I have to tell you, I am loving Sacramento! I never really had an opinion about our lovely state capital but… now I kind of want to move here!?

I am serious.

Let’s start with our fabulous home for the week:

Built in 1926 in the historical Cal Life Western Building, The Citizen Hotel is incredible beautiful and charming. The decor is ornate and a throwback to the time of building’s origination. The rooms are incredibly luxurious, filled with modern charms, many of which strive to be as eco-friendly as possible. And the staff is helpful but authentic–always a big plus in my book.

Loved this bar above reception. Such a cool place to grab a cocktail during happy hour. Gin & Tonic for me, thanks!

The decor itself is not the only charming part of The Citizen. In an homage to the political nature of being a state capital, the ambiance of the entire building is special because of the little details. Think framed cocktail napkins “autographed” by notable politicians.

And framed political cartoons next to the bed and in the hallways.

Though a bit pricey, this hotel is worth every penny. I highly recommend staying here if you are ever in Sacramento!

Now, onto yoga. If you follow me on twitter, you know that I was really excited to take some Hot Vinyasa Flow Yoga classes (Baron Baptiste style) while in Sacramento. (Side note: I used to go to Core Power Yoga, a lovely studio in Huntington Beach but since I moved to the South Bay, I have not been able to go. There are no Baptiste style studios in the area. Please open one…please!) Okay back to Sacramento. I found a studio close to our hotel that had a great 10 days for $10.00 special going on AND the classes were heated vinyasa yoga classes! Zuda Yoga has two locations in Sacramento. Reggie and I hit up the Midtown location for a 12:00 class with Kate and we were not disappointed. The class was crowded and I love that! There is nothing like 40 people taking deep Ujjayi breathes in unison. The class was perfectly challenging and I left feeling refreshed, energetic, and hungry (big surprise there)!

I used my Yelp application on my iPhone to find a fun place to grab some lunch. We were thrilled when we pulled up and saw this row of restaurants and bars.

After taking a couple deep breathes (umm yea, I get really excited when I find fun new spots to eat, drink, hang out, and did I mention eat?), we found ourselves at Magpie Cafe .

Magpie is committed to using high-quality, sustainable, and organic ingredients. I am now committed to going to this restaurant as much as possible.

We both started with a Honey Lemonade, which featured local honey. This was incredible delicious and refreshing. Perfectly balanced being tart and sweet. In fact, my husband downed his and then asked me, “there are free refills, right.” Nope! Sorry about your luck buddy. Fortunately for him, though, I paid attention in Kindergarten and shared. 😉

My life/lunch partner. Love him. ❤

Their menu changes daily, which is always fun! I ordered the mushroom panini which featured a white bean spread, portabello mushrooms, and arugula on focaccia. It was served with a side salad but the star of the show was the panini. I sensed hints of truffle oil in the white bean spread, and I couldn’t have been happier. If it wasn’t such a large portion, I would have ate the whole thing!

Reggie ordered the Natural Pulled Pork Sandwich. It was served with an incredibly light potato salad and a tangy (Carolina style?) BBQ sauce. I am not a huge meat eater but I had to try a bite of this sandwich. It was one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I have ever had. The pork was incredibly tender and served with just the right amount of BBQ sauce. I LOVED this sandwich!

*I have to apologize for the giant shadow in the picture. I was just really excited about eating and I took this picture really fast. Oops!

The excitement clearly continued here because this picture is not the best either. Truthfully, this asparagus salad was so good that I am not sure a picture could have done it justice. The asparagus pieces were marinated in a delicious sesame sauce that was also incredibly light and not oily at all. Reggie and I were both huge fans of this dish!

I have a thing for Whoopie Pies (I also really loved Oreos as a child) and when I saw this one, I knew I had to try it. Meet the Carrot Cake Cookie. Two carrot cake cookies sandwiched between cream cheese icing. Unreal. I loved the chew of the cookie and the creaminess of the icing without being sickeningly sweet. Well done Magpie, well done. I will definitely be coming back.

Yea, so like I said, I love it here. 🙂

Have you ever been to Sacramento? What are some other “can’t miss” spots?

xo,

Jenna