Friendship, Food and Fun

Today was filled with good food, amazing friendship and a city that always has something waiting to be discovered.

My dear friend, Laura and I began our day with brunch at Nob Hill Grille. I highly recommend ordering a mimosa (they are quite large) while you wait. I had the delicious pesto scramble which made it to my top brunch eats of all time!

Afterwards, we picked up her sister, Emily2 (it gets confusing when there are two of us with such a great name) and went shopping/furniture hunting. We played in the Mission looking in vintage stores with coffee from Four Barrel Coffee. They have a very simple, straight forward menu. I ordered the mocha. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Yum. It tasted amazing...like it had sea salt added. I know this may sound weird, but you have to try dark chocolate with sea salt to understand this edible phenomenon! Anyway, shopping was fun, highlighted by Emily2 trying on vintage dresses...good stuff!

Before the evening set in, we went back to Laura's apartment. We sipped wine, listened to music and caught up on what seemed like forever since we last saw each other. Luckily, she is one of my few friends where we pick up where we ended, like time never passed. It was a lovely afternoon.

For dinner, we decided on Vietnamese cuisine at Sunflower. We split a large Sapporo, ordered amazing prawn noodles, pan fried green beans and pot stickers. Super amazing flavors and company.

What a lovely day!

Reflection

The year is ending and it is time to reflect...

This year:
-I never worked a 40 hour week
-I didn't have permanent employment until the end of June
-I moved twice
-Began the year in tears but ended it with smiles

The smiles are caused by these highlights:
-Visiting Lizzie's family in El Paso and wine tasting in New Mexico
-Disneyland
-Australia with its numerous kangaroos, big sky, and delicious bubbly!
-New Zealand...breathtaking
-Northern California's rugged beauty helping me reconnect with who I am and what I want
-San Francisco Giants' games and catching my first baseball (even though I begged for it)
-Love; falling down and the ability to mend and grow
-Paying off my car!!
-Finding out I am going to be an auntie again :)

Harvest time

I have been having the most amazing time at work watching the harvesting of grapes. I had no idea what went into making wine until this year. Rain, sun, fog, and time all play a vital role in the ripening of grapes. In fact, there are still grapes on vines waiting for the right time to be picked. Everyone is working so hard to make sure the crop comes in before the bad weather takes over. There have been a few days of rain and they weren't too fun to work, but i learned so much from the winemakers and how it affects their work.

One of the most amazing parts of my job is watching the colors change. Every day, I notice a new color. Grapevines change into so many hues. I have seen purple, yellow, pink, red, orange and olive green.

Farewell Australia

Tonight was my last night in the land down unda! We spent it in Williamstown, near downtown Melbourne.
This trip has made me realize what an amazing friendship Becky and I have developed over the past 16 years. I wouldn't trade them for anything.
We spent a lot of time rehashing the good ole days and many laughs were shared. I must admit, I didn't think we would last 3 weeks, but we got along better than ever.

Thank you, Becky for so many more memories. I wish you weren't an ocean away! I can't wait to see you again and pick up from the amazing point we last saw each other...never a dull moment with you...my closest friend! ;)

Melbourne Scenes

We went downtown yesterday and did some more exploring. After 3 days in bed, it felt good to move around and be outside!
The buildings are so unique and squished together.
I think this was one of my favorites...
The sky is HUGE down here. Sunset is always a treat.
Doesn't it look like a fire??

Christchurch by day

How awesome to wake up with this outside the window!
We took a stroll along the Avon river.
I LOVE this place!
Just another amazing brick building...

So European!