What to Wear: Work to the Opera

I always thought those features in In Style magazine about things you could wear from work to a fancy evening out were a bit silly. But then I bought a series of Friday opera tickets and had to eat my words.

I wore this outfit a few weeks ago to see a performance of Abduction from the Seraglio. Not only does this outfit show a good way to transition to a fancy evening, but it also demonstrates how to easily dress down something from your closet for work.





















Work:
Dress - Your favorite black dress. Mine is a Theory v-neck with pockets I found on super sale at Macy's a few years ago.
Tights - Gray tights are always a favorite.
Sweater - A cardigan in papaya from J.Crew.
Belt - Braided belts are a good buy since they're infinitely adjustable.
Shoes - These little Steve Madden flats are easy and comfortable.

Opera:
Ditch the sweater, belt and flats. Keep the same dress and tights!
Earrings - Everyone should have an over-the-top pair on chandelier earrings on hand for dressing up.
Pashmina - In ivory bamboo (thanks Jean!) stashed in your purse during the day.
Black Heels - The higher the better.

Note: Now that my life has calmed down a bit, I'm dabbling in what-to-wears again. But I'm still not ready for your requests yet. Hold tight.

To Do: Jane Austen Exhibit

Oh dear, I may have to go to New York this winter. The Morgan Library and Museum is running an exhibit called A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy - complete with manuscripts, first editions and personal letters, some not seen in 25 years. Drool.

Recipe: Cornish Game Hens with Smashed Potatoes

Cornish game hens are such an easy and fun thing to cook. When our Safeway has them for about $3 each I stockpile the freezer. They're always a hit at parties and would be a no-stress alternative to turkey for the holidays. Or just a quick Sunday dinner like we had last weekend.

To roast them, I use techniques borrowed from Chez Panisse and Zuni chicken recipes:

Roasted Cornish Game Hens
2 Rock Cornish Game Hens
Zest of 1 lime, lemon or orange
1 clove of garlic
Kosher salt (about 1/4 cup)
Pepper (about 2 tablespoons)
Butter

Thaw the sealed game hens in a bowl of warm water (takes 2/3 hours). Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Unwrap the hens and drain. Prepare the thawed birds by using your fingers to loosening the skin on the breast and leg. Dry the internal cavities with a paper towel. Use a microplane to zest the citrus and grate the garlic into a small bowl. Mix that combination with a heaping tablespoon of kosher salt and teaspoon of pepper. Rub the mixture under the skin on the breast and thigh meat. Rub the outside of the hens with ample salt and pepper. Truss the legs together with twine and set in a small pan. Put a small pat of butter on top of each bird.

Roast the hens, breast up, for 30 minutes. Carefully turn over the hens and roast for 10 minutes. Turn back over and bake until the middle of the breast reads 165 degrees with a meat thermometer. Pull from the oven immediately.

These hens are a great match with super-fast mashed potatoes:

Smashed Potatoes
4 medium red potatoes
1 tablespoon of butter
2 teaspoons of truffle oil
1 green onion (chopped green part)
Salt & pepper

Add the potatoes to boiling water when the hens go into the oven. If they don't cook fast enough, slice them in half. A few minutes before the hens are done, drain the potatoes and put back in the pan with the skin on. Add the butter and truffle oil and go to work with a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper and add the green onions. Mash once more and serve.

Inspired: Garnet Ring

Speaking of estate jewelry...how great is this garnet ring?!

I imagine it paired with a thick cashmere sweater, a bag full of pomegranates and a trip to a musty used book store on a cold (my gosh it's cold this week) fall day.

Weekend Round-Up: Racing

This was a fairly quiet weekend, but one that included some of my favorite things!

On Friday, Rob and I both had to stay a bit late at work. Finally at home, we had a spaghetti dinner, watched Hulu and turned in early.

Rob woke up the next morning before six for an all day brevet race with the San Francisco Randonneurs. He took his bike 120 miles, to Point Reyes lighthouse and back! While he was hitting the road, I was being thoroughly lazy. Mint tea and toast with honey and butter in bed along with a New Yorker.

At 11, I took the train downtown. First stop was Lang Antiques to drop off my ring for repair and drool over their display cases. I could spend hours there! Next stop, Gumps. I redeemed a couple gift certificates for wedding china and investigated their holiday offerings - they have some really fun gifts this year. I was shopping at Macy's when I caught up with Margaret and visiting friend, Jonathan, from Kansas. We had cream puffs from Beard Papa in Yerba Buena Park.

More shopping after the cream puff break, I still hadn't found my flat boots or anything else. Nearly bought these Nine West boots but decided to wait for a sale. At Bloomingdales, I hit the 40% off of clearance item sale and score big with an Aqua skirt and a BCBG dress, both for over 60% off.

Back at home, Rob returned from his ride an hour ahead of schedule. He was in the top 10 fastest times from a group of 64. Go Rob! We cleaned house and finished the wedding album before Margaret and Jonathan arrived for an early dinner. All four of us walked up to a fairly new French restaurant on Haight Street called Bistro St. Germain. A nice bourdeaux to share and a huge pot of moules frites for me! Back at home, we had coffee and It's-its for dessert. We had fun with a big world atlas pointing out places we'd been.

