Celebrating Life

My good friend is having a party tomorrow. I always like to look at his Facebook pictures of his celebrations because:

•  R is a super photographer and the images are always full of happiness.
• My friend is a cancer survivor so I feel like every shot of his family represents a moment in time that he sees as a gift.  It's always good to share a gift.

R’s party tomorrow is to celebrate 20000 days of life.  On October 31st I will have been alive for 15000 days. It’s scary and not just because it happens to coincide with Halloween!

 

If you want to figure out your special days go to this section of the time and date website.

  FYI I am so having a party on my celebration of 15000 days!  I think it's always good to celebrate life and will seize any opportunity to do so.
 
Cheers mes amis!

 

Busy

Hi Possums - I have been so busy that I fear this blog is turning into a weekend blog.  Seriously, I have been busy like the proverbial bee!  My apologies if you missed me!  If only my projects keeping me busy were as delightful as this sunflower!

Busy So Busy

Guys, I have been so busy this week and last.  Sorry for the very sporadic updates.   Tonight I go to a concert at a winery and tomorrow a baseball game. 

from Sabino

I liked this picture and smiled when I came across it.  I am sure some of you recognize this area!

Being a Great Guest

What would make a good hostess gift? Sometimes I ponder this thought. I know – why bother of thinking about this stuff – just grab a reasonable bottle of wine off the rack and show up. But sometimes it’s nice to ponder something a little special that will bring up memories of you when your host sees it or looks at you. Also, my theory is that it should be something the host/hostess would like to have but not purchase for themselves.

Here are a few ideas:

A really nice candle like this one from Diptyque. It helps if you know of a particular scent and brand that the host prefers. WARNING – unless you are sure it is one of their favorites do not go this route as an unwanted scent is just that – unwanted! And your role as a guest should never be related to the term unwanted.

Flowers – try to go seasonal with these. Poinsettias for Christmas, tulips in the spring, sunflowers in the summer etc…. Even better a single, pretty flower in this cute bud vase – extremely affordable at $2.95. Snip the flower from your garden or better yet, your neighbour’s!

We can always use an extra dishcloth – and when it is as fabulous as this cupcake from todryfor.com it has to be appreciated!

Is your host an aspiring gourmet? Then buy her some fancy salt. Okay, I know what you are thinking salt is salt – but once you try some fleur de sel or Himalayan pink sea salt, you will be wondering what you have been doing with that blue and white box your whole life!

Of course the best hostess gift is a charming guest!

A Smooth Tune

I hope you will like this as much as I did.  Cheers.

A San Francisco Breakfast Adventure

A tamale is a traditional Mexican dish made of masa – a soft, tasty dough made from cornmeal.  It’s filled with something yummy – usually some combination of meats, cheese, and chilies and then steamed in a cornhusk.  There are sweet versions too but for the purpose of this educational post we will focus on the savory version.  Tamales are generally considered comfort food and they are quite labor intensive to make – so I hear.

Now, let me tell you about tamales from a purely gringo point of view.  If you are a really lucky white-girl gringoette who hasn’t had twenty years of tamale training you might know someone who knows someone and you can buy a dozen or so yummy tamales from the back of a truck and keep them frozen.   When convenient you can pop them in the microwave and enjoy some warm, steamy masa loving.   Unfortunately, like any pusher these people cannot always be relied upon to provide a fix whenever you feel like it.

What is reliable is the absolutely, mind-blowing delicious tamales that Primavera sells at the farmers’ market at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal on Saturday mornings.  Nestled in the middle of an epicurean playground of gourmet coffee, organic produce, salumi vendors and more is the yummiest tamale you will find unless you have a Mexican grandma connection somewhere.   (Not familiar with the term salumi?  Check out these guys.)

This first picture is the breakfast L and I enjoyed on Saturday. 

This is the gorgeous view of San Francisco bay we enjoyed while devouring them. 

Tamales are eaten at both breakfast and dinner.  We chose the single tamale option because – well look at it!  Two of these yummy chicken stuffed treats smothered in that damn fine mole sauce might have induced a food coma and we needed to be alert for the farmers’ market exploration. 

And once I had entered my partial food coma, this gorgeous Blue Bottle latte helped keep me alert.  

All in this delightful breakfast experience set me back $7.95. FYI, these are all iPhone photos - hastily snapped.   And that dear readers, was my Saturday morning.  

How To Do The Messy Pony

When your hair is as long as mine I am always looking for new ways to jazz up the plain jane ponytail.  Remember the topsy tail?   Who would have thought that plastic loop would turn into a $100 million dollar business.  While I did not buy into the topsy tail - I was able to manage the same look with my god given fingers, I do appreciate this primer on how to do the messy ponytail from bellasugar.

Treats to Make Sweets

I have an affinity for things formed out of metal. I have this copper star my dad made for his mother when he was a student. It was his Christmas gift to her – I think he was 19 or 20. I can’t imagine how much patience and work it took to bend the metal to make such a pretty star but my dad did it. Since my mom gave it to me that star has always been on display in my home. He made some other sweet things including a copper box that my nephew uses to store special treasures.

I guess it’s sentiment that makes me take a second look when I see something shaped out of bent metal. And lately, since I am taking such an interest in baking these sweet little cookie cutters from Etsy made me smile.   The flag would have been perfect for a holiday like July 4th or Canada Day.

Hi MoGo – So Nice to Meet You.

Today at last, I had MoGo. This cultural phenom has been cruising the bay area for some time now. Do you like Mexican food? Love Korean food? Then the MoGo BBQ truck will be for you! Every time the truck has been in my work neighborhood I have been busy but today the palm trees aligned in my favor. Finally, I was able to experience the love that is Korean barbecued short ribs with kimchi slaw rolled up in a soft, warm tortilla.

My colleague had mixed tacos – two short rib with one tofu – pictured here.  They advise people about their location for that day via Twitter and Facebook.  I knew when we met it would be love at first bite!

Post Holiday Post

Hello my dears.  It’s the Tuesday after a long weekend and for me it’s the Tuesday after an extra-long long weekend.  That has to beat just about any Monday on the calendar, no?  I hope you enjoyed sun, fun and reveling this weekend.  I know that I did.

My good friend G was here for a visit and one of the highpoints of our trip was a hike among the majestic redwoods at Muir Woods yesterday.  I kept expecting a hobbit or elf to pop out of one of the caves formed in the bases of these giants.   It was so sad to leave G at the train station this morning but alas work will not disappear for anyone.

A “to do” list for this week for me will include:

• Work – which sadly will have a number of sublists of its own.
• Getting back to using the treadmill.
• Summer cherries – now is the time to get them at the farmers’ market.
• Idina Menzel!  Hurray!  I am going to see her on Friday with the San Francisco Symphony.  She originated the role of Elphaba in Wicked and Maureen in Rent – both on Broadway.  But you might know her better from Glee!

I hope you all have a super week.