A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed a wonderful weekend in the great state of California. Colby and I parted ways--he went off to play with the guys. They climbed a couple of mountains (luckily, Yosemite opened up just in time) and spent some time catching up and refueling their "long distance relationships". The girls and I did, basically, the same thing. Except, instead of climbing mountains we shopped, ate delicious food, and stayed up late talking.
So, obviously, our first stop after the girls picked me up at the airport Thursday morning was Tartine. I was starving and I couldn't wait to get in there and order my favorites. We got a couple of the tartines, some bread pudding, chocolate pudding (my fave), and a couple of morning buns (my other fave). Every time I eat there it takes all I have not to just pack up all my belongings and move to the nearest vacant apartment as close to Tartine as possible.
After we got that important business out of the way, we made our way through the Mission District and popped into all the little shops. We also went to the Dandelion Chocolate and Happy Moose Juice--which makes its home at Range Restaurant during the day. We found all kinds of little treasures and fun spots to check out. One of the most unique had to be the pirate shop we came across.
After a lovely day with lovely weather, we went to The Tipsy Pig for dinner. Despite the fact that we were all mostly vegetarians and The Tipsy Pig, we realized, finds a way to incorporate meat into nearly every dish, it was amazing--and they were very accommodating. I had the best brussell sprouts of my life, and the company was equally amazing.
Friday, we spent most of our time in Palo Alto--which is where our friends Stephanie and Morgan live. It is a great little town full of fun stores and unique restaurants--like Coupa Cafe, where we had breakfast. That evening, we went and got pedicures, followed by dinner at Mayfield, then a quick trip to the airport to pick up the last piece of the puzzle--our friend Heidi.
The next morning, we headed to the Ferry Building for the farmer's market. I love this farmer's market. I have never seen so many different kinds of fresh and unique produce. It makes me want to gather it all up, go home, and cook something beautiful immediately. We ended up getting some mushrooms for breakfast tacos Sunday morning and also tested out some tasty rosemary water, lots of flavored salts and sugars, persimmons, plums, and tomatoes--oh my.
We also, walked through the Ferry Building and went to all the little kiosks and shops in there. Heath Ceramics, Pressed Juicery, and Recchiuti Chocolates--to name a few. We even made time for some tea.
While we were finishing up our time at the Ferry Building we got an exciting call from the boys--they were done earlier than they thought and they were heading back to see us. We frantically changed our dinner reservations from four people to eight and, luckily, they were able to fit us in at 9. We had a few hours to kill, so we walked down The Embarcadero to a place called Coqueta for some pre-dinner cocktails (and churros).
These were some of the best cocktails I have ever had--and easily the best gin and tonic I have ever had. We had such a great time and the boys showed up just in time for one last drink before we rushed to get on the train to make it to Zuni Cafe for dinner.
Sunday was our last day with everyone. We lounged around in the morning and made breakfast and chocolate chip cookies to celebrate Colby's birthday and Skyped with our friends that couldn't be there with us. It was just great to have everyone together. Once we got enough motivation, we drove to the Stanford campus and spent our last little bit together lounging on blankets and throwing the football around.
The boys drove Greg and Heidi to the airport and we went got coffee from Philz. I had a Mojito Latte--after hearing about this drink from Stephanie for quite some time now. It lived up to all the hype--it was amazing. Then we went and saw Gravity, and all the relaxed energy inside of my body left. That movie was INTENSE. We went back to the house and made quesadillas, listened to music, and googled lots and lots of poodle pictures.
Monday morning Kara, Colby, and I packed up all of our stuff and flew back home. It was bittersweet. Having time like this with those friends that are closer than family is so valuable and treasured and I hate to see it end. But, the memories are priceless and it only encourages us to plan these trips more often.
