Busy Weekend in Pictures

Why did I think summer would be so low-key and relaxing?  I had visions of spending my days lounging on my back porch with a Blue Moon, big sunnies, and some books . . . and yet, not so much how it's turned out.  Working a lot on my curriculum, meetings, babysitting, social engagements, stalking motorcycle clubs, visitors + travel = one busy girl.

Here's what I've been up to this weekend:

eating lots of these

dinner (Delfina Pizzeria) and drinks (Double Dutch; my fave) 

with my dear friend Monica

p.s. anyone know how to get the iPhone 4 to take better pics in the dark?

p.p.s. check out the awesome boombox on the Double Dutch homepage

p.p.p.s. go to Delfina Pizzeria and get the broccoli raab pizza stat.

sunny days at the pool with this guy & his impish brother

immersed in my new book

p.s. the co-authors, Keith and Kent Zimmerman,

teach creative writing in my unit at San Quentin

a beautiful San Francisco Sunday in Freeman's back yard

Tomorrow I'll be missing Leeann, who was supposed to be visiting this weekend, until I dropped the ball and took too long to email her times (the airfare sale ended) :(.  No doubt we would have torn up the town.  Instead, I'll be BBQing with friends during the day, and teaching at San Quentin at night.  Normally I wouldn't teach on a holiday, but I'll be out of town the next two Mondays (here I come, Georgia!  here I come, Cabo San Lucas!), so I'm sucking it up for the greater good.  Needless to say, my students don't have any other plans. ;)

Fittingly, I'll be teaching this poem.

Happy 4th!  

Girlfriends, Good Food, Wine, and Jax Teller

How lucky am I that Micaela, Marianne, and Jessie chose to spend vacation time here with me in San Francisco last week?  And let me just say that our trip was everything we dreamed it would be.

four girls in Napa

Marianne is the sweetest person I've ever met.  And she's incredibly beautiful, loyal, and says the cutest things. ♥

Jessie can party like a rockstar.  She's a hot & hilarious bad ass with some amazing stories.  She and I could get into some pretty serious trouble if we lived near each other.

And Micaela is my girl.  I feel closer to her every day, and am so thankful this trip gave us so much time together.  This woman could fill oceans with the love she has to give.  It's pretty unreal.

at Rubicon Estates (Niebaum-Coppola)

Texas/Oklahoma girls in Golden Gate Park 

Jessie stopping in for a quick tattoo on Haight St., ha!

foggy day at my favorite beach

wine!

Marianne was such a good sport since she doesn't really like wine :)

happy

one of my favorite pictures from our trip

at Vesuvio in North Beach.  BEWARE!

on this trip to City Lights, I discovered a new poet

with whom I'm now a little obsessed: Evie Shockley

the Golden Gate Bridge was actin' up a little with the fog

Other things we did:

*Visited my neighborhood restaurants and wine bar

*Watched (and re-watched) super hot Jax Teller sex scenes at Cari and JJ's house

*Stayed up till 4 am with laughter, a few tears, and lots of stories

*Had a bit of a traumatic experience running into my exbf's good friend, who told me that my exbf is getting married (still coping, y'all)

*Ate authentic Italian food in North Beach

*Spent some time on my back porch

*Saw the Painted Ladies (or as I like to call them, the Full Houses) and busted out the Full House theme song 

*Drank lots of coffee!

Hurry back, girls!  My house is so empty without you.

A Claire and Micaela Evening

Micaela arrived yesterday evening!  After I picked her up at the airport, we dropped her stuff off at my house and had a quick beer before walking up the street to dinner at Burma Superstar.  We shared a carafe of red sangria, samosa soup, rainbow salad, coconut rice, and platha, along with long-overdue stories and laughs.

