being the early bird

it's true. anyone who knows me, especially if you've lived with me, knows that i am the furthest thing from a morning thing. but when i made the move back to the west coast, i told myself that i would try to keep waking up 3 hours before i normally would. i've been pretty good so far and today was my reward. i woke up at 6:30. on a work-from-home day, that's early! after taking my very sweet time getting myself together, i drove down toward my favorite coffee and bakery shops. i was beyond delighted when i discovered that the city of oakland doesn't charge for parking before 8. as i walked around rockridge collecting my morning goodies i looked around at the other morning birds and thought, "you all had the right idea too." now i'm back home for a day of work, hiking, and cooking. pandora has already played erykah, common and the isley brothers. if pandora played 'today was a good day' by ice cube, i'd swear it was reading my mind. instead it's playing old school mary j blige. turns out it's reading my heart.

best coffee EVER: royal at claremont & college (now known as Cole Coffee)

best morning buns in the east bay: la farine (down college 1/2 block from royal...toward berkeley)

hips

i am loving this shape right now. i wore a dress similar in structure, but much less dramatic, this weekend when i went to decordova (an outdoor sculpture garden in MA) with friends. i like how structured it is and how it can create an illusion of a waist. it just felt so appropriate to wear at a sculpture garden. this dress by the Scandinavian label, Acne, is on sale at gilt right now...over $500 off but still totally unaffordable, sigh.

spring dinner

i've been very busy cooking and pretending it's spring despite it being the '2nd rainiest month in boston ever'.

tonight's recipe as follows:

• 2 red potatoes


• green beans


• 2 ripe tomatoes


• brie cheese


• angel hair


• olive oil


• salt


• fresh pepper


• rosemary


• lemon (optional)

cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes (smaller the better), toss in olive oil, salt and a tiny bit of chopped rosemary. stick in the oven to roast until golden and tender... around 375 for 30 minutes

dice tomatoes set aside, cube brie cheese & set aside

boil salted water, cook pasta...reserve water by draining into another pot

bring reserve water back to boil, put in roughly chopped green beans, cook 3 minutes. drain and save about 1/4 cup of reserve water

toss pasta, cheese and 1/4 reserve water with a little olive oil until creamy. then add the rest of the ingredients, toss and serve with lemon slice. i like the lemon squeezed at the end. brightens it all up!

next time i will substitute parmesan for brie to make it more creamy and i will wear an apron as cute as this one from anthro

my bike

it's warming up and i really miss riding my bike around oakland.

wish i had brought it here but cruisers are such a pain to check at the airport. bummer.

until we meet again, dear bike, i will think of you fondly.

denim

it's back. and i haven't quite figured out if i like it or not. denim jackets and now this. i used to have so many pairs of overalls. my ck short overalls were my uniform in the dorms. and in middle school i couldn't wear my dad's pair enough. i thought i looked so tough and cool with my bodysuit and plaid boxers underneath. yikes.

i'm afraid i may be too old for them now. the jury is still out.

family

i was wrong! there was a new modern family on tonight. brilliant as usual. hilarious and warms my heart at the same time. not unlike this picture of my mama & grandpa jim