Gimme a Break!

March Madness took on a new meaning for me this year. With only 1 day "in the office" during the entire month, I literally jumped at the opportunity to take last week off to enjoy a true Spring Break with Mark.

We slept in. We relaxed. We enjoyed doing absolutely nothing. And when we finally felt refreshed, we took a little road trip to Yosemite to rejuvenate a little more.

During the spring, a winter's worth of snowfall from Yosemite's higher elevations melts to form rushing waterfalls. This was our primary reason for visiting during this season, and we were not AT ALL disappointed!

A touch of color along Lake Merced

Bridalveil Fall

Snow-capped mountains in the distance




Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls



Lower Yosemite Fall


Horsetail Fall

El Capitan

Half Dome peaking out above the trees - the 17 mile hike to the top of this cliff has officially made its way onto The To Do list!

Yes, we were a few weeks too early to see the famous dogwood blossoms and other wildflowers in bloom. And yes, some of the roads throughout the park were still closed for the winter, limiting our ability to travel to the higher points. Nonetheless our time spent in Yosemite Valley turned out to be the perfect little getaway.

Bubbly, bubbly.

Its taken us over a year-and-a-half to FINALLY make it to the one vineyard that was highly recommended by multiple friends from around the country - Shramsberg, Napa Valley's claim to fame in sparkling wine. (And sadly, its taken me another month to share our photos with you. I do realize how inconsistent my blogging has been...and I'll work on doing better!)

At my 30th birthday request, Mark made the reservations for a private tour of the estate, the wine caves, and a delicious tasting. We learned a thing or two about the rich history of the winery which began in 1862 when Jacob Schram, a young German immigrant, became one of the first vineyard owners in the Vally.

We especially enjoyed the cool and musty caves, perfect for producing complex sparkling wines using the traditional méthode champenoise. Deep in the tunnels, we observed the riddling process at its various stages, the perfect technique used to clarify and remove sediment from Champagne or sparkling wine.

For trivia lovers out there, Who created the riddling technique, you ask? If you enjoy this famous yellow label, you'll be pleased to find that it was, in fact, Madame Nicole-Barbe Clicquot who developed the method in the early 1800's that is still used today.

Saving the best for last, we sampled four delicious wines at the end of our tour, and now know exactly why Schramsberg came so highly recommended. If you ever have an opportunity to enjoy a bottle - or even a glass - of the Reserve, I would encourage you to take it!

Cheers!

Going Coastal

This weekend's weather beckoned us out to Bodega Bay - a small town on the Pacific Coast that is becoming a favorite spot of ours.

We arrived in the late afternoon, and were surprised to find only a slight breeze - quite different from the strong winds encountered during our past visits.

It allowed us to spend the perfect amount of time reveling in the wondrous views, enveloped in the scent of the ocean that filled the air, reflecting on God and the grandeur of His creation, and enjoying an amazing sunset.

Quality Friday: Every Day is a Celebration

We love our new home. Although the boxes are not quite unpacked, we feel settled and content here, and can't get enough of our surroundings. The scenery - endless miles of rolling hills, lush green trees and breathtaking views - will never grow old. And our new town has a great downtown area with cute shops and fun restaurants, so different from the area we left.

Seems like every chance we get, we're hopping in the car to explore the area around us. Its been much easier to do so given my light travel schedule the past two weeks, and that Mark no longer works on weekends (yay!).

Last Saturday afternoon, with me in a celebratory mood after a good, long, training run, we decided to head towards the neighboring town of Guerneville, and found ourselves at the world famous Korbel Vinyards for champagne tasting and a delicious lunch at the Korbel Delicatessen.

The view was amazing,

the champagne - thoroughly enjoyable,

and we brought home our fair share for future indulgence.

Wasting no time, we opened a bottle that evening, enjoying it with a decadent meal of smoked salmon, served on crackers with red onion and capers, and fine cheese. And like so many moments during these past weeks, we've found ourselves toasting and celebrating life.

