Strawberry

Monday, May 21, 2012


John put on his graduation cap and brought home a Master's degree on Friday, so surely a celebration was in order! I'd made reservations at RN74, and we happily made our way through all the menus and wine lists–oysters on the half shell, pate de campagne, arctic char, duck breast, a cheese plate and a bittersweet chocolate tart with roasted bananas that I'm still dreaming about, to say nothing of the gorgeous wines we sipped. We didn't even open the bottle of Paul Bara brut rosé we had waiting in the fridge when we got home, and tumbled into bed instead.

John let me sleep late on Saturday morning, and while he ran errands, I caught up on some season finales and lovely blogs with a cup of English breakfast tea. We snacked on buttery croissants and fresh fruit into the early afternoon, rather than have a proper breakfast, and recuperated from a challenging week with hours in bed, watching episodes of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations that had us making lists of places to visit (John wants to see the whiskey capitals of the world–Scotland, Ireland and Japan, while I've got Greece and the South Pacific at the top of dream destinations). After cleaning house, we decided to catch a showing of The Five-Year Engagement, which was hysterical and perfectly suited to the two of us, since we haven't made a single concrete plan since we got engaged in October! The movie was followed by dinner, a veritable Indian feast, and we were content to stroll home hand in hand.

We live very near to Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach, which means we have perfect quiet on most weekends–but Sunday was Bay to Breakers. San Franciscans love any excuse to dress up in a wild costumes (or no costume at all) and day drink, and they headed to our 'hood from early morning to late afternoon. John was up with the winners, making a beautiful Mexican-inspired breakfast he delivered to me in bed (I really do love Sunday mornings!). I managed an overflowing inbox while John practiced and arranged, and we watched the costumed revelers stagger down the street. Eventually we settled back in for a few more episodes of No Reservations–I guess we needed another weekend of recovery! Later that afternoon we took a stroll to Andronico's for basil, John's favorite dry-farmed tomatoes and plenty of fresh mozzarella to make up a bowl of Patricia pasta, a simple family recipe that's perfect for warm weather evenings. After a little yoga together, we prepared supper and poured ourselves two well-chilled glasses of rosé–the perfect end to a wonderfully relaxing weekend.


Tell me, how did you kick back this weekend? I can't wait to hear what you were up to!


29 comments:

  1. Congrats to John! I saw the bay to breakers hubbub over instagram. It looked...interesting. What a lovely weekend. xo

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  2. Sounds like a lovely weekend! Congratulations to John! Have you read the Anthony Bourdain books - I'd definitely recommend them. Enjoy your week!

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  3. I'm loving the new season of No Reservations. Did you catch the Japan or the Finland episodes? WOW. Also, Bon Appetit has a wonderful, heart warming article written by Bourdain in their latest issue.

    I'm glad to hear the 5 Year Engagement is good, I figured it would be something for Bryan and I to see, considering we've been engaged for 3 years now. :]

    Lastly, congrats to John!

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  4. congratulations to john!! good to hear that the movie was good! i really wanted to see that one :) and we are ADDICTED to no reservations! greece tops my travel wishlist too! xoxo jillian:: don't miss my $50 NOVICA giveaway!

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  5. Is that veil pink!?!? Seriously. I am in love.

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  6. Congratulations!!!! Oh goodness! This is big time! Tell your man how happy we all are for him. And we all want that Mexican breakfast. Yum!

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  7. Sounds like a weekend made in heaven!!! (And will more brides begin to wear colored dresses, you think?)

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  8. Yay, congrats to John!

    I spent the weekend SHOPPING.

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  9. Many congrats to John! I spent the majority of my weekend in my pjs. It was awesome.

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  10. That is awesome for John! The Bay to Breakers is so funny...never ran it myself...but always enjoyed watching! Ha.

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  11. Congratulations to John!

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  12. This portrait is stunning. Also, huge congratulations to that man of yours!

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  13. How beautiful?!?! My weekend was beat, but yours sounds fun! I need some fresh mozz in my life stat!
    velvetcupcakes

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  14. My best friend was married this weekend so it was a looong weekend, but so worth it. I ate way too many cookies and drank far too much prosecco ;)

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  15. Congrats and I'm envious of your lovely weekend. I was sick, but hopefully this week's beach escape will kick the cold!

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  16. Sounds like an amazing weekend. Congrats to John! How exciting! <3

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  17. Congratulations to John! Sounds like your weekend was the perfect, relaxing celebration :) My John visited over the weekend and a cancelled flight let him stay an extra night. Never thought I'd love a cancelled flight so much! :)

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  18. Hooray for John - what an amazing accomplishment! You guys sure know how to celebrate :-)

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  19. Congrats to your man! Your Friday night meal sounds amazing! We hit the 90's out here so baby pools and AC were in order!

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  20. What a lovely weekend! I'm ready for one just like it (plenty of relaxation) after two back-to-back trips to the west coast. I'm glad you had some time to rest!

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  21. a celebration indeed! congrats to john!!

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  22. Yippee yahoo for John!! Fabulous sounding weekend and I LOVE me some Mr. Bourdain!!

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  23. It is fantastic to visit a site like this full of good ideas.

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  24. Congratulations to John! I need a photo. xo

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  25. Yay for John! That's pretty awesome.

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  26. Sounds like the perfect weekend! My Mum & Dad have just been in San Fran, but I have yet to hear all about it as they only arrive back in Sydney tomorrow. I bet they loved it!

    I haven't had a weekend with nothing on for sooo long. Finally I did this weekend so hubby & I curled up on the couch and had a "Sons of Anarchy" marathon!

    ~ Clare x

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  27. Congratulations to John!!

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