Vacation!

We ate, we drank, we ran from the rain...we ate some more. This is San Fran/Napa Valley March 2012 in pictures...did I mention no baby? Leo graciously sent us off smiling, knowing he'd be spoiled rotten by Grandma.


We begin in San Francisco, Oakland to be more specific. Hanging out for a couple of days with our friend Kathryn at her impossibly cute place (that's her palm tree!) in what is a surprisingly adorable city. Oakland! Who knew?!?!


Saturday night it was off to Incanto in the city. Chris Cosentino and crew know what the heck they are doing, as evidenced by the following:
Bone marrow with cured tuna heart (think tuna bacon bits). Amazing. I think Jay cried.


Followed by asparagus with pecorino and a beautifully runny egg; pasta with wild mushrooms, nettles, green garlic and pecorino (my favorite, besides the marrow, of the night) and another pasta dish with more of the salty goodness that is tuna heart along with another runny egg;


"pork and beans" - braised pork shoulder and rediculously creamy white beans and lastly, a pistachio cake with rhubarb. The dessert was sort of the clunker of the night. Great flavor, too dry.


Sunday was spent eating our way through the Ferry Building. Meat cone anyone?


Also had really awesome Korean food in Oakland Sunday night. Monday it was off to Yountville!

First stop, Pride Mountain Vineyards. Barrel tasting inside their cave = very fun. I have to say, they're known for their Cabs but it was the Merlot that really knocked me out.


Monday night was Ad Hoc. Cue angels.

Oh where to begin. First off, we had no rez so we sat at the bar. When in doubt, always sit at the bar. At one point Jay and one of the bartenders were discussing DIY immersion circulators. So yeah, these are our people. And the food, in a word - flawless. Monday's menu (it changes daily) started off with an endive salad with fava beans, prosciutto, some pickled stuff and I think pistachios. I don't even care what was in it, it was the best salad of my life. Period. A salad.

Next came the brisket. I can't even begin to communicate the lusciousness of the meat, the flavor of the little fat cap - yes, the FAT had flavor. And it just melted immediately upon hitting your tongue. It wasn't grissly or greasy. It was an essential flavor component to the dish. FAT. Genius. Oh and it was served with a broccoli salad that was tossed with creme fraiche, almonds, red onion and literally I think that was it. Broccoli salad. Raw broccoli. IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME.


After we stopped weeping over the brisket it was time for the cheese course. It was aged Beecher's! Hooray for Seattle! And then lastly it was dessert time. Monkey bread. Yes, the stuff that every home cook, grandma, church lady, FoodTV host makes - MONKEY BREAD. It was silly. After dinner, we relaxed atop our inn. Enjoying what would be the last sun of the trip...


Tuesday was, apparently, the end of days based on the rain. So why not spend the day driving up and down the impossibly twisty Spring Mountain road? We braved the monsoon and headed back up to Spring Mountain for visits to Keenan and Smith Madrone. Below is a shot of Keenan's space. We didn't get any pics at Smith Madrone since it was all we could do to get from car to indoor structure. But we had a grand time talking for two hours with winemaker Charley Smith at Smith Madrone. He looks like the Gorton's fisherman and has great stories. And the wine is fantastic.


Lunch at Farmstead in St. Helena was lovely. Pork rillettes and roast chicken...mmmm. And look, those look suspiciously like the same shelves Jay did in the kitchen before we put in our cabinet boxes! The Roulstons are trendsetters. That's all.


Tuesday night, a perennial favorite: Bistro Jeanty. Salade aux lardons and steak frites for me, beef stew for Jay. Love this place. Prior to dinner, however, we had an afternoon snack at ReddWood. Asparagus, telleggio, prosciutto pizza with a farm egg on top. This *may* have impacted my ability to actually eat my dinner that night. Oh well, it's vacation!


After dinner on Tuesday night we discovered the very fancy Bardessono Inn/Spa and Lucy Restaurant that are located directly across the street from where we stayed. First impression was that this was going to be douche-bag central. Beautiful, over the top modern, LEED Platinum building, note the wall of airplants, etc., etc. We were pleasantly surprised to find it very low-key and comfortable. Run by a Seattle management company no less. Yummy bar food (lamb meatballs shown here), awesome wine list, generous bar staff who took great care of us, AND, the bathrooms have automatic toilets. We could not stop laughing. We went back the next night. And the last day for breakfast. Oh and it was here we had a deconstructed sweet potato pie for dessert one night. Black sesame ice cream, kaffir lime marshmallow and japanese sweet potato...never had anything like it. Outstanding.


