On Tuesday, I hopped on a plane and headed to San Francisco to spend the remainder of the week with some of my favorite bloggers to experience a fun “work vacation” with Stitch Fix and Luna. Stitch Fix is an online personal styling business for women. I’ve reviewed it a few times on my blog and have received 7 total monthly fixes.
We stayed in a duplex with 10 rooms total that was booked through AirBnB in Haight Ashbury, way better and probably cheaper than hotel rooms! We were greeted with little toiletries that we may have forgotten while packing and a fun maroon purse. Luna supplied our kitchen with new protein bar flavors Lemon Vanilla and Chocolate Coconut Almond along with blogger favorites, sprouted grain bread, almond butter, bananas, avocado, oatmeal and fruit (Lol).
The pictures you see in the background came with quotes that we wrote in one of our monthly “Fix” feedbacks. The StitchFix HQ is covered with similar positive and praise worthy quotes. The first night was wide open but many of us were East Coast based and exhausted after a long flight. We had an early dinner at Nopalito, a casual and well known Mexican tapas place within walking distance of our house.
These fish tacos were one of my favorite dishes that we ordered. I would highly recommend checking this place out if you are in the area. Eater listed it as a top spot to check out, so I knew it would be delicious.
Wednesday
I woke up at 6am for an easy 6 mile run, my first since the half marathon on Sunday. Our house was close to the Golden Gate Park, a perfect location for runners.
Brittany (Eating Bird Food) joined me for the first part of my run. I rarely have running company so it was nice to have somene help get my butt out the door at such an early hour. The weather was perfect, a crisp temperature in the low 60’s, that made my run feel easy after I was warmed up. When I got back, I had enough time for some oatmeal before an hour of yoga with the in house Clif Bar/Luna yoga teacher, Yogi Sadie.
The above shot was a panoramic, I did not photoshop Sadie, she was just walking as I took the picture. Sadie focused on our postures and making sure we had them correct which was pretty awesome. I like to think I’m semi-advanced when it comes to my yoga practice but I love when instructors dive into perfecting form for people that are not new. The Stitch Fix CEO joined us as well as a few stylists, buyers, marketing gals and other Luna PR folks. After the heavenly session that my tight muscles needed, we prepared for the rest of our day.
Our first stop was headquarters where we saw where we met with stylists and buyers to check out some of the items they have coming out this summer. The most important tip I learned was to create a Pinterest Board with all the clothes we like so our stylists can choose the best clothes for us each month. While they can’t guarantee we will get an item in our monthly fix, requesting helps. Nicole (Pumps and Iron) borrowed a cute lightweight jacket from the inventory closet that I loved before our picnic lunch. The rest of the items were just a few of the pieces I really liked. To see more, take a peak at my soon to be newly updated style Pinterest board.
Afterwards, we ate lunch outside picnic style with food from Heyday, my new favorite lunch place in San Francisco. The Chickpea Quinoa Curry salad was my favorite, made with carrots and raisins. I also loved the turkey sandwich (not seen) made with a delicious mission fig spread that was the clear highlight.
After lunch, we were put on a scavenger hunt. Split into teams, we had to take pictures in front of or inside landmarks in the area. We went to the Buena Vista Cafe, Golden Gate Bridge, Ghiradelli Square, Lombard Street and more. You can see all of our photos on Instagram by searching the hashtag #StitchFixLunaVacay. Each location had a specific pose, below was our “prettiest” yoga pose in front of the Palace of Fine Arts.
Anne (Fannetastic Food) managed to be PG in a dress doing side crow and Danny (Sweaty Betties) showed off her best Savasana. I took the opportunity to show off my head stand. While we did not win, we had a ton fun and the 2 hour time limit flew by!
After a very active day, we relaxed for an hour or two at home before heading to Sur La Table for a cooking lesson and dinner. Gina (Fitnessista), Anne, Brittany, Julie (PBFingers), Monica (Run, Eat, Repeat), Bex (BexLife) and Nicole were entertained the curious pedestrians.
With lots of wine and a killer menu, we learned how to properly cook quinoa, make a mea lava cake and most importantly how to prepare a perfect kale salad. The secret is to massage the greens with a vinaigrette and let it sit. We left ours for about 90 minutes and I believe it can be left alone for even longer. I wish I knew this years ago. Now I know why my kale salads suck compared to the ones I get at restaurants. We combined it with feta and pickled watermelon. I’ll share the recipe next week. It was amazing.
Our lava cake was gluten and dairy free made with coconut oil, eggs, chocolate, sugar and salt. No picture, but again, I’ll share the recipe next week as it was awesome. It was my first attempt at making a lava cake and it had way more complicated steps than I would have imagined. A great dish to make in a cooking class for sure.
After lots of wine, laughs and good food, we headed home for some much needed sleep. I wasn’t sure how day 2 would beat day 1 but little did I know a little pampering and my favorite treats would make it an epic “work day.” Coming soon…
Disclosure: I was not compensated to attend the retreat. Flight and lodging was paid for courtesy of StitchFix and Luna.