SO GOOD IN SO CALDearest Family and Friends
57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
March Highlights
Buying Nothing
Month Three
has seen some clutter reduction. Imperceptible changes are afoot, some mild weeding of the mountains of stuff has occurred. I concede that more vigorous pruning is required, but a start has been made, the mindset is shifting.
There are various maxims I’ve taken to heart to help me through this year of retail abstinence and efforts to move towards a more minimalist existence whereby objects gain more worth and experiences are enriched. Retail Therapy is Out.
Retail therapy is all about a little quick fix, a sugar-rush high carefully calculated to stroke one’s ego. Its removal has allowed me to revel in more sustaining and nurturing practices –
I’ve loved going to yoga and Pilates, taking Esme for walks, spending time in the garden, having a massage a month (my Christmas present from Colman) if ego-stroking is required.
Make Do and Mend. Our pillow-cases started to wear through, and a hole appeared. Normally I’d have bought new high thread count Egyptian cotton replacements (good quality bed-linen is important to me) but these were taken to the menders for an extra lease of life.
Leave Your Wallet At Home. Not always possible, but keys, phone and other essentials can often fit into your pocket. Taking my bag out just encourages shopping, so doing without is not only thrifty but also liberating, with one less thing to carry.
Shared Family Experiences are Better than More Stuff. We had a great morning out at the Exploratorium (the excellent science museum) where 
Esme was so excited by the steam machine, the colour spectrum analyser, the magnets, the distorted room, flashing lights everywhere and watching Mama get charged with electricity.
Free is Easy. Esme had pretty much learned her books by heart, and the adults were getting distinctly bored with them anyhow, so joining the library has been a godsend. Friends have been very generous at
passing on outgrown clothes and pre-loved toys.
Swapping and Regifting is Good. We didn’t care for our large pot of rosemary salt but Armani loves it, and she gave me some hair de-frizzing potions in exchange; Colman is getting Spanish lessons in return for giving Jonathan our old computer. Great satisfaction is to be derived from passing things on to more worthy recipients.
Second Hand is Cool. Well mostly. I like to call it stylishly shabby, or distressed chic. Tracey B hosted DLG for a massive clothes swap. Which turned out to be a generous throw-out on her part. As she’s the glamorous mother of twins 4 months older than Esme, both my daughter and I did extremely well out of the transaction. I came back with about 10 pairs of shoes, sleepsuits, tops, cardigans and dresses for Esme, and a dress, 3 tops, 2 jumpers, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 shirts and a poncho for me. 
So, although I acknowledge second hand requires a purchasing action at the beginning of the chain, we freeloaders were the lucky recipients, and most elegant we are as a result!
Live Performance is Enriching. In March I went to the ballet twice, with Kristan and also with Dayna, and was completely transported by the artistry and technical skills on display.Transgressions of the Month
There were a few this month: I had to get a taxi somewhere with an empty wallet in hand, and San Francisco is short on bank cashpoints. You have to get cash out at costly ATM machines or purchase something and get cash back. So, ever frugal, I opted for the latter rather than pay the $1.50-$2.00 charge. I bought body moisturiser and eye cream… 
in my defence I had run out of both items. I did also buy a replacement day moisturiser, but I’ve allowed this one, especially as it has an SPF of 30 and my mother had kindly pointed out how old and haggard I’m starting to look after 2 years in California. It is a very strong sun up there…
More seriously Soren and Esme were turning on the gas hobs on the stove and my keyboard ran out of batteries, so, shopping in a hurry as usual, I dashed in to the hardware store and bought a big family pack of AA batteries and knob protector kit. Only when I got home did I realise my error: we have a recharger at home, I should have bought rechargeables… 
Small comfort that we recycle our batteries. And of course the knob protection kit only works on 3 of the 7 knobs, has made the children even more interested in the workings of the stove, and we’ve added more plastic into the planet. I should have tried to find something 2nd hand online or joined Freecycle.
I handed over $25 for a book of vouchers for Green Living in San Francisco, which gets you money off local restaurants, services and shops, to one of the other mothers in our regular Friday morning playground session, before remembering that this is still shopping. 
Bargains are another clever marketing tactic - you think you’re saving money by buying something in order to get the discount (although I did succumb when I saw 7 J cloths for 70c in a closing down sale). So I made up a hasty excuse, returned the vouchers and got my money back.Freebie of the Month
A most stylish pair of sunglasses kindly passed on to me by Jane (who claimed they didn’t fit her) while we were in San Diego, after Esme broke mine.
