Last week, 18-year-old Nia Wilson was brutally murdered at the MacArthur Oakland BART station. A recent graduate of Oakland High School, she was a beautiful girl with so much promise. Why do Black citizens continue to be killed for no…
Guide to Carmel-by-the-Sea
I’m currently crushing on the beach town of Carmel, which is a 2+ hour drive from San Francisco and 15 minutes away from Monterey. We headed down for the long weekend after the 4th of July. There are a lot of…
Updated Guide to Palm Springs
We spent three nights in Palm Springs this summer. Actually we stayed in Rancho Mirage at the Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas, which is 20 minutes away from downtown Palm Springs. It was a beautiful resort with three separate pools,…
The Best Sunscreens on the Market
This is my go-to sunscreen recommended by every dermatologist and esthetician I’ve seen. It’s Colorescience Sunforgettable and it’s a powder that’s really easy and convenient to apply. Because let’s face it, the sunscreen that’s easiest to use is the one that…
Birthday Gift: Charitable Giving
Today is my birthday! I feel so blessed and my heart is so full after spending this past weekend with family and loved ones. For Father’s Day, we celebrated with brunch at Hs Lordships, a waterfront Berkeley restaurant that’s closing…
Touring Sunnylands, “Camp David of the West,” near Palm Springs
After Disneyland, we headed down to Palm Springs for what I considered the adult portion of our vacation: a little history and architecture, fine dining and good wine. I had been wanting to go to Sunnylands ever since it opened…
Depression
I wanted to revisit my struggle with depression in light of Kate Spade’s and Anthony Bourdain’s suicides. I’m currently in a good place in life and I credit my emotional well-being to weekly coaching through BetterUp. My coach is a…
Franco’s 4th Birthday Party
We threw Franco a 4th birthday party prior to Disneyland. It seems like a lot of celebration for one kid (a blowout birthday party on top of a 3-day Disneyland trip), but Dean and I hardly ever see our friends…
How to Maximize Your Time and Money at Disneyland
We were in Disneyland for three days last week to celebrate Franco’s 4th birthday. We went Monday to Wednesday May 7-9 which was a fantastic time to go. The weather was in the high 70s to low 80s: warm, but…
A Gift from God
Here’s a conversation I had with 3-year-old Franco one morning while I was washing his face. Me: Franco, I think you got your eyebrows from Daddy, but your eyes from Mommy. Franco: I got them from God. Me: How did…