Weekend Wishes

Photo by J. Mears

Happy Friday friends!

And happy wedding day, to those following the Royal nuptial story across the globe! Vogue posted some beautiful photos of "the dress", herePrincess Catherine and younger sister Pippa Middleton looked stunning! I'm sure the hype will continue throughout the weekend as all the style experts analyze and re-analyze the entire event.

As for Jay and I, we are looking for a relaxing and very low-key few days to ourselves (you know, away from our usual paparazzi following). Have a splendid weekend!

My Mom's Mini Dream

Business card created on tinyprints.com

I've known for years that my mom is an amazing chef. I've never disliked anything she has served, except for a few veggies when I was young perhaps (I was lucky growing up, always a fresh home cooked meal for dinner). She used to make us dishes from Chinese to Italian cuisines. But her true gift is Gujarati food (Gujarat is the state in India from which my family is from). And that is why I am so proud of her for deciding to dabble in a little catering!

Friends and family have been telling her for years that she should start a food related business. My mom would always shrug off the compliments and suggestions. It's not until recently that she told me that her dream was to start a little catering company, nothing too big, just a few specialty items.

There are a few dishes in particular that she makes better than anyone I know: dhokla, khaman and handvo. These are very delicate, bite-sized, savory cakes, typically served as an appetizer or snack (great with masala chai in the morning or afternoon). So it's perfect for my mom's goal of starting small (and perhaps my goal of going bigger someday, more to come on this in the future)!

Unfortunately, her catering will only be available in Southeastern Michigan (for now!). But if that's your location and you are hosting a dinner or small event, give her a call! Those of us out here in San Francisco, will just have to wait.

Love you mom!

My favorite small plates at Loló




Photos by K. Mears

Jay and I discovereLoló several months ago when we were walking around the Mission. It has been one of our best discoveries yet, and that's why I was so excited to enjoy the remaining hours of my birthday evening there last night.


I am a huge fan of small plates, and in my opinion, Loló creates some of the best! Loló has such a playful and quirky environment (your bill is delivered in a mini boot!), that at first we weren't sure what to expect. But we soon discovered that they pull out all the stops for their Mexican and Turkish inspired cuisine. It's just fabulous, and descriptions cannot do it justice. You simply must take a bite and enjoy it for yourselves!


Last night, we ordered our favorites: the taco tropical (panko and spice dusted shrimp topped with tropical relish and chipotle aoli) and the mahi mahi tostada. We savored every bite! A lovely end to my extended birthday celebration!

Lovely Birthday Cheer!

Photo by J. Mears

Thank you friends for the wonderful birthday cheer sent via Facebook, phone and email today! I am truly lucky to have such caring and sweet friends and family! I feel very loved, my heart is full.

Jay and I are just back from a weekend in Yosemite, where we got to witness the falls in full force thanks to the record breaking snowfall this winter. It was really magical being immersed in a piece of nature left untouched by development since the 1800s.

The kind words sent today and the fun we had on our trip made this a birthday to remember!

Weekend Wishes

Photo by J. Mears

Happy Earth Day friends!

Jay and I have a lot to do tonight. We will be packing for our mini holiday to Yosemite National Park! I cannot wait to experience our weekend adventure! This will be our first time visiting Yosemite together (I visited once during grade school). We decided to go the lodge route for a little extra comfort and pampering!

We've heard from multiple friends to hike the Mist Trail, so that's on our list. Does anyone have suggestions for additional diversions while we are there? We would love to hear your tips!

Have an earthy Green weekend!

Lovely Letterpress Class




Photos by K. Mears

Over the weekend I attended Oh Happy Day's letterpress class taught by Jordan Ferney! Letterpress is something I knew very little about until I began researching stationery for our wedding back in 2009. I've always wanted to get the insiders look into the process so when I saw the ad for the class in Daily Candy, I signed up immediately!

The class was 4 hours long, but it went by so quickly! We learned a bit about the history of letterpress (I had no idea that letterpress printing only lost popularity in the 1950s when digital printing took off) and its comeback in the past decade. Then we moved on to the actual process, and it's definitely a bit labor intensive and delicate. Jordan had a photopolymer  plate created with the class's designs (we turned them in to her a week prior). And then we were off to the races, inking and pressing our cotton paper through the printing press one paper at a time. I think the end results came out beautifully!

Note: Jordan was kind enough to give the class a list of letterpress resources (for paper, ink, press purchase) located here in the city. So if you are interested, I'm happy to pass the list along!

Flour + Water = Fabulous Birthday Dinner






Photos by K. Mears

Originally we had planned on Chez Spencer for Jay's birthday dinner, but I knew Jay had his heart set on Flour +Water (I was unable to get reservations). We were home a little earlier than expected, so we gave the walk-in wait a try and luckily were seated within 20 minutes (the typical wait for Flour + Water can be an hour plus)! 


