Franeks Take the West Coast: San Francisco, CA

Hey everyone,

The next place on our list to stop was San Francisco, California. We took drove our rental car down there, and our first stop was the Walt Disney Family Museum. This was something I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend $25 each on, but it was one hundred percent worth it! We only gave ourselves an hour and a half in there, thinking like many of our museum stops so far, that would be plenty of time. We were wrong! We could’ve easily spent another hour or longer in there. It was overwhelming, yet so fascinating. My Dad would LOVE it!! Each room had so much information and cool items in it that you could spend 30 minutes in easily in each room. I loved our time there. Next we headed to check into our hotel and drop off the rental car. The Marriot Marquis SanFran was AWESOME! The gym was the best part, humongous and soooo nice. I was thrilled that they had a stair master! Brings me back to my USF days when I was prepping for the wedding. After that we headed over to Rocco’s Cafe to meet Madi’s friend for lunch. It was a pretty good little Italian place, and the lady working was from NC! What are the odds?! That evening we took the cable car down to Hyde Street and walked around the Fisherman’s Wharf. We had a great time watching the Sea Lions. Dinner was at Wipeout Bar and Grill on the pier. We hiked up to Lombard Street (it’s quite steep getting to the top) and had a great sun setting view of the city. Then we headed back to get some sleep!

Day two was JAM packed. We started the morning off at the Hollywood Cafe for breakfast (YUM!) this place was a little while in the wall but so so good. They had a great early 2000s Pandora station going which we LOVED. We headed to meet our tour bus at Dylan’s tours. This tour group was awesome! We hit just about everything in the city that we wanted to see. It was six hours long, but honestly couldn’t have been any shorter if you want to see the main points. This included going over to Sausalito and the Muir Woods. The woods were just big enough to get us in to see some huge trees, but not an all day thing (which we liked). Our guide lastly stopped by the Marin Headlines since we had a bit of time to spare, which may have been my favorite part of the day! That view was the best to me! Although Twin Peaks had a great view of the WHOLE city too. We grabbed some dinner at In-N-Out (had to) and then for dessert: the Baked Bear where I got a custom ice cream sandwich OMG SO GOOD. Lastly we did the Alcatraz night time tour, which was awesome. We got to learn more about the prison and tour the island. The audio tour was put together really well. It was a lot of fun. But also kind of eerie. 

Our time in SanFran went so quickly, we could have easily spent another two days there. It was our favorite stop so far! We definitely plan on coming back there some day!! Our next stop is a little more chill in Monterey. Back on the train we go!!

Must dos in SanFran:

- Indulge at the Baked Bear

- Eat Breakfast at Hollywood Cafe

- Explore Alcatraz

- Take a Dylan’s Tour

- Head over to the Marin Headlands

Movie & TV Show for San Fran: Full House(obvs) and Thats So Raven, Shutter Island and Princess Diaries 

Thanks for keeping up,

- Olivia :)

Franeks Take the West Coast: Napa, CA

Hey everybody,

Napa Valley came next on our trip! We hopped off the train in Oakland and rented a car through enterprise. Literally the worst service ever at the broadway location. They were an hour and a half late to pick us up at the train station and we still waited an hour to get our car once we got there. I will definitely be making a call to corporate! However, once we got on the road we had beautiful views! We stopped at Gott’s Roadside for lunch. It was DELISH! Definitely recommend. Everything in California is pricey, so for a “fast food” type place, it wasn’t cheap, but it was WAY better quality than most quick service food. Next we headed up to Sterling Vineyards. I am so happy we picked this as our winery stop. Number one, they have an aerial tram that takes you up (it was so cool!). Number two, it had an AMAZING terrace and view from the top! We did the general admission tour, but got to learn a lot about how wine is made. We also had the opportunity to taste four samples of wine (they were decently sized). The white was really good, but the red merlot honestly tasted like an old shoe lol. Madis face was priceless when trying it. Needless to say, we still aren’t wine drinkers, but did it all for the experience. 

