pizza and editing photos on a Saturday night

After an afternoon at the farmers market and Good Food tasting I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening editing and uploading photos. Before 11PM I raced to Tony's Pizza Napoletana to pick up a pizza to help me work late into the night, and it worked.. along with Saturday Night Live on in the background.

Good Food!

I walked down to the Ferry Building Farmers Market and was overjoyed to see the Good Food event. "The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic and responsibly produced." Well, the winners were all lined up at the Ferry Building with their winning food ready for tasting. For $5 you could sample all of the winning coffee, preserves, chocolates, cheese, and charcuterie. I saw a few familiar faces from Portland which warmed my heart and sipped a little too much Portland Heart coffee which had me feeling like I was vibrating with energy. I forgot to mention that as soon as I lined up for the first sample I quickly found myself behind Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and a local hero as she brought gardens to so many public schools. The citrus at the market seemed to glow electric pink. I crossed a patch of clover on my walk home and felt like with my luck there had to be one or two four leafed clovers smiling back at me.

apple pie (scone) for breakfast

I was able to sleep in a little this morning before heading straight to Arizmendi for an apple pie scone and strong cup of coffee before greeting fourth and fifth graders with the days art lessons. The past few Fridays have had me teaching dangerously close to this beloved bakery and is becoming affectionately known as happy scone Friday. 

Handful of Salt magazine launch party

I was asked to photograph the Handful of Salt magazine launch party and it was awesome! Handful of Salt is a locally based publication with a focus on craft and design, two of my passions. The event was a success and there were so many talented and kind people in the room sipping fancy cocktails and perusing all the wonderful works on display at The New Black space with crystal encrusted lights, ceramic vessels, and gorgeous furniture. Above are a few of my favorites from the evening. If you want to look at a few other photographs from the event on the Handful of Salt website click here. To see their online publication click here. 

hugs and love, 

Bayle Doetch 

afternoon pick me up at beloved four barrel

I taught art to the little ones and needed a little energy boost so I stopped in at Four Barrel Coffee for a chocolate chip walnut cookie and iced coffee to go. This was the perfect pick me up. Four Barrel has a special place in my heart as Jeremy, the guy who started the business is a friend from when I lived in Portland, OR. We use to sling coffee together there and he was and still is one of the hardest working and most driven people I know. Coming in as a patron and seeing his continued success is always inspring... and the coffee is incredible. Here in California we tried to pass a law requiring food companies to label their products with any genetically modified ingredients. This wasn't passed, but FB decided to swap out their soy milk that wasn't clear on ingredients with an almond milk brand that clearly labeled their products as being free of gm ingredients. This is just one more reason to love this local business.

Queen Elizabeth by the newspaper stand

an evening walk revealed this new wheat paste stencil art just a few inches above the sidewalk. The red enamel background and small light was the perfect placement to illuminate this portrait. Thanks street artists.

adventure is in your future

I picked up my favorite Chinese takeout (garlic eggplant + general tsao chicken) after work from Yum Yum.  Of course one of the best parts of Chinese food is the fortune cookie fortune and this one is pretty perfect as I really want more adventure in 2013. 

p.s. The fortune cookie is another fabulous San Francisco invention. 

so smitten with the tiny thumbnail moon

Photo Hunt Challenge

I woke up early and raced to Blue Bottle Coffee for a New Orleans ice coffee with chicory to wake up my senses before the photo hunt challenge began. The Contemporary Jewish Art Museum has had a few photo assignments through Instagram inspired by their current NY photo exhibit. After snapping pics all over downtown SF I was inspired to keep snapping away as I meandered home. The light was reflecting off the windows and bouncing off brick walls in Chinatown before the thumbnail moon showed up making for a magical night of lights.

details

came across this garage door light illuminating this fuzzy leaf plant just before sunset

hotel

sometimes ya gotta have a Gott's burger brunch

I strolled around the Ferry Building Farmers market and then met up with my friend Courtney for burger style brunch at Gott's. Court had a double cheeseburger and I devoured a seared ahi tuna burger before I could snap a pic.

muted colors, rain and fog

night lights and shadows

I met up with Tyler for sushi, sake and a dance performance by a famous Greek troupe at the Palace of Fine Arts. I was captivated by the curtains when the lights came up for the encore. I passed the neon psychic light and hand painted corner store signs that I love so much.

teaching in little Italy = tiramisu for lunch!

