happy weekend!

i'm still figuring out film processing here so i don't have any texas photos yet, but they're coming. until then i love that this photo looks like a portrait. this was a beautiful sunset. while ive already seen some incredible ones here i do miss the water.

fort worth has changed alot since i've been gone. i can't wait to check out the food truck scene. there's an event this weekend called texas toast that i'm hoping to go too.

we're also going to make dinner with my brother and his fiancee. i've attempted to make popsicles but they won't come out so far so it might just be a snow cone. but i think it will still be tasty.

i'm also working on a new project that i'm excited about so its keeping me busy as well.

what are yall up to this weekend?

good bye san francisco

to ensure that this isn't a weepy, melancholy post i've decided to celebrate my time here with a top ten list of places you should experience when you live or visit here, no particular order:

1. hayes valley, cutest spot in the heart of the city. delicious food of all types and blue bottle coffee
2. marin headlands, on the off chance my wedding didn't convince you its an incredible place to ramble and enjoy a break from the city
3. fillmore street, browser books, bun mee, taco bar and crossroads trading company, bam saturday fun is done
4. ferry building, i've shared it all, the farmer's market the food stalls, the secret blue bottle coffee cart out front but the secret i've never shared. 3 $ pork buns at out the door, satisfying, cheap, perfectly steamed.
5. berkeley, this has become a more recent haunt, indian rock, chez panisse, la note, angelina's, local 123 are my favorites, not to mention the best chipotle in the bay area
{atleast most convenient for us}
6. pescadero and pigeon point lighthouse
7. ocean beach, sutro heights park and lands end
8. sightglass cafe
9. chestnut street, i'm going to miss marina meats and grocery, delarosa, marina lounge, the movie theaters, plutos, marina deli, kara's cupcakes and all only a 10 minute walk from my house, can you tell i'm a bit spoiled?
10. crissy field and palace of fine arts- say hi to the swans.

i hate good byes so i'm just going to say see you later. thanks for all you've given me.

cafe love: nash baker

no this is not a cafe but one of my favorite things to enjoy at a cafe. these pastries, and many more, are served at readers cafe and at the summit. i did not previously think much of croissants. i didn't really understand the fuss, except that they sounded french. i'd tried the pastry before but did not really understand the allure until trying nash baker's. with a gibralter it is perfection, the sweet milk and espresso mixing with the crunchy flakiness of the bread to form the perfect start to a day. i've had customers come in and compare these treats to the likes of Tartine, the standard itself here in San Francisco. i think you'll agree that they're the best and feel that this is one more reason to come by in my last week at reader's cafe.

happy weekend!

packing and preparations filled this week, but we did take a break to eat at Roam. this is the best burger i've ever had (and i've had a lot of burgers). it had an egg on it with a slightly spicy chili sauce. yum. when you add a blue bottle coffee shake, zucchini fries and a ginger lime soda i was in heaven. i highly suggest you eat there this weekend.

i also made these delicious enchiladas. yum. if you crave tex mex and don't have access or have ever wondered exactly what tex mex means. make these, now. they are amazing and encapsulate the flavorful spiciness of the cuisine i love.

i can't wait to make have dinner with some good friends, work a bit and enjoy a cookout. summer is underway. even if that does mean fog, i'll enjoy it while i can. what are your weekend plans?

transitions

i feel that moving has made me very aware of my surroundings. i love the neighborhood i live in. all the individual houses and colorful buildings and interesting doors. all framed by the backdrop of the bay and the golden gate bridge. i am soaking it all up to take with me when we go back home. i think i'll remember the smells the most. as you can see from this door there is an abundance of flowers; roses, snap dragons, flowers whose names i don't know and my favorite jasmine. the blooms fill the even the air with beauty.

cafe love: blue bottle

while i've already shared these photos here, it was not part of my cafe love series and i wanted to share them again. because i like them that much. its true. i also love blue bottle that much. they are the first third wave cafe that i experienced and hold the standard for delicious coffee, attention to coffee farmers and coolness. {vien, my blue bottle trainer, travelled to japan to learn how to brew siphon pot coffee, that says it all}

we sell their coffee at readers cafe, where i work, and constantly get great feedback. i also loved their training. i've gotten very consistent with latte art.

