Joyeux: 2011

Remembrance

Ten years ago today, I was expecting my first child. I was five months pregnant and full of joy and hope for a future brimming with possibilities. I still hope for a great future for us all, especially for our children.

Summer's End

When you become a parent, the seasons are no longer dictated by the leaves turning color or the first blooms of spring but the ringing of school bells. Summer ends much too early for us this year with the girls starting school in late August instead of early September. It was altogether too short a summer for us. We embraced the lazy ethics of summer with abandon this year, breaking through our dreamy indolence for a fabulous vacation in Seattle and Whidbey Island.

Seattle has always been a dream spot for me and Paul. We flirted constantly with the idea of moving there, even a portion of our honeymoon was spent in Seattle. Our very first trip was to celebrate my sister's graduation from business school. She was MBA student of the year ( so proud of her!) and now we are coming back to stay at her new home by Lake Washington. We all fell in love with her century old house. Like my sister, it was immaculate and exquisitely tasteful. Not a crumb in sight and lovely things from her travels around the world. The backyard was our favorite place, it was a serene landscape that invites contemplation and peace. I wish that I could export it home. So lovely.

We spent five days in a beautiful cottage on Whidbey Island exploring the beaches and tide pools. Our cottage, called Hidden Meadows, was on a pristine fifteen acres with a pond and hiking trails through the forest. Paul did Tai Chi every morning in the grassy meadows as the girls and I watched for the family of deer meandering past our window. We topped off our trip by attending the Island County Fair where my shy scientist husband was corralled by a rope slinging cowgirl to perform on stage. The fair was a sweet homage to small town simplicity and old fashioned hospitality. We watched a 4H presentation of chicken judging from the town vet and learned the difference between a llama and an alpaca. Llamas are larger and bred as pack animals and alpacas are smaller and have softer fur bred for their luxury fibers.

Salmon berries, so delicious!

Holly in the meadow

To the beach......

Driftwood cabin for three

Flowers for Mommy

Going from the island back to Seattle did require a new frame of mind. We went from lazy days to days on the go. There was so much that we wanted to show the girls, from canoeing on Lake Washington to the Seattle Aquarium and the Olympic Sculpture Park. And of course we ate! Paul & I were treated by my sister to a night of babysitting so that we can go out to dinner. We chose the Book Bindery because it was my sister's favorite and also because the chef was from Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York. Seriously?!! So good, so, so good! It was a beautiful restaurant with simply delicious food. Now one of our favorites too. We also lined up early to eat at Salumi, a famous salumi shop owned by Mario Batali's father. It was there that Holly caught Grandma's eye as she was making fresh gnocchi. We were invited back into her kitchen to make gnocchi which we later ate with a simple tomato ragu. To die for! The eating continued with our visit to Theo Chocolates where we ate our fill of all the chocolate samples that they make. Chai Tea was my favorite as are the Fennel and Bread Crumbs. Capping off all the eating and sight seeing was the discovery of a special art gallery in Pioneer Square. Davidson Galleries was where we chanced upon a landscape exhibition featuring woodcut prints. We dug deep into our pockets and bought two exquisite woodcut prints that resonates with the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Now we will have a beautiful reminder of our special place.

Grandma Batali's Gnocchi

Olympic Sculpture Park

Low tide at Alki Beach

A lone heron at Ballard Locks

Wildflower on Lake Washington

I love the feel of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. The crisp fresh air and the verdant splendor of its landscape. The flowers have a more vibrant hue in its northern exposure and the trees more lush and dense in its forest. It speaks to me in a primal, joyous exuberance that's difficult to comprehend. I think that we all have a deep resonance for certain places and the Pacific Northwest seems to have a magnetic pull on me. Our indulgent two week vacation was probably a week too short for us all. Sophie told us in her jaded almost ten years old voice that she was "so over California". Perhaps my daughter also feels the pull of this beautiful place.

Time flies......

My rock sculpture on Whidbey Island, WA

I can't believe that it's been almost 5 months since I posted anything on this blog. It has been an amazing and crazy 5 months. We moved into our new house at the end of April, two days before Easter and it felt like home instantly. Yes, I did drive by the old house many times, watching the front yard transform into full springtime splendor and the plum tree stagger with the weight of an abundant harvest. All the while wishing I could cut a vase full of the roses in bloom and eat those juicy plums off the tree. In the midst of moving I took on a three month business consulting project that grew to six months, a jog-a-thon for our elementary school and my friend Thais' birthday party at our new house. By the time school ended for the girls and July's fireworks lit up the night sky over Altadena, I was ready for a long, languorous nap.