Wednesday we did a drive-by through Sonoma county, had lunch in Healdsburg and then headed back to Yountville for the afternoon. Spent time in the coolest tasting room ever. Maisonry is a combination art gallery and tasting room. Started by the owner of Blackbird wines. NOT pretentious at all. And it is here that we had the best Sauv Blanc we've ever tasted. We may have purchased a few bottles. After Maisonry we were out walking and I swear to you that Thomas Keller was picking herbs in the French Laundry's garden. Jay claims no, but I'm just going to believe that it was he. Apparently he and Eric Ripert were out and about in town just the week prior. The silver aardvark! The rest of the valley may, at times, suffer from tourist overload and over-the-top wine country cheesiness, but Yountville = heaven on earth, IMHO. After Maisonry we had a snack at Bouchon before dinner at Bottega.


Wednesday night was dinner at Bottega. It was VERY good. It could not, however, match Ad Hoc. That said, the raviolo with black truffle was gorgeous (and surprisingly subtle given the load of truffles), and Jay's shortrib with spaetzle was luscious. My duck three ways, however, was just OK. The confit was perfect, the pate was also tasty (and there was an amazing rhubarb sauce that brightened up everything) but they didn't render the skin properly on the breast so there was a little too much fat left. Yes this is a nit, overall it was a really excellent meal. And Michael Chiarello himself stopped by to say hello! How cool! Beautiful space, gracious chef, solid kitchen. But at the end of the day, we had better food elsewhere.


This brings me to the end of our trip. Thursday we headed out of town and made our way over to the coast to pick up Route 1 and head down the coast to San Fran and the airport. Look, the ocean! Golden Gate Bridge! The fog was, how to put it, dense. But a beautiful drive nonetheless. Our bellies are full, our wine "cellar" is replenished and we continue to dream about the brisket.

And then 7 months happened...

So much for my 2011 resolution to blog more frequently. So let's turn that into a 2012 resolution! These last 7 months have been a blur. Mainly a blur of Leo developments/frustrations coupled with work and the holidays. Actually it's ironic that I pick today to finally post something, given the absolute craziness that is my job right now. I think my brain is craving anything that can be completed quickly and within my complete control. Hence a blog post.

Leo will be turning 2 next month. Yes, that's right. So what are the major highlights with Leo these days? Well....

1. Crawling. Yes! I know I'm totes burying the lead here. But...I can't believe I'm putting these words out in the universe: LEO IS CRAWLING! Caveat 1: He's not cruising all over town hence no real baby-proofing need yet, Caveat 2: it's a slow crawl, not terribly smooth and sometimes he just falls over. But who cares! He's up on all fours, moving his knees forward, then his arms. I call that crawling. And so does his neurologist.

2. Talking & mimicking. He is a chatter box. His name, objects, things in books, animals, Mama, Daddy, Doggies, his care providers, food that he wants - you get the idea. And we're finding, pretty much any word that comes out of our mouth will come out of his. Plus he's adding more to his vocabulary on a daily basis.

3. Cognition - 100% normal! This is perhaps the biggest sigh of relief we've had over the last 7 months. Due to the major delays with his motor skills we have been more than a little freaked out that he would also have cognitive issues, or learning disabilities or, who knows. We've just been really scared. But as of this week's neurology check-up we are in the clear when it comes to his smarts. According to the brain doctor "Leo is super smart" and "I don't see any delays in cognition" and "he should be just fine in school, no barriers that I can see." So we're sort of overwhelmed by that news since it's been this quiet weight in the back of our minds for so long. This is not to say that he couldn't benefit from a developmental preschool perhaps - in order to get him really ready for kindergarten and given the likelihood that he'll still have some motor stumbles for the next year or longer. BUT, looking at the big picture, he's in good shape.

4. Movement - So what does his future look like relative to movement? Well we don't really know. He may need a walker for a bit, he may need a brace for his ankles or something like that, he may continue for PT for quite a while, he may catch up this year and just be a little stumbly and uncoordinated - the point being, we don't really know. But he continues to make really good progress and of course the crawling thing is pretty huge. His biggest challenge is just overall balance, strength and coordination. With all things - coordinated eating and other oral motor stuff, coordinated fine motor movements with his hands/fingers, coordinated sitting, moving out of sitting and into crawling, moving out of crawling and pulling himself up and then, of course, walking on his own. Pretty much everything you can think of that requires a coordinated movement to do - he has a hard time with that. But he's getting better. And that's really the most important thing.

5. Mr. Funny Man! Saving the best for last, this kid is a ham. He loves attention (weird), loves making us laugh, loves being made to laugh, finds the most off the wall things hilarious (weird), and is generally pretty awesome.

Beyond Leo, we finally got some space in the basement finished off. We're loving the space. And next on the list includes some outside projects, because it's February and this is when we become obsessed with gardening. One project in particular - a living wall on one of our fences - has us getting very nerdy and creative. I will certainly update here.

Summer! Summer? Meh.

Maybe it's because the weather has been, how shall we say, not summery. Or maybe it's because I'm getting older and I find myself more and more being shocked at how much time has passed - "what? It's Christmas already?!?!?!" Or maybe I just lost track of time...whatever the reason it's been too darn long since my last post! Lots going on this Summer so here's the latest.

