Lifestyle
A couple Sundays ago we had a long overdue get-together with old friends in the CIty. Time with these people feeds my soul like little else. And as day turned to night, we were treated to a truly spectacular October sunset. Afterwards we enjoyed Mexican food and margaritas at Tommy's on Geary.
Panoramic brilliance. It was a prefect day.
Two weekends ago we camped for a night at the top of Mt. Diablo. We took a pretty incredible summit hike and got to enjoy a spectacular sunset, but besides that the actual campsite was pretty mediocre. I recommend going up there for a hike and a picnic. It you aren't camping there is a $10 vehicle fee and you have to leave before sunset because they close the gates. I am still enjoying the freedom of being able to pick and go. And it's always nice to get some elevation and the new perspective that comes with it.
Looks like we've made it a tradition.
This year we rented a hundred year old house with friends and did a lot of barbecuing, made a couple batches of potato salad, ate our share of ice cream, and spent some time shopping and relaxing at the beach. Sadly, I came down with a cold and didn't start feeling better until the last night we were there, or I would have taken more photos. Jeffery and I stopped in Davenport on the way home, and took a nice little walk up on the cliff. It's a cute little town, but there isn't a lot to it. Inspired by all the beautiful plants where we stayed, we visited at the Half Moon Bay Nursery and bought some more green leafy friends for our home. The cats are still learning not to eat them. Time to plant some cat grass.
A couple weekends ago we drove up to Willits to celebrate Jeffery's ten-year high school reunion. It consisted of a Friday night bar crawl and a Saturday afternoon potluck in the park, both relaxed and interesting, to say the least. The best part was reconnecting with old friends, there are so many good people from Willits.
The real party was Saturday night at our friend Jesse's property where there were so many of my favorite things:
An outdoor kitchen with all of the amenities in a clearing in the woods surrounded by gardens...Barbecued oysters slathered with lemony garlic butter...The lovely Lucy vying for our attention, affection and any meat droppings falling her way...Late night fireside discussion with great friends, so much history between us...Endless music....Stars in the sky, and so many more as the night wore on...Laughter as we tried to find our tents in the dark...
It is the site where his family hosts Dead on the Creek, an intimate music festival each year on the second weekend in August. Bluegrass music, Grateful Dead cover bands and the best local organic food you've ever eaten. Camping, food and libations are all included in the ticket price and there are still some spots available! You can learn more here.
Jeffery has helped with parking the last few years, and I was trying to get in on the kitchen crew, but I was talking to Jesse's dad about my camera and he asked if I'd photograph the festival. So I have that to look forward to in just over a month. This summer is flying by. Soon I will share photos from my road trip to Colorado, and next week we're off to Santa Cruz for three nights with friends. I have some upcoming family shoots scheduled and I'm trying to meet up and shoot a little with some photographers I admire.
It all feels pretty fast paced, but good. I haven't had a chance to venture into the city for too long, but I am ecstatic about the Supreme Court ruling on the unconstitutionality of DOMA and the legalization of gay marriage in California. Happy pride to all my SF and LGBT friends, I love you and I am so happy. Happy to tears over and over again. This is going to be a summer of celebration, I can feel it.
Sunday morning sunrise, we awoke to birds chirping and the sound of the river. "Someone turn off that water." -Jeffery's first words of the day
I haven't visited the Eel River in seven years. Not since high school, when as soon as the weather warms up in May, everyone piles into cars after school and drives the 25 miles towards Covelo. (Or if you're feeling rebellious you ditch after lunch. We only did that once, on Jeffery's 18th birthday, and I ended up serving detention—totally worth it.) But you never forget the mile marker numbers of the good spots.
We had such a prime location, nested on a bed of sand in between a giant rock and the hillside. Perched over one of the deepest parts of the river where the swallows put on a show, swooping and diving for bugs that glowed at sunset. There was so much diversity, in the colors and textures of rock, in the wildflowers and butterflies, in the birdsong. The water was so cold it took your breath away, but it was the only relief from the hot sun and sand underfoot. We did our best to avoid dehydration, slathered on the sunscreen and hiked in eight gallons of water, but the [multiple] 12 packs of beer, and [multiple] bottles of champagne and wine combatted the water and we all had dry lips come Monday.
A weekend in the wilderness made me love my husband even more. He is such a man, gathering load after load of firewood, never complaining, making me laugh, all while looking adorable in a floppy sun hat. While on the river I had a bit of an epiphany about marriage. I am so glad to be in a place in our relationship where we no longer think in terms of "if." If we're going to be happy together, if we'll make enough money, if we'll make good parents. Now we can think in terms of "how." This is how we are going to do the things we want to do. This is how we are going to make each other happy. There's no wondering. We are going to make the life we want and we're going to do it together.
