KOMBUCHA!

Since moving back, i’ve started to drink kombucha. For those of you who don’t know what kombucha is: Kombucha is a fermented, sweetened black or green tea drink commonly intended as a beverage for its supposed health benefits. Before moving back home, I thought kombucha was gross and didn’t like it in the slightest. I’m not sure what flipped the switch, but now I find it quite enjoyable. Actually, come to think of it, there was a span of a few months where I was taking an apple cider vinegar shot before every meal. They kind of have the same aftertaste. Nonetheless, I like it now and tried making it myself. LET. ME. TELL. YOU. It is no easy task. There are a lot of steps to take, and my first few batches were too vinegary that I had to throw them out. But with anything, practice, practice, practice. Kombucha is not for everyone as it requires an acquired taste, but I thought instead of paying upwards of $3.00 per bottle, I would give it a try.

Here are a few pictures from the last batch I made.

Though, the process is tedious, here is a summary of how to make it.

First, boil water in a pot and add about eight to ten tea bags. Let them soak until the water becomes extremely dark. Add sugar. Then, let the water come down to room temperature. Add SCOBY (that weird round looking thing). The SCOBY is also called the “mother” and is where all of the probiotics and fermented yeast live. After, let your mixture sit for a week or so, add fruit, leave it out to carbonate, and then put it in the fridge so the carbonation halts. Lastly, enjoy.

Of course the process is much more stretched out and lengthy, but you get the gist.

Give it a try!

xoxo.e

The Walt Disney Museum

While my friends from Japan were here, we went to the Walt Disney Museum. It was interesting to learn about his life and how he created Disney. I learned that there is so much more to the Disney characters we know and love. There was a whole life before Disney and this museum really gave light to the information we may not have known about Walt and his whole creation.

xoxo,e

E, The Tour Guide

Living in a different country, you make a lot of new friends. I happened to meet quite a few interesting, amazing people while living in Japan. Some of whom came to San Francisco! We visited Stanford University and went sightseeing around town. Here are some pictures that I took from the day. After going on the tour of the campus, I can see why the school is one of the top in the world. They truly foster an amazing philosophy and give their students everything they need in order to be successful. They have a beautiful campus that is extremely sustainable but at the same time eco friendly. We also got to visit the Facebook campus. They wanted to eat “big meat” so we also enjoyed a hugeeee steak dinner.

Take a look!

xoxo,e

Views

Since I’ve been having so much free time lately, I thought that I would make the best of my time. One thing I like to do is to look at views. For some reason it makes all of my problems tiny and allows me to think about life, decisions, goals, everything. The other day I went to Marin and on the way back home I stopped off here to look at one of the best views in the Bay Area (in my opinion). It was a warm day and the skies were so clear. Often times we take these moments for granted. Moving forward, I want to focus more on myself and attaining my own goals.

xoxo,e