Haircuts, SF & Franchino

Ever since I moved out of my parents house (a loooong time ago), I've been struggling to find a hair salon that can cut my hair and style it in a way where I'll been happy with it. Nobody knows how to cut my hair! Well... now there is one place that does it right. My sister took me to a place in SF's Japantown. I was extremely happy with the results. The place is called Japan Center Beauty Clinic located in the Japantown's main shopping center. Of course I was very skeptical of this place because I haven't had a good experience with my hair to date. The hair stylist knew what he was doing though.

Before I show you pictures, I want to tell you what happened on the way to the salon. My sister was driving and we saw a guy on the sidewalk leaning against a crosswalk pole kinda wobbling back and forth. he stuck his foot out as we were stopped at the light. I told my sister that he was probably drunk but she didn't believe me so she rolled down my passenger window and asks the guy if he had been drinking. The guy denied it but you could clearly tell that he was intoxicated. After that he starts telling my sister that he loves her even as I rolled up the window and we started to move.

My sister was getting her hair permed so I walked around with Oscar to kill some time. When she was done, we drove over to North Beach to grab dinner. We ended up at a small restaurant called Franchino. She had yelped this place on her handy dandy iPhone 4G (which everyone simply drooled over). The owner of Franchino, who was a very friendly Italian guy, greeted us with open arms, almost as though we were family. We ordered a couple glasses of Cabernet, and a smoked mozzarella cheese appetizer. Janice wanted to know if they served buccatini pasta, but it wasn't on the menu and the daughter of the owner who happened to be our waitress, confirmed that they didn't have it. The owner, overhearing our conversation, rushes two doors down to buy a box of buccatini pasta just for Janice. Talk about going above and beyond! Our appetizer and entrees were amazing. Janice, who used to go to Italy on business, told me that the buccatini pasta was cooked perfect. I thought it was overly al dente, almost crunchy. The flavors were nice though.. very simple. I ordered the salmon fettucini with pesto sauce. Delish!

For dessert we went to a nearby coffee shop and got tiramisu (which I hate), some sherry & a cappuccino. The tiramisu was SO good! I was surprised and before we knew it, I had devoured half of it. By the time we were done with dessert we were pretty beat but I had to stop by the Rogue bar to pick up a Brutal IPA for Justyn before heading back home. It was such a relaxing and fun day in SF with my sister :D Thanks Janice!

This Is Why I Love My Mom..

My sister brought some potstickers and hot & sour soup from my mom's house last night. You guys do not realize how much I miss my mom's cooking so this is definitely a treat :D

Reader's Choice Color Inspiration Challenge No. 4

I haven't participated in a Kristina Werner Color Inspiration challenge in a while have I? I really loved the picture in this challenge.. so bold. Perfect for a more masculine card which I actually needed. This card is actually a 2nd attempt. I started stitching on the dark blue cardstock and really loved the contrast so I redid it in a way that made it the focal point. I hope the recipient likes it :)

Edit: Wow. Epic FAIL. The deadline to submit this card was earlier this afternoon. NooOoOoO.. Oh well.

The Best Vodka In The World?

Justyn recently saw a video where Oz Clarke & James May went to Chase vodka to see how it was made and to do some tasting. He also stumbled upon an article where the same vodka was declared the best in the world. I wouldn't call myself a vodka connoisseur but I definitely drink it often enough to know what's crappy and what's decent.

Justyn ordered a couple bottles online so we stuck a bottle in the freezer to chill it. Tonight we gave it a try. Justyn didn't like it at all but once I took the first sip, I knew this stuff was good. It has less of an astringency feel than the other vodkas I've tried and it's smooth. Normally, sipping vodka straight will make me gag but this stuff doesn't do that. I can easily see why it was ranked as the world's best vodka. I also like the fact that the people who make this stuff don't take short cuts. It shows.

This vodka is pricey and will run you $45-$50 per bottle but I think it's worth it.

NAC: A Couple Cards

I've been taking a break from making cards since nothing has caught my eye inspiration wise. That's kinda sad considering there are so many great cards out there. I've just been in a funky rut lately. Don't even ask me where I got inspiration for these cards. They kinda just happened.

I did, however, finish a birthday card for my friend Bri. I can't post that yet since she frequents this blog ;) I even used a stamp that I've never used before! You guys will just have to wait until next week for that card.

Leyla & Cormac's Party

Leyla had just returned from a trip to Thailand, Cambodia & Korea and it was Cormac's birthday so they had a party at their house. I brought some Mediterranean meatballs which I honestly didn't really like but everyone else seemed to enjoy them so that was a relief. Leyla made some kimchi fried rice which I helped with and Cormac made some steaks which by the time they were done, my camera was out of battery. Ohwell... enjoy these pics instead :)

Epic Yosemite Trip!

Justyn and I just got back from the best Yosemite trip evar. We went on the trip with a great group of people from a message board we both post on. I had such a good time hanging out with everyone and finally getting to meet friends that I've known for a long time. Even though I'm thoroughly covered with mosquito bites, nursing this hangover and still feel dirty despite having just taken a shower, all of that was worth it for the company on the trip. I'm sad that the 4 day trip came to such a fast end but time really does fly when you're having fun.

The first day was spent meeting up with everyone and driving up there. We ate at a Chinese restaurant in Oakhurst.

Before we got to the campsite we stopped for some pictures at a scenic spot with the waterfall.

At the campsite we unloaded everything and sat down to rest a bit before starting a fire and getting ready for dinner.

Kris made some awesome pulled pork for dinner.

After dinner we had some shennanigans. I think the pics speak for themselves.

The next day Justyn and I walked over to The Awahnee Hotel for brunch.

When everyone got back to the camp Erik & Don broke out some canned fish. I was super excited to try the stuff but I'll never touch it again.

After some snacking some of us took a bus ride to the bottom of the waterfall.

When we got back to camp a decision needed to be made. Simpler Times or Tecate? Darrin is from Australia so we had him decide. Simpler Times was the winner!

More evening partying and craziness.

The next day some of the group went on a 9 mile hike on the Panoramic Trail. I feel bad for Justyn. He has been limping like crazy since they got back from the hike. (These pics are from Kris)

I stayed back at camp with Mel, Darrin & Rob. The guys got back super fast from the hike and I could tell they were happy to be back after having some well deserved drinks.

We had drinks down by the river....

This pic was taken by Kris.

I'm sure I'm missing a couple days somewhere in this post but oh well. That's how much fun I had on this trip.

Huuuge thanks go out to Kris (for driving especially), Mel & Don for organizing this trip. The weather was awesome, and the scenery was fantastic. You guys rock! Also huge hugs go out to Justyn, Mike, Andy, Darrin, Rob, Erik, Kevin & Nate. I’ll miss those of you who I won’t see until our next trip.