Hello SALLY ♡ THINGS readers! If you follow me on any social platforms, you might have noticed that I have been out more and doing more solo. Lately, I have been pushing myself to do more things solo and forcing myself outside of my comfort zone. This has been something that I’ve been working on for years and years now. When I turned 30, something really clicked and I just see life in a new perspective. I get to be “selfish” by standing on my boundaries and choosing better. You only get older, so live your best life. Stop holding yourself back. One of the best advice I ever got was to date yourself. ♡
My original plans did not work out, but instead of just staying home I decided to make new plans. The week of, I decided to buy Jonas Brothers concert tickets in Detroit. I am a long time fan of the Jonas Brothers, ever since 2005/06. I’m very blessed that I have the privilege of being able to do things so last minute. I took this day to date myself. I explored, adventured, spoiled myself and got to sing and dance my heart out to the Jonas Brothers. I have only been to Detroit a couple times and never have I’ve driven or really explored the area, so this was very brand new adventure for me. Come explore the east side of Michigan with me!
My first stop of the day was two hours away to Moose Pastry & Tea in Novi, Michigan. Moose is a pastry shop that has tons of buns and sandwich-like options. I’m never really on the east side of the state, but when I find myself over here I try to grab some goodies. My go to buns are the Garlic Hotdog Bun, Moose, Doraemon, and Piggy (Buta). The pastries are all a good size and price! I believe all the buns I got were only $3 each. I bought a bag full to take home with me.
Garlic Hotdog Bun:Filled with hotdog and pork floss (dried, shredded pork) topped with garlic butter
Moose: Our signature animal! Filled with blueberry cream cheese richness.
Doraemon:Come and test our ability to recreate the famous Japanese manga character, Doraemon. This delicious pastry has a creamy custard filling and a cherry on top
Piggy (Buta): Our strawberry jam filled bread is the perfect reason to PIG out
Down the street from Moose is this place called MIRAI – Coffee, Bubble Tea, and Stationery. Yes, it has all those things plus more! I was surprised at how much seating they have for the cafe side. They also had a lot of gashapon machines and a decent amount of mini claw machines! I got a hot vanilla latte to keep me going, it was an early morning & late night day. I also won two little plushies from the mini claw machines. I couldn’t resist!
I was all over the east side of the state. My next stop was to OVERRATED in Clinton Township, Michigan. The store is located in The Mall at Partridge Creek. I found this store on tiktok and everyone kept saying that they had tons of blindboxes, so you know I made sure to visit. I bought a Sanrio fruit keychain plush blind box and a snowglobe Studio Ghibli blind box. Let’s say I was very satisfied with my pulls! Can we get an OVERRATED over on the west side? They also sell authentic Labubus, Sonny Angels and Smikis. OVERRATED really does have it all!
Not the final destination, but the final city. HELLO DETROIT! (located midtown Detroit) At this point I was on the road more than I was visiting places. There’s a lot of construction happening on that side of the Michigan, but what’s new? 40 minutes later, I made it to Hihi, a super cute store with all the Sanrio plushies and merch that you can think of. At Hihi, they have some items that were only released Japan or Korea, so it was very cool to see those items in person! They sell more than just Sanrio, like Bearbricks, Toki Doki, Pusheen, Pokemon, etc. The prices here are a little higher, but you do have to consider the out of country items and how much it cost for them to get them here.
What is a solo date without a nice wine and dine? Choosing where to eat was a challenge for me because Downtown Detroit has so many good places to choose from and let’s face the real fact, I’m a girl. It’s very true. We have a hard time deciding what we want to eat! I wanted to splurge on myself and try something new. We live to eat and not eat to live, right? I decided on Experience Zuzu for: 1) easy parking 2) menu items and 3) aesthetic. Parking was pretty easy, even with the blocked roads for a jazz festival and all the construction going on downtown. I was having cravings for a really good steak or lamb chops, which all three options had, but what really caught my eye was the Sailor Moon Mai Tai. I’m a sucker for cute things. Since I’m a sucker for cute things, I saw photos of the interior of Experience Zuzu and knew they would be the place I would eat it.
Experience Zuzu has a very fun vibe the moment you walk in and it was perfect to get me concert ready. There’s lots of reds, golds, and metallics. I sat at the bar and was blown away at the set up. I bartend myself, so I LOVE seeing how other bars are at other places. The bar itself, like the table, has built in LED lights and the table changes colors as you eat. The music they play is the perfect mix of edm house, it was a great time. I got the Sailor Moon Mai Tai, which came in a cute Artemis cup; the Waygu Beef Gyoza, 10/10, very rich in flavor and melts in your mouth; and the Prime Miso Lamb Chops, full of flavor and tender. I would recommend Experience Zuzu, so if you’re ever in downtown Detroit area give them a try!
Prime Miso Lamb Chops: Tableside Grill Presentation, Red Onion + Mint Salad, Pickled Cucumber, Shishito Pepper, Fingerling Potatoes, Miso Anticucho Sauce
Before heading to theJonas Brothers concert, I drove and ran around downtown to try to find a portable battery because my phone was dying and my car charger takes forever to charge. That was the adventure of my life because why did I have to go to FOUR different locations until I found a power bank? I even got a parking ticket, RIP. Nothing like being stressed right before a show, right? This caused me to get to Little Cesars Arena a lot later than I wanted to be and I still had to find out parking around the arena.
I’m not sure if you guys are aware, but this Jonas20: Greetings From Your Hometown Tour is super important because not only is this their 13th tour, but it also celebrates their 20 year anniversary as a band! It’s a huge milestone, especially since the band broke up for a bit. If you love them, you know how it is. As I was in line for their specialty drink, Boys Like Girls were closing out with ‘The Great Escape’. It took me back to middle school days. Russell Dickerson was the hometown guest for this show and Marshmello played a set mid concert, so there was a little rave break. Then at the end, Detroit got all the Jonas men (Paul Kevin Jonas Sr & Franklin Jonas) on stage singing ‘When You Look Me In The Eyes’. Even though I was by myself, I had the best time singing and dancing with thousands of people around to my favorite boy band. To describe what a Jonas Brothers show is like, a room filled with thousands of feral women, ready to jumpship LOL. Nick sang “ReeeEEEeEeED DReeeeEEssSSS” and the crowd went wild, Joe took his jacket to show a shoulder and the crowd went wild, Kevin played a little guitar solo and the crowd went wild. Look, WE LOVE HOT DADS, what can we say? I’ll also admit that I did cry when they first came out on stage. These boys are seriously so talented with voices from heaven. Listening and watching them on tv in 2005 to seeing them live for the second time in 2025. It’s been a great 20 years of music and to many more ♡
Burning Up’ “Slip into the LAVA with the Joe Bros Hurricane” Captain Morgan, Barcardi, Passion Fruit, Orange Juice, Lime Juice, Grenadine in a Red Flame Glass & Light Up Ice Cube.
