Nine Years And Counting...

Happy Anniversary!

On February 9th, 2010 Samuel and I will celebrate nine years of marriage.  Like all couples we have experienced ups and, yes, even downs, but we are stronger for it and I am just as in love now as I was all those years ago!

If you know us well, 

you will not be surprised that our mini-getaway to the wine country, 

the Napa Valley,

centered around-what else?

Food! 

  

Our first stop was the Oxbow Public Market, the "go-to" spot to pick up fantastic gourmet items like these beauties from Kara's Cupcakes.  

  

 We opted for Organic Three Twins Ice Cream, because if it's organic it's fat-free, right?  Well, several extra fat grams is still cheaper than their $3,333.33 sundae, which is totally worth it if you call ahead for the cellist to perform!  Ha!

  

After some sightseeing and shopping we hit our new favorite restaurant, Neela's!  It's Indian cuisine, which is completely new to me, and I absolutely fell in love with it!

  

 The next day we headed north to St. Helena, California to visit the Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A.), where we had reservations for a cooking demo.

  

 I was in hog heaven and loved every minute of this experience!

  

 We learned how to make Italian Spinach & Ricotta Tortellini Soup with Meatballs.

  The highlight was seeing fresh pasta being made and seeing it stretch from a tiny ball of dough to strands and strands of long, thin, beautiful pasta.

  

You'll have to take my word for it, this soup was delish!  

I'll be sure and post the recipe on my food blog soon!

 

The views from the C.I.A. are stunning, or maybe I'm just biased because of the lovely "scenery"!

  

A moment I'm not proud of:

Plucking a "souvenir", a gorgeous lemon from the garden!

  

At the Greystone Restaurant we sat at the bar and watched the countless dishes being prepared at lightening speed by the talented chefs!

  

We had the good fortune of arriving as they debuted a stunning dessert sampler complete with a Lemon Curd Tart, Vanilla Panna Cotta, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream in an Almond Lace Cone, a Dried Fruit Tart, and...

...a decadent Chocolate Mousse covered in Dark Chocolate Ganache with an edible gold leaf!

  

 As you can imagine...

  

...we loved every bite!

  

 To round out the afternoon we stopped at the Castello de Amarosa, a stunning 13th century castle boasting, of all things, a torture chamber!

Be forewarned, the tours are pricey! 

 We opted to tour the open area on the first level instead.

  

Before heading home, we stopped at one final destination: 

V. Sattui Winery.

They have the most amazing deli and fine foods shop.  After sampling freshly made dark chocolate, artichoke & lemon cream cheese, and honey-dijon dip, we opted for the fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella pannini, gnocchi in a velvety tomato sauce, and an assortment of olives, fresh mozzarella, and sun-dried tomatoes.

It was heaven on a plate, and the company was 4-star as well.  

I love my sweetheart, and it wasn't quite nine years ago that we picniced at this same winery.  We were newlyweds then, and I was 7 months pregnant with Isabella.  So much has changed, and yet so much has stayed the same.

I love you sweetheart!

Chubby Thighs!

   

Who says they're bad?

  

Certainly not me!

  

Gabriel,
We love you so!

   

You are joyous to behold and we love that you're apart of our family!

  

You are absolutely beautiful, in every possible way!

  

 All my love,

Mom

The One True Key to Happiness...

...is to labor in the service of others.

 

Samuel and I found that this key element was missing in our home!  We found that too often our children were at odds with one another, and that there prevailed all manner of squabbling, quarreling, and-absolutely worst of all-hoarding!

We knew this could not go on, and so we are trying to follow the example of a family spoken of in President Monson's talk,

"What Have I Done For Someone Today?".

He shares the following:

A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?” The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone. Dr. McConnell calls this exercise his father’s most valuable legacy, for that expectation and those words inspired him and his siblings to help others throughout their lives. As they grew and matured, their motivation for providing service changed to an inner desire to help others.

As we too have begun to ask this question around our table, we have seen a dramatic change.  Are there still squabbles?  Yes!  But with gentle reminders, there IS a greater desire for every member of our family to think less about ourselves, and think a whole lot more about others!

It truly is the key to happiness.

The City that Never Stops Eating

If New York is the city that never sleeps, than I'm convinced that San Francisco is the city that never stops eating.  How can it with the veritable cornucopia of restaurants, stands, and markets representing every cuisine imaginable?

San Francisco is a favorite haunt of ours, and while the kids enjoyed some special time with their grandparents, Samuel and I had the opportunity to explore more of the tasty delicacies this city has to offer.

 

Every time we visit we try to avoid repeating what we've seen or eaten before.  This time, we were determined to ride the Cable Cars, and I was absolutely appalled to see people literally hanging off the side as we went up the crazy hill from the Financial District to Union Square.

