Urban State of Mind | Nathan's San Diego

Putting together Feature 'Blogorations' has been so much fun for me! 
I've gotten to meet new people + I've had the opportunity to get to know those I do know a little better. The later is the case with today feature.

Meet Nathan (+ San Diego)! 
He is a friend of Nelli's who I have met a handful of times + you may recall Nelli + he collaborated on a post earlier this year: Caramelized Leek, Basil, + Black Pepper Biscuits. 
Nelli wanted me to be the one who interviewed Nathan because:
1) She wanted us to get to know each other more intimately
2) I'm the 'feature lady' at BSOM. 
So, Nathan + I came together to bring you this lovely Urban Feature on what his life was like when he lived in San Diego, CA.

"I'm 26, born and raised in Sacramento, graduated from NewSchool of Architecture + Design in San Diego + work as a Designer at the architecture firm Lionakis in Newport Beach,CA I love traveling, photography, cooking, wine, + great cocktails." - Nathan

Current City: Irvine, CA

BSOM: Where are you originally from + why did you move to San Diego?

Nathan: I was born in Sacramento, and moved to San Diego in 2010 to complete my Bachelor's of Architecture degree.

BSOM: What's the biggest difference between Sacramento + San Diego?

Nathan: San Diego reminds me a lot of a 'Sacramento by the beach,' with the city sprawling out with lots of suburban areas, but a really exciting and lively urban core downtown.

BSOM: How long did you live there + why did you move away?

Nathan: I lived in San Diego for 3 years, from July 2010 - August 2013. I moved because of a job opportunity in Newport Beach. I think that if I didn't have that opportunity, I would have stayed in San Diego.

BSOM: What did you enjoy most about life in SD?

Nathan: Living in downtown San Diego was always exciting, there was always something going on and you could just walk out your door and be within walking distance to restaurants, the nightlife, basic amenities. I liked how relaxed the atmosphere is, the weather was always nice (even when it wasn't it was great), and there's a scene/neighborhood for everyone.

BSOM: Best experience you had living there?

Nathan: It's hard to pinpoint one particular experience that I had, I think that it was a great place for me to transition from living at home to being on my own.

BSOM: What negatives (if any) were there to living in SD?

Nathan: Relative to the whole of San Diego, the downtown is very small; while this created some interesting pockets within the sprawling neighborhoods, the vast suburban neighborhoods were also a major detractor in creating a vibrant urban environment outside the downtown area, and walking between the neighborhoods didn't really happen. 

BSOM: One piece of advice you'd give someone who is considering moving there?

Nathan: Spend some time in San Diego exploring the neighborhoods before you commit to moving to any area, and realize that most of San Diego isn't at "the beach".

BSOM: What was the biggest change you've had to make in order to adapt to life in SD?

Nathan: I had a pretty smooth transition, I moved down with a lot of friends from home and knew a lot of people in San Diego prior to moving down. I think just finding a place to live was my biggest obstacle. 

BSOM: Transportation: How did you get around?

Nathan: For getting around most of the time downtown, I would drive just because my daily schedule of activities was very unpredictable, but I more often than not walked to class because parking enforcement was terrible.

BSOM: Favorite "locals only know about it" hang out spot?

Nathan: The funny thing about San Diego is that so much of the population are from elsewhere, and not many people are actually "locals". And San Diego is also a huge tourist town, so even the "local" non-Gaslamp places will often have plenty of out-of-towners. My favorite place in the East Village (the "artist/up and coming part" of downtown SD east of the Gaslamp) is called Neighborhood and the attached Noble Experiment speakeasy with their amazing mixologists.

BSOM: Any local artists/street art you recommend we check out? 

Nathan: A classmate of mine started to make a name for himself doing live art pieces at venues and in the San Diego art scene, his name is Max Mcilwee. He specialized in urban art work with spray paint as his medium. 

BSOM: Favorite restaurant + coffee shop in SD?

Nathan: My favorite restaurant is Underbelly in Little Italy, a hipsterized/trendy ramen restaurant in a converted wine bar. Local beers, great food, and windows that fold down into communal tables. Caffe Calabria in North Park is a great cafe with cold brewed iced coffee.

