Love Letter to Cow Hollow

7 x 7 magazine is having a neighborhood issue and has asked for 300 word "love letter" submissions. They'll be choosing the top 10 and I've decided to give it a whirl. Here's my attempt at confessing my undying love and devotion to my neighborhood, Cow Hollow:

It’s 6:30AM. I roll over and chuck my alarm across my room as I slowly drift in to consciousness. I get out of bed, look out my window, and notice that it’s a fantastic looking day; a very beautiful day in my neighborhood indeed.

As somebody who has lived in San Francisco for a little over four years, I am well aware that not everyone wears the same rose colored glasses as I do. However, love it or hate it, Cow Hollow will get under your skin, and I don’t just mean because of all the luxurious spas lining Union Street. No matter who you are or where you’re from, your opinion about this neighborhood will illicit passionate remarks on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Haters are quick to discuss its pitfalls: Barbie’s with babies dressed in designer track suits, men with pink popped collars, over priced shops and a night life that screams Alcoholics Anonymous. The lovers, however, have a much more refined perspective.

We see quaint shops with the finest clothing and trinkets that the city has to offer. We see gourmet coffee shops where a quick walk down the block will have you comfortably resting in its confines and sipping on your favorite drink in bliss. We see fabulous restaurants and bars filled to the brim with people beckoning for you to join in on the fun.

Cow Hollow is a lifestyle; It’s a dynamic force of success, professionalism and fun all wrapped in to one, which has been brought about by its people: you, me, the Fashionistas, the Foodies, the, “Bridge and Tunnels,” and everyone else that contributes and believes that this neighborhood is one-of-a-kind. You will hear no complaints from this Barbie about residing here; you can bet your pink popped collar on it.