Todd, Grace and I had one of those glorious San Francisco weekends that makes you fall in love with San Francisco all over again. I think the unseasonably sunny weather contributed to our good spirits.
Friday night we headed to Dolores Park Cafe to hear our friend Meghan Baker sing. It has been
a long time since we saw Meghan perform; I think it was April 2007! She is a wonderful singer-songwriter, and Grace sure enjoyed her voice. She even sang a lullaby for Grace. Funny, the only time Grace let out a cry was during the lullaby (I think it was starting to put her to sleep) which made the audience laugh. Grace was so happy to be up past her bedtime. I was excited to see that they served Roshambo, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" Chardonnay- which we love. It is a great winery that Alli and Brandon turned us on to and they make some fun and interesting wines.
We ended the night by getting Birite ice cream (
http://biritecreamery.com/) from across the street (there was a long line even at 9:00!). Todd had snickerdoodle and cookies and cream and I tasted coffee toffee and malted vanilla peanut brittle. The snickerdoodle ice cream had pieces of snickerdoodle cookies in it and was flavored with fresh cinnamon- it was really like heaven in your mouth. The coffee toffee ice cream tasted like fresh brewed coffee; so rich and intense (the best coffee ice cream I have had by far)
Saturday was the PERFECT day. After messing around with Grace (who was NOT a happy baby) for an hour trying to figure out a new way to carry her in the sling, we headed to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market.
I did end up figuring out that the sling is a bit more comfortable when you pull the ring closer to your shoulder, but it still worked nicely and she fell asleep in it.
Yes, the Ferry Building Farmer's Market is always crowded and pricey, but we still love it. I enjoy to sampling the delicious fruits, vegetables, cheeses and other delicacies, and it is one of my favorite places to people and dog watch. It was a sunny day, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. We bought Stinging Nettles (which I have had in a restaurant, but have never seen before) and fresh (not frozen) Walnut Gorgonzola Herb Pasta Ravioli. Stinging Nettles look like a weed with little pokers that sting you when you handle them. I am not sure who decided that it would be good to eat them, but they are super delicious- I would say they kind of taste like spinach, but more pungent.
For lunch we ate at
Taylor's Automatic Refresher, a burger joint in the Ferry Building. It is pricey (like all places in the building), but very yummy. My veggie burger was perfect, served on a soft, grilled egg bun with pickles and sweet sauce.
Along the way home, we say this:
They were letting you throw shoes at Bush for Free. Only in San Francisco!
We then walked to Union Square (always crowded and crazy), and took Muni home. We took another walk through our neighborhood and bought the rest of the food we needed for our dinner. We made the raviolis that we bought, sauteed in browned butter and parsley and served them over a bed of stinging nettles. I had to call Alli to see how to make the nettles. Basically, you boil them for a minute (which magically takes away the stingers) and then cook them like you would cook any green. We also made a delicious roasted beet, arugula, and pistachio salad with shaved parmigiano-reggiano (we got this recipe from Anne Burrell on the Food Network. Great show, by the way). For dessert, I had made a banana bundt cake with walnuts, chocolate chips and coconut (finally getting rid of the ripe bananas that I had stored in the freezer).
Sunday was Rachel's Baby Shower in Palo Alto. Todd spent the day with Grace, while I got to enjoy an afternoon away. It was such a special baby shower, and it was exciting to see Rachel and Jeff open all the gifts for their baby. I cannot wait until their baby is born. Sadly, I did not take any pictures of the occasion. I took a purse for the first time since Grace was born, and left the camera in the diaper bag!
I am grateful for such a nice weekend.
Elizabeth and Grace
Grace refused to take a nap while we were there, but then fell asleep when Darci held her.
Grace's favorite place to be: a small rug. I think she likes to look up at us from below. Take notice of the position of my hands- I hate that I always do that!
Charlie and the Macaw
Carter and I
Todd and Carter
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