Weekends!

I have fallen behind on my weekend reports again, and as usual lots of fun things have been going on. Here's a bit of what I've been up to lately.

This weekend, my friend Jessica and I attended Le Diner en Blanc in Golden Gate Park's Music Concourse, conveniently scheduled on one of the warmest evenings of the year! I made salad Nicoise and a pear clafoutis, and Jessica brought some lovely rosé, cheese, charcuterie, and bread for our picnic. I wasn't totally sure what I was getting into when we put our names in the hat for an invitation a few months ago, but the event was truly magical. 3,500 people dressed in white, dining in candlelight al fresco... incredible! You can see a glimpse of Jessica and me in this video, at 2:10.


In the past couple of weeks, I also took a walking tour of Craftsman homes with my friend Christine, organized by the Oakland Heritage Alliance,


took a ferry ride across the bay,


had brunch at Doña Tomas with Erik,

saw an exhibition of photographs from the 1991 Oakland Firestorm at the Berkeley Art Museum with my friend Elka,


went swimming at the Coppola Winery pool with some girlfriends,


enjoyed multiple avocado smoothies at the Sweet Booth in Oakland's Chinatown,



attended my dear friends Jenn and Ajax's wedding,


finally ate dinner at Una Pizza Napoletana (exceeded its reputation!),


made it to an Oktoberfest Monday at Camino,


spent an afternoon going through the clippings files at the Oakland History Room,

participated in a big board game night,


went to Oregon for my family's annual vacation, along with two of my favorite lady friends,


attended Home Movie Day screenings at the Oakland Museum,


cooked a lot and was cooked for,



visited the Santa Cruz County fair with Marina,



toured the historic Fox Theater in downtown Oakland (built in 1928),





as well as the gorgeous Paramount Theater (built in 1931),


played bocce ball,


and even took a gondola ride on Lake Merritt!