Home is Whenever I’m With You

I read Kara Goucher’s “Running For Women” while waiting for my mom at SFO’s fancy new terminal 2.  So far, so good! Kara’s story is really inspiring and she has a truly positive outlook given all of the injuries she has had to overcome for her career.  It’s a pretty quick and fun read for beginners and avid runners alike.

When my mom’s flight finally got in from JFK, we picked up our rental car, checked into the hotel and headed straight for dinner.  Tanto is an authentic japanese restaurant in Sunnyvale, CA.  It was so authentic that we were the only non-japanese diners.  Matt and I once had dinner here in a weird jail cell-like stall.  We sat side by side on a tiny bench eating from a the small countertop affixed in front of us.  It was bizarre.  It was like eating in a phone booth.  I wanted to take a photo of it last night, but refrained so as not to disturb the people awkwardly seated there.  Since then, I have dreamt of the melt in your mouth chilean sea bass and salmon onigiri.  But, Matt isn’t a bone-in-the-meat eater, and his chicken teriyaki was certainly not boneless.

My mom and I started with a sashimi salad with a soy/sesame oil/yuzu (japanese citrus fruit) dressing.  It was delicious.  My mom isn’t much of a raw seafood person so she wasn’t too into it.

We then got a few variations of black cod… This was the one that was grilled in butter.  I don’t typically eat super buttery dishes, but this was so worth it.

 

 

This morning, we skipped down to the hotel breakfast (figuratively for my mom, literally for me).  I’m just so ecstatic to get some QT (quality time) with her 🙂

My mom had eggs, bacon, toast and coffee while catching up on emails.

I had a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon, a lowfat yogurt, a banana and snuck out a grannysmith apple for later.  And a cup of half coffee/half soy milk microwaved.

 

 

 

My favorite part of the breakfast was the make your own miso soup counter! Look at the cute “Tofu”, “Green Onion” and “Radish” packages!  Once I put these freeze-dried (?) ingredients on top of the miso paste, I added boiling water.  I swear I could move to Japan and eat miso, seaweed and fatty fish for breakfast.  No big deal.

We checked out several new apartments (I am hoping to move closer to work) and car dealerships.  We stopped at Sprout in Palo Alto for lunch.  It is my all time favorite salad place.  I think mathematically speaking, there are about 856,294,736 different combinations you can make with their extensive and fresh ingredient options.

My mom went with an arugula + grilled steak salad w/ watercress, grape tomatoes, toasted pumpkin seeds, feta cheese and avocado.

I rolled with a spinach salad w/ 2 servings of avocado, a hard boiled egg, edamame, watercress, broccoli and strawberries.

My mom has such a smaller appetite than I do.  She ate half of her salad and was satiated.  After I finished mine, I snacked on a big handful each of pumpkin seeds and almonds, a huge organic white peach and opened up this baby  ❤

We are having dinner with my little cousin (who is actually only 9 months younger and 6′ 2″) Ian and his girlfriend.  I’m so excited to meet her! Catch ya later.

 

Have you heard this song “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros? Check it out on their youtube page. It’s been one of my favorites for a long time now.  It makes me miss home less because even though my home will always be New York City, home is really the people that make it so wonderful, not simply the city.  I can be with Matt in San Francisco and be home.  I can be with my cousin Jenn in LA and be home.  Or with my mom reading and taking an afternoon nap in a hotel 🙂

What are some of your favorite nostalgic songs?

 

 

 

hi mom

My mom is coming to SF today to help me get a car.  My first car.  I blame just learning how to drive on growing up in Manhattan.  I always get laughed at for this, but driving a car is foreign to me.  Well, that’s not completely true.  My parents both drive frequently, even in Manhattan.  And my brother got his license at the normal age of 16 or 17.  I’m the outlier.  This has been my car for a long time:

BUT thanks to Matt’s mom (who recently taught me how to drive), a couple crazy instructors (who didn’t know what they were getting into when they took me on the highway), and a really generous DMV examiner, I now have a California license.  Yipee!

The very first thought of a city girl with a license: “I can go to a … TARGET!” … you spoiled suburbanites would not understand the sheer happiness and convenience that a place like Target brings.  My 3 year old godson in LA does though.  A few minutes after we boarded the plane to go to Maui this past spring he asked my cousin “mom, can we go to target instead?”  What a funny guy.

I am SO excited for my mom to get here already.  The last time she was here with my brother, we had a blast.  But, it was too short and my brother hogged her from me.  This time she is all mine MUAHAHA.  I already compiled a list of restaurants to take her to…let’s see how much we get done!

This morning I made a quick bowl of oat bran made with soy milk, and topped it with some frozen blueberries.

I then hit the gym for a “Ride to the Rhythm” Spin class.  It was really fun, but it was only the 2nd time that i’ve taken a spin class since I moved here.  I used to attend them religiously at Chelsea Piers in NYC (almost 4x a week).  If you have the chance to go to a CP Spin class, the instructor Pal is quite possibly the funniest human being you will ever meet.

Spin kicked my butt, and the older ladies were really killing it! I couldn’t believe it.  They had a stronger gear and a higher cadence than me. THE WHOLE TIME!  So inspiring 🙂

I made a quick soymilk, strawberry and bourbon vanilla whey shake but I was still hungry.  So, I had some greek yogurt w/ more frozen bloobs and caught up on some magazine reading.

Yes, Stress IS bad.

Carrot Cake Larabar at the Laundromat.

This little guy found me in the middle of the city 🙂

Edamame while sitting on my yoga mat.

Coffee and reading SF Weekly outside Starbucks.

This restaurant flyer caught my eye.  I’ve heard about this place.  Headed to their website now… Then going to meet my mom at the airport.  Have a great day 🙂

What did you do today? For me, it was a ton of errands.  Laundry, waxing appointment, quick grocery shop for snacks.  OK maybe not a ton.

Are there any restaurants that you are dying to try out? Aside from Radio Africa & Kitchen, I have been eager to check out the pop-up restaurant “The Corner” in SF.  I’ve also never been to Cafe Gratitude.