On our way back to check into our hotel, Springhill Suites, we stopped at the Welcome to Napa sign for some photos. After checking into our hotel and bringing our bags to the room, we headed over to Oxbow Market for dinner at Kitchen Door. It was pricey again, but delicious. I’m sure those of us who know Madi and I can tell who’s food is who’s from our pictures. Madi was craving frozen yogurt, so we found a delicious little place across the way that is a Christian store called, Yobelle Frozen Yogurt. It was really good and we got to jam to some Chris Tomlin. We hit the hay early as we had to be up at 4:30am for our hot air balloon tour. We called the weather line as instructed when we woke up and they said we were good to go. However when we arrived, got checked in, and loaded into the vans, they decided to cancel because of fog and high winds. I was SUPER disappointed. They did give a full refund, so I did some googling and found a place in San Diego that does hot air balloons, so cross your fingers that we will have good weather when we are there so we can participate! Hot air ballooning is on my bucket list after all!! 

Overall, Napa was a great stop. It is something you must do if you’re going to be near that part of California. Even Madi said it was worth stopping in. Our next segment will be in San Francisco. We have a chill first day followed by a packed second day. We want to try to see as much as possible in each of these cities since we don’t know when we will be back! 

Must dos in Napa Valley:

- Stop at Gott’s Roadside 

- Explore in Sterling Vineyards 

- Eat at Kitchen Door

- Book a Hot Air Balloon Tour (and pray the weather is good!!)

I also feel like in each place that we stop I associate it with a movie or TV show and then want to watch it. So here are what I’ve thought of on our stops so far:

- Seattle: 10 Things I Hate About You

- Portland: MTV’s the Real World: Portland

- Napa: The Parent Trap
Who wants a movie marathon when I get back! (Obviously these movies are in the Franek collection already ;))

Thanks for keeping up,

- Olivia :)

Franeks Take the West Coast: Portland, OR

Hey all,

So we are cruising right along! Our second stop was Portland, and we got there by Amtrak train from Seattle. For this portion, we got coach seats since this trip was only about four hours long. We were super surprised at how big and comfy the seats were! Coming off of a plane, these seats were basically luxury. They’re about double the width of an airplane seat and only two people per side. 

Once we arrived in Portland, we uber-ed to our hotel, The Crowne Plaza Portland Convention Center, which while it was outdated in some areas, had a lot of perks! One was free shuttle service within three miles of the hotel (which is a lot of things in Downtown Portland). Another was free bike rentals, including locks. This was my favorite perk when I planned out trip because I planned out this twenty mile bike adventure for Madi and I. Well, we made it almost that whole way! We biked down to Catherdral Park by St. John’s bridge, and Newton’s law taught us a lot. What goes up must come down right? Well what goes down must come back up in some cases. That includes going back up a 15% gradient hill for a quarter of a mile with a bike. And then going up and down smaller hills the rest of our journey. As Madi put it “at first I was biking with you in front of me, the sun shining and the breeze blowing and thought ‘wow what a beautiful day on the West Coast with my wife’ but then as we came up the hill, across the bridge and down the other side (around mile 12) I thought ‘I’m gonna kill her’”. Ahh, can you feel the love guys? Yeah, biking sixteen miles up and down Portland was enough for us. We put up the bikes and used our trusty legs or Uber the rest of our time here. We did however, use part of our long bike ride to get to Salt and Straw. This was the BEST ice cream we have had in a long long time. With unique flavors like pear and goat cheese or honey lavender, we decided to stick to our guns and get the cinnamon snickerdoodle (OMG SO GOOD). It was between that and the sea salt and Carmel. We will let the you hipsters eat those other flavors, we were OVERLY satisfied with the choice we made. 

That night we headed over to Killer Burger for dinner. It was delicious. Any place that advertises that every burger comes with bacon is for me. We finished our first night off at Powell City of Books, a huge bookstore with both new and used books. This place is like McKays on steroids, but the prices are not as good as McKays. That didn’t stop me from buying a few things! I probably could’ve spent hours there (as I do in McKays) but limited myself to an hour. 

