decision. I know the best investment, is the one you make for yourself and your health. I walk in, focus on my workout, and leave. That's it! No sign of disrespectful gym members, or maxed out capacity cardio machines. They made it so simple for me. 

Why It Works

Studies show that adding variety to your workout routine will help you break through fitness plateaus, prevent overuse injuries, build new muscles and make exercise fun if it starts to get repetitive (source). For me, my strength is in weights, but I dread cardio more than anything else.  By taking classes that switch it up, I can easily incorporate both, and it doesn't feel like a chore. Still, I can always assure I'm still getting an ass-kicking. If I'm really not feeling like hitting my plyometrics when my post-work energy is low, I'll take a yoga class instead and vice versa. If you know me well, you know I love having options!

Yes, there are plenty of gyms in the city, and I've been a member to handful of them. I find that some are either specialty class-based gyms that serve one genre of classes, or they are chain-brand names and their main niche is not group fitness, but more up-keeping the facility itself. As much as I love a gym with a solid weight room and loads of open free-range equipment, I was looking for something a little different...one that had options that would motivate me to up my cardio training. Even if your goal is the exact opposite, Studiomix has classes that will serve your wants and needs!

The Studiomix Nutrition Manifesto

 

My Favorite Classes

Below are a few of my favorite weekly classes. I pulled the descriptions from their calendar to be more specific about what the class offers! If you want to see the full schedule, click it here: See the schedule here: class schedule.  

1. X-Train or Cycle Express with Andre or Vanessa
2. HIIT with Andre or Vanessa
3. Build with any of the instructors
4. Strength + Conditioning with any of the instructors
5. Power Yoga with Howard

One of my favorite studios: The Strength Studio! Tons of equipment including kettlebells, and 6 platforms. YES. (pc: Studiomix)

The evening street view from outside of the gym. Studiomix is located on Van Ness Ave inside the same building as the AMC Movie Theater. The gym is on the third floor.

Hope to see you there!