Heading to my local voting poll before going to work. No matter who you vote for or what issues matter most to you, please take the time today to cast your vote (preferably for President Barack Obama). See you at the polls!

Rock the Vote print by  OBEY GIANT

It’s been such an amazing adventure watching our baby houseguest, Nouri, grow up before our eyes. I know he’s only been here for about 2 1/2 months,  but that’s a lot in baby years! I feel like he gets a little bigger everyday and I’m hoping that any second now, he’ll take his first step or say his first real word (German or english). I feel like he’s become really accustomed to Chris and I (and our cool iPhones) and I think that’s pretty special. You learn a lot by living with people but living with people and their baby has been a huge and positive learning experience. Can’t wait to have our own some day! Until then, I’m working on Nouri’s first word to be “California”. Or “Jamie is the best” will do.

photos by jforjamie ©

My Mom gave me a huge box of old pictures to rifle through and I’m coming across some pretty sweet gems. Ready for a little blast from the past? Welcome to my childhood, circa 80′s and 90′s. You can thank my mother for the entertaining outfits and hairstyles.

Hooray, it’s Friday! I can’t believe I survived this week, 13 hour work days are exhausting! When I get home this afternoon, I plan on plopping myself right into bed for a much needed nap. Then it’s time for some long awaited Halloween crafting I’ve been geared up to do but had no time for. I have a feeling this weekend is going to turn out to be a busy one even though we have no plans for it yet. San Francisco Halloweens are always an adventure!

can’t wait to catch up on my sleep!
{sleeping}

Tracy from Shutterbean (who’s a co-host on the Joy the Baker podcast that gets me through the work day) recently posted what Summer is to her. Since I’ve been doing a lot of complaining on the lack of warm weather in this town, I thought it’d be nice to re-think the things I like about summer rather than dislike. I suppose in retrospect, I actually appreciate this cold weather while most of the country is boiling and suffering from extreme heat waves. Plus, it makes us appreciate summer vacations, sandals, ice cream and other summery things that much more. Us Bay Area folks don’t take a warm sunny day for granted. Here’s what summer is to me.

dinner from food trucks at off the grid.

live music and farmer’s markets

lounging by the pool.

a fresh summer salad.

balloons for any occasion.

a delicious homemade Mieuli burger.

a ballgame at AT&T park.

My friend Klementine came to stay with us this past weekend. Klem and I have been friends for a long time, we weathered through high school together and she kept me sane during our journalism days. Klem just graduated (yay!) from the French Culinary Institute in New York City so I wanted to impress her with Northern California’s vast selection of gourmet food. We took her to all our favorite staples of Berkeley: Summer Kitchen Bakeshop, Ici, Philz Coffee, Grégoire., Everett & Jones BBQ and Miette Bakery (phew!). We also spent some time wandering Telegraph Avenue and the UC Berkely campus (which we’ve never done before). We didn’t want to neglect San Francisco, so we went out for dinner and drinks and met up with another friend, Laura, who’s from Visalia but lives in the city. It was definitely a busy, gourmet-filled weekend but I always love hanging out with Klem because she makes me (and Chris) laugh until my stomach hurts. I think I may have even convinced Klementine to move up here when she comes back to California!

Roxy, Chris and I packed up the car and headed up to Marshall, CA to spend the day at Tomales Bay Oyster Company with our lovely friends, Stormy and her boyfriend (also named) Chris. It was a sort of make up birthday celebration for Stormy since we had to miss her actual birthday last weekend (attending the baby showers). We also met another lovely couple, a co-worker of Stormy’s and his ladyfriend, Brandon and Leticia. We spent the day shucking, barbecuing, playing games and walking along the beach. The location was perfect, a short drive but felt like we were in a whole different country, and the weather was chilly but beautiful. We bought 2 bags of fresh oysters that we shucked and ate raw with some delicious sauces Stormy made. Roxy spent the day chasing the lone cat that appeared out of nowhere and exploring (she is exhausted and currently snoring next to me as I type). We love getting to spend time with Chris and Stormy and this was the perfect location and day trip to do so. We can’t wait to go back during the summer when the weather warms up. I highly recommend this to anyone who lives around here or is up visiting, it’s another (not so hidden) gem of California.

Chris and I spent the weekend in Southern California for his sister’s baby showers. She’s expecting a little baby girl in May and everyone is ecstatic for the new addition to the family. She already has the most adorable little boy, Henry (Chris’ nephew), who is a bubbly and sweet little 3 year old. When asking him what they’ll name his new baby sister, he responds with “Kermit the Hermit!” It was a lovely weekend spending time with Chris’ family and getting to know his extended family. The weekend was full of pink onesies, oohs and aahs, delicious cakes and lots of baby holding.

Chris and I returned home last night relaxed, refreshed and renewed from our little getaway 3-day vacation. We spent the weekend hidden away in the depths of Yosemite National Park to hike, sleep, eat and be merry. Aside from some of the roads and trails being closed due to snow, it was the perfect time of year to go, not overridden by tourists/tour buses/bears and there was still snow on the ground. The beautiful weather made for a a very picturesque weekend (you can take a picture of just about anything in Yosemite and it will be beautiful). I’m still amazed at how close I grew up to this park and how rarely my family took advantage of our close proximity (to be fair, my parents aren’t exactly the hitch-an-RV-to-the-truck-and-go-camping folk). Several times throughout the trip, my breath was taken away by the beauty/massiveness/peacefulness of Yosemite. I’ll try to spare you the postcard-esque pictures (just Google “Yosemite” to see those) and share my favorite moments of the weekend. Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather that the Bay Area has graced us with! I can see the delight in people’s eyes as they soak up the sun in the park/on the roof/headed to the beach. Amazing what a sunny day can do for peoples’ attitudes, particularly on my BART commute in this morning. I know I’ll be enjoying the sun and figuring out how to transition my warm winter wardrobe to a light and springy one.

photo by angela lewis