Ocean and Peony

a ballet birthday

2011-12-20T03:46:00.000-08:00

Kaia asked for a ballerina birthday. We got to invite our closest little buddies to dance with Kaia for the day. It was super sweet and uber cute! Thank you to all our friends that came out and for Kaia's gifts.

pretty days in pt reyes

2011-12-20T03:43:00.001-08:00

first haircut

2011-12-20T03:39:00.000-08:00

Kaia complained about her "baby" hair and wanted to get it cut. She went from a "wild child" look to a "Madeline in Paris."

thanks for the giving of food

2011-12-20T03:31:00.001-08:00

halloween at the graveyard

2011-12-20T03:29:00.000-08:00

Kaia and Ripley spent another Halloween together at Piedmont. I love this tradition!

at the farm

2011-12-20T03:26:00.000-08:00

These posts are all late. Sorry! I have been swamped at work and traveling. Due to my recent jet lag from Europe, I am finally able to post! We went to the farm again to pick our Autumn pumpkin.

kaia miette's first day of school

2011-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Kaia's first day was yesterday. She was so happy being at school, she didn't want to come home! I had to bribe her with a milkshake!

explosions in the woods

2011-09-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

We got to see Explosions in the Sky at the Henry Miller. Another magical night!

the buzz

2011-09-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

Kaia and I got to check out John Russo's honey bees making lavendar honey in Carmel. I love this guy! We bought some yummy honey that I will be using in recipes soon.

hwy one vacay

2011-09-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been a couple of months, but hey! I was dealing with gallbladder surgery and I spared you from pictures of my gallbladder and stones. I am feeling much better and hoping to have a healthier year moving forward. We recently camped at Henry Cowell State Park, stayed at Carmel Valley Ranch, and then down to Big Sur at The Glen Oaks Motel. Here's a few pictures of Kaia enjoying her last summer before school.

stein collection

2011-06-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

We went to see the Stein Collection at the SFMOMA. Kaia wasn't into Picasso.

not feeling well

2011-06-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is Kaia, sick at the Farmer's market. We went home early.

But, she grabbed these macarons from TellTale Preserves.

a day with asha

2011-06-01T10:57:00.001-07:00

Kaia's best girl is Asha. They met at Daycare and they love hanging out with each other. We took them to the Bay Area Discovery Museum.

new camera

2011-05-27T10:04:00.001-07:00

I got a new camera. Testing it on Kaia.

radioactive

2011-05-27T09:46:00.001-07:00

I went to Japan recently. I was worried about the radioactivity, but that didn't stop me from eating tons of yummy stuff!
Green Tea White Chocolate Bagel

Caramel Custard

Shoyu Ramen from Tokyo Ramen Road at the Tokyo Eki

Freshly made doughnuts from Hana's Donut Truck

Fancy Shabu Shabu in Ebisu Tower

Soft Serve Ice Cream at Lalaport, sesame, green tea, and vanilla

I love my friends in Japan! Thank you Manami, Axe, Tomoko, and Ryo for hanging out!

raspberry mousse cake

2011-05-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

I made a raspberry mousse cake a bit ago.

I had to make a chorizo cabbage soup to counterbalance!

transformation of a monster

2011-04-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

farming

2011-04-06T09:13:00.001-07:00

Kaia and I did a girls trip to Eatwell on Sunday. We started out the day with some yummy blood orange juice.
When we got to the farm, we saw Nigel's new house. It's almost done!
We had a long walk through the farm checking out the new crop of fruit, wheat, and grapes!

We took a break for lunch and Kaia chased the chickens.

She was very excited to play with the baby chicks.

dior

2011-04-06T09:10:00.001-07:00

Kaia j'adores Dior.

mother daughter day

2011-04-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

When I get back from a long trip, the first three things I want to do is:
1- hang out with Kaia
2- see the ocean
3- eat some tacos
I got to do all three yesterday. Kaia and I went to Dona Tomas for beer and tacos.

Afterwards we walked over to Scream for some sorbet. We thought of you Ole! Kaia had strawberry and I ate a chocolate mint sorbet sandwich.

Kaia was being silly on the way home.

stylin' kaia

2011-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

thirtyfour years of life

2011-02-23T10:59:00.001-08:00

I celebrated my birthday this year at the wonderful Mankas with Kaia and Jersey. We stayed in the Sweet and Jersey had the chef make dinner for us on our arrival.
We ate braised pork belly with homemade sauasages, kale and parsnips.

Dessert was creme fraiche cheesecake with rum raisins and chocolate brittle.

In the morning we had a trio of West Marin cheeses, honeyed walnuts, and cream biscuits.

In Pt Reyes we saw this that reminded me of Dan McCarthy's art.

Then we met up with Tashen, Suzy, Damon, and Matt at Hog Island.

We took Kaia to see the elephant seals.

