Gettin' Blotto at Del Dotto

We headed up to Sonoma for the weekend to check out where our friend Clayton has been living for the last 4 months as he remodeled a condo just off Sonoma square. We headed down on Friday after work (roadies in tow for the 45-minute drive) and kicked off cocktail hour as soon as we arrived. Not much more to commemorate Friday except to say that Dave cut himself off that night....never in 11 years have I seen Dave cut himself off, but he left a full soldier standing at the last bar...enough was enough.

Don't be concerned though - we all knew we had a big day on Saturday. We started with Chef Brooklyn (speaking in the third person here) made La Jolla's famous "Coast Toast" from Brockton Villa (quite possibly the only dish I know how to make...for any meal).


Killin' the Coast Toast French Toast

We then headed over to Napa (basically parallel to Sonoma...about 20 miles east) and went to the new Oxbow Public Market, which was nothing short of adorable! It was developed based on the Ferry Building in San Fran (where the farmer's market is located every Thursday and Saturday) and we recently read about it in Daily Candy and The Thrillist (two of my fave e-newsletters). We enjoyed a flight of wines at a wine bar, then took off for The Main Event of the weekend...a wine tasting at Del Dotto.


Pre-Party Wine Tasting at Oxbow Public Market in Napa


The Caves at Del Dotto

This vineyard and winery has a different spin on wine tasting. Most wineries invite you to their "tasting room" which is more or less a bar space where you can be served a variety of wines from a list. Each is poured into a wine glass and the tasting is either complimentary or up to $10 (more or less). At Del Dotto, we had a private tour for the six of us that lasted about 1 1/2 hours and took us through the Del Dotto Caves for barrel tastings. If you haven't done a barrel tasting before, it's really quite cool. The wine guide uses a "wine thief", which is a device that allows you to pull out a relatively small amount of wine, directly from a wine barrel, that you can then transfer (in our case, into a glass).


Wine Thief...Yes, it looks like what you think it looks like


One of the dozens of barrels from which we tasted...


Group with Guide Thierry After Del Dotto Tour

The price of this luxurious private tour? It's pretty steep...$40/person! With six of us, that is $240 for the tour (yes, that BC degree sure is handy), but we still thought it was worth it for the experience. It's so different than any other wine tasting I've done - full of ambiance, education, delicious wines and a fantastic, fun tour guide!

At the end, Dave and I grabbed a quick photo in front of the caves. I am reminded again (and again, and again) how grateful I am for friends and how much I enjoy the love and laughter of my hubby....


Love of my life...

After Del Dotto, we went to Honig and had the luxury of a private tasting room. Honig is also in Napa and if you are in the area, it is a must to call ahead for a tasting reservation. Not to be a total snob here, but their Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc is absolutely delicious - it tastes like you are drinking delicious honey - SO GOOD!


Honig Private Tasting Room

Finally, I think this next photo says it all for the feeling of the weekend. Here is Clayton after Honig...


We (of course!) have a few more pics posted here...

"It's My Party and I'll (Rock Out) if I Want To!"

So my big 3-0 is coming up in March and we've decided to host a little shindig here in our 750 square foot lap of luxury!

We sent out good ol' fashioned PRINT invitations (gasp!) that had a theme of merging two ages of 40 and 20, in order to celebrate my 30th. We're having a "40-year-old" cocktail party here at our place first, then heading to a club for a "20-year-old" dance party. Dave created the invitation and the website (man, does it pay to have a husband that's a graphic designer AND website designer!). I'm not sharing the invite b/c it's a little "risque" for my family-friendly blog, but just email me if you want to check it out and I'll send it over. It's pretty clever if I do say so myself (and I guess I can since it was Dave to create it - not me!).

Feel free to RSVP too! Here is the full website.

The Best Day of 2008 (so far!)

On Sunday morning (post 8:45pm bedtime after the wine competition), our friend Clayton knocked on our bedroom door at 6:30am, asking if I wanted to go for a run. First of all, it was 6:30am. Even if we DID go to bed before the blue-hairs, 6:30am is still EARLY (and yes, I realize I'm getting no sympathy from the parents of the group!). Alas, I rolled out of bed, we picked up Valerie, and headed out for another 6-miler! The day was another gorgeous one. Our route was along the water, past Fisherman's Wharf, to the Ferry Building and back through a gorgeous Fort Mason park. It reminded me again how much I love, love, love this city and how grateful I am to live here.