Hope that you have had cause to celebrate recently! Cheers to you this Quality Friday!

Okay, time for an update

I've been battling the longest cold that I can remember in recent years (12 days and counting), and I am sick of being sick! My cough is starting to die down, my voice is almost back to normal, the eye infection is gone, and hopefully I'll be rid of what remains, soon.

On top of being sick, a recent promotion at work has kept me more than busy. I feel like all I've done in the past two weeks is work and sleep. And work. And sleep.

As a result, I realize that I've failed to share some of the fun we've been up to. So here you go:

Two weekends ago...
Melissa and Steven came to visit us, and we had a great time catching up with dear friends. Wine tasting was at the top of our list of things to do (surprise, surprise!) and we enjoyed our first introduction to Sonoma County wines. We discovered that the feel of the Sonoma tasting rooms is different from Napa - more relaxed and laid back, generally providing more personal attention, and often the tastings are free!

Our first stop in Sonoma.

We were all quite happy with many of our findings, including a newfound favorite. Honestly, every SINGLE wine we tasted at Williamson was delicious, prompting us to join our first wine club!

Other weekend highlights included a trip to Bodega Bay on the California coast, enjoying Mark's performance in a concert at school, more wine tasting in Napa, and visits to Muir Woods and other San Francisco highlights.

For once, I didn't take a single picture on my camera, letting the true photographers do all the work. Melissa has posted a few more photos here (and I'm looking forward to getting a hold of the rest sometime soon!).


And last weekend...
The temperatures soared into the 80's - even in San Francisco! As much as I love warm weather, I was feeling sick enough to want to simply sleep all day. Thankfully, my husband rescued me and suggested a leisurely afternoon drive into SF on Saturday, where we enjoyed walking along the bay, soaking up the sun, and some of our favorite San Francisco eats.

Yes, it was even warm enough to head to the pool for a few moments on Sunday (or, rather, sit by the pool as I tried to catch up on work)!

Doin' the Tourist Thing

Its funny how much you can take a city for granted when you've lived there your whole life.

For example, I've only been to the top of the Sears Tower once, when out-of-town guests were visiting. My first visit to Millennium Park was purely by chance, and a full year after it opened. And I don't think Mark and I ever made it to the Taste of Chicago after we got married. The list of things that Chicago has to offer is endless, yet some of them I never took advantage of in the twenty-eight years I lived there.

Like Chicago, San Francisco has enough to do to keep you busy for days on end. One of the best things about having visitors to show around is that it draws us back into the city and gives us an excuse to be intentional about enjoying its amazing sights. Not surprisingly, every SINGLE time we drive over the bridge and into the heart of SF, we ask ourselves Why, again, didn't we choose to live Right Here?

Thanks to it being President's Day, on the Monday of my parent's visit, Mark was able to join us for our City tour. We drove through Union Square, down winding Lombard Street, and around Telegraph Hill, where we stopped to enjoy a trip to the top of Coit Tower. The weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect, and the views spectacular.

Some of greatest view of San Francisco are from the top of its steepest hills. After winding down Lombard Street, we hiked to the top and enjoyed this view. We could see the unobstructed Coit Tower in the distance, and decided that it was the perfect day to go for a closer look.

Magnificent against the clouded sky.

One of the most interesting things you'll find at the top of the tower (other than the 360 degree view of the city and bay) are coins from all over the world in the window wells.

Alcatraz.

The remainder of our afternoon and early evening was spent in Chinatown, were we ate and did quite a lot of shopping. Mom and Dad were able to buy most of the souvenirs they would bring back with them, and the best part of the afternoon was happening upon a tiny tea shop, were we enjoyed tea tasting and walked away with the most delicious jasmine tea you can imagine.

At the gates to Chinatown.

Dim Sum (and then some) at Kan's. We may or may not have mistakenly ordered chicken feet, which Mark bravely tasted, and then recommended that none of the rest of us do so. Other than that, it was delicious!