Once you got your drink, you got to choose from three different stickers and OF COURSE I needed the one that said “Greetings from Camp Rock Bar”. How Iconic.
I see more concert trips to Detroit in my near future and more solo dates. Do what you love for yourself and don’t let anything stop you from experiencing life! It’s fun to be with friends, but it can also be fun being with yourself too. Date yourself and give yourself love. Until the next adventure, live your best life and live for you ♡
Not in my vlogging era cause I never finished this 😂 I visited Overrated in Clinton Township, Hihi in Detroit, ate lamb chops at Experience Zuzu and then to the Jonas Brothers concert 🙂↕️ It was a great day #vietnamesegirl#detroit#solotraveler#jonasbrothersconcert#healingenergy @Jonas Brothers @Nick Jonas @joejonas @Kevin Jonas @Franklin jonas
Yes, it’s finally here, the San Francisco adventure! I posted up some clips and videos on my personal instagram as I was in San Francisco and I got a lot of ‘where is that at?’ questions. You’ll find all your answers in this blog!
After my 2 days in Colorado, I flew to San Francisco to finish off my birthday trip. I have never been to San Francisco, but has always wanted to visit. I loved it and I’ll definitely be back. There were so many other things that we didn’t get to do or visit. What took me by surprise though was the weather. It was 85º F in Colorado, so I was expecting the same, but I was very wrong. I guess in July for San Francisco the temperature is between 60º-75º F, or in better terms a warm Michigan Winter 65º F. It was quite a weather change for me coming from a hot and humid Michigan summer to a dry and hot Colorado summer to a long pant, light jacket cold San Francisco. I also read that this July in SF, it is holding the record for the coldest July they ever had. I also read that SF summers don’t start until October. So if you ever plan to go to San Francisco make sure you REALLY look at the weather! Do your research!
San Francisco, California – Day One
The first stop in San Francisco was Boba Bless. This stop was not planned, we actually were walking around the area while we waited for our table to be ready at Gao Viet Kitchen. After a super early morning of traveling, something sweet and cold sounded like the best snack before our first meal of the day. Boba Bless is a smaller cafe, but it’s cozy feeling and the workers are super nice! We got a taro milk tea, one of my favorites.
I actually didn’t even realize this when we were there, but the L in bless is a cross, so I decided to look up their website and socials pages. Boba bless is actually a mission driven business that opened exactly 1 year ago on the day that we went. They are involved with their community and serve the homeless every month on the 4th. This is what I got off the internet, “Boba bless is a mission driven boba shop. Boba Bless partner with a missionary organization in support to raise funds & awareness of their missions across the world giving and being a blessing to communities that are often ignored and needs help.” I’m not trying to promote religion on my blog as all, so I’m sharing without that aspect, but what they do is very awesome and wholesome. It deserves to be recognized!
I’ve been following Gao Viet Kitchen for a while now, so it was a must go for this trip! The location we chose to visit was in San Mateo, California. They are known on social media for their huge Zilla bowls. We wanted to try multiple things, so we opted out of those and got the regular sized bowls. For appetizers, we ordered the Fish Sauce Chicken Wings and the Marrow Cracker. Then for the noodle soups, we ordered the Chubby Pho and their Old School BBH (Bún bò huế). I also ordered the Milky Pandan to drink, which was non-alcoholic.
I have mixed emotions about Gao Viet Kitchen. Everything was good, except for the Chubby Pho. The Chubby Pho in my opinion isn’t anything special, it was actually less in flavor than some pho places here in Grand Rapids and it hurts me to say that. Plus, they use the bigger and thicker pho noodles and I’m not a fan of those. I would love to give the pho another try. I’ve convinced myself that the flavor comes from the specialty meats and other proteins, so maybe we just didn’t order the right one this time around. Am I delusional? Could be, but I would love to give it another shot. The Old School BBH (Bún bò huế) on the other hand was actually so flavorful! It tasted great as leftovers too, probably even better than when it first came out! The appetizers were the best though. The Fish Sauce Chicken Wings were so good, I could have just eaten those the whole time. The flavor/taste of wings had the perfect amount of fish sauce and a burst of flavor with every bite. The Marrow Cracker was also good. The crispy sticky rice that the bone marrow sat on top of was an interesting choice however. The crispy sticky rice could have been crispier in my opinion, I think a rice cake/cracker could have been used instead. Note that the Marrow Cracker is best when eaten right away!
Milky Pandan:Creamy milk and sweet coconut meets the unique flavor of pandan
Fish Sauce Chicken Wings:Chicken Wings, Fish Sauce, Vietnamese Coriander, Garlic, Chili, Jalapeño, Bell Pepper, Lettuce, Onion
Marrow Cracker: Crispy Sticky Rice, Pork Belly, Beef Marrow, White Onion, Green Onions, Fried Shallots, BBQ Sauce
Old School BBH: Spicy Lemongrass, Shrimp Paste, Brisket, Pork Blood, Pork Belly, Pork Hock, Vietnamese Ham, Thick Vermicelli, Vietnamese Coriander, Onion, Green Onion, Cilantro
After eating, it was time to check in to our cute Hello Kitty themed Airbnb! It was meant to be with this airbnb. We had a budget, certain dates and a certain location to stay, so it would be centralized according to our itinerary for this trip and this Hello Kitty airbnb fit all of that! The host had so many cute Hello Kitty/Sanrio items everywhere, it was perfect for the Hello Kitty lover that I am. The best part was the big Sanrio plush wall! I can’t lie, I have about a quarter of the same plushies in my room LOL. The airbnb fit our needs perfectly for our trip and the neighborhood was great! Jessica was also a great host and attentive. I would recommend this airbnb for a party of 2 and I would definitely book it again. If you want to check out the airbnb just click HERE for the listing!
