La Recessionista Files - Tales from an unemployed renegade on a world tour

July 20, 2009

In My City By The Bay

The lovely and always thoughtful Debbie Mayer (+ associates) threw a welcome back party for Lisa and I yesterday at the Presidio Yacht club.

A stunning day on the bay with some of my most favorite people. You just can't top that. Thanks all!

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July 20, 2009

Sweet Olive turned two last week. Chance and I were invited to celebrate with an outing to Fort Funston followed by a picnic in Dolores Park. A great day was had by all. Olive partook in her first bday cake while Bryan lost his mind sampling his first Bi Rite cone (salted carmel, of course).

Word to the squeamish: we came across a shark's head on the beach at Funston. Looks like a hammer head. I'm posting some pics even though it is kinda gross. But really, how often do you find the head of a shark lying on the beach?

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July 20, 2009

Creme Brulee For The People

While I've been away there have been all sorts of interesting culinary developments in SF. Take for instance the gourmet roach-coach / cart trend kicked off by 'the creme brulee guy' .

Curtis, a construction worker and apparent creme brulee fan, got the idea to build a cart and sell his creamy concoctions around town. He works without a licence so he constantly changes his location. His growing fan-base get the low-down on his whereabouts via twitter feeds.

My neighbor Cassia loves creme brulee with a capital L. She tracked down Curtis and invited him to sell in front of her house. This Saturday Curtis set up shop in front of our houses for the 2nd time. I'm hoping he makes this a regular gig because his creme brulee is seriously good. He keeps a bunch of pre-made stock on the ready and torches them to crispy goodness on order.

I had a great time catching up with neighbors and meeting new folks who'd followed the twitter trail. There was a steady stream of customers for a good 2-3 hours. There was even a reporter from the NY Times there to capture the sweet story. Here are some pics of the cart and my neighbor Asher sporting the tiniest pair of Havianas I have ever seen. I really have a thing for miniature anything.

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July 19, 2009

Singapore Sling : Second Round

You may be tired of looking at these pet photos, but I just can't help myself.

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July 19, 2009

Singapore Sling

Lisa and I enjoyed our 12 hours in Singapore about as much as humanly possible. I expected a concrete jungle and instead was surprised at how tropical and green the city is.

Serene met Lisa and I for some power-shopping & noshing at one of their many malls. We had tea and toast - a staple in Singapore. The toast is topped with a light coconut jelly and (now stay with me here, this is tasty) soft boiled eggs and soy sauce. Yummy. She sent us each home with a jar of the jam so if anyone is curious - i'll whip you up a batch.

Later, Terence picked us up and took us to their house for the long-awaited meeting with the dogs. We also met Terence's mom Tina who is hilarious - I see where he gets his sense of humor. I sampled a crazy asian fruit that grows with spikes on the outside with fruit the consistency of custard inside. It is an "acquired taste" the family kept warning me and it was actually pretty good. The only downside is it smells kinda like garbage.

We spent some quality family-time looking at Terence and Serene's wedding album and later his mom and dad's album. I was dying for the hipster 70's fashions worn at his mom and dad's wedding. What an era. Serene had 4 dresses for her various wedding ceremonies that were equally swoon-worthy. Especially the red full-length dressed with hand sewed swarovski crystals - designed by the lovely Miss Serene herself.

As you may have predicted, I fell in love with the dogs. They are adorable, so smart and well-mannered. The big dog Bruno is trained to lay down to play dead at the command "bang". I really want Chance to learn a useful party trick like this. Think of how popular we could be? Especially once I train him to ride the mini horse. Anyway - back to Singapore. T & S toured us around the city, brought us to a grocery store so we could stock up on exotic spices and took us to an award-winning Malaysian restaurant where I ate fish-head soup. See how far i've come?

T & S are such gracious hosts - they really dazzled us. We are hoping they will visit SF soon.

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July 17, 2009

More International Fashion Show Footage

And the fun continued.....

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July 17, 2009

Home Sweet Home

I'm back in SF. It is a shock to wake up and have ordinary things to do instead of embarking on a new adventure each day. It is an adjustment - but I am happy to be home.

My parents surprised me at the airport. I'd told them not to make the drive from Gilroy to SFO but they couldn't help themselves. A welcome surprise for this world traveler. I missed my family! But did I miss them enough to create a huge 'Here I Am' poster? Here's the story:

You see my parents are quite sentimental. They traveled to Europe when I was a young tyke and my artful Auntie Lorrie made the sign for our dramatic reunion at the airport. The sign lives in my dad's office and is unearthed every once in a while when I return from longer trips.

My sisters made a lovely brunch and we dined on chilequiles in the backyard. Thankfully SF welcomed me with a sunny, hot day. Perhaps inspired by the heat, or more likely by the beer, an international fashion show and dance performance ensued in the backyard. As you can see - it was a family affair. Balinese ceremonial crowns and Egyptian belly dance costumes were crowd favorites.

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July 12, 2009

A Culinary Treat At Mozaic

We ate at Mozaic last night - Ubud's fancy-schmancy restaurant. Six
courses with wine pairings, thats how we chose to wind down our epic
journey. The food was really good. I dutifully photographed each
course but can't show you the pics because our laptop won't connect.
Grrrr.

Went to bed late, woke up at 5:30am and I now find myself in the
airport lounge drinking a can of coke which i'm hoping it will help
erase the effects of last night's wine consumption.

Our bags are checked thru to SFO, so it is official. I'm coming home.

Next is Singapore, an afternoon of shopping with Serene followed by
dinner with Terence and a much awaited introduction to their 4 dogs.
As if I needed more than that to lure me to Singapore, Serene is
taking me to a lash bar that sells Shu Uemera style lashes without the
ridiculous mark-up. I say it is time to revive the Liza Minelli lash.

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July 12, 2009

Ubud - Relishing My Last Day

I don't want to leave - seriously. I'd like to make this villa my own and live amongst the rice paddies. My favorite yoga studio is half a block away - it is perfect here.

It is a breezy sunny day and I'm spending it poolside. Tomorrow morning we head to Singapore to meet up with Terence and Serene, our fab friends we met in Vietnam.

Next morning we head to Hong Kong and then SF. The sisters took the day off from work to welcome me home proper. Kristin is making me "one of my favorite dishs" (I bet it is chillequiles!) and i'm hoping we get in a little ther-e-aoke (therapeutic karaoke) before I send my jet-lagged self to bed. And ohhhh Chance McPatterson!! I cannot wait to get that scruffy rascal in my arms. Maybe I can leave Bali after all.

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July 11, 2009

Balinese Dance

Gretchen and I caught a dance performance featuring several styles Balinese dance. Loved it. The movements are so precise and the hand and eye movements are really exaggerated. My blasted camera takes horrible shots at night so the pics aren't great. I was taking copious mental notes on the costumes for future use.

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