Tea tasting at Blest Tea. Phoenix Eye - a white Jasmine - was our all-time favorite.

Celebrating Thirty Years!

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow."

This year, my parents chose to make a vacation out of their anniversary weekend (and the following week) - and came to visit Mark and I for the first time in California!

They arrived late last Saturday night [and I must mention here that as we pulled up to the airport to pick them up, Danny Glover was getting into the car in front of us! Mark got a chance to meet him, and said that he was amazingly gracious and kind], and spent a fantastic five-and-a-half days with us, including their Thirtieth Wedding Anniversary, on the Sunday after they arrived. Before Mark headed off to work that afternoon, we were able to take them out to lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants, and enjoyed the early afternoon wandering through the antique shops in downtown Napa.

I love that I was able to spend all day with them, taking them to some of my favorite spots in the North Bay. We took advantage of the perfect Sunday afternoon weather to enjoy the serenity and amazing beauty of Muir Woods.

Mom and Dad, as we stopped to take in the view before entering the woods. I love that you can see the moon behind them in the daylight!

With their baby girl.

Inside one of the redwoods!

We stayed until the park closed, and then headed to the Marin Headlands for what I find to be the best view of the Golden Gate bridge and the San Francisco skyline. After a full day [and we were all surprised when we realized that they had only been in town for less than 24 hours!], Mom and Dad even let me tag along on their anniversary dinner where we all enjoyed fine Indian dining and yet another fantastic view of the city we now call our own.

Mom and Dad - Happy 30th Anniversary! Thank you for letting me spend it with you, and for choosing to spend the week here with Mark and I! I hope it was a memorable way to usher in the next 30 years!

With love,
Your little girl,
Audrey

quality friday: broadway, baby

orpheum theater - photo from theaters of san francisco

since we've moved, we've tried to make it our mission to take in all that we can of our new surroundings. of course, that can sometimes be difficult with my work travel schedule, and mark's equally busy school and work combination, but when we have the chance to do something unique or fun we certainly attempt to.

last weekend, mark happened to flip on the tv, and our cable company was listing an advertisement for a great deal on theater tickets to see the color purple, presented here in san francisco (and all around the country) by a popular chicago icon, no less! we quickly looked online, and found that the deal was only for 2 weeks, with the first show option that following tuesday.

knowing that i had a day trip to seattle planned for wednesday, and thus that i could pretty much guarantee i'd be in town on tuesday night, we jumped at the chance and purchased tickets for 4 days out.

tuesday night, we had fun getting dressed up and heading to the historic orpheum theater to see this wonderful show. the music was a beautiful mixture of jazz, gospel and blues, the story inspiring, and i'll certainly have to watch the movie sometime soon, at mark's recommendation.

if its at a theater near you, take the opportunity to enjoy this story of hope and testament to the healing power of love.

the view of city hall we saw from union square tuesday night

and a lovely thanksgiving weekend, it was.

thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.

it captures the essence of family, to me. time spent together, the aromas and flavors of wonderful comforting foods, and all without the commercialism and pressures of gift-giving that christmas can sometimes become. it really is the perfect time to give thanks.

growing up, i enjoyed this one time each year that my mom's family would gather together. i remember the food was always delicious, lovingly prepared, and more than filling. but it was the company that made the day special - i loved the time with my cousins, aunts and uncles - playing games, catching up on the events of our lives, and cherishing each other.

when mark and i started dating, i remember him coming over for thanksgiving dessert to meet the family, and at then end of the night, my aunt pattie told me that he was "a keeper"! and after we were married, i'll never forget the year i spent 48 hours taking the greyhound home from a trip to visit my nanay who had just suffered a stroke, arriving on thanksgiving morning just in time for a huge celebration at mark's parent's home. it was the last time i saw my grandma before she died. and it was also the last thanksgiving that mark's mom was here with us.

just last year, we finally decided that we were going to stop "splitting" the day between both families. we spent thanksgiving day with mark's family (enjoying a meal at maggiano's), and invited mine over for homemade Greek food on saturday, and planned to reverse the time in years to come. looking back, who would have guessed that this year we'd be 2000 miles away?