Chinatown, San Francisco
After checking in to the airbnb, we headed to San Francisco’s Chinatown. I have also heard so much about it and seen it in movies, so it was must go on this trip. I wasn’t surprised by how it looked or how busy it was, but I was surprised about the parking. The parking signage in San Francisco can be so confusing and there’s garages/driveways everywhere, so finding street parking can be a little chaotic and you have all of the electric trolley buses and driverless Waymo cars going around. I think we drove around for about 30 minutes and 500 times around chinatown to find parking.
Fun fact: San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest chinatown outside of Asia and the oldest in North America!
We walked all around Chinatown, visited all the stores and checked out all the cute trinkets that they had there, but there’s one place that everyone talks about online, so we had to visit too. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is this tiny store where they make tons of fortune cookies and gives out fresh free fortune cookie samples. They have tons of different flavors and types of fortune cookies to buy as well. The workers were so hardworking too! I didn’t get the hype and the line was so long, but I will admit that fresh samples were really good. Fortune cookies are best hot right off the press.
Okay, I looked it up and Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory has been open since 1962 and is known for making custom fortune cookies by hand ever since. They are the oldest handmade fortune cookie factory and they have tours available! We love fun facts!
We couldn’t leave chinatown without getting Dim Sum, so we choose a random place out of the many and ended up at House of Dim Sum. They had a huge variey of dim sum to choose from and it’s all decently priced. There is some dine in tables inside and outside for you, but it is quite small and can be loud. We ordered our dim sum to go, but ate it when we got back to our airbnb. It was delicious! I wanted to grab more on one of the other days, if we had time. We ordered Har Gow (Shrimp Dumpling), Siu Mai (Pork Dumplings), Shark Fin Dumplings, and Chives and Shrimp Dumplings.
Day Two – My 30th Birthday
HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, SALLY! ♡
We started day two’s morning at the Balloon Museum: Emotion Air San Francisco. It’s a fun and interactive museum with all sorts of different types of balloons and ballon-like art concepts. There’s other locations and they each have a specific theme, the San Francisco theme is Emotions, so you’ll see a lot of “alive” balloons. I love these types of museums, they bring the kid out of you and they are just pure happiness and fun, plus the photo ops are always great! At the end they have a gift shop and a balloon bar, where there were huge balloon dogs and flowers. If we didn’t fly and drove instead, I would have bought some. They were so cute and huge, you can also customize your own colors and get other balloon shapes!
Right outside of the Balloon Museum building is the Palace of Fine Arts. It’s a structure that’s around a small body of water by the marina with a trail to walk around. The architectural structures themselves are beautiful and transport you to another place in the world. A great place for photos, it’s absolutely stunning!
Fun Fact: The Palace was featured in the video game SimCity 4 as a landmark. It was also replicated at Disney’s California Adventure as part of the entrance to a theater showcasing California’s history.The Palace of Fine Arts made famous cameos throughout the years in films like Vertigo (1958), The Rock (1996), Bicentennial Man (1999), and The Room (2003); and in series including Monk and Sense8.
It was time to get food that would be along the way to our next sightseeing location. We found the restaurant Blackwood and made it in time for their brunch menu! Our server was awesome, the food was great and the restaurant atmosphere was charming. We ordered the Ahi Scoops, which were full of different flavors that blended very well together, the Souflegg Skillets – Savory, which was a great big portion and the souffle was so soft, and Not Yo’ Average Ramyun, which the presentation was insane and it was such an upscale version of one of my favorite ramen packs.
Ahi Scoops: Sesame crusted seared Ahi tuna on spicy cucumber, seaweed salad and wasabi cream sauce
Souflegg Skillets – Savory:Soft steamed egg served on a skillet with rainbow potatoes and ciabatta. Fluffy, delicious, and wholesome. Savory: Spinach, crispy bacon, green onion.
Not Yo’ Average Ramyun:Dry tossed “Shin” cup noodles tricked out with maple candied bacon, fried egg, bell peppers, cabbage, mushroom
When in San Francisco, you need to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. The viewing area that most people talk about is right before you drive on the bridge, but I’m just a girl and I led Alan onto the bridge instead. While I was trying give directions on how to get back, to go the other way, I somehow got us to this other viewing/parking area. In the end, it turned out to be the perfect spot for our mini photoshoot! The photos turned out so nice and it was one of my favorite places of the whole trip. Sadly, the fog was out and it was windy, but we were warned ahead of time.
We were still so full and it was too early still for dinner, so we drove and walked around this neighborhood/shopping street. On my list of places that I wanted to check out, there was a charm bracelet shop called Tibetan Golden Lotus. I came in the store to just look around and came out with a brand new charm bracelet with the cutest charms that I personally picked out and a cute new ring! I’ve been to charm stores before, but none of them compare to Tibetan Golden Lotus. I still have my charm bracelet on now and it’s still in perfect shape, no rust or skin coloring and nothing has fallen off! The charms that I chose have little and simple meanings – a heart lock & key since we were going to put a lock next, ‘S’ for Sally, Hello Kitty for my love for Hello Kitty, a moon with July’s birthstone, and a bow because it was so cute and I’m just a girl.
Side note:Shoutout to my nail tech for absolutely slaying my nails, she did such a great job. These are so far are my most favorite nails and everyone else loved them too!
Yes, you read that right. We did put a love lock at Battery Spencer Overlook. This is actually our fourth love lock that we locked together around the US. Our first lock is in Houston, Texas, the second lock is in Orlando, Florida, the third lock is in Dallas, Texas and this one in San Francisco, California. We’ve been putting our locks around since 2021. It’s cheesy, but so cute, leave us alone! Let us have these little cute moments ♡ This is an overlook of the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was so windy and foggy up there that this is the most clear picture that I have of the bridge from here. They are saying that this year’s July weather is their record coldest.
Side note:I was super excited to be up this high cause I was pretty much where Prue, Piper, Pheobe, Rose Halliwell and Leo Wyatt felt when they orbed or transported to the top of the bridge in Charmed!