But I am back after an invigorating two weeks in Seattle and the island of Whidbey, Washington. It was a fabulous and inspirational trip. I can't wait to share pictures and memories with you. Now back to life in the fast lane. Buckle up!

Saying goodbye to our little house

Our lives are constantly filled with hellos and goodbyes. I don't mean the polite daily greetings among our friends and acquaintances but the comings and goings of people in our life. Our little house has seen a constant shift of friends moving through and leaving for far away places. The friends who came to our house graced us with their friendship and left for parts of the world far from our borders. Their presence is still felt here. This house is filled with memories of little Linde Taghon playing the piano with her best friend Sophie. Now she's in Belgium and has forgotten all of her English and the hours she spent in our backyard painting the patio and her face green and yellow. We had a going away dinner for our friends Kim and Tom when they left Caltech to go back to Belgium. The ten of us dining alfresco on the patio until late in the summer night ; sharing stories and laughing until we cried. Then there are memories of Melissa and Joe and their two little boys, who we saw almost daily. Our four kids dashing madly about the backyard, playing knights and dragons with their cardboard swords and shields. Oliver and Sophie in their flying capes and absolute devotion to one another. Little toddlers Simon and Holly trying to catch up with their older siblings. The countless hours I spent with Melissa sharing life stories and laughter leave me a wiser, happier person. I miss her brilliance, wisdom and friendship. The house seemed still and silent for many months when they left for Maine.

We had many happy memories in this little house of ours. Seven years of living and the one constant is the joy and happiness that we had in this house. I have been saying goodbye to our neighbors and mostly the garden itself. My house and garden was a labor of love. It has been emotional going through the garden, seeing all the beautiful plantings that took years to reach maturity. The yard was a barren mess of dead grass and dog droppings when we moved in and now it's an oasis of beauty and tranquility. We have been napping on our patio and reminiscing about our lives here. The girls have lived here most of their lives, creating special nooks in our garden. Creating fairy tales and dream lands from twigs and branches and rocks and shells from our travels. I'll miss this special time in their lives, free from care and full of invention and frolic. Mostly, I'll miss my garden and the joy I gathered everyday from it.

As we prepare to leave this place, we take with us our most treasured possessions, the memories of the friends who have shared this place with us.

Days of Wine & Roses: Part 2, Wine Country

Our cottage at Forth Vineyard

We are really lucky here in California that in any given direction we can head towards some good vintage and beautiful scenery. Given all the choices, our hands down favorite place is Sonoma County. Our family discovered it four years ago on our summer vacation and we have been coming back as often as we can. Sonoma is a wonderfully laid back area with a diverse landscape of beaches, rivers, and award winning vineyards set among lush green hills. It's populated by a group of dedicated artisans from winemakers, cheesemakers, organic farmers to oyster farmers. This time Paul and I are going to Sonoma by ourselves to celebrate his 40th, again! It was a spontaneous decision to leave town because our house was going up for sale. We made reservations for dinner at Cyrus Restaurant in downtown Healdsburg and booked a cottage at Forth Vineyard, an organic winery in the local hills. The weekend was wet and rainy, but incredibly beautiful whenever the sun graced us with her brief presence.

I love springtime! And Sonoma was cloaked in full springtime splendor. The daffodils were blooming everywhere; plums, cherries, peaches, and almonds blossoms were putting on a stunning display. I was a giddy fool screaming for Paul to stop the car around every corner because I have to capture all that beauty on my camera. We got into the town of Healdsburg around mid-afternoon on Saturday to find a bunch of people walking around town with empty wine glasses and very happy countenances. Judging from the signs around town, we had arrived just in time for Northern Sonoma's 33rd Annual Barrel Tasting Event. It's an event that allows you to taste the winemakers recent vintage that have not been bottled. Paul and I pulled the car over and headed to the nearest tasting room, Selby Vineyard. The room was packed and in the corner, we see a friend and her husband from Pasadena! They were in town with his parents enjoying a weekend away from their kids also. Julie & Todd recommended the port and mystery barrel tasting that turned out to be a late harvest Zinfandel, which I guessed correctly. Paul and I opted for their excellent Syrah which we were hoping to guzzle down that evening at our cozy cottage. We finally arrived at our cottage very happy and frankly a little tipsy, at least I was. The road to the cottage and vineyard was a narrow lane through a forested canopy of green budding trees and fields of daffodils. The road reminded us very much of the landscape of Tuscany. The owner Jann, greeted us warmly and showed us to our cottage which was a cosy, modern country gem. After exploring the vineyard and surrounding countryside, we headed back into town for a small bite at Dry Creek Kitchen. The dining room was crowded but we sat at the bar and had a lovely meal of Beet Soup, Scallops baked in puff pastry and a delicious cheesecake for dessert followed by mignardises of truffles and mandarin fruit gelees. God! We keep on telling ourselves what lucky bastards we are. It was a lovely start to our weekend.

