Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Vancouver.

A glimpse into our Canadian adventure this weekend... We explored Granville market, walked the entire seawall in Stanley Park (and ran into Mike McCready!!), had incredible dining experiences at the Salt Tasting Room and Guu Izakaya, and last but not least, sat in the 15th row at the Pearl Jam show!!

What a weekend.


Feeling a little overwhelmed with everything that is one my plate at the moment, especially after having been on the road for over a week, and I have neglected the blog much to my dismay... I have soooo many fun posts up my sleeve!! It's killing me. Soon. I promise.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Jet Set.

Off to Vancouver for a long weekend!


Gorgeous print by Rodney Smith.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Eeeeee!

Allllll smiles this evening, as I will soon be joining the dynamic team of dedicated volunteers at the San Francisco Women's Community Clinic!!!  I am absolutely thrilled!!  More soon!

(...This is my favorite Matisse, and possibly one of my favorite works. Ever.)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

American Gastronomy.

Proud to hail from the land of figs and sushi.
By Lucy Likes This via Etsy.

Scenes from the Weekend: Oenotri.

Had a fabulous dinner in Napa at Oenotri to celebrate the birthday of a friend...

Friday, September 16, 2011

Spent.

I think this photograph by Manchester-based Rosie Hardy (via Collosal) is hysterical. "The superhero in me is tired" - You can say that again. TGIF.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Autumn Moon Festival.

This week marks the yearly Chinese celebration of the autumn full moon and the moon goddess. The 1,000 year old tradition honors the mystery of the moon, which Asian mythology links to water and the fertility of the summer harvest.

In honor of the autumn moon....

(If anyone knows whom to credit these to, I would love to know!  I received them via email and have been unable to source them. Thanks!)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Tip of the... Pencil?

I have recently started a prep course in a quest to return to academia (Hooray! "Finally, Whit" I'm sure some of you are thinking), and have found myself at a loss for.... pencils. What? Really?  I don't own a single pencil?! Nope. And couldn't find any in office supply room either. I live in a world of permanent ink.

So I trekked on down to the store and bought "The World's Best Pencils: Dixon Ticonderoga" (What a name)... and that made me remember having seen Dalton Ghetti's miniature masterpieces created on the tips of these delightfully old school writing utensils, which I simply have to share!

Dalton, who works as a carpenter, has been making his tiny graphite works for about 25 years.
He uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, as he only given it away to friends. These works are incredible!
I know what you're thinking. This is crazy.

Scenes from the Weekend: Lovers.

Happy anniversary to my adorable, loving parents and happiest of (Shhhh! First of many 59th) birthdays to my dear mother!
These two love birds were out in the city til the wee hours of the morning (while I was already in bed, mind you! Not going to lie... I love it.) celebrating their union, before our afternoon of Picasso and reveling in brews by the sea with my mom.

Witty Eats.

Girls night in!  Whipped up some apple, onion crostini and lemon shrimp pasta, and opened a bottle of sparkling wine. Perfect evening.

(Apologies for the *raw* footage.... the light had passed by the time these little guys had marinated and the dinner was served.)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Cook for America.

Our public schools have faced barriers to restoring fresh cooking to our cafeterias, despite public health cries to do so, for many years. Constricting budgets, outdated or insufficient facilities and staffing have presented seemingly insurmountable struggles for administrations across the country. As a passionate practitioner in the health and healthcare world, I have long felt this troubling, but was thrilled to read a New York Times piece on the topic recently, which debunked many of the myths surrounding this challenge.

It also highlighted Cook for America, a new program which believes that school food is a powerful and effective tool in the fight against childhood obesity (I couldn't agree more), and emphasizes holistic, systemic change through the creation of a foodservice force that is both capable of preparing health scratch-cooked meals from whole, fresh foods, and motivated to do so. Their motto is "school food is the solution, not the problem!" I love the spirit of the organization, and its emphasis on making these ends possible in all communities.

Their work in Colorado is specifically highlighted in the NYTimes article, which I would highly recommend.


Lastly, as a strong proponent of hands on exploration of the joys of food and cooking with children at a young age (thanks Mom), I found their Jr. Chef program to be pretty exciting. Check it out.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Brunchin.



Brunch in Santa Barbara (a few weeks back)... in true rancher style.
Can you tell that I'm becoming one of those annoying people who pulls out their camera at the table? Yep. (This wasn't even my plate... Sorry love.)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Starry Night.

There's nothing like the stars in Tahoe...

Via Observando.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Rollin On Out.

Labor Day always seemed to be so bittersweet as a kid; on one hand it was one final hurrah! for summer - a vacation with the family - and on the other, it meant that school was starting again. But let's be honest, I was never one to dread the start of school! ...Though I was often caught up in the last minute speed read of our summer literature lists (ok, ok, twist my arm, it was more like every year. Some things never change I guess).

In any case, I've been stockpiling some lovely summer vignettes in my files, and it seems like the appropriate time to share them with you all. Enjoy!

 Off to Tahoe in a few short hours!  Have a safe holiday!

Images (from top to bottom):  Arthur Shuraev (via Design Crush), Virginia-Gálvez (via Design Crush), Unknown, ParisPhotographer (via Etsy), ParisPhotographer

Travel Fantasy.

Zanzibar has been on the top of my travel fantasy list for a long, long time. Luckily I've been able to live vicariously through (photographer) friends.

How fabulous is The Rock Restaurant, a seafood joint perched above the Indian Ocean. Depending on the tide, you either walk, swim or row a boat to it!  Yes, please.


A familiar place, RS?