Peer pressure

Scene: Thursday afternoon, in the hallway at work. Hindude, another iPhone user and I are trying to persuade my friend Britt to buy an iPhone. She played with mine earlier in the week and fell in love.

iPhone Friend: Britt, when are you getting your iPhone?
Me: Yeah, Britt, when?
Britt: Shut up you guys!
iPhone Friend: What's the matter? Don't you want to be cool like us?
Me: Yeah, everybody's doing it...
(HD just laughs in the background)
Britt: I have this little thing called property taxes...
iPhone Friend: Awww, that's no fun.
Me (note, not a homeowner): Property taxes, schmoperty taxes.
Britt: How much are they?
iPhone Friend: Are you on AT&T?
Britt: Yeah...
Me: $199 for the 8GB, $299 for the 16GB
Britt: Are you serious? I sneeze $200 every time I go to Safeway!

Our work here is done... pushers, you could learn something from me.

People who brunch

Hindude and I made brunch, set the table on the deck, and ate like civilized adults this morning.

Table settings courtesy of my Aunt Pat and Uncle Ed. They gave me the adorable blue floral placemats and plates for my 27th birthday.

Menu:

Biscuits, made with Alton Brown's "Instant" Pancake Mix, cold butter, and nonfat milk (I made these bad boys), topped with butter and blackberry preserves OR gooseberry preserves

Omlettes with fresh basil and cilantro (from our herb garden), and a little blue cheese (HD made these puppies)

It takes a village to hug a tree

Well, I guess a Sequoia anyway.

I learned about WikiaGreen from ecofabulous, and I immediately added a bunch of entries about the Marin Farmer's Market Association. One of the admins asked me to be an admin, and I regretfully declined as I can't even imagine what a timesuck that would be, but I promised to contribute more when I could.

If you have the gumption, add your local farmer's markets, or anything else that makes your aunt call you a "tree-hugger" on your blog. :-)

I just locked myself out of my car

Yes, I'm in the house (thank you, HD, for not locking the door when you left this morning) but my only form of communication is my desktop computer, hooked up to the TV. I left the whole purse in the passenger seat, with the iPhone, and my laptop as well.

Ooooh, I hear HD in the driveway... now I can call AAA!

That's right, I'm an idiot, kids! And apparently I need a landline more than I thought!

Birthday in St. Helena

We got out of the house a bit later than expected this morning. The thrill of still being in pajamas at 10:30 on a Wednesday was just too much for us. So, we didn't make it to the gardens I posted yesterday. Instead, we went to St. Helena.

• Ahi tuna burger and sweet potato fries at the original Taylor's Refresher nom nom nom (top picture).
  
• Dean and Deluca and ogled the produce (TWSS)
• Proposed - and then immediately abandoned the idea of - a photography contest at V. Sattui Vineyards (I think HD was scared, frankly, of the masterful way I create sheer art with my Kodak Easyshare from 5 years ago; also, winery in 2nd picture)
• Olive oil tasting at St. Helena Olive Oil
• Accidental discovery of the Greystone Culinary Institute of America, where I found some hi-larious winemaking artifacts just right there, on display, where there's no going back (3rd and 4th pictures)
  
• Drive along Spring Mountain Road, where HD decided he was suddenly an expert in growing wine grapes ("This wine must suck, the vines don't get any sun.")
• Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Barefoot Cafe in Fairfax
  

30 candles

Tomorrow (well, today legally, but tomorrow technically) is the Hindude's birthday. We're taking the day off from work and going up to Sonoma to check out some gardens (yes, he likes visiting gardens... don't you wish your boyfriend was a dork like mine?) and the itinerary includes:

• Luther Burbank Home and Gardens in Santa Rosa
• Cornerstone Art Gardens in Sonoma

It's so great to live in an area with so much to do; on Saturday we went to the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and the original plan for HD's birthday was to go to Filoli in Woodside (that's Filoli in the picture), where we've been several times. Just gorgeous.

On another note, I'm dating a 30-year-old and it's not even creepy. What have I DONE with my life?!

Blatantly obvious

Scene: Stinson Beach, last Sunday. I'm laying on the beach towel, Hindude is sitting in his sand chair. I get up, stretch, and start walking toward the water to look for non-existent seashells.

HD: Where are you going?
Me: Uh... Japan?
HD: Ok.

(3 minutes later, I walk back to the towel, wet up to my knees from an overachieving wave)

HD: Japan's wet, huh?

Behold the beauty

Oh, the wonder, the magic, the unadulterated distraction from pretty much everything I could be doing BESIDES playing with the damn thing.