they have cafes at many locations in the bay area and brooklyn with rumors of a larger expansion. fingers crossed that they'll stay true to their quality and standards.

happy weekend!

this past week we celebrated our 1st anniversary, i'll be sharing pictures of chez panisse and us in our fancy get up next week, but i wanted to share my second favorite photo from the yashica roll this weekend. the golden gate bridge is always photogenic but i love how its set between the blue sky and turquoise water.

you must check out the blue hour, brian has just returned from italy and the photos are moving, delicious and beautiful.

we're working hard this weekend but i plan on resting on memorial day. that will probably entail curling up with a good book. i've been lax on sharing my favorite books so try and i'll catch up now: i've enjoyed MFK Fisher's serve it forth, elizabeth gilberts stern men, isabelle allende's daughter of fortune, and my most recent favorite the particular sadness of lemon cake. an exploration of the connection of taste to emotion and a girl's journey to adulthood.

i also hope to see bridesmaids. it looks hilarious!

i have some extra strawberries here so i'm going to try this recipe but i've also seen alot of rhubarb cake recipes lately and might branch out in that direction next.

jacob's been working on his new album lately and has posted a demo. this one delves into the themes of journeying on the high seas. listen and share it with your friends!

birthday love

i heard from so many wonderful friends and family. jacob took me around the city, bought me an awesome medium format camera, the yashicha {pictures pending}, we ate bun mee in the park, watched the sunset together and dropped by delarosa.

i can't wait to see what 25 brings.

cafe love: four barrel

four barrel is a brilliant cafe for many reasons. they offer options and simplicity. not an easy balance. in the world of specialty coffee one of the hardest steps is conveying your product to the consumer. explaining why your coffee is more expensive than starbucks, why there are contraptions everywhere and what to order based on the customers taste without being snobby is not an easy mission. but with four barrels well designed cafe you can choose either simplicity and speed with a french press basic coffee or other espresso drinks. Or for those with curious taste buds you can also try one of six pour overs or single origin espressos. the slow bar barista is also excellent at explaining the brewing process and the taste sensations it will produce while preparing your cup. customers are treated to vinyl records while watching the roaster expertly perform his duties on the german probat behind the bar.

the barista at the slow bar called us over and i could not resist the ethiopia leka wato. as i sipped, cherries and lemon zest flitted over my tongue. we took our place at the bar enjoyed the creative atmosphere created by the masters at four barrel.

dads' visit

we had a wonderful time with our dads' this weekend. i love traipsing around the city with mine. i'll be upfront here. we eat alot, but we also have alot of adventures, take a lot of pictures and overall enjoy ourselves. these are my favorites from my dad's camera.


sutro heights

dolores park, bi-rite sandwiches and ice cream

buena vista breakfast, my dad and i first enjoyed this meal when my parents drove up the coast with me as a baby, and they wonder why i had to come back.

pigeon point lighthouse

skipping stones, mr furr won but i am pretty sure a couple of my stones skipped twice, atleast

focaccia bread from the best place ever

hat shopping at Goorin bros, its over 100 years old

steak dinner together

bun mee sandwiches and carmelized citrus rice bowl

moishe's pippies chicago, jewish deli

smitten's ice cream, made in small batches to order, as well as home made cones,

le mediterrenne, my dad's favorite!

final burgers at whiz burgers. i'm so glad they came to visit, love yall!

happy weekend!

i know this weekend will require some recuperation after such a big week with our dads but I already have some plans in the works. we're going to have to go back to bun mee, where i had the most amazing carmelized citrus rice bowl with jacob and my dad. i'm also going to continue to perfect this strawberry shortcake recipe with my favorite berry ever. i'm excited about hearing the MAIS capstones this saturday. i remember being super nervous and excited last year for my own and i can't wait to hear the culmination of their work. i hope this spring weather continues to stick around.

