Despite being in San Francisco for specific writing marathon purposes, Liz and I managed to fit a whole lot of sight-seeing into our weekend there. Among these were probably two of the most opposite extremes: landmarks for the family friendly Full House, and a tour through the most notorious Federal Prison in all US history.

First we checked out the actual house used at the Tanner residence. It’s just a house that random people live in now, with a “No Tresspassing” sign out front. Clearly they aren’t fans, since they also chose to recently paint the iconic homestead a dark, jarring blue. Without knowing the address of this famed location, you’d hardly recognize it anymore. Whatever happened to predictability, am I right?

The Painted Ladies, however, are a San Francisco staple. These lovely houses sit along the ridge of a hill next to a bustling and beautiful park, and can be seen in the intro/theme to Full House, when they’re all having that picnic. Fun fact; apparently aside from an episode when Comet goes missing and they search the streets of SF for him, pretty much every other scene in the show was actually shot in LA.

Next stop was Alcatraz. I visited “The Rock” as a pre-teen, but Liz had never been there. My memories of the place were fuzzy, so I was more than happy to go back.

It was just as I remembered. Cold, creepy, and full of fascinating tidbits. The audio tour is narrated by actual ex-guards and inmates, which just makes the whole experience that much more surreal and spooky. We had such a great time exploring the island, soaking up the history, and learning the lesser known details and uses of this crazy island along the. Sure the place is heavily inflated by bad Hollywood movies, but that doesn’t make it any less of a worthwhile place to visit.

Homey, isn’t it? I can’t imagine spending any amount of time here let alone the numerous years most inmates endured. What a strange place. What a massive amount of history locked within the icy grip of the bay. I highly recommend you take the tour if you ever get the chance.

Next post will be my Night of Writing Dangerously wrap-up, which is also my very first bucket list item! I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the event with you all.

The outfit of the day portion of this blog post is coming, I promise. It’s a journey we’ll take together, this time.

So last week Thursday, my good friend and roommate Liz Leo and I set out on the most ambitious roadtrip we’ve ever taken, just the two of us. The trip was for NaNoWriMo and the Night of Writing Dangerously, which we’ve each done successfully for the past 8 years (7 for Liz) but never been to the huge write-a-thon party held in San Francisco each year. We powered down to Springfield, OR, stayed the night, then made our way all the way to Stockton on Friday. There was a lot of music listening, switching off who’s driving and who’s writing (we’re hardcore), appreciating how beautiful our corner of the country is, and hunting down the best roadside places to eat.

Then finally, on Saturday… we made it!! San Francisco is a crazy place, and man it feels good driving across the Bay bridge and knowing you earned being there, after 2 straight days in the car. Traffic or no traffic, we had arrived at our destination.

Of course the first thing Liz and I agreed to do was go to the Walt Disney Family Museum. I really didn’t know much about it, and we thought we’d just stop by and poke around for an hour or so… What really ended up happening was over three hours whizzing by without us even realizing it. The museum is FANTASTIC. I really enjoyed myself and I’m so glad we remembered to check it out.

The weather was beautiful in the city that day; sunny and clear but crisp in temperature, perfect for sweaters without jackets. I wore my brand new floral sweater and black skirt from Forever21, my red ankle boots from ModCloth, and coral colored socks I got from a cute little independent shop on the Ave by UW. It was a perfect outfit for traveling – comfortable enough for a long ride in the car, but fun enough for tourist pictures! I also bought myself some goodies in the museum gift shop, including a few gifts for people, so I wont be sharing those quite yet. If you ever get a chance to check this museum out, please do! It was wonderful.

I posted a new video yesterday (it had been a little while, but it’s tough to make video amidst all this traveling!) and I was quite pleased with it. I actually got home from New York on Sunday thinking “shoot. I need to make a video this week… what should it be about? But then I saw Leviosaa’s response to this tag and I knew I had to do it too.

It’s a video about firsts! First car, first job, first movie you saw in theaters – the title is sort of a fakeout – I know, I know. But we don’t talk about that first. Anyway, this was a super unscripted, super fun video and people seem to really be liking it in the comments. At least the ones who can work their way through YouTube’s new G+ labyrinth of a comment system.

Tell me about some of your own firsts in the comments! I think it’s always fun to compare answers to things like this. Especially first concert. Find out what mine was by watching the video above!

