I miss the Bay Area constantly. I miss my family and friends, I miss hanging out for a random movie, going out for coffee and drinks. It's so hard to live 300 miles away from the people you care about most. This particular weekend was one of my best friend's birthdays who also happens to be a bridesmaid. I love her dearly and it always seems I can't make it near her birthday to the Bay. So this time we decided to surprise her and made the long semi-impromptu drive up on Friday night. It was a long haul but worth it. Saturday morning I wake up to see my mom, always such a comforting feeling. We decide to make cookies for the birthday party and pancakes for breakfast. After a nice large coffee I get to making the cookies. One funny thing about my mom is that she's an incredible baker but absolutely can not stick to a recipe. She adds her own flair to everything she bakes. This time what started as a simple chocolate chip cookie ended up to be a sugar cookie with chocolate chips, then walnuts and almonds then mocha chips. We also used half white half wheat flour and half white half brown sugar. Whew! It was fun and delicious but as always an adventure. Then I proceeded to make pancakes, for which we substituted soy milk instead of real milk, and added frozen blueberries. I like making pancakes. They feel so fancy when they're truly the simplest breakfast you can make homemade. As I wrapped up the pancakes my fiance proceeds to tell me he wants eggs...great. So I make two eggs over easy and fry up some potatoes and pork roast my mom had made the night before. He thoroughly enjoyed. YAY!
We went off to the party where I got to see friends I had seen two weeks prior and some I hadn't seen in 5+ years. So great to see the transition in these years of your life where everyone changes drastically in short periods of time. Friends from your childhood are an honor to maintain. They know you from your braces days and have seen you grow. It's harder and harder to maintain friendships from afar but they are worth it. My friend Ildi and I even had a little cry together at the party since she was completely surprised we showed up. That's what made the trip worth it.
Later that night we went to Paulina Flay's house (aka Karen) who attempted to throw her first dinner party. After the 3rd couple left before dinner due to unpredictable circumstances, Karen served a fabulous potato-leek soup. It was garnished with chives and a slice of lemon and was a soup lovers dream. The next course included seared steak and mashed potatoes all drizzled in a red wine sauce. To die for. :) The meal was accompanied by champagne and wine from Napa. (Castello di Amorosa!)
The next morning We all woke and went to breakfast. I don't know if you know Hobee's but it's a favorite of ours. I personally love the Santa Cruz scramble or salmon scramble, both amazing. Unfortunately Krisztian isn't so much into Hobee's so we venture to a new brunch spot. This place was certainly for senior citizens and quite the down-home country cooking. I was shocked they had Egg Beaters to be honest. It was probably some of the best hash browns I've had though, extremely crunchy, just how I like them.Afterward Karen and I went to our favorite mall while Krisztian studied and Sean tended to his virtual farm. I was thrilled to look for wedding jewelry. Nordstrom was sadly a bust and so was Swarovsky. To my delight Macy's was stocked with sparkly rhinestones. We found the perfect earrings for my dress and a bracelet to match. I will not be disclosing information since I want as much surprise for Krisztian as possible. I was however very ecstatic. Once returning from the mall we found the boys partaking in the Wii. I have attempted Wii once before which lasted maybe 30 seconds and I haven't played many video games since Nintendo. The boys kept egging me on to try the sports games and I finally gave in. An hour later we had wake-boarded, shot basketballs and thrown Frisbees. Karen proved to be a Frisbee shark while Sean conquered at basketball and Krisztian killed the waves in wake-boarding. I am happy to report I enjoyed playing and we have already planned a follow up competition. haha
To end our weekend trip we had dinner at a new sushi place where Karen was feeling adventurous. She had her first glass of sake, that she absolutely hated, and we introduced them to mochi (dough covered ice cream). All in all a successful sushi experience. We then hit the road and 5 hours later crash landed in bed. And now it's Monday...
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