Northern Michigan, Here We Come!

Photos by J. Mears

It's been a busy week of wrapping things up so we can enjoy a week off at Jay's family cottage in northern Michigan!

The cottage has been in Jay's family for over 40 years and as the family expands so does the cottage. We spend the morning lazily waking up, sipping on coffee, and taking in the view. Followed by an afternoon at the lake, reading books or taking naps on the boat. 

And to top it off, we have huge family dinners in the evening (my parents will be visiting too, so it's a mix of classic American and Indian food!) and sunset cruises. If we are feeling ambitious, you could possibly find us running around the lake for our personal 10K challenge, but we make no promises.

It's really a privilege to visit such a beautiful piece of land in what feels like our little private corner of earth. Thanks to Jay's grandpa Mears' foresight, it's become a family tradition to spend as much of the summer at the cottage as we can muster!

I will be completely off the grid with spotty cell phone service and no internet access. It is surprisingly easy to get used to! After the first evening, I stop worrying about when I last saw my iPhone.

Have a wonderful weekend! See you in a week few weeks!

Weekend Wishes

Photo by J. Mears

Happy weekend friends!

Jay and I are looking forward to a no-plans, very low key few days! It's only 60 degrees and cloudy in San Francisco, so it looks like our summer is here in full force.

But for a little heat and sun, we could simply take a short drive to the peninsula! The weather variation in the bay area still takes me by surprise, even after a year and a half here. Cool (literally) summer in the city!

Have a warm weekend!

Tartine Bakery, at last!

Photos by  K. Mears

Jay and I have been wanting to visit Tartine Bakery since our first month in San Francisco. We have heard nothing but rave reviews but the never ending (and constant) line out the door deterred us until recently.

To our surprise, we walked past Tartine this week and there was no line out the door. We couldn't believe it! We assume due to the heat wave over the holiday weekend that perhaps most people were out at the beach and not in the Tartine line! Regardless, we marched up to the short line and finally got a chance to experience their deliciously crafted fresh baked goods.

We split a croque monsieur and chocolate tea cake. Both were excellent (and very decadent)! If I could, I would stop by every day for a pastry. But for now, I think we will just continue to wait for those rare days when the line is just a dozen or so deep!

Happy Birthday, Craig Mears!

Photo by J. Mears

Happy Birthday to my dear father-in-law, Craig Mears!

Your continuous enthusiasm for life is contagious! You make everything special, from holidays ("from Santa") and birthdays, to purchasing a car and even trips to the Alpine Best Buy!

I look forward to many many many years of "beer o'clocks", sunset family cruises on McCormick Lake and gourmet holiday menus!

See you in a few weeks!

Love,
Kavita

Dose of Super Cuteness

Photo by J. Mears

After a wonderful long weekend, it's inevitable to have a bit of  back-to-work blues. So here's a little super cuteness cheer to start your week off with a smile! Honestly, how can you look into those baby blues and not just have your heart melt!

As mentioned here, we had dear friends visiting over the 4th of July weekend. I must admit I was a little nervous about how to plan a weekend of baby friendly events, but to my delight it wasn't nearly as difficult as you would think. 

A huge factor was that our little 9-month old visitor is at a stage in which she can still nap on the go. Another factor was that her parents were super laid back, and if they were feeling stressed, it never showed (awesome team work guys!).

Here are some things that really worked for us: 

• We started the day early, getting to our favorite breakfast spots as soon as they opened.
• We kept a fairly loose schedule, meaning, we had an A plan and B plan based on everyone's mood (with extra consideration for the little one).
• We had a car, for easy abort if things weren't working out.
• We had one go-go-go day followed but a very easy going day.
• We made the earliest dinner reservations possible, so we could avoid crowds and be served fairly quickly.
• We had plenty of decompression time, once home after dinner.

These were just my observations from our weekend with a baby, I am sure every case is different. But it was really encouraging to have a weekend of events that all could enjoy (in a city that's not always considered baby friendly)!

(Thanks for visiting P+S+F!)

Weekend Wishes

Photo by N. Kline

Happy long weekend friends!

We couldn't have asked for better weather for 4th of July weekend, especially since we have dear friends visiting (including their darling 9-month old)!

Keeping the baby in mind, we will be strolling Golden Gate Park, where we can stop and picnic when the little one gets tired or venture over to California Academy of Sciences for a break from the heat. And since this is a first time visit to San Francisco for our friends, a little fun in the sun and glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge is in order at Crissy Field!

Enjoy the hamburgers, beer and fireworks! Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Kate Spade Summer Sale!

Images from katespade.com

I thought I would pass along some summer sale cheer!

Kate Spade is having a nice little summer promotion on all sale items. The online (checkout) code is SALE25, for an additional 25% off and free shipping on all sale items through July 14!

I just couldn't resist spreading the word! Hmmm, it may be time to invest in a pair of shoes or two (you can never have too many flats in San Francisco)!

Stonesoup's Cous Cous & Broccolini Salad

Image from thestonesoup.com

Jay and I constantly struggle with dinner during the work week. Many times, we just end up eating out at one of many tempting restaurants in our neighborhood. But we acknowledge that it's a better idea (healthier and less expensive idea) to eat home cooked as much as possible. 

The key for us is to keep it simple. We recently found a perfect after work dinner recipe (cous cous & broccolini salad) which we have been making at least once a week! 

It's one of 50 posted by the blog Stonesoup (cook books also available). We've mentioned Stonesoup before (here), but recently took a deeper look and found it has exactly the type of recipes we have been looking for!

So far we have only tried the cous cous & broccolini salad, but we plan to run down the list of 50 to see if there are any other keepers! Finally, no stress work week cooking!