And I have such good friends. Josh and Katie may be the only two people I could spend ten hours in a jam packed car and 40+ hours in the woods with and not want to to hide under a rock. For never having camped in California as adults, we were pretty well prepared. Biodegradable soap and all. We skipped a lot of rocks, grilled steaks in a cast iron directly on the campfire, ate bacon and eggs and had coffee for breakfast, and turkey sandwiches for lunch. Directly across the river are railroad tracks, and I knew that if I got up there I could get the best shot. So with my camera double bagged, Katie and I waded through the rapids and I got the shot (the diptych with the red Indian Paintbrush). All of these images were shot with my fixed 50mm lens. This trip reaffirmed that I need a wider angle lens, so I just ordered this one, and it arrives Tuesday. Just in time for a Grass Valley wedding next weekend with more of our favorite people.
Hello summer. And happy 28th birthday to my darling husband, I love you. Here's to another decade.
Life has been really busy around here with my parents visiting and the launch of my new site. I finally managed to post photos from our Russian Easter celebration. Enjoy!
I think I'm becoming more sentimental with age. We haven't celebrated Russian Easter in about ten years, since my great grandmother Zoya was alive. My memories of it are mostly of the recipes and I realized how important it is to keep those recipes alive. I was so engrossed in the party that I didn't get to take as many photos as I would have liked. But it was a lot of fun. We shared Russian recipes with our mostly non-Russian friends, played a lot of croquet and enjoyed Lee's garden. Susie brought buckets full of roses and though it wasn't as warm as the day before, the weather cooperated and we were able to spend most of the day outdoors. Thank you to all who made it happen, it was so nice seeing friends we don't get to see often enough. Hopefully it won't be another ten years before the next celebration.
Over the weekend, Jeffery and I drove to Mendocino County to celebrate my 25th birthday in Anderson Valley. On the way up Friday night, we stopped in Healdsburg and had dinner at Campo Fina. The restaurant had great ambience with an outdoor pizza oven, bocce ball, and really beautiful landscaping. The staff was super friendly, and the food was pretty good. The meal was mostly small plates, and they didn't have to a cook much, instead it was finished with a lot of of pickled garnishes and arugula. But it was overall a satisfying meal.
We stayed at the Boonville Hotel, which we had heard good things about. It far surpassed our expectations. The staff was amazing, the rooms are beautiful. As soon as we arrived we were upgraded to a suite. And the food...wow. More on that later.
Flowers in every room.
On Saturday morning, (after a breakfast of homemade granola, local strawberries, yogurt and scones), we drove through the redwood trees to the coast, stopping for a trek to the Navarro river.
I finally got a good shot of him. No awkward face.
It was so beautiful inland, and then when we got to the coast it was windy and cold and the water was choppy, but there was still sun and the fog was lifting.
We came back to the valley for lunch and picnicked at the Philo Apple Farm, which pretty much stole my heart.
Next stop: Toulouse Vineyard. We were glad to have just eaten, because they were generous with their pouring. The atmosphere was relaxed and everyone was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. They waived the $5 tasting fee with purchase (some bottles were on sale for as low as $16!). We left very happy with a bottle each of pinot noir and pinot gris, both tasty and affordable.
We parked back at the hotel, and with a frisbee in one hand, ice cream cone in the other, walked to the Anderson Valley Brewing Company Brew House to taste some beers. We tried all the ones we'd never had and Jeff was extremely fond of the Bourbon Barrel Stout, which is aged for three months in Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels.
Arms full of bottles in brown paper bags, we walked back to the hotel for eats.
We dined at Table 128, the hotel's in-house restaurant. It was the best meal of my life.
It started with a bite of shiitake mushroom in puff pastry and a complimentary splash of rosé...Then there was a curried cauliflower soup with savory bread salsa crumbs and romesco sauce drizzled on top...A mixed baby green salad with slices of blood orange, ricotta salata, savory candied pecans and an apple balsamic vinaigrette...Roast duck leg over shiitake, farro grain and black olive topped with a fennel and fava bean tapenade...And lastly, early strawberry and rhubarb shortcake with warm cream sauce and orange caramel.
All of the flavors were so clear and developed. The soup was simultaneously subtle and surprising. I wanted a whole lot more of the salad, and I could have licked my duck plate clean. The textures were spot on, everything was cooked to perfection. And my shortcake came out with a candle on top.
I went to bed feeling filled to the brim, filled with delicious food, with love, beauty, peace, all those cheesy things and awoke Sunday morning to birds chirping. Great weekend. I'd do it all again.
Great friends. Perfect light. Old barns and old trees. Beautiful equipment. Fresh air. Green grass and sunny daffodils. Window shopping. New hat. Cold beers.
We spent 29 hours out of town and it was incredible. Nickel and Nickel is stunning and we learned a lot about winemaking. But I sill prefer beer. And it's particularly nice to have one in a bar with twinkle lights and seating, where you can carry on a conversation and put your feet up. Thank you Josh and Katie for sharing it with us. Here's to many more weekends.