You would be surprised at how much of an appetite you build up when you’ve been fighting the wind and your long hair in SF, LOL. I was having real life moments of delivering Krusty Krab Pizzas. If you don’t know by now, read this next sentence carefully. We always try a seafood boil place when traveling and King Cajun in Orlando is still my #1 place. Cajun Bowl has an all you can eat option or order a la carte. We opt-in the ayce because we’re big backs. Cajun Bowl could have been better in my opinion, it wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst either. It didn’t give me a wow factor at all. They have a good selection for their ayce and don’t limit you on items like lobster tails and snow crabs, but it is an extra charge every time you order them, which I would rather have that than the extra charge and limit.
What’s a birthday without a birthday drink? We ended the day with drinks. I’m old now and day drinking for me means I’ll need a nap and there’s no time for a nap when you’re on vacation! Surprisingly there weren’t many bars open on a Sunday night past 9 pm. Maybe I’m just spoiled here in Grand Rapids. Nighthawk in Redwood City, CA was the place to be on a Sunday. It’s a smaller bar lounge, but it was packed and everyone stayed there for a while. The seating inside was cozy and their crafted cocktails were delicious. I ordered Lucid Dreams and the boyfriend ordered Tiki in the Trees.
Tiki in the Trees:Mezcal, Pineapple, Benedictine, Lime, Orgeat and Amaro di Angostura
Day Three
We were so tired on my actual birthday to do the cake, so we did it on day three. The cake Alan got me was from Paris Baguette and it was in the cutest white bear design. Not only was the cake super cute, but it was also super yummy. It was a vanilla cake with fresh strawberries in between the cake, whipped icing (which is my favorite because it’s not as sweet) with coconut flakes. Overall, it was light and refreshing. The day we had to leave, we had a little over half the cake left and we couldn’t take it with us, I stuffed my face with it. I almost ate the whole cake before we had to fly out because it was too cute and too good to be left behind like that.
Day three is another stacked day, hope you’re ready for it! First outing of the day was to Pulgas Water Temple. It’s beautiful here and it’s another place that really transports you into a different world. It was so calm and peaceful here. There were people here, laying on their beach towels by the gates reading books and tanning. They had the right idea because I would absolutely do the same thing if I was a local! I love finding parks that have great sunlight, great views, but also not crowed and peaceful, so I can hear my own thoughts to journal and to be with myself.
We stopped at a Pacifica State Beach to try to touch the water, but it got pretty windy by the shore, so we just took a small moment to enjoy the sand before we made our way to Devil’s Slide Bunker. Pacifica State Beach is known as the beach with a Taco Bell, not even kidding. If we had Taco Bell right on the beach, best believe that is where you would find me!
The Devil’s Slide Bunker is an old WWII bunker that’s been abandoned and now heavily graffitied. The area that it is on is called Devil’s Slide. The history behind the name: that area is known for landslides and for being steep and rocky. When you are on the cliff, you have the prettiest view of the ocean and the surrounding coast and caves. Thankfully, it was clear and not foggy when we came. You do have to be careful about being too close the edge.
If you haven’t noticed yet, seeing the city of San Francisco from a higher view is very hard to do in July. You’ll have to deal with strong winds and fog. Our time at Twin Peaks was super windy. I thought it was pretty windy at Battery Spencer, but it was even stronger here. I was scared that I was going to get blown off the stairs going up and down the peaks. The pants I wore acted more like a parachute, so that was an interesting time haha. The views from Twin Peaks are beautiful though. You really get another view of the city. You feel so big & tall, but yet so small.
Miffy, do I need to say more? I’m obsessed with Miffy (sorry Hello Kitty). I even got a Miffy tattoo before a HK one. So when I heard there was a store that sells Miffy products, you know I had to go! The Kira Shop has so many cute Miffy products that you don’t usually see in stores, like stationary, plushies, keychains, clothing, houseware, beauty, etc. I got this cute plush keychain and a crewneck that saids SF with Miffy on it. They have another location in Hawaii. Fun fact: I just found out a couple days ago that at SFO Airport, there’s a Miffy store! I didn’t know and missed out, so it looks like I HAVE TO go to SF again! 🙂
There’s this park called Golden Gate Park and you can walk around and find other parks or amenities to go into with admission. There’s the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden, The de Young Museum and The California Academy of Sciences.
We only had time to do one, so we chose the Japanese Tea Garden. It’s a smaller park, but there tons of spots here to sit down and enjoy all the Japanese plants and structures. The koi ponds are so fun to walk around and the koi’s are huge! There’s also a gift shop and cafe located inside, so you really could spend a good amount of time here. I heard that the matcha is one of the most popular things that you have to try at the cafe, but we were short on time and there was quite a line. A very tranquil place.
We drove over to the Haight-Ashbury District to check out a number of locations on our list and came across Dragon Eats. Dragon Eats is a small Vietnamese cafe/eats. We needed a mid day snack before the big dinner. I can never say no to Café Sua Da (Vietnamese coffee) and Bánh Mì (Vietnamese sub). The Café Sua Da and the Pork Meatball Bánh Mì were on point. The meatball pork was so good and full of flavor that I ordered a second one so I had it for my flight the next day.
Writing every place we went to in order, I notice that we keep going back and forth from nature to the city. We’re balanced, okay? *cues music* – in the city, ‘member used to drive a Yukon* San Francisco has a lot of vintage photo booths around, either in stores or in their own locations. The Photomatica Photo Booths were the ones that we found in the Haight District. This neighborhood is a thrifters dream. I think we visited 3-5 different thrift shops and that wasn’t even all of them!
There were 4 photobooths in the front of the store, each with their own printing style and color. The photo booths are vintage, meaning they are older so there is no screen that shows you what you look like and it’s an old school flash bulb that goes off when your photo gets taken. You definitely have to wait a little in between each photo booth for your photos to develop and for your eyes to recover from the flashes. Your photos strips will come out good as long as you fully draw the fabric shade close!
We visited the most talked about Pier 39 and as you can see, it was still very windy. If you have long hair like I do, just plan to wear your hair in a pony or bun in July. Save yourself the trouble and don’t curl your hair, cause the wind will just blow them right out. I’m not sure how Pier 39 differs from the others, but this one is known for it’s carnival like charm, gift shops, restaurants and the sea lions! Yes, you can watch the sea lions chill on the docks all day and you can see Alcatraz from a distance!