BSOM: Favorite "day trip spot" in SD?

Nathan: I have two favorite spots to just walk around and enjoy the city, both different but equally the epitome of San Diego. The first place is The Prado in Balboa Park - what started off as the stage for the Panama-California Exposition is now a concentration of museums, art and culture, and gardens with great views of downtown sitting above the city. The second place is the Cabrillo Point tide pools, natural unobstructed, non-tourist overcrowded waterfront with incredible views of the setting sun.

BSOM: If someone only had one day to experience your city, what would you recommend they see/do?

Nathan: Eat and drink you way through San Diego, avoid the Gaslamp unless you're going clubbing, and stroll along the wind sandy beach front of the Hotel Del Coronado.

BIG thanks and shout out to Nathan for his contribution to this blog!!

Until next time friends...Cheers!!! 
<3 Noonie

P.S. Would you like to be featured right here on BSOM?! Email us! We'd love to hear from you! 

Check out our Contact page for more info! :)

The Prado in Balboa Park

Hotel Del Coronado

Urbanized

Getting myself into the 'planning spirit' this morning by watching this documentary I found online: Urbanized.
If you are interested in urban planning, care about your community, live in a city, or just want to learn something I highly recommend this documentary. Its basically everything I've learned throughout my Masters Degree program.

Which gets me thinking, what is the best way to plan a community? and is there only one 'best outcome'? I don't think that we have an answer for either of these questions, but they are a good place to start the brainstorm. I am personally in favor of planning through community involvement + self organized urbanism.
Planning with community is definitely taking off across the USA, this mode of re-designing a city involves talking to the community and understanding what they need, want, and desire to make their spaces better. The first step in any planning process should be to understand the community, we start by looking at demographics, understanding the street grids, knowing where the parks are, what economic activities occur, what leisure activities take place, and what the built environment consists of. The next step is almost always walking the area, surveying to understand if all of the statistics you just found are indeed correct or if the demographics are wrong, if the stores have all closed, maybe you find out that the kids play kickball in the street and the cars stop for them... These are the details that create each community and give it its personality. These are the things you could never find through statistics and research. Surveying, or people watching, is a major part of our profession; not to mention the most fun! Hopefully through your surveying you get to know community members, talk to them, and start holding referendums where they can convene and discuss as a whole their desires. After awhile, the planners start drawing up plans and proposing changes. These changes would ideally be proposed to the community so they might give input.

You can understand how after this lengthy process each community might need something different. One community might need a new grocery store, while another wants a park, and another needs the city to repair damaged roads, etc. Which brings me back to my question 'What is the best way to plan a community?' and the answer is: that there is none.
This is a unique process where the possibilities are endless and the changes can be infinite.
It is a process none-the-less that will always be needed for societies across the earth, so long as humans inhabit the earth; and at the rate we are going, cities are growing exponentially and by 2050 we are expected to have 75% of the human population living in cities. While this impact will not likely be felt within North America or Europe, across Asia, Africa, and South America this will be drastic! The 'developing cities' are growing at a rate previously unseen, what are these cities to do? They definitely should not be following the old model that was set up by the west, but what type of new models should they introduce? How should they organize? What functions do they need? What resources?

I am both excited and frightened at the world we are creating, and I am sure many critiques will be made, yet the possibilities are so great that I don't know if it really matters. At the end of the day, if you can improve the lives of your citizens, even just one person, then isn't that what we are here for?

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**Now that I have re-read what I just wrote, I'm not really sure I got us anywhere more than a simple rant.... But hopefully I can make just one person think a little bit more about the process

Chicken Pot Pie Muffins

If you happened to catch my MOTW | 4 you'd know I had set my sights on making this dish, I did just that + the results were delicious! I had never tried to make pot pies before, but I really liked this 'muffin' version of it, which is why I chose to use this recipe. It is somewhat of a non traditional pot pie recipe as there isn't any gravy involved, but I really liked it + I know you will too! 