Jersey and I jammed all night and the next morning we had apple cake, homemade yogurt and granola for breakfast.

It was a perfect birthday. Thank you for all my birthday wishes.

hamburgers in hamburg?

2011-02-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

Sadly, I didn't eat any hamburgers. BUT! I had a great time with my two favorite Germans, Jonas and Ole.

Ole and I took the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg. On the train, Ole made some business cards and we hired a banana CFO.

Jonas met up with us and we went to The Golden Pudel, a punk rock club near the harbor and danced til 3 in the morning.

We also saw the Cold War Kids, but without Ole. The next morning, the city looked all Miyazakisteampunked.

rain gear kaia

2011-02-17T14:27:00.001-08:00

amsterdam

2011-02-17T09:32:00.001-08:00

B and I went to Amsterdam to work with our friend Lucas.

We had a nice time with his family, his little Maaike is so cute!

On Saturday, Joachim was there and we went on a slow boat ride through the canals. Joachim and Lucas took turns being captain.

I spotted my 4th European Invader!

Thanks Lucas for hosting us!

le jour de l'an

2011-01-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year dearest friends! I am feeling this year to be a very interesting one. I start my new job tomorrow and I will be back to Copenhagen soon. If you are interested, please check out this bike blog, this how we roll in the Copenhagen snow.

thirtyone for suzy

2010-12-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

Suzy's birthday was a Northern California adventure. We started our way Hwy 1 to Hog Island Oyster Company. Then to Osmosis. Then to Harbin Springs. The moon was almost full, the lunar eclipse was around the corner and Mars is in retrograde!

turning two

2010-12-21T08:52:00.001-08:00

My darling Kaia is now two.

hearts in copenhagen

2010-12-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a crazy work trip from Copenhagen. I had long desired to visit there so I was excited to finally get the chance.

I stayed at the lovely Nynne and Joachim's place. The building was built in the 1900's with masonic symbols all inside. It was a pretty cool apartment. There was a park in the back and bikes everywhere.

On the way to work, I saw swans! It's been 10 years since I've seen one and that was in Munich.

My favorite part of town was Christinia. My buddy Joe took me around the lake to check out all the cool little houses. It was a very beautiful snowy night.

One of the best things about Christinia was the sauna. Joachim talked about this sauna since I met him, so I was pretty hyped up to go. People were smoking, kids were running around, everyone was naked, together just chilling. How perfect for me!

I found it very charming that the food you get to go gets plastic sealed.

I was also treated by Joachim to simple but yummy breakfasts. I have never eaten eggs or avocados like this before.

One night I came home late from work to find Nynne making fresh bread.

Everyone had been talking about glogg for months before I got there and Joe finally found a bar that served it. It's a nice warm red wine with raisins and almonds. They also serve it with gingersnaps.

The last night was particularly magical. Joachim and I went to a Twin Peaks party. I was ill prepared, but had a dress I could "sorta" be Audrey Horne in and I added a little mole near my eye. Joachim was the midget. Can you tell?

I am so happy I got to go and hang out with my new friends from Unity. It was a crazy roller coaster of a ride being in Copenhagen with a hundred little stories on the way to the Sunday I left. But I will keep those in my heart. I hope to be there again soon.

chick and bug

2010-11-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is Kaia and Ripley's 2nd Halloween together. They did a weird role reversal. If you recall, last year Kaia was a barnyard animal and Ripley was an insect (cow and bee). This year Kaia was a ladybug and Ripley was a chicken!

austin food trucks

2010-10-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

Even though I had to go to Austin for work, I had fun with my old friends Mike, Jung, and Marc. I stayed at the San Jose, per usual. Mike introduced me to my new favorite beer that we were calling FrankSkanks.
A lot of food trucks have popped up since last I came here. Austin is becoming more and more quirky and I love that!

milan

2010-10-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

I don't have photos of Milan, because our battery ran out at that point. I will say, Milan was my favorite city in Italy. The people, food, and fashions were all up my alley. My favorite place was Bianco Latte. The BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD for gelato. If in Italy, please trek up to Milan and have lunch there. WORTH IT!

cinqe terre

2010-10-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

It was pretty, but I felt it was too touristy to the point that the locals weren't cool about it. But it was nice spending one more day with Dan, Andee, Joe, and Doug. If I ever go back, I am going to do the cliff diving. We got there too late to jump.

bocine

2010-10-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

In the little Tuscano town of Bocine, we had amazing porchetta at the farmer's market.