I’m off to San Francisco today, but I should still be blogging along the way! Except more outfit of the day posts and my first bucket list post coming soon!

I was so dedicated to not falling behind in word count on my trip to New York, but I came home exhausted and about 2,300 behind anyway. I was disappointed, but, by some crazy force of madness within me, I managed to write something like 6,000 words in 2 days and hit 20,000 right on time last night in an hour long word sprint I hosted on Twitter. It’s been a crazy couple of days, guys.

And it’s only about to get crazier.

I’m heading down to San Francisco tomorrow on a road trip to finally, finally attend the Night of Writing Dangerously, a party/write-a-thon for donors to the Office of Letters and Light. It’s a time to dress up fancy (I hear the theme is Noir) and raise a glass (and a pen) to the organization that tirelessly brings us NaNoWriMo, year after year. I couldn’t be more pumped.

I have always wanted to go, but it’s never been practical before to figure out a trip to San Francisco amidst the already crazy time-management of writing 50,000 words in a month. However, this summer I had the pleasure of meeting NaNo staff at LeakyCon, and combined with the perfect storm of also still having my Ford Fiesta, my main writing buddy Liz and I knew this year was the year. We’re taking turns driving (and, subsequently, writing) as we embark on the trip of a lifetime. What should I wear? I haven’t even started packing!!

I’ve been running a funding page for the event I’d like to point you in the direction of – the amount you need to raise for the event is $250, but this program has done so much for me that I am really trying to raise double that. My goal is $500 and ultimately this project will be the video I make for the Project 4 Awesome this year, so I really would love if people could check it out. Donating to my page sends the money to the same place as if you donated it directly to the Office of Letters and Light. Helping them reach their funding goals ensures we have NaNoWriMo for years to come!

On that note, who’s on track with 20,000 words today? How crazy is it that we’re nearly at the halfway point? This November is flying by, and I’m happy to report I am still enjoying my story this year. But then again, I haven’t hit the 30,000 blues yet…. that should happen right on schedule around the time of the Write-a-Thon this Sunday, so hopefully being in a room full of insane writers (I mean that in the kindest way possible; I’m one of them) will help drive me through that.

Let me know your mid-month NaNo thoughts in the comments below, and I’ll be sure to report all of the fun goings-on at the event this weekend.

The rest of my New York trip was even more fun that the first day – plus I realized I needed to start dressing warmer, which immediately upped the quality of my trip. This was my outfit on Friday; with a brand new sweater from Forever21, one of my favorite patterned scarves (also from Forever21), a mustard yellow basic tank and matching yellow backpack (the backpack is an old favorite from Urban Outfitters), black leggings, grey knee socks and my same bronze Cathy Jean boots. But the important part of this outfit, as I’m sure you noticed, are the gloves and earmuffs.

I always keep a pair of gloves handy – I have a pair in my purse, in my car, in various coat pockets… I never want to be caught un-gloved! But the earmuffs were a new purchase. I saw them at one of those seasonal outdoor booths in NY and I just instantly knew I had to have them. My travel buddies teased me a bit, but let me tell you – my ears were toasty warm. No regrets. I plan to wear them all winter, regardless of what anyone thinks.

Moving on from clothing – one of the highlights of the second day of my trip was visiting the giant Nintendo Store!

Not only did I get to totally geek out over all the Pokémon stuff they have out right now, I also got SO MANY STREET PASSES. It was glorious. Also, when I was purchasing a gift for my fellow Team Hypercube channel members, the person working at the register told me, “this is our phone number at the top of your receipt here; call us if you need anything. Even if you’re just stuck in a game. We can help.”

What! So awesome! I had a great time perusing the store and knowing everyone around me totally understood the fangirl tendencies coming out.

My favorite part of the store was that upstairs there’s this exhibit area that changes based on what game just released a new version… obviously the exhibit was Pokémon themed for my visit, and walking through the “Pokémon Through The Ages” and getting to both reminisce and also be slightly embarrassed by just how many Pokémon things I’ve owned since I was 11 was just brilliant.

I also got to eat at a whole bunch of great restaurants and meander through Central Park and finally experience Alice’s Tea Cup first hand. And to top it off, we closed out our trip by seeing “Once” with Arthur Darvill and not only were our “partial view” seats ridiculously amazing and close to the stage, the show was simply perfect. I enjoyed myself so much.

