Back...again

Well, after ANOTHER long absence, I am recommitting (again) to this blog. I really do love going through my old posts, so even if no one else reads this, keeping an online "journal" of my life is worth it for me. And with that in mind...

I'm sitting in the Dulles airport right now after spending the last few days in DC visiting two of my best friends from Davidson, Alex and Sara. Sara ran the DC Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon and so Alex and I, along with a gaggle of Sara’s other friends from high school, made signs and cheered all morning! Pretty sure our signs worked, since Sara crushed her previous PR and finished in 1:50. Yeah, she ran 13.1 miles almost 40 minutes faster than I have. Such a star!

We spent the rest of Saturday brunching and engaging in debauchery. Friday had been really low key (Sara and Alex both took Friday off of work, so we had lunch at Founding Farmer’s and then walked around the city) and so we had a lot of giggles to release.

Spending weekends with my best friends is such a weird mix of being so utterly happy to be with them and grateful to have them in my life, and feeling so sad that our lives are so far from one another. Twice yearly visits aren’t enough.

If only DC and San Francisco were squished together…

We did decide that when we “grow up,” we all have to buy a beach house together, so at least there's that.

I'm Baaaaaaack!

Dearest readers,

Apologies for my extended absence over the past...FIVE months?! There have been a lot of changes in my little food-loving life, most of which will earn their own posts, but to get you all caught up...

In May, I left my job and so many wonderful friends in Charlotte to return home to California. I'm starting a graduate program in Public Health at Berkeley in just under two weeks from today, and have spent the summer relaxing and unwinding in preparation for this new chapter. Rob and I drove from Charlotte to Santa Barbara in less than 4 days with Tucker in tow. That adventure kicked off a summer of change that I can't believe is coming to an end. Rob transferred to his company's office in SF which made both of our lives a little easier. We have settled into a little home in Oakland (more on that in a future post). My family took an amazing vacation to Turkey, which of course will get its own post.

For now, a couple of thoughts:

Change is hard, but I've found that it's most important to trust yourself when making big decisions that will shake up your world.

I was deciding between graduate programs in all different parts of the country, including one in the city where my best friends live; one just two hours from the life I had built in Charlotte and from where I thought Rob would be living; and one, Berkeley, that promised frequent visits to and from family in California. Over the past five months, I've made a lot of decisions with a lot of help from others, but ultimately, I had to learn to listen to myself and trust that things will work out. The best advice I've received all year is don't look back and regret your choices; instead, move forward knowing you made the best decision you could have at that time.

The last few months have left me feeling like a very lucky girl.

Vegas

I've been absent from blogging for a few weeks now and can't believe it's already March. So far, 2013 is racing by and I can't find the "Pause" button. Here are some photos from an amazing weekend in Las Vegas with Emily and my parents, eating delicious food and seeing some very interesting (sometimes beautiful, sometimes sketchy) sites.

View from the plane - hello, desert

Playin the slots like a champ

Red Rock Canyon hike

Smokey Robinson and some Aussies

Red Rock Canyon

Branzino crusted in sea salt at Milos

  

Carving the fish

Happy birthday, Mom!

Happy (noseless) Emily

The fish is flown in fresh every day

Rock Shrimp at Sushi Samba

Sea bass (wish I had a better picture) and steak with mushroom curry 

Sushiiiii

Tuna tacos and little dumplings with pumpkin

If only the country were smooshed together and I could visit her every weekend. Love you, Em!

Weekend in Atlanta

This weekend, I went to Atlanta for the first time. Rob has training there for ten days which means I got to visit a new city without having to pay for a hotel room! I've wanted to check out Atlanta for a while now and am so glad I finally went. The city is way bigger than I had expected and full of all sorts of people. We had some amazing meals (most notably at 246 in Decatur, Fritti in Innman Park, and Highland Bakery), saw a hilarious improv show at Dad's Garage, and explored the city. I really, really loved everything I saw (and ate) and hope to go back and visit again soon!

Mural in Decatur (there are TONS of murals everywhere!)

Massive salami sandwich and pile of fries at 246

Most amazing bok choy I've ever had, plus two toasts with ricotta and veggies @ 246

Carmelized onion, pancetta and hot pepper pizza + arugula and proscuitto pizza @ Fritti

Corn-cilantro cakes with black beans, fried eggs, and queso fresco @ Highland Bakery (huge portion!)