We had our last dinner there with Jersey's best buds Marc, Mik, and Shawn at a quaint little place that served home cooked food from the owner's mother.

dandee

2010-10-11T15:29:00.001-07:00

Andee and Dan's wedding was really magical. I got tons of photos, but some are too funny to post! We had an amazing time with the Jersey and Philly crew, made new friends, and got crazy. I MEAN CRAZY. Here's a video of how crazy it was getting.

lupinari

2010-10-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to say about Rome. Old stuff, bad graffitti other than the three Space Invaders we saw, and a sprain ankle. We ate well and partied into the night.
We rented a car and got ass-rammed, as I like to put it all the way to Tuscany. I actually quite enjoyed the way Italians drive. Go fast or get out of the way! Andee and Dan's wedding was at the Pellegrino's estate called Tenuta di Lupinari. I'd recommend for you to stay there if you need a romantic vacation. The food and people were fab! They have vineyards and olive groves on the estate.

tidbit

2010-10-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

I want to give you all a play by play of Italy, but I think that's going to take too long at the moment. I gotta prepare for my Austin trip and I might even go to Copenhagen the follow week. So just for now I wanted to show how much fun Andee and Dan's wedding was. These were my shoes halfway through the night!

I promise to give you more stories and pictures soon.

across the street

2010-09-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Across the street from my place are three pretty cool spots, 1,2,3 Go Records, Manifesto , and Sub Rosa Coffee.

Every 3rd Sunday we also get a visit from Jon's Street Eats, a mobile food truck with gourmet chow for cheap eats.

When Jon's truck rolls around, the sidewalk is filled with hoodie hipsters and little kids. Today I had grits n' greens while Jersey and Kaia had biscuits n' gravy.

There's also a free show behind the coffee shop.

I love Temescal.

muntreal

2010-09-13T13:45:00.001-07:00

That's how they want you to pronounce it! Honest! Jung and I had to go to Montreal for a business trip. Although we had boatloads of work to do, we had a great time in this beautiful city.

I walked by this park at night and there was a movie projected onto the wall of the building inside a painted tv. The night was warm, people were out eating dinner and watching a French flic. It was amazing.

The cupcakes here were yummy.

I like the way they do the outside stairs of the houses.

It's almost like we are in NYC again!

I love this coffee cup (hot cocoa in there for me) design from Olive + Gourmando. It's got congruent angled surface to put your hand away from the heat and the spout to sip from prevents spillage.

marche jean talon

2010-09-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

The Jean Talon Market was fab! Jung and I ended up buying a hot baguette and some fresh herbed goat cheese for lunch.

lil mama

2010-09-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

Kaia got a stroller for her baby, Abooboo. But today she wanted to wear her baby, like we did to her. So cute!

shows at the henry miller

2010-08-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

Recently the Crew (the Crew, being Kaia, Jersey, and me) went down for a 3rd anniversary cabin/camping trip to Big Sur. We got to see Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and Black Francis (Pixies) play two day shows at the Henry Miller. It was pretty heartfelt seeing Ben sing on the stage where Jersey and I took our first dance as a couple to "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" three years ago.

figgy

2010-08-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I got greedy and forced my friend Erich to take me to his parent's house in Sonoma. They have a huge fig tree and I wanted free figs to myself! Erich took these great pictures. Thank you Rick and Sandy for letting me climb and pillage your fig tree. I made wonderful cakes with them.

On the way home we saw this teardrop trailer!

like mother...

2010-07-15T15:52:00.001-07:00

I have been swamped with work and got super sick last week. Sorry for not doing more updates. We'll be doing a bunch of fun things soon. Recently I went to the Tool show, thanks to Tommy Kneecap for hooking up the tickets. Justin Chancellor, the bassist, can do no wrong! He also played bass in one of my favorite songs from Isis, "Altered Course."

I love music. I hope Kaia will jam in the family band.

farm camping

2010-06-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we went camping for the first time as a family! Eatwell Farm, where I get my food box from, hosted a garlic harvest and braiding event. We had the best time, I will let the pictures speak for themselves. We came home with a huge garlic braid, potatoes, lavendar, and strawberries that I am proud to say, we pulled, plucked, and picked with our bare hands. If you go on their site, you can see a video on how to braid garlic and a cameo of yours truly.

ladies lunch

2010-06-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Kaia and I spent the day together. We had an early lunch at Boulette's.

Later on she went for a dip in the Temescal Creek!

kaia eighteen months

2010-06-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Kaia will be 1.5 years old this month. She is growing up and we are growing old.

my soule mate

2010-06-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Damon Soule was in town promoting his new book at the SF Moma and his gallery show at Fecal Face. I haven't seen Damon since our trip to Portland and he moved to NYC shortly after that. He stopped by one of my client's event I was hosting at the W.

Then I stopped by his gallery show.

Weirdly enough, my friend Amir was there!

The next day, we celebrated his birthday back at the old house he lived at in SF.

When the tunes came on, Kaia picked up a toy ghetto blaster and started dancing.

