San Francisco Adventure Part Two!

If you have been following my blog for a while, you may recall that this past September I went on a really long walk around San Francisco. 14 miles. You may want to start by checking out my recap of the experience here.

Up to date? Great! Now read on to hear about our next 15 miles...

My honey and I got up nice and early to meet our friends at our starting location.

Waiting for a BART train.

Cable car!

We opted to take the cable car, where we sat by a charming Australian couple who I would guess are in their 60s. I was chatting with the wife and she asked where we were visiting from. I told her that we live near the city. She lowered her voice and whispered, "why are you on a cable car?!?" My first thought was, "why not?" but I explained that, although more expensive ($6/each) than taking the bus ($2/each), it was the most direct and quickest route to where we were meeting our friends.

We hopped off at the end near Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf and walked maybe half a mile to the Marina.

We met up with our friends at the Safeway and quickly got on our way. After all, we had 15 miles to go! Oh, and one of the first stops was for caffeine and donuts. We weren't messing around.

Here is a link to our (approximate) route for the day -- Google Maps.

Before caffeine and donuts we visited the Wave Organ. Although we weren't there at an optimal listening time, it was still really neat.

Aquatic Acoustics.

Listening.

After a bit of listening, we ventured back to pick up donuts, granola and yogurt and caffeine at Dynamo Donut + Coffee. I zeroed in on the maple donut with bacon on it (obviously) but limited myself to a bite (or two) and stuck mostly to the granola and yogurt. And an espresso. My honey didn't mind eating the remainder of the donut.

Let's take a look at the donut.

Nom Nom Nom.

YUM.

Then we got back on our way!

I thought this sign was awfully specific:

South of the sign is fine.

From there, we made our way to one of my favorite San Francisco landmarks, the Golden Gate Bridge. We saw it from many different angles that day, but one of the best views was from Fort Point. Fort Point is a National Historic site and protected the San Francisco harbor from attack during the Civil War. Yay, history! None of the planned activities at the fort fit with our schedule (we had just missed the cannon demonstration. damn.) so we did a little self-guided tour, mostly to climb to the top for the fantastic photo opportunities.

San Francisco, open your Golden Gate.

So yes, that view above was my favorite. But this view, once we had walked the trail that takes you under the bridge and further along the coast, wasn't too shabby either.

It is moments like these when I feel so grateful to live in such a beautiful place. The weather was also INCREDIBLE. Like, short-sleeves-and-still-a-little-warm-in-January weather. We are spoiled.

The weather was great until we hit Land's End, that is.

We found Lands End!

We stood at the edge, looking at the water, and literally watched the fog roll in and take over.

Fog moves fast, FYI.

Up next was a much needed lunch stop at the Seal Rock Inn.

Lunch.

With out bellies filled, we got right back on the road. Actually, the Great Highway. This was the last 1.5-2 hours of our journey and it was cold and foggy. Once we reached the Zoo, we found our way to a bus stop to take us to BART and our (thankfully seated) trip back home.

We found winter on the Great Highway.

I asked our friends if we could walk from the Zoo to Bayview/Hunters Point. We're not sure if it is physically possible, at least along the outer edge of the city, but if it is, you know we'll find a way. We also decided about halfway through our 15 miles that we should work on making our way through the middle of the city next. Always planning...

Thanks to our adventure (and some intentionally stepping later), I got my first 35,000 step badge on FitBit! Woot.

35,000 steps!

January Cure Updates -- Happy February!

Happy February! It is raining here today. Although that has put a damper on our plans to go for a hike, it is desperately needed and welcomed.

I suppose when I decided to do this project again, I underestimated how full my calendar already was last month. There were many days where I made others things a priority...like a 15-mile hike through San Francisco. (Blog post coming soon!).

Below is a list of the January Cure Assignments as well as my updated project list (with all of the completed items crossed off) . I know that I will have the opportunity to cross a lot more off during the remainder of 2014!

