California Dreamin', Part II

I've uploaded most of my California photos to Flickr. Check 'em out if you get the chance!

Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

• Waking up early to go running with Jason (every morning except one!) through wooded trails or along the beach. One morning we discovered a place called Wedding Rock and hiked all the way up to the top. The views were stunning and we even spotted some sea lions swimming through the ocean. Apparently dozens of couples choose to get married there each year - hence the name!
• Stumbling upon Katy's Smokehouse in Trinidad, purveyor of what is widely considered to be the best smoked salmon (and other kinds of fish) in the country. Trust me - you haven't had smoke salmon until you've had Katy's. Oh, and you can order it online!
• Rachel and Brennan's wedding, of course! It was small, simple, and beautiful. I really liked the colors they chose: a burnt orange and a subdued olive green. It had kind of a mod, Orla Kiely-esque vibe to it. Oh, and the reception was at a beach house. Literally, a house on the beach. Does it get any better than that? No, it doesn't.
  
• Post-wedding brunch at the Historic Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka, which used to serve as a cookhouse for the many lumberjacks working in that part of California, and still serves authentic lumberjack food.
• A quick jaunt to the fairy tale perfect Mendocino, an idyllic little town and artists' colony situated right on the coast, a few hours north of California. We hiked out to the edge of the bluff overlooking the water, and noshed on organic Neopolitan pizza and ginger ice cream at Frankie's.
• Unbelievably fresh and delicious oysters with a glass of Pinot Grigio at the Hog Island Oyster Company, located in the amazing Ferry Building Marketplace (a huge indoor market featuring some of the area's best meat, cheese, seafood, produce, chocolate, and flowers...basically a foodie paradise).
• Superb porchetta sandwiches from Italian deli Boccalone at aforementioned Ferry Building Marketplace.
• Walking, walking, walking in San Francisco. We walked our way from the Ferry Building Marketplace down the Embarcadero to Ghirardelli Square and then through Telegraph Hill, Chinatown, North Beach, and the Financial District before an absolutely divine sushi dinner at Ozumo, which apparently flies their fish in daily from Japan. It just may be the best sushi I've ever had (and that's saying something!)
  
• Private tastings and tours of Madrigal Winery and Sequoia Grove Winery in the Napa area. I'd heard that Napa was gorgeous, but I didn't quite realize just how gorgeous until I saw it for myself. Wow. Great wine + gorgeous scenery = heaven.
  
• Driving past Chez Panisse in Berkeley. (I am slightly obsessed with Alice Waters - her cookbooks, her philosophy, her fascinating career - so this was a major thrill.)
• Visiting SFMoMA before leaving on Saturday. The art was wonderful of course - an incredible Rothko, a great collection of Clyfford Stills, and the show-stopping Khurasan Gate by Frank Stella (one of my favorites), and since I work in an art museum, it's always interesting to see how other museums are doing things.

I'm sure there are more things that I'm not thinking of, but this should give you a good idea! Needless to say, it was absolutely wonderful and I feel like a very lucky girl. A big thanks to the Browns for letting me tag along!

Oh, and in case you can't tell, that first photo is of one of the vineyards we visited, and the second is me and Jason at the beach!

California Dreamin'

Good morning everyone!

I had a truly lovely time in California. The scenery around Trinidad (where Brennan and Rachel's wedding was held) was absolutely breathtaking, the wedding itself was beautiful, and San Francisco was amazing, of course. I'm already missing California (though I must admit, it was nice to sleep in my own bed last night). I'm pretty much exhausted and staring down a giant to-do list right now, so I'm going to keep this short, but I promise I'll share more details later.

I'm glad to be back, and look forward to catching up with all of you! Have a wonderful Monday!

(Oh, and I snapped the above photo while exploring the coastal area near the town of Trinidad. Isn't it gorgeous? I will upload more pics to my Flickr account and post the link here soon.)

Leaving on a jet plane...

Tomorrow, I leave for a week-long trip to California with Jason and his family to attend the wedding of Jason's cousin, Brennan and Brennan's fiancee Rachel. Check out their engagement photos here. Are they cute or what?

In addition to this being the first real vacation I've had since I graduated from college two years ago, I'm excited because I love weddings and everything that goes along with them...pretty dresses, decorations, good food, drinks, dancing, and, of course, celebrating love!

We'll fly into San Francisco, then drive the rest of the way to Trinidad, California (a few hours north of San Francisco), where the wedding is taking place. After the wedding on Wednesday, we'll drive back down to San Francisco where we'll spend the rest of the week, with a day trip to Napa Valley to do a private wine tasting/winery tour on Friday!

I hope you all have a lovely week. I will catch up with you when I return!

Rugs Rugs Rugs

I'm thinking one of these would look lovely in my new living room.

Images via All Modern Furniture.

What are you attracted to?

Yesterday, one of my favorite blogs Wishstudio linked to a great post at White Hot Truth about defining what we are attracted to, and what it can tell us about ourselves. As Danielle of White Hot Truth says, "Being aware of not only what we are attracted to, but why we're attracted to it, gives us access to the most tender and creative places within ourselves. If you put your finger on the magnetism, you can attract more of what you want into you life."