Finally the birthday dinner! Everyone has been asking questions about where I chose to eat for my birthday and why. The Holbrook Housewas the restaurant of my choice for my 30th. The Holbrook House has 3 dining options to choose from – regular dining table, martini table and patio. I specifically wanted to experience the martini table. You still get full menu service, but you also get the champagne and martini switches! Whenever you are ready to get another drink, you flip the switch and they come around with either the champagne cart or the martini cart. They have drink menus specifically for the carts, so you get to customize your drink and they’ll make it right in front of you!
It was the good ol’ dirty thirty, so martini me please! I got to customize my drink every step and it was the best dirty martini that I have ever had. The caviar bump was *chefs kiss*, it was an add on, but for the price I would have done more bumps.
Sally’s Dirty Thirty Martini:Harku Japanese Vodka, Veso Tomato Vermouth, Olive Juice, Tabasco Hot Sauce and Blue Cheese Creme Fraiche Olives with a bump of Caviar on the side
We ordered from the raw bar, the Petit Seafood Tower, then Deviled Eggs and Caviar for an appetizer and an entree to share the Baked Pasta Alla Vodka. Everything was phenomenal, 11/10 would recommend The Holbrook House. It is on the little pricier side of dining, but everyone should treat themselves with good food once in a while. I dream about eating here all the time and it won’t stop. I can’t wait to have it again!
Deviled Eggs and Caviar:American White Sturgeon Caviar, Shallot Brunoise
Baked Pasta Alla Vodka:Calabrese Sausage, Parmesan, Vodka Sauce
Before ending our last full day in San Francisco, we went to a spot nearby to look at the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge at night. It was very simple, but still pretty to see. There’s definitely nothing like it in the midwest. This time I did not accidentally take us on the bridge and I’m very thankful for that! When I was flying in to SFO, I saw the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge from above and it was actually terrifying. This super long bridge in the middle of a large body water with nothing surrounding it and once you are on it, you can only go one way to get off. CRAZY.
Day Four – Last Morning in San Francisco
We only had time to do one last eating adventure before heading off to the airport and the lucky winner was In-N-Out Burger. I still think In-N-Out Burger is overrated, but it’s not bad like I said it was in my past food blog. I’m slowly coming around to it. Except this might be the last time that I ever eat In-N-Out Burger, I’m traumatized. It could have been all the flights and layovers that I had or the drastic altitude changes or the time change, but I had super bad motion sickness on my travels back to Michigan and (sorry for the details) threw up the In-N-Out that I ate. Literally it was In N Out of me, it was pretty bad. With that, I’ll be taking a break for a while.
Visiting San Francisco has always been on my list since watching Full House and Charmed growing up. I didn’t think that San Francisco would also transport me to all these other places too. I’m grateful for it! It was like multiple mini trips within my trip. Everyone should plan a San Francisco trip and do all the tourist things. I actually loved all the typical tourist spots that we were able to fit in our itinerary and will be coming back to do the ones we couldn’t get too.
Thank you for making it to the end of this blog post! This one was a long one and we did a lot. I probably should have split it in two blogs, one for food and the other for places visited, but now you have this mini guide all in your hands. Below is just a little video I put together of both Colorado and San Francisco, Welcome to the roadtrip to my 30’s and cheers to this new decade that I made it too. Time to make more memories, see you all in the next SALLY THINGS ♡
I’m behind on the series and I can’t even tell you a summary of these months anymore. I’m just kidding. There’s so much that I want to say, but I can’t find the correct words to say it. There’s been so much ups and downs in the beginning of the year. I just want to thank my people for being with me and to thank myself for holding on.
I’m a big lover of Valentine’s Day, so it’s no different for Galentine’s Day. If you didn’t know, Galentine’s Day is a day to celebrate women’s friendships and lands on February 13 every year. I have been so lucky to have been able to celebrate Galentine’s with friends for the last few years now. It’s the one event that I look forward to every year! I think it’s so fun to decorate the house, get cute, and spend quality time with your girls.
Every year, my friends and I plan a girls only party. We have food, drinks, themed outfits, photoshoots, crafts, gift exchange, etc. We’re always going all out and it’s always a great time. I just had my Wisconsin’s Galentine’s 2025 last weekend! I love love, I love being a girl and I love my friends ♡
Now let me take you through the years of Galentine’s events. You know, just SALLYTHINGS♡
2020
The very first Galentine’s party and outing was in 2020 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I remember I had to rush after work to the party and even though most of the girls left, I was still able to get some photos and food in. It was the first time I’ve taken any lingerie photos and those came out so good. There’s something empowering about having little polaroids of yourself looking hot! Lingerie polaroids are now a must every year. They are my favorite photos and everyone else’s too. ♡
The outing was with two other friends and that’s a story of it’s own. We went to a rooftop bar in Grand Rapids called IDC Bar. Yes, a rooftop bar in the middle of February and we weren’t freezing! It’s still one of my favorite rooftop bars to go to in Grand Rapids. The IDC Bar is so cute on the inside and the vibes are so fun. The IDC Bar had just opened in 2019/2020 and they served hotdogs and chili bowls. My friends and I will never forget how we were eating chili dog with our drinks that were 3x more expensive. We loved it though! There was a big insurance convention that happened in the same hotel right before, so we met a lot of new friends during our outing. We went all out with our new friends and got the huge IDC disco ball punch. Someone also ended up paying for our whole tabs as well. Definitely a night to remember ♡
2021