Another lazy morning on Sunday. Coffee and oatmeal along with the Sunday political roundtables. Rob and I did a load of laundry and had lunch a the neighborhood taqueria. We met with Matt at the climbing gym after lunch for a bit of bouldering practice. On the way home, Rob and parked the bike on Valencia Street to shop for couches. We also stopped at my favorite produce market on the way back. We had one loaded down tandem bike by the time we reached the driveway.

Cornish game hens with mashed red potatoes and fresh fava beans for dinner - yum!

More knobs!

I love this african violet knob from Anthropologie. At $12 a pop, I'm glad that my bathroom only has one cabinet.

Imagine the knob with a dark blue shower curtain, white honeycomb tile, glass canisters, gold picture frames, a violet in a celadon pot....hmmm. Might be a little too girly for Rob.

Remodel: Knobs

I bought 17 of these carved bloom knobs on sale at Anthropologie to redo the kitchen last weekend. They're $3 each, down from $10. The ones I found in the store are more of a caramel color, not stained black, but still very cute.

In under an hour, Rob and I got them all switched and our old kitchen brightened up!

Things I Love Today: Bow Shoes

I'm supposed to be on the hunt for a sensible pair of brown, flat boots. The exactly right boots that are currently being worn to work by every stylish lady in the city...but are impossible to find in stores.

Instead, I'm drooling over these completely impractical gray suede and yellow satin pumps from J.Crew on sale.

To Do: Compost!

San Francisco - our funny city - just started the nation's first mandatory composting program. Which meant a brand new compost bucket courtesy of our apartment manager. Not as cute as this copper version, but free and fun!

My mom has been a great composter for years, so I'm used to the separation process. It's nice to be able to compost without having to have a garden of my own.

Get this: we're on our way to keeping 90% of our trash out of the landfill (we're already at 72% - so high!) here in the city.

Coveted: Hediard Tea

Oh no! All I needed was one more fancy French favorite to add to my life.

Our next door neighbor gave us a big red tin of Hediard tea as a thank you for picking up her mail during a trip to Paris. It's a fragrant mix of green tea and mint - but the bold design of the red tin is really what makes my heart race. I'll have an amazing new pen cup for my desk about a hundred pots of tea from now.

To Do: Tweedy Tandem

A fellow tweed-rider snapped this impromptu photo of Rob and me on our tandem bike back in September. We were heading down Valencia Street in costume toward an outdoor movie. This is the same rickety bike with baskets that we take to work every day.

In the larger version I think I bear a small resemble my elegant great grandmother - especially in one particular photo of her in profile riding a horse. She was better about "wearing" her nose than me.

Recipe: Hawaiian Roasted Squash Seeds

I roasted an acorn squash in the oven last night and turned the tiny seeds inside into a very tasty treat. My tricks:

• Don't rinse the seeds, take them straight from the squash to the baking sheet.
  
• Top generously with Grandfather's Royal Hawaiian Seasoning (basically a mix of sea salt, cane sugar, pepper, etc).
• Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, turning once.
  
• Try not to burn your tongue when you munch on the spicy, sweet kettle-corn-esque seeds straight from the oven.

Weekend Round-Up: Healdsburg

What a fine weekend! Rob and I rode home on our tandem bike along with a few thousand others dressed up for Critical Mass. It was wild to see the city taken over by so many bikes. At the apartment, we quickly packed up the car and drove up to Healdsburg in thick traffic. We arrived at our B&B at 9:30 and had time to catch up with Matt and Amber before bed.

The next morning, Amber and Matt left at 6:30 for the start of the Wine Country Half Marathon leaving us with their twins briefly. When Matt returned, Rob took off for a bike ride. Matt and I managed to get in a tiny bit of breakfast between feeding, burping, changing, dressing and loading up the twins into the car. (so cute!)













We drove out to the end of the race to pick up Amber and Rob, who had biked out 25 miles to the finish line. Can you believe that she came in 4th for her age group just a few months after having twins!?













From the race, we stopped briefly at home to change and then out for wine tasting and a picnic at Everett Ridge. Delicious spread of triple cream brie, humboldt fog goat cheese, soppresetta, coppa salami, seeded crackers, meyer lemon olives, red pepper hummus and veggies - yum. Our second tasting was at Lambert Bridge. The babies were great companions at the wineries! Back at the house, we took naps before dinner.

















We found a cute place to eat in downtown Healdsburg for dinner. Affronti set us up with a seat on the heated patio. Their small plate menu was perfect for taking breaks to feed, change and walk the twins between courses. And the food was delicious to boot!

Back at the B&B, we put the boys to sleep and played a few rounds of gin rummy before turning in. It was a big day. The twins had their first ever stay in a hotel, first day away from home and first day out and about in their stroller. We were all exhausted!

















The next morning, we had a nice casual breakfast at the B&B. Matt and Amber headed back to the city early. Rob and I loaded up on the tandem bike for a 50 mile ride up to Cloverdale, down to Geyerserville (spicy pizza at Diavola) and back to Healdsburg. Very pretty with vineyards at every turn. And our fastest ride yet, with an average pace of 16.4 mph!

















A couple stops at antique stores where I bought a gray pearl necklace and a red vintage suitcase. Then back home to lovely, sunny San Francisco! You can see more photos from the weekend here.