Bird

I took this picture last weekend when enjoying an ice cream cone with a few friends (we each had our own - we didn't all enjoy one cone) while waiting for a movie to start downtown. This cute little bird hopped over to us on one leg and just stood there for a good five minutes. I love the rose that the bird's shadow creates. Simple bird, simple picture, simple post. What? It's Tuesday, y'all.

Chinese New Year

This weekend, my SF friends and I celebrated Chinese New Year by heading down to Chinatown for a bar crawl, drinking Tsingtaos, and mai tais. I loved it - it was fun to get out of the Castro and do something different that I wouldn't be able to do in most cities. The weather was great and it was one of those afternoons where spirits were high and everyone was in a great mood. Also, it didn't hurt that the evening ended in Chipotle...and KFC...and Taco Bell. #nojoke 

Oyster

OMG are you dying?

This weekend, my friend, Kat (who I haven't seen in forever) and I went for an afternoon date to Hog Island Oyster Co. located right on the San Francisco Bay. We enjoyed a dozen delicious oysters paired with two glasses of Rose and a bowl of the best clam chowder I've ever had. The cool overcast skies over the bay was a perfect backdrop for our afternoon outing leading me to further conclude that I love all things San Francisco

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

Walking past Urban Flowers on the way to the EA Shuttle, I couldn't help but stop and take a few pictures of all the beautiful roses that were on display. Even at 8am, the shop was buzzing with (mostly gays) picking out over-priced arrangements for their special someone. Since then, I've been in the best mood. I have friends coming in from NYC so I took off of work tomorrow (making today my Friday), I'm almost completely caught up with all work projects, and I get to see MY valentine tonight.

Cheers!

City with a View

I'm not going to write much for this post because I think that the pictures say enough. Let me leave it at this: I never thought I'd live somewhere as beautiful as San Francisco and I feel very blessed that I do.

#sunset
#sanfrancisco
#view
#love

Wine Country

This past weekend, I joined a group of about 20 friends to Sonoma to go wine tasting for our friend, Will's birthday. For obvious reasons, it was one of my top two favorite weekends here. We all met at Will's at 9am for a some mimosas and a light breakfast of scones and croissants before we all piled into a party bus where the drinking of mimosas continued. Not to be trashy, but I was kind of drunk by the time I got there...as in 11am. With the tasting of wines keeping my hearty buzz going, I enjoyed the perfect weather, stunning views, and some great company.

All in all - perfect Saturday afternoon.

Bacon, Gruyere, and Tomato Soup #datenight

So I'm seeing this funny, cute, tall guy from Michigan and last night he cooked for me...mmm...the best meal ever.

I mention he's form Michigan because that leads to conversations about cold weather which obviously lead to food (specifically warm tomato soup and grilled cheese - the perfect meal for a chilly night). Fortunately for me, SF happens to have a plethora of those said nights and last night my dreams came true. So like the awesome guy he is, he prepared (all homemade):

- Creamy tomato soup topped with:
   - Sourdough croutons brushed with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper (I think that was it?).
- Grilled cheese sandwiches complete with cripy bacon sandwiched between two layers of Gruyere
- Salad with a dressing similar to this one

#foodporn #bestmealever

SF Dinner

OMG YUM. Like - the best.

Last night, SFs, Pryor, MJB, and I decided to have a night where we stayed in, prepared a home-cooked meal, relaxed, and watched some Girls (awkward writing that). We each contributed to the meal: Adam was in charge of the soup (Curry Dahl - died for it), Brandner took over the greens (brussel sprouts - lived for them), and I took care of the chicken. With so much living and dying, I'll just say it was good. Also, Matt's roommate, Russell, joined us and he contributed several bottles of the wine. We had such a good time listening to music, two stepping (still have no idea why), and just enjoying good company. Such a good night.

Chicken:
- Seasoned with garlic powder, salt, pepper, fresh chopped rosemary, Mrs. Dash seasoning

Brussel Sprouts:
- Baked with: ample rosemary, EVOO, salt, pepper
- Roasted (to perfection) for 40 minutes

Curry Dahl:
- Red lentils, stewed tomatoes, garlic, chopped onions and celery, salt, chicken broth
- garnished with greek yogurt and cilantro

Super Bowl Sunday/Jeri's Birthday

#1: Happy Birthday yesterday to my beautiful, wonderful, loving, and caring mom, Jeri. I love you more than words can explain!

#2: So I'm a little annoyed with myself for not taking more pictures from the Beyonce concert Super Bowl yesterday. A bunch of friends and I went to our friend, Sarah's who basically has to most ridiculous three story SF apartment with a view that I would literally (probably) kill for. We had a great time watching the game, eating, drinking, and enjoying the beautiful afternoon. As I predicted, Beyonce won the Super Bowl (no surprise there) but I did think it was a little rude for NOLA to turn the lights out as soon as she left. I mean...just saying.

Oh - the flowers. Kat picked these up to bring to Sarah,  the host of the party, as a thank you for having her. What a great idea, right??

Alamere Falls

One of the many benefits to living in San Francisco is being in such close proximity to so many great (and totally different) weekend activities. You're basically one hour from...anything: the beach, skiing, wine county, hiking, so on and so forth. (And that's if you even want to leave the city) The only hiccup people run into is a lack of car, but even then there's the option to Zip Car it...or have friends with cars.

This past weekend, my three closest friends in the city as well as some other good SF friends drove the winding (like winding to the point to where I almost thew up from being car sick) roads up to Alamere Falls to go hiking for the afternoon. Literally, I was freaking out because of all the photo opportunities; I could barely even handle it. We all had a great time laughing and telling stories the entire way. On the way back we were especially funny...but I think that was the delirium and not so much us actually being funny. We were out there for like a million hours and by the time we got back to the car we were starving. Our car (Mike, Adam, Andy, and I) stopped by this little restaurant in town where I shoveled down garlic fries, clam chowder, mac n cheese, a burger, and a baked potato. As much as you'd think I would be wishing I had ordered a sensible salad, I don't at all. It was the perfect meal to wrap up a perfect day.

Morning Treat

Since it's Friday and essentially everyone in San Francisco "works from home" I decided I would treat myself to sleeping in and taking the 9:45 EA Shuttle to work. It's amazing what an extra hour of sleep can do. I woke up so rested and in such a great mood. Usually, I wait until work to eat oatmeal from the cafeteria complete with walnuts, raisins, cranberries, coconut, blackberries, and brown sugar, but since I would be getting in closer to lunch, I stopped and got the bagel above from Posh Bagel on Castro before I caught the shuttle. Umm...so good!