So Long Bay Area, Hello Los Angeles
A little bit of news....we are moving to LA. Holy sh@!#$$t.
We move in a couple days and I don't think it has quite hit me yet. It is all a very long story that I won't bore you with, but we are making the move south from the Bay Area to LA. And I am both excited and nervous. Excited to live in a new city and explore new places and try new things but nervous because I have been to LA a total of three times, one of those times was when I was 13 years old. So there is that. (For the record 13 yr old Amanda quite enjoyed it though)
So what does that mean? Well for one thing it means I am going freelance. I am going to be doing some recipe development and food media content creation and spending a whole lot more time in this space. I have some tricks up my sleeve to make this little corner of the web a little better so stay tuned for that. Also you will be hearing a lot of more about places to eat and visit in LA. The only thing I am worried about is spending my days in my pjs and the only person/creature I talk to is Chumley (not that that is a bad thing) Day three as a freelancer is underway and I am proud to report that I at least brushed my teeth today.
Everyone has been asking me whether I am sad to leave San Francisco. The short answer is yes, very much so. I moved to SF 9 1/2 years ago. Almost a decade of my life has been in the Bay Area and for that I am truly grateful. You know that saying - I left my heart in SF - it is a saying because it is true - there is no other Bay Area around and I will always have a place in my heart for it.
I am sad for the memories and nostalgia that lives in SF and other corners of the Bay Area. Every neighborhood brings up a memory and that is what I am going to miss. The ability to know an area and have it feel like home with all of those sweet memories dancing along in your past. So yes I am going to miss San Francisco because it is filled with amazing memories and people I love.
That is what I am going to miss the most -the friends that we have made over the years that live in the Bay Area. I know that we will make more friends in LA, (hopefully) but we have been so fortunate to have had such a great groups of friends that have become like family. When you live so far away from your real family, you make your friends your family. Case in point, Friendsgivng.
I am also going to miss Oakland. Like real bad. I have totally fallen in love with this area - between the food and the general feel of this place, I found my people. Oakland has so much to offer and I am so fortunate that I at least got to spend a couple years here exploring and realizing there is an ever better life on the right side of the bay. Oh and I am going to miss my gorgeous kitchen I renovated in Oakland. That too. My vintage stove!!
But I am excited. I am excited for the possibilities that LA can offer. The adventures. The people I am going to meet. The sunshine, palm trees and more time at the beach. Weekend trips to Palm Springs,the wineries on the central coast, Santa Barbara, Ojai and San Diego. All great things.
Stay tuned for this wild ride - I have some recipes coming down the pike while we find a place (and a nice kitchen to cook in) so I am not going to leave you hanging but if you want to check in and see what I am up to real-time, head on over to Instagram or on Snapchat (handle: a_frederickson).
Peace out SF, hello Lalaland.
xox