I also availed myself of the free toiletries at the San Diego hotels we stayed at, so we’re good for moisturiser and lotion for now. (I was careful to take only the necessary ones, not additional fripperies).
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Brand New Baby
My sister, Louise and husband Peter, had her third child, Samuel Joshua, on the 8th March, welcomed to the family with open arms by older sister,
Lizzie, and brother, Thomas. A new cousin for Esme, we look forward to meeting Sam this summer!
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Visitor of the Month
Conor
Our very dear pianist friend from Dublin, Conor, was on a concert tour across the US with that highly regarded outfit, the Dublin Philharmonic, and managed to get off the bus and fly to see us for 3 days and nights, before rejoining the (mostly Bulgarian) troupe in that Central Valley metropolis, Modesto, on the Saturday night. It was marvellous to see Conor, who had been a witness at our legal wedding, and had been music director and played the piano for our public wedding three weeks later.
He needed to practice his next piece for performance on the following Monday, so Colman fixed him up with a succession of wealthy San Franciscans with wonderful houses in Pacific Heights and, crucially, underplayed Steinways.
On our first night we had dinner and caught up, Esme asked him to be her godfather, which he was delighted to accept (not a dry eye in the house); on the second night I went out to the DLG leaving Colman and Conor to attend a recital by Russian pianist, Evgeny Kissin.
On the Friday Esme and I took him on a Mission tour of the murals, Mission Dolores church, taking in the seedier parts before returning to the spirited and fun Valencia Street, ending up in Mission playground
so he could meet Armani and Marcus.That night we hosted dinner in his honour,
inviting Dan, Dayna, Adam, Jen D (as DLG representative) and Morgan (as the Wine Night representative) and we all had a riotous time. The conversation ranged from Nietzsche to frat house initiations, and we all were nicely sozzled by the end of proceedings.Conor left all too soon the next morning, sob… but we have the memories to sustain us until next time!
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Expedition of the Month
San Diego
Our Adventure of the Month began a day earlier than Colman and Esme’s as I flew south on a Wednesday afternoon to San Diego (the 2nd largest city in California and 8th largest in the US) to stay at the Ferrari-red Pininfarina-inspired The Keating, the first of three hotels in three nights reviewed for http://www.i-escape.com - we are finally going to add California to the site!My fourth ever overnight away from Esme was very pleasant but not quite the blissful solitary indulgence I had hoped for. The hotel manager very kindly took me to dinner in the restaurant, and presented me with sample tasters of pretty much most of the menu.
Colman and Esme arrived the following morning (uncharacteristically hazy and so it proved for much of our stay, much to the mortification of the San Diegans who revel in their legendary constant sunshine). We then explored Downtown, lunching in the touristy Gaslamp Quarter . Every city has its Gaslamp: a former rundown seedy older area, now renewed, restored and celebrated including some brash post-modernism and 90s high rise gentrification. 
We strolled along the San Diego Bay Embarcadero waterfront promenade taking in the ships of yesteryear including HMS Surprise, a modern C18th Royal Navy frigate replica used in the excellent Master and Commander as well as military vessels passing (SD is the site of one of the largest naval fleets and attendant facilities in the world). 
Colman’s inner boy surfaced, insisting we visit the aircraft carrier museum ship USS Midway (1945-1992). It was a strange experience: marvelling at the extraordinary feat of engineering and undoubted human talent that had gone into creating this killing machine and the vast consumption of precious resources. It was like going for tea with the Great Satan. 
Esme loved running about the flight deck and hangar bay, clapping when her Mama performed cartwheels to keep her amused. I was warned to be extra careful as the non-slip paint could inflict injury. Colman perused the inner workings of the engines, bridge and flight deck aircraft. 
Later we headed over to Hotel No.2: The Pearl, a ‘vintage mid-century modern boutique hotel’ – a motel makeover to you and me. While not escaping the limitations of the original building, the refurb had done a good job of creating a funky vibe with cute retro styling – the best touch being the goldfish in each room, which Esme spotted first: ‘Bish! Bish!’ That night we joined in the lively Stones Brewing Co Beer and 5 Course Matching Menu evening (really good food and I drank more beer that night than all other times put together) while Esme slept beatifically in the room above.
We’re all Going to the Zoo
San Diego’s zoo is large (101 acres) and pioneered a revolution in zoo design, being among the first to create a lush botanical garden to both feed and house its inhabitants, while playing a role in endangered species protection, all of which make it a premier attraction.