 

 

At the Square we went in to all the crazy fancy stores we would never take the kids in.  We got a big kick out of Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton, and couldn't wait to get out of those places where everything is just too, too much!

 

We made dinner reservations at the Fog City Diner on the Embarcadero and loved the upscale classy interior that's totally contrary to the sleek dining car exterior.  All the silly plaques they have posted every where were hilarious!

The one on the coat rack said:

"Not Responsible for Stolen Items or The Style of Ugly Clothes"

The one mounted at our table said:

"Don't look at me."

It was super-chilly outside, so though the Dungeness Crab with Avocado Salad looked SO appealing, I went with the Classic Pot Roast, Root Vegetables, and Crisp Potato Cake, while Samuel went with the Pork Chop.  We were NOT disappointed!

 

After dinner we had planned on seeing a violin concert-FREE-but in the end all we wanted to do was grab some ice cream!  Our goal was to hit the Bi-Rite Creamery for Sam's Sundae which is chocolate ice cream with bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt and whipped cream-sounds crazy-good right?  It was featured on the Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate, but blast the lack of parking and all the people who had the same idea as we did!  We tried for over 30 minutes (that's a long, long time for me!) to park within 2 miles of the place before we gave up and hit Mel's Diner for sundaes!

The Creamery will just go on the to-do list for next time when we take the whole family!

 

 

We struck a great deal on Priceline for the Hyatt Regency.  They went crazy with the Christmas decorations which made for a beautiful sight.

 

Yes, that's a pizza box, and yes we were still eating!  There's something about take-out in a hotel room-it's SO yummy!  And it usually is, except this happened to be the worst pizza on the planet!  Sometimes you take a risk and discover some incredible gems, and other times you take a hit!  Never go to Napoli's!

 

 

We had a incredible view and a super huge balcony.

 

 

The buildings here are absolutely amazing!

 

Our second day we scheduled a visit to the King Tut Museum at the De Young Museum.  After a day of tromping up and down hills my feet needed a break from my flats so Samuel ran back to the car for my...

 

Flip-flops!

 

Happiness is comfortable shoes!

 

My Pharoah!

Ha!

 

The exhibit was amazing and it truly is awe-inspiring to see all these ancient artifacts preserved from so, so long ago.  If you decide to visit too, be sure to buy your tickets at Costco.  Not only is it a better price than you'll find anywhere else, but it also comes with the pricier audio tour. 

 

 

We took the opportunity to explore the De Young Museum and it truly is a fantastic place.  Hands down, our favorites are the beautiful pieces of sculpture.

 

Lunch was spent at a San Francisco icon:  The Swan Oyster Depot!  This place is OLD school (literally it dates back to 1912!) and that's what makes it so charming.  The line is long outside the door, everyone coveting one of the nineteen stools that line a super-duper tiny counter.  The menu features nothing but the freshest of seafood, and the experience is truly like none other!

 

I munched on sourdough bread and watched the gal next to me go to town on three orders of oysters!

 

Our plan was to do the same (with only one order), but we totally chickened out.  When I asked her what they taste like she said their very briny, some are more salty than others, and that oysters are not something you savor and chew, you just kind of bite down once or twice to release the juices and then down the hatch it goes!

Noooo, thank you!

 

This place is a MUST-SEE!  The cash register is ancient (bring cash because there's no ATM or Visa here!), the staff fiddles with a relic of a radio for the local station playing Christmas music, and everyone feels like apart of history, apart of the family.

 

Because our tickets to the De Young Museum permitted us to visit the Legion of Honor free of charge, we could'nt pass that up.  By far this is our favorite art museum, even topping San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.  The grounds are breathtaking-how can you top the Golden Gate Bridge in the background?-and the museum itself is so stately and grand!

 

I need to do this more!  Take more time to really think and ponder.  Life is too easily beset with things that don't matter (like yes, food :),  I want to make every second count!

 

I love Claude Monet!  My grandmother gave me a book when I was just a young girl called, "Linnea in Monet's Garden" and it completely enchanted me!  I would love to visit France, munch on crusty baguettes, and tour the beautiful countryside where he painted!

 

It's hard to believe this is a picture and not a postcard!  Not to say that my photographic abilities are anything to write home about, but seriously, was there ever a picture taken of this bridge that didn't look fantastic?

 

Like I said, we try to visit new places but we can't leave without seeing the best place of all, The Ferry Building Marketplace.  This time we did try something new, The Salumi Cone, at Boccolone.  It's literally a paper cone (think ice cream), that's filled with delicate swirls of thinly sliced cuts of-what else?-salumi, or Italian cured meats!  It was too rich for me, but Samuel was in heaven!

I am so grateful for this time I was able to spend alone with my husband.  One of my favorite lines from

The Family: A Proclamation to the World, reads:

"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

I testify that that is true!