San Diego Magazine’s Best of San Diego Party featured the top restaurants and breweries in the city. Guests sipped and sampled their way through the evening enjoying live music, DJs and entertainment. Check out the evening’s highlights and don’t miss next year’s Best of San Diego Party in August 2015. Video production by Chris Calderon […]
San Diego Magazine’s Best of San Diego Party featured the top restaurants and breweries in the city. Guests sipped and sampled their way through the evening enjoying live music, DJs and entertainment. Check out the evening’s highlights and don’t miss next year’s Best of San Diego Party in August 2015.
San Diego Magazine’s Best of San Diego Party featured the top restaurants and breweries in the city. Guests sipped and sampled their way through the evening enjoying live music, DJs and entertainment. Check out the evening’s highlights and don’t miss next year’s Best of San Diego Party in August 2015. Video production by Chris Calderon […]
San Diego Magazine’s Best of San Diego Party featured the top restaurants and breweries in the city. Guests sipped and sampled their way through the evening enjoying live music, DJs and entertainment. Check out the evening’s highlights and don’t miss next year’s Best of San Diego Party in August 2015.
See the photos that didn't make it into the magazine
By Kimberly Cunningham
File it under career highlights: The two days our team spent at Diane Powers’ ranch in East County San Diego were some of the best I’ve had in my professional life. I am a native San Diegan and grew up going to Old Town. I have loved Powers’ colorful Mexican style since I was girl. Her home lived up to the expectation, and reminded me so much of her shops at Bazaar del Mundo.
The photos were all stunning. But we had to make some cuts for space in the print edition. Here’s a behind the scenes look at some of the shots that didn’t make it into the home feature (“Casa de Powers,” published in June 2014).
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is the cedar barn and stable for Power’s prized Arabian horses. They built it when they bought the property. Those leaded stain glass windows are antiques that she collected from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is one view of the formal living room. Note all the folk art collectibles and vintage Navajo rugs. The painting of the Last Supper that hangs above the fireplace is by David Bradley. (P.S. I am obsessed with that custom Pendleton armchair.)
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This room serves as an office space (Powers’ desk and computer are not pictured). It houses the bulk of her Guatemalan and Mexican collectibles, everything from ceremonial masks to trees of life and so much more. Collecting is a lifelong passion of hers, and she loves organizing her things by region and theme. One of my favorite details in this room is the sofa, upholstered with a traditional dancer’s costume (the floral) and a vintage serape (the stripes).
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
Who needs Craft Service? We ate more food on this shoot than any other shoot I’ve ever worked on. Powers personally cooked us chicken and beef tostadas, alongside chips, salsa, and guac from Casa de Pico. It was such a treat. And by the way, I love her cobalt blue Viking appliances.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is the couple’s TV room, which doubles as a place to showcase all of Powers’ ribbons and trophies. Powers and her husband, Brent Gilman, travel all over the country showing their Arabian Western Pleasure Show Horses.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
A peek inside the pantry. When we asked to see it, Powers said, “It looks like my store, doesn’t it?”
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is an example of the dancing costume and fabric that Powers used to upholster the sofa in her office.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is the back entrance to the main house. I love the combo of red and orange here. She has the same setup by the pool. It just feels so Old Town and so her.
See the photos that didn't make it into the magazine
By Kimberly Cunningham
File it under career highlights: The two days our team spent at Diane Powers’ ranch in East County San Diego were some of the best I’ve had in my professional life. I am a native San Diegan and grew up going to Old Town. I have loved Powers’ colorful Mexican style since I was girl. Her home lived up to the expectation, and reminded me so much of her shops at Bazaar del Mundo.
The photos were all stunning. But we had to make some cuts for space in the print edition. Here’s a behind the scenes look at some of the shots that didn’t make it into the home feature (“Casa de Powers,” published in June 2014).
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is the cedar barn and stable for Power’s prized Arabian horses. They built it when they bought the property. Those leaded stain glass windows are antiques that she collected from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is one view of the formal living room. Note all the folk art collectibles and vintage Navajo rugs. The painting of the Last Supper that hangs above the fireplace is by David Bradley. (P.S. I am obsessed with that custom Pendleton armchair.)
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This room serves as an office space (Powers’ desk and computer are not pictured). It houses the bulk of her Guatemalan and Mexican collectibles, everything from ceremonial masks to trees of life and so much more. Collecting is a lifelong passion of hers, and she loves organizing her things by region and theme. One of my favorite details in this room is the sofa, upholstered with a traditional dancer’s costume (the floral) and a vintage serape (the stripes).