We love you Damon! Hope to see you in NYC soon.

ad hoc mother's day two point oh

2010-05-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

Jersey took me up to Ad Hoc for Mother's Day part 2!
On the menu....
Homemade yogurt with seeds and orange peel, irish soda bread topped with honey butter and fruit salad was the first course.

Chicken friend steak and eggs with asparagus and pototes.

Banana tart.

I am so grateful and joyous that I am finally a mother. Thank you Jersey for making it so!

company time

2010-05-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday was spent at the wonderful Green Gulch Zen Center. I did a workshop called Company Time: A Buddhist Retreat for Working People in the Business World. It was a great way to connect with people and talk about issues at work in an open and honest forum.

Also this was a great time for me to reflect and be silent. A lot of the day was spent in meditation and it was wonderful just to sit still for 20 minutes.

We had a great lunch of minnestrone soup, salad, and bread. The vegetables all from the farm at the Zen Center. The bread freshly baked in their bakery before lunch.

I took a long walk to Muir Beach. I adore being out there; the farm then at the beach. This has always been the life for me since my memory was born. People have said, "you would just get bored being in the woods or in a rural setting". It makes me slightly sad that these people don't know me well at all. But, it also makes me reflect that I still have a wall up, built from when I was a teenager that perhaps, I truly don't let people in. All I want in my life is for more silence, more nature, and more simplicity.

Unfortunately, I didn't stay the whole time for the workshop, but I look forward to taking it again. Maybe you'll take it with me? I am going to do the honey harvesting workshop at the end of June.

broken social scene surprise

2010-05-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

I got the new Broken Social Scene album today in the mail and immediately popped it in my computer to dance my ass off. When the DVD tray opened, a silver disc surprise labeled, "Kaia's Birth", popped out. I forgot about this short collection of the little lady's first hours outta the Trish house.

Oh and the album is so good. You should go out and get it. Or go with me to the Portland show.

cute pancakes

2010-05-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Jersey passed this website to me. SUPER CUTE!

flannel? ripped jeans? skull tshirt? check!

2010-05-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

I was originally going to post the video of Kaia playing the ukelele, but for some reason blogger won't upload it. It's been processing for 20 hours now. Here's a still of the video. Jersey has been teaching Kaia how to strum and fret.

foreign rags

2010-05-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

I am cutting back on the amount of magazines and books I buy. 1) to save money 2) to save trees 3) to save space in my house

My favorite two magazines will still be kept on hand. Today, I went to the post office to pick up my copy of Lula, a British girly fashion magazine. I say girly 'cause it's always shot with overblown lights, dreamy, and whimsical stylings. In this issue Kirsten Dunst interviews the creator of Strawberry Shortcake.

My other favorite is Fudge. Another fashion magazine from Japan.

I love the way both these magazines feel, the weight of the paper, the touch of the toothiness, the smell of the press. I also like the contrast of ads for each market. For example Marc Jacobs' near front cover ad in Lula is with the Juergen Teller photos, delicate, simple with a ballerina modeling the clothes. The Fudge ad is for the Marc by Marc Jacobs brand showing crazy colors and patterns with oversize bows in the models' hair. They are both very hard to find, which makes buying them half the fun.

bene gesserit

2010-05-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

Beware of the Gom Jabbar!

mom's day in metal

2010-05-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the godfathers for watching Kaia! I made them basil and rosemary bread. With the rest of the dough I made us some pizza.

The Mastodon show was fun! My favorite was seeing Baroness.

point quiet

2010-04-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

I really like this band. I am a sucker for lapsteels. The music makes me feel like I am going to be living in a trailer park in the middle of no where when I am old.

happy birthday nova!

2010-04-26T17:24:00.001-07:00

My darling flower girl and cousin, Nova had a birthday this weekend. Klo and Steve partied it up at the San Francisco Gynastics Center. Thanks for inviting us. Kaia had a blast!

grand lake farmer's market

2010-04-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

We went to check out the Grand Lake Farmer's Market.

It was pretty cool; a lot bigger than our neighborhood one. My favorite thing was the mini bus of waffles.

I spotted a teardrop trailer. One of these days I going to make my own.

food betas

2010-04-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Video game betas are so common in my life, I forget alpha and beta stages are used in all products. Just recently I got some from Cowgirl Creamery and TCHO.
TCHO is making a milk chocolate bar and I ordered the .2 test. Both bars were utter crap in texture and flavor, so I am going to wait until the 4th or 5th iteration to test again. I am pretty confident they'll make a terrific milk chocolate in the end. Their dark chocolates are amazing and I now use their organic baking chocolates in my desserts.

Cowgirl Creamery is trying to create a hard cheese. Right now it's in semi- hard phase and it's at batch number 32. I think they should stop there. It's mild, with a nice bite at the tip of the tongue and I ate practically the whole thing in just one sitting.

