Costa Rica suggestions

So we're going to Costa Rica in February for a dear dear friend's wedding. Yay! International travel! Very exciting. The wedding is in Manuel Antonio, where I've actually spent a little time before, so during the week before the wedding we'd like to rent a house somewhere else and just relax on the beach as a family.



Our current, very loose plans are to spend that week in Montezuma. Has anyone been there? It's supposed to be a nice little hippie/surf/yoga town that meets all of our requirements. Ie. houses for rent, a beach, an organic cafe and plenty of Imperial beer. Bonus points for hikes to waterfalls close by. And perhaps most importantly, it's only a few hours from San Jose. We're trying to avoid long days in the car, especially because Costa Rican roads aren't the most reliable. From there it's only 3 or so more hours down to Manuel Antonio, which is definitely doable.

So what I'm asking is, do any of your have 1) other recommendations for towns that also meet our criteria and/or 2) if you've been to Montezuma do you have any recs if we do end up staying there? An excellent 2 bedroom house to rent would be an especially good tip. You guys always seem to come up with good advice.

Yosemite and back

So much for posting while we were away. We had no phone service and shoddy internet abilities and to be honest, it was nice not to be stuck on the computer for a week.

We hiked, ate, read, ate, jumped off rocks into the river, played dice, celebrated my grandparents' 60th anniversary, ate some more... you get the picture. I read an entire book (so luxurious to be lost in a good long story), made quinoa burgers and peach pie, and mostly just loved seeing my family and Dashiell's great grandparents get to spend time with him.




















Now we are back, exhausted (oh the irony), and someone has their first little tooth coming in. He won't share it with anyone though. It's his big secret.

dreaming of camping

This photo in the recent Patagonia catalog makes me desperate to plan a camping trip with my children who are older than 4.5 months. The majority of our vacations involved tents and coleman stoves when we were young, and now that I'm the mama I can't wait to take my babies to the dirt too.



It was always so exciting, making pancakes outside in the morning and sitting around the fire at night.

We're contemplating a weekend at El Capitan Canyon this fall. It's sissy camping, but probably all we'll be able to manage this first year of parenthood. Or if we get really adventurous we might try for a night at Sycamore Canyon, up past Malibu, but that might be advanced for our current state.

Most likely the closest we'll get to camping is a week in Yosemite with my family this August. In a house... but a house in Yosemite which surely smells like fallen pine needles and campfire all the same.

To Ojai

We're leaving this afternoon for a long weekend here:



For the wedding of our good friends Becky and Shane, in this amazing barn:



(photo by Joy Marie)

To which I am wearing a DVF bubble dress my mom bought me while I was pregnant. But this time I'm belting it so I don't look like I'm expecting my second. Good times.

I can't wait to have breakfast here:



And take Dashiell swimming for the first time. Any last minutes recs for Ojai? My parents are coming with us to watch the little guy while we're at the wedding. So excited for vacation.

PS. We got a crazy deal on a fancy room through Jetsetter. Less than the wedding rate for a huge room with patio, etc. If you guys don't know Jetsetter, you must check it out.

family weekend at the ace ps

If our child was old enough to enjoy this, we'd be there in two shakes of lamb's tail. But he's 8 weeks old, so I think most of this would be lost on him...



Attention So. Cal families: the Ace Hotel (the most popular hotel on the interwebs) is hosting the Art of Exchange, a retreat at the Ace for kids and families, THIS WEEKEND. Which means two days and nights of interactive workshops, activities, projects, movie night and smores, whilst lounging by the pool in perfectly civilized weather. None of this 64 degrees and windy.

How fun is that? Karen Kimmel is the mistress of ceremonies and will be leading projects like potato printing, mini gardens, dioramas, and knitting... just good old fashioned crafts that kids love to do. And parents get to partake in vodka popsicles, poolside BBQ and the like. I'm seriously hoping they host another one of these in the fall when Dashiell is at least sitting up and I can go make all the crafts while pretending that I'm "helping" him. I so loved craft projects in school. I used to rock a mean diorama back in the day.

Someone please go and enjoy and then report back. Very much longing for a weekend of sunshine in the desert.

Our trip north

A bit late, but sometimes it just feels like too much to go through all the photos and post them. See our honeymoon. Wait you can't see it, because I never posted it. Because I took like 1,000 photos and can't get it together to go through them. BUT honeymoon album is on the pre-baby list so maybe I'll end up posting them before February. I did post some lovely Australian seed pods...

Now on to the trip where we eat our way through the bay area and take pictures of menus to prove it.


First stop, dinner at Full of Life Flatbread for our first anniversary dinner. Man, it was good. And beautiful on the porch with the sun going down.








Then up the coast in the winding dark to Big Sur, where we stayed here (SO CUTE) and ate our wedding cake my mom had be saving in her freezer since last year. She packed in into a cooler for us to take on our trip because she's such a good mom and I have to say, it was pretty darn delicious. Some traditions are kind of cute.




Had breakfast at Big Sur Bakery as planned...





And saw a flock of wild turkeys in the early morning.




Then we drove north on the coast through Carmel and Pacific Grove and stopped in Monterrey.