As if the day could get any better, we then showered and met Dave for breakfast. We were discussing, as a group, what we might do today. With an 80% chance of us sitting our butts on the couch for the next 12 hours, Clayton and Valerie both motivated us to take a short drive north of SF to Tomales Bay. We specifically wanted to check out the famous oysters of the area and hopefully stop by our favorite cheese manufacturer - Cowgirl Creamery. The day was another jaw-dropping California sunshine day and I felt like all of our cheeks were going to be frozen because we were literally smiling all day long.

We started at a place called Nick's Cove, which is famous for their restaurant as well as the cabins they rent out to visitors. We had bloody mary's and split a bottle of champagne before asking the bartender where to go for the real-deal oysters.


Bloody Mary's at Nick's Cove




Dave, Valerie, Clayton and Me on Nick's Pier


View of Tomales Bay from the back of Nick's

The bartender smiled and sent us about 4 miles up the road to The Marshall Store, where they sell fantastic oysters for a great price ($8 for a 1/2 dozen). They were DELICIOUS! It's road-side dining and more-or-less, BYOB. They sell beer and champagne, but it's really limited and we saw that people brought coolers with them and just had a mini picnic on the side of the road.


The Marshall Store




Slurpin' Up BBQ Oysters - Yum!





After our oyster extravaganza, we headed to Cowgirl Creamery where we tasted several types of cheeses that are "change your life" cheeses. Absolutely fantastic. I was amazed at how knowledgeable the staff was about every single cheese, including where it's from, how it's made and how to keep it.


Cowgirl Creamery


Fantastic Tastings at Cowgirl Creamery





The best part of the day was that there was no real plan (this coming from a girl who likes to make an itinerary for every single life event). We didn't have a major agenda, just took our time and did whatever we felt like. With the gorgeous weather, the amazing scenery and the great friends, we definitely had a day to remember....

More pictures can be found here.

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition 2008

We had a fantastic weekend. No other way to describe it than absolutely fantastic. On Saturday, I started with a 6-mile run with Valerie. I can't even believe I am running 6 miles now, but there we go - that was my 3rd time completing a 6-mile route (did 2 the weekend prior as well) and they are getting easier (just don't ask me to confirm that they're "easier" when we're on mile 4 and I am puffing so loudly I can hardly breathe!).

Our friend Clayton came into town from Sonoma and we, along with Chris, Valerie, Jen, Alex and a few other people, headed to the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, which could easily be renamed, "San Francisco Finds Excuse #4,582 for Day Drinking". Fortunately for us, it is located at Fort Mason, a giant facility just 3 blocks away from us, looking over the San Francisco Bay. The tasting started at 2:00pm and by 3:00pm, we were giggling like schoolgirls (and yes, I'm including Dave, Clayton, Chris and Alex in that generalization). We tasted and tasted and tasted a huge variety of different types of wines, grabbing cards or brochures to remind ourselves of the ones we like the most (as the taste buds waned, we tended to pick up more and more cards!).


Dave, Clayton, Valerie, Chris and me at the beginning of the tasting


Valerie, Jen and Me, still sober


Dave Tasting the Goods


Dave told Alex to "crouch down" so the rest of us (not-so-sober and clear-headed) decided Dave meant for all of us to crouch down....seemed like a smart idea at the time


Jen and Me (with Clayton peeking through)


Dave, Valerie and Clayton just before we departed (physically and mentally)

Here is a quick video to give the overview of what it was like in the wine tasting itself - it was a madhouse!


We had a fabulous time, then decided to follow the wine tasting with dinner at a local steakhouse called Izzy's. After all was said and done, we were in bed by 8:45pm!!!!! That is setting records, even for MY early-bird self.








Somehow, Clayton has brought Donuts back as a staple in our lives...NOT a good thing!

We had such a great time, especially since everything was in walking distance from all of our apartments. The sun was shining over the Bay, the weather was wonderful at 65-70 degrees, and we were with fantastic friends. We couldn't ask for anything more!

Many, many more pictures can be found here!

