Day 49: A summery of my parent's visit: 48 hours, 4 adults, $25 on entertainment

I am proud to say that my parents came to town and the only thing we spent money on was food, 2 decks of cards, and parking. The level of cheapness was made possible in part by the fact that my parents splurged on a car rental- we could not have pulled this level of site seeing off in just 48 hours on public transit.

My parents 48 hour tour of SF started with lunch at The Pork Store, followed by drive through Golden Gate Park taking a moment to look at my favorite building in all of SF, the Conservatory of Flowers. If you follow me on instagram I post a picture of it nearly once a week. We found some good street parking of JFK and walked to the De Young viewing tower (free). Then we headed over to the De Young cafe and walked around sculpture garden (also, always free). We hoped back into the car and drove down JFK looked out of our window to view a beautiful GGP waterfall and a few pretty ponds, then headed down to where the buffalo are.

At that point we had to head to the mission to pick up the BF. While in the mission we drove down Vermont Street the actual most crooked street in SF (Lombard is the prettiest crooked street, but Vermont is definitely more intense.) We then walked down Balmy Alley to view the famous Mission Murals. Then hopped back in the car headed to the ocean to see the 1 of the 2 Dutch Windmills, Sutro Baths, and did a drive by viewing of the Legion of Honor. From there we lost my dad in Green Apple Books (at this point in my life I should know that you cannot 'stop in' to a bookstore with my father), and we had dinner at Burma Superstar. After dinner we headed to my house and upon realizing I don't own card I headed off to the liquor store to buy 2 decks. We spent the evening in playing hearts- my mom won, but it was an accident- does that even count as winning when you don't mean to??

Thursday was a full day starting at 7:30 am. We drove over to the Inner Sunset and started our day by hiking around Stow Lake, then headed to 9th and Irving for brunch at Chow. From there we headed back to the mission to visit Mission Dolores (okay, so not actually free but we only spent $15 for 3 of us each, and my dad got in free because he was wearing his preacher clothes). We did lunch in Japan Town then went over to Grace Cathedral to walk the Labyrinth. The stop at Grace could have been free, but I really didn't want to drive around forever looking for parking. The lot at Grace is $2.50 per 20 minutes and for this particular trip to the church, it was worth the $10. The evening was less free: we went to the Do Good Lab happy hour at Dear Mom and dinner at Old Skool. (I already posted about how I spent a bit too much money there, but it was worth it.)

We ended the visit with a trip to the Japanese Tea Garden (Free before 10 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and a final drive through the park so we could see the other Dutch Windmill.

I have to say I think I live in one of the best cities ever. All told we spent less than $30 on entertainment and all the rest of the money went to food and my parents treated me to some fantastic meals. This trip might not fit everyone one who visits SF. We did spend most of the trip in Golden Gate Park and I know many people come to The City to spend time in the city. For us the combination of old churches and gardens was perfect. I would recommend that anyone traveling to SF on a budget take advantage of the park. I know that we could have saved more money by skipping the restaurants, but the food here is just too good for that non-sence. 

If you were planing a cheap tour of SF where would you go? I know I left off some great places, but my parents will be back. Ideas for their next journey?

Today's outfit: 

Day 49

Scarf: Bought with Coupon from ScoutMob from The Mission Statement (sadly, I walked by the store the other day and it is gone) Dress: Hand-me-down from Rachael, Tights: Hue, Boots: Hunter Rain Boots- I wanted them in hunter green for AGES but couldn't justify $100+ for rain boots. Luckily, I found these on sale for $70 a few years ago, and I still love them

Day 26 & 27: My other side gig (Babysitting)

I am babysitting in Napa and the view from my room is pretty AMAZING. One of the first things I did when I lost my job was let my friends with kids know that I would babysit- the extra money has been so helpful and this week's gig takes the cake. I am spending 2 nights in a gorgeous home watching one of two boys while the parents are downstairs in meetings all day.

I also posted a profile on Care.com but I haven't received any requests and I haven't applied for many jobs. With my new program in the fall bringing in a smaller paycheck than I have had and my need to get out of debt, I am hoping to find some extra income watching tiny humans.

