Gennifer Rose blog
Welcome to our California Travel and Lifestyle blog where youβll find our collection of all the content weβve created. Whether youβre planning your next California vacation, searching for some new healthy recipes or seeking seasonal style tips, youβll find that perfect blog post here.
This page allows you to filter to your interests or browse everything the Gennifer Rose Blog has to offer. You may discover something new!
My friends and I bought tickets to the Blacklight Run in San Jose. I had no idea what to expect before our arrival, it was definitely a big surprise! In this blog post I will outline all the details, including both the pros and cons of the event. This may help you decide if you want to try it out for yourself.
Read MoreItβs a widely accepted fact that owning real estate is one of the best financial investments you can make. My husband and I own two homes in Sacramento - we live in our East Sacramento house and we rent out the other to tenants. Our next big venture will be to invest in a vacation home that will most likely be rented out the majority of the time.
The process of acquiring real estate requires a lot of research beforehand. But the type of research youβll be looking into really depends on the end use of your property. In the next several paragraphs I will go into detail about all the important checklist your vacation property must have to be successful.
Additionally, this blog post explores the top ten cities in North America that we have been looking into and Iβve reported my findings to help anyone make an informed decision about investing in their own vacation property. Whether you're getting a house for convenience, sentimental value, or investment, I've outlined why each city should be a contender in your house hunt.
Read MoreIs your 30th birthday coming up? Do you dream of going on a trip and celebrating this special occasion with a bang? Being that I am a woman in my 30's I can tell you from personal experience that you are entering a new era in your life... and your 30's will kick ass! As a travel aficionado I highly recommend marking this milestone birthday with that dream trip you've always wanted to take but just hadn't gotten around to it yet.
Whether you're looking to plan a trip with friends, searching for an ideal foodie destination, or a romantic couples trip, in this article, you'll come across ten very promising trip ideas, both in the U.S. and abroad. If you're going to celebrate your dirty thirty birthday, let's do it in style!
Read MoreOne of the worldβs most bucket-worthy places to visit is the Greek Island of Santorini. Right off the mainland of Greece there are literally thousands of small islands, and of those a little more than 200 are inhabited. But the single most scenic and iconic village is Oia which is the crown jewel of the Santorini island.
No doubt youβve seen photos of the famous whitewashed buildings with the blue dome rooftops. While this style of architecture can be found all over Greece, the village of Oia has the most vibrant and preserved buildings situated right next to each other. The natural way the locals built their community right along the edge of the caldera turned out to be the most picturesque and photogenic layout. Very Instagrammable to say the least!
In this guide I will breakdown all the best Insta-worthy spots in Oia, Santorini and also other photo spots around the island of Santorini. If youβve booked a stay of few days in Oia, youβll have plenty of time to cover all the classic Instagram photo spots in Oia and then take day trips to other parts of the island.
Read MoreThe small historical gold rush town of Folsom is one of those California hidden gems that make for an excellent day trip from Sacramento or a weekend trip from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Folsom is a popular travel destination because itβs filled with historical charm, lots of shopping spots and tons of outdoor water and nature recreation for weekend warriors.
Our family lives in the city of Sacramento which is a short 30 minute drive from Folsom. Over the years weβve visited Folsom more times than I can count and each time we discover something new and fun.
This Folsom guide will cover over 25 family-friendly things to do. Whether youβre looking for a leisurely weekend getaway or an action packed vacation, thereβs something for everyone in Folsom.
Read MoreSacramento is an especially colorful city with Insta-worthy murals scattered all over our favorite neighborhoods. We can thank the curation efforts of Wide Open Walls, an organization that commissions world-famous mural artists to come paint the walls of Sacramento.
This blog post is a collection of my favorite Sacramento murals. I especially love that so many of these murals are painted by women and they have such a sweet feminine esthetic. Most these murals are located in popular areas in Sacramento to eat out and hang with friends. Next to each mural Iβll give a few suggestions on things to do and see in that neighborhood.
In this mural guide you can hover over each image to see the full description and location of each mural. Some of them are located on Wide Open Walls Mural Map and Iβve put the link in a button next to the photo. By the way, many of these murals donβt have names (or I canβt find the name) so I give them by own descriptive name for reference.
Read MoreWhen we were planning our trip to Yosemite, the first question I asked was: "Can I take our dog Holly with us?". It turns out that you can actually bring dogs into Yosemite National Park. It's the perfect place for everyone to enjoy the great outdoors. After a lot of research, I complied this complete dog friendly guide to Yosemite. So pack up the car and get ready to hit the trails!