Marianne and Jessie were scheduled to arrive this morning, but they had a little incident on a country road involving Jessie's car and a deer around 4:30 am, so we'll be picking them up at SFO at 4:45 pm instead. ;) Everyone's okay except Jessie's car . . . and the deer. :(

Micaela and I are off to lunch & a little shopping before picking up the girls, but I just wanted to say a quick hello.  More updates to come from all four of us!

Being a Tourist in Your City

One of the many perks about living in San Francisco is that lots of people want to come visit you. :)  One of the many perks of having frequent visitors is that while showing them around, you re-fall in love with where you live.

When Jennifer was here last week, we had a very "San Francisco" day:

We started with a drive through Chinatown to look at all the buildings, color, and livelihood:

"Chinese Laundry"--heehee

After which we did a figurative 180 and stopped on Union St. in the Marina for a little shopping:

Ambiance--my favorite boutique--I behaved and only bought earrings

And then we took a trip down the crookedest street in the world . . . 

Lombard St.

And hopped over to North Beach for a trip to City Lights Bookstore, lunch at Cafe Zoetrope (a Coppola restaurant), and drinks at the famous Beat-hangout, Vesuvio.

with Sofia champagne at Cafe Zoetrope

Jennifer in front of City Lights

behind the bar at Vesuvio,

where we made friends with the bartender & his drunken regular

With more visitors coming in on Tuesday (Micaela! Marianne! Jessie!), and Leeann hopefully coming back July 4th weekend, I'm wondering what you all love about San Francisco and any ideas you may have for impressing tourists. ;)  I will obviously take my Texas/Oklahoma girls up to Napa for a day, and we'll hit all the requisites: Haight/Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, Baker Beach, the Mission, North Beach . . . but what are the best crowd-pleasers?

Happy Sunday!

Weekend in Review: Outside!

It's officially hiking season here in northern California!  I swear, it was so gorgeous here this weekend.  And after falling asleep on my couch watching the DVR'd Royal Wedding Friday night, I was itching to be outside on Saturday.  And so . . . my friend Doro came over and we did an incredible hike in the Oakland Redwoods.  Those of you who are coming to visit, this scenery is what you have to look forward to:

taken with iPhone mid-hike

Amazing, right?  And then Sunday, I took my little pal Freeman straight to the beach:

me: "Let's play in the water!"

F: "I can't believe you just woke me up from my nap."

It was definitely warm enough to lay out, but not so much to swim.  F and I put our feet in the water but it was freeeeeezing (as usual in San Francisco).  We still had fun!

Here's hoping this kind of weather continues.  It's good for the soul.

And it *almost* helps me get over the fact that I couldn't be in southern California this weekend for Sammy Lazzaroni's first birthday.  His mama is one of my very best friends and their family is so dear to me!  If I could have one superpower, it would definitely be the Samantha-Stephens-nose-wiggle ability to transport myself anywhere, anytime.  Wouldn't that be amazing?

p.s. Check out Kristen's post today at While We're Waiting.  Made my heart swell.

San Francisco's Battle over Foreskin

We've voted on some awesome/strange things during my tenure as a San Franciscan.  Ultimately, I love the idea of voting on individual propositions, because it empowers voters to make direct decisions, rather than just voting for people who may or may not uphold their promises.

This one just may be the wackiest I've seen, however:

from

Proponents of a "circumcision ban" in San Francisco have gathered over 12,000 signatures in order to have this issue placed on the ballot (they'll find out in a month whether it will appear).  They argue that "To cut any body part off somebody who can't consent to me is just madness. You wouldn't cut off an ear or a finger or a nose."

This ban, if voter-approved, would outlaw circumcision for any male under the age of 18.  

Being female and never having had a male child, I haven't given a whole lot of thought to circumcision.  Guess I might have to, soon!  :)

Read the whole article here.

p.s. Take that, Trump.  And I hope you're not serious about running for president.

Beach Day (and the perks of the iPhone 4)

Although losing my iPhone sucked, the major benefit of having had to buy a new one is that the camera on the iPhone 4 is pretty amazing.  All of these pictures of my day at the beach with Freeman were taken with it, and I did no doctoring whatsoever.  The California sky really is this blue!