The asbestos siding has been removed! We did this a couple months ago but I never posted pics. Many of you have seen this up close and personal. I honestly never get tired of looking at the old wood siding that, for the most part, is in great shape.



Leo continues to work hard at getting stronger and improving his gross motor skills. He's sitting better each day, but having a hard time figuring out how to get out of sitting or into sitting. So we've been working on that more than anything over the last couple of months. But we continue to see progress, so that keeps us optimistic. AND, in super exciting news he has started putting a spoon in his mouth! Hooray! Seems like a small thing, but for him this is huge.



In other news, we went to Willamette Valley over the 4th of July weekend. Lots of eating and drinking and sleeping (no baby!). Sigh. It was heaven. Literally. See?



The garden overall has been doing great. We've already enjoyed fennel, greens, broccoli and onions. And just this morning I noticed zucchini coming in. The green beans are twirling their way up the pole, the cucumbers are blossoming and the tomato plants all have lots of fruit on them. Miracle of miracles. Now we'll see if they actually ripen. Fingers crossed.

Ready For His Close-Up

It's begun...we've started selling our child out for profit. Leo had his first gig a couple weeks ago! A friend of ours is a producer and was shooting a corporate ad/video and needed a baby. Being a preemie IS good for something - you can play an 8 month old when you're 14 months! Leo was a champ, only one meltdown. Jay was his handler.


And our backyard project continues to push forward...we're getting so very close to the end, but here's a taste.


Keep sending good vibes Leo's way - he's been working hard on trying to crawl and feed himself (not at the same time) and both are proving very difficult. So hopefully he'll get the hang of both soon enough. Admittedly Jay and I are getting a wee frustrated ourselves. Patience. This time last year we brought him home from the hospital...I can't even believe it. Let's just compare and contrast...and celebrate! Yay Leo!
Then: Now:
Then: Now:

Dog!

I think we have an official second word...aside from the myriad forms of "dad" and "dada" that have been uttered in recent months. Oh, and "dat" - for pretty much anything. But tonight we got "dog!" - and about 3 times at that! So I think we can officially add it to his vocabulary. Hooray.

Speaking of dogs....I'm having the strongest craving tonight for a hot dog. Seriously. Going with the Applegate Farms and fingers are crossed it will be tasty. Perhaps with some arugula from the garden! Check out the bumper crop.

Our mixed lettuces are also going cra-zay. Lots of salad this week.

Happy May! Backyard remodel pictures coming soon...we're in the home stretch.

Spring!

Leo turned 1 on March 23! Happy birthday to our little man. He's hanging out around 18lbs and 29" long. 10th percentile for height and 3rd for weight (not adjusted). Here he is, freaked out at the cupcake (I made coconut, chocolate w/salted caramel and carrot cake cupcakes...delish) that lay before him at his party. He managed to get a taste of it...and seemed to enjoy. Immediately followed by falling asleep. Of course I forgot to take pictures of all the fun stuff like the table, cupcakes...and...cue Mom guilt...the birthday boy. Thanks to Dan for this shot.



And it wouldn't be a blog post without another illness for Leo. Sigh. He caught a cold at some point this Spring and it ultimately turned into Pneumonia. Yikes. But apparently it's pretty common, easily treatable with antibiotics and we caught it early. On a Saturday, natch, so here he is at the hospital. He was quite tired.



He has since bounced back beautifully. And, as is the case every single time he gets sick, he decided to leap ahead on his development. So now he's sitting very well and pulling his knees up under him as if suggesting a crawl. He's also using his fingers and hands more and more and generally making awesome strides. Literally in the span of two weeks. And just in time for our final visit to Swedish PT. We will now be luxuriating in at-home OT/PT beginning later this month. Sweet relief. Here he is sitting, and enjoying the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs - Go Wings!



In house news, we've got our kitchen garden planted. Well, mostly. The heat loving stuff will come later. But right now I've got (from seed!) carrots, beets, brussels sprouts and scallions coming up. From seed! I am astonished. And lettuces, chard, broccoli, fennel and more onions are doing well from starters I got through Seattle Tilth. I love them. Look, proof of seedlings. Plus a pretty shot of our Serviceberry tree flowering in the front yard. Oh, and it's Earth Day today. How appropriate.



In other silly updates, Leo had his first experience with Dick's Hamburgers (a Seattle institution). Here he is confused.



And here he is at our friends' house for Passover Seder, where he had a taste of lamb tagine and was quite a fan. He's holding onto that bottle for Elijah. Oh and beside that is my new favorite picture of him. I mean, come on people. He's the cutest.



And in the spirit of Easter and Spring renewal, I'm making a concerted effort for more updates to this here fine piece of writing. Perhaps not as many Leo updates (that's the beauty of life these days, things are pretty normal with him), so maybe more house and other stuff kind of updates. Hope you like the new format and look. Happy Easter everyone!