Girly Bits

I love traveling to San Francisco.  It’s beautiful, with lots of undeveloped space.  The weather is fantastic.  The hotels and restaurants are wonderful.  And California in general gives me a lot of job security.  California’s employment law is very different from anywhere else in the country.  It takes many large manuals, internet resources, magnifying glasses and attorneys to keep it all straight.  It would take anyone else a year to figure it all out.  I’m darn near irreplaceable.  This week I was mainly in Marin, Walnut Creek and San Jose.  And as usual, everything was just lovely.  I’ll be back in August, with more time in downtown.  Can’t wait!

Tags: amonth of gratitude, san francisco, california, bay area, travel

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There’s nothing worse than being a person with an appreciation for art, but no talent.  I love music, but can’t sing or play an instrument.  I love art and design, but I have no ability to create.  But cameras are the great equalizer.  Even someone with a mediocre eye can learn to take a better picture, and sometimes even luck into taking a great shot.  So, my husband has taught me a few tips and tricks, and I get great pleasure from documenting my life.  Here are a few shots of the fabulous Cypress Hotel in Cupertino CA.  I was upgraded to the Grande Suite, and am enjoying the jacuzzi tub and interesting decor.  Seriously… there is nothing wrong with my life.

Tags: amonth of gratitude, travel, hotels, cypress hotel, san jose, cupertono, hotel rooms, photography

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No, that is not me in this picture.  But it’s the only picture I have from a time when I was demonstrating physical fitness. We were biking along Joe Pool Lake. Usually, I’m doing something boring like walking on a treadmill or doing the elliptical.  Not very photogenic.  But today, I was at the Renaissance Sport Club in Walnut Creek, CA.  Really fabulous by the way.  It’s basically a Marriott Hotel with the world’s largest fitness facility in it.  Anyway, I went up to work out.  And can I say that I totally kick ass?  I’ve definitely been thinner in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in better shape.  I was doing things on those machines that I wouldn’t have dreamed of when I was 20.  When I was 20, I was thin, weak, and smoked a lot.  Now I’m 44, kind of medium (although shrinking) and could run a marathon. And my cholesterol is 85.  That is not a typo!  My bad cholesterol is 85 and my good cholesterol is 55.  My doctor worships me.  So, as you get older, you realize that good health is ALL.  Without it, you got nothin’.  But with it, anything is possible.

Tags: health, cholesterol, exercise, travel, california, walnut creek, a month of gratitude

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I hate to be a double copycat!  I’m already copying Cygnoir’s “A Month of Gratitude”.  Now, I’m copying her posts too.  But I am grateful for food.  For one thing, I’d have nothing to post if it wasn’t for food and the pictures that I take of it.

Today, I flew into San Francisco and drove out to Marin County to the Acqua Hotel.  My routine is now to grab some food at the Robata Grill and Sushi. Tonight I had Beef Tataki, pictured above. Then I came back to the gorgeous hotel lobby and got some work done.  What a view!  Sometimes it’s hard to know what to be grateful for first!!!

Tags: travel, san francisco, marin county, hotels, food, travel, a month of gratitude

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So, this might seem to be a duplicate of my first gratitude post, but it really isn’t.  We spent Saturday repairing our sprinkler system, and I started thinking about all of the great things that Les has done for us since we’ve lived here.  He designed and oversaw the remodel of the house, including personally installing the kitchen into the space you see above.  He re-did our porch columns.  He installed my elfa dressing room.  He made and hung our sliding barn doors. He personally remodeled one of our bathrooms. And there is more to come!  He’s going to re-do our kitchen floor and build a covered porch in the back.  It’s nice to know that I can count him to take care of the house and do things to improve it.  When i was single, dealing with all that stuff was terrible!

Tags: amonth of gratitude, our house, remodel,

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We’re so lucky to have great friends like Howard and Lisa.  They are sweet people who like to do the same things that we do and live close to us in the “hood.  Tonight, we checked out Bolsa, which was wonderful.  It’s a cafe, with wine bar, market, and wi-fi.  We met some of the owners and they were so passionate and excited about what they are doing.  And their focus on fresh, local ingredients is awesome.  Then we had dinner at the new Eno’s Pizza Tavern.  Great food.  Iffy service.  But hey, it was only their second night.  They took over the Cosmo Rouge space and totally re-did the “bordello on crack” decor, and changed it to a fresh and tasteful restaurant.  We capped it off with too much dessert at Tillman’s Corner.  Nummy S’mores with house-made marshmallows and a trio of cupcakes.  Thank God that I burned about 1,000 calories on the treadmill today!  Pictures are here.

So, on day four of One Month of Gratitude… I’m grateful for good friends like Howard and Lisa.  I’ve known them for four years, and I hope that we have many more together. When we got married last year, Lisa was so thoughtful.  She organized my engagement party, my bachelorette party, and took me for a day at the spa.  She’s the kind of person that you can count on.  And Howard has been a great friend to Les for many years.

Tags: friends, bishop arts, oak cliff, nights out, dallas, restaurants, a month of gratitude

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Day three of a month of gratitude.  This is a wee bit late.  But we are out last night with our friends Amy and Dave.  They live in the land of giant houses, chain restaurants, and big box retailers, otherwise known as the suburbs.  So Mr. Hall and I shared the joys of Kessler Park: charming old houses on hilly, tree-lined streets, quaint locally-owned shops, and fantastic restaurants within walking distance.  We took them to Kavala for some Mediterranean food, and then we walked around Bishop Arts for a bit.  And we wrapped up with dessert at Zen Sushi.  Tonight, we’re going to visit Bolsa with Howard and Lisa before having dinner at Vera Cruz.  Balsa is the cool new market/coffee bar/wine bar/wi-fi cafe.  We’re crossing our fingers that it survives. 