January Cure Project. DONE. Got these photos printed for less than $20.

Apartment Therapy's January Cure 2014 Assignments: 

• Jan 2: Make a Project List 
• Jan 3-5: Flowers, Floors, Green Cleaners
• Jan 6: Get a Fresh Perspective
• Jan 7: Set Up Outbox
• Jan 8: Select One Project from List
• Jan 9: Choose a Piece of Art to Frame
• Jan 10-12: Flowers, Kitchen Organization/Cleaning, Make Yourself a Meal
• Jan 13: Get Your Get-Together Together
• Jan 14: Create a Landing Strip
• Jan 15: Try a Media Fast
• Jan 16: Work on Your Goal Project
• Jan 17-19: Flowers, Bedroom Organization/Cleaning
• Jan 20: Get Papers & Files in Order
• Jan 21: Exercise a Little Cord Control
• Jan 22: Bathroom & Medicine Cabinets Cleanout
• Jan 23: Declutter Books/Media
• Jan 24-26: Flowers, Living Room, Lighting Refresh, Empty Outbox
• Jan 27: Catch Up Day
• Jan 28: Hang Artwork

Art hung in our entryway. DONE.

• Jan 29: Spruce Up & Surface Clean
• Jan 30: Show for Get Together
• Jan 31-Feb 2: Relax & Celebrate!

Our January Cure Get Together was a small dinner party at our house last night. We had three friends over, stuffed our faces with homemade Indian food and played a few rounds Cards Against Humanity. As for the Indian food, we made:

• Chickpea and Okra Coconut Curry (Vegan) -- I used this recipe as the base but subbed light coconut milk for the yogurt and added a bag of frozen okra slices.  
• Grilled Chicken Tikka -- We just made the chicken, not the tomato chutney, from this recipe. I chopped the chicken into bite-size pieces and marinated it in the yogurt mixture for a couple hours before my honey grilled it up. We served a mango chutney from Trader Joe's on the side. 
• Saag Paneer (Spinach with Indian Cheese; Vegetarian) -- I have made this recipe a couple times before. It is yummy and, although she provides instructions on making your own paneer and garam masala, I always pick those up at our local Indian market.
• Brown Rice and Naan -- I sliced big pieces of naan from our local Indian market in half and my honey warmed them up on the grill with the chicken.

Project List: 
Completed in 2013
Not Completed
Completed in 2014

Entry
Outbox
Clean out/reorganize hall closet
Paint front door
New door mat
Deep clean floors
Clean out/reorganize hall closet
Outbox

Living Room/Dining Room
Print Cuba photos for large frames in dining room
Order, frame and hang art print
Print, frame and hang photos in living room
New coffee table (glass top)
Fireplace insert
Entry table/cabinet/hooks/something?
Screen door
Deep clean floors (these are the same ones as the entry)
Deep clean living room
Put away holiday decorations
Reorganize china/booze cabinets
Hang mirror

Kitchen
Organize pantry cabinets -- containers for dry ingredients
Deep clean floors (see above)
Deep clean kitchen
Hang NOLA signs above stove
Hang paper towel holder
Purchase/hang light(s) above sink -- Hang second light.
Hang photo canvases

Family Room
Screen door
Clean out/re-organize DVDs/Blu-rays
Paint shelves -- Get second shelves for other side of couch or new side tables?

Office
Clean out/reorganize closet
Hang diplomas
Hang guitars
Fix closet doors
Declutter and reorganize books/shelves
Declutter and reorganize paperwork

Guest Room
Guest bed and side table
Move elliptical
Small TV -- hang in front of elliptical
New light fixture
Hang Bosnia photos
Clean out/reorganize closet
Hang mirror

Bedroom
Hang Croatia photo
Jewelry organization
New light fixture
Wedding photo - printed and framed
Deep clean bedroom
Reorganize dresser
Print, frame, and hang photo(s)
Clothes and shoe repairs

Bathroom
Paint
Deep clean bathroom
Declutter and reorganize under sink cabinet
Purchase/hang new towel rack(s)
Purchase/hang wall cabinet -- shelf/counter?