Read MoreSan Diego is the perfect Southern California destination for a family vacation. The weather is almost always warm and sunny year-round and thereβs endless fun things to do with children, toddlers and babies. In San Diego youβll find world-class beaches, scenic neighborhoods, all kinds of fresh cuisine and tons of parks.
My husbandβs family lives in the greater San Diego area and we often take family trips to visit them. We have endless experience taking the kids and their cousins out to many of the places Iβve outlined in this blog post. I speak from experience when I say that San Diego is very kid-friendly!
In this blog post I will outline our favorite spots to hangout with our kids in San Diego. This guide includes great places for stroller walks, beaches, family-friendly neighborhoods, nature and amusement parks and of course the two zoos.
Read MoreAs one of the world's most exciting cities, Las Vegas has always been a top destination for bachelorette parties. There's no shortage of options when it comes to hotels, entertainment, and activities that make for the ultimate bachelorette experience.
As you can see from the photos in this blog post, my girlfriends and I lived it up in Las Vegas for a weekend of debauchery and partying. From high-energy nightclubs to world-class restaurants, Las Vegas has something for everyone.
In this guide, Iβll divulge some of the best ways to plan your Las Vegas bachelorette party. From crazy and wild, to more tame and respectable, youβll find plenty to discover in this blog post.
Read MoreThe iconic city of Los Angeles has a certain kind of magical aura surrounding it and this is perpetuated by all the glamorous and Insta-worthy places you can explore and photograph.
While thereβs really no shortage of Instagrammable places in LA, the spots highlighted in this blog post are the best places to start for beginners and first time visitors. But I promise theyβll be some gems in here for SoCal Instagram veterans and OGs.
When Iβm looking for photography inspiration, I gravitate towards bright, airy and colorful backdrops. This applies to restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, murals, iconic landmarks and neighborhoods. Which are basically all the hangout places during a vacation.
In this blog post youβll find over 50 Instagrammable places in Los Angeles. The sections in this guide are divided up into hotels, best neighborhoods, famous streets, foodie spots, famous and iconic landmarks, beaches and more!
Read MoreLos Angeles is one of the most visited cities in the entire world which also means that itβs one of the most Instagrammed. Thereβs so many photogenic and Instagrammable neighborhoods around LA that youβll never run out of areas to photograph.
Consider this blog post your caption cheat sheet when youβre looking for something new and fresh to write when posting on Instagram. I capture all the moods from funny, inspirational, whimsical, edgy cool girl and bohemian beachy vibes. Pretty much any beautiful photo you capture will have the perfect quote or caption to narrate your LA story.
Iβve broken down this list into the popular and most visited areas of Los Angeles including Hollywood, Venice Beach, West Hollywood, Malibu and Beverly Hills.
Because Los Angeles has so many awesome beaches, thereβs a section in this blog post to find witty and funny beachy vacation captions.
Iβve also included a bunch of foodie related captions because thereβs so many very cute places to eat in Los Angeles and thereβs a good chance youβll be snapping Insta photos of your meals. Specifically thereβs captions for brunch, coffee shops, ice cream and more.
Finally, at the bottom of this post youβll find Los Angles and California themed song lyrics and famous quotes that you can use as a caption.
Read MoreWhile Los Angeles is a huge metro in California, it always seems like I end up in Venice and Santa Monica when weβre road trippinβ to Southern California. It has all those perfect Cali cool and beachy vibes that instantly make you feel youβre on vacation.
I spent a weekend in Santa Monica with my girl gang just hanging out and enjoying good food along with the scenery. On this particular trip I actually did a good job of capturing photos of all our weekend adventures. So make sure to give this blog post a good scroll for some trip inspiration.
If youβre planning a first time visit to Santa Monica and Venice Beach then this travel guide was made for you. I will breakdown the tops areas to sightsee, where to eat, nightlife and of course beaches too. So many excellent options to build your Santa Monica and Venice Beach itinerary.
Read MoreWeβre going on five years living here in Sacramento and weβve started to look forward to the Global Winter Wonderland which comes to town every year for the holiday season. During the months of November, December and January the Cal Expo in Sacramento converts into a magical lights festival with light displays, holiday music, amusement rides and carnival foods.
Read MoreAs a parent to two littles ones, I always highly recommend expecting mamas to take a pregnancy-friendly babymoon vacation before the arrival of baby. Trust me when I tell you that traveling will never be the same once your pregnancy is over and youβve got kids to care for. Your babymoon is the last hurrah and a chance to relax before the chaos of motherhood begins.