The jellyfish are clearly the coolest thing at the aquarium.


And made it to San Francisco where we proceeded to eat and walk around the city.



Seriously enormous sandwiches at Tartine. Why is this not a published fact??





Chanterelles and eggs at Boulette's Larder.





And some of their lovely cookies and spices.






As you can see, the taking of photos has started to slow. In Napa I barely took any. But I do have a few to PROVE that we were there.









Ubuntu was completely deliciously amazing. I would consider flying up to Napa for the weekend just to eat there.

The French Laundry, if I'm being honest, was a great experience but I'm not sure it's worth it if you're eating vegetarian. It was delicious, especially the desserts. My god, the desserts. But when the table next to you is eating lobster poached white truffle infused filet mignon, and you're delicately savoring 7 mushrooms (delicious mushrooms to be sure), it's hard not to feel like one menu should perhaps cost less than the other? Now I'm going to culinary hell, but I think honesty is best. And I'd have appreciated reading such a review before we went. So there you have it. I'm glad we went, but we could have also had a lovely new coffee table instead.

I do have to make special note of the butter cookies they pack up and send home with you. OMG. omg. Perhaps the most delicious little morsels I have ever tasted.

Also of note: Solage. It was such a perfect place to stay and relax and do nothing. We swam laps in their huge pool in the morning, took spin class, dipped in their mineral pools, had a spa treatment, and read in the sun. Definitely worth the splurge and they were so so nice.

Kay, that's it. Our trip. It was great and now we're in full on nesting mode.

Will drive north for food

I realized this morning while walking that we're leaving for 10 days in 1 day. There is much to be done before departure. But you don't want to know about any of that stuff. The fun stuff is where we're going and more importantly, where we'll be eating. This was supposed to be our anniversary trip, which it is, but it's also turned into our vacation alone before the baby comes... I believe they call it a babymoon? Or does that come after the baby?

Anyway, we're heading north by car to the bay area, my favorite place to visit in the fall. And we're going to spend the entire time doing things that you can't do with an infant. At least not very easily.

But before any of that happens, we'll be in San Diego for a wedding. Remember Katya's invites? That party is in 1 day. I have some planning to do.



(from flickr)

Then Sunday, once Katya and Andy are happily married, we pack up and head to Big Sur (staying here, yay), possibly making a pit stop at Full of Life Flatbread that Christine so highly recommended. So here's the question... Early dinner at FOL or wait and have dinner in Big Sur when we get there? We're not really sure where to eat in Big Sur, aside from Nepenthe. Which could be good. Big Sur Bakery is closed on Sunday nights (boo), but we'll be having breakfast there in the am. Any suggestions would be appreciated.



(photo by sfgirlbybay)

After Big Sur, we head to San Francisco for a few nights. Where we will visit the following fine dining establishments:

Rose's Cafe on Union Street. We love it here. We happened upon it years ago on a fall trip up North and have been loyal (though infrequent) customers ever since. The food is simple but delicious.

Tartine, obviously.

Boulette's Larder. Again, fairly obvious. I am in love with Boulette's Larder. If one day I have a kitchen like their little restaurant I will be in heaven.

We have one more dinner in SF that we haven't settled on. I have a whole list of places to try, but perhaps one of you knows the inside scoop. We're up for driving over to Berkeley too. I adore Berkeley, though thankfully there isn't a Cal game next weekend or I'd be spending my anniversary at Memorial Stadium.





And then we're off to Napa for the rest of the trip. We splurged on our lodging up there, hoping to really lay about the mineral pool and read and relax. Maybe hit up a mud bath? Must remember to pack an old swim suit. There won't be much wine tasting this trip, sadly, but I'm sure we'll find ways to entertain ourselves all the same. Maybe a few hikes. Our room comes with bikes so we can pedal around the vineyards. If there's something we shouldn't miss, do tell.

We have reservations at Bouchon and Ubuntu. Very excited for both. Crossing our fingers for a French Laundry cancellation. We did get the call for one, but it was at 11 am. This probably makes me an impostor gourmand, but we just couldn't justify (or frankly truly appreciate) the extravagance for lunch. Really, almost breakfast. So I asked to stay on the wait list with hopes of a dinner slot popping up. If it does, yay. If is doesn't, oh well.

The other two nights are open. And we'd love recommendations for those of you who frequent Napa. We might just picnic in our room with spoils from Oakville Grocery and/or Dean & Deluca. But we might want to get out so do share your favorites.

We'll probably have lunch at Auberge du Soleil. We have it on good authority that's not to be missed.

It's lucky I'm on a gradual weight gain program at the moment or this trip would be poison for my thighs. There are major upsides to eating for two.

Now must pack. Very exciting.

Long weekend, mammoth

We spent a long weekend in the Sierras last weekend... Mammoth Lakes. My parents have a house there and we spend lots of vacation time skiing/snowboarding and lounging by the fire in the winter and hiking and lounging on the deck in the summer. It's a good set up for all seasons.

I also managed to take approximately 6 pictures the entire weekend, all of which pretty much sucked, but I'm posting a few anyway. Because I do love Mammoth and it is really beautiful even though I don't have the photo evidence to prove it.



