Yearly Archives: 2013

By request, here’s the recipe for the easy summer bruschetta salad I made for dinner on Sunday night. Bruschetta is one of my favorite things to eat during summer. The smell of fresh basil never fails to make me nostalgic for trying out recipes at the beach as a kid. This pasta version of bruschetta…

What a wild weekend! A heat wave combined with Pride celebrations amplified by the DOMA decision made it a very festive affair in San Francisco.  Rob and I started out with the final opera in our summer series: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.  I admit to finding myself somewhat “scandalized” by the opera; as much…

I started last weekend with the second in our summer opera series. Amy came with me to see Cosi fan Tutte since Rob was out sick. This production of Mozart’s “romantic comedy” was charmingly staged in Monte Carlo in 1915: On Saturday, I went to the hair salon and chopped almost 8 inches off! The…

I’ve saved the best for last!  My favorite part of the trip was our stay at Cringletie House in Peebles. We took the bus from Edinburgh to the Scottish Borders. Oops, missed our stop (didn’t realize the hotel would have its own) and walked back along the farms. Isn’t the red metal bridge pretty! The…

Apologies for the break in posting, it’s been a tough couple weeks! Let’s get back to the UK vacation recaps. The highlight of our trip was time spent on the Scottish Borders, south of Edinburgh.  We loved the green valleys around the River Tweed.  One day, we took the bus over to Innerleithen – this…

Rob and I took a day off from London to explore Cambridge. My mother loves the town from studying abroad and three generations in my family have cherished the book Period Piece, about the Darwin family living there.  We set off from King’s Cross station: Cambridge was packed with weekend tourists and students busy with…

Next up: Edinburgh! Rob and I took a day train from London to Scotland on the second day of our vacation. We stayed at a much more modest hotel – the Premier Inn – but that was centrally located, clean and with very friendly staff.  Our room was on the top floor and had an…

What a great trip!  Rob and I are just back from a nine day vacation in the UK. Thanks to the horrible exchange rate we spent way too much money, but we had a grand time doing it!  To make the recap easier, I’m going to break it down to the different areas where stayed. …

For this year’s Sound of Music show at Mountain Play, I created a picnic menu that was Austrian-inspired with a decidedly California-flair.  Turned off by the prospect of frying up pounds of weiner schnitzel, I created a foundation of three simple dishes: a medley of sausages, grilled artichokes and a vinegar potato salad. We had…

We’re so famous (online, in Marin)!  Here’s the completely-natural photo of us picnicking today that ran in the Mill Valley Patch. Love it.