It's been quite a first month here in the city by the bay. Since our last post, we've continued to sink into our new lives here, loving it more with each passing day. As true Michigan transplants, we've been relatively un-phased by the low-50s and rainy weather we've been having for the past week although have questioned at some points whether we moved to Seattle?
Our walk to work/school has been slightly hampered this week with all this rain. Nothing major for me and Anna but Zane has arrived in the office uncomfortably...damp. One day, we summoned some help and took a cab :) It was a good introduction to a service that I'm sure we'll use again in the future. Aside from a smokey smelling interior, the driver was polite and we were updated on the fact that cabs can now take credit cards. Good to know!
The quick recap from last weekend goes something like this: we ate a lot. Unashamed by my love of food and finding whole in the wall yummy restaurants, we had our fill.
Friday: Original US Restaurant with Anna. I worked from home and decided to take Anna out for a lunch treat, which was just around the corner. Anna ordered a bowl of spaghetti and I, a dish of spaghetti with clams. The pasta was cooked a perfect 'al dente' (a basic I had failed to enjoy in any Italian restaurant back in Michigan) and the clams were fresh. To top it off, our waiter spoke Italian and it was fun for me to brush up and get to know the owners of a local business.
Saturday: We headed to the famous Ferry Building Saturday Farmer's Market to see / meet the local produce, meat, cheese, etc purveyors. I LOVE markets! Walking through, we couldn't resist trying out the Imperial Tea Court. They are the exclusive source for some of the most sought after teas on the market - I am told that the original Tea Court is in chinatown. I tried a lovely jasmine oolong tea (admittedly I'm not much of a tea connoisseur) and Zane tried their chilled green tea. What I did note was the type of tea cups that they used (they had to teach me how to use it) - they are one serving tea cups with lids that allow the tea leaves to steep directly in the small cup.
Sunday: We headed down to Polk street in Russian Hill and were really just picking up some paint at Cole Hardware when we spotted Aux Delices, a Vietnamese restaurant across the way. The very friendly and charming waitress (I am still allowed to say that?) recommended an out of this world carmel glazed chicken and beef curry (I'm forgetting already). Yum. It was a charming very local place...after only one month here, we're starting to distinguish ourselves as 'locals' avoiding like snobs, the tourist traps.
The following work week, we basically felt stuffed but extremely pleased :) We've consistently been breaking down our grocery shopping between Trader Joe's and local produce shops. Particularly those in chinatown where I can get fruit and vegetables at a fraction of the cost anywhere else. In fact, I should say that our grocery bill is significantly cheaper than it was in Michigan - honestly, the quality of food (organic, local, etc) and low cost that we get at Trader Joe's makes me want to audition for their commercials.
Another point about last week was the bit of time I spent with my girlfriends, Alexa and Rachel. Unfortunately, I missed hanging out with Megan and little Maya but hope to get the (little) girls together soon. After moving from Ann Arbor to EL (before eventually moving out here) there was a good chunk of time there where I really didn't have a chance to hang out with friends. It felt AMAZING to catch up with some sensational women - haven't caught up with Rachel (who I went to high school with) in ages and still haven't heard about the rest of Alexa's trip after she stood with me in the Philippines. Just wanted to note to self how important a woman's friends are and how refreshing it was to shoot the s*** with them. Meanwhile, Zane and Anna didn't miss me as they went swimming at the local pool and perused books at the library :) Win-win for all!
Haven't gotten to this weekend's summary yet but the highlights include:
- Finally getting our bed. Z & I didn't bring our bed cross country so we've been crashing on the couch pull-out. It's pretty comfortable but it was starting to get ridiculous. We're finally using our pottery barn sheets that have been in their original packaging since August!! On that note, I'm still behind finishing up sending out wedding thank you cards that I'm slightly disgusted with myself.
- Gettin' Decorated: We're not quite done but we've come a long way in terms of getting curtains up, wall shelves, a bit of painting (as I've alluded to above), and displaying pics. Still need to pick a wedding picture of two to frame!
- Glide - We attended church this morning at an amazing community church. I'm essentially at a lost for words regarding how moving it was for me - it's a radically inclusive church that nurtures all spiritual paths. More importantly there is an emphasis on community and belonging to one another - there are lots of volunteer opportunities in high-risk communities I'd like to get Anna exposed to. More on this in following posts. Thanks to Rachel, for bringing us :)
We all just woke up from an afternoon nap an hour or so ago. Zane and I had afternoon tea while Anna had cup of milk and some oreos or AH-reos as she pronounces it. We're gearing up for another busy work/school week but in the meantime enjoying the last few hours of the weekend.
Ok, this is it for now - sorry to family for being behind on posts!! My Dad, brother and Dexter are coming to visit this week so it should be another epic week in San Francisco :)
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