Author: MrsEm

Thanks to Rob’s role as a community advocate with SF Urban Riders – a group promoting off-road cycling in the city – our dining room is often the scene of committee meetings and work sessions these days. After we worked with friends to make bunting and trail bells for a booth at Tour de Fat, a few…

The next day after Opera in the Park, Rob and I had our neighbors and friends Mimi and Chris over for dinner. It was the last week of the really good tomatoes at farmer’s market and the perfect occasion for a simple, fresh menu. This was one of those dinner parties where I had very little…

Oh my! We have been so busy the last two weeks. A picnic with the San Francisco Opera was quickly followed by two dinner parties, a volunteer day, a fundraiser gala and a family vacation to Santa Cruz. Let’s start catching up! Every year, the San Francisco Opera puts on Opera in the Park as the…

Doing the flowers for my friends’ weddings is a joy! It’s so fun to go to the Wholesale Flower Mart – pick out the best of everything and make something beautiful together that will last in their wedding photos forever. Margaret had a vision for her wedding that started with a whole bunch of olive branches…

More details from Margaret’s wedding today! The facility at Dallidet Adobe is so lovely, with lush gardens and brick patios. The one difficult piece is a large gazebo on the Avocado Patio made from branches that looks nice in person, but a little “halloween spooky” in photos. In our research, we found photos of weddings…

The photos from Margaret’s August wedding are here! Let’s spend the week recapping all the details that went into my friend lovely San Luis Obispo event. With a theme of olive branches and Spain at the Dallidet Adobe – I really think it was one of the prettiest weddings ever. To start, the invitations! Margaret’s…

Every road trip with friends should be full of delicious detours! I like nothing more than living up to my reputation as “delaybot” while discovering local secrets. During last weekend’s Spanish-style winery picnic in Sonoma we stumbled across so many fun gems in Sebastapol and Cotati that we joked about bringing back our own version of the PBS…

Shane came up to visit for the weekend and to celebrate his and Jackie’s birthdays. What better way to enjoy California’s late summer with our favorite Catalan traveling companion than a Spanish style picnic in Sebastapol! Marimar Estate is the (literal) sister winery of Torres, the vineyards we explored outside of Barcelona in the spring. Menu:…

Beets, maybe only second to kale in the delivered of undeserved dietary smugness (especially when, as I usually do, they are combined with butter and cheese). The dark red color, the earthy flavor, just one bite of a beet brings on a feeling of virtue. Usually, I use beets in a citrus salad with blue cheese and a…

This has been my go-to wedding outfit this summer, including at a beautiful outdoor Marin wedding last weekend. Our friends Eric and Gina were married under a giant bay tree at the Fairfax San Anselmo Children’s Center followed by a sweet reception at the American Legion Log Cabin. This outfit was easy enough that I…