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!
The art of stacking bracelets doesnβt always come naturally to everyone. The key is to find the perfect balance between bold statement style and simplicity. Your gem colors and metal tones must complement each other and create a harmonious color story. You want a variety of textures and sizes to add eye catching interest, stacking bracelets should never be boring!
Read MoreYou may have already discovered that shopping for maternity clothes can be a real drag. Itβs difficult to find cute attire that you actually want to wear, especially during the time of pregnancy when youβre already feeling big and bloated.
The good news is that thereβs actually plenty of non-maternity clothes that will get you through the 9 months of pregnancy. You will also find that these new wardrobe staples will come very much handy during your postpartum months while your body is adjusting back to normal.
In this blog post Iβm giving suggestions on cuts and styles of dresses, pants, tops, leggings, tunics and more that arenβt necessarily maternity clothes but you can wear for each trimester. After my two pregnancies Iβve learned a thing or two about hacking my closet to fit my growing baby bumps.
Because maternity clothes are so drab, my recommendation is to find wardrobe gems that celebrate pregnancy and mark the special occasion. Not to mention the fact that pretty dresses make motherhood more fun. You want to find clothes that make you feel good and ultimately extend your regular wardrobe. Depending on your style you may even want to flaunt your belly. Do you girl!
Read MoreThe scene at Yankee Jims is totally picturesque with turquoise clear waters surrounded by rocky mountains and a vintage style suspension bridge hanging way above. The water is a little chilly when you first get in but on a hot summer day it feels amazing. Between June - August the summer temperatures easily reach the 90βs to the 100βs.
Read MoreFlowy boho style dresses are a pregnant womanβs best friend during the spring and summers of pregnancy. They are so easy to wear when youβve got a big baby bump and you can continue to wear them for postpartum and beyond. These dresses are so versatile and a closet staple for sure, you can wear them to all kinds of events or just around the house. Not to mention that youβll feel like a Greek goddess in all her glory.
Read MoreYou may know me as the blogger who travels all over California, but I actually do have a full-time office job working as a Marketing Manager for a Northern California surrogacy agency. I wanted to write this blog post because there are so many questions and concerns that potential surrogates have and the information available online is very limited.
Iβve seen so many happy families with their surrogacy babies and I know there are many more women out there who would make excellent surrogates. In general thereβs a shortage of qualified surrogates compared to the amount of Intended Parents waiting to get matched.
So buckle up! All of the conversations Iβve heard happen behind closed doors Iβm putting in this blog post because information is power. Your top 50 surrogacy questions answered with all brutal honesty I can muster. If thereβs something holding you back from filling out a surrogacy application, hopefully I can address your concern and put your mind at ease.
Read MoreYou may be surprised to learn that Sacramento's budding foodie scene is actually quite noteworthy and worth a visit. Sacramento has become America's Farm-to-Fork Capital with an emphasis on the region's local food production.
Read MoreIβm a big fan of wearing sparkly sequins and New Years Eve is the perfect excuse to add all the sparkle you want to an outfit. Thereβs something magical about staying up late to ring in a new year, especially when the fireworks show starts as the clock strikes midnight. Thereβs always many parties and events happening the evening on December 31st, which means youβll need the perfect festive ensemble.
The struggle with dressing for New Years is always the same - how to look fabulous while still keeping warm. New Years Eve festivities go late into the night, and often involve going outside to see fireworks. Not to mention the fact that weβre talking about the winter season so the temperatures can really dip down into the 40s here in California (and even colder for the East Coast).
In this guide I will give you some clever and fashionable tips to make your New Years Eve party style cute and warm at the same time. These pointers will also come in handy for any late fall or winter evening events where you may be outside (like a Halloween party for example!).
Read MoreApple Hill is pretty much a farm loverβs paradise! Most farms throughout the US are closed to the public, but in Apple Hill youβll find over 50 local family farms and small businesses that welcome guests to pick produce and enjoy the countryside scenery.
Apple Hill is not actually a city itself, the territory runs through the small town of Camino into Placerville, CA. The Apple Hill community includes fruit & veggie farms, wineries, B&Bs, flower gardens, Christmas tree farms, restaurants and even a day spa.
While Apple Hill is most popular in the autumn season for apple picking and pumpkin patches, thereβs actually plenty to explore year-round. In this blog post I outline all the hidden gems to see, eat, photograph and explore inside Apple Hill.
Read MoreJust an hour's drive from sunny San Diego toward the mountains, and you find yourself in a completely different world. Julian is a tiny town β just a few streets and nearby farms and ranches. Because of its location in the mountains, there is a much brighter sense of seasonality β the heat in summer, yellow and red leaves in fall, snow in winter, and flowers in spring.
Tourists love coming to Julian, especially during the fall season, because it is one of the few places in Southern California where you can see colorful fall foliage. Combined with the beautiful scenery, it is also a great place to vacation out of town.
Another reason why Fall is great for visiting Julian is that it is apple picking season. Since the town's culture is associated with pies, this dish is a must-try. In Julian, they are baked and sold hot in all kinds of flavors, though the most popular, of course, is the apple pie.
We visited during the second week of November and in our pictures you can see all the holiday festivities and colorful fall foliage. In this guide youβll see plenty of Julian family-friendly activities and even some romantic weekend itinerary ideas for a coupleβs weekend away. For the foodie fans, Iβve also included all the must-try autumn foods and deserts.
Read MoreLocated inside the Kimpton The Sawyer Hotel in Midtown Sacramento youβll find Punch Bowl Social. This venue can be best described as an entertainment and amusement hub featuring old-school meets modern games, arcades and billiards.