Style Cure -- Days 8 - 10 | Planning

Day 8: Monday, August 12

Assignment: Choose Your Paint Color & Think About Your Decor "Pairing"

Full assignment at ApartmentTherapy.com 

Day 9: Tuesday, August 13

Assignment: Research Your Decor Pairing Project or Pairing

Full assignment at ApartmentTherapy.com

Day 10: Wednesday, August 14

Assignment: Make a Shopping List and Set Your Budget

Full assignment at ApartmentTherapy.com

These three days/assignments all work well together so I am going to summarize...

There are a couple things that I want to work on for this project. We aren't going to do any wall painting but the decor pairing will be two-fold. First, we are planning to invest in a new dining room table and chairs. The table and at least four chairs will be white, with a few colored chairs for contrast and as the decor pairing. Second, I want to print photos from our trip to Cuba to decorate a wall in our dining room and one in our living room. We captured some beautiful and colorful moments. 

Then, I saw this on Pinterest:

one crafty foxx on etsy.com

I immediately showed my honey and he said, "you want to make those, don't you." YES. Looks like we may be adding a kitchen art project to the Style Cure list. 

Here is our tentative dining room furniture shopping list, although we haven't quite figured out the chairs yet...

Parsons Dining Table w/ White Top & Dark Steel Base. Crate&Barrel.

Slim White Chair. CB2.

Felix Red Side Chair. Crate&Barrel.

Vienna Apple Side Chair. Crate&Barrel.

I was going back and forth a bit on if now is the time to spend the money on new dining room furniture. However, I keep coming back to the fact that we really enjoy having friends and family over and so this is a great investment for more fun at home. Also, cooking at home is much cheaper AND healthier. Decision made. 

Cuba, te quiero!

Since I last posted, I went to Cuba! It was amazing.

Let me repeat that. It. Was. AMAZING.

Sunset over Old Havana. View from one of the rooftop bars at our hotel.

I have been asked a lot of questions but I find it challenging to put how incredible the entire experience was into words. Hence the reason for the delay in this post as well. Since words can't quite capture the trip, I decided to share a selection of my favorite photos and I am including captions to provide at least some level of detail.

If you find yourself thinking of specific questions, please please please feel free to post a question (or ten) in a comment section and I will respond as I am able. If I don't know the answer, I'll try my best to point you in the right direction.

Our hotel. SO fancy.
Yes, there are old American cars all over the place.

Life in Old Havana.

Perfume shop. Old Havana.

Strolling down Obispo Street in Old Havana.

Patty-cake and bananas. Old Havana.

One of the restaurants where we consumed mass amounts of rum and food.

All of the food we ate was DELICIOUS.
Pictured above: cheese plate,
chicken with sour orange sauce, black beans and rice,
and a grilled lobster tail. 

Visiting an organic farm.
While 75% of the food consumed in Cuba is imported,
about 65% of the produce is grown within the country.
This farm provides the produce for our hotel.

"Papa Hemingway" daiquiris at Floridita and the bell at his house.
(If he liked you, he would ring the bell and let you in.
If he didn't like you, he would hide.)

Cretin's Corner at the Revolution Museum.
Our tour guide: "We didn't really like Bush."
Us, in unison: "Neither did we!"

Lunch in Piñar del Rio, one of the most beautiful places.

The "Mural de Prehistoria" in Piñar del Rio. Got to love the 1950s.

Visiting with a tobacco farmer.
Piñar del Rio is the "Napa Valley" of tobacco.

Our childfree family enjoyed this sign.
Hotel Nacional, Havana.

January Cure -- Day 20 | Hang Artwork

Day 20: Tuesday, January 29
Assignment: Hang your artwork you chose and had framed earlier this month

This was part dos of the assignment from way back on Day 6.

