It's inspiring me to jumpstart my blog again as a New Year's Resolution... more to come, I promise.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
60 years in 60 days
Sunday, June 7, 2009
My Favorite San Francisco Blogs
I haven't been blogging so much myself, but I'm definitely still reading everyone else's blogs! Here are some of my favorites from San Francisco:
Mission Mission
Beer & Nosh
Burrito Justice
Mission Street Food
Muni Diaries
The N-Judah Chronicles
SFist
Mission Mission
Beer & Nosh
Burrito Justice
Mission Street Food
Muni Diaries
The N-Judah Chronicles
SFist
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Because I can't be bothered to actually write anything
Thanks Mom...
1. How old do you look? Apparently not old enough, because I get carded all the time.
2. Where do you live? Potrero Hill, but only technically.
3. Are you waiting for something? Vacation.
4. What’s one pet peeve of yours that is not common? unreliable people.
5. Do you want/have kids? Not now, but probably someday.
6. Have you ever thought about converting your religion? I've considered starting my own.
7. Last shocking news you heard? Nothing shocks me anymore, but losing more than half of my retirement savings was a little disconcerting.
8. What was the last thing you drank? Stale water out of a Guiness pint glass. I think it had been sitting on the table since this morning...
9. Who do you most look like in your family? I'm a pretty even split between my mom and my dad.
10. If you could have something right now, anything, what would it be? More quality time with my husband.
11. Where does most of your family live? Illinois
12. Where did you grow up? Illinois
13. Where do you want to go on vacation? Everywhere. Starting with Vancouver (next week) & Australia (this fall).
14. Have you ever had a panic attack? Yes... not in a long time, but I still have some serious anxiety issues.
15. What can’t you wait for? Long waiting lists for restaurants that are only halfway decent.
16. When’s the last time you told someone you loved him or her and meant it? today.
17. Have your parents ever smoked pot? Well mom? Have they?
18. Want someone back in your life? Definitely. I've lost touch with a lot of friends over the years.
19. What do you order at the bar? Gin & tonic
20. When was the last time you cried really, really hard? hmm... I'm not sure, which is weird because I think of myself as a pretty frequent crier.
21. Ever licked someone’s cheek? yup.
22. What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? Apple slices
23. Where were you on July 4th, 2008? Throwing a party at my house... well, actually AB was throwing a party, and I was sitting around with a broken foot watching him do all the work.
24. What are your nicknames? Janer
25. If you could go back in time, how far back would you go? I think I'd rather go to the future...
1. How old do you look? Apparently not old enough, because I get carded all the time.
2. Where do you live? Potrero Hill, but only technically.
3. Are you waiting for something? Vacation.
4. What’s one pet peeve of yours that is not common? unreliable people.
5. Do you want/have kids? Not now, but probably someday.
6. Have you ever thought about converting your religion? I've considered starting my own.
7. Last shocking news you heard? Nothing shocks me anymore, but losing more than half of my retirement savings was a little disconcerting.
8. What was the last thing you drank? Stale water out of a Guiness pint glass. I think it had been sitting on the table since this morning...
9. Who do you most look like in your family? I'm a pretty even split between my mom and my dad.
10. If you could have something right now, anything, what would it be? More quality time with my husband.
11. Where does most of your family live? Illinois
12. Where did you grow up? Illinois
13. Where do you want to go on vacation? Everywhere. Starting with Vancouver (next week) & Australia (this fall).
14. Have you ever had a panic attack? Yes... not in a long time, but I still have some serious anxiety issues.
15. What can’t you wait for? Long waiting lists for restaurants that are only halfway decent.
16. When’s the last time you told someone you loved him or her and meant it? today.
17. Have your parents ever smoked pot? Well mom? Have they?
18. Want someone back in your life? Definitely. I've lost touch with a lot of friends over the years.
19. What do you order at the bar? Gin & tonic
20. When was the last time you cried really, really hard? hmm... I'm not sure, which is weird because I think of myself as a pretty frequent crier.
21. Ever licked someone’s cheek? yup.
22. What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? Apple slices
23. Where were you on July 4th, 2008? Throwing a party at my house... well, actually AB was throwing a party, and I was sitting around with a broken foot watching him do all the work.
24. What are your nicknames? Janer
25. If you could go back in time, how far back would you go? I think I'd rather go to the future...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Purging
When AB & I moved to San Francisco from the Midwest, we were thrilled by the amount of space in our apartment. We weren't expecting to find a place we could afford that was bigger than a shoebox, let alone a 2-bedroom apartment with four large closets! And yet, there we were, with more room than we knew what to do with.
Oh, how times have changed... Like most people, we have an amazing ability to fill up any space we're given. Three years after moving into our spacious apartment, our closet doors will barely close, every last inch of cabinet space is filled, and now our collection of junk has spread to most of the flat surfaces in our house. As I write this, my desk is covered with stacks of paper, and the dining room table is covered with an assortment of Christmas gifts that we haven't yet found a place for.