Esme’s eyes were as wide as saucers as we took in the koalas, lions, bears, elephants, giraffes, meerkats, rhino, wallabies, parrots, flamingos, monkeys, gorillas, tigers, orang-utans, eagles, snakes and butterflies plus several aviaries. She had noises and actions for most species. 
Her mother and father enjoyed the day out almost as much as she did.
We rendezvoused Jane, Mike and Grace beside the big cats. Grace is 5 days younger than Esme and we last saw them when the girls were 6 weeks old in LA. It was fantastic to see them.
Apart from the birds, which I’m always drawn to, the apes were the most mesmeric for me, because we are so clearly related to these creatures.
How anybody can tout ‘intelligent design’ over evolution really beggars belief!
The gorillas had a brand new baby at their feet and leant up against the viewing glass so that we were literally centimetres from them. Very humbling.
We couldn’t see the whole zoo as Esme was starting to fade, so we headed for our third hotel: ‘luxury lifestyle, neo-modernist yet playful’ Tower 23, right on the coast at surfer-chic Pacific Beach.
Here Esme crashed out in a pile of pillows while I did my hotel tour,
after she woke up, we walked along the promenade in front of the hotel watching the surfers and sea gulls. Colman said he couldn’t live in Pacific Beach, as yet another jogger/in line skater/cyclist/surfer hove into view, as he’d feel far too inadequate.
That night, we ate our (extremely nice) dinner as fast as possible while Esme cheerfully ran all over the restaurant, entranced by the feature wall’s changing colours. We then hid behind the bed reading magazines in silence until she finally slept.
Encinitas
After breakfast on the terrace looking out to sea, we did a bit more wandering over the grassy sward before heading up the coast to La Jolla and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Its current exhibition, Jasper Johns: Light Bulb, did exactly as it said on the tin and 
Esme got rather bored of pointing at one light bulb after the other, but loved creating her first ever work of art in the education room.
We took another leisurely turn by the seashore, in the sunshine, watching Brown Pelicans and Seals basking in the protected harbour, before heading to Jane and Mike’s for a late lunch. 
It was great to see Felix for the first time in 3 years, we lunched in the wonderfully overgrown garden. Esme loved the blackboard wall and spent much of our time scribbling with chalk – such a good idea!
Bird of the Month
A walk was then proposed in the nearby Batiquitos Lagoon, one of the last remaining tidal wetlands in California. Esme and Colman stayed behind for a nap.
I had a wonderful couple of hours. Grace running and tumbling and picking herself up, Felix looking through the binoculars and after Grace in a very loving way, while Jane and I gossiped away. 
We saw a Snowy Egret immediately we set off, as well as an Osprey fishing and wheeling above us. And I managed a shot with the long lens of the crimson brilliance of the 4" Anna’s Hummingbird throat plumage.
Felix and Jane were impressed by the long-legged delicacy of the Marbled Godwit and the lengthy extraordinariness of the Long-billed Curlew. I saw a chap with a scope, so asked him what the terns were – I could see 3 different types including the Caspian Tern. He introduced me to the elegant Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri, which is an all year resident in Southern California – a Life Bird - and the bird of the month.
I spent ages staring at a certain plump wader, trying to get it to look like the Yellowlegs in my bird book, as the chap with the scope had told me they were around. I realised it must be the Black-bellied Plover on the turn from winter to summer plumage – another new one!
The following day we went to a sculpture park in very unseasonal inclement damp and windy weather. It turned out to be shut. The kids ran around and I thrilled to spot the Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina, common but not one I’d seen before. As we left I checked the notice board for the bird list. To my delight (and slight embarrassment), what I had confidently thought of as a Lesser Scaup was in fact new Life Bird, the uncommon Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris.
From unpromising beginnings, the bird list reached 35 at the end of the weekend!
Jane and Mike
After the lovely walk at magic hour with its beautiful light by the Lagoon, we returned to find Esme had just woken up. 
She and Grace had a great time hanging out together for the rest of the evening, reading books or wresting them away from each other, and sharing a bath.After the girls were finally persuaded to go to bed, Mike cooked up a storm and we drank wine, catching up on old and future times – what a delightful evening.
Despite the rain on our final morning, and 4 different locations in 4 nights, and our plane home delayed by an hour, it was a really successful visit to San Diego, thanks especially to Jane and Mike. We finished off by driving down the Point Loma peninsula to see the view back towards the city over the bay and naval dockyard.
Esme slept on me the whole way back on the plane – what an angel - or rather, what an ill child as her persistent low level 2 month-old cold turned into a temperature a day later, but at the time, we thought her extremely angelic!
