Rainy Tuesday

After two glorious 70 degree days, we are back to where we should be for this time of year...in the 50's and rainy. It was COLD out yesterday after work.and this AM. It started raining on the way to work and it is still raining here. 

Yesterday, I made another drop off at the Berkeley place. Evie has been following me around like crazy and looking nervous when we load the car up. I keep telling her that we are ALL going to move to a new place. This was her yesterday as I was packing things up. Resigning herself to hide behind the pillows and cry to herself. (not really, but it looks like she is upset). 

Today, the Realtor is coming over to do a walk through to see what has to get fixed before we move out. She is bringing three prospective tenants with her. Kinda weird to be there while people look at your place but oh well. She raised the rent $600 for these new people - just goes to show you how rent control can work in your favor and really screw you when you are looking for a new place in SF. I have heard of STUDIOS going for $1,800. Unreal....

Fingers crossed we don't have to do much to the place to get our full deposit back!

Decorating

Well despite the stress that ensued from the Sunday drop off, I started thinking about how we can decorate the new place. I think we are going to have to get a bunch of stuff for the house. Considering our SF place was SO small, we don't have a lot of things like an entertainment center, a kitchen table, bookshelves, etc. 

One thing I want to get set up right away is the bathroom. I want to change the colors of the bathroom to rich brown accessories. I found some ideas I like already...

Polka Dot Shower Curtain

Rich brown towels

Memory Foam Bath Rug

Curtains

Shelving

Can't wait to organize the new place!

Evie in the New Place

I really need to think this right now...

Evie and I took a ride over to Berkeley this AM to drop off more stuff. I also wanted to show her the new place before moving into it. Just the two of us went and she was whimpering when we pulled out. I let her into the place and she was running around checking everything out. She almost didn't want to go down the hall at first. Crazy dog. 

She was panting and running around but wanted to stick right by my side. It was like she wanted to check things out but was nervous. I should've named her Nelly instead of Evie because she is a true Nervous Nelly all the time!

I went to unpack the car and she barked when I left her in the house. That high pitched, whiny bark like  she does when we try to make her sleep in another room. 

I let her sit in the fenced in area and watch me unload the car. She was quiet but she was not happy to be alone. I think she was just worked up, didn't know where we were, and didn't know what was going on. I think if Erik was with us,she would've felt better being in the house. 

She has gone to many vacation homes with us and is fine when we are there and leave her home. Of course, now I am nervous on how she will act. I think she will be OK once we have the house all set up and her stuff is there. My mind is wandering to what could go wrong but I have to reroute it to think about what could go right. 

It will be an adjustment period for all of us & will take time for ALL of us to get settled. 

Last SF Sunday Walk

Each Sunday, I always try to take Evie on a good "Sunday Walk." We have explored a ton of parks, streets, neighborhoods, and hidden staircases. I have to thank her for making me explore my own neighborhood and finding so many cool things. The Saturn Steps and the house with the Tiger on it might be two of my favorite things we've found. I literally have figured out our area of the city by finding a spot on the map to "find" and walking to it! She also keeps me active by taking so many walks and moving our fannies. 

Today, we went out to Billy Goat Hill Park in the Glen Park/Diamond Heights area. The park had AWESOME views but not a lot of room to run around.

 Evie met a boy at the park. A big, black, four year old dog who was all up on her. She loved it though and was chasing him around. The dog's owner called her "adorable" which she loved. :-)

Since Billy Goat Hill wasn't doing it for us, we decided to end our walk with a bang. We went to the big mamber jamber of hikes --- Twin Peaks.

This is what the Peaks look like from a distance:


We parked at the base of one of the peaks and walked up. We did NOT get to the tippy top but we got pretty far up. There was a narrow staircase to get to the top(s) and it was winnnnnndy! I knew it would be hard to get up and down with other people on the stairs so we went as far as I felt comfortable taking us.

 More Amazing Views. 

We had a great time. It was chilly and windy, but we are so used to that type of weather. We will never get tired of the awesome parks and views here in San Francisco. We are so excited though, to see new places, new parks, and new smells!

