Remembering Paris

I was just browsing through some of my pictures from the trip to Paris a few years ago.  I would love to go back.  Just thought I'd remember here, in a sort of organized way.  Join me on a journey to another place!

Just a few images that I have in my collection that make me smile.  I love the vibrant colors, the spray painted pavement.  The beauty of that city is unlike anything I've ever experienced.  Au revoir, Paris!  Until next time!

xoxo
S.R.W.

Weekend in San Francisco

Hey all,

So I had a really fun trip to San Francisco this last weekend. Drove down with my fella, then stayed with my best girl Emily (you may remember her from my very first post)... we had such a great time!

First, Em and I went to Stowe Lake in Golden Gate Park. We used the paddleboats to float around the lake for about an hour.


Lovely Stowe Lake

 My legs actually got tired from peddling around!  And it was hot as heck out there in the sun... luckily we had put sunscreen on, so only ended up with a few strange patches of sunburn here and there.  All in all, a lovely experience that I would like to repeat as soon as possible! 

I enjoyed a refreshing popcicle after our boating trip.

After our adventure on the water, we took the N Judah train to Embarcadero to see the Ferry Building.  I had never been to this wonderful market, but I will be sure to visit it again.  It was a wonderland of food and fun!  For some food pics, be sure to visit my new foodie blog, Franny Eats.

The next day, Matt joined back up with me and Em, and her fella Joe, and we went to the Cliff House for lunch.  It was so neat out there!  And the history of the place is just amazing.  We've been thinking about the Sutro Baths and Playland ever since. 

The Cliff House

This lovely lady was in the Sutro Bath House in the 1920s

So it was a really fun trip, although a few more days would have been great!  It's pretty neat how I started this blog right before I started hanging out with Matt.  Now I can't imagine my life without him.  He means the world to me, and I am so lucky to have him.  So I'll finish this post with a super cute picture of us. 



Love you handsome!

xoxo
S.R.W.

Franny's Thanksgiving

I write from my grandma's couch, watching South Park episodes while my younger brother mixes a drink from the bar.  It's our last night hanging out before we both have to go home to our normal lives.  These few days have been a welcome reprieve for me.  Another one of those little trips that turns into a "what the hell am I doing with my life" kind of soul-searching.  Maybe more about that later.

So here are a few pictures from the weekend... enjoy!


A really lovely drive through Sonoma County on Wednesday afternoon.



The traffic was epic.  Truly.



I didn't help much with the actual cooking of the meal.




But I did enjoy eating it.  Back to calorie counting starting Monday.  Promise.

It was a great Thanksgiving.  So anyway, more South Park watching and then a few hours of sleep before the eight hour drive to get home.  But I have a feeling a certain someone will be looking forward to seeing me again... and I don't mean my cat.

xoxo
S.R.W.



Arts Alive!

All of my posts seem to be at least a week or two behind... I need to do better with that.  If only I had more time to spend at home alone, on the internet, instead of with my wonderful new boyfriend.  Just kidding! 


Here are two of my favorite pieces...

Gumball machine button baby doll robot sculpture...
failed to get the info on the real title or name of the artist...



mermaid with fishing lure tail... love this!

We went to the Morris Graves Museum of Art first, then down through some of our favorite spots in Old Town.  It was a fun night!  I had a blast... and of course, we finished it off with a visit to our favorite little watering hole, the Shanty!

xoxo
S.R.W.

Halloween Weekend

So much fun!

Halloween was great.  I looooved being Barbie!  The blonde wig was great... I have a feeling I will get more use out of it than I originally anticipated.



Barbie, enjoying a Mad River Brewery Steelhead


Super cute!  I wish I had a better picture of what I was wearing, but unfortunately I was too distracted (by the beverages, and my new guy) to record my costume.  Matt actually took this picture with my phone.  Matt is my handsome wonderful fella.  He bravely went with me to a work party on Saturday, and he was a champ the whole time.  Everyone loved him and gushed about how handsome he is. 

We went out to the Shanty too, Friday night.  I should have had more pictures of my various costumes (angel at work on Friday, top hat and tuxedo shirt Friday night, Barbie Saturday and Sunday) but as I've mentioned, the distractions. 


The pumpkins were very cool.



Love the spider

And there was much revelry and beverage drinking.  Barbie enjoyed beer, but took it up a notch on Halloween night.  Which may or may not have been a good idea, as Halloween was on Sunday, and Barbie had to work on Monday morning at 8 a.m.  I powered through.

So that's all for now, quite a lot of fun.  It's one to remember, glad to share it with you!  I will try to post more often.  I should be able to manage it a little better in the near future, as I settle into a lovely and comfortable new routine.

xoxo
S.R.W.

Barbie Goes Greek

So it's decided... I'm going to be Barbie for Halloween!

1959 Barbie

I got a shiny pink dress to wear... and as I may have mentioned in a previous post, I have the platinum blonde wig already.  So much fun! 

Made a wonderful Greek pizza tonight... fresh dough from WinCo, pesto, mozzerella and feta, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and baby portabella mushrooms.  So good!  I really should have taken a picture of it when it was cooked... didn't happen though!  And I would have leftovers, but I ate 3 pieces and gave the rest to a new... ahem... friend of mine.  Quite enjoying the new fella in my life. 

So anyway, Greek pizza and Barbie.  Quite a fun weekend.  I promise I'll get a pic of my costume.  I'm a little bit excited about it.  And now, off to a new work week!

xoxo
S.R.W.

Too Many Tomatoes?

So, I made the curried eggplant!  I was so very excited to be chopping vegetables as I enjoyed my wine... I believe that enjoying wine is an essential part of the cooking... that and music.  My soundtrack included M.I.A., Snow Patrol, and Deadmau5.

Step 1: pour the chef a glass of wine

My ingredients were wonderful.  Super fresh cherry tomatoes, lovely basmati rice from the bulk food section at the Co-Op, eggplant (which is one of my newfound beloved vegetables) and fresh basil. 


I discovered that the chopping of cherry tomatoes is slightly tedious.

The recipe says to add 2 cups of water, which seemed to make the veggies very soupy, and seemed to dilute the curry a bit too much.  I may have possibly put too many cherry tomatoes in the pan though... not sure. 

So I cooked it as much as I thought I should, didn't want to overdo the veggies... and I plated my first cooking experiment, along with 1/2 a slice of naan and some plain nonfat Greek yogurt, made by my very favorite yougurt company Zoi.  And voila!  My dinner:

So, I am pleased with my dinner making.  Very pleased!  I also have a feeling that it's going to be even better tomorrow, as the spices soak in and make the veggies more flavorful.  And it looks like I'll have a few more days to figure out whether or not I like this stuff... cuz I have quite a supply of leftovers...



Dinner for the rest of the week!  Seriously!

xoxo
S.R.W.