Author: mrsem

This week’s dinner party is happening on Saturday night with Rob’s out-of-town coworkers. They want to see the inside of an “authentic” San Francisco victorian apartment. I’m going to serve Hog Island oysters to start and it’s-it ice cream sandwiches to finish…but what to serve for the main course? Cioppino is a classic, but that’s…

I made a new playlist over the weekend that I think you’ll enjoy. A few old favorites from Phoenix, The Roots, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Bobby Womack. A bunch of new-to-me tracks from artists around the globe, including Yuna (Malaysia), Vanessa Da Mata (Brazil), Miike Snow (Sweden) and The Temper Trap (Australia).  “Ruin”…

I finally purchased a midi skirt last weekend, after months of searching. This Topshop waffle weave midi skirt in navy was on sale for $60 as part of Nordstrom’s anniversary event, but even at full price it is pretty affordable. The sizing runs small; I’m usually a 0/2 and the 4 fit just right. Silver exposed zipper…

Pacific Grove was the ideal place for a four-day weekend relaxing in beach houses with my family and relatives. In the summer, most days are foggy with a spot of warm sun in the middle for a jaunt to the beach. Basics We were 10 adults and 3 kids under 4 for this weekend vacation.…

A kayak is a fantastic way to get a sense of how special the marine ecosystem is in Monterey Bay. Rob and I rented a tandem kayak at Lover’s Point and set out our last afternoon. Not being the world’s biggest whale fan…I, of course, had a close encounter with a gray whale not five…

Our second activity at the Pacific Grove beach house was seaweed pressing. Monterey Bay has GREAT seaweed. As you’ll see in tomorrow’s kayaking post, the kelp forests here are so thick that you can practically walk on the water. My niece Kiera helped me collect samples at the beach in the afternoon and we spread…

No trip to Pacific Grove would be complete without going to the historic downtown to shop for estate jewelry! Beach towns always seem to have great finds, must be something about a retiree population trading in their old gems for comfy chinos. Even compared to other beach towns, I’ve found Pacific Grove to have some…

We had two toddlers and a four year old with us at the beach house last week. They loved playing in the sand, swimming and going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In the evenings, I put together a couple craft projects for the kiddos to do before dinner. First up: beach-themed finger painting. In my…

This week’s dinner party is a bit different than our standard affair. With the whole family in Pacific Grove at the beach, I took on making a spread of cold salads for dinner. There’s a lot of tradition here: we used to visit a gourmet deli called Tutti’s in Montecito and each pick out a…

By chance, we planned our family weekend in Pacific Grove on the day of the annual Feast of Lanterns. I hadn’t known anything about this celebration before we arrived – it’s exactly the kind of thing I like. Started in 1905, the city celebrates a Chinese legend each summer with a boat parade, performance and…