The Coachman Hotel

The Coachman Hotel 4100 Pine Boulevard South Lake Tahoe

Came for the waffles, stayed for the s'mores.

48 Hours in London: The Ultimate Travel Guide

You may have noticed on the gram that I've been hit by the travel bug again. I've been taking my weekend escapes seriously and jetting off just about every chance I've been able to. So far this year, we've been to Palm Springs, New Orleans, LA, and of course, wine country. Not so bad for the first half the year, if I do say so myself. Now that summer is in full swing, I've got longer itineraries on my mind. Although nothing is booked yet, I'm thinking I may pull the trigger with all of these international deals. But where to? Well, for starters, the pound is at a 31-year low. Yes, 31-year low. Can you imagine how much you can save on travel to London right now? (If not, refer to this handy Brexit Calculator that Virgin put together to help you calculate your savings!) If you're itching to head across the pond, then I've got the perfect post for you. I've partnered with Virgin Atlantic to put together a handy guide for all the things to see, do and eat in London in 48 hours. Of course, if you're heading all the way over, may as well stay longer.. but just in case, here's all the musts.

Weekend Getaway: Palm Springs

My favorite place to get away is Palm Springs. Despite my San Francisco resident status, my true home is under the sun. And Palm Springs, my friends, is my desert dream under the sun. I venture to PS at least once a year (usually for Coachella), but every now and then I go just for some good ole R&R. This year, because I'm not headed to Coachella (I know, I can't believe it either!), I decided to book a trip to the desert to get my fill. It was also Derrick's first non-Coachella PS trip, so we decided to live like the locals, if only for a weekend. After the jump, catch a photo diary of our trip, along with a list of favorite spots to catch whilst in the city.

Austin City Limits 2016

Believe it not, this week marks my first full week back in San Francisco since August. If you've been following along on Instagram, then you'll know that first I took a trip to London and Paris in September, then finished the month in Austin! I have a ton of photos from my European travels that I can't wait to share - but first, let's talk Texas. Austin holds a very special place in my heart. The people are nice, the food is delicious, the music and culture is palpable throughout, and the pace of life is a nice change to someone (like myself) who is used to the go, go, go mentality of SF. When I think about Austin, one of the things that I admire the most is how nice everyone is - if you've been, you know what I'm talking about. It's the kind of nice that I wish everyone could be, everywhere. It's a city I very much see myself in one day, if I ever leave SF. It will be a city where I'll say, "I came for the music, but stayed for the company." Speaking of the music - what was it that brought me to Austin? ACL. Of course, right? But, by now, it's no surprise that if you have music, I will travel. As such, here's a mini photo recap of the days I spent dancing in the Lone Star state.

Beauty Bites: #zeninthebu with derma e

Ah, summer, you sweet, sweet thing. To say it's been a chill summer would be somewhat of a stretch. I've been putting in several hours at the office and all of my vacation time has been saved up for the last quarter of the year. Luckily for me, I was able to skip town for a few days to join derma e for their #zeninthebu Malibu escape. If you know me, then you know I love the sun - combine that with hours of yoga, beach time, poolside tanning, swimming, delicious (and healthy!) eats, massages and flower crowns, and you've got yourself a very, very happy girl.

Travel To... Napa Valley's Bardessono Hotel

Bardessono Hotel 6526 Yount Street Yountville, CA 94599 

Close your eyes and imagine the most tranquil surroundings you can think of. The sun is warming your skin, the air is crisp with a calm, calm breeze, and the sounds all around you stop - if just for a moment - as you take in another breath. This captures just a snippet of my blissful Sunday with Napa Valley's Bardessono Hotel.

Walk In The (Washington Square) Park

Beanie: True SF; Coat: Nautica; Jacket c/o Charlotte Russe; Tee: Brandy Melville; Scarf: Forever 21; Jeans: Zara; Flats: Aldo; Bag: Kate Spade

Photos by: Marissa

Hello, my lovelies! Apologies for the lack of posting on my end. If you've been following me on Insta, then you know I recently came back from a spontaneous trip to the Big Apple! (Hence the bloggity neglect!) Sad to report that this will be my one (and only) outfit post from my travels to the big city, since I travelled solo, but on the plus side, you'll get a huge helping of Food Friday posts to come!

I had the pleasure of finally meeting my east coast blogger babe, Marissa, whilst in the city! The stars aligned and Marissa happened to be in the city at the same time as me! After enjoying a scrumptious lunch at SoHo's Cafe Habana, we cabbed over to Greenwich Village and then strolled on over to Washington Square Park to snap some photos. New York was a chilly, but pops of sunlight and warmth still made their way in through most of my trip, so layers were essential. Beanies, jackets, and scarves (along with comfy flats) became the norm by day three of my vacay.