It's pretty cool giving feedback for food in the same way I give feed back to gaming companies. Go out there and try new stuff, you can always say you helped that particular product get that way with your opinions!

beans in brownies?

2010-04-22T22:37:00.001-07:00

I had some adzuki beans, honey, and chocolate sitting around and I decided to make brownies. Yes, it's odd, but using honey instead of sugar and beans instead of flour not only cuts your calories, but it's better for you! Check out my recipe:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter cut in cubes at room temp
2 cups canned adzuki bean
1/2 cup almond meal
1.5 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1 cups honey (I use Star Thistle)
1/2 cup of walnuts roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Melt the chocolate and butter double boiler. When melted, stir the bowl in the middle until the chocolate has mixed well with the butter.

Place the beans, almond meal, the vanilla extract, and a 1/4 cup of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl. I used my stick blender to get it smooth. I am sure a food processor or a blender will work just as well.

In a larger bowl, mix together the walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until light and creamy (I used my Kitchen Aid, but you can use a hand mixer). Add the honey and beat well.
Add the bean mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well. Then add the egg mixture until all blended.

Place in your greased pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Enjoy!

tsukemoto

2010-03-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

If you got some extra cabbage, here's a healthy way to keep it around for later:

-Chop up the cabbage and stick it in a bowl
-Squeeze one lemon
-Dice up some scallions and throw it in there too
-Dash 2 tbs of shoyu or tamari with 2 tsps of sea salt

Bash it around to release juices and shove them in a jar to refrigerate. I love tsukemoto a day later while the cabbage is still crunchy, but you can leave it in there for a month and gets a lot softer.

Oh and here are some cute pictures of Kaia.

damon's kaia

2010-03-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Our lovely friend Damon is a really talented photographer. I am always wowed by the moments he captures of his son, Tashen, on film. He recently sent us pictures of Kaia. Doesn't it look like she's on a movie set! Thank you Damon for sharing these with us. *hearts*

just hello

2010-03-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hi! I made gluten free organic blueberry muffins for Kaia. She likes to eat and rock and roll.

cleanse update

2010-02-14T20:02:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! It's been about 1.5 weeks into the cleanse and what a doozy! Everything was okay, other than the weird cravings for steak and hamburgers, but on Wednesday I hit a toxic shock zone. Late in the afternoon, I felt a bad headache come on and I went to lie down. I couldn't sleep much, all of a sudden my body felt like it was hit by a truck. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to sit, everything was in pain. Thursday, I felt a bit better, but my throat was super sore. Today, I am alive, my throat still hurts, but not as bad as before, my body is recovering. I read on the Community Clean Program website that once the toxins start leaving your body, you get flu like symptoms. Aye de mil! Well, I am 6 pounds lighter and am not craving anything. I want to eat normal food and not do the shakes, but I am not jonesing for a cookie like before. The other thing I noticed, my lunch (the one real food meal I can eat) is much smaller. I make the same amount that I normally do, but I end up only wanting to eat half. I really feel like my mind and body are changing for the best.

sea glass adventure

2010-02-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

I love my friend Suzy, because when we get together, who knows where we'll end up! Case in point this Saturday. We decided to check out Healdsburg with the kids, but we ended up on a treasure chase for Sea Glass Beach!
On the way up Tashen and Kaia were fast asleep.

We had to take a blackberry muffin break at the Flying Goat Coffee.

After a quick lunch at Dry Creek Kitchen, we embarked on a windy road towards Ft. Bragg. Once we left the 101 and passed several Sonoma wineries, we realized our iPhone's GPS had no service. We weren't lost, but had no idea once we got to Hwy 1 where exactly Sea Glass Beach was. We decided to hit Medicino's visitor's center, but the kids and whippets were restless and needed to run on the first beach we came upon. We combed that beach for sea glass anyway!

Suzy found the most of our treasures, but it was a priceless day since we were all together near the sea.

clean

2010-02-05T16:44:00.000-08:00

After dealing with my mom, getting laid off, and starting my freelancing; I have decided it's time to detox, lose weight, and start exercising more. I am doing The Clean Program. In the morning I drink a shake/vitamins, lunch on anything healthy with vitamins and shake/vitamins at night. I started Wednesday at 145lbs. My goal is to get down to 130lbs in March and 120lbs by June. Wish me luck and don't tempt me to eat and drink!

mommers

2010-02-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your love and support through my attempt to help my mom out last weekend. It was a crazy 4 days of not knowing what was going to happen. I will spare everyone the details, but in the end my mom went to Colorado to stay with one of her sisters. She might go to her other sister in New Jersey, but she is safe. I am so happy I am finally getting help with her. It's really put a harsh strain on my life the last fourteen years. Thanks so much Ron for putting up with us in Vegas too. Uzi's for life!

kaia's end of the year adventures

2010-01-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

We went down to our annual Big Sur vacation for Kaia's first birthday. Yes, she has officially gone from baby to toddler.

