San Francisco

My family is originally from the Bay Area, so when we would visit relatives in the area, we would always take a day trip to San Francisco. I always loved these trips because the city is filled with so much culture and diversity. I recently got to revisit the city and it had been almost four years since I've been back. Usually trips with my family to San Fran involve the touristy attractions (the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Chinatown...), but I never tire of seeing them. 

Views while walking on across the Golden Gate Bridge. We always tend to luck out and visit the city on clear days.

The amount of succulents I saw while in California was insane. I thought they were everywhere in Austin, but they truly are everywhere in the Bay Area. 

There's so much to do in Fisherman's Wharf, I always loved going and eating ice cream at Ghiradelli Square and eating clam chowder. If you're ever at Fisherman's Wharf, I highly recommend visiting the Musee Mechanique, it's a fun place to kill time and play antique arcade games. I also freaked out when I saw this Sorting Hat fortune telling machine, cause I have no self control when it comes to cool Harry Potter things.

Here's some random shots from Pier 39. I didn't get any good shots of the sea lions, because they basically act like giant dogs.

We capped off the day by walking from the pier to Chinatown, and browsing the shops there. I have only ever been to San Fran during the summer, so it was really cool to see all the Christmas decorations up. This was an extremely last minute trip, but I would have loved to have seen Aladdin and gone to the Museum of Ice Cream, cause you can never spend enough time in San Francisco. But overall, this was a really fun day trip. - Jessica

Books I Read In November

I had a decent month in November in terms of reading. I read 8 novels and a comic, which wasn't my best month of the year, but I still got to do a lot of reading despite being busy with life. So here are the books I read and some of my thoughts and opinions on them...

Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows - This book follows, Mira, a princess who has been thrown into prison, after learning about the illegal trafficking of dragons. This was a solid start to a trilogy, it covers a lot of backstory and sets up nicely for the sequels. I really liked the characters and I'm interested to see how this trilogy will continue.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao - This book follows Xifeng, who has been told from birth that she will become the empress, but in order to do so, she has to follow her darkness and hurt the people she cares about. This book is basically an Evil Queen retelling, and that element of the story is so well done, and I absolutely loved how the fairy tale aspect provided set up for the sequel. This is definitely a slow build novel, but the writing was so well done that I did not mind. I'm really looking forward to the release of the second book next year.

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia - This book follows Alex, who has schizophrenia, and how she copes with her mental illness and how it affects her life. I really enjoyed this book, I ended up listening to the audiobook in a day, because I wanted to know what would happen. The mental illness aspect of the book was really well handled. My only issue with the book was the development of the romance, but that didn't prevent me from loving this book.

Skin & Earth (Issue 5) by Lights - This is the second to last issue in Lights debut comic series, which ties into her latest album. I found that this issue took an unexpected turn, but I still absolutely loved it. As always, the art in this series is beautiful, and I listened to each song, while reading the corresponding chapter. I'm highly anticipating the release of the last issue (on Wednesday!), to see how the world and the story wraps up.

Release by Patrick Ness - This book takes place over the course of a day, following Adam, who is struggling with his sexuality and his religious family. This was a solid coming of age novel, with a little bit of magical realism thrown in (and in typical Patrick Ness fashion). This book just served as another reminder that I need to read all of Patrick Ness' books.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer - This is the first book in a duology, and the main premise is a superhero and a villain falling in love. I absolutely loved this book, and one of my favorite elements was the representation. Nova, one of the protagonists, is half Filipino and even though this ends up being a minor detail in the books, it is so fulfilling to see characters that have the same background as I do. I really loved the world that Meyer creates and I can't wait until the last book comes out.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust - This is a Snow White retelling and it focuses on the relationship between both the princess and the queen figure. I really enjoyed this book, it has such a unique application of the fairy tale elements, while still maintaining a sense of individuality. I also loved the added LGBTQ+ elements. This was a great standalone read.

Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi - This is a companion to Mafi's Furthermore and follows a girl that washes the bodies of the dead. Just like in Furthermore and Mafi's books in general, the writing is absolutely beautiful, and it was my favorite part of this book. I was not as invested in the story or the main character in this book, as I was in Furthermore, but I still really enjoyed this book.

Undercover Princess by Connie Glynn - This book follows Lottie, who finds out that she is rooming with a princess, and in order to protect the princess' identity, Lottie starts to pose as her. This book was all over the place, there are elements of fairytales, boarding schools, mysteries, magic and romance. That being said, it was still a fun read and I'm looking forward to following the rest of the series.

And those are all the books I read in November. I only need to read 10 more books in December to hit my reading goal, which I'm optimistic that I can achieve! - Jessica

November Snapshots

1. Princess Serenity keeping me company while I read Renegades by Marissa Meyer.

2 & 3. Tried a new coffee place and bubble tea place (Lucky Lab Coffee Co & Mango 8). Both were really good and my friend and I were freaking out over the lightbulb glasses at Mango 8.

4. I finally saw All Time Low live, I was a massive fan of the group when their first two albums came out and it was so cool to finally hear them play those songs live. I also met the bassist, Zack, after the show! - Jessica 

Books I'm Thankful For

It is officially Thanksgiving break for me and I thought it would be fun to share the books that I read this year that I'm most thankful for. So without further to do...

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - To be fair, I'm always thankful that I first read Harry Potter as a kid, but this year especially because it was my first time rereading the series in its entirety in 6 years. This reread reminded me how much I love the series and I'm already thinking about when I'll be able to reread it again.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - It is not often that I come across a book that is incredibly powerful. I was absolutely blown away by this book and how it handled such a sensitive topic. I listened to this book on audio and the narration is so well done, I could not recommend it more. 

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green - I'm so grateful for this book, because of how it deals with mental illness. I really felt like I was in the narrator's head and experiencing her thoughts while reading this. I love when books have the ability to transport emotions, like that.

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare - This book had so many twists and turns and I'm still reeling from it all. I'm especially thankful that the release date of the sequel was moved up, and the last book in the trilogy will be coming out next December.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer - I rarely see Filipino characters in YA literature, let alone Filipino protagonists. So when I saw that one of my favorite authors was writing a book with a Italian-Filipino main character, I started freaking out. Although that aspect of the book is pretty small, I'm so thankful for the representation in this book.

And those are the books I'm thankful that I've read this year. - Jessica

Instax Diaries #9

It has been almost a year since I've shared my last instax post, and I had a ton of shots building up to scan. I finally got to try out the monochrome mini film, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some monochrome wide film. The above photo was taken with my Lomo'Instant wide and it was actually an accidental shot, but I really like the effect. The rest of these photos were taken with my trusty Lomo'Instant.

Some b/w shots. I haven't had the chance to fully test out this film, but I really like the results so far.

The last two images are some of the most interesting shots that I've taken in a while. The first of the two was taken in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey storms. Austin was only hit with floods from the hurricane and whenever the storms stopped, the sky turned a crazy, orange color. And the last photo is a shot of a dead butterfly, I'm always on the lookout to capture living butterflies, but it never works out, and I get to photograph the sad ones instead. 

I bought a ton of film last week and I'm looking forward to shooting through it. I still need to buy film for my Polaroid One Step (I keep holding off cause it's twice the price of instax film). - Jessica