pancakePROFILES: Perch SF

Perch 654 Chenery Street

It's been a while since I've done a pancakePROFILE series on the blog, but just in time for Mother's Day, I wanted to introduce you all to the owner behind the sweetest little shop I was invited to, in hopes that you'll make time to visit him and his store, too. If you're not familiar, my profile series is where I interview local folks in the San Francisco area who are doing some cool things (like starting or growing their own business) and making the city a richer place because of it. Truth be told, I encounter so many rad people doing amazing, inspirational things on a day to day basis through my blog, that I'd love to spend more time telling their stories again. Thus, I'm brining this long-too-dormant series back and truly hope that you guys enjoy it. So, let's get started shall we?

Stacker Style: City Girl

We're officially back from New Orleans and even though it's nice to be home, I am already planning our next escape. I love San Francisco, but lately, I've been finding myself more and more anxious to explore. We've already got our yearly ACL trip in the books, which isn't until October, but I'm excited to have something to look forward to. Given Austin isn't until October, we're brainstorming possible road trip options to SoCal, international travels to Europe, and our fill of weekend getaways. In fact, with Memorial Day and Fourth of July just around the corner, I know it won't be long until this city girl is on the road again. But the question remains... where to next? Anyone have any suggestions for fun places to visit? 

Beauty Bites: Clarins Spring 2017

You know that my love for Clarins runs deep. I look forward to the brand's spring launch every. single. year. (See here and here, if you don't believe me.) This year was no exception. Probably the biggest reason why I have loved Clarins for so long is their mission to constantly innovate and improve upon skincare. The brand evolves products and doesn't settle when it comes to good skincare solutions. This spring, I was delighted to find that the same thing still rang true, both with new products and improvements upon old favorites. After the jump, take a look at some of the brand's new spring standouts and see which products I've found myself keeping in my makeup bag ever since receiving them.

Stacker Style: Comfortable Sandals for Spring

In the spirit of sharing shoes that don't suck, let me introduce you to another recent pair that my feet were happy to wear: these pretty little sandals pictured above by Dansko. I'd heard of Dansko before, but never had an opportunity to slip a pair on. So, when the brand kindly reached out to see if I'd be interested in trying some of their shoes for spring, I decided to take them up on the offer. It's been a while since my toes have seen the light of day (outside, that is). San Francisco still has these weird weather moments where rain will suddenly appear out of the blue. And, even when the sun is out, the wind is in full force. So, in an attempt to keep as warm as possible, I've stuck to close-toed shoes all the way. In fact, even as I'm writing this there's rain in the forecast for later this week! That being said, I'm ready to get my pedicure on and rock some sandals this spring. So, I opted for the sandals pictured above, as my next step into spring. How did they stack up? Find out after the jump!

Food Friday: Breaking Bread at Tawla, San Francisco's newest Eastern Mediterranean Gem

Tawla 206 Valencia Street 

Mediterranean is quite possibly one of my favorite cuisines. In fact, there was a point a little while back where I'd visit the same Mediterranean restaurant every Friday night. (La Med, in case anyone is wondering and my standard order is the chicken kebab plate with lentil soup, lol.) That being said, I was excited to be introduced to a new Eastern-Mediterranean spot in the city. Somewhere new to spice things up! Cue the mission's latest gem, Tawla. When people think of Mediterranean, oftentimes they're used to "street food" items like shwarmas, pitas and kebabs, which isn't a bad thing - because all of those things are delicious, in my opinion. That being said, there's a whole other layer of deliciousness that has yet to be tapped: food made at home that you just can't get anywhere else. That's where Tawla comes in. Tawla's founder, Azhar Hashem, wanted to fill a void in the San Francisco food scene by showcasing the comfort food of the Levant and Mediterranean regions. When I thought about this, I realized, I didn't know what home-style, Levant-region food actually was. Thankfully, that would change that evening, as I got a crash course in Levant-style cuisine thanks to Azhar and the Tawla team, who graciously welcomed us into their "home." So, what did I learn? Read more after the jump.