So, I’m grateful to live in the coolest neighborhood in Dallas, and it’s getting better all the time! The picture above is Bishop Avenue during the Bishop Arts District’s “Jingle Bells on Bishop” last Christmas.

Tags: kesslerpark, oak cliff, bishop arts, dallas, restaurants, a month of gratitude. nights out, friends

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I’m grateful for many things about the company that I work for, but today, I’m grateful for the way they allow me to travel. We had a webinar today to learn about the new travel planning software that we’re going to use. It allows us to book our own travel on-line. I’m so lucky to be able to travel how and when I want, staying in luxury hotels and eating at wonderful restaurants. The above picture is the view from my hotel room at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. I think now it’s the Huntington. I’m lucky to work for my company for many reasons, including that it’s one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Places to Work in America, but today, I’m grateful for our cool travel policies.

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One of the first blogs I ever read with regularity is Cygnoir. And four years later, it is one of the few that I still read. Halsted is embarking on a month of gratitude, and I think I will join her. It’s a cliche, but but an attitude of humble gratefulness for the good, and often under-appreciated, people and things in my life leads me to greater happiness and satisfaction. So, my first and easiest gratitude entry is for my husband of one year and one day. He is funny, he never bores me, he is cute, he is talented, he is smart, he is well-informed, he is nice, and he has a Scottish/English accent. I waited a long time to get married, but I did good.

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So, my brilliant and talented husband worked on these sliding barn doors to cover our TV, etc. all last week.  You can read his informative account here.  We still have to add hardware, and paint the doors.  I think we’re going to do a base of creamy colored milk paint, with a top coat of white antique crackle.  That’s the paint that breaks up as it dries so that it looks old.  It should reveal the cream undercoat and give some nice texture.  Then we may continue to screw with it.  Les may do an abstract horse on it.  Something like this:

This is a painted barn door that lives in Daryl Carter’s 1840’s farm house which was featured in the May Elle Decor.  The whole house is tres chic.  Next, I’m going to copy his bedroom!

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But we didn’t do gifts, we just decided to have a fantastic dinner.  We went to York Street, a tiny restaurant with about 12 tables. 

They start you out with an amuse bouche of walnuts, olives and a shot glass of a sweet rose.

We ordered the mussels and the prosciutto and melon for appetizers. I had a yummy glass of champagne.

Our entrees were the buffalo filet and the sea bass. The waiter recommended a wonderful Pinot Gris.

Then we finished off with Blueberry Buckle and Vanilla Bean-Peach Panna Cotta

We had a lovely evening! Happy Anniversary honey!

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So the old “staycation” is winding down.  Last night, we went to Janet and David’s warehouse to see the fireworks over the Trinity River.  We had awesome grilled hotdogs, coleslaw, potato salad and chili-lime corn on the cob.  It was a bit of a snafu, because first it was going to be dinner for 8, and then 10… but then some people decided to eat earlier and just come for the fireworks.  But then they showed up anyway.  With 2 extra people.  But some of the people who were going to come early came late.  Basically, we threw everyone that had already eaten up on the roof, shut the door and had dinner.  Then we went to the rooftop for the fireworks.  We had views of several sets:  Fair Park, Trinity River and Lonestar Park.  We agreed that Fair Park’s were the most spectactular.

I love Janet and David’s fantastic space.  Janet is a Creative Director for a very significant upscale retailer, and David is a photographer, so they have terrific style sense.  As well as being sweet and patient people.  More pictures are here.

Tonight we’ll be celebrating our anniversary at York Street.  It’s one of the best restaurants in Dallas, and some people think it is THE best.  Seems like a nice way to wrap up the week!

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We had a superb meal at Local in Deep Elllum this evening.  We were the first guests in the restaurant since we eat at the Senior Citizen’s hour of 6:30.  We should start showing our AARP cards and seeing if we can get a discount.  We were greeted at the door by the lovely and gracious chef/owner of the restaurant, Tracy Miller.   We had fried green beans for an appetizer, and I had  the most wonderful glass of champagne, Nicolas Feuillatte Brut.  Then Les had a lamb chop and I had the scallops.  Superb.  We just had to have two desserts because they all sounded wonderful.  The fried bing cherry pie and banana pudding were worth every calorie. The service was excellent and the design of the space was really stunning.  Very modern and understated, but with personality.  I hate spaces that feel like a DWR show room.

Then it was 9:30, and time for all old folks to be home in bed.   Zzzzzzz……..

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The Dove’s Nest Restaurant

We took a little trip to Waxahachie this morning.  We stumbled on a great nursery, The Greenery, on the way there.  We had lunch at The Dove’s Nest, walked around the square and then headed home.  Mr. Hall worked on the doors, while I planted our finds.  Unfortunately, we ran into a slight problem.  The design of the doors is outstanding.  The execution had one tiny problem.  Just a bit of something is upside down.  Hmmmm.  That door is glued to hell and back, and then finished off with these great old-fashioned square nails.  Hmmmm…..

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