Petaluma, day 4

Here is the last in a daily Journal of our mini-Petalum-vacation. Pardon the typos these were all transcribed through Audio.

On our last day in Petaluma, we all woke up and had breakfast together on the front porch.

I then took yet another bath why Julie packed the fresh laundry (What a great wife!).

Once out and we all packed together and took Luke for one last tricycle ride around the block before handing in our keys.

Then we had lunch at the most amazing bakery, Della Fattoria. We sat outside and had delicious sandwiches and watched the town go bye.

After lunch we poked around in some adorable shops including Ooh La Loft, The Splendid Little Shop and the famous Seed Bank.

Finally we headed to a playground on the outskirts of the city before heading home. A fab trip, I super miss you Petaluma. You have moved up near the top of my list for future living contenders.

February 2016. Mix

Her'e some music for your February.

I am pretty obsessed with a  few of these songs right now (aside for my continuing Hamilton obsession which I am still deep in the throws of).

But how good is that new Chairlift song? I cannot wait for next months release of Eric Bachman's new solo record, so it was great to here this wonderful single.

I have not heard enough new Missy (has anyone?) to keep her in my ear's (and yours) there great guest spot on this Janet song from last year.

And Hinds! Ladies doing 90's retro garage rock. I need more of that.

All kinds of ear candy. Enjoy!

Sketchbook, Jan 2016

A few pages from last month's sketchbook.

Many of my sketchbook pages are filled with drawings of the things I am seeing from day-to-day, but a few our more like diary entries that highlight a particular moment.

Our medicine cabinet. Don't Judge.

A bowl of exceptional tonkatsu Ramen from our favorite local ramen shop, Momiji.

A quick sketch I did during Satchmo at the Waldorf performance (which I talked about here) and finished once I was home (and in better lighting). 

Sunday morning. Drawing my wife over our morning coffee while Luke plays nearby. It's a pretty great life.

6 things I'm loving this month

1.  The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I am way behind everyone at being a Marie kondo convert. Mainly for the reason that I was waiting for my name to come up on the library hold list for The life-changing magic of tidying up. It came up being pretty good timing it being available right after Christmas and all.

I am about halfway through doing the recommended purge for all of the items in our home that do not “Spark Joy.”  There’s a surprising amount of them. Clothes was first and thank goodness for that. 

Here's a pic of our bedroom mid purge.

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2.  Beigey Brown Lipstick

I always have one go to lipstick per season that I use pretty much everyday.  Last winter it was Moxie Rise up by Bare Minerals which has been almost impossible to find this year.

So, Instead I have opted for Sephora's Rogue lipstick in ingenious. It is a subtle, almost nude, color that adds just the right tint for day time. 

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3.  Satchmo at the Waldorf

Julie surprised me with tickets to this new A.C.T show. John Douglas Thompson does a remarkable job of bringing Louis Armstrong and others to life in the one man show, depicting a backstage conversation with Armstrong relating the events of his life after one of his last performances.

You'll have to be in the Bay Area to se this one but some tickets are still available from the A.C.T. site if you are.

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4. Salt & Fog January Mix 

What we are listening to this month, on our January Mix, is a mix of  some great new stuff and a few things we missed in 2015 (and a few of our favorite songs ever thrown in for good measure).

And more Hamilton because who could get enough Hamilton? Not us!

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5. Down Dog App

Like many people, I vowed to change my eating and exercising habits at the start of the new Year. I love Yoga, but finding the time, money and overcoming my shyness (I am a closet introvert) to attend a class has always been a big stumbling block.  The Down Dog App has completely upped my exercise game.

The routines are clear and easy to understand with enough variations that they don't get too repetitive. There are also very yummy yoga-ing soundtrack options to boot. And that's just the free content!

If you have been looking for a new way to Yoga check it out.

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6. Her Story

The first season of Her Story is currently available for on the Her Story website. 

What is Her Story? It's a very well done creator made show "that looks inside the dating lives of trans & queer women as they navigate the intersections of desire & identity."

It is very clearly a work of love. Having seen and read a ton of stories dealing with transgender people I love that this one does not focus on the transition as much as transwomen living their lives and finding relationships.

Her story also get props for giving a voice to a prospective partner of a transperson. They need a voice too sometimes. 

A Surprise trip to Sonoma

It being January and all, I have been thinking back on 2015 often and reminiscing on my favorite events of the year. One of these lovely moments occurred when we were offered a trip to our friend's parents house in Sonoma for an impromptu weekend.

It happened while we were attending a birthday party for our close friends son when they told us they were heading to the wine country after the party to spend a weekend in their dad's house. Her father was traveling and the house was open if we wanted to join them. Of course we did!

At first, we planned on heading back home to pack, but we were already in Berkley and the Bay Bridge was swamped with traffic. Instead, we went to the local Target to buy toiletries,  a change of clothes for all of us, pj's for Luke and nighties for us. It wasn't so bad price wise either. Thanks Target!

If you have read this blog you know how we love traveling and exploring new places so it was such a treat get to stay in a new place and spend time with one of our favorite families. 

One of the neatest parts was the amazingly impressive vegetable garden behind the house itself. The yard was chockablock with towers of plants overflowing with yummy veggies ripe for the picking .  Luke had not really had the experience of picking and eating veggies from the vine and he adored it. 

What fun! We were able to make the majority of our dinner from vegetable grown right there. A pretty outrageous idea for our city kid. 

Once we finished our meal, the kids continued to play in the garden while we sipped cocktails.

 At sunset our friend led ourselves and our collective herd of boys to a local Heladeria (Mexican ice cream shop) for tasty frozen treats. This cemented the trip as not only as one of our favorite of the year but Luke's too.

Thanks M, J, Y & R!