Inside the two story 25,000 square venue thereβs bowling alleys, foosball table, giant versions of favorite board games, darts, vintage video games and more. Not to mention thereβs a restaurant and multiple bars for crafted food and cocktails.
The aesthetics and decor are quirky and modern with large glass windows showing skyline city views of Downtown Sacramento. This is an ideal place for date nights or friends girls and guys night out.
Iβve been both in the daytime and at night to Punch Bowl Social. During lunch hours itβs very calm and low key lounging. But when the sun goes down the energy level kicks up and thereβs twinkling lights everywhere and a buzzing scene.
Read MoreIf you havenβt guessed it by now, I am a huge fan of the TV show The Office - as evidenced by this massive guide youβre about to read. My friends and I decided to completely geek out on a trip to Los Angeles and dress up as our favorite The Office characters while we went on a self-guided tour to many of the filming locations in Southern California. I was dressed as β3-hole-punch Jimβ, Kara was Dwight and Brianna was Kelly.
The Office show takes places in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but in reality most of the show is filmed in Los Angeles. The most commonly used cities for filming locations is Van Nuys, Panorama City and Studio City - which are commonly known as βThe Valleyβ to LA locals.
Read MoreSan Diego is a desirable vacation destination for many reasons. The weather is excellent year-round, the beaches are pristine, and San Diego is home to two of the most world-famous animal parks.
Both the San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park are enormous parks filled with a huge variety of rare and endangered wildlife. You can easily spend an entire day exploring each park, which leads to the conundrum of how to decide which park to visit during your trip. Hence this guide!
My husband and I are former San Diego residents, and my entire in-law family still live there. Weβve spent many family vacations exploring both the animal parks with our kids, and we can provide both a local and insider perspective.
In this comprehensive guide youβll find detailed information about both animal parkβs exhibits, top animals to see, location information, baby and kid-friendly pointers, and even what to eat. Weβve left no stone unturned and you can use all these tips to help you make an itinerary decision.
Read MoreCalling all the foodie content creators out there, itβs time to step-up your video game. Whether you like to share recipes, show off your expert cooking skills or just really enjoy eating yummy food - thereβs plenty of videos to be made.
This guide is for both beginners and the seasoned veterans alike (donβt mind my foodie pun!). If youβve already been making food-themed content but are feeling like youβre in a rut and need some fresh inspiration, Iβm sure youβll find some new ideas listed below. Here are 10 of the best foodie video ideas that would be perfect for TikTok and Instagram reels.
Read MoreOne of the highlights from this summer was our Highway 1 road trip from Sacramento to Carmel-by-the-Sea. We added a new twist to our road tripping adventures by swapping our hybrid car for a completely electric Chevy Bolt car rental. We have considered purchasing an all-electric vehicle so this was the perfect opportunity for us to get some real-life experience driving one.
Our Chevy Bolt EV gets over 200 miles on a full charge, which makes it ideal for California road trips. There are a plethora of charging stations sprinkled all over the state, making it easy and cost-effective to drive between major cities.
In this guide we will share our learnings and tips from our experiences driving an EV vehicle on long road trips. While some may seem like common sense, Iβm sure thereβs at least one point youβll find as helpful advice for your own future road trips.
Read MoreSacramento is quickly becoming one of Californiaβs favorite travel destinations, thanks to the thriving farm-to-fork foodie scene and modern stylish surroundings without the big city price tag. Sacramento is also one of the few places in California where you can really experience all the seasons. In fall the foliage turns beautiful autumn colors, summer is very hot and ready for pool swimming, winter is cold and spring is full of April showers and sweet blossoms. During the cold days of winter you bundle up in your home, but once spring rolls around youβre ready to breath fresh air and enjoy some time outdoorsβ¦ hence the raincoat and boots!
Read MoreSo, your 40th birthday is on the horizon. Congrats! You might feel a little bewildered about this next chapter, wondering whether youβre still considered young (or over the hill). Is it time for your mid-life crisis yet? Hint - youβre as young as you feel!
Regardless, turning 40 is a remarkable milestone. It is time to reflect on your life, the past as well as the future. If youβve been living all footloose and fancy-free, maybe itβs time to finally start βadultingβ and working towards big goals and building a sustainable future.
Where your 30th birthday was about saying goodbye to the wild days of your 20s and entering the β30, flirty and thriving eraβ, your 40th birthday is going to be more about creating the ideal life for yourself with all the life experiences and wisdom youβve gained.
I myself am turning 37 years old on my next upcoming birthday. I will admit that the second half of my 30βs really snuck up on me, but Iβm doing my best to embrace this new era of womanhood. This blog post is not only things to do on your 40th birthday, but also how to approach midlife with gusto and zest for life.
Read MoreFor years my husband and I were paying high rent costs for our tiny apartment in San Francisco. All the photos in this blog post were taken during our last year of renting. While we loved living in the city, we knew eventually we would be moving into the suburbs to buy a house and start a family.
One day we received a letter from our landlord that our rent would be going up again, and this was the kick in the pants we needed to lay out the groundwork to homeownership. This notice was the straw that broke the camelβs back and we made the decision to get serious about buying a house and putting a permanent end to paying rent.
This guide compiles all the research and steps we followed in the process of buying our first house. It took us about a year to complete all these stages in our journey, not to mention saving up for the downpayment.
Itβs never too early or too late to begin your own plan of action towards owning your first home. My advice is to take it one step at a time and give yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete all the steps.
Read MoreBoth the current fashion trends of Fair Isle Knits and Wellington Boots are actually not trends at all, they are winter fashion staples going back many decades. But in modern day we aren't wearing these styles in exactly the same way as our grandmothers did. These days both fair isles prints and wellies come in an array of bright and colorful shades, making dark winter days much more cheerful.
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