In other news, a lot of crazy changes have been going on over here. I've been rethinking a lot of things in terms of my blog and hope to implement those changes soon. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend an awesome web designer? Pretty please? For now, things are still a-brewing in my mind, but stay tuned ... we'll see how it all goes :) 

Santa Barbara: A Photo Diary

Passed by the local Goodwill and saw this staring at me. For $1, I probably should have purchased it. I bet it has all the life secrets that I am missing. Darn it.

 

While these may just look like tacos, this photo serves as a reminder from one of the most hilarious nights of my life. Wild Cat Santa Barbara. Do yourself a favor, and check out their Sunday Gay Night for the TIME OF YOUR LIFE.  *

Red Mango Smoothie with a boost of Vitamin C from Blenders gave me a boost of energy for the long ride back to San Francisco

Photos by: Chandamheer and DJ Lan*

A few snaps from a quickie visit to Santa Barbara. We left LA a little early to spend one night in Santa Barbara and boy was it a fun stop. That Sunday night, we wanted to experience the SB night life, so we went to Wild Cat's Gay Night for some dancing and drinks. And, it basically proved to be the best decision ever. The DJ played all of my favorite songs and it was so nice to just spend a night dancing and laughing with friends. We even scored some free street tacos! The most hilarious part, however, had to be all of our friendly encounters that night. We met Daniel, a straight man who claimed to be gay just so he could follow us around all night, two extremely passionate Argentinians, both of whom professed their undeniable "love" for us ladies, and then we met this really random guy who just wanted to creepily sit next to us and not speak. It was odd, to say the least. Who knew us girls would get so much action on gay night?


Don't forget to "like" pancakeSTACKER on Facebook!

New York State of Mind

Walking through the paths of Bryant Park, while gazing at the towering skyscrapers that surround me; stuffing my face with a hearty slice of authentic, thin-sliced, New York pizza; envisioning my future residency in SoHo's beautiful cast-iron lofts; taking in the savory aroma of sausages and the sweet smell of candy, as they slowly reach my nostrils, while I stroll through a street fair in Little Italy, and ending a long day, 86 floors up, while gazing at the city lights, as they twinkle below me. In a nutshell, this was my New York. My words and photos do not do it justice, but alas, I still try.

New York, I Love You

When I was a junior in high school and dreaming of my future as a college student, I would always threaten my parents that I'd move across the country and attend NYU. (Side note: When I was a junior in high school, while everyone ELSE was dreaming of a future as a college student, I was actually daydreaming about becoming a famous superstar. But please, don't ask me why or what I thought I'd be famous for, because I have no idea). Anyways, as you and I both know now, I did not opt to attend NYU (didn't even apply), but instead, I reached a compromise with my family and attended school six hours away from home at UCLA. Now, years after my NYU and superstar fantasies, I finally had the chance to visit the city of my dreams. Fresh off of the train from New Jersey to New York (I made a one day trip to NJ), I literally shrieked with absolute glee, and Alex L. can verify this should you have any doubts. I hadn't seen anything yet, or even made it to the hotel, but I was in New York, and I was already in love. 

Dress: Bloom; Sweater: Forever 21; Necklace: Nordstrom; Photos of me by: Alex L.

My love affair with New York continued throughout my whole stay there, and deepened even as I left. In fact, my heart is aching to be reunited with the love of its life. I am thoroughly convinced that the next step of my journey in life will find me there, so much so that as I blog throughout the day, I simultaneously have windows open on my desktop for fashion and editorial job listings in New York. So, if you or anyone you know is looking to hire an extremely qualified recent graduate, holla at your girl. Just kidding, but no, seriously. 

Washington DC: A Food Diary

Beer Battered Onion Rings that literally melted in my mouth

Naturally, a trip to D.C. would not be complete without some savory shots. After a visit to the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, I stopped by President Obama's favorite burger spot, Ray's Hell Burger. When I stepped inside the refreshingly air-conditioned restaurant and watched everyone blissfully chomp away at their burgers, I knew I made the right decision. I had a tough time ordering, as everything on the menu looked mouth-watering, but I went with The Mack, which featured Ray's special Hell sauce, and a side of beer-battered onion rings. When the gigantic portions were placed in front of me, I was in burger heaven (and PETA's worst nightmare?). I only managed to finish half my burger, but that was fine by me because I was more than happy to save some for later.

Monumental Moments: Part Two

On Monday, you saw me cool down in front of the Washington Monument. While this post has very little to do with food or fashion, it would be an utter shame if I didn't share the beauty that is D.C. Thus, I hope that you will forgive my momentary fashion blog faux pas in re-posting the same outfit twice.  Nonetheless, here is part two of pancakeSTACKER gallivanting around D.C and some more photos in front of places you might have heard about.