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
Who needs Craft Service? We ate more food on this shoot than any other shoot I’ve ever worked on. Powers personally cooked us chicken and beef tostadas, alongside chips, salsa, and guac from Casa de Pico. It was such a treat. And by the way, I love her cobalt blue Viking appliances.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is the couple’s TV room, which doubles as a place to showcase all of Powers’ ribbons and trophies. Powers and her husband, Brent Gilman, travel all over the country showing their Arabian Western Pleasure Show Horses.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
A peek inside the pantry. When we asked to see it, Powers said, “It looks like my store, doesn’t it?”
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is an example of the dancing costume and fabric that Powers used to upholster the sofa in her office.
Bonus: More Photos of Diane Powers’ Ranch
This is the back entrance to the main house. I love the combo of red and orange here. She has the same setup by the pool. It just feels so Old Town and so her.
The Best Gym in San Diego Isn’t Really a Gym Anymore
Earlier this year, Fit quietly dropped "athletic" from its brand, from Fit Athletic Clubs to simply Fit, and started calling itself something new: a social wellness club.
There’s a version of San Diego that lives in two extremes. On one side, the 5 a.m. crowd: biohackers, marathoners, people who’ve already logged a cold plunge before your alarm goes off. On the other, the after-dark crowd, the ones chasing sunset happy hours and late dinners with friends. Everyone seems to be either optimizing or unwinding, and most of us feel like we’re failing at both.
Fit, San Diego’s reigning Best Gym for the third year running, has built its entire identity around erasing that divide.
Walk into one of Fit’s three San Diego locations on a Tuesday afternoon and the lines blur fast. Someone’s mid-set on the squat rack. Someone else has a laptop open at a café table a few feet away, half-working, half-people-watching. A group is trading plans for the weekend’s event by the recovery lounge. Nobody’s in a rush to leave.
“We’re not competing for the same people,” says Emily Waybright, Public Relations Manager at Fit, addressing the arrival of a national luxury gym chain in San Diego this year. “We don’t really feel like we’re in the gym category. It’s this unique thing.”
That unique thing has a name now. Earlier this year, Fit quietly dropped “athletic” from its brand, from Fit Athletic Clubs to simply Fit, and started calling itself something new: a social wellness club.
It’s a small wording change with a bigger idea behind it. Fit was never built around escaping the workday. It was built around the people who genuinely like what they do, and who want workouts, work, and friendships to happen in the same place instead of three separate ones. Because sometimes red light therapy with a stranger turns into weekend plans.
Fit’s philosophy traces back to its founder, who started the brand nearly two decades ago after failing to find a gym he actually wanted to belong to. He looked instead to the old-school country club, where people came for a shared interest and stayed for the community. His version was made for a younger generation, minus the golf, plus the loud music.
Which makes it a little ironic that the very award putting Fit back in the spotlight this year is Best Gym.
What does the best traditional gym look like when the definition of a gym is becoming less traditional? It’s a fair question, and Fit’s answer is that the fitness industry itself is shifting. The 45-minutes-in, 45-minutes-out model is giving way to something closer to a genuine third space, the kind of role the office and the bar used to play before remote work and changing nightlife habits rearranged how people spend their time
For Fit, community isn’t a marketing add-on to fitness. It’s the through-line. Members aren’t just paying for a treadmill; they’re paying for an entire day of social wellness that’s built on performance, recovery, connection, and a plan for the next event on the calendar. That’s a much harder membership to walk away from.
Ambition and ease aren’t opposites here, they exist side by side, where passion and play share the same morning. On September 12, Fit is hosting Sol, a full day wellness festival at Fit Social. The morning focuses on wellness classes and vendors and then the evening is a full party with multiple DJ sets and an open bar. Think of it as a kick-off to locals’ summer in San Diego.
Ready to see what a social wellness club actually looks like? Visit fitclubs.com, or follow along at @thefitclubs on Instagram.
