Sunday, March 28, 2010

Lemons in the Sunset

Lemons growing in California is probably not going to surprise anyone, but this tree in the Sunset amazes me every time I see it.

From Kimonade and the Big City

You might ask, why is this so amazing? First off this is San Francisco; we are not located in warm, sunny southern California. Northern California is a whole different beast, and San Francisco has it's very own particular climate. Even within San Francisco there are further subdivisions of climate known as microclimates. In the Sunset the climate is generally cold and foggy with constant ocean breezes, not exactly ideal for growing a lot of fruits, especially citrus. Somehow this tree manages against all odds, and it seems to produce a good number of lemons. I love seeing it on my walks around the neighborhood. It makes me wish I had a lemon tree in our yard.

Friday, March 19, 2010

The beach is love

San Francisco will probably never win any Best Beach Awards. More than half the time the beach is shrouded in a thick fog known as the Marine layer. The water rarely rises above the chilly temperature of 55°F. This isn't sunny SoCal, but when the weather is nice you better believe the beach will be bumpin'. Today was no exception. Of course I missed most of the gorgeous, sunny day hidden away in my windowless office downtown; however, I managed to leave work a litte early and catch the last couple hours of sunshine.



Ocean Beach is awesome for many reasons. First, it's approximately five blocks from my house. I love living by the beach. I don't always get down there every day, but I always see it to and from my walk to Muni and I love it. I love how it shimmers in the sun and takes on the colors of the sky. Blue sky = blue ocean. Gray sky = gray ocean. I don't think I ever want to live anywhere that isn't walking distance to the beach ever again. Maybe growing up ocean deprived in a land-locked state took it's toll on me.

Second, it's a protected area for snowly plovers, pretty much the cutest bird that has ever lived. These guys are so cute and tiny, and they run so fast following the waves in and out looking for food. I love the thought that the beach is host to bunches of snowy plover families living out their cute existence in the California sunshine.

Third, there is never a shortage of crazy people hanging out here. One day Nik and I were walking along the sea wall when I guy stopped us and asked us if we had any "extra weed". "Extra weed" just seems like one of the most hilarious concepts ever to me. As if I just carry around tiny bags of excess weed to give to strangers in need.

Fourth, the graffiti. The picture below says it all.


I could go on and on about what is great about Ocean Beach; the surfers, the crazy kites, the happy dogs that love the ocean. All I really need to say is, "The beach is beautiful. The beach is amazing. I love the beach!!!"

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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Favorite Spots: The Tower at De Young Museum

San Franciso is a beautiful city. There is no shortage of great spots to enjoy amazing views of the city, the ocean, and the surrounding areas. One of my favorites is the Tower at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. On a clear day the views of the city here are spetacular.

Behind the tightly packed houses and businesses of the Richmond District, you can see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge peeking out from behind the hills of the Presidio (Flat Grace is still enjoying her visit).



Beyond the park and the surrounding neighborhoods, you can see the buildings downtown including the Transamerica Pyramid.


You can see Mt. Sutro and the living roof of the Academy of Sciences.



You can see JFK Drive winding through the park and some of the one million trees that live there.


You can see the ocean, the bay, the Marin headlands, and many of San Francisco's unique neighborhoods. I absolutely love coming here. It reminds me of what a great city I live in, a city so wonderful that people come from all over the world to see it. I get to live here every day, and I love it.
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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Golden Bowls!!!

Golden Bowls are one of our favorite dinners. It's vegetarian comfort food at it's finest. Pan-fried tofu cubes and sauteed veggies atop a bed of steamed rice all drenched in yeast gravy. The recipe comes courtesy of The Grit Restaurant in Athens, Georgia. We were introduced to their lovely cookbook by our friend Trisha and have been addicted to the Grit Yeast Gravy ever since. Gravy really does make everything better.

With our powers combined, Nik and I made the amazingly delicious dinner below.

Tag Team Cooking


1..2..3..4...Golden Bowls!!!

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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Flat Grace and Open Houses

Our first visitor of 2010 arrived last week. Her name is Flat Grace and she's a school project for our niece, Grace. Basically we get to show Flat Grace the lovely city of San Francisco and send back pictures and details of her adventures. We did this a couple years ago for one of our other nieces and it was great fun. Yesterday was such a lovely day we decided to take Flat Grace to Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park.


Flat Grace surfing at Ocean Beach


Getting educated about local wildlife


Flat Grace in front of the Academy of Sciences


I'll admit we got a little distracted along the way by all the open houses. Yes, despite our lack of capital we have been house shopping lately, more like test house shopping to be exact. I don't want anyone getting any ideas that we're buying a house any time soon because logistically that's just not possible. We really just want to see what is out there, and what exactly if anything is available for under $500,000. The housing market in San Francisco is insane to put it lightly. With my only reference point being the Midwest, where housing is so cheap, the prices here seem that much higher.

As we were walking Flat Grace to the beach we saw an open house on Lincoln Way. For the price of $469,000 you get a 720 square foot, fully-detached, single family home. The catch, it's a total fixer upper. Carpets need to be removed. Kitchen needs to be redone. There's a unfinished room on the back that's needs some serious help. It definitely had potential though. You could really make it whatever you wanted it to be.

I know people would say that I am crazy to even consider some day buying a house in San Francisco, where half a million dollars gets you a two bedroom fixer upper. The thing is when I see a house here I don't see a shabby little row house in the Sunset; I see our house with Nik's studio in the garage and a cute little bright kitchen and maybe a backyard (backyards are something I will address in an upcoming post). The point is I see our future here in California. I never felt this way about buying a house when we lived in Omaha; we never even considered it. We knew we weren't staying, and I guess that's why I get so excited looking at houses here. This is the longest we have ever lived in one place, in one apartment. While we may not live in San Franciso forever, it definitely feels like we've found a place to stay for a long time. A place neither of us talk about leaving. San Francisco feels like home.
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

CSA Tuesday

Like clockwork every other Tuesday, a box of fresh local fruits and veggies arrives on our front porch. All thanks to the good people at Capay Valley Organics who run the Farm Fresh To You CSA. This is our third box, and I am loving it!



Just check out the mountains of produce they fit in this box. So pretty and colorful!




We've tried so many new veggies that I never would have convinced Nik to try otherwise. His favorite so far, baby bok choy. I'm especially stoked on all the greens; collard greens, kale, red chard. It makes me wonder "why did I never eat greens before?" and "why did I wait so long to join a CSA?" Who knows, but one thing's for sure...I love CSA Tuesdays.
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Monday, March 1, 2010

$5 lunch

Since I had to venture out of the office to pick up my March Muni pass, I decided to try a new lunchspot that I've had my eye on for a while, Cafe Algiers. It's a small family-owned sandwich shop on Beale street in SOMA. I saw it a while back on Yelp. It has excellent reviews, so I definitely wanted to check it out. After all the talk this weekend about great sandwiches, I figured it was time. Around 12:30 there was a short line out the door, but it moved fast. I ordered the vegetarian sandwich on ciabatta with pepperjack cheese, and it was monstrous.



Grand total with tax, $5. Now that's a deal. Tons of delicious sandwichness for only $5, Cafe Algiers has been added to my "go to" lunch list.

The SOMA/FiDi lunch scene can get unbearably monotonous. Having to eat lunch in the same four block radius day in and day out is not always appealing. Don't get me wrong there are definitely good eats to be found, but the repetition really wears on me after a while. It was great to try a new place today and to expand the horizons a little further. A gray Monday lunch was a little less dismal thanks to some fresh bread and veggies. Since my sandwich was so cheap, I had cash leftover to feed my ice tea habit at Peet's. Perfect!
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