It was five whirlwind days of a trip I will never forget, one I desperately needed. I adore cons and shows and business trips but I think people really need a true vacation every now and then, and this one lived up to my every expectation. I can’t wait to go back.

Disclosure

This past week I had the pleasure of visiting New York City purely for fun – usually my trips to this bustling metropolis involve work of some kind (whether that be playing a concert, attending a convention, etc.) but this trip granted me three full days of unplanned, unscheduled exploration of a place I never seen to have enough time in.

My dear friend Eia Waltzer accompanied me on this trip, a friend I’ve traveled to many places with (including Rome, Paris, the Bahamas, and more). I think a good travel buddy is an important thing to find in life, truly. Eia and I have very similar priorities when it comes to exploring new places, which is a key element in traveling with the right person.

This first day of our trip was rainy, which didn’t lend itself very well to the outfit you see above. I wore a lacy pink dress from Papaya, magenta patterned tights from Nordstrom Rack, peach Volcom socks and a gold bow necklace. Paired with a black peacoat and my bronze boots from Cathy Jean, I felt stylish but not particularly warm. I had no idea how cold and windy NYC can be in November, so the follies of this outfit influenced how I dressed for the rest of the trip.

On our first day we ate at Chevy’s (because it was the nearest place with a roof and a happy hour once it started raining), did a fair amount of shopping and then saw Matilda on Broadway. I adored the show; the songs are catchy and fun, the lyrics are brilliant, the dancing was masterful and the kids were just utterly adorable and amazing. It was a fantastic first day to an already exceptional adventure of a trip. More to come in tomorrow’s post – be sure to check back!

Hello again, my bright and bushy tailed students. I am your ignorant and broke twenty something blogger posing as a teacher… let’s begin. On the menu today is Beef Stroganoff. One of my favorites.

I know next to nothing about cooking meat, so I decided it’s a darn good time to learn. Rather than cheating and using ground beef, as lots of recipes suggest, I went full on loin steak, guys. I took it to the next level.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, also chopped
• 1 package of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lb of beef loin steak, cut into small pieces
• 1 can of beef consomme (14 oz)
• 1/4 cup of red wine
• 2 tablespoons of flour, as needed
• Cold water, as needed
• 1/2 cup of sour cream

The first thing you do is start cooking the noodles. They take forever, so get those started first. I trust you know how to boil pasta, so you’re on your own for that one.

Then, we start the sauce! Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then start adding the more solid ingredients. This includes the onions and garlic to start. Once your eyes start watering from the onions, you know it’s time to add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for a couple of minutes before adding anything else.

Next is the beef. Place the pieces of meat in the saucepan and cook until they start turning a bit brown. I’d guess about 3-4 minutes.

Now come the less solid ingredients. The meat/mushroom/garlic/onion mixture probably already looks delicious, but it’s not sauce yet. At this point, mix in the beef consomme, wine and lemon juice.

Oh no, you ruined it! That’s not what it’s supposed to look like! Just kidding – it has to get super watery before we can make it the creamy stroganoff sauce we’re used to. Trust me. This is called making something from scratch, suckas. Check that off your bucket list.

Bring everything to a boil, and in the mean time, start making your flour/water mixture. Blend the cold water and flour in a small bowl until it’s totally smooth. 

This is the tricky part. Reduce the heat of your saucepan to low, and stir it constantly while slowly adding the flour-water. I found this was literally impossible to do with one person, so find someone to help you if possible. It won’t seem like you’re doing much, but this will start to thicken your sauce. Trust me. Once you’ve poured it all in, gradually return the sauce to a boil and let it cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.

This is another one of those classic boring waiting parts of cooking, so this also is a good time to drink some of that wine you had to buy for the recipe. What! It’s for cooking!

The very last step is to mix in the sour cream, but you shouldn’t do this until the sauce has had a bit of time to cool. Take your sauce off the heat, drink some more wine, and after another five minutes or so – mix in the sour cream. NOW it looks like Beef Stroganoff, right? See, what did I tell you.

This recipe would make even your mom proud. That’s two meat dishes down – I’m on a roll! Maybe someday I’ll actually try poultry! (Let’s not get carried away though… poultry is terrifying).

As always, let me know in the comments if you have any great tips for Stroganoff, or if you try this recipe! And feel free to tweet me pictures of your attempts! Happy cooking!

