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

so much ye old fun to be had

 oh the dickens christmas fair. the most magical place on earth. just a few of my favorites from the day. (ok, more than a few)(but this is the edited down version). sure i appreciate indoor plumbing, womens equality and modern medicine, but give me ales in metal tankards, hoop skirts, and victorian london any day!

erin, this event has our name written ALL OVER IT. 2013! *and they let you try on costumes and not have to pretend you are going to buy it

 
so proud of my darlene for her incredible kathak dance performance!!
officially inspired to start dancing again (and not just in my living room)

and then there were decorations

oh the holidays. but more importantly, the DECORATIONS! the TREES! mariah carey and nat king cole on repeat! we threw together a mini decorating party with spiked egg nog, xmas tunes and our favorite yule log youtube channel. a few hours of decorating later and our tree is dressed to the nines in ribbon, borrowed ornaments and even a few homemade ornaments (i've been getting ruuulll crafty)

meanwhile, my room is a gift/craft explosion. can't wait to wrap it all up and stick them under the tree!

where are my crackerjacks??

 

so i'm not big on the whole sports scene. i'm not a casually switch on espn for a little light viewing/foam finger stashed in my closet kind of gal. i did however decide it was high time to visit at&t ballpark if im ever to consider myself a true san franciscan. (people here love their giants. like, LOVE. full on open-mouthed gapes when i told people i didnt watch 'our boys' win the world series this year). it just so happened my first foray into bay area baseball wasn't for an actual sporting event, but a ridiculously large and fabulous holiday party.  i don't know if sitting through an actual game can really live up to having free rein of the stadium or making smores on the field (or anywhere???), but i think i owe it to all those die hard giants fans out there to give it a try.

currently listening to...

 

where did november go? where did movember go? (keeping the spirit alive with some photobooth shenanigans) kicking off the official holiday season - and 3 week countdown till xmas - with the hayes valley block party. an evening of hot spiked cider, milk & cookies, DJs, beer gardens, after hours shopping and racking up some new gift ideas. let the holiday crafting begin!