Portlandia

A mere five days after returning from the beautiful Lake Tahoe, we set off to Portland to visit some dear friends, and meet one very special new friend.  

New mama Jenny and her sweet girl Harlow

I just couldn't get enough of the precious little peanut!

Mahoney actually looks big compared to Harlow!

We spent a wonderful dinner with the Ryan family of 3, and got to experience Harlow's first restaurant outing as well.

We also made some time for wine tasting (of course).  Thanks to the Krivs for a great tour of Oregon wine country and its delicious pinots.

Saturday night we enjoyed a great dinner with more friends, and we finished off the weekend with a fabulous Sunday brunch and a visit to the Portland Humane Society (hoping the Krivs will get a buddy for Mahone).  ;)

It was such a fun, rich weekend, and as always, we feel lucky and thankful.

Giving Thanks

It seems that with each passing year, there is more to be thankful for.  Maybe with each passing year we gain a little more wisdom and a little more life experience, to help us realize how truly lucky we are.  This year was a non-traditional Thanksgiving for us, spent in beautiful Lake Tahoe, just the two of us (yes, not even Mahoney came along this time).  

First allow me to back track a little, with some photo highlights from the month of November:

I'm thankful that we have gorgeous San Francisco days like this in November.

I'm thankful for these two (duh). They both have a knack for putting a smile on my face.

I'm thankful that we live in an amazing city, surrounded with views like this.  Every time we go for a run or a walk, there is something photo-worthy to see along the way. 

We're thankful for our friends.  All of them.  Some we see more often than others, but they all have a special place in our hearts.  We jetted up to Seattle for about 36 hours, to attend Salina & Yuri's engagement party.  We're also thankful that we can make it to these special events, and that we are able to visit Seattle as often as we do.

Mahoney turned 3!  We're thankful that she's happy & healthy, and that she just happens to be the best dog ever.  We really got so lucky!

We're thankful for this incredible trip to Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving.  It was a perfect holiday, the perfect getaway for the two of us, in an amazingly beautiful part of the country.

We're thankful for our friends who love Mahoney as much as we do, and always offer to watch her so we can have these vacations, worry-free. (Thanks again Beans & Naters!)

And of course, we're thankful for our families, their health, their unconditional love and support for us, and the fact that they really like each other! :) 

There are many other things we're thankful for as well, but I'll leave it at that for now.  Oh yeah, and how could I forget, we're (I'm) thankful for the huge (and surprising) Apple Cup win. Go Cougs! 
  

Yikes!

I was recently reminded of my lapse in blog entries, and I must admit it's not for a lack of activity in our lives, but rather, my lack of motivation to write.  Therefore, here is a short recap of some recent events:

A trip to Seattle for the Mayer/Riker wedding.  Beautiful venue, great friends, and of course dancing.  We were also lucky enough to spend some time with family and visit more friends and their sweet babies.

The lovely Bride & Groom

Mahoney with her new bat toy from her "grandparents"

A visit from the Krivosha's!  As usual, we did plenty of eating and drinking.  We attended a super cool Craft Spirits Festival, did a little shopping, had some Irish coffees, and enjoyed lots of laughs.  Visits to Hog Island Oyster Farm and Lagunitas Brewery topped off the weekend.  We're already looking forward to our trip in November for the Portland version!

The French Laundry

On Sunday, August 26th, we had the great fortune of dining at The French Laundry.  At the suggestion of Peter and Rose who traveled from far and wide to visit us, after making over 97 phone calls and 3 days of clicking "find a table", I secured an 11:00am reservation for our gastronomic ride of a lifetime.

We decided to spend the weekend in Napa, and getting ready at our hotel that morning felt a bit like Christmas....or preparing for a competitive sporting event...or prom. (maybe with less jitters)  

We were greeted at the door and shown to our table upstairs, at which point I think we all began to feel a little fidgety and nervous.  Where do I put my hands?  Are there things we shouldn't talk about here? How am I going to stop looking like a googley-eyed bobble-head and pull it together?  Gosh I hope I don't spill anything.  So, I decided we should take a photo.  Say "cheese"...

I digress.
There were two main options presented: the Chef's Tasting Menu, or the Vegetarian Tasting Menu.  We all chose the Chef's menu, and for the most part, when given the option between two items, we generally chose two of each so we could taste everything. 

We decided to celebrate and take the edge off with a glass of bubbles from Schramsberg, made especially for the French Laundry.  It was just what we needed...and shortly thereafter arrived our first bite of the day to begin our culinary journey....  

Smoked salmon and creme fraiche cone

Oysters and Pearls-
"Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

Salad of French Laundry Garden Cucumber-
Yellow Peach, Candied Peanuts, Lemon Verbena, Espelette, Mizuna and Garden Blossoms

A variety of lovely mini-breads from Bouchon Bakery, also a Thomas Keller creation, and also in Yountville

Eggs Benedict-
Guanicale, "Thomas" English Muffin, "Sauce Hollandaise, Red Ribbon Sorrel...(pictured here before the addition of)...