What a powerful concept.

Here's my list.

1. Long strands of colorful beads (like the ones pictured above at Eastern Market)

2. The scent of neroli, jasmine, vanilla, cinnamon, and roses - not all at once though!

3. Sincerity

4. Clean modernist lines mixed with soft, feminine details

5. Whimsy

6. Bookstores and libraries

7. The colors periwinkle, turquoise, and deep rich coral

8. O'Keeffe's "Purple Petunia" (1925, Oil on canvas)

9. Vintage jewelry

10. People who are good listeners

11. The words of Rumi, Mary Oliver, e.e. cummings, and Brian Andreas

12. Old, slightly creaky china cabinets with glass doors for displaying pretty dishes and plates

13. The French language...ditto with Italian

14. Hazy pink-purple sunsets

15. People who are genuinely curious about and interested in others

16. Kindness

17. Twinkly eyes

18. Cavallini stationary

19. Fellow creatives

20. Lush musical harmonies

Looking at my list, it seems like the patterns that arise are beauty, color, creativity, wisdom, and authenticity. Now the question is: How can I cultivate more of these things in my life?

What about you? What things are you attracted to? What patterns emerge from your list? If you write your own list, paste a link in the comments. I would love to read it!

Photo by Flickr user Steve Thornton.

Feelin' the love

Aww, thanks so much to Sarah of Hindsight for bestowing upon me my first blog award. Thank you! I've only had this blog for a short while, and have already been amazed by the awesome blogging community out there. I'm finding so many amazing people doing creative and wonderful things. In that spirit, I would like to pass along this honor to some fellow bloggers.

Everyday Revelry
Gussying up the Tuttle
Magpie Girl
Blisschick
theScienceofWings
City Girl Lifestyle
Hang on Little Tomato (Carolyn, from one of your recent posts, it sounds like you may have already gotten this award, but I'm giving it to you anyway because I simply adore your blog!)

Teaism's Ginger Scones

I've always had a thing for ginger. Whenever I had a cold or flu as a little kid, my mom would buy me a bottle of ginger ale as a special treat. It was one of the only times I was allowed to have soda (or "pop" as I called it then). She would also whip up a steaming pot of Egg Drop Soup, with freshly grated garlic and ginger for extra healing power. I don't know whether it was psycho-somatic or what, but I always seemed to feel better afterwards.

In high school, my friend Mira and I shared an affinity for candied ginger, devouring tiny bags of the golden-hued nibs as we discussed boys, college applications, our future careers, and the meaning of life with the self-seriousness and grandiosity only 17-year-olds can muster.

Later, in college, I would open care packages from home to find bags of ginger chews mixed in with magazine and newspaper clippings and homemade cookies, and I would fight back pangs of homesickness, determined not to let my roommates see the tears in my eyes as I clawed my way through the difficulties of adjusting to life in a new city, nearly 1,000 miles from home.

Ginger remains a favorite comfort of mine. After an intense yoga practice, I'll run a hot lavender-scented bubble bath and sip a mug of Yogi ginger tea, savoring the delicious relaxation that follows a good workout. I always ask the flight attendant for ginger ale whenever I'm on an airplane, pretending that its pale bubbly fizz is high-end champagne and that I am an ultra-glamourous international spy, calming my nerves before my next top-secret assignment. Happily, Jason shares my love of good ginger ale, and we have recently taken to drinking Reed's Ginger Beer as a flavorful and healthy alternative to alcohol when we don't want to imbibe.

I stopped by Teaism on my way to work the other day to grab an iced green tea to go. "Do you have scones?" I asked, on a whim, having not eaten any breakfast yet. "Yes," the salesgirl answered. "We only have one kind though...ginger," she added, as though I might be disappointed.

I must say, Teaism's ginger scone might be the most heavenly thing I've ever tasted. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, with little chunks of real ginger throughout, and suffering none of the dryness that so often seems to afflict this particular type of pastry. It comes with little packets of butter and jam, but trust me...you won't need it.

Teaism sells the scone mix on their website if you're not able to make it to one of their DC locations. I also sleuthed around a bit and found the recipe online for all you DIY kinds out there. So, without further ado, I present you with:

Teaism's Ginger Scones
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in pea size cubes
2 ounces chopped, crystallized or candied ginger
3/4 cup milk
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water to make an egg wash

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. You can mix by hand or with a food processor or mixer, but be careful not to over blend the dry ingredients. If you over-blend, your scones will be tough and chewy. Put the 7 dry ingredients in a bowl and add the cubes of butter. With your fingers, or with 2 knives, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a course cornmeal. Some large pieces of butter should remain, this will make your scones light and fluffy. If you are using a processor, pulse briefly. Stir in the ginger bits. Add the milk and work quickly with a fork to incorporate. The dough should be soft and lightly moist. Again, don't over-mix. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and gently pat down until it stands about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 12 triangles with a dough cutter or a knife and put onto an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle with some sugar. Bake for 12 minutes until golden. Let cool briefly.

Photo via Open Mouth Insert Cookie (her version of Teaism's ginger scones).