the loft hair design

i went to the 10 year anniversary of the loft hair design last month and i discovered a great hair salon and my new favorite facial aesthetician. to celebrate their ten years of existance, the salon hosted a great party with music, drinks, food and raffle prizes.

lingerie designer and project runway season 4 participant ricky lizalde was also their to show his support of the local salon. ricky is also a escondido native and the cousin of a good friend of mine...small world.

san diego artist, cynthia colis also had her self-portraits on display and was auctioning one of her pieces that evening. i swear i was the muse for these images.

i've had the best luck lately and won three facials from the loft's aesthetician. my mom, younger brother and i went back to the loft a couple weeks later to receive our facials and we all plan on getting another round of pampering soon. morgan, our aesthetician, was great. she was well-informed on the dermalogica products and the different types of skin between the three of us. it was the first facial that my brother ever had and even he had a great experience. now that says something. she even offered to switch the soothing spa music to some rock tunes to make him more comfortable.

the staff at the loft were welcoming and the services were definitely up to par with other trendy salons around the area. check them out soon!

why i love living in san diego. part two

1. you pass by at least a dozen different yoga and pilates studios between leucadia blvd. and swamis beach on pch
2. the downtown skyline at night
3. pedestrians and bike riders always have the right of way by the beach
4. summer really starts in late april/early may and doesn’t end until the fire season is cleared
5. sunday brunch and thursday night jazz night at le papagayo
6. concerts at the belly up
7. free yoga and pilates at lululemon at the forum
8. discovering hidden jems in different cities, like birdrock, encinitas and leucadia
9. hiking at the presidio
10. cbtl 101 og's :)
11. watching the dogs and the dolphins play in the surf at del mar shores on my lunch break

why i love living in san diego. part one

1. it's possible to get sun burnt in the middle of novemeber. wear sunblock people!
2. if i had the time in the morning, i could avoid the 78 and 5 and just take pch all the way to work
3. there are nightly fireworks at seaworld during the summer. san diego's unofficial welcome of summer.
4. we've probably all worked in an office that all of the sudden smells like sex wax around noon each day of the summer because the guys are hitting the waves during their lunch break
5. the choice for your morning coffee isn’t simply between starbucks and the coffee bean. support your local coffee shop! (shout out to bill and the crew at the solana beach coffee company)
6. i can take my dog to the local farmer's market and people are eager to feed her organic and locally grown almonds, apples and pears
7. the soothing sounds of tristan prettyman, jason mraz and greg laswell
8. the encinitas and carlsbad street faires
9. hash house a go-go and extraordinary desserts in hillcrest
10. acai bowls at swami’s café
11. the beaches: moonlight, tamarack, swamis and del mar shores

why 11? it's my favorite number :)

stay tuned for other editions.

oh, birdrock, how i love thee

i've been going to my hair stylist, lynnzee valerio, for almost a year now. we met a few years back when we worked at the same coffee shop and i followed her when she started her professional hair stylist career. LOVE what she does to my hair, she's amazing.

seven or eight months ago, she opened up her own space, muse salon, in birdrock, la jolla. her space is adorable and private enough to feel like your own private sanctuary. you can check out my photo album to see how she transformed by hair color and style. anyways, i was early to one of my appointments with lynnz so i walked around la jolla blvd to check out the local businesses.

Embody Yoga Therapy is a quaint studio with a huge space to practice your balance and postures. i loved their yoga wall and it helps to improve your spinal alignment and open your body up to positions that you may have thought you were never able to reach.

Embody offers several classes, including Happy Back Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Yoga for Women, Pilates Mat and Vinyasa/Anusara flows. private classes are also offered, as well as massage therapy and nutritional counseling.

i also checked out beaumont's for late lunch/early happy hour. their beaumont burger was awesome and was topped with sun dried tomatos, balsamic glazed onions, feta and basil aioli. and don't forget to try their sangria. everyone there was beautiful to look at and i'd recommend taking a seat on their patio for the best in people watching.

birdrock is a beautiful beach community right in between the overly priced la jolla village and college-student crowded pb. check out the spot for awesome shopping, hair salons, dining and friendly neighbors.