SF Home Brew Tasting

Today we went to a fun event at Pi Bar in the Mission. 

Erik is a member of the SF Homebrewers Guild and they had a Home Brew Tasting Event! All of the members brought their home brewed beer for tasting. Pi Bar supplied food for the event which was awesome. For $15, it was all you can eat pizza, salad, and home brew!

Here is Erik's beer that he shared. Everyone had these hand written signs but next time, we're going to make an official sign!

Saw this funny sign near where we were sitting....

Fun afternoon! Can't wait for the next tasting and a competition they are going to have later this year!

New Brewery & Fave Sushi

Saturday started off with cleaning out Evie's cabinet and packing a box with her stuff....

She is always trying to get into her cabinet to find any loose pieces of food. I finally let her in there to help clean it out. Too funny!

We packed our car with stuff for a trip over to the new place. Our friends Betsy & Greg graciously offered to help us and we packed their car, as well. We drove over to Berkeley to drop everything off. Unloading was super easy so after doing so, we headed to lunch.

We drove over to Triple Rock Brewery in Downtown Berkeley.  They had about 6-8 beers on their menu that they brew in house. They had a great menu of salads, sandwiches, and burgers. I had a yummy turkey sandwich and Erik had the burger. Both hit the spot! We can actually probably walk to this place, which is awesome!

We came home from Berkeley and totally relaxed on the couch. For dinner, we decided to get our absolute favorite sushi, Domo. Erik was brewing beer last night so we got take out. Fine by me to chill on the couch with sushi!

In other news, we've been seeing our old doggy friends the past few days. It's like they know we are moving so they are passing us in the street so we can say goodbye. We've seen Lola, Texas, and Ollie so far. Remember our old friend Wasabii? She moved away a few years ago so we won't see her but it would be so amazing if we did. She was Evie's bestie!! 

This is our "last week" of stuff here while living in SF!

Rockin' Friday

After work on Friday, we went back to a bar we used to go to pretty often- Blur. We got to see our friends Betsy, Greg, & Jun. It was a good time!


Afterwards, we headed to the Mission to see our friend Andrew's band do a show. First we stopped at an old favorite, in a new location -

The Little Chihuahua apparently opened a new location on Valencia back in November - who knew!? Then, we headed to the show.

In true SF fashion, this show was not held at a bar. Nope. It was held in the basement of an Antique Shop. haha. We went to Virachocha to see the band sing a few songs. The basement felt like we were in a cabin with a tin roof in the woods. It was pretty packed though, which was great to see. After watching a few songs, we headed home.

Good night in SF. One of our last, living IN the city for awhile!

TNT Update

Well, we have some news about our Team In Training gig.....

We are technically on the SF/Marin Run team and our Mentees are in SF. They set us up with Mentees by address so that we can all be near one another, carpool, meet up, etc.  You probably know where I'm going with this...

When we signed up to be Mentors, we also agreed not to miss more than 20% of the trainings and events. Obviously with this move to the East Bay, we may be missing a lot more than that.  We let our Team Manager know that we are moving and talked through some concerns including missing workouts, not connecting with our Mentees, etc. I joined as a Mentor to be a good one - one that is there for my team, at the practices, and training runs. Not to be a deadbeat Mentor who never comes to anything.

With that said, we are not going to be Mentors this season. It's sad because we really wanted to do it but we want to do it right. By working and living in the East Bay, I won't be able to go to anything during the week. The weekend runs that are in SF would be fine but the ones in Marin would be a pain to get to. So...maybe in the future we can join the East Bay TNT team.

On the flip side, this will give us a chance to get settled in Berkeley and enjoy the new place this Spring.

New Lease & SUN

This morning, we signed our new lease AND got the keys. We unloaded a car full of stuff into the new place, too. One awesome thing about this new place is that we have a side yard/patio area. It is fenced in and the fence comes to the front door, as well. We can essentially leave the front door open, shut the gate, and let Evie run from inside to outside. Unbelievable!

We're going to make two more trips to the new place this weekend. All next week, I will continue to do a drop off of stuff every day. What an easier way to move than doing it all at once!

