Thanksgiving

This year in San Francisco marks my first Thanksgiving away from Seattle and the Goodells(and Becks). With this all on my mind, Kenny and I had planned to celebrate the holiday with our good friend Joe and Lindsay. Lindsay graciously offered up their apartment to host the festivities.

The day before Thanksgiving Lindsay and I had the major task of doing the grocery shopping. That was quite the experience. We began our journey at the local grocery store getting all the fresh local produce that we could get there. This experience was very pleasant and affordable. Then we headed to the dreaded pricey grocery store. We got way more than we expected but it was totally worth it. Might I also add that by the end of the 2 hour shopping trip we were both exhausted.

Thanksgiving Day morning I woke up so excited. I quickly got ready and headed over to Joe and Lindsay to help Joe with the turkey and hang out with them till everyone else arrived. When I got to their apartment, Joe was rubbing the turkey down with rosemary butter and throwing all types of goodies in the middle. My favorite part of the turkey process was basting the turkey by placing pepper bacon on the top and leaving it there while baking in the oven. It was SO DELICIOUS!!!

The entire spread of food was ridiculous. You would have thought that there were going to be 20 people over. But alas, there was only 6 of us to eat our way through piles of food. It was glorious.

Made me very happy to have such great friends in San Francisco.

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Beaujolais Nouveau Night at Zazies

Last night we treated ourselves to an amazing evening at a local French restaurant called Zazies. On the third Thursday of November, Zazies has a special menu paired with three tastings of the new Beaujolais Nouveau. To celebrate the event, the staff wear red out fits and the restaurant is decorated with red table cloths and votives. It almost felt like Valentines Day.

The three Beaujolais Nouveau were really tasty. For me, they seemed to progress from fruity flavors and smells to a heavier red. I liked them all. When seated at the table we had a menu waiting for us. We had about 4 options for a starter, main dish and dessert.

I chose to start with a delicious cheese fondue that was served in a mini pumpkin. My entree was corned beef served in a skillet with a pastry covering the beef. There was a nice salad served on the side. Finally, I ended my meal with a slice of chocolate cheesecake served with some raspberry sauce on the side.

One of the best evenings yet.

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Support local art (and friends)

This past weekend was an awesome experience. We were able to head over to the East Bay to support my friend Lindsay who posed in some photos. The photographer of these beautiful photos was a good friend of Lindsay's from her college days. Having spent most of my time here in the city, it was nice to venture over across the bridge to the East Bay. The art show was held in a loft that had been converted the inhabitants into a wonderful place for the photos to be on display.

Once we walked in we happily gave our donation, grabbed our drink (wine or beer) and started gazing at the photos. After I gazed for a little bit at the pictures, I quickly turned my attention to the wonderful spread of food in the middle of the room. The food was made from mostly organic products and was very tasty. I have to say that I am very proud of the photography and of Lindsay. The pictures were beautiful.

Once we left the art show we headed into the Mission with Joe and Lindsay (and new friends Ken and Marisa). There a birthday celebration for Lindsay's friend Edward at a little club called Little Baobab. This place was tiny and awesome music was playing. Needless to say we had a great time dancing the night away.

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Big city with a small town vibe.

While I was treated to a get away in Marin for Saturday and Sunday, Kenny and I were treated to an amazing visit by friends from Seattle. The great Matt and Tiffani Brown were in San Francisco for an evening and we were treated to their wonderful company.

We tried getting dinner at a popular place in the Mission but the wait was so long we decided to meander down a block or two and stumbled upon a little german place called Schmidt's. There was still a wait, but we all had drinks in the little bar area and chatted till we were seated. Once we got seats the amazingness started. This was some of the best German food I have had. I guess it helped that we had such great company helping to make the meal even better.

After dinner we headed back to Mission St. get cabs home when we ran into our good friends that live in the city Joe and Lindsay. It was strange that we all ran into each other in a city that is packed with people.

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Marin (My little weekend get-a-away)

This last weekend was a nice get-a-way from city living. For those who weren't aware, I have family that lives in Marin just North of the city. They live in a great neighborhood with their two little boys and dog. A couple of weeks ago, my cousin Carin had asked if I would be able to spend the night at their house so she and her husband could celebrate her birthday with an overnight in the city. I totally jumped on a chance to hang with the little ones and spend some time in a house.

On Saturday I took the muni to the Ferry Terminal and got my ticket to Sausalito. While waiting for the ferry I was able to explore the Saturday farmers market that takes over the waiting area. This market is incredible. I have never seen such a variety at one market. There were the usual items of veggies and fruits, but man...there were chickens, cheese bakeries and herbs. I am very excited to go back and do some shopping for myself.

I hopped on the ferry and was treated to a beautiful ride across the bay. Growing up in Seattle I was able to ride the Washington State Ferries often to visit family over on Bainbridge Island. I always loved those rides and the views of the city and landscape. I have to say, San Francisco has one thing over Seattle...they have mixed drinks along with beer and wine for your ride. Regular commuters were the first ones to hop in line and grab their drink and chat with the crew that worked the bar. I loved it. While I didn't get a drink this round, I loved the idea that I could get one if I wanted.

After the ferry ride, I was picked up by my cousin with the kids. We headed back to the house and so began my overnight babysitting adventure. I can't remember the last time I babysat, let alone for an overnight. I was excited as were the little ones. We spent some time watching some awesome movies, coloring to the tunes of Taylor Swift (the littlest one knew all the words) and eating Chinese food for dinner. It was awesome. I think the highlight was when the youngest, who reminds me a little of myself at that age) pulled his ballerina barbie and decided to cut off her pink hair. He is such a trouble maker. When I went to pick up his mess, I realized that he has now left little pink hair strands all over the rug that had just been cleaned on Friday. Awesome. It really made me laugh.

The cousins returned on Sunday afternoon bringing Kenny with them back to the house. Carin, Kenny, Hayden and myself ended up going for a hike on the top of the hill right by where Blake and Carin live. This hiking area was gorgeous. The view of Marin was amazing. We could even see the east bay and the top of the city. It was so nice to get a little bit of nature like that so close to the city.

After the hike, wine was definitely needed so we headed back to the house and had an amazing meal to celebrate Carin's birthday.

Needless to say, that by the time I got home on Sunday evening, I was ready for a hot shower and bed. Those kids wore me out. I got up with the little one at 5:45am and there was no sleep till I crawled into bed at 9:30. All in all, I was very happy to get a break, but just as happy to come home.

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