A Trip Around the World

The weekend of May 3-5 bore witness to some historical events: The Kentucky Derby, Cinco De Mayo and my Bachelorette Party.  All were as equally classy, trashy and fun as the others. 

After hosting countless bachelorette parties as a group, I was amazed at the creativity, thought and love that went into this weekend.  The theme was centered around the trademark of Martin and my relationship:  red roses, Coors Light and all of our trips around the world.  The first night in town (in Tahoe to be exact), we celebrated all of the trips and distances Martin and I have had to go through in our relationship through a progressive dinner.  We enjoyed weiss wein gespritzers in Switzerland, wine and cheese in France, beer and brats in Germany, shotskies in Italy and an Italian Dinner at home in North Beach, complete with construction hats for the renovations Martin and I had completed.

The second day started just as classy and thoughtful, with brunch at the house and a few games…I embarrassingly lost the game that required I guess the givers of certain presents, but I made up for it by winning the game that questioned how well I knew Martin.  At the end of both games, all girls including myself were equally inebriated.   We had some down time before dinner which resulted in a dancing aerobics lesson from Neff and McKane, a quick visit to the neighbors for more ice and an introduction to ourselves in ten years.  

With one car load ready to go to dinner, a few of us went to Sunnyside for one more drink before dinner while the rest of the girls got ready.  In hindsight, it was all part of the plan.  I was greeted at dinner with a table full of Coors Light bottles with red roses and the girls serenading me with something like this:

Although I am not 100% sure the delivery was as good.

The night continued to a bar where, being the majority of the patrons, we owned the juke box.  And with complete control (much to the chagrin of the bouncer, bartender and five other paying customers) we had our choice of songs to sing along to at the top of our lungs.   Whether intentional or not, we may have sounded somewhat like this:

As a side note, we later went home and watched screaming goat videos until we passed out.

The sing along and overall night ended with Dana and me choreographing a dance to our favorite 1980s song “Two of Hearts” by Stacey Q in the bar parking lot before being told it was time to go.

We officially ended the weekend like all good ones prior – with a solid brunch and two pukers… I could have sworn it was a mellow weekend, but looking back, I guess that isn’t quite true.  Thanks ladies for such an amazing weekend!!

One Good Meal

My niece recently proclaimed during dinner of Little Caesars Pizza “this is one good meal”.  My sister was heartbroken, but I can relate, a good meal deserves to be acknowledged whether it is classy or not.  Unfortunately for me, I have had one too many “one good meals” these past few weeks and have officially put myself back on the blueprint cleanse.  Upon reflection, it needed to happen.

The binge began innocently enough on Wednesday, April 24 with a team lunch at Le Mar in San Francisco where I ate two baskets of fried plantains and had to inhale my bacon-wrapped scallops in order to make it to the Giants day-game with my brother on time.  From the game, I flew directly to Vegas and spent two days eating by myself.  Without anyone to judge me, I went to town… I even left people I knew at a bar to go to a restaurant by myself for their beef tartar and foie gras.  

The following Monday was my brother’s birthday and we managed to get reservations at La Folie.  With an introduction to the chef from Cody’s boss, our 5 course meal turned into 11.  And by the time the first plate I had actually ordered arrived (course 6) I was ready for the bill and doggy bag.  I struggled through each course, willing myself to eat the delicious food and not insult the chef. I somehow made it through, however I was so full I couldn’t eat until the next evening.    And to make matters worse, Martin and I had plans on Wednesday night with friends and date night out on Thursday. 

To top off the gluttoness week, this past weekend was my bacholerette party in Tahoe.  And with two pregnant friends in attendance, the focus was on food as much as the alcohol.  We left the mountain on Sunday afternoon and I was in serious pain from the previous two weeks…so much so that I requested a pit stop for Pepto and Tums.  It was time for a reset.

With the wedding 5 weeks away and the cleanse mid-way through, I am feeling less than ready to put on that big white dress…next week, crash courses in Pilates to work off the remainder!

A Trendsetting Family

I have very fond memories of my childhood…and like most, I have those incredibly embarrassing moments that were brought on by the quirkiness of my family.  However, my brother and I were recently talking, and while embarrassing, we realized those moments were just due to being ahead of our time…  In hindsight, I come from a family of trendsetters that, while embarrassing at the time, people would now consider “cool.”  Here are just a few examples: 

Suburban:  Our first real family car (other than the 1955 Nomad) was a bright blue Suburban.   While other kids were getting rides to school and soccer in the quintessential minivan, my parents would pick us up and drop us off in D’Burban.  The Blue Beast lasted a few years and we eventually traded it in for a newer model, this time in silver and with the personalize license plate DBURBAN.    We had that suburban until I graduated from high school and, until I got my old school BMW my senior year, I had the pleasure of driving D’Burban to school.  My favorite memories of me and that car were leaving football games on Friday nights in my cute little cheerleading outfit, hoisting myself up into the front seat and instead of waiting for the parking lot traffic to clear out, me going over the parking curve to the street.  By the time suburbans became “cool” ours had over 100,000 miles and the alignment might have been “off”.

