I like to consider myself something of a coffee maven living in caffeine obsessed sf. but really, all it takes is some creative foam art and a mustached barrista and i'm sold. thankfully, erin sends me things like THIS link on the art of specialty coffee, so i can pass off quotes by people who actually know what theyre talking about as my own and keep up the ruse. thanks guys.

when the alarm goes off at 6:30(am), i have two options. grope around my dresser in a sleepy dark haze until I find my phone, dramatically flip over while tucking the covers up under my chin and go back to sleep. OR grope around my dresser in a sleepy dark haze until I find my phone, angrily throw back the covers and wake my ass up in time to squeeze in brazilian butt tone and lift and flat abs before work. i've never been much of a snoozer, but theres always that split second moment. when meetings and love handles and plans dont seem to matter, and sleep just sounds like the best. thing. ever.

thank moses for morning soy lattes. 

sometimes i spend my mondays off NOT watching the presidential inauguration.

sometimes i decide to honor mr. king with brunch, a long walk and reading in my pjs instead. 

erin comes to visit part deux

man, just looking through these photogs again makes my stomach grumble! no wait, thats just the sound of my pant buttons popping off. we literally ate our way across the city - i'm a firm believer in giving visitors the full sf culinary experience, diets be damned! we did manage to balance it out with some epic walking, trekking across the city and hiking through muir woods (sans map). still...might be time to start making moves to break out the food processor for some juicing

ANYWAY.  in conclusion :

carbo loading at tartine. nothing beats a tartine frangipane (also-must remember to pick up oversized mugs for my apartment! heavenly!) / redwood love / i dont know if it was the sickness, exhaustion or it really WAS the best, but that grilled cheese and soup was DAMN good / surprise visit to smitten. back to the basics with a simple tcho chocolate scoop / brunching at nopa - we are a city of brunchers

oh hey, remember me?

well, i'm back from the dead. after 9+ days of sickness, i've upgraded from walking dead to almost fully functional! this cold/flu/plague raging across the country is the worst thing to happen to me since i ran out of harry potter books to read. there are only so many cups of tea, questionable homeopathic remedies and hours of internet streaming a gal can take

meanwhile, between alternating fevers and body chills, erin came to visit from dc! we crammed a full weeks worth of adventures into 5 action packed days, dropping in to all my old favs and checking out a few new ones. i even borrowed my parents car for some out of the way sightseeing (and remembered much i dislike driving - and *parallel* parking - in the city). i love playing host, especially when good friends come to town. thankfully sf has an endless supply to things to see/taste/do - all the more reason to come back - err transfertothewestcoastbureauandmoveoutherewithme

and because i'm loooong overdue on some updates, the first in a set of mega-photo-posts:

west coast best cost / ferry building lunch...erin's first forray into sf coast cuisine (obviously blue bottle was involved) / reunited to kick off the 3rd season of downtown abbey together! mandatory tea, pastries, and cat / did i mention it was FREEZING all week? but never too cold for a quick dip at ocean beach / doin our tourist thang by the golden gate bridge / catching up at new neighborhood restaurant finds / treated ourselves to brunch at chez panisse / one of many, many coffee stops. when in rome... / hipster spotting on valencia / bundled / big bros bday celebration / nomming on some cheeseboard goodies