We went the cheap route this time and stayed at Ripplewood in a cute cabin, although I had a big problem with the linoleum floors.

I love the last persimmons on the tree at the Henry Miller Library.

My cousin Klo and her pack met up with us at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Kaia's mind was blown checking out all the tanks!

Klo also hung out with us at Christmas. The Godfathers showed up to shower Kaia with gifts. Thank you everyone for the great low key Christmas with us!

2009 was a really tough year and now 2010 started badly, but I am positive that things are on the up and up for all of us. I look at Kaia and see the future brightly lit. Babies really do grow up so fast and I missed the whole thing. So, everyone take a deep breath and do this year at a slower pace, relish the days ahead.

little skillet

2009-12-04T11:52:00.001-08:00

Binko and I had lunch at the coolest place in SOMA, Little Skillet.

I have been DYING for a real southern place to open up in SF for YEARS! Although Little Skillet's owners have the southern style BlueJay Cafe and Farmer Brown's. I think LS is much better.

The fried chicken was perfect and a great price, $7.99 for a box o chix, biscuits and a side of your choice.

I love the al fresco dining experience too!

two french styled macaroons

2009-12-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

Kinako and Chocolate rum macaroons were on the menu yesterday. Macaroons are sorta easy but a bit of a pain to make. You gotta make sure your discs are evenly matched and thoroughly dry before putting them in the oven.

My chocolate rums were Parisian style and my kinakos were Nancy style.

When it was all done, they were a bit too crunchy, but I left them for a day to moisten and now they are perfect!

ici on a cold day

2009-12-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

I really want to like this ice cream shop. It's cute and I LOVE their hand rolled, chocolate ladled, flaky, organic cones. I have tried about a dozen of their flavors, from weird to plain and the only one that was ever great was the caramel. It was seriously better than the salted caramel at Bi-Rite. But its rarely served. I got the crunchy peanut butter and the chocolate, the flavors were bland. I also tried the vanilla bean shortbread cookie. The flavor was great, but it was undercooked!

kaia's first walk

2009-11-28T23:16:00.001-08:00

Kaia debut her first walk at Thanksgiving. I caught the second act, as I was surprised she was walking around in the first place!

gobble gobble

2009-11-28T22:56:00.001-08:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at the Godfathers'. I made turtle brownies and truffled butter turkey.

I ordered the Heritage Turkey from Marin Suns Farm. I gotta tell you, it was super moist and I didn't even baste it.

Jimmy and Greg made tons of great sides and a turkey as well.

We all had a great time. We love you Jimmy and Greg!

monday night chicken

2009-11-24T12:05:00.001-08:00

I am loving this new chicken from Soul Food Farms. It's moist and full of lovely chicken flavor. I made it with butternut squash and leeks.

I tried a great brownie recipe from La Maison du Chocolat's cookbook. I love the texture of these brownies, because it's made from mostly almond meal than flour. I substituted the AP flour with whole wheat and they turned out yummers.

arkansas hootenanny

2009-11-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

Kaia and I recently came back from a mother/daughter trip to Arkansas for my brother's wedding. I hadn't been back in four years and I was very excited to see my family.
I got Kaia ready for bed. She needed her rest for her big country trip.

When we got to my dad's, my stepmom brought out the new kitties. Kaia and her cousin, Drue were so excited to see mini cats!

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries, so I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the wedding. Congrats Andy and Kelli on the nuptials and new house. Thanks Gray family for hanging out with your left coast girls.

tarte aux pommes

2009-11-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

I love this technique for French Apple Tart. It doesn't require any blind baking of the tart shell. We used Granny Smith apples for it's nice tart/sour flavor and crisp texture. That holds up pretty well in baking.
First we dry caramelized sugar with vanilla beans.

Then added the chopped apples.

I normally make the tart dough by hand, but today we used the food processor.

Rolled it out in the pan.

Added the caramelized apples.

I made a cute design with the sliced apples, adding a rosette in the middle. I sprinkled generously with sugar and dabs of butter. I didn't add any cinnamon, because it's a French apple tart, but on an American Apple pie, I would!

Viola!

hayes to emb

2009-11-14T20:07:00.001-08:00

Kaia and I did a Hayes Valley to EMB walk today. Jersey went into the city to guitar fight with RockerDave, so we caught a ride in.

Kaia met up with Sophie at DogCrapPark.

On our way to the Ferry Building, we came across a Minamoto Kitchoan on Market Street! I love this Japanese dessert importer. I used to shop at their NYC store.

I got several yummy treats.