Grab your ingredients + let's make some pot pies! :) 

Whatcha Need:

• * 1 T. Baking Powder
• * 1 t. Salt
• * 1/4 t. Pepper
• * 1 1/4 C. Milk
• * 1/4 C. Butter, melted
• * 1 Egg
• * 2/3 C. Parmesan cheese, shredded 
• * 1 C. Rotisserie Chicken, shredded
• * 1 C. Frozen Mixed Veggies, thawed

Note: I only had grated Parmesan Cheese on hand + it worked just fine for this recipe. I also didn't have Rotisserie Chicken so I used boneless, skinless chicken breast which I diced + boiled before getting everything else together. Be resourceful! :)  

How To: 

- Preheat oven to 400.

- Combine flour, baking powder, salt + peppa.

- In a separate bowl whisk milk, egg + butter, add to flour mix.

- Fold in cheese, chicken + veggies into the dough, 
be sure not to overwork. 

- Grease a 12 count muffin tin + fill each cup 3/4 full, 
sprinkle some Parmesan Cheese on top.

- Place in oven + bake 25 mins.

Fresh out of the oven!

- Serve with butter, ketchup, or hot sauce on the side or go crazy + add some hot Velveeta Cheese or Country Gravy right on top! Enjoy!

Dense, layered goodness!

Really loved this recipe + definitely plan on using it again in the future! I served my pot pie muffins alongside some Mac n' Cheese + salad, + it was the perfect combo! In fact it was the Mac n' Cheese that made me think of trying Velveeta cheese on top of the muffins next time! I think it'd be so delicious! My bf suggested these muffins would also taste great with some Country Gravy on top + I totally agree! I think the gravy would also kind of convert these non traditional pot pie muffins into more of a traditional pot pie. These muffins warm up well microwaved + if you have leftovers changing up what you top these with will almost make it seem like you're eating a whole different meal when really it's just your leftovers :) I think next time I make these I might try a different variation on this recipe, a couple of ideas my bf + I came up with...

* Chicken Cheese Broccoli Muffins

* Chicken Bacon Cheese Muffins, dipped in Ranch 

* Turkey + Cranberry (would be great for the upcoming holidays!)

+ 1 more variation which is currently top secret info, just know it's going to be good! 

There really are so many different variations + toppings one could try with this recipe which is really why I liked it so much. Plus it's super easy to put together + like I said the muffins reheat great! Will be sure to catch up with ya later about the top secret variation of this recipe that's currently under works! ;) 

Until next time friends...Cheers!!

<3 Noonie

Celebration | Westward Bound

Seventh Stop: CELEBRATION

My last destination on the East Coast was Tampa, Florida. One of my best friend's lives here with her family so it seemed only fitting as my final (and longest) destination spot.
As a City Planner I have spent time researching cities across this great country, big + small, urban + rural, particular + typical; so when I realized that Celebration, Florida was right outside of Tampa I decided that I just had to go!
Celebration is a Disney Designed Community, created to replicate different types of American houses as well as create a walkable community with sidewalks, water features, and small clustered shopping areas. Upon arriving in Celebration I could not overcome my excitement when I saw the little downtown strip. The 'downtown' has brick streets, a lake at the end, little shops to buy trinkets, banks, a movie theater, restaurants, and a surprising number of real estate agencies. We walked around for a little while before stopping at the corner diner for a quick lunch. The food was nothing special, but large portions for the price, and the kiddos got balloon lightsabers (how cool is that?!). After lunch we departed, but not before driving around and checking out a few more homes.

My two-cents:
From the outside Celebration seems like a typical suburb, nothing that would particularly stand out to the laymen. However, the fact that these shopping centers and walkability were worked into the community is particularly unique. While they are not my 'preferred' restaurant quality, stores, or style I do appreciate that Disney took the time to try something new + different, not to mention that the development is basically sold out which shows me that people want to live in communities with easily accessible shopping + activities. So cudos to them!

** I refrained from writing about Tampa, FL as I wrote an in depth blog about it last year.

Previous Posts:
Nelli is Moving
Baltimore
Virginia
Asheville
Greenville
Columbia
Charleston
Tybee Island