Monday, March 31, 2008

I guess it's still winter

here in Pleasant View, UT

burr!!! I miss spring in California

Friday, March 28, 2008

Artichokes

When I was young, artichokes were my most favorite vegetable. It may have been because artichokes are fun. Or maybe it was because we dipped them in mayonaise. Either way, I still love them today...along with Steve...my mom...my dad and the rest of my family.

Whenever Steve and I go to Houston's our standard is to share one of their famous french dip sammies and their fire grilled artichokes. We were stumped as to how they got them soooo delicious. Well, I'm happy to report we figured it out!

First trim them up.


Then steam them for 40 minutes or so (depending on size).


Then cut in half and scrape out the furry choke part, and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.


Grill them on the BBQ for about 5 minutes a side to give them yummy grill marks.


Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Ghetto Friday

In honor of Shawn's 30th birthday Steve and I thought it appropriate to hijack the exclusive Grover/Kessler "Ghetto Monday" tradition of leaving San Francisco proper and heading to a suburban chain restaurant for dinner. You know what I'm talking about. Chili's. TGIF's. Chevy's. See, us city folk like to pretend those restaurants aren't cool enough when the truth is, we love them. And the only way we can continue to frequent the suburban chain restaurant is by pretending we're going as a joke.

Back to the birthday...because this night was all about Shawn we went to his favorite suburban chain restaurant, Red Robin (please turn up the volume on your computer when you click that link).

We started things off right with the tower-o-onion-rings.


Then it was onto the thing that put Red Robin on the map. "Burgers."
The birthday boy had the 5 Alarm with a veggie patty and a freckled lemonade.


Nate had the Wiskey River BBQ with a boca patty and Dr. Pepper.


Steve had the mushroom with a cow patty and diet coke.


Courtney had the Blue Ribbon with a veggie patty and water (no ice).


Betsy had the Blue Ribbon with a veggie patty and Diet Coke.


Robyn had the Wiskey River BBQ with a veggie patty and water (no ice).


I didn't realize Shawn knows all the servers at Red Robin! They sang happy birthday to him and brought him a sundae for free!


Apparently not impressed.


Impressed.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

from the loft...

what a great night! I love the roof deck!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Spring Fever

So sometimes I get bored and decide it's time for a change.
Thanks Preston!!!




Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Saturday stroll!

This past Saturday, Betsy woke me up early to go for a walk. After much groaning and complaining I finally got up. I was glad I did. Such a beautiful day outside.

Our goal was Coit Tower. We walked from our house, down 2nd and then up Montgomery.
I was glad to be up and out at 8:30 am. The city has a different feel and sound early on a Saturday morning. Gone is the regular hustle and bustle of downtown. There are no people out and the streets are nice and quiet. We didn't have to dodge taxi cabs or the mob of people getting to work.

Our route took us by the famous Transamerica building. We stopped to take in the view and snap a few pictures.

Betsy used this time to do calisthenics....

and her impression of the Transamerica building.

I even loosened up my muscles...

After that we were pretty tired. Luckily we were close to Tom Cruises house so we decided to stop into crazy town...

After this point, Montgomery started to get steep.

But the view from the top was worth it.

I am always surprised to find another view of of the beautiful San Francisco skyline!

Almost there, but first we had to navigate the many stairs. Whew!

Gosh it was such a pretty day outside. I love this neighborhood. Also check out that Melastomataceae!


Seriously! So many steps to get to the top. To the left and right are some lucky people's front yards. I wonder if they have to climb these stairs with their groceries.

The view from the top was amazing! I could see my old house from here!

Also, spring flowers are finally coming out. I am so excited about that. I finally have some material for my other blog!

Unfortunately we had to go down the stairs. I was hungry and excited we were going to pass the ferry building. Saturday mornings at the ferry building are fun. There are so many yummy things for sale




Magnoliaceae was out in full bloom. These flowers are so pretty and photogenic.

These large flowers were the only thing on this tree. Nothing says spring like a large tree with light pink flowers.

Our friend Julia recommended these breakfast sandwiches from the Golden Gate Meat Company. They are exactly $5 and totally yummy. Eggs, bacon, and Cheddar cheese on a soft kaiser roll. So good! Seriously. I know there are tons of fruit and other snacks to eat but get one of these sandwiches!


Spring is in the air.

Everyone was out to enjoy the sunny Saturday. Even these fluffy dogs. They were so friendly. It is always nice to see large dogs in the city.

To take full advantage of the sunny day I decided to wash Betsy's car.

She never drives it anymore since she works five blocks away. Because it never moves, her car get bombed daily by birds. Sick!

Look at that shine! The birds better stay away.

What a perfect day. I love that Betsy made me get up early! Thanks babe!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Hot Mess

The reason I'm so happy Christian Siriano won Project Runway this season is because his win spawned one of the most hilarious SNL spoofs I've seen in a while.

Oh how I love Amy Poehler.



Here's Christian's reaction.