We picked up a sausage sandwich for the Jersey pick up at Boccalone. Kaia loved looking at their salty pig parts.

teacake by the earl of gray

2009-11-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Typically on Thursdays I hang out with Jung and Divo. For some reason I thought we were going to hang out and I decided to take Binko's tea cake class to bring cake over. It's more like an apology cake, cause last week I was dismal and not fun to hang out with. But, Jung was super busy today so we made plans to see each other tomorrow. At class, the tea sponge and mousse aux The' with Early Grey. The ganache for the middle layer was kept true to form. I had hoped to add a little bit a rum, but we decided to keep it PG.

We then made caramelized almond crumble.

During our tasting break, Binko complimented the cake with Icewine tea.

I hope the ladies will enjoy this tomorrow. What's the Korean drama going to be?

boo! oh, she means, moo!

2009-10-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

Kaia picked this costume out by herself last month at the baby store. I had planned to make her a Maggie Simpson outfit, but Jersey insisted on the cow. This morning she was ready to go to the Ferry Building, but I found her trying to play Xbox.

It was very cool at the EMB waterfront. Instead of getting our grub on, we watched bands play. First were a trio of ladies and a snazzy Xylophone player, called HoneyComb. I can't located their website right now, but the main singer's voice (the one with the ukulele) reminded me of Katherine Whalen from the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Next up was the Jugtown Pirates. Kaia was up and dancing, it was quite a sight. People were snapping shots of the little cow that could!

We visited Dana at Boulettes. Congrats on your engagement Dana!

Then we walked to Rose and Radish. They have a new spot on the EMB, very cute!

There was a really cool organic cafe next door too, The Plant. I had an amazing protein shake where they use homemade almond milk.

We ended up back in the East Bay, due to the broken bridge and no way of hauling our stuffs without a car. Ether, Tim, and Ripley came over to celebrate Kaia's first Halloween. Kaia misses hanging out with Ripley!

Happy Halloweenie everyone!

ironic

2009-10-24T20:17:00.001-07:00

Don't you think?

austin bound again

2009-10-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Marc, moved back to Austin. Kaia and I went down to his house to hang out with him and his mom before he left. I am super happy for Marc, who is moving in with another friend, Eyad.

Gloria was Kaia's first babysitter. She hadn't seen her since she was a month old! Doesn't that lady look familiar Kaia?

We headed out for our last Bay Area brunch. We decided that we would have a band named the Meat Sheets, inspired by Marc's meal.

Our Place, too will be the name of the album.
Kaia and Ella, until Christmas.

Marc and I have some big plans in the near future! I am not going to miss him this time, because I know we'll be seeing him a lot.

garage sale ice cream

2009-09-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

I was just dreaming of Hawaii literally 20 minutes ago, when Jersey woke me up, "Trish! I got a surprise for you!" Huh, what? Do I have to drive to work now? "No, it's Saturday, come check it out." I go to the kitchen and he's got a container with four perfectly made ice cream sandwiches. I asked him where he got it, he said this woman having a garage sale. She's moving to LA to open an ice cream shop. I got my clothes on and ran down the street to investigate. Shiho, the talented pastry chef, used to work at Tartine and Slanted Door. She is now doing her own thang, and thank buddha, cause her ice cream is OISHIIII! She'll be opening her new shop in LA at the Brentwood Country Mart. LA friends, please support her! Shiho, the peanut butter ice cream sandwich was out of this world! Thanks Jersey for the great find.

clementine art

2009-09-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

I was wandering around the Oakland Whole Foods and found the coolest present for little Sophie. Stone Crayons and modeling dough from Clementine Arts. An art teacher from Colorado decided to make kid friendly organic art supplies. I hope Sophie creates tons of fun stuff with these. I love seeing people make innovations from things I had when I was a kid. I know plenty of classmates that ate play dough and crayons. (I ate newspapers, but that's another story.) I adore the packaging, clean and cute!

kaia eight point five months

2009-09-17T21:34:00.001-07:00

Kaia goes with me to the Farmer's Market on Saturdays. She loves looking at Della Fattoria goodies.

We always take a break near Cupid's Span and this particular day, Kaia got puppy attacked by several wee dogs. She giggled while they licked her.

Kaia loves to hang out with my favorite gals at Nida.

She's seriously the punkest baby. This is her "Mastodon face."

She's already standing and trying to balance on her own. My little one is growing up! Where does the time go?

She loves being outdoors.

jersey paints kaia

2009-09-10T14:52:00.001-07:00

iPhone

2009-08-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

I finally got an iPhone. I don't know if I like it yet!

tuckered out

2009-08-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

I love how she sleeps. Sometimes she even laughs and smiles. It's a wonderous thing being a mom.

jersey's sesame chicken

2009-08-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Jersey made homemade potstickers and sesame chicken last night. His recipe book is filling up!

the very first crawl

2009-08-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

vidal sassoon redemption

2009-08-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

I had a bad haircut at Vidal Sassoon, as you all may have heard or even seen. I had written about my haircut sadness on Yelp and the owner of the salon contacted with me with an apology and a reschedule. I recently went back to get to get the hair fixed by one of their directors, Miriam and she rescued my hair! I think it's pretty hot. A little bit of Amelie and a splash of Irina Spalko. If you need a fierce cut, make an appointment with Miriam!

anniversary in napa

2009-08-02T21:13:00.001-07:00

Our two year anniversary is nearing and we've been so busy, we didn't have time to book the usual Big Sur trip. This year we went to Napa with Kaia. We went to Oxbow Market, there was a block party going on. But we were loving Kaia checking everything out.

