texas thanksgiving

i'm thankful for you, texas. and for all these beautiful people i was able to share my holiday with. the move happened to fall on the monday before thanksgiving, and my family had already made other plans *sigh* i guess we're adults now and have to fend for ourselves? luckily the butts were kind enough to host us so that we weren't eating on paper plates amongst 30+ boxes. plus, we've been dying to go to boerne ! 
 

our drive was cute – country music, fall colors, hill country, cows, and buffalo {??}. we arrived to a beautiful home filled with turkey and stuffing type smells, and some dudes chopping firewood out back. we cozied up to a lunch thanksgiving {i'm new to this. and i like it.} and the rest of our afternoon/night was spent with football, a family photo shoot, big 2, clue (i won!), hot tubbing, and of course left overs. can't wait to visit them again and explore this little texas town even more. 
 

^^ our cute hosts and their grand babes photo cred from these family shots goes out to kp's cousin barbara.
 

^^ the next morning we had literally the fresh-est eggs ever from d's chickens, watched more football, and played a few rounds of catch phrase before hitting the road. thank you again, butts family, for a killer thanksgiving. cheers !

seafood sunday [in carmel]

seafood sunday has been on a small hiatus. i'm ashamed to say it's been over a month – we're sorry, fishies. or i guess we're not sorry? whatever. sunday was spent getting an extra hour of sleep {why does this feel so good?}, eating breakfast on our cute little patio, enjoying one of the cleanest beaches i've seen in california, playing some much needed frescobol, another stop at big sur bakery for lunch outside, and then a whole lot of chillin' in our cottage. i want this to be every sunday.
 

^^ we got a stump {!!!!!} so we can finally play one of my favorite games taught to me in college by this chick and this chick. however our rules are a little different than those listed on wikipedia.
 

big sur, carmel and the esalen institute

saturday morning we woke up slightly in pain from halloween to my alarm reminding me it was time to try and reserve a spot at the hot springs that night. 50 minutes and 97 busy signals / re-dials later, we were booked. the things we do ?? carmel + big sur are two of the most beautiful places in the bay area, and we really don't take advantage of them enough. that being said, we booked two nights at one of the coziest airbnb's and dedicated our weekend to hard core relaxy time. personally, i was most excited for the springs mentioned above. they are only open to the public (20 people per night) between the hours of 1 am and 3am. super exclusive and special, obviously.  
 

for dinner we made late reservations at big sur bakery and loved it so much we went back the following day. the food was delicious and the atmosphere made me feel like i was in switzerland. after stuffing ourselves with mussles and pecan PIE {fall i love you so much please never leave me!!} we downed a few espressos and made way to the esalen institute for our middle of the night adventure. 
 

^^ no cameras {or clothing :) } were allowed down at the springs, so this is the only photo i have. imagine this in pure darkness with shooting stars above. probably one of the coolest things i've done and  i highly recommend to anyone looking for a really really really' awesome night. 
 

brunch & wine [nopa & scribe]

sunday started with brunch @ nopa – this place has the best atmosphere, amazing food, and is in one of my favorite neighborhoods in sf.
 

^^ pit stop at bi-rite market for cheese plate materials... 
 

^^ another short pit stop to catch a portion of the 49ers game... 
 

and finally after wandering and exploring we headed north to sonoma for an afternoon at scribe – a spot that never fails to provide the best day. 
 

^^ scribe's garden never seizes to amaze me. typically filled with peppers and berries and green healthy looking things, this time it was filled with some of the most massive pumpkins i've ever seen in real life. hello, fall!
 

^^ hours flew by and it was somehow already time for dinner. fremont diner was obviously the only proper option. 
 

^^ a perfect spot to end the weekend. thank you c + e for visiting, and we can't wait to see you guys again soon! 

MV monday

the plant obsession continues, as we spent most of our labor day morning at plant warehouse. afterwards we had lunch at boo koo in mill valley – AMAZING vietnamese food, i can't wait to come back here. we chose to digest by hiking to the point bonita lighthouse and even though it was packed with tourists, it is definitely worth seeing. plus, our little treat from city beer store was the perfect way to cap the hike.
 

behind the scenes, we had some short ribs braising away back at home in the crock pot. we tried to make these once before and completely messed them up. the key is patience. putting this much time and effort into a meal might seem annoying – but the way the meat turns out if you do it correctly, is well worth it. recipe found here if you're up for it! cheers.