when mark's dad and sister decided that they were going to travel to visit us for the weekend, we were thrilled! not only would we have family with us for thanksgiving, but we were also looking forward to having guests for the long weekend, and this being leslie's first trip to visit us in san francisco, we wanted it to be extra special. and it was.

thanksgiving weekend, 2007

thanksgiving day was spent cooking the perfect [both in size and in quality!] meal of turkey, gravy, carol's (mark's mom) famous dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls and spinach gratin. once we were all positively stuffed, we settled in for naps or for a viewing of the princess bride.

friday we took off for some light shopping, lunch of the best burgers california has to offer, and then an afternoon of napa valley wine tasting! we came home and enjoyed an evening of grilled seafood and bacon-wrapped fillets, cheese and more wine:)

saturday, we rounded out the weekend with two trips into san francisco! we drove in over the golden gate bridge, marvelled at the palace of fine arts, had lunch at pier 39, curved down lombard street, stopped for a wade in the ocean, and toured the presidio before heading home to get gussied up for a night of jazz and fine dining.

thanks for joining us for a memorable thanksgiving, norman and leslie! we love you!

madonna estate's reserve tasting room - where mark's favorite was the dolcetto, norman's the cabernet sauvignon, leslie's the muscat canelli, and my favorite the gewürztraminer

enjoying château service at domaine carneros, where we sampled flights of sparkling wine (the Le Rêve was pheNOMenal), pinot noir (mark was dying to leave with the famous gate), smoked salmon and an amazing cheese tray

leslie was determined to touch the ocean...but didn't expect it to be as COLD as it was when it lapped over her feet!

the four of us, thoroughly enjoying the ambiance, cuisine and jazz trio at BIX. i must recommend the following menu items - truffle cheese and sweet onion "croques", tuna tartare, smoked trout salad, grilled hill ranch pork chops, and the american kobe "bavette" steak. the only dissappointment, in my opinion, were the specialty drinks. why make a cosmo with rum, or a gimlet with vodka, when the originals are wonderful the way they are?

the flavors, sights and sounds of the mission

on sunday, i spent the afternoon enjoying wonderful company and this cool san francisco neighborhood.

my freshman-year college roommate, shannon, was passing through san francisco on her way to a conference in boston [from her home in new zealand!], so she, vlada and i met up to do some exploring in san francisco. and to catch up, of course! shannon's high school friend kate, who also lives in the bay area, and vlada friend sean [now a friend of mark and mine as well!] who lives in the mission, also joined along on the adventure.

sean, vlada, kate and i - stuffed to the brim and walking off our super burritos. mine was a carne asada and pollo combination, with black bean and all the fixin's. mmmm, mmmm good.

these drawers in s.f.'s only pirate supply store, are filled with goodies from sea salt to eye patches

and the shop next door [wish i could remember its name] has a display of orchids next to coolest old wooden wheelchair.

stem, an uber-cute floral boutique, also sells gifts, housewares, candles, stationary.....
...and children's clothing and accessories.

freshman year roomies, enjoying aMAZEing icecream. shannon's tried the sam's sundae [chocolate ice cream, bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt, and fresh whipped cream], and enjoyed its unique and intense flavors, and i loved my salted caramel and pumpkin combination.

[and on a side note, as we were outside enjoying these treats, we witnessed a crazy car accident....a car full of girls smashed into a parked car at a "T" intersection, and proceeded to jump out of the car, leave it sitting in the middle of traffic blocking 2 lanes, and RAN FROM THE SCENE! thankfully no one was hurt. crazy!]

and here are just a few of the murals that this area is so famous for:

i have to say, i really enjoy this area - its diverse and interesting with a wide variety of food, shops and sights. its not in the least touristy, and has the feel of a "real" san francisco neighborhood.

so, readers, what are your favorite neighborhoods in your favorite cities? and why do you like them?