Whimsical Wednesday

Well, typically I work all day Wednesday but as I got off early I wandered Chestnut a bit. A couple of new restaurants caught my eye: One called delarosa with a delicious looking take on italian food and a wide ranging beer list. They are also open until 1am unusual in this area. Tacolicious is new as of last week and looks delectable. With taco's and small cocktails being the main attractions. 

I stopped at Paper Source and bought a note book to record my capstone information. Its cute but hopefully serious enough for this project. We'll see what use it fits.

I peeked in at Blue Barn and had a cup of Blue Bottle Coffee. It was good, but Bella Donavan is not my favorite. Its a bit sharp but did have some nice citrus notes.

Then I proceeded to read the entire Real Simple Weddings 2010. Hmm... I'm just not sure I'm cut out for the whole wedding deal. But they did have some great ideas. I am counting on having more time/desire to focus on it in the future....I hope that's not wishful thinking. We'll see. I just want to be married, I don't want to pay or plan for a wedding. 

The Mission

I love the Mission District of San Francisco. The nooks and crannies, the street art, the people, the food, the shopping. It all combines to form a very unique fragrance that lingers after visiting the place. While much could and should be said about gentrification the pluses of urban renewal are many. Return to cities is an important action that shows faithfulness to places that were once discarded or thought "too bad" to ever be recovered. 

On to more interesting subjects ;).....Ice cream. I rave about many subjects and favorites and to die for places to my friends. Bi-Rite Ice cream is one of those places and it happens to be in the Mission District. One friend, Bekah, doesn't even like ice cream but I insisted, this is different, you've never had anything like it. She agreed to try it but often times many things stood in our way such as work, school, responsibilities, ick. But here it is, January and the sunlight of freedom has broken through the clouds. Bekah and I finally made it to Bi-Rite and she was won over. They hand make each batch with Clover organic milk and local ingredients. My personal favorite is the Ritual Coffee Toffee. Ritual is another incredible coffee roaster in the area and their coffee shines through in every bite. We sampled many of the flavors and she realized the greatness of the cinnamon with snickerdoodle. Though she decided on salted carmel and coffee toffee. 

We'll have to go back for their famous balsamic strawberry though as it wasn't there that day.

 What a delicious way to spend an afternoon with a good friend. 

Monday

I have a new app on my phone that allows me to mess with pictures I take. I love this one of the bridge. Its always changing. I cannot convey what color the water is at times like this. I need a new word, gray-blue-bayish or something. Its inadequate, the way I feel here though is awe pure and simple. It takes my breath away every day by a new glimpse of the bay's beauty. 

Farmer's Market

One of my favorite places in San Francisco, hands down, is the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. Its an excellent example of California farmer's and excellent food, coffee, sweets and other goodies. They even have an independent bookstore. My favorite food location is Primavera, its a delectable take on fresh Mexican food and Boulette's larder with the best selection of every spice you'd ever need. Blue Bottle goes with out saying as the best coffee in the place but you'll have to wait in line. Its worth it. The cappuccino is unbeatable and their standards on buying etc are uncompromising. 

Wandering this area is the best way to enjoy a Saturday morning. 

January

I love the slower pace of January. I am trying to appreciate its cold and the lack of deadlines. Getting ahead of the game is essential but not stressful, yet. 

I am reading "God In A Cup", an incredible book about the specialty coffee industry. The focus on growers, and the development of quality, high priced coffee is so intriguing and complex. I have to go to Ethiopia. I must experience the birthplace of coffee, with the thousands of varieties and the traditions that surround the beverage. 

Wedding details are also at the point where I can still explore and not make decisions. I have become lost many times in all the online options. There is an exceptional paper store on etsy called ello there. I love their unique invitations and silhouettes. 

happy weekend!

Puff Pastry

So wedding dress trying on was fun but the true joy was when we tried Pacific Puffs. 

I tasted the fruit one with strawberries and they enjoyed the classic, which was covered in chocolate. delish. I have ridden the bus past it many times and my curiosity was satiated, while my taste buds were not, when it was right across the street from the dress shop. perfection. 

Portland

basically I love traveling and when my brother went to Lewis and Clark in Portland I jumped at the chance to visit this beautiful city. We had a great time and I feel in love, with the food, the coffee, the book stores and the incredible Ace Hotel. And then to seal the deal today I found this, a wedding dress shop called the English Dept. As a former English major this strikes many chords in my heart and they appear to have a lovely, unique collection of dresses. I am itching to travel, maybe this would be a good excuse? 

I am going to try on dresses in San Francisco though, so i'm sure i'll come across enough beautiful pieces as it is,  I know which one I want but figure I should give the others a chance as well. But as "they" say, when you know, you know. so we'll see.