Uggs: Well before Uggs were seen in LA on blond haired girls in cut-off shorts, my dad was rocking them each and every surfing trip.  He had a black pair (and to be fair, they might have been knock-offs) and he lovingly put them on after getting out of the water and wore them for the rest of the day.  Whether we were going to the surf shop, lunch, wherever, it didn’t matter, his feet were warm so fashion be damned.  He was so far ahead of “cool’ that at times I refused to be seen with him in public when he wore them.  Once in college and the trend set in, I broke down and reluctantly bought a pair …I now own two pairs and wear them every ski trip and camping outing.  And they are lovely.

Eco friendly bags:  My mother also had her fair share of embarrassment.  Always eco-friendly and environmentally conscious, she refused to use grocery store bags and instead brought her own reusable ones.  This might not seem crazy since every shop now sells reusable bags and it is a sign of “coolness” to support the environment.  But this habit began back in the early 90’s in the heart of my awkward years and well before those cute reusable bags became available at every major retailer.   Her reusable bags, depending on the day, could consist of home-made floral cloth bags, beach bags, or what felt like at times, duffel bags.  Coming from a town where it felt like status was everything, having my mom pull out those bags at the check-out counter was the equivalent of food stamps to my fifteen year-old self.  In current times, you would be shunned to accept a plastic or paper bag… Once again, well played mom.  You have been working to save the environment all these years and people have finally caught on. 

Hispters:  And finally, it had to come to this.  Yes, my brother is an accidental hipster and has been well before they even had a name.  Since 2004, he has been a chef, with tattoos, wearing the occasional flannel, getting creative with his facial hair, listening to random indie music and living in Oakland.  But to be fair, he is a hipster in style, but not attitude.  Case in point, no self-respecting hipster would be caught dead hanging out with a Marina Girl (aka me) and he does so on frequent occasions when we meet up for dinner or drinks.    Actually on that note:  my family was also at the fore-front of the foodie revolution in the Bay Area, eating at great places such as Chez Panisse (for my sister’s 18^th Birthday) and Saigon Sandwich Shop (for my brother’s graduation from culinary school).

Looking back, I am honored to have had such a cool family, even though the “cool’ factor came years after the embarrassment. 

Why I love Las Vegas

A couple of months ago, I found a two-day training course in Las Vegas that I thought I should attend (aka I needed a boondoggle) and surprisingly, my boss thought so too!  So I spent this past Thursday and Friday in Vegas, learning about Derivatives and Hedging (fascinating stuff) during the day and at night, enjoying the city solo.  With all of my free time to reflect, I was able to boil down my love for Vegas in the following key points.  These might not win everyone over, but here they are:

• It is the only city large enough, loud enough, flashy enough and gaudy enough for me and my big personality: I can laugh as loud as I want without offense;  I can hypothetically wear a gold sequin dress without fear of judgment; I can tell inappropriate stories in public spaces without fear of ease-droppers since there is always something more fascinating or exciting to pay attention to; and even better, I have no fear of public embarrassment since what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…or at least that is what they say.   
• There is no fear of “missing out”.  There is nothing worse than going to a new city, checking it out and having a good trip only to find out after leaving that you missed out on going to the coolest new neighborhood or the next-big restaurant/club/bar/anything.  In Vegas, there is only one neighborhood anyone cares about and it is the strip.  And that next-big restaurant…five open each and every night meaning you can never go wrong.
• The weather:  Coming from San Francisco, need I say more.  There is something so reassuring about knowing it will be 80 degrees at the start and end of each day, and that cute little sundress I put on in the morning will not leave me with hypothermia and desires for a down coat come sundown.   It might not be for me year round, but for a quick vacation, that heat is amazing. 
• It is a city for all types of travelers: With all of the conferences and conventions, the city is designed for single business travelers as much as for the big parties.  Unlike other cities, where the one person eating alone at the bar is looked upon as the social pariah, Vegas is the perfect spot to eat a great meal at a bar alone and potentially meet some new friends:  in two nights I met an Aussie, New Yorker and three locals who were a wealth of knowledge about the city and full of endless stories.

Unfortunately for me, as strong as my love is for Vegas, Martin’s dislike is just as matched, so who knows when I will get back…hopefully soon!