Galentine’s 2021 had a black and white theme. Celebrated in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ♡ Sometimes you have to be wild in this life and we made sure of that. Not only was it Galentine’s, but we were celebrating a 21st birthday! This outing started out with a nice dinner that quickly turned to a drink fest. I remember taking the whole margarita pitcher in a to-go soup bowl container and us drinking from that bowl. Next, we stopped by The Woods for some more drinks. It was completely empty there, but we had such a fun time. That’s where most of our photos and videos came from. If you have the best people with you, you’ll never be bored! We also made friends with whoever came in randomly. Free shots after shots. We couldn’t end the night there, the night was still young. We went to the Gun Lake Casino since they would be open. Lost a little money, but at least we had our drinks and more girl time. I specifically remember sitting at the cafe at 2 am or 3 am and drunk eating before our rides came. I’m pretty sure we all went to work hungover the next day. Nothing like a Galentine’s! ♡
2022
2022 was the first year and start of Wisconsin Galentine’s♡ I was living in Madison, Wisconsin this year. Wisconsin Galentine’s has been happening ever since and the event I always look forward to every year. It’s always a girls only party and we tend to throw our secret santa exchange with it. This year was also a birthday celebration as well. Like all the other Galentine’s we plan all the decor, snacks, drinks, photo backdrop, outfits, etc. It’s always a good time! Of course we need the spicy polaroids. These are probably still my favorite ones. ♡
2023
2023 Wisconsin Galentine’s was a two day event. First day was the all girls party with another birthday celebration. The second day was our friend group including the guys and we all went out to a club/bar. For photos this year, we had our dress up ones, then the topless flower photos. We tried our best to recreate it and they turned out super cute. The second day, after the bar outing we stayed up until 6-8 am still hanging out. I have the funniest videos of us all at 7 am still partying, some sleeping and some just so tired but staying alive. Like I said before when you have a good group, you’ll never be bored or in the case sleep! ♡
My second Galentine’s outing was back home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My best friend and I were on a mission to take some good photos for her Valentine’s and after that was completed, we had a nice lunch at Tupelo Honey. I wish I could post the photos we took because they turned out so good, but those are for certain eyes only! Being a girl and having girl best friends means no limits to what we do for each other and those friendships are so emotionally mature, deep and meaningful. It’s great to be girl ♡
2024
2024 was another Grand Rapids and Wisconsin Galentine’s celebration. For Grand Rapids, Michigan it was a little get together with my besties after work. Nothing like a comfy girls night in with some wine and pizza. Also, one of my friend’s mom made us these cute paint dripped wine glasses. It was super cute and so sweet! ♡
Wisconsin Galentine’s this year had a bigger group, but also was a potluck! We had really good food. We all dressed up for photos and then had our spicy polaroids. We had time to play card games and did gift exchanges. The floating flower backdrop this year is my favorite back drop of all! It’s so beautiful and simple. ♡
2025
I don’t know what happened this year, but Wisconsin Galentine’s 2025 stepped it up. The aesthetics were in the room with us. We did not come to play this year! Our outfit theme was cute pajamas and of course spicy outfits if you wanted those photos. We also had a cajun seafood boil. It was *chefs kiss* Although it took us longer to start and we didn’t to do any activities that we had planned, it was still a fun Galentine’s. Look I’m looking forward too and I’ll be back next year for Wisconsin Galentine’s 2026 ♡
A Grand Rapids Galentine’s is still in the works, but coming soon. We’re just waiting on the snow to stop doing what it does best, snow. So hopefully that will be very soon. A girls day is always needed! ♡
UPDATE (added 02.19.2025)
Grand Rapids Galentine’s! This Galentine’s was a packed one. My best friend Maddie made us some spicy vodka pasta and pickle pasta salad. We had a snack bar with fruits, charcuterie board, cookies, etc. A galentine’s is nothing without cute cocktails, so of course we had those. I’m not sure how we did it, but we were able to record a hot ones challenge with 5 different hot sauces, decorate the room and took our spicy polaroid photoshoot, shopped for charm bracelets, iron-on sweat outfits and our food, cooked, made custom matching charm bracelets and opened up our Galentine’s goodie bags. We finished our bestie iron-on sweat outfits another day. They came out so cute and perfect and it was a lot easier than we thought! It was an amazing Galentine’s filled with laughter. It’s always the best time with Maddie ♡
I am super lucky to have the girl friends that I have and I am very lucky to be able to travel to see them. I am very lucky to have all these women in my life. They are all strong, sweet, kind, beautiful, confident, funny, loving and so much more. They are the reason why Galentine’s was created. I hope every girl finds their girls, their gals! ♡
Usually I write a summary of the months here, but for this one I’ll just say this: you were wrong, but you had the right to be wrong. Ended 2024 strong. Literal definition of trying to live your best life.
Is it just me or does the October fall breeze has a calming and grounding feel to it? There’s something about October where I tend to slow down life and get really focused. I also noticed that a lot of different socials will talk about how October is about healing and grounding. I just went through a small rabbit hole on October’s birthstones, so now you have to as well.. There’s 2 birthstones for October: Opal and Tourmaline. Opal is known to symbolize hope, clarity and truths. It is known for their soothing, calming energies to alleviate stress and provide tranquility and peace. Tourmaline is known to inspire and promote happiness, encourages confidence and diminishes fear, energetic energy, best for healing the physical heart and can be used for grounding. Everything just ties together.
New month, new affirmations and intentions! September just flew by. I can’t believe it’s already October. We all made through another month and we’ll make it through this one. Lets take advantage of the healing properties of October, here are some affirmations and intentions ♡
୨⎯ October is a time for reflection; I appreciate the journey that has bought me here. ୨⎯ October’s chill is a reminder to nurture myself with self-care and warmth. ୨⎯ I welcome the calming and cozy energy of October in my life. ୨⎯ I create space for relaxation, allowing my mind and body to recharge. ୨⎯ I trust each season of my life ୨⎯ Love more; The world and everyone around you needs it. ୨⎯ Let go of the past you have survived it. Time to move on. ୨⎯ Give yourself credit for how far you have come. ୨⎯ Do things that fill your cup to reconnect. ୨⎯ Reach for the truth of your life more and more each day.
