Weekends: Early Christmas in San Francisco

Rob and I packed nearly every Christmas tradition into this weekend. Partially, because we are going Hawaii for the actual holiday with my family! A nearly-record-breaking cold snap in the Bay Area also helped us to feel extra wintry and wanting to stay in, like Jane Austen’s Mr. Woodhouse.

On Friday, we dressed up for my office’s formal holiday party. It started raining just as we were supposed to leave. I considered adding long underwear beneath my vintage gown. Do you recognize it from the 2008 Black & White Ball?

The event was so elegant at the Asian Art Museum – just my style. It’s incredible to have seen this company grow from the team of just seven people when I started to almost 350 today.  The party had a live band, a DJ, a massive sushi spread, gelato bar…all kinds of fun treats.

I love “working a room” and spent the entire night wishing Merry Christmas and chatting with spouses of co-workers. By the end of the event, I think I had talked my way into a pretty strong case of dehydration.

The museum is so close to our apartment that we decided to brave the rain and walk instead of trying to wrangle a cab. Rob and I walked past the massive Twitter party that shut down the street next door and the Salesforce party across the way at City Hall.

Brr, it was cold. Cups of hot tea at home before turning into bed.

On Saturday morning, I lounged in bed with hot coffee and a “life hangover” – I hardly drank at the party but definitely wore myself out. Nicole came over at 10:00 and the three of us bundled up to walk to Chow for breakfast. Eggs benedict, breakfast quesadilla and a pear pancake with blueberry syrup. From there, we went to pick out a small Christmas tree. The regular Delancey Street lot we loved had moved across town, so we walked to a new “organic, sustainable” lot a half a mile down the street.

Found a small tree still bundled up. Rob carried it home – uphill! – to the apartment.

Nicole left for her own Saturday events once we were back home. Just a few minutes after Rob finished sawing a fresh-cut for the tree and getting it in the stand, my sister, her husband and baby Ev arrived to help us decorate.

Shortly after them, my parents arrived too. Very cold out and old victorian apartments are incredibly drafty. We made a fire in the fireplace and put on carols while decorating the tree.

By six, we were all starving and ordered a feast of Indian food to be delivered from a restaurant nearby. Yum! Ate around the coffee table, because the living room was easily 20 degrees warmer than the dining room – oh, these drafts!

After eating, we opened a few presents. Hawaii is our big gift to each other, but Rob and I had a few things to share from France and om is learning how to weave and gave us table runners she made on her loom. Books and See’s Candy all around. Jean took a photo of her loot – with knit cap and mittens for Everett, French perfume, an antique French spoon and the runner.

Jean and Trent took off for Palo Alto and the rest of us turned in early to read.

Mellow Sunday morning. I made oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, brown sugar and walnuts for breakfast along with coffee. We made a fire and spent the morning reading the Sunday New York Times. Almost lunch before we knew it, mom and I walked to the market to buy fish, shrimp, mussels and sourdough bread for a cioppino lunch. More details on lunch soon!

The rest of the afternoon rotated between reading, naps, walks and working on a puzzle. I’m too fast for the rest of the family, so we’ve worked it out that I just tackle the water or sky parts, upside-down, without looking at the box.

Everyone was still fairly full from our big lunch when it came time for dinner. Mom and I walked to the market for a rotisserie chicken and we had slices of that with a big green salad full of pomegranate seeds and avocado. Pear clafouti tart for dessert (frozen, from Trader Joe’s).