Up until recently, we still had enough storage space to hide the clutter for the rare occasions when we would have guests over, but we recently moved AB's drum kit back into the house (he recently gave up a shared practice space), and we took a bunch of stuff from a friend when he moved out of his apartment a couple of weeks ago. We literally have no place to put this new stuff, and for me, that turned out to be the last straw.
So, last weekend AB & I started a major de-cluttering project. Unfortunately, the job was even bigger than we first thought... We only managed to clean one room in our house that weekend, mostly because we discovered three boxes (that hadn't been opened since we lived in Illinois) filled with random junk that needed to be sorted through to decide what to keep.
But even that small bit of progress was extremely satisfying. We were able to throw out and give away a TON of crap, and now we have at least one spot in our house that's organized. Only five more rooms and three more closets to go!
Here's a photo of all the junk we're getting rid of:
Oh, how times have changed... Like most people, we have an amazing ability to fill up any space we're given. Three years after moving into our spacious apartment, our closet doors will barely close, every last inch of cabinet space is filled, and now our collection of junk has spread to most of the flat surfaces in our house. As I write this, my desk is covered with stacks of paper, and the dining room table is covered with an assortment of Christmas gifts that we haven't yet found a place for.
Up until recently, we still had enough storage space to hide the clutter for the rare occasions when we would have guests over, but we recently moved AB's drum kit back into the house (he recently gave up a shared practice space), and we took a bunch of stuff from a friend when he moved out of his apartment a couple of weeks ago. We literally have no place to put this new stuff, and for me, that turned out to be the last straw.
So, last weekend AB & I started a major de-cluttering project. Unfortunately, the job was even bigger than we first thought... We only managed to clean one room in our house that weekend, mostly because we discovered three boxes (that hadn't been opened since we lived in Illinois) filled with random junk that needed to be sorted through to decide what to keep.
But even that small bit of progress was extremely satisfying. We were able to throw out and give away a TON of crap, and now we have at least one spot in our house that's organized. Only five more rooms and three more closets to go!
Here's a photo of all the junk we're getting rid of:
Friday, January 2, 2009
NYE at the Monk's Kettle
AB and I hadn't really made plans for New Year's Eve, so when friends suggested going to the Monk's Kettle with them, we jumped at the chance. We were lucky enough to score the last two seats for dinner, and even luckier that we got to sit with our friends at the bar, instead of at two separate tables.
The four-course dinner featured Malheur beers -- each course included a Malheur beer as an ingredient, and the dish was paired with a glass of the same beer. The menu can be found here.
First Course - Portobello Mushroom Soup
For me, this was an amazing start to the night. The presentation was lovely, with a gruyere-covered crostini floating in the middle of the bowl, the way you get a crouton on top of your french onion soup. The mushroom soup was creamy and rich with truffle oil, and the crostini was delicious (although a little awkward to eat, since it was larger than bite-size, and difficult to cut while it was floating in the soup). Unfortunately, it was so good, that the second course was a little bit of a letdown.Second Course - Parmesan Risotto Crusted Loch Duart Salmon
Although it was good, this course didn't really stand out for me -- it wasn't especially flavorful or unique, and it reminded me of something that I might make at home for dinner. The salmon was cooked well, and the lemon flavors were nice, but predictable. Although I've never had a crispy scoop of risotto on top of my fish, that part wasn't especially exciting either. The salmon was also served with some sauteed broccolini, which again, I felt like I could have made at home.Third Course - Pork Tenderloin
The chef definitely got back on track with the pork tenderloin, which was tender and delicious. The cheddar potato cake on the side was also amazing, with a breadcrumb crust and warm cheesy goodness inside. When I first saw the menu a few days ago, I was really looking forward to the caramelized parsnips and brussels sprouts, and they lived up to my expectations -- perfectly browned and buttery.Fourth Course - Chocolate Fondant Cake
Dessert was also wonderful, although at this point I was far too full of beer and food to finish. :-) The cake was moist, with a melted chocolate filling, and the vanilla sauce surrounding the cake was garnished with just a little bit of raspberry sauce. Yum....Overall, it was a wonderful dinner. They were also extremely generous with the beer all night long -- although I was expecting small tastes of each beer, they kept refilling our glasses the whole evening. The beers were interesting and delicious, and we toasted at midnight with the Malheur Brut, which was as close to champagne as any beer I've ever tasted -- they carbonate the beer in a similar style, and the flavor was light and fresh.
Christmas in Illinois
Going home for Christmas is always an adventure - we fly across the country, then drive all over Central Illinois and Chicagoland visiting three sets of family and two sets of friends, we eat too much and drink too much, stay up late, and finally we fly back to San Francisco exhausted, but so happy that we went.On top of the usual excitement, we had stranger-than-usual Illinois weather to contend with. In the time that we were there, the temperature swung from 3 degrees below zero to 65 degrees above. We experienced rain, sleet, snow, ice storms, thunderstorms, tornado warnings, and flash flood warnings... I'd practically forgotten what real weather is like, coming from a city where the temperature is always between 40-70 degrees, and the only precipitation we get is a light drizzle once in a while.
Here are some pictures of the snow, which was especially nice:
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