Our second day was spent barrel tasting at a few vineyards with light rain accompanying us. Our favorite stop was at Zichichi Vineyard where we tasted their incredible 100 year old vine Zinfandel and really good Petite Syrah. The tasting staff was very knowledgeable and gracious, we really enjoyed the entire experience at this small family owned winery. We went wild and bought an entire case of futures, which meant we were paying for an entire case of wines that weren't even bottled yet. To compound the craziness, we didn't even have an address for them to send it to. When we came home to our beautiful cottage we realized that the "All Boys" Cabernet Sauvignon from Forth Vineyard on our table was another favorite barrel tasting from the day. A special treat for guests staying at the cottage. We plan to buy some more from their website. Our dinner at Cyrus on Sunday night was another luxurious experience in fine dining that I can't do justice to in this overly long posting. The restaurant was an exquisite ode to understated elegance and the service was impeccable from the sommelier to the entire wait staff. The best part of our five course wine matching dinner was the dessert. We didn't have one, or two but three desserts followed by a cart of tempting mignardises after the dinner. We took home four boxes of hand-made truffles for ourselves and the girls, along with the restaurant's famous brownies and fruit gelees. Our spontaneous weekend was amazing and memorable, reminding us of life before kids when we could indulge in such luxuries more frequently. Monday came too quickly as we took our final walk around the vineyard to say good bye to the Pyrenees Sheep dogs, fat sheep and chickens of Forth Vineyard. Sonoma, you have our heart and our soul.

Happy fools

Cyrus Restaurant

Forth Vineyards

Zichichi Wines

Dry Creek Kitchen

Days of Wine & Roses: Part 1, The Ferry Plaza Market

This weekend we traded in beautiful warm, sunny Southern California for a rainy and cold 3 days in Wine Country. Just the two of us, no kids!!!!! Yay!!!! This is the weekend that we have our house on the market for Open House. We are also on the second phase of celebration for Paul's 40th and went to Healdsburg to have dinner at the famed Cyrus Restaurant, more on that divine experience later. The French Laundry was our first pick but the two months wait didn't fit into our wacky-doodle schedule. We famously fly by the seat of our pants. This time we flew into Oakland and headed to the Ferry Plaza Market in San Francisco for lunch and to load up on all our favorite gourmet staples. We never, ever miss an opportunity to visit the Ferry Plaza Market. In fact, it's a twice yearly pilgrimage for our family. The market is located in the Ferry Crossing building along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. There is an amazing Farmer's Market on Saturdays and Tuesdays along the outside perimeter of the building. The local growers bring in a vast selection of fruits and vegetables. This weekend it was the citrus' turn to shine. Oranges, tangerines, pomelos, grapefruits were all at the height of the season. We tasted some incredible citrus that just stunned us with their delicious nectar like juice. There were green garlic stalks that can be grilled or chopped up in a fine, pungent dip. The tulips were king this weekend as all the farmers were bringing in their organically grown flowers. The colors of the market were just so brilliant that I wished for an artist's canvas and brush.

Serenated by this sweet musician while lunching at Il Cane Rosso

Our lunch stop was at Il Cane Rosso inside the Ferry Plaza building where we had delicious roast pork and grilled beef sandwiches. We were looking forward to the Roti-Roti stall from Hayward, but their line was 80-100 people deep and we just couldn't wait, no matter how mind-blowing their porchetta sandwich is. Even if we did anticipate that sandwich all week before the trip and talk about it the entire way from the airport to the market. Their porchetta sandwich is really a thing of wonder. Freshly roasted pig in fennel with crackling skin and au juice over crispy ciabatta bun. The kind of legendary pig roast that people who go to Italy never recover from and incessantly dream about. After lunch it was time to part with our hard earned money. Sophie specifically asked us to bring back McEvoy's Olive Oil, a family indulgence. It's freshly pressed every fall and taste exactly like the oils we had in Tuscany. We save it for dipping our fresh baked ciabatta or drizzling over grilled foods and yummy salad dressings. The girls can't get enough of it. Their stall at the Ferry Plaza Market is a beautiful homage to aspirational living. Hell, the entire Ferry Plaza is an aspirational living catalog. If you are ever in the Bay Area, please do yourself a favor and stop by the market. It's a food lover's paradise with everything delicious and delectable gathered together exclusively for your epicurean pleasures. They also have a Heath Pottery stall full of beautiful housewares. We had such an amazing and fabulous weekend that I don't have time to go into it all . Here are some pictures of our favorite places at the Ferry Plaza Market for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!