Sisters in Ojai

Before I dive deeply into the new year (which has been lovely thus far) I want to pay one last visit to 2011. The day after Christmas, Heather and I ventured up to Ojai to spend a crisp and clear 24 hours together. Given the 3-day weekend, we thought it made sense to extend the holiday into some special sister time.



Do you believe there are places that have magical powers?



Magic in the sense that one can be utterly transformed by a landscape...



...the smell of the flora and fauna...



...and the way the sunlight touches the earth.



The way mystery and sense are no different...



...because you never want to leave, even though once you leave, you leave feeling cleansed...



...calmed...



...nourished by the mountains and the trees...



...and color is so plentiful, you think you are a painter's paint, canvas and inspiration all at once. Yes, I'd say Ojai is a magical place and quite dear to me. Saying goodbye to Ojai wasn't sad, because in saying goodbye, I said hello to another year, with Ojai in my heart.

A New Real

Farewell to another year! As Drake says, "the real is on the rise." Funny, though, because I thought 2011 seemed like one dose of reality after another. Well, looks like it just keeps going. On and on and on.



If it looks anything like this, I'll take it.



New Year.



Same city.



and then there's me. New? the same? You know how I roll. I can't take the reality without a little bit of both.

Sunset photos taken NYE 2011 on Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA.

Visions of Home

Even though I'm back at work, I'm treating this week between Christmas and New Years like a vacation. Why not? The San Francisco sky is crisp, the traffic is almost non-existent, and another holiday weekend is approaching. Sure I'm still rocking the 9-5, but there's a way to have it all now isn't there? I made sure to schedule lots of nourishing activities pre- and post-work (yoga, soup date with a friend, baking date with a friend, Audrey Hepburn marathon, sushi dinners, leisurely strolling the aisles of my favorite grocery store, a civilized–and solo–glass of wine at Tartine while flipping through the New Yorker).

I must admit, I slightly dreaded this week. It was the first time I'd ever officially worked between the holidays. Suddenly in the thick of it, however, I had no idea how much I would enjoy this quiet time in the city. Maybe my current calm and positive frame of mind was shaped by my cozy and loving trip down to L.A., where family and friend time was plentiful, food was comforting and the hot SoCal sun warmed my heart. Even though my family isn't with me this week, I still feel their closeness and the magic that we created together during this holiday season:



The Christmas dinner table at Heather and Alex's.



Pitted dates sizzling on the stove top: the key ingredient to Lumberjack Cake.



An early morning table, kissed by the sun.



My Mom's famous Gingerbread Men.



Sweet Iroha bringing laughter and smiles to Christmas Eve dinner.



All my favorite people in a row, together in one room.



Still...

Trying to live in the moment, while visions of home dance in my head.

Merry Wishes

To all of my wonderful readers,

I wish you a sweet and lovely, relaxing and peaceful holiday!

Love,
Megan

'Twas the week before Christmas

The week before Christmas is a funny thing. For some people, it's about the hustle and bustle: shopping, wrapping, bow-tying presents. The last minute errands. For others, it's about finishing up big projects at work or finally throwing that big party they've been preparing for. For some, it's about getting in the holiday spirit: holiday movies, decorating the tree, baking cookies, warming up next to a fireplace. For some, it's just your average week.

Whether we like it or not, though, we give a lot of ourselves during this time. Some of us wish we could give more, wish we could be in two places at once, wish we could be better to others, or (here's an unfathomable one) be better to ourselves. Let's just say, expectations are high. Amid the craziness that is the holidays, I might do something different this year. Something like slowing down, taking a step back and acknowledging the little things.

Slowing down scares me because it means I actually have to feel (ack, feelings! scary!). Seriously, though, room must be made for feeling. Like clearing out some space in the closet in the Springtime, the holidays could not be a better time to carve out some personal space to get in touch with where we're at emotionally. The little things are lost otherwise. The little things are just another day...passing us by. With open space, things stay close, things remain, like...



This temple of Redwoods, watching over me.



This burst of another season in Mill Valley.



This perfectly clear day in the Headlands, the ocean and the lagoon almost touching.



This perfect lunch with my besties at Outerlands, grilled cheeses and potato garlic soup!



This open window letting the sun shine in on the succulents.



These colorful books...



...at the General Store.



This almost-new year.



This cozy-as-ever dessert at Frances, the Lumberjack Cake. I know it sounds crazy, but with eyes open and patient, I think I enjoyed each bite differently than I would have before. Maybe there's something to this slowing-down thing.

Any tips for handling the craziness of the week before Christmastime?

Deal in Dreamers

Good morning...or is it? I mean, I don't think I slept last night. I tossed, I turned, I tossed and more of that. I know I slept a little bit because I had two horrific nightmares: in the first, I got bitten by a snake and in the second, my hands turned into snakes (Hey, everyone, take a wild guess at what I'm most afraid of). Both horrors caused me to wake with a jolt. Then, when the trash and recycling pick-up comes around 5 a.m., the hope of sleep is done for. When I woke up this morning, let's just say I was a wee bit on the grumpy side.

Coffee didn't make it better. My pine scented candle didn't calm my bummer mood. Steve Inskeep's comforting voice didn't do squat. Just when I thought I was hanging on by a thread, I made one last attempt at making myself feel cozy again: Joni Mitchell. Would listening to "Court and Spark" cheer me up? The answer is yes or yes-ish. I'm still half-asleep, but at least my most recent thoughts are of wonderful Joni (as opposed to snake hands). Wonderful Joni, wonderful Joni, wonderful Joni...

Tell me, sweet empathetic loving readers, what do you do to cure those mornings when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

Joni photo from here.

Holidays + Suppen

Lately, I've really been wanting to have brunch at Suppenküche, this really cozy German restaurant in Hayes Valley. They're the real deal: Schnitzel, beer out of the boot, Spätzle. As if they couldn't be any cooler, they recently opened up a Biergarten around the corner.



Anyway, I hadn't been there in probably 3 years (!!!) and I needed my fix. It was the perfect place to meet Emmanuel for brunch on Sunday.



A delicious meal! Reibekuchen mit hausgemachtem Apfelmus (Potato Pancakes with Homemade Apple Sauce) and my mystery plate. I ordered a bread dumpling with sausage and 2 fried eggs, but something completely different came to me! I didn't mind. The food there is so good. There are no mistakes.



We sat in a cozy corner by the bar. It was so nice to look out and see all the Christmas decorations. It definitely got me in the holiday spirit!



Afterwards, I went to Rainbow grocery for my weekly market trip! I couldn't believe it when I ran into Maureen and Fifi in the kitchen appliance aisle. It was their first time at Rainbow! I felt their awe...