Birthday Pictures!

First of all, thanks for all the love!  All the well wishes via facebook, twitter, email, my phone, the mail, blogs, etc. made me feel way less nauseous over turning 30.  And it turns out 30's not so bad, anyway.  ;)

My dear friends came out to celebrate with me at the Lake Chalet last night, and we had lots of fun!  I highly recommend Taco Tuesday.  You get to sit on the water, drink 1/2 price margaritas, and enjoy plentiful $2.50 tacos.  Sweet!

the venue

me and Diana: one of my favorite people in the world

Meagan and Amanda on the lake

me and Doro: almost birthday twins! (she's 8/13, I'm 8/16)

table on the water + tacos + margaritas!

Timmy and Trav: a stand up pair

thank goodness for Cari--no idea what I'd do without her.

(p.s. she is mama to Milo and Jude, regulars on this here blog)

a contemplative Raul surrounded by margaritas

neighbors and friends: Diana and Adam (plus Crouching Claire)

Mani and her handsome lil Mateo

flanked by twins: PJ on the left, AJ on the right

We had a blast, although I wish my faraway friends could have been there as well.  Yay for celebrations and drinks and friends and flowers!

Two more things:

1. Please keep my dad's horrendous beagle, Ignatius, in your thoughts/prayers.  He has a suspicious lump and I am sick with worry.

2. Speaking of pleases, please check out my friend Annie's new blog, Tough Little Cookies.  She's finally started a blog about raising her three hilarious and adorable daughters in San Francisco.  Please remember how it was when you first started blogging and go show her some love!! :)

Sunday Brunch & some Stalktalk!

In a valiant effort to postpone the end of summer, I spent pretty much the whole weekend eating and drinking with friends.  From a dive bar with my teacher friends on Friday night, to a biker breakfast on Saturday morning (you heard that right!), to an impromptu Japanese dinner in Berkeley on Saturday night with my friend Helen, to today's brunch with my college friend, Tara, at what I think might be my new very favorite place:

Chop Bar, Oakland, Jack London Square

my friend Tara with her bloody mary

she's from the northeast, she can't help her snark ;)

ask me what I'm drinking and I'll tell you:

BEN F'S EVOLVE WINE

see?

Not only was Sauvignon Hottie delicious, but so was the food!  Tara and I shared chilaquiles & eggs ala cazuela with a grilled veggie mojo sauce . . . YUM.  I confessed to the waitress that I ordered the Evolve as part of a Ben F. stalking mission, and she said, "That's so funny, he was just in here a couple weeks ago!"  I'll catch up to him someday.  It'll happen.  And if you're curious as to whether I tweeted that picture of me drinking Evolve wine to Ben F . . . the answer is immediately.  

isn't it cute in there?

Hope all of you had as decadent a weekend as I did.  Lord knows I'm making up for it now, since it's the  last day of my 20s and the first day of school.  Wish me luck with my '11-'12 monsters!  Can't wait to meet them. :)

My Obsessions Run Deep

So as many of you know, my recent obsession with the FX show Sons of Anarchy has evolved into an obsession with all things motorcycle.  And when I obsess over something, I do it hard.  


Exhibit A:
Last night, I feel asleep reading this.

Exhibit B:
Collaborative artwork with three-year-old Milo:

Exhibit C:
Hours of research of local motorcycle clubs have led me, repeatedly, to the East Bay Rats.  Fortuitously, their clubhouse is about a mile from my apartment, which has led to a couple "lurking" incidents:

taken from my car, parked conspicuously outside

Lucky for me, my friend Audrey is a damn good sport, and agreed to go prowling for bikers with me tonight.  Our first stop was Godspeed, which was unfortunately closed.  After driving by the Rats' clubhouse (no one home), we headed to the Ruby Room, a reliably "Rat"-infested watering hole, which was a straight-up gold mine.  First of all, the president of the MC was the doorman.  Secondly, the bartender had a huge EAST BAY RATS MOTORCYCLE CLUB tat on his forearm.  Thirdly, two dudes approached us at the bar, revealed that they were Rats prospects, and invited us to a biker party Saturday night at their warehouse.  Let the investigative research begin!

I should have been one of those undercover journalists.  Wish me luck!  And if you have any inside info on where the Hell's Angels hang out, holler at your girl.

Friday I'm in Love!

Summergirl

Happy Friday, y'all!  I'm so happy to have made it through the first week back at school.  It went by in the blink of an eye, which tells me summer's gonna be here before I know it!  

Today I'm in love with:

1) This picture

Freeman and his mama in Colorado over Christmas

right before they got in the hot tub

Seriously!  Would you look at that mini bathrobe and the look on my little buddy's face?  Dying over here.  Lucky for me, he's my Saturday & Sunday companion this weekend.

2) Scream Sorbet

from

Previously only available at the farmers market, there is now a Scream Sorbet storefront in my neighborhood (trouble on the horizon).  Now, I am a pretty serious connoisseur of all things ice cream/frozen yogurt/sorbet/etc. . . so take me seriously when I say that this stuff is the best I've ever had (Move over, Bi-Rite!  Move over, Yogurtland!)  Click here for a list of flavors (but be prepared to hop on a plane and head to the Bay Area, cause you'll want to as soon as you see the likes of caramel cashew or meyer lemon or peanut brittle).  

Eric & I walked up to Temescal the other day for lunch, and I squealed when I saw the new Scream right next to Bake Sale Betty's (another neighborhood legend--Mayra, have you had their fried chicken sandwich?).  I hurried through lunch and pretty much skipped up the street as soon as we were done.  We got the peppermint chocolate sorbet sandwich, which was delicious, but not as delicious as my two current favorites: cashew caramel and pistachio.  It's crazy--the ingredients for cashew caramel are literally "cashews, sugar, sea salt, water" or something like that.  Vegan and organic and all ingredients from local farmers markets . . . and yet the creamiest, most delicious frozen stuff I've ever tasted.

Who wants to go tonight?!