Bon Voyage to Me!

Oui, that is correct j'irai a Paris on December 15th!  I have decided that there is really no reason to sit around and hope a job is going to simply appear- especially during the holiday season- and the prudent thing for someone in my situation to do is to go on an extravagant trip. Although I am pretty sure this is going to have  negative effects on the "money" category in my performance metrics, my   incredibly generous and persuasive cousin convinced me there was really no other option.

Upon booking my trip, I immediately focused on the bare essentials: how to order a bottle of wine (didn't think ordering just a glass would come up that often), how to say: "I am a typical American. I do not speak French," and what to wear on my voyage francais.

Initial reports from the Parisienne front show that it is FREEZING and sometimes even snowing.  This definitely will affect my packing so I decided to do a bit of research to figure out what a Parisienne might wear in such weather.  After perusing Paris street fashion blogs for the winter season, I present some initial results:

A severe but weather appropriate option as it calls to mind a bed quilt. Might need to start scheduling hair appointments to get this look in time...

Whimsical, yes, but could lead to difficulties in tight spaces

 

Sort of a futuristic Russian look, which is never really out of fashion

Fewer than 300 baby foxes were harmed in the making of this coat, making it a surprisingly eco-friendly option.



Although each of these options present a strong case, I feel that it is likely that my search will continue for the perfect Parisienne winter get up. Feel free to help me out by sending links to any additional outfit options that you feel would really help me blend in while ordering wine only by the bottle and reinforcing stereotypes of Americans' lack of linguistic abilities in the land of the bidet.

Jimmy Cup 4: Retribution

Retribution has been acheived. No longer is a Galvin ceremoniously drinking out of the 3 foot chalice of ancient lore. After two long years, a Drakeley again owns the Cup and there are no plans to relinquish the crown for years to come.

Here are some images of how it all went down:

The former champ enjoying one last drink out of the Cup.



 Yep, we get celebrities. Bobby Carpenter was in full effect at Jimmy Cup 4.

Mack made his presence felt by taking home the Chutch in his first appearance while Marie added some tough East Coast flavor to the event in her debut.

All smiles from a former champ and her competition.  Glad they had a good time, but they should consider adopting Mike's more focused intensity if they want to regain the title next year.

 The face of a bald eagle fueled champion triumphing over Mom Galvin.

Jimmy Cup 5 should be interesting...



9th Annual DAT

Once again, competitors arrived from near and far to compete in the annual Day-After-Thanksgiving foosball and ping-pong tournaments. Representatives from Korea, California, New York, Italy, and Texas battled it out in an epic struggle for greatness.  Only those with the greatest table-sport abilities and resistance to the often crippling effects of spending too much time around the keg emerged victorious.

Despite the heckling of onlookers from the "walnut gallery," a previously unknown 16 yr-old ringer won the ping-pong tournament in a last round defeat of the perpetually-confident Michael Galvin.  Discouraged by the pattern of globally ranked  underage tennis players taking the title, minimum drinking requirements might be instated in years to come to ensure a level playing field for all competitors.

 

Inside, an unsurprising series of events took place as the "randomly" selected team of Tara & Dad Galvin worked their way to the top of the ranks and to eventual victory.  Neither Jared nor my team made it into the final rounds, but we definitely made a respectable showing and transferred our efforts to socializing and tending to the needs of the keg.

All in all, the 9th Annual DAT party was an unquestioned success!

Victory Lap

Before heading back to Texas for the Thanksgiving holidays, we celebrated Jared's 29th birthday with a collection of friends we have made since moving to San Francisco. 

We kicked off the rainy evening at Tony's Pizza, universally recognized as the best example of Neapolitan pizza in the Bay Area and according to our Northeastern friends in attendance that evening "not as horrible as most pizzas on the West coast".  Several delicious pies and more than a few bottles of Italian red later, we dashed through the rain to nearby Mojito, to check out a local funk band, the Grease Traps. 

Although the music didn't exactly blow any one's mind, it was the perfect backdrop to a rowdy evening with friends and a great way to ring in Jared's victory lap through his twenties....

Greatness Falls

This week, the unthinkable happened- Ming Tsai was eliminated from the Next Iron Chef.  For those of you that have had the opportunity to visit us here in SF, you might have met our new favorite quirky television chef (RIP Floyd- we love you, brother!) and star of Simply Ming- Ming Tsai.   Dubbed by Kelly as the Chinese Sly Stallone, Ming has kept us couch-bound many a Sunday morning in awe of his East-meets-West combinations.  

When Jared discovered that Ming would be a contender to serve as the next Iron Chef, we had no doubt that he would blow the other no-name chefs out of the water.  Unfortunately, Ming got a bit overzealous and often tried to incorporate the entire pantry into one dish.  He was also criticized for his "dated" plating tactics (apparently frosted glass plates are sooo 90's). Only one challenge away from his place as the next Iron Chef, Ming was eliminated.