Improv Everywhere - Hilarious

Dave showed me this last week and it's pretty hilarious.



It reminds me of when we first moved to SF and Dave sent me a link to a website for a group of people who do these types of things...in that instance, they were all meeting in the W Hotel lobby, and at exactly 7:02pm, they were to turn and hug the person next to them (who is, in essence, a stranger to them in real life) and act as if they hadn't seen each other in 20 years. So it was an entire hotel lobby full of 100+ people, all sitting there, doing nothing...then at exactly 7:02, they all start hugging and exclaiming how great it is to see the person next to them (none of them actually know each other, but they are all part of "the group"). At the time, I rolled by eyes - only in San Francisco, right? - but now I find it SO FUNNY!!!!

For more videos, check out ImprovEverywhere.

"When the Cat is Away...the Mice will Play..."

Okay, so it's "mouse" because it's just me, and "play" is used slightly liberally. Dave is in CT for 5 days visiting his family and getting some nice QT with them. I, on the other hand, am enjoying my bachelorette pad by making sure that Oprah is on somewhere in the apartment 24-hours a day, and just last night I: caught up on last season's finale of ANTM (America's Next Top Model), watched Cashmere Mafia (LOVE that show) and saw the pilot of Lipstick Jungle (which sucked...don't even bother to DVR/Tivo it).

Dave, on the other hand, has given me two updates to far.
First update: Via text, in regard to his 77-year-old Nana:
Dave: "Just talking to nana about Alden shell cordovan [Dave's dream shoes]. I said they were about $600 but they'll last me forever because the leather is special -- from a horse's ass. She goes, 'I think the people that buy those are the horse's ass!'"

Picture of Nana and Grandpa Bryand from last summer in CT

Ahh, I love this woman. She is absolutely CLASSIC "nana" material...never holds back and always says what is on her mind. Go, Nana, Go!

Second Update: The other fun tidbit was an email I received from Dave's MOM at almost 11pm last night her time. It simply said, "Is it true Asian balls are very small??????". Y'all, I am not even KIDDING about this. I should post a screenshot because nobody would possibly believe it - yes, this is my MOTHER-IN-LAW!

I had NO idea what in the world she may be referring to...not even a clue. So I immedialy forwarded it to Dave, who responded with, "Forgot to warn you on that one! We were talking about the Asian dude that grabbed your boob and how you grabbed his balls. Love you!!" What might Dave be referring to? Well, we went out on the town on Saturday night and tore it up on the dance floor (post to follow). Toward the end of the night, this dude (who happened to be Asian) just walks past me and full on GRABS my boob. Now let's remember...I am not what they call "voluptuous" with my 34As, but apparently that didn't stop him. Before I could react, Dave had the guy in a headlock (yes, our sweet, sweet Dave!) and I in turn grabbed the dude's balls with all of my might!!! It was pretty freakin' hilarious and - I must admit - I think Dave was pretty proud of me. Nope, didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize...didn't resolve starvation in Africa....but I did grab a guy's balls as my defense mechanism for him violating my dance space. Ahhh, life is good.

Shoot 'em High, Shoot 'em Low....

I opened up Gmail today to find an amazing post from The Thrillist. If you aren't familiar with The Thrillist, it's kind of a dude's version of Daily Candy...the way GQ is a dude's version of Cosmo. So it's got what's hot going on in the city you live in, but it's HILARIOUS because it doesn't have to be all prim and proper like it's sister publication, Daily Candy (which I also subscribe to and love).

So what was on the docket today? Jackson Arms, San Francisco's answer to a gun range.

Dave and I have been talking about going to a gun range for years now...to try it out and just see what it's like. Finally, I feel like we can find our motivation to go shoot 'em up like we're on The Wire (quite possibly the best show on HBO of all time) since the range is relatively close to us here in SF. It ain't cheap, y'all....I was surprised to add up the costs and for two people to rent 1 lane and 1 gun for an hour, it's around $35. Maybe I'm just a cheapo, but my stereotypical self previously thought that you just showed up at a gun range and then worked out a trade...Budweiser for range time. But no, this is a full-fledged, real-deal business they have going. I'm still wearing my favorite Redneck t-shirt though....

You can take the Girl out of the South but.....