For dinner we ate at the Thomas Keller's wonderful Ad Hoc.

The Saturday menu was-
TFL Garden Salad: shaved torpedo onions, spiced cashews, d’avignon radishes, matthiasson yellow nectarines, banyuls vinaigrette

Colorado Lamb Ribeye: full belly farm’s german butterball potatoes poached in red wine sliced summer squash, fennel, sweet carrots, scallions

Roncal:st. supery star thistle honey, celery & pickled garlic relish

Raspberry Financier:toasted almonds and chocolate ice cream

lost camera battery

2009-07-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not been posting lately. My battery charger for the camera is lost! Perhaps in Vegas... that was the last place I saw it. Anyway, going to Best Buy tomorrow to get another one. Lots of stuff going on too! I am making my very own kimchii recipe- two jars! One for me and One for Jung. Also- going to make a special macaroon tomorrow! I need my camera!!!!

the voices of children

2009-07-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

Click here and here to have your heart soar!
Thanks Marc for sharing. Happy Birthday.

old wedding photos

2009-06-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Jimmy emailed us some wedding photos he took.
I walked down the aisle alone, but I had Jung walk me part of the way. She played an influential role in my NYC life. You can't tell, but she was making little Sophie as we walked!

Heather and Dave played the music in the beginning of the wedding. We requested Iron and Wine songs before the wedding started. The maids and groomsmen walked down to Bjork's "Unravel" and I walked down to her "Cocoon" song. They played so beautifully!

Here are our cherished friends, starting from left to right: Jessika Jackson (please come home, I miss you), Jasmine Wright (the hottest girl at the wedding), Manami Thompson (I can't wait to visit you in your new place Sakura Season!), Ether Simonson (I'll never forget the amoebas before the wedding, thanks for always being there for me!!), Avalon Brevik (soon to be the most influential artist of her time), Nova Wei (future president of America), Jersey (handsome!), Will Elphick (we never see you!! Let's jam!), Ivan Sulic (you are a treasure in my heart!), Chicago, (I don't think I have ever seen you blink), Andy Gray (don't write my name on any bombs!). I love how my girls are lined up by height and Jersey's guys are just "whatevs".

The money shot!

Jersey finally with the one he loves... Sam Adams!

My old co workers, that ended up in my closest circle, Jimmy and Yuko. Isn't Yuko lovely?
If you've got pictures of our wedding, please send to us!

the namesake

2009-06-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty bummed out lately. I rarely get to be with Kaia and my milk supply is running out. I wanted to breastfeed her until she was 12 months, but it's not going to happen. It's no secret around the house, cause I have been moping around for days. Jersey thought it best to take us out to the beach Saturday. Kaia's never seen the ocean and it's her namesake! We got to Ocean Beach and immediately took her to dip her feet in the wet sand. She wasn't scared at all, she was actually pretty chill per usual. Even when the wave lapped up her legs, she didn't flinch! That's my girl!

the godfathers

2009-06-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I made brunch for Jimmy and Greg, Kaia's beloved Godfathers.

Fresh mint tea was brewed, along with Blue Bottle Coffee, a special blend called Yirg.

I also made homemade bagels with a new red flour that Eatwell Farms is hand milling. The rest of the menu was: souffle pancakes, yogurt cakes made with plain Saint Beniot Yogurt, and fresh egg fritatta lanced with feta cheese, leeks, and pimientos de padrons from Happy Quail Farms. If you need any of these recipes, let me know!

Thanks for hanging out with us Godfathers!

suzy and taschen

2009-05-31T14:19:00.001-07:00

I am so happy Suzy is back in town!!!

Kaia's finally got a boyfriend!
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okey dokey artichokey

2009-05-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Dave is an urban farmer.

I was pretty shocked to find out how artichokes grew.

This particular one took two years. Please appreciate your artichokes!

fourth street

2009-05-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

We ate lunch at Tacubaya yesterday. God I love Mexican food. I am so happy to be back in California to eat fresh avocados.

We also got some ice cream at Sketch. They redid their brand to only have soft serve ice cream. It was pretty good. The small cones were a cute touch.

I love this "Live Green or Die" tshirt Divo got Kaia before she was born. Fits her nice now! Thank you Divo!