from basque to brogues

The New York Times published a really interesting article I'd highly recommend - called "The Allure of Messy Lives," which basically explains why we enjoy watching Mad Men. The thesis, which I find rather compelling, is that we've become so focused on being healthy and leading balanced lives, it's refreshing to watch people drink hard alcohol at work, smoke cigars, eat butter, and be sexually promiscuous. Their self-destructive habits become our escape. Read it here: http://nyti.ms/9ABr26

Let's see. Busy weekend! Bria and Becca came up to the city on Friday evening, and I put them to work baking a chocolate cake to take to a Saturday potluck before going to Iluna Basque, which is a Basque tapas restaurant owned by one of the contestants on Top Chef Las Vegas.


He's a cutie, hm?


Too bad the service was HORRENDOUS. The food was pretty good, but I'm glad we didn't pay full price (got the Groupon - $30 for $60 of food and drinks). The menu features a lot of seafood - paella, squid ink calamari, spicy shrimp, etc. The sangria was a star, as were the bacon-wrapped plums. Yummmm...

Saturday, did a little morning shopping before heading to my first day as a gallery volunteer for the Intersection for the Arts. I didn't realize gallery sitting would be so... quiet. The exhibit that is going on right now is super cool, and shows art from the Artists in Residence Program at Recology, the San Francisco dump.


Basically, artists who are admitted into the program are given a $2000/month stipend, free on-site studio space, and 24-hour access to the dump, which they get to dig through to find things that inspire them. The program has been going on for 20 years, and it's produced some incredible pieces.

Like this life-size model of a hummer made out of styrofoam:

Collages:
And found photography:

Volunteering seemed like a great idea, but I'm just not sure if they really need me. And if I'm not spending my time productively, what's the point of sitting for six hours on a Saturday??

Saturday night, went to Melissa's for her potluck birthday dinner and brought the Everyday Chocolate Cake from Smitten Kitchen. While it was tasty, it was SO crumbly! Something was off, not sure exactly what... Next time I'd just make my awesome triple-chocolate brownies. Anyway, had such a blast with the ex-Stanford/Gap crowd. I'm not ready for this weekend to end!

Well folks, it's bedtime. Rounding out the weekend:
- Seeing Ali and Roberto of Bachelorette fame on the sidewalk on the corner of Union and Fillmore. (They're more attractive in person!) I was able to contain myself enough to not ask them to take a picture with me, but didn't quite have the willpower to avoid taking a sketchy photo from 10 feet away after passing by them. See evidence below:

I think she picked the right guy. They seemed really happy - we'll see how long this lasts!!


- Four hours of retail therapy with Alison today. A very successful shopping trip... perhaps too successful?

- A great chat with Sara the night before her first day of medical school. What an accomplishment! I wish I could take some credit, but lord knows she worked her butt off to get to this point. Let's wish her luck finding the perfect outfit :)

LAST but not least... think I could rock these oxfords? Or are they too cool for me?



Reading: The Lonely Polygamist
Listening: www.hypem.com/#/kcp