Tuesday - Another day off

I took Tuesday day off since Erik was already off. Why not extend the holiday weekend since I have so much vacation time! We drove up to Healdsburg today. Healdsburg is in Sonoma County and is a cute, small little town that has some wineries.

Heading out of foggy SF, up north

It was nice, warm, & sunny up in Healdsburg. First up, we had lunch at Bear Republic Brewing Co.



Yummmm - wheat beer

We stuck to downtown tasting rooms after lunch. The wineries in Healdsburg are much cheaper than Napa, or free! We tasted for free at two wineries and paid $5 for a tasting at the last one. Napa charges anywhere from $5-$20!

First Stop - Kendall Jackson Tasting Room

Haha - Wine Conisseur

We tasted two whites & two reds

Next Stop - Williamson Wines. Such a unique winery that I loved!

The wine maker's son served us & everything was complimentary. With each course of wine, we had a small food pairing. For example, we had a brownie bite with a red wine. We had cheese & apricot with another wine. It was great! I love small wineries like that.



We stopped at a cute little book store - Copperfield Books

We also stopped at a little dog boutique - Fideaux. We picked up some 4th of July cookies for Evie.

Then, we stopped at Murphy-Goode for our last tasting. Only $5 for six tastings! Local wine & really only sold out of the winery & online. The petit verdot was delicious! The wine maker is from Minnesota so they have a cute shot on the wall:


Their main color is also purple (for Vikings).

It was so nice & sunny up there!

Of course on our way home, we entered into the fog zone again....



Now, we are thinking about what to have for dinner! Back to work tomorrow for a crazzzzyyy three days. Such a fun 4 days off!

Well, this was our first time staying in the city for the 4th. And....we decided that we truly enjoy leaving town for the 4th of July. We like getting away & relaxing. We like being on a beach. We are used to doing a BBQ and fireworks on the sand. So, next year, we will most likely be going somewhere for the 4th! We're glad we experienced the 4th in the city though. Hope you had a good weekend!

Monday, Day Off!

We both had the 5th of July off which was great. I lounged all day & tried to read my book. Erik brewed a new batch of beer.

Later that day, we went over to Oakland for the A's/Yankees game! We had bleacher seats which are really not bleachers but real seats. So, that was fun. Yankees won 3-1 which was great!!

Pouring the sugar into the beer mixture

Watching the process

Bag of hops

The hops are added






Mariano Rivera came in to close the game. Overheard a funny convo between a father & son behind us. The son was busy texting someone and the Dad says, "You're missing this. When are you ever going to see a legend like Mariano Rivera pitch again?" The kid says "Dad, I can look him up on You Tube & see him whenever I want." Hahaha....We felt really old to laugh at that one!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!! Yesterday, we stopped by the farmers market, the beach, and hung out with some friends.

We picked up some ingredients at the market so that I could make strawberry rhubarb crisp for later. Then, we headed down to Pacifica, to the beach. I sat on the beach & read while Erik surfed.



Erik trying to get into his wetsuit





After the beach, we came home for a little bit & made some food. I made guacamole, an orzo salad, and the dessert to bring to my friend Kira's house. The orzo salad had green & red peppers, corn, scallions with some lime & olive oil mixed in. So good!


Cheese plate - delish!

Harley wants some cheese

He's so cute!! He's 1 1/2 yr old


Us w/ Harley

View from the roof. We could see fireworks from about 5 different spots.


Kira's friend Jason made mini-burger sliders!



Kira!

(Erik w/ the vegetarian one)

It was a fun day & night!

I dug up some photos of 4th of July past:

2005 in Newport, RI

2006 - Milford, CT

2007 - Can't find any pics. Assume we went to RI.


2008 - Santa Cruz, CA


2009 Seattle, WA


2010 -Oakland, CA

Saturday

On Saturday, we rode our bikes to the Fillmore Jazz Festival. It was a good decision because we got there in about 10 minutes compared to the 20+ it would take to walk or take the bus!



The festival was PACKED. We got a beer & walked up the street to see all of the vendors & acts



Every few blocks, there was a new tent with music.


After going to the festival, we went home & I took a nap. I don't know what it is but Saturday afternoon naps are the best. I pass out & sleep hard for about 2 hrs. After the nap, we went to this little place near our house called Ali Baba's Cave Cafe to get some falafel & tabouleh. So good!