After giving our legs and our brains a good rest, we awoke to a new day and new adventures. Our second day was spent exploring more Portland standards like Voodoo Doughnut, Pittock Mansion and the Japanese Gardens. We saved our doughnuts for the train ride, and had brunch at Byways Cafe which was a cute little diner with food that was pretty good. Here is where we ran into trouble. After ubering to Pittock Mansion , we go to buy our tickets and they tell us “those doughnuts can’t come in” *insert eye roll*. So we decided to just walk around the outside and see the spectacular view. The view was worth the Uber price alone. It was incredible. Next we made a pit stop at the Rose Test Garden which was free and so beautiful. June is its peak time, but there were some gorgeous blooms right now. Next was the Japanese Gardens, which after I paid for what I thought were super overpriced tickets, they tell us again “no food allowed” but at least here an attendant was nice enough to hold our box of doughnuts for us. You the real MVP lady. The Japanese Gardens were nice, very tranquil, but very small. It took us about 45 minutes to casually walk through them. So in my head I just pretended like the Rose Garden was included in the ticket price instead of being free. (These are the kind of things that I have to do since I am usually pretty frugal). 

Our time in Portland was well spent. I am glad we didn’t plan to stay there super long, as we did pretty much everything we wanted to in actual Portland, but Oregon itself has so much to offer. We definitely will be back to visit Oregon again one day, but maybe not Portland itself. We will see! 

Next up: Napa!! After a night on the train. California here we come! (Immediate regrets after typing this, sorry for all who will now have the OC theme song stuck in your head forever as I now do). 

Must Dos in Portland

- Bike (or uber) to St Johns Bridge, pack a picnic for Cathedral Park

- Visit the Rose Test Garden

- Browse in Powell City of Books

- Eat at Killer Burger

- Indulge at Voodoo Doughnut

- Enjoy the view at Pittock Mansion

Thanks for keeping up,

- Olivia 

Franeks Take the West Coast: Seattle, WA

Hey everyone!

We are currently on the trip of a lifetime, our two week west coast adventure! I’m going to break it down into each stop that we are making and share with you pieces at a time! These posts will let you know what our MUST dos were in each city we stopped in, as well as some tips/tricks to make your stay there easier if you ever decide to travel to the west coast! Let me start off by saying, this trip was YEARS of saving. Like after we came back from our honeymoon in Bora Bora, I started saving. I will write a Wifey Wednesday on how I saved big money on this trip in many ways once we get back, but it was an expensive trip. However, we felt like this was our last big hoorah before Madi was tied down to a job. 

So how was Seattle you ask? It was pretty darn cool. Here is what we did:

Day One:

We flew from RDU to SEA on a direct flight. It was not terribly long, a little over five hours, which is NOTHING compared to our adventure over to Bora Bora. To get into the city we took the Light Link Rail which is a train that goes from the airport, all the way up to University of Washington, with little stops in between. This was MUCH cheaper than Uber. We stopped by our hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Pioneer Square, and had planned to drop our bags, but they had our room ready for us (SCORE!) so we got to go upstairs and take a minute to change and stuff before heading out on our first day adventures. 

We headed out toward the monorail, which was about a fifteen minute walk from our hotel and brought us directly to the Space Needle and Glass Garden, Our first stop was lunch, Skillet Counter in the Seattle Center. It was DELICIOUS. I got a burger and fries and Madi got a Cobb salad. We both loved our food! Next we headed over to the Chihuly Glass Gardens. We had bought a combo ticket for this and the Space Needle, which was the cheaper way to do things. The glass garden was for sure beautiful, and was not terribly expensive, but was partially closed off for a private event so we didn’t get to see EVERYTHING which was a little disappointing. Next we went back to the hotel to get some rest. This was a must for us because between the time change, long plane ride and Madi feeling under the weather, we were pretty wiped. 

After resting for a bit we went out and got some dinner at Tap Room Grill, which was yummy! Smaller portions, but it was filling! The restaurant was set up kind of cool too. And if you like to drink they had like over 100+ beers on tap. I sampled a Washington made cider and it was pretty tasty! Madi and I both got pan seared chicken with mashed sweet potatoes but I got asparagus and he got Brussels sprouts. (I can’t eat Brussels Sprouts due to PTSD from my BCS 5th grade Tallahassee trip where I was dared to eat a soggy one from a golden coral and wanted to throw up so badly afterwards, yuck). Last stop of the night was the infamous Space Needle. I wasn’t really sold on doing this because it’s SO expensive and was partially under construction (there are lots of other places you can see the city from a high point too) but for Madi it was a must do. So we did it right around sunset and stayed until it was dark to see the city lights. It was pretty darn beautiful. 

