22 April, 2012

Weekends, Etc.!

at the standard hotel in los angeles. i disagree!

Lots of fun things lately! My mom and I went to LA for a weekend and I got to meet some of my oldest and dearest friends' new baby, which was very exciting. And of course a trip to LA means lots of good food, which we ate at The Eveleigh, Milk, Clementine, Donut Man, and Jar. Back in SF, I got to see Jacques Pepin and Daniel Patterson in conversation at City Arts & Lectures (Mssr. Pepin is even more adorable in person!), went shopping at the Vintage Paper Faire and had ice cream at Ice Cream Bar, went on a couple of beautiful hikes in the hills, and attended a live taping of NPR's "Says You."

roast beef with olives and preserved lemon from the local butcher shop in berkeley, eaten on a sunny day in tilden park


Last week my friend Jessica and I drove up to Healdsburg for a special winemaker's dinner celebrating my favorite vineyard, Unti, at Dry Creek Kitchen... but the dinner was cancelled at the last minute. We made the best of it, though, with lunch at Sol Food in San Rafael, an excursion to the uber-fancy Club One gym in Petaluma (they have waterslides!), some wine tasting, saw a movie, had a wonderful dinner at Scopa and pastries at Downtown Bakery. It's been like summer here in the Bay Area this week and I'll be sad to see rain again next week, but between Pop Up Magazine, seeing Tuneyards perform a live soudtrack to a silent film, the Ru Paul's Drag Race finale, and Obscura Day, I think I'll manage.
"banana puddin'" sundae at the ice cream bar, sf


grilled cheese month at clementine, los angeles!

strawberry donuts from the donut man, glendora

21 April, 2012

Ephemera


Today was the semi-annual Vintage Paper Fair in San Francisco, and not only was it an amazingly gorgeous day to be in Golden Gate Park (85 degrees out!), there were also tons of wonderful paper finds to be found. Even though Oakland is absolutely "good enough for me," I have to admit that a beautiful day like this makes me appreciate why people love to live across the bay. Here is my haul from today.

i love that is inscribed with "let us be like the moon and spoon"













18 April, 2012

Rhubarb Flowers!


I have to admit that it's never occurred to me before that rhubarb has flowers. But I guess it's got to reproduce somehow, right? (You can also see my kiwi vines, artichokes, and fig tree in the very back.)

09 April, 2012

Weekends!


Well, even though I have cut back my social life, I have still been doing some fun things. In the last week and a half I went on three great hikes with different friends, attended the Oakland A's first game of the season, bid on some artwork (and was outbid, sadly) at the Southern Exposure Art Auction, sold antiques at Alameda Point, participated in my family's annual Passover seder, tried three new (to me) restaurants, and saw Kermit Lynch and Randall Grahm in conversation about the science of wine at City Arts & Lectures.

grilled asparagus with citrus and olives at local mission eatery

a canyon full of forget me nots at huckleberry preserve


view of contra costa county from the east ridge trail at redwood park

yummy peruvian food at brasa in berkeley

another path at redwood park


Next weekend I'm headed down to LA with my mom for a very quick visit with friends, and I'm really looking forward to it.