Sunday was gorgeous in San Francisco, so Freeman and I made the most of it and went straight to Baker Beach.  There were gaggles of teenagers in bathing suits, but it wasn't quite warm enough for that yet in my opinion . . . soon, people, soon.  F and I did put our legs in the chilly ocean water and it made me so eager for real summer to be here!

(obviously taken from the same place as my blog header--

one of my favorite places in San Francisco, hands down)

my little buddy with the majestic Golden Gate Bridge in the background

The Seacliff, home of Robin Williams & other celebs

n.b.: do not wear purse on hip next time you take a shadow pic

my handsome little beach-goer

we've been friends since Freeman was 5 weeks old!

buddies

my happiest place

So, are y'all booking your plane tickets to come visit me yet?  By the way, the nude section of the beach is right there by the bridge, at the end of the beach.  I chose to keep my distance, given that I was with a toddler.  Haha!

Having a Gay Old Time in the Castro

San Francisco has some of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the world, one of which is most definitely its famous gay 'hood, the CASTRO!  Yesterday (nursing a bit of a hangover from a wild karaoke party the night before), I went to pick up my little boo, Freeman, and we headed out to lunch in the most colorful neighborhood in the city.

rainbow flags on every light post

And I really did have the most handsome little lunch date:

always a hit with the gays

Walking around the Castro, one is likely to stumble upon men walking tiny dogs in sweaters, shirtless bears in the windows of bars, and a plethora of sex toys in shop windows (yesterday even I came across something I didn't know existed . . . and that's sayin' a lot).  I'm always amused by the hilarious store names in the Castro:

on the left, my personal fave: Does Your Mother Know

and on the right, Hand Job Nails & Spa

A few months ago, I was driving home from babysitting Freeman, and was at a stop sign at 18th and Castro, when a totally naked man crossed the street (along with several other pedestrians who were clothed).  Now, this would not be weird at all had it been the Folsom St. Fair or Gay Pride weekend . . . but it was an average Wednesday evening around 8:30 pm.  

I love this city.

Girl Time is the Best Time

Yesterday I was feeling all kindsa bluesy, so when my friend Amanda (whom you read about here) came to my office after school and suggested that instead of working out, like we'd planned, that we do something more fun and girly, I couldn't have nodded my head more quickly.

Important to know: I almost never get my nails done.  I love the experience of a mani/pedi at a salon, but I also enjoy doing my nails myself (smoothing & filing & clipping & painting, all while sitting on my couch watching tv with a glass of wine, is so therapeutic to me!).  Therefore, I rarely fork over the cash to get 'em done pretty at a nail salon.  However, yesterday, going to get a mani/pedi followed by a drink at a neighboring bar just seemed oh so right.


So we hopped in my car and went here:

San Francisco Sun, Cole Valley

I've actually been to San Francisco Sun many times before, cause I used to live in the neighborhood, and while I don't get my nails done often . . . when I do, I go there.  I'd like to point out that for $30, you get a delightful manicure and pedicure in the best spa chair I've experienced while enjoying complimentary wine.  That's right, free booze with your mani/pedi!  Suffice to say, Amanda and I were in heaven.  It's pretty in there, everyone is nice, and the owner, Colette, is so neighborly (we ran into her afterwards at the pub next door).  

I forgot to take a picture of Amanda's nails, but here is what I chose:

 these little piggies went to the salon!

I left my camera in Georgia, so these are merely iPhone pics--my fingernails are actually more light purpley in person.  I love the way they look!  I chose an OPI lilac shade for my fingers and an Essie purple-pink for my toes (I always go darker on my toes).  I have to confess that I already can't wait to go back (but next time I'm gonna try out the gel manicure--anyone done that yet?).