For those who need more reminder or motivational-like sayings instead of affirmations, this section is for you. Here are a few that I found ♡
୨⎯ You’re close, that’s why it’s getting tough. ୨⎯ We can’t control all in life, but what we can do is look ahead and dictate where we go next. ୨⎯Transform to Heal: People-Pleasing → Authenticity | Difficulty Saying “No” → Setting Boundaries | Overthinking → Trusting Intuition | Comparing Oneself → Self-Appreciation ୨⎯ Allow yourself the time to just be this month. Love, laugh, play, create. Meet with a friend and talk. Indulge in the most beautiful bubble bath. We are at a transition of seasons and it’s time to find the space to be. To enjoy. To fill your cup and remind yourself that you are so truly worthy. ୨⎯ Choosing progress over perfection. Honoring what you’ve achieved while moving towards what you desire. Staying grounded in gratitude and feeling at peace. ୨⎯ Feel your feelings, even if it disrupts your day. Your inner child deserves kind self-talk. Love yourself harder on days you’re struggling. ୨⎯ Dear October, I won’t ask for perfection, as it’s all part of the ride. I won’t ask for abundance, as I have my own meaning of wealth, but I will ask for reminders to be present in the daily. I will ask for soft reminders when something isn’t for me. I will ask that I become what I need. ୨⎯ October will be filled with love, peace and healing. October will be filled with progress, blessings, and opportunities. October will be fill with happiness. ୨⎯ In October – Become the love you always wanted, but never received. Heal what hurts, so that it doesn’t use you as a channel to hurt others. Forgive yourself – for all the versions of yourself you did not become, for all of the versions of yourself you had to be in order to get here today. Slow down – live softly, and love softly, and above all else, never forget that while beautiful things may come and go – they still come. They still come. ୨⎯October ins: Slowing down, letting go of old beliefs, making room for the new. October Outs: Forcing, unaligned action, negatives self talk.
Happy October and I hope that it brings everyone all that you guys need. It can flow to you and find you, but you also have to allow and accept it in too. Take care of yourself. A happier us is the goal. ♡
These summer months were filled with travels for me. Remember how I said I was going to live it up this summer? I definitely did! Having a life outside of work has been a long time coming and well deserved. I’ve been able to romanticize my life again and mentally I’ve been so much better. I turned 29, I ate good food, I danced, I added to my plushie collections when I literally have no space in my room, I loved and was loved back, celebrated my friend getting married, saw old friends and made ones. It was the best. I would love to thank the summer sun for all it provided, you’ll be very missed soon. Hopefully the winter blues will be kind this year. Loving every little thing in the world ♡
I decided to spend my July 4th over at Royal Oak Taco Fest! It was a very last minute decision, but in the end worth it. I’ve been saying that I wanted to challenge myself to go out and do things solo more, so I did just that! I’ve never been to any Taco Fest, so I wasn’t sure what it would be like, but it was well worth the drive and admission fee. Royal oak is about 2 hours to 2.5 hours away from me, so I made it a small foodie adventure. Admission tickets were $12 per person and when I got in, there were tons of food trucks, vendor booths and a huge kids area. There were all sorts of food beside tacos and plenty of drink booths, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic. Now, let’s eat!
It was pretty hot out, so a freshly squeezed lemonade was a must! There was an option to add alcohol to the lemonade, but I decided not too. I was not going to make the mistake of “eating” alcohol like I did with previous festivals that I wanted to blog about. The first food truck was Eight Claw Crab Boil. I will say, I was hoping they had their seafood boil available, but sadly it wasn’t. Instead I ordered the Crab and Lobster Grilled Cheese. I’ve never had a grilled cheese that was this tasty. It was like heaven. I might have to hunt down Eight Claw Crab Boil pretty soon.
Next was Spicy Jerk Chicken and the famous BBQ Mac & Cheese from Chef Collier Willis of House of Barbecue. I was walking around and the smell of the ribs was so amazingly delicious that I stopped and grabbed food. The ribs were a big portion and I wanted to be able to try more foods, so I skipped on it. Don’t worry, I’m coming to find you too! The BBQ Mac & Cheese was nothing special, still good though, but the Spicy Jerk Chicken was SPICY. It had a great kick to it. I usually don’t like chicken that much because it usually is dry, but this was perfect and juicy. You got everything fresh and right off the smoker. House of Barbecue also got voted for ‘best entree’ out of everyone else!
I always try to go on these foodie adventures and get so full after the second food truck or booth. I opted in for some dessert just in case I was going to call it a day. I was so stuffed after eating this delicious strawberry and pineapple milk chocolate skewer topped with sprinkles, marshmellows and peanuts from Lekker Choco Treats. It was just what needed on a hot summers days. They have different fruit skewers to choose from, then you get to choose your chocolate and then your toppings. You can’t go wrong!
Who was I kidding? Who just quits after the third food truck when you go on a foodie adventure? Definitely not this girl. I was at the Taco Fest for hours, just trying to walk off the food I already ate to try more. I walked around for a good hour and even sat at one of the stages trying to stay awake and away from the food coma that was trying to get me LOL. Ya’ll I was struggling trying to not nap. I succeeded and decided to celebrate with some tacos! Finally the item that the festival was named after.
I know, I know. This might knock down my foodie credit with some of my readers, but I like flour tortillas over corn. Don’t hate me, okay!?! Please still support me ♡ I visited Galindo’s Authentic Mexican and ordered their red queso steak taco and just a regular steak taco. No, I didn’t eat them dry. I added both of their spicy roja salsa and verde salsa. They were good tacos, but nothing that made them stand out to be the ultimate best. Galindo’s got voted for most authentic taco at the festival!
Dessert time again! I’ve been really into sweets lately, which is very unlike me, but I’m not going to question it. It is what it is. There were some carnival like food booths and this one had deep fried candy bars. I’ve never heard of such thing or have seen one, so I had to give it a try. I ordered a deep fried snickers. I don’t know what I expected it to look like, but not a corndog like item with powdered sugar on top. Let me tell you though, if you haven’t had a deep fried snickers bar, you are missing out. I was impressed with this chocolate corndog delight. It may not look like it in the video though. I was passed full and starting to sweat being out in that heat.
I could no longer eat anymore, I was about to pop. It was time for me to leave, BUT before leaving I had to get one last drink. I tried the Watermelon Sugar topped with blue punch. It was a mix of the blue punch with raspberry tea and strawberry melon. It was very sweet, maybe a little too sweet for me. I think it would have been better without the added blue punch. It was pretty refreshing though, so I do recommend everyone to visit The Fern when you find yourself in Royal Oak!
