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. :)

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.

Love Comes in Spurts + My Weekend

On Saturday I convinced my dear friend Anna to take a walk with me from my house in north Oakland to Raleigh's in downtown Berkeley.  There were three incentives: 1) a 5 mile walk, 2) girl time, and 3) the enormous salads and beers at Raleigh's.  It was a gorgeous bay area day and the perfect way to spend a Saturday.  First thing we ordered upon arriving at Raleigh's:

Anna's cider on the left, my Shock Top on the right

and then I hungrily ordered this, aka the best salad I've ever had in my life (well, I've had it a bunch of times, but it's always the best salad):

you can't tell from this picture that it's bigger than my head

We sat outside on the big, sunshiney patio and talked about jobs, dating, travel, etc.  I want to do this every Saturday.  It was perfect.  

On the way home, I remembered that there's something written in the concrete that I love to pass by.  I want to blow it up and frame it and hang it in my home (okay maybe I want to frame a better photo of it):

So true, right?  This little piece of "street art" has me thinking a lot about love . . . and if it truly does "come in spurts," and if we can will it into being, and what it would take to beckon a love spurt.  I am ready!

On Sunday I headed up to Marin to take care of the Freitag boys while their parents were on a mini-getaway for JJ's 40th birthday.  We made this sign for JJ:

and presented it to him, along with the above photo in a frame, upon their return (they went to Cavallo Point Spa, the "lodge at the Golden Gate," for those in the Bay Area who might be seeking an escape). And check out my Judebug eating pizza and watching Finding Nemo:

Ha!  I love that baby so much.

Hope your weekend was just as lovely.  I turned in my grades, but still have a long road ahead of me, preparing for my students' big event Thursday night, and mentally getting ready for babysitting five kiddos on Friday night.  I'll be packin' valium & a bottle of wine. ;)

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.

Valentine's Sleepover in Pictures

Our 6th Annual All Girls Valentine's Sleepover could not have been more fun (okay it could have, but only if my far away peeps could have attended, and/or if Tim Riggins had been our personal exotic dancer).  There were 14 or 15 of us total (some on the early side, some on the late), and we did not disappoint in terms of girliness; we talked about boys, friendship, bras, and birth control.  Ha!

Anna, Myisha, and me drinking Valentinis and eating cupcakes

fake flower says wassup to real flower.  holla!

in my right hand: The Slammer wine

in my left hand: Poet's Row wine

pretty much sums up my life

triptych with Diana :)

at my house, everyone is offered a snuggie

Ellie and Anna were my only takers

Erica, on the left, is my next door neighbor

Yael, on the right, is the life of the party

And did I mention we had gift bags with red eye masks (thanks Faiza!), candy heart bracelets, heart notepads, and love lotto tickets??  I already can't wait till next year!

The Last Weekend Ever

Okay, it wasn't really the last weekend ever, but the last weekend before teachers have to report back to school. So it kinda feels like it.

Saturday:

My friend Missy, her friend Sogol, and I went to dinner at one of my favorite Thai places in San Francisco: Citrus Club. It's sandwiched between the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park and the intersection of Haight and Ashbury, and if you haven't had their garlic edamame, you haven't really lived.

After dinner, we walked a couple blocks up to RVCA, where there was a photo exhibit going on. Missy's friend's cousin was showing some pieces in the exhibit, so we checked it out before heading to a party later that evening. We all gave the experience mixed reviews: the photography was really interesting (though it was a small exhibit), the music was pretty terrible (hello, screamo!), and the place was crawling with the hippest hipsters in the world. Speaking of hipsters, isn't this funny?

from

And maybe even funnier?

(For Christmas that year--Freeman was 6 months old--I got him a hipster outfit. His mama dressed him up in it and sent me this amazing pic. BTW, that's a miniature plush bike lock in his pocket, courtesy of my talented friend Helen. It's for his fixie.)

We made a quick pit stop at my friend Truong's house (which is an art gallery in and of itself)--who by the way literally lives at the corner of Haight and Ashbury--and then trekked to the outer Sunset to bid farewell to one of my grad school friends, Susanna. The party involved persecco, some poetry, old friends, and good convos, so it was all in all a grand ol' time.

Sunday:

This morning I woke up feeling terribly about having spent something like 50 of the past 75 hours watching Friday Night Lights, so I decided to be productive. I dealt with some landlord stuff, mopped the floors, cleaned up a little around the house, and then sat down and transcribed one of my Voice of Witness interviews (the last woman I interviewed in Alabama). Though transcribing audio recorded interviews is incredibly tedious, it was kind of amazing to relive that experience. I remembered this woman telling me about being abandoned, molested, arrested, and incarcerated, and once again reveled in the feeling that I am so lucky.

But then it was all fun and games as I headed out to The Melting Pot for dinner with some girlfriends. When was the last time you had fondue? I hadn't been to a fondue restaurant since I was a kid, and let me tell you . . . it is an intense experience. So incredibly delicious, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to run a marathon to burn off the calories I consumed tonight. Swiss cheese fondue, spinach and artichoke fondue, vegetable fondue, chocolate peanut butter fondue . . . goodness gracious alive. Next time, I'm gonna skip the main course and stick to the cheese and chocolate. ;)

How was your weekend?