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Another Picture From That Weekend...

Before and After

Wow! College was so long ago. Who are those babies in these pictures? This photo might have been within days of meeting each other for the first time on the 5th floor of our dorm in Boston. John is already doing toothpaste shots and I'm grabbing Mark with OJ's glove.

And here, John's tongue is out, as it usually was, and Katie's got that signature smile on her face. I believe we are at Noelle's house in Cohassat, MA, where we used to escape sometimes on weekends. Shout out to Catherine Pouch in the background.

Well, we're all grown up now (I guess that's debatable, but certainly we're all aged up now) and here we are at the Hollywood Bowl 25 years later (for 80's night, no less - Berlin, The Fixx, the B52's and Human League - how perfect is that?). The last time Diane, Mark, Katie, Noelle, John and I were all together was perhaps 1987.

Although college was a blast, specific memories are vague at best. I mean, do you remember details about what you were doing 25 years ago?

There were a lot of parties - too many of us stuffed in dorm rooms, drinking and dancing. I remember typing many papers on my giant-sized Brother typewriter, which seemed so modern at the time. I remember being sick a lot - this California girl not quite sure how to dress for the snow. (The storms were so thrilling, though - sleet, hail, snow!)

A bunch of us reunited over this past Labor Day weekend. We sifted through photo albums, jogged each other's memories, spent hours on my couch gabbing, gabbing, gabbing. We ate, we drank, we even sang...

RW really feels it when he's behind the mic...

Overall, it was a spectacular weekend. Time really does have wings and I'm glad we were able to capture these moments before the next 25 evaporate before our eyes.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Food

I have had some amazing meals in the past few weeks - some created, some purchased. Pictured below is a salmon and apple carpaccio dish inspired by Giada DeLaurentiis. I hosted a brunch for my parents the other week and this was the standout of the meal. Thin slices of smoked salmon are joined by thin slices of green apple, capers, a dollop of olive oil and served with toasted olive bread. The flavors and textures are outstanding together, and I know I'll be assembling this dish many more times in the future.

For my birthday last week, my parents took me to a phenomenal restaurant in Koreatown called Jun Won. My mom had read a review in the LA Times that had her mouth watering. It is a small place, almost like a diner, and kind of hard to find, but this is the best Korean food I think I've ever had. Even the little side dishes, pictured here, were out of this world. Everything was so fresh and bursting with flavor. Run, do not walk, to this restaurant as soon as you get a chance. Later that day I went to this spa, which deserves an entire post of it's own. Let me just say here that it is open 24 hours and on Tuesdays costs a mere $15.00 for the use of all its fabulous and wacky amenities.

I overate this weekend while hosting a college reunion - a Hollywood Bowl picnic, dinner at Street, lots of little "pickies" as our friend John calls noshing food, and then this fantastic dinner at Loteria Grill. Katie sampled the 12-taco special...

...while I indulged in a shrimp and pumpkin sauce dish. Mmmmmmmmm.

I have A LOT to say about this past weekend's reunion, but am waiting for pictures to illustrate the stories. Ooops, just looked at the clock - 12:30 - time for lunch! I wonder why I'm so hungry?

Big Sur, Yes Sir

I've been coming up to Esalen regularly for about 3 years now and it never disappoints. I do find that I take the same pictures year after year. The property is a photographer's dream. These photos were taken on my cell phone. I can only imagine what a 'real' camera would capture.

Big Sur is notoriously moody with fog and marine layers, but not this time. It was sunny and in the 80's the entire trip.

This year I brought with me Henry Miller's "Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch" which I'd purchased on a trip up here a few years ago at the fantastic Henry Miller bookstore a few miles North of Esalen off Highway 1.

Miller lived and wrote in the area for fifteen years and this book details what it was like being an artist, and all the characters who lived and worked in this part of the world when he did.

If I were a 20-30 year old guy, Henry Miller would be my idol. This book in particular gives permission to be an artist. Hell, as a 40-something-year-old woman I'm still in awe. His voice is so encouraging, funny and confident, and he writes about the area with such knowledge and passion.

I'm holding the book in front of the same mountains that are on the book cover (I think)

And just to bring things back full circle...

Sitting in my dining room is this postcard from Henry Miller himself. (see below) My mom's friend from Montreal, Isabelle, had written to him asking about farming opportunities in Big Sur (from what I understand, she didn't give a crap about farming opportunities, she just wanted to connect with the man himself) He wrote her back and she saved the postcard for the rest of her life. When she passed away, her other friend (my mom's best friend Ruth) recovered the card and gave it to me where it now sits framed in my home. This postcard has made a circuitous journey, but I'm honored and grateful that it landed in my hands. Now more than ever I feel connected to this wonderful piece of memorabilia from this iconic author.

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