One Man Band

Weeknight entertainment in SF: solo trumpet player on the sidewalk below our apartment. Perfect time to turn off the TV, open up the windows and doors, and enjoy the sweet sounds.  If only it wasn't cold and raining outside, we'd have the perfect in-house concert...

Rotation Location Desitination- Round 3

That's right... your favorite traveling Texans are on the move again!  That means you've got about 4-6 weeks to head out west before our sweet apartment has to be handed over to new tenants who are sure to be less appreciative of the forbidden roof views. 

More to details to come on the upcoming placement, but be sure that the SF uniform of fleece and jeans will get a much needed rest.  Bring on the breathable fabric because its about to get sweaty!

Punxsutawney Phil Knows Best

Hangin' tight, flexin' our flow, and chillin' out max with visitors galore here in sunny SF.  That's right--sunny SF.  Frequent blog readers will know how I feel about San Francisco weather (supershittycalifradulent). Nevertheless, I have to say that I am definitely seeing the upside of not having seasons- no summer, but hey, no winter!  As the rest of the country wallowed in snow and ice for the past week, we have had some of the sunniest weather we have seen in the city thus far.  Punxsutawney Phil must know what he is doing because it has been rather spring-like here in Fog City.

Not one to waste a sunny day, I dragged our weekend visitors Christie and Adam outside as often as possible.  Planning our day?  Let's discuss in the park.  Where should we watch the Superbowl?  Let's think about it in the park. Tired? Hey, I have a blanket we can bring to the park...

Sunday, we ensured that that the entire day would be spent outside by purchasing a brand spanking new hillbilly golf set (yes, we understand that this makes our set very drugstore cowboy, but honestly, I didn't quite have the wherewithal to saw and measure PVC pipes on that particular Sunday morning) and a few tasty libations.  As we took up a disproportionate amount of space and explained our foreign sport to other park goers, we realized that life isn't so bad here in SF. 

So if you are currently buried in snow, dreary weather, and/or the winter blues- book a trip out west because you know that we always keep it classy here in San Francisco...

Move over Dou Liamond

Well as you all probably know, the California Independent Film Festival held its final night of screenings last night in Moraga and being only a quick jaunt over the bay and across the unscrupulous hills of Oakland we felt it was a no-brainer decision to attend. 

Now I know you may be thinking "well golly that is mighty interesting, but I didn't know they were that big of film buffs".  Well you are somewhat mistaken and as soon as the much anticipated Part 2 of our Tour de New Zealand makes it to print we will be able to offer you visual proof.  But you are also somewhat correct.  It turns out that this year's California film festival was putting a spotlight on Texas in Language of a Broken Heart, a film co-produced by our good friend from South Africa, Luke Coffee.  Luke is actually from Dallas, but lived and worked on films in ZA for a few months before being deported on Christmas.  Since returning to Dallas, he has jumped headfirst into the blossoming Texas film biz, getting tough guy parts in both Chase and Friday Night Lights, before landing a role as co-producer and supporting actor in Language of a Broken Heart. 

Now as you may have guessed from the title, it is somewhat of a Romantic Comedy (aka romcom), but  for all of those romcomsarecrappyandalwaysfeaturedouchebagslikeHughGrant-style haters, don't let that deter you.  It was actually a solid story, well acted, and overall a great flick.  Following the show, we made our way out to the boisterous lobby and rubbed shoulders with silver screen legends, but the best part was having dinner and drinks with the director, writer/lead actor, and Luke afterwards.  Very cool experience that I wish was more common following a movie.   Overall, the viewing was a great success, and we weren't the only ones that thought so as Language of a Broken Heart took home Best Picture.  Now that the hype has been set, your job is to keep your head on a swivel and an eye out for the award winner in a theater near you...

Oh yeah, that is who you think it is.  Hollywood Legend, and 2011 Maverick Award winner Dou Liamond Phillips:

Laugh it up Dou, but no Best Picture for you tough guy...

Just don't call us Betty...

For many, the ramping up in intensity of the football season should lead to a corresponding step up when it comes to gameday snacks, peaking with the Superbowl Sunday food fest.  Considering that Jared and Jordan enjoyed a feast of $1 oysters and lamb belly sandwiches last weekend during the NFL quarterfinals at Hog and Rocks, our oft blogged about non-sports bar sports bar, we had quite a challenge ahead of ourselves for Sunday's semi-final games.