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Food and Drink
Eating
I took Colman to Bar Tartine on Valencia Street for a belated birthday dinner. It is a great neighbourhood restaurant, complete with clattery kitchen and talkative patrons. Colman’s starter was really superbly put together: Santa Barbara sea urchin, soft scrambled eggs, asparagus, jalapeño, brioche, brown butter; while I went for the scallop crudo, cucumber, horseradish, hibiscus, sorrel, hazelnut crisp, chive oil combo. The sort of thing we don’t do together enough and very nice it was.
Tom and Kim had a politics brunch at which copious quantities of their extremely nice Chive and Brie strata were eaten, and Esme spent much time charming the guests and investigating the staircase to some folks’ alarm, particularly when she toppled down the final few steps on one occasion. 
The following day Geoff and Armani had a fun social family-packed brunch to welcome Carleen, Geoff’s sister, to San Francisco. Again, the food was terrific and I resolved my ‘eating less days’ have to start the next day.
It was the month for siblings to visit: Adam’s sister, Alex and husband, Damian, came over for a very jolly dinner one night. It took literally 20 photos to get this half-decent one as everybody kept giggling with the anticipation of the self-timer.
Our gastronomic month ended with a day trip down to the Los Altos in the South Bay to see Dev and Shital and their two kids, Saumya and Shiven; we were joined by Soren and Sandy. 
Dev, Soren and Colman worked together pre-Yahoo who bought them out, and we hadn’t got together in over a year. 
Talk about amazing food! Shital is an excellent cook and creates wonderful flavour combinations out of the simplest ingredients.
The kids loved playing with Esme who lasted until 9pm, and she had such fun playing in their palatial garden, on the swings, trotting round the pool and trying to join in our volleyball game.
Thanks for the gorgeous sundress and book guys – lets get together soon.
Drinking
We had Julie and James over for dinner one night (lamb shanks in balsamic, delish) – Julie and Colman both got plastered, drinking a bottle of port pretty much between them.
The next night was Colman’s Wine Night group and I went along as a surprise guest. There was much levity in proceedings and good to catch up with the crew. And also to marvel at Colman’s supposed excellent taste – his No.1 wine choice was CLEARLY the worst… Neal, who visited us last year from Chicago, was in town again and came over for dinner (thanks for the lovely book for Esme!). Somehow we managed to get through nearly 3 bottles between the 3 of us and I was definitely very woozy the next day… Cripes…
Bi-rite at 18 Reasons
I have been under-surprised of late, and Colman pulled a good one out of the hat, taking me to a Winemaker Dinner with Sean Thackrey. Our favourite food market, Bi-rite (whose slogan is ‘Creating Community Through Food’), have taken over a space nearby on the corner of 18th St, renamed 18 Reasons , with a mission to ‘to promote a dialogue between our neighborhood and people who create art and food’. 
This tiny room had a long table crammed in and a very select group of guests whose names had been drawn out of a hat (Colman had got lucky). The five courses were all house made by Bi-rite using their in-store ingredients – my favourites were the Duck, Duck, Goose and the Rabbit Rillettes:
Duck, Duck, GooseBi-Rite Family Farm Roasted Beets, Pixie Tangerines, Celery
NV Sean Thackrey, Pleiades XVII, California
Cod ‘en escabeche’ with Fennel and Carrots
Line caught off the Bolinas coast
2006 Sean Thackrey, Andromeda Pinot Noir, Devil’s Gulch Ranch, Marin
Devils Gulch Ranch Rabbit Rillettes
with escarole and green garlic vinaigrette
2003 Sean Thackrey, Aquila Sangiovese, Eaglepoint Ranch, Mendocino
Watson Ranch Leg of Lamb
With potato, artichoke and green garlic gratin
Braised Greens and Natural juices
2006 Sean Thackrey, Orion Red Blend, Rossi Vineyard, St. Helena, 1989 Sean Thackrey, Orion Red Blend, Rossi Vineyard, St. Helena
Point Reyes Blue Cheese and Apple Salad
Firebrand Currant Rye, Noe Valley Honey and Walnut Oil
We fell to chatting to the 2 couples on my left and ended up inviting them back to ours – it felt just like our free and easy early 20s except a little more civilised – and Sam (Mr. Bi-rite) came too which was great. A very San Franciscan and truly gourmand evening – yummmm.
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Mural of the Month
Stencil of the Month
Bumper Sticker of the Month
I’m Already Against the Next War
Love and hugs
Nadine, Colman and Esme xxx
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