Trip Recap

We stayed at the Sebasco Resort during our visit to Maine.  What it lacked in air conditioning, the resort made up for with it's charming lodge and cottages and abundantly lush flowers and sprawling lawns.

One of the buildings you can stay in is the lighthouse.  

The top floor is open to all guests and a great spot for coffee in the morning.

We really enjoyed our stay here and were disappointed not to have time to visit

the Fairwinds Spa on the premises!

Back Again

Well well well, yet again, I've been a delinquet blogger.  Fortunately, this time, I feel like I have an excuse.  Having taken on four jobs in the last month (2 part time, 2 freelance,) and taking a 9 day jaunt across the US, I've had little time to sit down and write.  That shall change this afternoon!  I don't want to make false promises that I'll be posting everyday again.  But I've got lots of good material!  Let's start with the trip.  Our first stop was in KTW's hometown of Milwaukee.  Unfortunately, I didn't get too many pictures, we were quite busy.  But I think the pic below captures Milwaukee's essence :)

 

Just kidding, I swear we did more than drink here!  Other Milwaukee activities included a Brewers game, seeing Midnight in Paris at The Oriental which has been named one of the 10 top movie theaters in America, viewing the impressive Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City at the art museum, a three hour kayak tour of downtown, lots of golf, and some really yummy homemade meals.

Our next stop was Boston, where we would meet a few NYC and Boston friends for dinner before riding two and half hours north to Phippsburg, Maine for a wedding. Stella was our destination for dinner and it did not disappoint.  Fabulous cocktails, scrumptious food, and great company, you could say we started the wedding celebrating early.

Next up, the wedding in Maine.  Stay tuned tomorrow, you won't want to miss this gorgeous affair!

Playing Tourist

This weekend, I walked down the crooked part of Lombard for the first time.  Having been here a little over two months now, I figured it was time to bite the bullet and risk looking like one of the other million tourists that venture down this street each day.  I never quite understood the appeal of walking down a crooked street.  Now I do.  The homes are so gorgeous, the constantly in bloom hydrangeas that take over the inner curves of the meandering street, the scent from a million different plants growing next to/on/above the houses, the steepness of the stairs that guide you along the edges away from the cars, it is truly an engaging experience.  Here are some quick shots I took.  Isn't the bougainvillea incredible?  It grows on many of the homes here.  I love the bright shades of purple and pink that it comes in and how full and overgrown it looks.

North Beach Noshing

A few weekends ago we wandered through North Beach, which is similar to Little Italy in New York, but better in my opinion.  We stopped at Molinari & Sons for Italian sandwiches, so super duper yummy.

Sandwiches wrapped in white butcher paper.  They let you pick out your own crispy freshly baked sandwich rolls.  And you take a ticket at the counter like an old fashioned sandwich shop.

 

The inside of their store, so many awesome Italian products.  I'm going back for some olives!

 

Afternoon treat.

After Molinari's, we walked over to Mara's for pastries and espresso.  

I loved these huge elephant ears.

 

Molinari & Sons

Mara's

Gettin Fresh

The Fort Mason Sunday Farmer's Market is a serious must in my life right now.  It's fairly small, only three rows, but the produce is awesome and I love how close by it is.  Here are some recent acquisitions.

Big fluffy Dahlias

I couldn't resist these greens with edible flowers.  They make such a gorgeous plate.

More flowers...

Warm sun-kissed heirloom tomatoes.  Aren't the colors gorgeous?!

My first time to try these, not bad...

A farmer's market meal: Corn on the cob, mixed floral greens with balsamic dressing, marinated skirt steak, roasted tomatoes, carmelized onions, blue cheese and crumbled pita bread. 

KTW said this was the best meal I've ever cooked :)  I agreed.

Catching Up...July 4th

Here are some pics I took over July 4th weekend.

Saturday we were invited to a picnic in Golden Gate Park.  This small pond provided a great spot for us to lounge all afternoon drinking and grilling with friends.  The park is huge and I have yet to explore most of it, on my to do list...

I made Jalapeno Poppers.  I like how jalapenos look, I do not like how they make my hands sting for two days.  Next time=gloves. 

Below are two shots from KTW's roof where we watched the fireworks.  He's got a great view of the GG Bridge (when it's not foggy,) and the Exploratorium (the domed building on the left of the image.)

Also, the hump on the right side of the fireworks picture is Alcatraz, cool, huh?

Hope you had a Happy Fourth and stayed away from jalapenos.

Remember Me?

I used to post on a fairly regular basis but took an unexpected hiatus when I relocated to SF a month ago.  Something about sitting down in front of a computer and writing hasn't really captured my interest when I have a whole new city to explore.  But alas, my guilt and eagerness to share has brought me back to the old blog.  Good to see you again :)

Let's see, where should I start?  How about my birthday?  Today is actually my boyfriend's bday so I suppose it's a little unfair to steal his thunder.  But I feel the need to start chronologically (and talk about my birthday.)  The following things happened on my fantabulous bday:

I drank coffee out of this lovely bumblebee mug KTW's mom sent me.

 I also ate this yummy red velvet cupcake he snuck in that morning.

 We had brunch at Slow Club with friends.  I am currently obsessed with any drink involving grapefruit and St. Germaine.  Guess which drink is mine...

 Then we went shopping here, oh mannnn, what a cool shop!  Public bikes was created by the founder of Design Within Reach so you know the dude designs some awesome bicycles!

 And I got to bring this bad boy home.  Or girl I should say for her name is Begonia.

 This is me a few days later after riding up my first killer hill. Ugh.

 Back to my bday...after shopping, we went to Pier 23 Cafe for drinks, live music, and this view. 

It was so great to have a clear day.

 The next week, my boss brought me this.  I "forgot" to tell her when my real bday was so I got another red velvet cupcake a few days after my day, clever huh?