If you’re following me on either one of my twitter accounts, I’m sure you’ve already gotten a general sense of how this National Novel Writing Month is going:

That twitter post was from a few days ago, when starting a 50,000 word writing marathon during a cold as well as 25 hours of gaming was a bit…. overwhelming for me.

Now it’s Day 5 and I’ve just about caught up to where I am supposed to be. Today’s goal is 8,333 and I’m sitting at 7,122 with the intention of writing more tonight. It’s a good feeling.

HOWEVER! Tomorrow I leave for New York for 5 days. I just never make it easy for myself.

It’s going to be a trying month, but that’s honestly one of the things I love most about NaNoWriMo. Seeing these very obvious roadblocks in my path and figuring out how to crush them.

The word sprints I’ve done so far have been extremely helpful and lots of people on twitter have been joining in! It’s so nice to see so many people participating. It really makes the whole thing so much more fun.

This is just going to be a short blog post, but I’ll hopefully be updating from New York. Except fun outfit of the day posts and perhaps even a review or two of some Broadway shows! Can’t wait!

This weekend was a crazy one.

I spent most of Thursday and Friday sleeping and drinking water furiously in hopes of getting better in time for Extra Life, the 25 hour gaming marathon meant to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. I mentioned this on here before, but my team (Geekyhostess, Satire and the rest of Team Hypercube) host a 25 hour live show so folks can interact with us while we attempt to play games straight for all that time. I am now happy to report that we’ve done it for two years in a row, though I personally struggled a bit more than the rest of them.

We agreed that I should come a few hours late, so I didn’t start the day off poorly. While my lovely team began gaming at 8am on Saturday, I took my time, took some medicine, and waltzed in around 10:30. But then I was great! My nose was significantly less stuffy, my head felt less explodey and I managed to take part in a surprising number of games. I started feeling woozy again around 10pm, but to be perfectly honest – making it 12 hours on the upswing of a cold was largely impressive.

During the time that I was on, some highlights included: playing King of Tokyo, testing out the Job Hunters RPG, Cash and Guns, You Don’t Know Jack, and of course, Babycam. I also quite enjoyed scary game hour, and listening to the rest of the team making their silly themed Magic the Gathering decks.

It’s a bummer that I was sick, but we had a LOT of fun doing Extra Life anyway. Everyone in the chat was incredibly supportive and great, we got to try a lot of new games, and we managed to double our goal — hitting $2,000 raised by 6am!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the live stream, and furthermore THANK YOU to the amazing people who donated. You can still donate here if you missed it and want to help out.

Now it’s time to catch up on NaNoWriMo after the craziness of Extra Life is over. Be sure to follow me on twitter for word sprints this month!

Hello blog readers!

Today is one of the craziest days of the year and of course, because fate is cruel – I’m a big pile of sniffling, achey congestion. So even though tomorrow I plan to play 25 hours straight hours of video games to raise money for Seattle Children’s Hospital, and it’s the start of my month-long novel writing marathon… the only thing I’m working toward today is seeing if it’s possible to use an entire box of Kleenex in a single sitting.

Currently I’m winning.

I’m also currently sitting at 315 words on my NaNoWriMo novel, because I’m a boss. And by “boss” I mean “really disappointed that the first year I’m finally not hungover from post Halloween shenanigans, my head feels like it’s going to explode anyway”.

Anyway, every word I type here is both taking up energy I don’t have and keeping me away from working on my word count (…or napping) so I’ll make this short and sweet.

1. If you interested at all in Extra Life, the gaming marathon to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network, you can check out our live stream starting at 8am on November 2nd and going until 8am the following day. We have a whole list of activities planned that you can read about here, and if you feel sufficiently moved, you can also make a donation here. It’s for the kids. 🙂

2. If there’s any part of you that ever even once thought “NaNoWriMo sounds like fun…” today is your day. Just start. Start writing and see where it takes you. Finally give yourself the gift of time and focus and just start. Sign up on NaNoWriMo.org and add me as a writing buddy!

And if you want to send any good, healing thoughts my way… that would be much appreciated. I’m quite tired of this cold and would like to get on with all the marathoning I have planned for this month.

Let me know what you’re writing about for NaNoWriMo this month in the comments. I love hearing what other people are doing! And good luck!