I had one of our favorite photos from our honeymoon enlarged and put it in a frame from one of my favorite specialty shops...Target. I then put it on top of my dresser and leaned it against the wall. My honey and I quickly decided that we liked the look as is and if we hung the photo it would be too high on the wall. It would definitely break the 57" rule.

So there you go, I completed this assignment by leaning, instead of hanging, my framed art. Those are little tea candle holders lined up in front. They were from Crate & Barrel but I don't think they are sold anymore. They are tall and similar to these and these.

Dresser side note: My college roommate and I shared this dresser and it was a fabulous find by our mothers at a church rummage sale. It is from the early 1900s and has drawers and cubbies and is awesome. It was moved across the country by a now elderly woman who later realized that she was missing some paperwork and a gun (yes. a gun.) and thought they may be hidden in the dresser. 

I still haven't found her lost things.

January Cure Update -- Days 12 - 15

Day 12: February 17

Assignment: Declutter Books and Media

• I went through our DVDs and Blurays on Sunday and put about 20 aside to donate. 20! That made room for all of our movies to fit nicely in one side of our family room entertainment center. 

The ones that made the cut. Don't judge.

• As for our books, I went through one shelf of the two bookcases in our office and set aside four books for donation. I will get to the other shelves on Friday. Over the past couple years both my honey and I have been reading a lot more digital books so our book clutter isn't too bad. 

Day 13: February 18 and the Weekend of February 19-20

Assignment: Flowers, Bedroom Organization and Cleaning

• I already mentioned the flower situation in my previous post. We still have the other two bouquets so I picked up a small bunch of calla lilies and split them up into two little vases for our bedroom and guest room. We had friends over on Saturday night so I moved the ones from our bedroom to the bathroom and ended up leaving them there because they fit in quite nicely. 
• I took care of our bedroom organization and cleaning on Monday. We keep our bedroom fairly neat (because I couldn't sleep otherwise) so it didn't take very long to finish this task. I did take some time to assess the clutter on top of my dresser (how many scented lotions do I need readily available?!) and moved some things around. I also framed the photo from our honeymoon. The frame is perched on my dresser, leaning against the wall until I decide to tackle actually hanging it. It works.
  
  

Day 14: February 21

Assignment: Get Papers & Files in Order

• Our current system is fair at best. I was already out running errands so I stopped by an office supply store to figure out a better system for the papers we need to keep. I also picked up a shredder that now lives near our landing strip. This is another thing that is a work in progress but I will post additional updates. 

Do not put hands, ties or babies in the paper shredder. Noted.

Day 15: February 22

Assignment: Exercise a Little Cord Control

• This is something that I look to my honey to manage and he does a really good job. Our cords are controlled. 

January Cure -- Day 11 | Media Fast

Day 11: Wednesday, January 16
Assignment: Do a Media Fast this evening

This one was surprisingly easy. I planned ahead and decided to go media free, except for one of my favorite music apps, while I cooked and while we ate dinner. This included not doing my daily blog post. So I will be posting the day after each assignment from now on, which will actually work out quite well, I think.

I ended up spending over three hours screen-free. I did take a quick, few minute break to call my mom. Because she is my mom.

Additional successes yesterday included finishing my goal project. Yay! I had already hung our diplomas in our office and gathered up all the materials I would need but yesterday I actually hunkered down and got it done. Below is photo proof. (I will post a tutorial later.)

After that I was feeling all accomplished and confident and stuff and so I hung these signs above our stove. They were much easier to hang than the framed photos.

Back to the media fast. It was really nice to listen to music and cook and I even pulled out a cookbook for the french onion soup I was making, as opposed to using the Paprika app on our iPad.

Just for the record, I totally didn't miss anything by being screen-free for a few hours and I highly recommend it. I hear people talk about multi-tasking all the time, as if it is a good thing, but what it really means to me is that I'm dividing my attention so nothing gets my full focus. Now, there are things that don't necessarily need 100% of my attention but I think it is a good practice to intentionally slow down and focus on one thing at a time and do that thing really well.*

Oh, and the music! I recently discovered a new music app called Songza. It is free and fantastic. Seriously. My cooking soundtrack last night was "The New Orleans Sound" playlist. I thought it was appropriate since I had just hung up those signs above our stove.