We hiked to breakfast one morning and it seems the only pictures I took were of a burned out forrest from a fire in the early 90s. I do rather love the teeny trees finally making their come back around the old, charred trunks.



And I was pretty excited about this little piece of stonework on the side of the vintage diner in Red's Meadow.

I spent the rest of the weekend napping, reading, cooking (a little), and generally resting. The longer, higher elevation hikes have the absolutely breathtaking scenery but we opted to stay closer to home this time around. Some of us weren't totally up for the 20 mile day hikes of previous summers. Next summer for sure.

Glen Oaks, Big Sur

We're planning a lil' trip at the end of October to celebrate our first married anniversary, among other things. We almost chose Hawaii. Kauai actually. In fact we still have reservations there in case we change our mind YET AGAIN. But at this point I think we've made up our mind. We're heading north for one of our very favorite fall trips. There's something magical about the Bay Area in October, isn't there? Maybe it's all the good food and golden light, but whatever it is moves me practically to tears when I imagine all the things we love up there.

First stop on said trip is Big Sur. We have a very important wedding to attend in San Diego the day before we take off, so we decided to cut the drive a little short and stay the night on the coast. Mostly because I NEED to have breakfast at Big Sur Bakery. Actually I wanted to have dinner there but they are selfish and insist on closing the restaurant on Sunday night. We will SURVIVE on morning pastry, I suppose.

But the point of this post is that I found the most perfect little place to stay for the night. Glen Oaks. yesssss. I had all but resigned myself to a spider crusted, rotting pine cabin thing on the highway (which would have been fine, considering we are just stopping over for the night), until I found this little gem today.









Cute, no? Kind of modern-ish with rustic Pendleton blankets and fire pits and beanie-wearing. I'm super excited. And it's pretty close in price to the spidery cabins with no design details. I'll always pay more for a little attention to the decors.

I was also pretty fired up about Treebones Resort and staying in a yurt on the cliff above the ocean, maybe would have even preferred it, but they have a two night minimum. Lame. On Sunday even. I mean really.

More on the vacation later. I just had to share this bit today. After I confirmed our reservation of course. In case a whole horde of you were also planning to stay in Big Sur that same night. I have to protect my vacation interests. You understand.

more preparation

But not for the party. This is really important preparation and it involves a new purchase of the skirted sort.



See we're going to Nantucket for 4th of July weekend. Which is very very exciting for someone from the other coast. I've never been and it seems like if you were to go, 4th of July weekend would be like the jackpot for absorbing the Nantucket vibe. Or not, but I'm going to get excited about it anyway.

I'm fairly certain that no one would expect me to go on this little trip without a new swimsuit at the very least. And it would need to be a special swimsuit. One that feels old-timey? Not a neon string bikini, (which I've noticed is making a comeback). I found the one I want. Actually, it's more like a desperate need.



SKIRT!!!!! I tried it on a few weekends ago but I've been resisting the purchase. However, I keep visiting it online which I think tells me that I really do want it and probably in fact deserve it for practicing such good delay of gratification tactics.

It is also nice for those of us who may be feeling slightly less svelte than 7 months ago at the peak of our fitness... which would be our wedding. We are now old and married and need something to cover our thighs. Anyone with me?

Buri Suit from Anthro

Nantucket pic from flickr.

those hens

To illustrate how in over our heads we are, I will start with where we got our hens. I assumed that we'd drive east on the 10 for an hour or so to Riverside, where we'd find some nice person who was also raising chickens and wanted to give us a few for our own backyard project. There WERE a lot of posts for chickens on craigslist a few months ago. Well, it's May and apparently chicken giving slows down after the spring rush. We called a bunch of people, but no one called us back, and when I told Brock this probably meant we'd have to order day old chicks and raise them in the kitchen as babies, he grabbed his computer and gave google a run for it's money.

EVENTUALLY, he found a central coast poultry resource listing farms that sell meat, eggs, chicks, and hens. Central coast. people. That is almost 4 hours north on the 101 and closer to SF than LA. At this point we were willing to go anywhere with a phone line and someone on the other end. So when Zsuzsa (think Zsa Zsa Gabor but with different vowels) answered the phone and said we could come up the next day, we committed on the spot. At this point it's Saturday evening at 6pm.

Brock in his infinite wisdom and sometimes surprising spontaneity suggested we pack a bag, find a hotel, and get the drive started. Good idea, husband! We stayed in Montecito on Saturday night and enjoyed a number of dirty martinis with truffle cheese stuffed olives at the Biltmore bar.

And then Sunday we headed up the coast to Cayucos, which is an absolutely beautiful drive, and ended up here:





We filled 2 boxes with hens, loaded them into the back of the car and that was that. 5 hours later (must account for Sunday evening traffic) we were back at home with a bevy of feathery friends in the Eglu.

And these:



I think they are kind of bummed that they have to be in the coop all day while we're at work. We really want to let them out to scratch around, but apparently you have to wait a week or so before you let them be free range, lest they fly over the fence and forget where their home is. Now wishing we had started with babies so they don't know any different. Anyone with a huge coop want a few more chickens?

One of them, the white one, is LOUD.