Mast Brothers, Bellocq Tea, & More | Brooklyn in November
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Mast Brothers, Bellocq Tea, & More | Brooklyn in November

The last Saturday of my November New York trip, we headed to Brooklyn for a tour of Mast Brothers Chocolate. You might recognize the graphic, patterned papers that encase Mast Brothers’ chocolate bars. Every single bar comes from this very Brooklyn factory. This is my only photo of the actual “tour” part, as they don’t allow…

Jesse’s Birthday | Manhattan in November
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Jesse’s Birthday | Manhattan in November

I headed toward the freezing cold chill of New York to celebrate Jesse’s birthday back in November. During the week, I made small excursions around his ‘new’ neighborhood in Midtown (my last visit, Jesse was still living downtown). And of course at night and on the weekends, we had plenty of foodie adventures all around Manhattan…

Best of 2014: Travels, Food, Books, & Photography
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Best of 2014: Travels, Food, Books, & Photography

I bid farewell to my twenties and look back on a wonderful 2014. View my annual infographic below: Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco but often traveling and working around the world. She creates beautiful, soft, and timeless imagery while capturing the most fleeting of moments. View her work…

Lazy Bear | San Francisco’s Favorite Popup Goes Brick & Mortar
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Lazy Bear | San Francisco’s Favorite Popup Goes Brick & Mortar

For a long time, Lazy Bear was an underground pop-up, delighting diners who were in the know with their communal dinner parties. In the last few weeks, it went from underground to brick and mortar. Reservations were of course a scramble, compounded by the fact that they went with Alinea’s ticketing system (nonrefundable, like concert tickets)….

Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz
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Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz

Alcatraz is just one of those tourist destinations that I’ve never really felt compelled to visit. It’s right there in the middle of the Bay, so close and yet so far. But the thing that finally pushed me to buy a ferry ticket was hearing about a new art installation that just opened on the island: Ai…

San Francisco in October
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San Francisco in October

For Jesse’s October visit to San Francisco, I got to do two tourists’ staples that I have still not managed to do in the six years that I’ve lived here: ride bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge and take the ferry out to Alcatraz Island. We’ll save Alcatraz for another post, but here’s our bike…

Sonoma Coast Retreat
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Sonoma Coast Retreat

It’s a three-hour drive from the San Francisco up along the California Coast to Sea Ranch. And since I was making the trek to photograph a beautiful wedding up there, I decided to turn it into a little weekend retreat. On the way up, I stopped at this little roadside cafe in Jenner for brunch.  …

Talya’s Poem

Talya’s Poem

This is for anyone who has ever felt not-good-enough; for anyone who has been frustrated by their own impossibly high standards; for anyone who struggles. My friend Talya wrote this little prayer for herself and posted it on Facebook months and months ago, and when I initially saw it, it just seemed so beautiful and–…

Alinea | Chicago Fine Dining
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Alinea | Chicago Fine Dining

Back in June of last year, a group of twelve of us had an incredible experience dining at The French Laundry in Napa Valley. Immediately afterwards, we started plotting our next group dining experience and set our sights on Alinea in Chicago. I really liked the idea of dining with a group, but after my inquiry returned a quote of $36,500…