Back to the Napa recap: this place is breathtaking.

Some fun pics of the actual kid. He is seriously too cute to handle. He is two and bossy, but so much fun. If being a mom only consisted of days like today, I swear I'd be on that.

Obviously the day ended with wine by the fire pit. 

As for the outfits; there were a few because kids are messy. Also, the selfies were more fun because this house has a ton of fun mirrors:

Day 26

Started out in a Scarf: Free, Cardigan: Banana Republic Hand-me-down, Dress: Old Navy $20 (bought with Groupon) The dress got soaked playing with the boy by the pool and became a swim suite cover when I realized I hadn't packed on.

After pool time I wore: Top: Hand-me-down, Tank under top: Old Navy, Shorts: Gifted The LOFT (Isn't this kid the cutest! he is wearing a train shirt and he loves being in photos)

Day 27

Top Layer: Hand-me-down, Top Second Layer: Seamless T on sale $18, Shorts: Anthropology (on sale $30)

I realize I am so fabulously lucky to have friends that needed a sitter in Napa during their work retreat. If you are not in the same boat, but want to travel and babysit simultaneously I found some websites that have some babysitting/nanny gigs. I have not used them, but I think it sounds like a good idea.

Escape Normal Jobs
Work Away
Aupair.com

One last thing: THIS PLACE HAS CHICKENS!!

Day 20: My New Side Gig (Airbnb)

I found this post yesterday: 15 Side Gigs to Make More Money Today. I think it has some really great ideas. (Side note: I am stalking this woman's blog. I think it is full of great advice and I need to tell her that soon.)

Speaking of side gigs- the photographer from airbnb just left my apartment. I am posting my room for rent a few nights a week/month while I am doing some roaming this summer to cut down on expenses. I live in the heart of one of the most touristy parts of San Francisco, so I figured why not let some people enjoy my space while I bring in some cash?

I stayed at an airbnb apartment in Paris and a shack in Austin during my last vacations. Both experiences were perfect in their own way. I loved having an apartment to share with my travel buddies on both trips. The Paris place was on the 6th floor with no elevator, but I got to sip wine with my legs out the window sitting on the roof. The Austin shack was in a sketchtastic neighborhood, but the back yard gave access to the river and it was beautiful! (Also, it might have taken us a day to find the AC, and in the Texas heat that was killer!) I really liked that both places had some cons mixed in with their pros- it made the experience more real. Our Paris place wasn't in a neighborhood where travelers stayed, and it was nice to leave the tourism and just be in the city each night when we got home. As for Austin, I have spent so much time there before that trip I just wanted to be in the city and avoid the suburbs or anything that felt too much like being a tourist in a place that feels like home. All told: I think airbnb and couch surfing are the best ways to travel.  Hotels are great and all, but there is just something lovely about being in a neighborhood and staying in a home. (Confession: I have never been a couch surfer, but I have hosted one. He was a great guest and oddly enough we have run into each other multiple times since he stayed with us.)

If you are interested in my place here is the link to my listing:Private Room in the Historic Haight.

An additional plus: the whole thing has me excited because my room is actually kind of clean, and so is my apartment. It is fake clean and I need to now go through all my storage and odd hiding places to purge my apartment of random excess, but I am so excited to continue simplifying my space!

As for my clothes: With all the cleaning and such I have been pretty lazy about my clothes. I most likely will wear a work out outfit today (I need to run 6 miles) and the same outfit as yesterday for the rest of the day. I have a meeting tonight, but it is in my kitchen- hence no reason to dress up.

Sweater: Hand me down from Rachel, Top: Striped T-shirt that was woven with no seams (supposedly making it fit better, but I think really just creating a great pitch for the price to be silly high, but I bought it on sale for $17), Jeans: Gifted from Christy, Shoes: Wedged Ankle Boots bought on sale from ShoeBiz- they got holes in the almost instantly and ShoeBiz wouldn't allow me to return them...