California has several pregnancy-friendly destinations for a babymoon and Palm Springs is definitely at the top of the list. A Palm Springs babymoon is all about relaxing in the desert with beautiful natural scenery mixed with hotels designed with modern decor.
Read MoreLos Angeles is a huge sprawling city and it can quickly become overwhelming to decide on what to do and where to stay when planning a girls trip. West Hollywood (referred to as WeHo by locals) tends to have all those bucket list things we love for traveling. In West Hollywood thereβs an abundance of restaurants with great food and ambiance, fun daytime activities and poppinβ nightlife.
Whether itβs a bachelorette trip, a birthday celebration or just because you want to spend quality time with your gal pals, West Hollywood in Los Angeles is the perfect place to plan a getaway with your girlfriends. Thereβs plenty of places in West Hollywood that have those modern feminine vibes we love.
In this travel guide I breakdown all the highlights of West Hollywood to help you plan your itinerary. When Iβm traveling Iβm always on the hunt for restaurants with yummy food and a great ambiance, so all my foodie recommendations are picture pretty.
Read MoreIf you are a local in the San Fernando Valley or a visitor with an extended stay, this guide serves as an excellent resource for all kinds of breakfast foods available in the region. While this blog post was written with visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood in mind, I uncovered some gem foodie spots that anyone can enjoy for a weekend brunch in The Valley.
Growing up my family went to Universal Studios every summer because my grandmother lived very close to the park. The same goes with my husband, his aunt and uncle used to take the kids often. I have lots of fond memories and I still enjoy going going as an adult.
I wrote this blog post because oddly enough finding breakfast early in the morning near the park is a bit of a challenge. Itβs very common for Universal Studios visitors to plan strategically with an early start to beat the crowds and high heat temperatures.
Read MoreWhen I heard that Jurassic Quest was coming to town in Sacramento I jumped at the chance to obtain tickets to see it. Both my daughter and my husband are big fans of dinosaurs and it seems like a fun idea to have a βJurassic Parkβ adventure. Obviously we will never see real dinosaurs so this is as close as you can get to the seeing the jurassic period come to life.
This blog post is a Jurassic Quest review based on our experience and may help you answer the questions on whether or not it would be worth it for you to spend the money to visit.
Read MoreBecause our children are currently so young, we donβt get super ambitions with a full itinerary when we travel. Los Gatos is the perfect small town to just take it slow and walk around with a stroller. The central downtown blocks of Los Gatos are known as a great walkable destination with many shops and restaurants to explore.
The temperatures are mild year-round in Santa Clara County so itβs comfortable to spend the majority of your day outside. Because Los Gatos is centrally located in Northern California, itβs a popular weekend destination for many metros areas including San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento. The folks in the bay area are most likely trying to escape cold foggy days and head into Los Gatos for some sunshine. While the San Jose visitors are looking for that small town charm and then us Sacramento people are trying to get relief from over 100 degrees hot temperatures.
When it comes to traveling with your dog, Los Gatos is a great destination for a weekend trip. Thereβs great dog-friendly hotels and outdoor activities where your pup is welcome. We stayed at the Toll House Hotel which welcomes doggy guests and is very conveniently located in the heart of Los Gatos downtown. Right across the street is the Los Gatos Town Plaza Park with a large grassy lawn where your dog can go potty.
Read MoreElopements have become increasingly more popular in modern times as couples are sometimes less willing to pay large sums of money to get married. A traditional wedding can easily cost up to $10,000. In contrast my husband and I spent less than $500 on our San Francisco elopement. We are the type of couple whoβd prefer to spend our savings on buying a house and travel.
California is a popular state for elopements because of both the beautiful scenery and pleasant weather. Unlike other areas of the country, thereβs always a region in both Northern and Southern California with mild and somewhat predictable temperatures. Outdoor weddings and elopements are always an option which means that you donβt have to plan and budget for an indoor venue.
In this blog post I will outline my top recommendations for California elopement cities and locations. The locale themes will vary from urban metro spots to nature and wilderness areas. They will all have excellent backdrops for wedding photography and your elopement will be so sweet and memorable.
Read MoreThis colorful little beach town is located at the north end of Monterey Bay, almost a 2 hour drive south of San Francisco. As you can see from the pictures in this blog post, the sandy beach is a perfect place to lay out a blanket and enjoy a summer picnic.
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