The Vietnam Memorial

The White House

I hear someone really important lives here

A view of the Lincoln Memorial taken from the WWII Memorial

A closer shot of the Lincoln Memorial

And, the man himself, Lincoln

Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia

Making my way to the Tomb

Guarding over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

A view of D.C. from Arlington

Photos of me by: Alex L.; All other photos by: Chandamheer

Monumental Moments: Part One

A little thing called the Washington Monument

Hitting 95 to 100 degrees a day with 40-60% humidity everyday, D.C. was some of the hottest weather I've experienced since Spain. While I generally look forward to the heat (sunshine is my thing), hot heat plus sticky humidity is a recipe for disaster when it comes to my body and hair. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say my clothes were more than drenched after hour tours and miles of walking around. Yet, it wasn't just the humidity that put a bit of a damper on my trip. On the second day of my trip to the Virigina/DC area, I accidentally erased all the pictures on my camera from my first day's adventure. So, sadly, all my amazing photos from day one are forever lost in the limbo to memory card heaven. Thankfully, I was still able to go back and re-shoot some of the big sites from the nation's capital. While I am still heartbroken over losing some of the most beautiful shots of my first day on the east coast, I have the consolidation of my memories to keep me from getting teary-eyed. Thus, since I lost about 200 shots that day, I'm going to have to spread out the few photos I have left from D.C. As a side note, Please ignore the fact that I will be wearing the same thing for all my D.C. posts (I seriously crammed what I could into one jam-packed day!). Below is a little taste of pancakeSTACKER in D.C.

It was so hot out that I was so giddy to find this mini fountain, can you tell?

I didn't know if people were allowed to run through it

But since no one stopped me, I was sure it was made for cooling down

So, cool down I did

Shorts: Forever 21; Belt: Old Navy; Top: Nordstrom; Photos by: Alex L.

pancakeLEFTOVERS: September

Dining at Japonessa, easily my favorite Seattle sushi spot. This thriller is called the Orange Crush

It's been a while, has it not? Or at least it feels that way, even though it's only been a week since my last post. I hope the photos from my last few posts have left you in a food-induced comatose state for long enough to forget that my internet usage has been compromised by my new found, jet-set lifestyle. But really, in all seriousness,  I hope that you all can not only smell the sweet aromas of the foods I smell, taste the utter satisfaction of every first bite I take, and feel the anguish of my 70-year old, under-exercised body, specifically my legs (definitely need to join a gym now that I am back), but also that you can all genuinely experience every joyous, new moment I feel, translated via my camera and blog to your computer screens and hearts.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Hello my lovelies! I am still currently traveling around the US, and my internet usage has been quite limited, but I am trying to keep up with my regular MWF posting schedule as best I can. Regardless, I have a plethora of amazing photos to share with you from all the places I've been, so I promise that each post will be worth the wait. As I pack up to leave for my next location, I'm trying to get in all the blogging time I can. Now, without further ado, here are the long awaited photo highlights from my short stay in Portland, Oregon! (As a warning, like most of my posts, this is heavy on the food porn, so empty stomachs beware!)

I began my Portland journey with a trip to Bunk Sandwiches, for lunch. Even though I got lost for an hour while trying to find the place, Bunk was worth the extra mile.

Seattle: A Photo Diary

Public Market Center

Just a few snaps from my trip to Seattle!

How I Left My Mark in Seattle

Before leaving Seattle, I was determined to leave my mark on the city in some creative way. I originally thought that I would hand out my new Moo cards to  fashionable Seattleites, as I stopped them to snag a picture of their ensembles, but unfortunately, I didn't get to snap very much street wear. So, hours before I had to leave the city behind me, I knew just how to make the name pancakeSTACKER stick to Seattle--the famous Post Alley Gum wall. I  grabbed a few sticks of gum, chewed my little heart out, and found an eye-catching spot to stick my business cards. Now, Seattle will always be apart of me and I to it.

Blazer: Purchased from the FIRST ever Nordstrom (in Seattle); Jeans: Guess; Tee & Scarf: Forever 21; Boots: Nine West; Photos by: Alex L.

If you spot pancakeSTACKER in Seattle, snap a picture and send it to me! I have just landed in my next location and am currently blogging as I wait for my hotel room, but the rest of this week's post will be about the duration of my Seattle and Portland adventure. Stop by soon to see what's next on the travel agenda :)

Sleepless in Seattle

Hello everyone! As you know, yesterday I left San Francisco to begin the first portion of my trip. It's already been a a jam-packed day and a half, and it's been great being able to see a different area of the US. The weather gods have taken mercy on my poor California body,  and surprisingly, Seattle has been light on the rain. (We'll see how the rest of my stay goes, but I'll probably eat my words come tomorrow!). Tomorrow, we're waking up at 5 am to catch a train to Portland, and I can finally get my hands on those Voodoo Doughnuts (yumm!).  So, since I have to wake up rather early, I'm going to leave you with a quick outfit post, before I head to bed, to tide you over until Wednesday.

Bubble tunic, leggings & necklace: Forever 21; Boots: Nine West; Photos by: Alex L.

Sorry for the hasty post, but don't worry though, you'll get way more pictures and details on my Seattle journey in my next post! Thanks so much for all your kind comments (I promise to get back to each and every one of you as soon as I have more time!).