After our decadent nail experience, we hopped over to Kezar Pub for a beer and some nachos:

Kezar Pub

Kezar is a neighborhoody pub between Cole Valley and Haight/Ashbury, and they have a fine selection of beers on tap (I got Blue Moon; Amanda got Stella).  We split a small nachos and had some great convo and I left feeling totally rejuvenated.  Seriously.  There is nothing in the world like girlfriends to make you feel better about boy problems.  I'm so grateful for my friends (and my city!).

Hope everyone's having a great week . . . I really want to talk about Snooki getting arrested, but this post is already pretty long, so that will have to wait till tomorrow. :)

Bittersweet

Do any of you have a friend who is just so good they're almost too good to be true?  Like, they never bitch about anything really, they're nice to and about everyone, they don't get drunk and chip their teeth, and you trust them implicitly?  Such is Diana, one of my best friends, and whom I've talked about many times cause she is one of the Cobras.  She's the most loyal person in the world, she loves me despite my (many) faults, and she doesn't really have any of her own.  Ha.  I'd say she was intimidating if she wasn't the sweetest person ever.  She kind of reminds me of Faiza.  

When Ali can't come to our poetry soirees and it's just Diana and me, we tend to go to fun places out on the town and discuss our poems from the week prior (as well as assignments for the next week).

I am here to tell you that if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and you have not been to Bittersweet, get off the computer right now and hightail it there!  Diana first introduced me to it years ago, and let's just say that it changed my experience of hot chocolate.  As in, since that fateful day back in 2005 (I think), I haven't been able to enjoy a hot chocolate anywhere else.

Check this:

Diana's hot (milk) chocolate, homemade vanilla marshmallows, my soy salted caramel hot chocolate

I was nervous to branch out and order something different (I usually get the regular hot chocolate), but the salted caramel was the best I've ever had.  It's pretty crazy how good this place is.  They even have a hot dark chocolate that I think is even vegan!  Just straight up liquid chocolate.  Amazing (if you're into dark chocolate).  The only problem with Bittersweet is that they close at 7 pm, which is kind of unacceptable according to my night-owl self.  Oh, and there's one other problem: I've totally become a hot chocolate elitist and now I don't think it tastes very good from anywhere else.

A fine price to pay, in my book. I mean look at this--

close up of the best hot chocolate in the world

First Crush!

My darling friend Marisa (one of my very first friends in grad school) moved to New York this summer, which made me very sad.  But she's back here visiting, guest teaching, doing readings, etc. (cause she's a big shot and her first book was published this year! Check it out here).  Last night, we met at Union Square for a dinner date and some Christmas shopping!  Shopping at Union Square with Marisa is one of my very favorite things to do in December.

San Francisco's Union Square Christmas tree

We met at 6:30 outside the Powell St. train station and headed to First Crush, where we had a delightful (and long-overdue!) dinner date.  

cutest name for a restaurant/wine bar ever!

I promptly ordered a (delicious) cucumber gimlet, and Marisa had some sort of old-fashioned whiskey drink.  So good!  We split some appetizers and a cheese plate and caught each other up on the past 5 months.  She works at an office on 5th Avenue now--doesn't that sound straight out of a romantic comedy?

not our best shot but it's all I got!  And I promise Marisa's not a Cullen

it's just an overexposed picture.

We had roasted fall vegetables, swiss chard au gratin, and the very fancy cheese plate.  And a baudy zinfandel. :)  First Crush only serves California wines, and they create specialized flights for you based on what you're eating!  

We lingered too long over dinner to get any real shopping done, but I did get a tiny thing for this girl and a funny stocking stuffer for my sister.  Maybe I subconsciously didn't get much Christmas shopping done so that I'd have an excuse to go back to Union Square pronto . . . I loooove it there at Christmastime!  Lights and Christmas music and the big tree and coffee shops!  So festive. ♥

And for kicks, here is our favorite picture of the two of us:

Claire and Marisa, Sleepover Friends, 2005