Dinner was wonderful, maybe even beyond wonderful. Every bite we took was better than the next. For me, Flour + Water is a dream come true because I heart pasta. We started with the citrus cured yellowtail with asparagus, followed by a main course of three different pastas: the triangoli, taleggio scarpinocc and pasta fagioli of maltagliati. And we didn't stop there. Since it was a very special occasion, we went for dessert and shared the most delicious chocolate budino. As you can see above, we took no prisoners. 


Another fabulous year, another fabulous meal in the city!  

Happy Birthday, Jay!



 
Photo by K. Mears

Happy Birthday Jay! Today we celebrate you! You are the cat's meow, the bee's knees, my best friend and love of my life. You deserve the very best that the universe has to offer! Here's to another beautiful year, better and better!

Weekend Wishes

Photo by J. Mears

Happy Friday friends! Two days of leisure await!

I'm especially excited about this weekend because I will be attending an Oh Happy Day letter press class. Ever since researching invitations for our wedding a few years ago, I've been really interested in stationery and the art behind it. 

Also on the list this weekend is the Presidio 10K run. It always seems like a great idea to sign up for a race for running motivation. But then we realize it's San Francisco and it's going to be hilly! We are a little ill prepared, wish us luck!

Have a wonderful spring weekend!

Four Barrel Coffee & Cafe


Photos by K. Mears

The same friends and neighbors that introduced us to Stable Cafe showed us Four Barrel Cafe last weekend. I had seen Four Barrel coffee being sold at some of our favorite markets but had not realized there was also a cafe to enjoy. The cafe is a place where those looking for the perfect cup of coffee assemble.

Four Barrel is not for everyone, however. If you are looking for a tall skim decaf caramel blah-blah latte, you will not find it here. Four Barrel is for the true coffee lover and the coffee being served is delicately cared for from roast to pour-over (don't worry, I didn't know what pour-over was until a few months ago). It's a fabulous treat for a slow Sunday morning!

Earth Day with Anthropologie

Image from anthropologie.com

Earth Day is just around the corner and Anthropologie is celebrating by offering free crafting with cork classes and potting workshops for kids. There are a handful of workshops being offered in California (specific locations can be found here), and for my Michigan friends, I was happy to see a cork class being offered at Somerset Collection! Happy planting (or crafting)!

Weekend Wishes

Photo by J. Mears

Well the warm weather did not hold up in San Francisco, but at least it's been sunny! Our weekend plans will just have to be indoors! 

We are going to kick off the weekend with Killing My Lobster Reboots, a comedy show about our technology dependency (very fitting for our household). Then later in the weekend, we will be checking out some old school tricks, at Magic at the Rex. And if we have time to squeeze in a movie, we are very interested in seeing Hanna, which I hope is as thrilling as the previews. Although we are packing a lot in this weekend, I hope it goes slowly (I don't want to blink and it be Monday)!

Friends, have a wonderful and slow as molasses weekend!

The Front Porch



Photos by K. Mears

Honestly, what's not to love about southern inspired comfort food? On a very cold (by San Francisco weather wimp standards) and rainy day, Jay and I headed to The Front Porch, with some serious appetites. And we sure didn't hold back. Jay and I ordered Momma Clara's bucket of fried chicken which came with garlic mashers and collard greens (the fried chicken was presented very creatively in a bucket with a little popcorn for garnish). We also started with fried okra in case you were worried we were skimping. Oh, and we followed all the fried and salty deliciousness with some mud pie. We loved every single bite of our comfort food extravaganza! The Front Porch is probably not a spot for a weekly visit, but if you are having one of those days where a mixed green salad with a grilled anything on the side just won't do, this is your place!

Stable Cafe


Photos by K. Mears

Jay and I love cafe culture so it's no surprise that we are becoming frequenters of Stable Cafe, in The Mission of course. This little cafe came highly recommended by some of our friends and neighbors and it is easy to see why. Not only does Stable serve first class coffee beverages, they also have a simple and tasty menu which consists of local and fresh ingredients.

It's a perfect spot for an afternoon pick-me-up!

Sunset, Oysters and Ghosts


Jay and I found ourselves on a very spontaneous and fun little adventure last weekend. What started out as a short cruise on scenic Highway 1, ended at Half Moon Bay to watch the beautiful sunset.

Photos by K. Mears


After watching the sunset, Jay and I continued our adventure at Moss Beach Distillery. We found it on Yelp and were most tempted by their free drink offer. Moss Beach Distillery is no longer a distillery but has quite the sordid history which includes a Lady in Blue ghost story. It is however, a fantastic spot to take in the view of the Pacific Coast and have a delicious seafood dinner. Jay and I tried some oysters in a half shell and split the Alaskan halibut with our free drink thanks to Yelp (you can choose anything off the menu so we chose the Toad Stool Chardonnay to compliment the seafood).

It was a perfect end to an unexpected, and very California day!

Weekend Wishes

Photo by J. Mears

Happy Friday friends! The city has been extra cheerful and enthusiastic this week, which I am sure can be  attributed to the weather! We've had sun sun sun all week! I plan to be outdoors as much as possible this weekend to take advantage of this unusual San Francisco spring weather!

Wishing everyone a fun and warm weekend!