We have had a few days to recover from this trauma and our anger at super-lame monkey boy host Alton Brown has subsided a bit, but we still feel confident that Ming would have been the best Iron Chef of the bunch.  At least we will still be seeing Ming, merging Yuzu and Ranch Dressing without missing a beat, every Sunday on PBS from the comfort of our mini-couch....

Baby Power

This has nothing to do with anything happening out here, but not everything has to be relevant to us. As an avid photoshopper, this is just an art form that I find to be outrageously hilarious.  Let me know if you agree...

Runway Ready

Walking down Mission street, I usually expect to see everything from pickled pigs ears to chargers for first-edition cell phones, but I was stopped in my tracks when I saw this lovely pair of Cinderella slippers in the window of a Payless shoe store:

In case you can’t read the label, they are designed by no other than Project Runway’s very own Christian Siriano, one of my all-time favorite designers from the show and winner of PR Season 4.  Apparently in  collaboration with Payless, (most likely modeling after Target's many successful top designer partnerships) Christian Siriano has an reasonbly priced but still quite "fierce"collection.

Since I live in a city that has a high level of appreciation for patterned socks with open toe Birkenstocks and hipsters in mom jeans with Amish-inspired print blouses (see the NYT's recent analysis of SF fashion), these beauts have yet to make it out of the house. Luckily, I have a few trips to Texas in my future and I know that their shininess and impracticality will certainly be appreciated there....

A Giant Celebration

Not surprisingly, we seem to be some of the only people in town feeling the sting of the Rangers' loss.  Its almost like people don't even care about Texas sports around here...

Foreseeing the possible madness on Monday night, Jared convinced me of the merits of watching the game at our favorite neighborhood gourmet ham and oyster bar Hog & Rocks, a surprisingly good place to watch sports.  Packed to the brim with Giants fans, even our lone Ranger fan (pun intended) from game 4 was nowhere to be seen.   After the post-win madness of Journey songs, tequila shots, and high fives all around, we headed to the streets to see how the everyday fan was taking the news.  This video pretty much sums up the feeling of things on the streets: http://missionlocal.org/2010/11/revelry-at-16th-and-valencia/. Luckily, we missed the later incidents of mattress burning and winner-induced looting.

But the fun didn't stop there.  Today, a victory parade with over 100,000 people in attendance was held in downtown San Francisco. 

Everyone in the city seems to be wearing orange and there is a marked increase in the number of games of catch going on in the park. It is pretty hard to not be impressed with the level of excitement, but given the amazing amount of heartbreak these fans have endured over the years and the fact that they won with a panda, a fearful beard, and the kid from Dazed and Confused at the helm, it is not very surprising.  So, the bottom line is that if the Rangers had to get beaten, at least it was by a team that truly savoured the victory with a full-fledged citywide throwdown.

Texas Two Step

I've been lucky to have had not one but two trips to la patria in the past month.  The first trip was strictly a ladies weekend, full of wine drinking, outfit changing, and artistic photos.

The second visit was to celebrate the wedding of two of Jared's MBA pals: Sam Brown and Melissa Sprinkle.  Being an MBA event, the party wouldn't have been complete without a theme and corresponding costumes.

 

The Texas-themed rehearsal dinner had more than a few interpretations of what a "Texan" might wear, but I still feel pretty confident about our choice to go dressed as the "Jean King and Queen."

 

Down yonder in Texas town, we ran into few familiar faces and had a few laughs.

Sometimes Willie just puts it best, so to Texas we say: if you've got the money, honey, we've always got the time...

Uh Oh...Surprise Visitor

This little hellraiser just slid under our back door and decided to camp out in our kitchen yesterday.  Anybody have any suggestions?  Really could use Tsunami's assassin skills about now.

Concentrate on the clouds....

... and the pretty morning sky.... not on the fact that we have been bad bloggers.... pretty clouds, yes, pretty clouds....

Problematic Produce

Do you feel confident that you could identify all of the above types of salad greens?  If so, could you then describe the flavor qualities of each and rank them on a scale of preferability (readers from Central Texas Specialty Growers excluded)?  Although I myself am an avid salad eater, I have usually been pretty amiable to whatever type of green the chef feels is most appropriate and haven't spent too much time pondering the desirability of each.  As we approach the date of the luncheon I am planning, I have learned that not only are there people in this world with more refined salad palates than mine, but the answer to the question "do you have any special dietary restrictions that we should be aware of when planning our luncheon menu?" can get quite specific.  Here is a response from one guest:

Hi Lindsay.

Patty cannot tolerate anything very spicy. She also doesn’t care for “mixed greens” in a salad, she prefers romaine or spinach but that is much less of a problem. I think Bill is pretty open.

Thank you for checking!
Cynthia

Cynthia Wilson
Assistant to Patty Davis

It frightens one to think about what type of greens could end up in your salad without the intervention of personal assistants, doesn't it?