Friday, April 29, 2011

San Francisco post 5: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is an activist group in San Francisco.
Visit their website here.
From their website: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence® is a leading-edge Order of queer nuns. Since our first appearance in San Francisco on Easter Sunday, 1979, the Sisters have devoted ourselves to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment. We believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty and we use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.

Radha and I happened upon their Easter Party in Dolores Park...
And we were so pleased with that!
This is another photo heavy post... I hope you enjoy my photographs of the Sisters!

This sister's eyelashes and eyeballs were amazing!


One of the musical acts... They sang a "mash-up"
Top left singing "Born This Way".
Bottom left singing a Madonna song... Can't remember which.


Radha and I with an amazingly costumed person.


Easter bonnet contest.
Bottom left "Big Gay Hat" won the cash prize.
But he gave the cash back to the Sisters. Nice of him!
Bottom middle was a grandma/grand-daughter duo... super cute.

A couple of Radha and my favorite guys...


Some of the beautifully painted faces, hats, and costumes...



AMAZING!

Group of sisters on stage and the spectators at Dolores Park.


Another one of my favorites.


Spectators... of all kinds!

Painted faces...



Pretty amazing costumes, right?
It was a really enjoyable and happy accident stumbling upon this event.
If you are in San Francisco for Easter, definitely check them out!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

San Francisco post 4: Bi-Rite Creamery

High quality icecream (they use Straus Family dairy!!) and extremely yummy.


From their website:
ConeBi-Rite Creamery products are lovingly handcrafted in small batches. We strive to uselocal, organic ingredients when available, and are committed to operating in a sustainable manner. Our ice cream is made from Straus Family organic dairy products. The fruit and flavorings we use are organic whenever possible and our packaging is made from biodegradable material

Look at those flavors!
Can you guess which Radha and I got?

...Radha got the blood orange sorbet...
and I got a scoop of each: Salted Caramel and Honey Lavender
I doubt I have to state that mine were absolutely amazing, but I will anyways.
They were amazing. And they paired nicely together.

San Francisco post 3: blossoms and ginkgo

I went to the city on the right weekend...
The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and bright pink.
To top it off, my favorite leafed tree, the ginkgo, was bright green and everywhere.

This post is photo heavy... I just couldn't narrow down my favorites more than this!

First up: The Gingko.
If you know me, you know I love the ginkgo leaf... I love its shape and
the tree is beautiful in green in the spring and golden in the fall.
I love the contrast between the green leaves and the darker and reddish background.
(do yourself a favor and click on the photo for a bigger image...)

Slightly translucent leaves



And now: The Cherry Blossoms.
How beautiful and lush are these?!!
At night, they would glow.
I had a hard time capturing it, but maybe you get the idea with this one.



The shapes and colors in nature are so inspiring to me!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

San Francisco post 2: Miette Confiserie

First, I would like to say that not all of my posts of my recent weekend to San Francisco will be about food.
But with that said, this one is.
Well, of candy and treats.

My friends and I made a stop at Miette, in Hayes Valley.
It's such a cute store and their Parisian macaroons are soooo yummy.


I just love the colors in Miette...
Not from painted walls or counters, but from CANDY!
Every color of the rainbow!

Radha, Jordan, and me! (about to eat my macaroon)


Cute cakes and cupcakes


Parisian Macaroons, as mentioned above.
The Chocolate Lavender was very tasty.


So if you have a sweet tooth or love color, stop in one of Miette's locations
for a feast for the eyes and taste buds!

San Francisco post 3 is up next... stay tuned!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

San Francisco post 1 : El Zocalo

A visit to San Francisco means good friends, good food, and good fun.

So to start, with my recent weekend in San Francisco, I want to focus on El Zocalo, an El Salvadorian restaurant in the Mission.

Susan took me there, promising me yummy and cheap food including Pupusas!

$1.90/each! And so yummy!


Our choices, including Revuelta Original Pupusas, Positas (sp?), tostada, rice&beans.


Sweet and beautiful Susan!




How amazing are all the plates of pupusas?!!

This place was no glitz or glam.
Was a hole in the wall.
But in my experience, this type of restaurant makes the best food.
And El Zocalo was no exception!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Restaurant: The Neon Carrot!

I went to lunch today at a really really good place.

And,
A. if you don't know about it, you probably would never know about it unless someone told you about it.
B. if you have not been before, you probably should.

The restaurant is called The Neon Carrot.
It is on South Higuera, towards Trader Joes, in one of those little "plazas" that don't seem to have anything interesting unless you are going to Curves or to Mail Boxes Etc (making those up, but- it's that kind of plaza).

I didn't take a photo of it, but above the restaurant is a generic plaza sign that says "RESTAURANT". Judging from that sign, I would think the place was a mediocre, at best, diner or something.

But instead, oh boy, instead it was cute, healthy, yummy, local, yummy, and did I mention yummy?

(Above) This! is what I had.
Toasted flat bread with a gingered carrot puree.
On top of that, a grilled egg plant that had a smoked/bbq taste to it.
On top of that, a Mint and Pistachio spread.
On top of that, a great salad!
And throughout the whole thing, little pieces of preserved lemon peel.
It was, in one word, delicious.


My mom had the cauliflower and cheese soup (bottom left).
And of course, we had to share a piece of carrot cake.
(Or as I lovingly call it, Banana Bread Cake)


As you can read (click to enlarge photo), the restaurant is owned by locals and they use local produce and meat. Extra points from me, for sure!

If you live in or visit SLO, stop by... It's cute, yummy, and sort of a secret, maybe.

Good food inspires me.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Honeycomb Shelf Idea! DIY

I love this idea DIY honeycomb shelf, as seen on Design*Sponge!

And I love the colors they chose for it.

If I made it, it would have to be really high up so that my cat Olive wasn't able to jump up on it.
Or I could make it go to the ground, like stairs, and make it really strong and encourage her to climb up it... That would be pretty adorable too!

See the whole project here: Honeycomb Shelf

Monday, April 11, 2011

Martin Beach Photoshoot

I had the pleasure of doing a photoshoot in Avila this past week.
Christin's husband is in the army and is currently away from his family.
Christin wanted to get portraits done of herself and their daughters,
Kaylani and Mia, to send to him.

It was a beautiful day to accomplish this!

The three girls


Jumping shots... one of my favorite portraits to take!


Kaylani running!


Mia running!


Kaylani


Mia


sisterly love


Mia's solo jump shots!


Kaylani's shadows


Swings!


We love you Daddy!