Day Two

Woke up and skipped over to Bacco Cafe which was on my list of things wanted to try, and I loved my food! Madi thought it was par for the course. Then we took a free walking tour where you pay what you feel. It lasted about two hours and covered a two mile loop. Our tour guide Jake was great! We definitely leaned a lot about Seattle that we didn’t know. We stopped by to explore Pike Place Market where we saw all of the classics, including the original Starbucks. The flowers were AMAZING. It smelled so good in there! Until you got to the fish market section lol. Then we decided to brave the two mile hike to Kerry Park. About half a mile of this hike was up a steep hill. Our calves and thighs were on fire, but this was probably my favorite part of our entire trip. I mean come on, that view is INCREDIBLE!! God blessed us with perfect weather for the park, as it was 68 degrees and sunny when we got up there. We spent some time chilling and letting our legs recover before heading the two miles back to our hotel. Who needs Uber? Not the Franeks! At least not yet. The last stop of the trip was an underground tour. Now, we didn’t understand the history of Seattle prior to going on this tour, so it was informative for us. But in ways was a little too informative. Like how the word “crapper” came from a dude who’s last name was Crapper and made toilets.... no joke. I mean yeah totally interesting to learn history of things but wow some bad puns were thrown around. Overall Madi and I chalked it up to part of the Seattle experience.

Now we are headed over to Portland, Oregon for more fun and adventures! We won’t be there long though, so we have a jam packed twenty four hours!! I will put up more pictures of each place at the end of our trip! Trust me, we have lots!!

Overall Must Dos for Seattle:

- Eat at Skillet or Skillet Counter

- Walk to Kerry Park

- Visit Pike Place Market 

- Do the Space Needle at Sunset 

- Grab Dinner at Tap Room Grill

Tips and Tricks:
- Buy a package deal if you want to see a lot of the major museums or iconic places in the city. 
- Take the ferry to Bainbridge at sunset instead of paying for a sunset tour. Then to get info on Seattle, take a Free Walking Tour and pay what you feel. 

Thanks for keeping up,

- Olivia :)

DIY Smores Blondies

Hey all,

Recently I threw a surprise baby shower for my co-worker and friend, so of course I had to bake things right?! And of course I came up with something through some Pinterest ideas that I had never made before the night prior to the shower giving me no room for error right?! Of course I did!! Would people expect anything less? Let's just say my Kitchen Aid gets a lot of use. Anyways, I came up with this smores blondie concoction based off of some ideas I saw, and honestly after trying them out of the oven, I was like "meh". But my SIL (sister-in-law) was like YAAAS. So I tried them again once they had been in the fridge overnight (I tend to like my sweets better this way rather than hot out of the oven, I know, I'm odd) and I was like "okay yeah these are pretty bangin'". So here is what you'll need and how to make them!

What You'll Need:
Randoms:
- 1 large and 2 medium bowls
- 9 x 13 pan
- parchment paper
- Measuring cups and spoons

Crust:
-1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, melted
-2 cups graham crakcer crumbs (about 1 1/2 packages of graham crackers)

Cookie Dough:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, melted
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanila
- 3 cups flower
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini marshmelows

Topping:
- 2 Hersheys chocolate bars
- 1 graham cracker (broken into pieces)
- 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

How to Make It:
Step One: Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper (try to include the edges)

Step Two: Crush graham crackers and combine with meted butter, pour mixture into pan and press down evenly. Place entire pan into freezer.

Step Three: Mix together sugars and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

Step Four: In another bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add this mixture into the butter and sugar mixture.

Step Five: Add the chocolate chips and marshmallows, mix by hand with spatula.

Step Seven: Take baking pan from freezer and put dough on top of graham cracker crust. Spread evenly.

Step Eight: Top dough with toppings, press them in slighty.

Step Nine: Bake 40 minutes or until top is starting to look golden brown and no wet batter is visible.

Step Ten: Let cool for at least one hour. Cut and enjoy!

I also have been using my cricut like CRAZY (more to come on that) and made so many fun things for the shower and for baby E! Considering opening an Etsy shop one day. Maybe. When I get time. LOL like that will ever happen! But I really do love my cricut and making things for people. Shoutout to all my friends/family who are pregnant right now and have or will receive cute onesies crafted by me! We head out on our vacation tomorrow morning! Pray for safe travels and for Madi as he woke up with a sore throat this morning :(. We can't wait to share more about our adventures with everyone!!

Thanks for reading,
- Olivia :)