I decided to take an break during lunch and pick up tiramisu at A. Cavalli, a local favorite family run business. After work I walked around a bit and noticed a few views that went overlooked before. I adore this tile front, little red hawk on the metal sidewalk plate, and this corner entrance that is solem and friendly at the same time.

another scenic view before the airport

We headed up to Sutro Tower one more time before Trish caught a Seattle bound plane. This time I'm posting two panoramic pics, one with me blurring the lights as I turn and another that's a clear panoramic shot sans motion blur and with the last bits of the days sunset

four seasons over two blocks in January

Spring succulents, Winter evergreen, Fall ginko leaves, and Summer love. Trish is still visting from Seattle and decided to tag along for the day even though I was teaching. She grabbed coffee and we went for a walk during my lunch break, slurped chicken noodle soup and then sat in the sun with popsicles in hand.

late night drive

Here's a panoramic view of SF spanning Golden Gate Bridge to the East Bay Bridge and beyond taken from Sutro Tower with  an open shutter and slow turn. We took a spin in Trish's rental mini cooper along the bay, Ocean Beach and then up to Sutro Tower for a clear view of the whole city. The only hitch was that we came along from the beach and I usually drive up from the Castro so we relied on iPhone directions, but they led us to Sutro Tower.... which is not open to the public and instead has a guard tower at the base. This made us giggle and feel like we were driving along forest roads in Washington again. As you can almost see above ;) we made it to the lookout spot and it was worth it. I ended up with clear shots, but this was my favorite.

lovely school murals that always make me smile

lucky day...

A Seattle friend came into town for a short visit and I managed to get a flat tire on the way to meet up with her and managed to get a little help from some friendly fellas to help put the spare on. At least it happened on a day off and when I was going less than 10 miles an hour as I was parking..... and right when I needed new tires anyway. The best tire shop in the city is open on Sunday and they squeezed me in, hooray. After an afternoon filled with car maintenance I met up with my friend Trish and grabbed much needed food. Lucky Creation is a small little vegetarian chinese food restaurant in Chinatown and part of the luck is that you end up with leftovers for lunch x two.

homemade granola and painting on a rainy day

A trip to Tartine (below left) had me in awe of their stunning seasonal fruit brioche bread pudding. I snapped a pic and opted to bring home another treat instead and was inspired to bake a little something.   With an abundance of oats, dried apricots, and walnuts left from the chocolate cookie marathon posted earlier I decided to make granola. I'll add the recipe as soon as I find it. 

Today was a little rainy here in SF and a light baking project and a painting by the window turned out to make for an ideal day. I swirled in a heaped spoonful of tart cherry preserves into my yogurt and topped it with granola and a tall mug of chai on the side. 

friends, treats, and walking SF

I stopped in at Matching Half for coffee and a bagel before a hair appointment and then later lunch and a coconut milk espresso shake at Herbivore before walking the streets of SF.

day trip to Sonoma wine country

 I was compelled to pic up a small can of champagne at Coppola winery and it's a summer favorite for many in SF, perfect while lounging at the park or perched on a rooftop. My friend Annie went to Coppola a few times last summer and I'm excited for the weather to warm up so I can explore this Disneyland version of a winery too, complete with a pool flanked by cabanas and a petanque court! We stopped at a few other places, many were closed and gave us another reason to return soo. Our last winery stop was at Stryker and I love this place. I'll take more photos next time (and with my camera). The place tranquil and cozy with a fire ablaze and views of the other growing sites from the tasting room. The pics below were taken at Stryker and I'll make sure to visit again in this new year. Stryker was the most expensive stop of the day as we both walked out with a bottle, but it's so worth it. They only made six barrels of the wine I purchased which makes it that much more cherished.

good luck picnic

 Traditionally my New Years day would be spent making black-eyed peas for a lucky lunch and then maybe ciopinno stew for dinner with loads of fresh seafood. I'd while away the day at a leisurely pace with cooking and craft projects until heading out for a hike.

Today I had plans to go on a little day trip to Sonoma County with my friend Chris for a little wine tasting adventure. I packed up a good luck picnic lunch with black-eyed peas and collard greens packed into mason jars and cornbread wrapped in wax paper. We set off for Healdsburg and after a few wine tastings on the square we were more than ready for our picnic lunch in the winter sunshine. The little cranberry gem below (from Sandbox bakery) was stashed away for a morning treat.