Garden Update

Currently, we are growing:
Scallions
Cucumbers
Oregano
Mint
Thyme
Cilantro
Hops
Tomatos
Habanero peppers
Green pepper
Flowers
Pumpkin

Oregano, Scallions, Thyme. Scallions are just popping up. I will have re-plant in a bigger pot.

Pumpkin, Pepper. Both will need to go in bigger pots. Where all of these bigger pots are going to live, I have no idea.

Cilantro - Just moved to 2 separate pots since it is growing like crazy.

Tomato Plant is really growing fast!

Mint

Pepper

We have another pepper in another topsy turvey. The hops JUST sprouted yesterday. I will have to get a shot of the flowers for you. They look good, too!

Evie Playing

I was taking pics of Evie the other day while she was playing. She looks so funny in some of them.





Mid-Shake


Fierce

Turn to the left

Long Weekend....

Well work was pretty crazy on Friday. We have a deadline in a week to basically have this complicated microsite done & approved & given to a vendor and the clients are really pushing it. They are having like 800 people approve stuff and it is delaying approvals. Its a pain. But, anyway, the long weekend is here!

I left work around 4. Met up for happy hour with Sierra & Betsy. I actually biked to the bar which was fun & easy. It was on the route to get to work so it was easy to get to. It was nice to just hop on my bike and get home rather than take a bus or drive or cab.

Last night, I watched the movie Crazy Heart. I've been wanting to see this for so long & am so glad I finally did. It was such a good film. This movie is actually based on a book & is about a washed up singer named Bad Blake. Bad was once a huge star & is now playing small venues(like bowling alleys). He is an alocholic & broke - sleeping in cheap motels & with women in the cities he stops in. Then, he meets a young journalist name Jean. After meeting Jean, he starts to examine his life & turn things around. It's not easy to go from an old way of life to a new one....

Jeff Bridges is phenomenal in this movie -definitely deserved the Oscar. Maggie Gyllenhall was great, too. This movie reminded me a little bit of 'The Wrestler' but not as gruesome! Definitely recommend!

Stayed Home

Ahhhhhh. Tonight I stayed home. Did some chores & laundry. Tried to take Evie on a little run. She is the more of trot, putz, and sniff girl with the occasional sprint. Not really my speed. Either we keep practicing so she gets it or I have to ditch her as a partner.

I need new sneakers. I swear I need them every 6 mos. You know when you can just feel how dead they are. I also hate running in socks. Very strange since I have worn them to workout forever.

Had such a yummy dinner tonight. Salmon made on the grill pan. Brussel sprouts. Corn on the cob. And, some halloumi cheese. Halloumi is awesome. Its made out of sheeps milk & is pretty dense. You can slice it, grill it, grate it, eat it on sandwiches. It's soooo good.

Evie put herself to bed. I think she is tired since I was home today & threw off her schedule. TGIF. Work is a little crazy. This project we are working on has like 800 cooks in the kitchen and things are being missed and not perfect and the client is freaking. We're all human. Nobody died. I wish people would check themselves.

Order in the Court

Today, I had to attend jury duty. I have never been called before! I went down to the courthouse, checked in & sat down to wait. We had to watch a video on "What it's like to be a juror". Then, this woman came in to tell us what was going on. She said that we were all needed to be on a case. She then explained to us how we either volunteer to be on the case or try to be excused from it.

This case is running from 7/6 to 7/29! My job only reimburses us for 5 days of jury duty. So, I would have to take the possible next 11 days as vacation or unpaid. THAT is not going to happen. So, I just filled out the form to say that it would be a financial hardship for me to serve on the jury. The majority of these people did the same thing so that we could be excused from the case. Luckily, about 15 people were able to serve so hopefully they can get their 12 jurors out of the group.

Anyway, I was out by approx 1030 and got to come home. I have to start working soon though. Grrrrr.

Unwind

Ok, I definitely did NOT stay in last night. Lauren and I went to a fun event. Her friend is part-owner of a new restaurant/bar called, Unwind. The Food Network has a new show, The Opener. Unwind is opening this weekend & held a private event last night as a super soft opening. The Food Network was there filming for the show! It was pretty fun. Everything was free and we got to taste some things off the menu.

Here is the trailer for the new show.


The Unwind episode airs in September. I will have to watch it to see if you can see us in the background!