Fried Chicken Benedict and amazing home fries @ Highland Bakery

A California Thanksgiving

This year's Thanksgiving was one of my all time favorites (I probably say that every year - especially the Watson Skreet Thanksgiving - but it really is the best holiday). On Wednesday afternoon, Rob and I flew to Los Angeles. Because of airline delays (we hate you, US Air), we had to sprint through the parking lot to the Airbus that took us from LAX to Santa Barbara.

After a glorious night of sleep, we woke up at 6:45 thanks to jet lag and headed out for a Turkey Day 5k down to Butterfly Beach. Unfortunately, it was pretty foggy, but the run was a really good way to start the day. I bribed Rob with Coffee Bean so he was a happy little camper.

The rest of the day was spent cooking and waiting for Emily's arrival. She had to work on Thursday and so my grandparents picked her up at 4:30 and then got to Montecito around 6:30. A late Thanksgiving, but we were so happy she was able to make it! Since dinner was actually at dinner time instead of the usual Thanksgiving 3:00 pm "dinner," we grabbed tacos from El Bajio for lunch. El Bajio has some of the best tacos in town and my dad is best buds with the guys who work there. Carnitas on Thanksgiving? Yes please. Back to dinna....we had turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed yams, roasted root veggies, arugula salad with goat cheese and apples, FOUR kinds of stuffing, and corn bread. Lots of wine and champagne. Pretty delicious.

Hanukkah came early this year and my parents gave us treats from their various world travels (scarves and candles and necklaces, oh my). I couldn't resist the gift giving season and got matching pajamas for Emily, Hilary, and Gillian. This was my dream come true. Matching outfits and a photo shoot? Yes please.

The rest of the weekend was obviously lots of fun, too. We saw Skyfall and Silver Linings Playbook, went wine tasting in the Santa Ynez valley, hosted a big brunch and met my parents' friends, went to the beach to see my aunt's open ocean swimming group, watched lots of football, and went to Grauman's Chinese Theater in LA. We mostly ate at home, but Saturday night we went to Plow & Angel at the San Isidro Ranch near my parents' house (where Drew Barrymore had dinner the night after her wedding!) and Monday night, my mom took Rob and me to AOC in LA which was phenomenal. We had such an amazing trip, I miss my family already, and I'm counting down the days until I go home again. 

One of the best parts of going home is looking through all the old pictures. This picture of Emily is definitely my favorite from this trip:

November

Farewell, October. You came and went too quickly. Homecoming, a new juicer, my first trip to NASCAR, a bro-union for the history books, and a week-long visit with my parents -- I'd say you were a pretty good month. 

But November, oh November. 

Rob and I fly out to LA in three weeks and I couldn't be more excited to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I hope that those five days are full of good food, bundled up walks in Santa Barbara, the Second Annual Turkey Bowl, and non-stop silly time with my sisters and Gillian (who is basically my sister). While I don't want to get too excited since a lot stands in the way of me and a delicious turkey dinner (namely grad school applications, ew), I can't help but look forward and count down the days until we're all together again. 

Can't wait to see these monsters soon

Playing Catch-Up

Sorry for the long absence; I'm sure all four of you have really missed reading these posts! I spent the weekend in Winston Salem with Rob and his accounting friends (more fun than that sounds). Meg and Caroline were there, too, so it was definitely a blur of fun. Meg and I cooked dinner for the boys on Friday night (recipe to come later, but it was absolutely amazing) and we went to the Duke-Wake game on Saturday. By "went to" I mean we tailgated for a few hours but never actually went inside the stadium...oops.

Sadly, I had to leave Winston-Salem before noon on Sunday to get back in time for our company BBQ. I hate that weekends go by so quickly! To make myself feel better, I grabbed dinner Sunday night with Brett, Joe, and Stephen (one of the funniest guys I have ever met, hands down) at Cuisine Malaya. Now, I've heard pretty good things about this place but have never been. Food was pretty good, but the service was so uncomfortable. The waiter came to our table probably 15 times during the meal, and then when he brought the check, handed out mints and said: "Clean yo' mouth." It was bizarre. Needless to say, I stayed in last night and filled up on some much needed veggies -- roasted spaghetti squash, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, and a fried egg. Looks kinda nasty, but it was good.