Barbershop / Mister Brown’s If your man rolls his eyes every time you ask him to get a haircut, then this is the answer to your prayers. The old-fashioned barbershop-cum-men’s social club is a place where he can get a hot shave, play pool, and watch sports with the boys. The shop offers a variety […]
Mister Brown’s
Barbershop / Mister Brown’s
If your man rolls his eyes every time you ask him to get a haircut, then this is the answer to your prayers. The old-fashioned barbershop-cum-men’s social club is a place where he can get a hot shave, play pool, and watch sports with the boys. The shop offers a variety of trims and cuts, plus top-quality take-home products. He’ll leave groomed and gorgeous, and perhaps, a little more willing to schedule a follow-up. 3064 University Avenue, North Park
Pedicure Spot / Stay Polished
This nail boutique lured us in with its comfy baroque-style chairs and hygienic tubs of water (nary a questionable massage chair in sight), then won us over with its great color selection (you can use gel-like polishes for no extra charge), friendly technicians, cute purple-and-white décor, and pedicure that lasted for a full month after the appointment. 5733 La Jolla Boulevard, La Jolla
Spa Menu / Spa L’Auberge
The recently revamped spa menu at the posh L’Auberge Del Mar offers ocean-themed services like the Sea Breeze Facial and the Seaweed Scrub, which will leave your skin super-soft and moisturized. Go for the relaxation; stay for a lite lunch on the deck. Or make a day of it, and take a scenic walk through downtown Del Mar. 1540 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar
Beauty-Boutique Mashup / Jeslin Salon & Boutique
We like the look of this place, from the shabby-chic décor to the bright floor-to-ceiling windows. With more than 11 years of experience, owner Jessica Mena specializes in a variety of hair services. Before or after your appointment, browse the boutique that features local jewelry designers and budget-friendly tops. 1357 Rosecrans Street, Point Loma
Beauty Boot Camp / K-Sport Beauty Bootcamp
Katherine Annie Finch is a pro when it comes to beauty. The former Estée Lauder exec recently launched Katherine Cosmetics. Here, she combines her love of makeup with a full day of fitness and nutrition at the luxe Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa. Sign us up! katherinecosmetics.com
Euro Facial / Valmont Facial at Ocean Pearl Spa
This treatment makes you look younger and more rested. Ocean Pearl Spa at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort is one of the few spas on the West Coast to offer Valmont, a luxe Swiss skincare line designed to combat the effects of aging. The Vitality of the Glaciers service includes a collagen mask and very relaxing neck and shoulder massage ($215 for 60 minutes). Ready, set, rewind the years! 5480 Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad
Barbershop / Mister Brown’s If your man rolls his eyes every time you ask him to get a haircut, then this is the answer to your prayers. The old-fashioned barbershop-cum-men’s social club is a place where he can get a hot shave, play pool, and watch sports with the boys. The shop offers a variety […]
Barbershop / Mister Brown’s
If your man rolls his eyes every time you ask him to get a haircut, then this is the answer to your prayers. The old-fashioned barbershop-cum-men’s social club is a place where he can get a hot shave, play pool, and watch sports with the boys. The shop offers a variety of trims and cuts, plus top-quality take-home products. He’ll leave groomed and gorgeous, and perhaps, a little more willing to schedule a follow-up. 3064 University Avenue, North Park
Pedicure Spot / Stay Polished
This nail boutique lured us in with its comfy baroque-style chairs and hygienic tubs of water (nary a questionable massage chair in sight), then won us over with its great color selection (you can use gel-like polishes for no extra charge), friendly technicians, cute purple-and-white décor, and pedicure that lasted for a full month after the appointment. 5733 La Jolla Boulevard, La Jolla
Spa Menu / Spa L’Auberge
The recently revamped spa menu at the posh L’Auberge Del Mar offers ocean-themed services like the Sea Breeze Facial and the Seaweed Scrub, which will leave your skin super-soft and moisturized. Go for the relaxation; stay for a lite lunch on the deck. Or make a day of it, and take a scenic walk through downtown Del Mar. 1540 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar
Beauty-Boutique Mashup / Jeslin Salon & Boutique
We like the look of this place, from the shabby-chic décor to the bright floor-to-ceiling windows. With more than 11 years of experience, owner Jessica Mena specializes in a variety of hair services. Before or after your appointment, browse the boutique that features local jewelry designers and budget-friendly tops. 1357 Rosecrans Street, Point Loma
Beauty Boot Camp / K-Sport Beauty Bootcamp
Katherine Annie Finch is a pro when it comes to beauty. The former Estée Lauder exec recently launched Katherine Cosmetics. Here, she combines her love of makeup with a full day of fitness and nutrition at the luxe Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa. Sign us up! katherinecosmetics.com
Euro Facial / Valmont Facial at Ocean Pearl Spa
This treatment makes you look younger and more rested. Ocean Pearl Spa at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort is one of the few spas on the West Coast to offer Valmont, a luxe Swiss skincare line designed to combat the effects of aging. The Vitality of the Glaciers service includes a collagen mask and very relaxing neck and shoulder massage ($215 for 60 minutes). Ready, set, rewind the years! 5480 Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad
Growing up, Laika Nur, MD, Scripps Clinic sports medicine specialist, loved watching beach volleyball when the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour came to her hometown of Chicago. A talented volleyball player herself, she remembers sitting in the stands all day, and once, even got a couple autographs. Years later, Dr. Nur was attending a professional event focused on women’s sports, and the discussion turned to a new professional women’s volleyball league. The general manager and coaching staff for San Diego’s team, the Mojo, happened to be in attendance, and Dr. Nur took the opportunity to ask them if they needed a team doctor. Flash forward to the Mojo’s inaugural 2024 season, when Dr. Nur officially became the team physician. Click here to read more about Dr. Nur and how she incorporates lessons she learned on the court into her practice.
For more nutrition, wellness, and healthy living tips, sign up for the San Diego Health newsletter here.