...Shaved Australian Black Truffle.  (The truffles had their own security guard!)

"Pave" of Mediterranean Turbot-
"Byaldi", Cherry Tomatoes, Petite Squash, Greek Basil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Emulsion

Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster Tail-
Black Eyed Peas, Ground Cherry, Frisee and Brentwood Corn Consomme

At this point we kindly asked our server if we could take a short intermission, which he graciously allowed us, so we walked around their garden across the street for a bit.  It's a lovely garden, with happy chickens, and beautiful fruits and vegetables.  Approximately 80% of the produce served in the restaurant is straight from that garden.  Love it!

Feeling re-energized from the fresh air and moving around, we continued on.  I should note that there are approximately 2 staff members to each guest in the restaurant.  With each course, our dishes arrived being carried by 4 different people, placed before us in unison, as if choreographed.  Side note: I'm not going to describe how delicious or amazing each dish was, because honestly I could be writing this blog post forever (you can already see how long it has taken me).  Just know, it was pretty much all 'melt-your-face-off' good. 

Four Story Hill Farm "Cuisse De Poularde"-
Hobbs' Bacon, Filet Beans, Black Mission Figs and Sylvetta Arugula

49 Day Dry-Aged Snake River Farms Beef-
La Ratte Potatoes, Sweet Peppers, Nantes Carrots and Padron Pepper Aioli

Elysian Fields Lamb Rib-Eye-
"Ricotta Gnudi", Globe Artichokes, Tardivo Racicchio, Parsley and Moroccan Olive

Andante Diary "Acapella"-
Fennel Pollen Madeleine, Baby Beets, Nectarine, "Ficoide Glaciale" (ice lettuce) and Pine Nuts

"Champagne Grapes"-
Purple Champagne "Granite", Anise Soda and Concord Grape Sorbet

Clockwise, from left: Gelato, "Chocolate Pudding Pie", Strawberries and Custard, Blueberry "Cheesecake". (Just to clarify, we did not each get all of these desserts.  There were two options on the Chef's tasting menu, and two options on the vegetarian tasting menu, so we ordered one of each.  Why not, right?)

And just when we thought it was over...out came a box of fantastic, gorgeous, shiny little chocolate truffles of various flavors for us to choose from!  

From the left: Mint Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Hazelnut, Peanut Butter and Jelly....and... our minds were so blown by the PB&J truffle, that I don't even remember what flavors the last two were!

 ....And somehow the surprise desserts still kept coming....

"Coffee and Donuts"-
(The espresso cup actually contained a velvety smooth mousse-like custard)

We volunteered Rose to ask for a tour of the kitchen in her most posh British accent, and they graciously obliged.  Brian (our stellar server) escorted us to the kitchen, where we gaped at the efficiency, cleanliness and silence around us.  It was seriously spotless, and their copper pots & pans look like they get polished with love on a daily basis (I can not tell you the last time I polished our copper pots).  There were numerous people busy at work, and it was shockingly quiet.  Then we had the pleasure of meeting the Chef de Cuisine, Tim, who was also very gracious to chat with us as if he had nowhere else to be.  

Needless to say, we had an experience of a lifetime.  It was such a gorgeous day, and so fun to share this with some of our most favorite people, who also happen to be our family.  We left giddy, happy, a little buzzed from a sugar high, full, but (shockingly) not stuffed, and so thankful that we had the opportunity to do this.  And to cap it off in style, we left our 5-hour lunch with souvenirs in hand, excited for one last photo-op, when Brian (server extraordinaire) jogged out of the restaurant to find us, calming stating "hey guys, I'm sorry to say we actually need to keep the pens.  If I don't get them back, I get charged $40 per pen."  (Awesome. We're a classy bunch.)  

Celebrating 60 years

For the last couple of years my dad has had a vision of celebrating his 60th birthday with a motorcycle trip to the Grand Canyon.  Seeing as "the big 6-0" only rolls around once, and it's a pretty big deal, Mass and I vowed to be there.

The weekend began with our first stop in Phoenix, where we enjoyed some food & drink (duh), and a little bit of sun & pool time.  (In case you're not aware of this, August is the chilliest, foggiest, and most windy month of the year in SF, so any warmth we can get our hands on is precious!)

After happy hour at AZ88, we had dinner at Tanzy, both in Scottsdale.

We had fun playing around at the pool in my parents' condo complex...

Next stop- Flagstaff.  

Dad and cousin Jim having fun on their hogs

Pre-dinner drinks at Beaver Street Brewery in Flagstaff

Dinner at Tinderbox Kitchen.  I had a delicious dish of scallops & summer corn, and would definitely recommend it if you ever find yourself in Flagstaff.

And finally, the Grand Canyon.  It was even more awe inspiring and beautiful than I remember.  Most importantly, my dad had a wonderful 60th birthday celebration that he'll never forget. 

Dad on his Harley

I just thought this warning sign was funny, (and quite graphic!) so I had to take a photo.