In other news, the weather here is AMAZING. It's sunny and in the high 60's right now. Tomorrow it's going to be up around 70!!

Have any good weekend plans?

Roses and Wine

Erik sent me some BEAUTIFUL flowers at work today. A dozen gorgeous red roses. Love them!

After work, Erik made us a great dinner of grilled halibut, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts. Yum. 

We each had our favorite drinks with dinner, too. 

We also packed the car with our first round of boxes. We are going to the new place tomorrow to sign the lease!!We will also get the keys and can move some stuff in right away. Wahooooo!

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day??

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Evie and I had a little photo shoot this AM. Erik is missing because he was still sleeping :-)

Hope you have a great day. Spread the Love!

Shepard's Pie and Moving Boxes

Ok last Skinny Taste recipe for the week - I promise. Made one more last night and it was great. If you love pot pie, this was a nice alternative without the pie crust topping. This one was made with mashed sweet potato topping.

This one is good but not amazing, like the Cajun Chicken.


Here's the recipe:

Sweet Potato Turkey Shepherd's PieSkinnytaste.com
Servings: 6 • Size: 1 pie • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 6
Calories: 250 • Fat: 6 g • Carb: 34 g • Fiber: 6 g • Protein: 16.5 g • Sugar: 3 g
Sodium: 304 mg  (without salt)

Ingredients:

For the potatoes:

• 1-1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1/4 cup fat free chicken broth*
• 2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste

For the filling: 

• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 parsnip, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 8 oz mushrooms, diced
• 10 oz frozen mixed vegetables 
• 2 tbsp flour (leave out to make gluten-free)
• 1 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth*
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp freshly chopped rosemary
• salt and pepper
• paprika

Directions:

Boil sweet potatoes and garlic in a pot of salted water until cooked and soft. Drain and mash with chicken broth, sour cream, salt and pepper. 

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large saute pan brown turkey; season with salt and pepper. When cooked, set aside on a plate. Add olive oil to the pan, then add the onion and sauté one minute. Add the celery, parsnip, salt and pepper to taste; cook about 12 minutes, until celery is soft.

Add garlic and mushrooms; sauté another 3-4 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Add frozen vegetables, chicken broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, cooked turkey, and mix well. Simmer on low about 5-10 minutes. 

In 6 oven safe individual dishes spread 1 cup of the meat mixture on the bottom of each dish. Top each with 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes. Use a fork to scrape the top of the potatoes to make ridges; sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes or until potatoes turn golden. Remove from oven and let it cool 10 minutes before serving.

In other news, this whole moving thing is really happening....

I went over to Falletti's yesterday,  THE grocery store that we have been giving all our money to for the past 5 years. I asked them for some boxes and they said YES. So, I started packing up stuff we don't use like books and wedding gifts like serving platters that we've had no room for. So exciting!!!

We are having the realtor come over on Tuesday to check the place out and see what needs to be fixed. She is so cool. She said, "Let me take a look and tell you what to do to get your entire security deposit back." I thought for sure they would just come in and say here's half your deposit for all of the holes you guys made. So, that is pretty nice of them!! 

Fat Tuesday Cajun Chicken

Another great recipe from SkinnyTaste was our dinner tonight and it was deeeeeeeelish!

This one is Cajun Chicken Pasta except we replaced pasta with brown rice. OMG- so good. One of those recipes where you want 2nds and 3rds and want to lick your plate. I kid you not. Quite the kick with the Cajun spices which was awesome. Make this tonight and you will be so happy you did!!

Easy to make, of course, as are all ST recipes! Here's the recipe:

Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 323.8 • Fat: 6.2 g • Protein: 25.9 g • Carb: 44.1 g • Fiber: 6.3 g • Sugar: 3.2 g
Sodium: 126.5 mg (without salt)  

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked linguine (I used Dreamfields)
• 1 pound chicken breast strips
• 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp light cream cheese
• fresh cracked pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped
• salt to taste
• Smart Balance cooking spray

Directions:

Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Seasonchicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt.

Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.

Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside.

Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes. 

Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then addlinguine; toss well to coat. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

Lasagna Roll Ups and Wine

We started the week off right by having a delicious dinner and getting to see a good friend. I made this dish:

Skinny Tastes Photo

These are Mushroom Kale Lasagna Roll Ups and they are so easy to make! They were delicious. We did add some chopped pepper and red pepper flakes because we like a little spice.

Here's the recipe:

Mushroom Kale Lasagna Rolls
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 10 • Serving Size: 1 roll • Old Points: 4 pts • WW Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 258.5 • Fat: 8.4 g • Fiber: 3 g • Protein: 11.5 g • Carbs: 30.5 • Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 208 g (without salt)

Ingredients:

• 10 (9 oz dry) lasagna noodles, cooked
• 2 1/2 cups marinara sauce
• 5 cups kale, stems removed, chopped fine
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped fine
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 15 oz part skim ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, whisked
• salt and fresh pepper
• 3 oz (10 tbsp) part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place kale in a food processor and pulse a few times until chopped.

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about a minute. Add kale, salt and pepper and sauté about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan, cook until soft, an additional 5-6 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper.

Combine cooked kale, mushrooms, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out cooked lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of mushroom kale mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish.Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle 1 cup of sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, until cheese melts.

Makes 10 rolls. Serve with extra sauce on the side.

After dinner, I headed over to VInyl Wine Bar to meet up with Betsy. Haven't seen her in awhile so it was nice to get together to chat. 

Add that to the list of things we will miss in SF. Ran down the street in 5 min to meet her. Now, we will have to make a plan, drive to meet each other, etc. We were joking that it feels like we're all graduating college or something. Things are changing, people are married, having babies, moving, etc...It's like we've all been living on campus together for 5 years and now we are all moving on in small ways. 

Good thing the bay area is so connected with bridges and trains so we will still be able to see everyone. Hoping our SF friends can cross a bridge to see us too! It is a big joke in SF that if you have to cross a bridge, then where you are going is FAR away. haha

Anyone else making any moves in your life?

Top 5 Tuesday

It's time for Top 5 Tuesday!

#1 - We're Moving! We are so excited & are already planning on how to pack, move, set up the new place. We get the keys on Friday. Yahoo!

#2 - Babies! I have FOUR friends that are pregnant right now. It's so awesome to see everyone on the verge of something totally new in their lives and be so excited for it. 

#3 - NOT Being sick! We are both officially better and have no colds anymore. Finally. 

#4 - This weather we are having! It can be cold at night but during the day it is sunny & wonderful. 

#5 - Valentine's Day! Some people love it, some hate it. I just think it is a nice day to be happy, wear pink or red, and tell everyone how much you love them. 

Forge Ahead

For lunch yesterday, we took a client to lunch to a new place in Oakland called Forge. It is a great place right in Jack London Square that serves brick oven pizza, my favorite.

It was a GORGEOUS day out. Sunny and probably in the low 60's. We sat outside on the waterfront. Amazing weather for February!

We shared:

• Crispy Cheese Curds
• Goddess Salad: little gems, shredded egg, anchovy, green goddess dressing
• Margherita pizza mozzarella, tomato sauce, grana
• Three Cheese pizza  bellwether farms ricotta, garlic, red onion, wild arugula

Everything was so good. The pizza was thin crust, brick oven, and very tasty. One complaint about West Coast pizza that I have is that it's dry and bland. These pizzas were the opposite!

This was our view of the marina....Great lunch!

Photo

MAJOR Announcement

We have a bigggggg announcement to make! We are moving to Berkeley!!

We got the apartment today and can start moving in....this weekend. Everything happened so quickly but I guess when you find a place you like, you just have to go for it.

We are already strategizing how to pack & when to move stuff. Thankfully, I work in Oakland so I can literally drop off a car load of stuff every day if I want to.

We are also saying what we will and will not miss in SF.

Will miss - our little hood, catching up with friends on a whim, the best little grocery store across the street....
Will not miss - the cold, the fog, the wind. Walking the same parks over and over with Evie, looking for parking, paying for laundry, or the toll/Bay Bridge ride to work.

Ahhh we can't wait to be in our new place!!