*Disclaimer: Part of this post was written with the show Castle on in the background. Still working on the one-screen-at-a-time thing.

I'm a work in progress.

January Cure -- Day 6 | Choose a Piece of Artwork to Frame

Day 6: Wednesday, January 9
Assignment: Choose a piece of artwork to frame & get the process started for framing it

I feel like I have this one covered with yesterday's assignment. 

However, my honey and I were just talking last night about (finally) printing one of our favorite honeymoon (it has been almost three years) photos to frame and hang in our bedroom. I see today's assignment as a sign that we should get a move on with this and I have since ordered a 20x24 print. (For less than $10 and ready for pick up in an hour!) We will explore framing options while running errands this weekend.

The photo is one of the first that we took after arriving in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Our driver from the airport, who also happens to be the owner of the place where we stayed, pulled the car over at one point and insisted that we get out of the car with our camera. I'm so glad he did because we captured this: 

Photography is one of my favorite art forms, which is probably obvious based on yesterday and today's posts. My honey and I also had a nice conversation today about bringing more non-photography art into our home, including some pieces created by my incredibly talented artist honey himself. 

Project 365: 68 | Lily | 08.26.12

Project 365: 68 | Lily | 08.26.12

While waiting for my broccoli and cheddar egg muffins to bake (recipe coming soon), I spotted this beauty in our backyard and did a quick photo shoot.

Camera: Canon Rebel T1i

Project 365: 18 | Art | 07.07.12

Project 365: 18 | Art | 07.07.12

The bottom left painting in this photo usually lives above our fireplace but our amazingly talented friend who painted it borrowed it back for an art show. For more information on our artist friend, and to see more of her work, visit her Facebook page. For more information on the painting she did for us, check out Day 172 from my first Project 365. 

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 17 | Tilapia | 07.06.12

Project 365: 17 | Tilapia | 07.06.12

Yesterday, I made a homemade blackened seasoning for fish/chicken. I then used it on tilapia fillets that I served on top of quinoa and topped with a radish and cucumber salsa. It was spicy, healthy and delicious and we are having the leftovers for dinner tonight. My honey is picky about fish -- he loves it raw but cooked is questionable. He enjoyed this as much as I did so I consider that a kitchen success! (Regardless of if he liked it, I would still make this again because it is so yummy.)

Recipes:
Blackened Seasoning for Fish/Chicken (I used half the salt.)
Blackened Tilapia with Radish and Cucumber Salsa (I used extra radish and a whole red pepper.)

Camera: Canon Rebel T1i

Project 365: 16 | Facial | 07.05.12

Project 365: 16 | Facial | 07.05.12

I had my first ever facial yesterday. It was wonderful and my skin is so nice and smooth. I definitely won't be waiting another 32 years for my next one.

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 15 | Parade | 07.04.12

Project 365: 15 | Parade | 07.04.12

Yesterday was full of my favorite Fourth of July traditions. A good friend came over for a champagne toast and then we walked to our downtown plaza for the local parade. We got a table on the patio of a favorite brewery and enjoyed mimosas while we watched the parade pass by. In this photo are some of the many parade spectators and, in the parade, people on dancing horses. I wait ALL YEAR for the dancing horses. They are my favorite. Here is a video of the horses two years ago. After the parade, we walked back home and then joined 25+ family friends (aka "framily") at my parents' house for their annual BBQ. It was a wonderful day.

Camera: iPhone

Project 365: 13 | Taco | 07.02.12

Project 365: 13 | Taco | 07.02.12

For dinner last night we made portobello chipotle tacos with avocado cream and toasted pepitas. They were quite delicious. Here is the recipe.

Camera: Canon Rebel T1i