Nevertheless, the stars were aligned as we had the rare combination of non-achy heads on a Sunday morning with our new DINK status (acronym for: "Dual Income No Kids," and frequently heard in budgetary conversations of late: "who cares, its no big deal, we are totally DINKing it now").   After heading over to the most awesome beer store, Healthy Spirits, and stocking up on the finest, we decided to blow it out of the water with some phenomenal duck nachos.

Enter Jared's home-made salsa and an impromptu guac: 

Sprinkle in some cojita cheese, black beans refried in-house, an utterly delicious roast duck breast and... VOILA!:

Crack open a crisp and refreshing cerveza accompaniment:

And you get some very happy football fans....

Back in the Saddle Again

 



PERFORMANCE METRIC DASHBOARD*

Yes, its true- I have managed to gain meaningful employment! Although the exact parameters of the job are to be determined, I will once again be working with the Bay Area office of the KIPP charter schools and no longer have to try to think of crafty wording on my cover letter that might peak the interest of a potential employer.  So here's to a slam dunk in at least one category of the performance metric dashboard, which is really too bad because soon it will be Friday and I will in fact have sh*t to do....

*graphic supplied by Microsoft Clip Art and text art courtesy of Microsoft Paint 




Escape to LA

My lovely hosts

Only two weeks back in SF and a week into the new job (more to come on that one...) and I was already ready for a serious vacation!  Luckily, Whitney, Nicole and their posse are only a short plane ride away and MLK was a great man deserving of a national holiday.  Enter a 3-day weekend of fun in the sun and corresponding wardrobe makeover courtesy of my pint-sized friend (SF uniform of hoodie and jeans just wouldn't do on the Venice boardwalk).

 LA might be a lot of things, but no one ever called it dreary...

Enjoying memorable food & conversation at Gjelina



J'Adore Paris!

That's right folks, that's me, in the shadow of one of the most famous buildings in the world, shivering, with frozen toes and a steely reserve not to wait in line to ascend to the top of the tower to gaze upon the snow covered city below.

My week-long trip to Paris to visit Michelle and Joseph, students of the French language and tour guides extraordinaries, was too short to say the least. Despite Michelle's ability to keep me awake for longer than I had ever thought possible, I still feel as though I barely scratched the surface of the culture-packed French capital.  Visits to major museums, shows, excellent restaurants, cathedrals, monuments, and innumerable wine bars only left me with the feeling that I must come back.  And that I must learn a bit more French before doing so. 

Here are a few photo highlights from the trip:

Les amoureux at the Arc de Triomphe

The IM Pei pyramid at the Louvre

Checking in with some of the 6 million residents in the Paris catacombs

Running on pure adrenaline (and a bit of champagne) after lots of traveling and little sleeping

Too hungover for more champagne the next morning at Moet & Chandon?

Never!

Le Moulin Rouge

Feeling the love in the City of Lights

Happy New Year!

Not to worry, faithful readers- we will have holiday and travel updates posted soon! Hope everyone had a great holiday season and is geared up for the most cuddly of all Chinese zodiac years- year of the Rabbit.

Holiday Spirit

Nothing says Christmastime more than your favorite holiday movie and in Jared's case, that means watching Home Alone.  Lucky for me, Home Alone ranks second in favorite Christmas movies after Gremlins, so I am happy to indulge as well.  Last year, we celebrated with cheese pizza and Pepsi (and no one wet the bed afterward).  This year, I discovered that the Roxie theater had a special Sunday afternoon matinee of Home Alone, "Drunk + Alone," featuring Prohibition beer and Humphrey Slocombe ice cream floats, a drunk Santa, and a rowdy 20-something crowd (the one kid in attendance looked a bit bored).  The combination led to most people being drunk, but no one was alone.

Holiday Gift Guide: the Jared & Lindsay edition

Although the internet is currently flooded with holiday gift guides, we thought this would be the perfect opportuity to provide ideas for the recently married, often migrant, young Bay Area-dwelling couple on your list. Although few would say no to an iPAD and its corresponding designer case,we have created a list that is far more suited to the needs of a young San Franciscan who might just happen to be named Lindsay or Jared:

1. Parking Space- $250/month- the ultimate luxury.

2. Spacious Closet- $3000 for complete redesign- would free up a lot of kitchen cabinet space

3. Teleporter- $ unknown- would considerably reduce Jared's daily commute time

4. Friends- $150 (a few rounds of drinks)- superfluous? possibly, but usually leads to a good time.

5. Dog- $75 (adoption costs)- strictly outlawed by the evil Bernstein property management group

6. House- $MP- probably more out of our reach than the teleporter

So if a certain item tickles your fancy, feel free to package up and send to your favorite Texpatriates this holiday season!

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.