Monday Inspiration & Week 2: #6weeks2Burn

Last week was a rough week. I was just physically exhausted and combined with the holiday I was sad to only make it to 3 out of 4 Burn classes.  I did really push myself through 2 out of those 3 classes, my body was just not into it.

Saturday morning I hit a Soul Cycle class at their new location near my house. It was Party in the USA themed (because duh!) and it FINALLY got me pumped! Thus this week's power song is 'Party in the USA'!

Summer Sailing!

This past weekend my co-chair and I hosted an afternoon of sailing with our Junior League committee. My co-chair and her husband provided the stunning boat and I made the snacks and drinks! Aside from the ferry and one fleet week party well over a decade ago, I'd never been sailing on the bay. Having grown up around water and boats, I don't know why it took me this long! With the America's Cup in town everyone seems to be catching the sailing bug.

The Skyline, through the sails as we pulled out of SFYC in Tiburon

I do actually enjoy cooking. Especially when a) dishes so easily come out like the picture (aka like they're 'supposed' to be....spoken like a true Type-A) and when I can cook for people!  When I offered to provide the delicacies for our sailing trip I turned to the internet and my fabulous, food savvy friend Emily for advice.  The boat ended up having a full kitchen, but she advised staying away from dairy for temperature control reasons and suggested an adaptation of her Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip with white beans instead of feta. I paired it with a tray of carrots, cucumbers, snow peas and broccoli, it was an absolute hit...literally every drop gone by the end of our voyage!

 

Along with that, I wanted a fruit dish. We already had the veggie platter, so a separate fruit plate seemed plain. I found this recipe for Peaches with Serrano Ham and Basil. This was perfect because my basil plant needed some usage! I used sweet vermouth instead of sherry vinegar and marinated overnight, I assembled about 20 the next morning in less than 30 mins! Delicious and EASY PEASY!

Last Friday, the Glitter Guide appeared in my inbox and had a mouthwatering  Goat Cheese and Fig Crostini.

This was definitely the hardest item to make. Not because of time, or prep or difficulty putting together, but because creating the perfect crostini is very hard....especially when you're making 2 other dishes at the same time. I went through 2 baguettes, burned to a crisp and finally the 3rd one came out a dark brown. Far from perfect, but it worked. The goat cheese was so easy to whip together! I added the honey to the mixture instead of drizzling on the top, this turned out to be great because I used the left overs as a dip! The fig and thyme sprigs complemented each other perfectly! These were the first to be gobbled up...primarily by the boys. and elegant recipe for

  With 2 main courses, I needed 1 'snack' type food. This was easy for me to pick: popcorn. One of my absolute favorites and so few people use it that it came as a nice surprise to our guests! I classed it up a bit with truffle oil, parmesean and fresh rosemary.

For beverages I kept it simple: the ever classic Pimm's Cup with a fresh cuke slice and a lemon!

Pimm's and Boat Shoes of course!

I'm happy to say it was everything I could have wanted! The day was gorgeous, the food was delicious and the company was perfect! Definitely one of my San Francisco-life highlights!

Weekend Adventures

This past weekend was super busy for me, but absolutely lovely!
Friday started with our monthly barbeque at work. Hot dogs, beer and tater tots was a great way to kick off the weekend! When it got dark they put a screen up in our soccer field and everyone snuggled together with popcorn and hot chocolate for an outdoor screening of 'The Iron Giant'. I'd never seen it, but it turned out to be really cute. You can't really go wrong with any sort of outdoor movie screening :)

 

Saturday my roommates and I took the ferry accross the bay to Sam's in Tiburon for a late brunch and delcious bloody Mary's on the water. We were a little worried we weren't going to make it with all the America's cup festivities, but nothing stopped the ferry. We even got to see some racing action on the way back to the city!

Everyone lined up are ready to go!

 All the excitement around the time trials have made me even more excited for the real thing next summer!  The marina is literally buzzing and there is no better place to meet attractive men in boat shoes!

Sunday, well you saw my to do list! I got almost everything done, made enchiladas and even had time for an avocado face mask before the Kardashian's started!

 

Olympic Love

I arrived home from my European/Moroccan adventure last weekend and dove right into Olympic Fever. I've suddenly found myself not only fascinated by everything from gymnastics to road biking.
I've never been anywhere near 'sporty' in my life. I played soccer when I was 4 and remember coming home sobbing because I was covered in mud from the spring grass. I gave it another try freshman year of high school, but after realizing you need actual skill to play in high school, quit.

I do, however, have an appreciation for the dedication and perseverance of these athletes! The citibank (?) commercial comes to mind with the athlete voice overs of "I haven't watched tv in 2 years" and "I haven't had a dessert since I was 10." I guess with great sacrifices (of things I don't think I could go a week without) come great accomplishments and it's quite inspiring to watch! So much so I'm considering starting to train for another half marathon....but I'll have to keep you updated on how long that lasts :)

Mr. Colwill sporting his Ralph Lauren Pull Over

Another that comes with the territory of watching human beings in peak physical condition everyday on TV is a crush. In Beijing my Olympic crush was Chris Colwill of the diving team (I may have even facebook friended him). He is back this year, but considering I've given it 4 years and it hadn't turned into anything I thought I should move on.



There is no doubt that Mr. Lochte tops almost all American single woman's list with those piercing blue eyes that pair so nicely with an, oh so preppy, Ralph Lauren polo. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm #teamlochte all the way; I just think the way he's handled his wins hasn't been exactly gentleman-like and he definitely lost some points with me.

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Luckily, I was able to catch some men's indoor volleyball on Saturday morning and Matt Anderson caught my eye. And coming in at 6' 9' makes him the epitome of tall, dark and handsome.
I'm fully committed to Mr. Anderson being my 2012 Olympic crush. Go Team USA!