I’m very happy that I did the solo trip to Royal Oak Taco Fest. Sometimes you just need to self indulge and take adventures. How would I rate Taco Fest? 8.5/10. It was a family friendly event with tons of craft tents and blowup obstacles for the kids, then tons of food options to choose from, plus multiple of the same food trucks, so lines were short. There were multiple vendors and chances to spin a wheel and win prizes from the merch ones. I will point out that if you are against cannabis, then this might not be the event for you. Most vendor booths were cannabis and THC products, so that’s all that I will point out. I’m not sure if this event is held in multiple cities, but you can always get a good idea of what vendors will be there based off of the sponsors! I’m not sure what the next foodie adventure will be and I won’t promise anymore about certain ones because I might end up “eating” alcohol again.. oopsies. ALWAYS remember though, we live to eat and not eat to live! ♡
I become a better person when the weather starts to heat up. I don’t know what to say, I just LOVE the sun. As you may have read or heard, I switched jobs and positions which has allowed me to have more time to have a personal life and more time to focus on my health and make improvements to it. I promised myself that I would live more this year in experiences and not live at work like how I have in the past. April to June has been a blessing and I have done just that ♡ I’ve done so many things in these few months, so I’m excited to see how this will continue for the rest of summer and after. I’m happy that I can feel like a normal person and be more with the people I love. Living my best life ♡
Here’s a local Food Alert for my Michigan readers. I was able to attend the last day of the Grand Rapids 55th Festival of the Artsthis past weekend! This one is a special one because for as long as I can remember, my family and I always attended this festival. It was always so fun with all the painting and different crafts that we got to do, then all the food that we would eat and who can forget about handmade lemonade? I remember we use to design our our own t-shirts with paint, get our face painted, make our sculptures with wood and glue, get ballon animals, spiral painting and even just regular painting. Then as I got older, I was able to take some of my nieces with me and watch them do all the same that I use to do as a kid. It’s such a fun family event that happens in Grand Rapids! I haven’t gone in the past 9 years, so when I was able to make it this year I made sure to make the best of it. A lot has changed from the last time I attended and it was a lot smaller with less activities and vendors, but I just know it’ll get there again! Now let’s jump into the food ♡
I went by myself to do a little foodie adventure, which was very hard because I can’t eat a lot. I got full quick. I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat everything and all of it, so I came prepared and brought some to-go containers from home in a bag to store what I couldn’t finish for later. That was actually such a smart thing to do. GO SALLY! First stop was at the Chinese Association of West Michigan booth. One of my favorites, even as a kid, are these chicken skewers! It was a nostalgic way to start off the foodie adventure.
Not even 2 minutes after buying the chicken skewers, I saw the Sanse Filipino food truck and knew my second stop would be there. With the chicken skewers in hand, I ordered their Pork Lumpias. If I had more hands, I would have probably ordered more food like their chicken adobo, but I also needed to not go in so hard right when I got to the festival. You guys should have seen me sitting on the sidewalk taking a bite of the chicken skewer in one hand and then a bite of the pork lumpia in the other. I was in such a happy place!
After the first two foods, I was feeling full already. I know, it’s not even that much, but I really have a small appetite! I walked around and looked at all the merchandise vendors for about 45 mins before grabbing this Tamales Platter from the Tamales Mary food truck. It has been a while since I had tamales, so it was everything! I really like tamales, especially with extra hot sauce. The spicier, the better. I got a red shredded chicken tamal and a green shredded pork tamal. I tried to eat as much of the platter that I could, but look it was perfect for leftovers for later.
I could have taken a little food coma nap at this point if I tried. I had to be a champ and walk around again and explore more of the festival. I sat down at a few stages and watched a few performances. It got blazing hot after a bit and I needed something cold and something sweet, so why not find some some ice cream? There were a few vendors to choose from, but I decided on SemiFreddo, an Italian food truck. The other ice cream trucks were ones where I’ve had them before, so I wanted to try something new. Plus, a sparkling cream float sounded so yummy and perfect! I knew that if I didn’t finish the ice cream part before it started to melt, at least it would still be good as a float! In the sparkling cream float was a scoop of lemon semifredoo, strawberry sauce mixed with sparkling water. I’m not a huge fan of strawberry sauce because it’s usually just artificial syrup, but their strawberry sauce had chunks of fresh strawberries. They won me over. I had a great time eating/drink my float and watching the jazz band, Big Band Nouveau. It was one of those ‘life is good’ moments ♡
With two hours left of the festival and an over stuffed tummy, I needed to choose what would be my last foodie options. I really wanted to try Honeybee’s Kitchen Caribbean & Soulfood food truck or Big Ed’s BBQ food truck, but their lines were super long. I should have because I’ve been thinking about them since! Long lines usually = really good food. I walked past the Holy Trinity Greek tent twice before deciding that I just needed to get a Souvlaki. This was also one of my favorites to eat when we came to Festival of the Arts when I was a kid. It was just as good as I remembered it!
The last item of the festival foodie adventure was, of course, a Shaker Lemonade from the Big Mike’s Kettle Corn tent. Fresh lemonade is top tier. Usually at this festival it would be a booth by one of the local high schools, but I noticed this year it was more food trucks than associations or organizations like in the past. Not complaining though, all the food trucks were still Michigan local and I was able to have the chance to support them! Also, the streets of downtown Grand Rapids is such a cute place to take photos.
Honorary Merchandise Vendor Mention
You all know how much I LOVE FLOWERS! I was so excited to see a vendor selling flowers and had to get a cute bouquet for myself. Thank you to Leaflet for making this beautiful bouquet and making my whole day. I’m absolutely obsessed with them ♡
I wish I had more space in my tummy to try ALL the other food trucks or tents that I couldn’t get too. If you weren’t able to attend Festival of the Arts, but is now interested, it happens every year in June, downtown Grand Rapids! It is a free event, no admission fee! Just keep your eye out or sign up for emails on their website. You can also follow them on facebook as well! I’m very happy that I had the day off to go. I’m also proud of myself for going on a solo foodie adventure and how much I was able to eat on my own.
This upcoming weekend is the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival, so if you are in the area you might catch me on another foodie adventure! It’s also held downtown Grand Rapids, this will be my first year being able to attend. It is also a free event with no admission! Another great family friendly event to bring the kids to. Like this one, there will be a Food Alert blog on that coming shortly after! I actually tried to do the same thing with Michigan Asian Fest in Novi, Michigan, two weekends ago, but I ended up only eating beer with a side of papaya salad and kapoon. I had a little too much fun there at Michigan Asian Fest. It was well worth the memories though. See you guys soon! Remember that we live to eat and not eat to live ♡
SALLY♡THINGS 