cheese

cowgirl creamery is our favorite place to get cheese. we love picking out a new one to try when we go to the ferry building.

cafe love: contraband

i heard about contraband through a friend a couple of weeks ago but when he mentioned it again and said that they had the kone i booked it there this week. located in nob hill at 1415 Larkin St, it wasn't where i envisioned quality coffee but i was in for a treat.

contraband offers multiple single origins brewed in chemex and pour over as well as a choice of espresso. they roast their own coffee in oakland and they had the most interesting espresso grinder i've ever seen. it allows multiple different espressos, they have three, to feed into its chamber. the disk that spins to start the grinder in motion is captivating to watch. i tried the peaberry in the chemex kone at the barista's suggestion because she said it was sweet. that was very true, it was juicy with a ripe cherry flavor. it was bold but well balanced. i really love the body that the kone offers, its right between a french press and the paper filter pour over. very smooth but still crisp. i read, while many seemingly neighborhood patrons came in and out, studied and chatted. it has a really sunny, community vibe that i soaked up.

i sipped a gibralter, my signature drink, before leaving and was surprised by the earthy, bright taste of the ethiopian yirgacheffe espresso. it was distinct and unique, almost a little too sharp for me but sweetened by the milk it was the perfect stimulus for my walk back down polk where i meandered amongst the shops and sunlight.

happy weekend!

Our dads are coming in town, well technically jacob's is already here and mine comes tomorrow, and we're going to paint the town. i can't wait to explore the sutro heights area with mine and do some shopping. its been a great week for risotto (i'll admit i added bacon to this recipe though), i've really enjoyed figuring out mypintrest, i've had some good chats with friends and my cold is limited to a few random coughs here and there. with this as mysoundtrack, i'm all set for an adventure filled weekend!

weekend plans

*

well i've been a bit under the weather this week (i did manage to make this recipe which i think you should try) but i can't wait to enjoy the weekend. stuffy nose and all. i plan to do some cooking, including my grandmother's coffee cake, which i haven't tried before, i'll keep you updated. we're also going to see water for elephants, i read the book awhile back and the movie looks beautiful. with it being easter sunday its going to be a full three days but i plan on sneaking a nap in somewhere. happy weekend!

photo by jacob

hopefully we'll find time to snap some pictures together as well, he took some great ones this week.

lands end photography walk

when jacob's family visited we toured the lands end area of san francisco. its foggy and craggy and very windswept. i saw a sign about a photography walk so i called and signed up that day, even though i had no idea what it was. they emailed me a couple of weeks ago and i was still free to go even though i'd forgotten about the whole thing. it was my own surprise adventure. so on saturday i rode the bus all the way out to the coast.

the fog was rolling in as i met up with the group that was small but varied. a father daughter pair made me a bit lonely, my dad and i would have loved doing this together, a lot of older people with very complicated equipment and tripods, a younger couple which made me miss jacob, we would have laughed at her silky flats and over styled appearance and debated which date they were on and if she was still trying to impress him.

we then gathered around the resident park photographers who seemed like they were more comfortable behind the camera than talking to a group. they warmed up though and as we walked down to sutro baths the sun did as well. it began to pierce through the fog and i was reminded yet again that you just never know around here. we discussed framing and looking intentionally all around you instead of just pointing your camera at the ocean.

the most helpful though, was the father from the father/daughter pair. he was intrigued by my film camera and we talked about the differences and how he'd loved his old pentax. he said he loved how unique film cameras are and how you can play with exposure very easily. i'd had trouble with exposure because i did not think i had a light meter. he helped me find it and now i'm truly in business. it was very illuminating. it was a wonderful evening of intentionally seeing and being a part of the ocean and cliffs and the waves. hopefully i captured a bit of that in these photos.

out and about

we enjoyed a beautiful sunset, some more spring flowers and ate macaroni and cheese with onion rings on top with this amazing pair. it was a perfect spring weekend in the city.