And loads of love to Michael Douglas. You’re a classy guy and I’m pretty sure the whole world wishes you a speedy recovery.

{gorgeous right?}

{grilled figs, tortellini salad, black bean salad, grilled tenderloin}

{homegrown heirlooms, marscarpone dip, grilled shrimp}

This month, we were lucky enough to have received a special cocktail component for our guests to experiment with and there is no doubt it was a huge hit.  If you are a tequila lover, I highly reccomend you try Centenario Roseangel hibiscus infused tequila. Now, seeing as how I am in a family way, I did not have the chance to sample these beautiful cocktails but I was assured by several guests and the steadily emptying bottle that this is a special tequila.

{the posh potluck's Rosy-tini}

We named our cocktail the Rosy-tini and here are the ingredients:

Hungry and ready for happy hour?  Thought so.  My work here is done.

Here are a few more beach shots from my trip.

On my last trip to SF, I had a night off from the wedding festivities and enjoyed an evening out on the town with some of my favorite City dwellers. First up, Erin took us to Nihon Whiskey Lounge, a hip lounge featuring Japanese Izakaya (sort of like tapas) and over 400 types of whiskey. It was no joke. Fun for tasting different types of whiskey, but try as I may, its just not my favorite spirit.

So its a Friday night, you’re in the Mission, what do you and 6 adults do next?

Ice cream, naturally.

The first destination was closed, so our cabbie switched routes and dropped us off at Bi-Rite Creamery. I had seen it featured on an episode of The Food Network’s Best Thing I Ever Ate: Dessert Edition and made a mental note to get here on my next visit to SF.

Lots of other adults had the same idea and there was a sizable line, which luckily moved quickly. Once we entered the doors and spied the menu, the debating on flavor combinations began. While many of the sundae concoctions were very tempting, I knew I had to go with their unique special:

Sam’s Sundae: Chocolate ice cream with bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt and whipped cream

Olive oil?! I know you may wrinkle your nose in confusion, but honestly this was one of the best treats. The high quality olive oil has a distinct citrus taste and balanced with the rich dark chocolate and the sea salt, it was heaven for my tastebuds. I am not the biggest whipped cream fan, but it was freshly homemade.

I definitely recommend Bi-Rite as a must-do in SF.

{my glenrock girls + ice cream aficionados}

Some of the other available flavors:

• Salted Caramel
• Chocolate Coconut (vegan)
• Ginger
• Mint Chip
• Honey Lavender
• Coffee Toffee
• Ricanelas (cinnamon with snickerdoodles)
• Roasted Banana
• Balsamic Strawberry
• Brown Butter Pecan
• Malted Vanilla with Peanut Brittle and Milk Chocolate Pieces
• Brown Sugar with Ginger Caramel Swirl
• Earl Grey
• Cookies and Cream
• Toasted Coconut

I also love Bi-Rite’s mission:

Bi-Rite Creamery is committed to creating ice cream in a responsible and sustainable manner. We are proud to be the first ice cream shop in San Francisco to use Straus Family Farms organic dairy to create our ice cream. We strive to create unique and exciting flavors that are made with local, organic or sustainable products. Not only do we care deeply about our ingredients, we also care about the impact we have on our environment. We use cups and spoons that are biodegradable, our sugar cones are made from organic ingredients, and we source our ingredients as locally as we can. Our tastes are served on metal spoons that don’t create waste. In doing so we save over 500,000 plastic spoons from filling our landfill every year.

You can see the Food Network video that inspired it all here (Bi-Rite is at the -4:58 mark)

My “summer of love” continues. I am sure you are all very tired of me droning on about this, I myself am tired of talking about it. But I sure am enjoying the ride.

This will be wedding #3 in as many weeks. We are sort of getting the hang of this – having the times of our lives each weekend with all of our good friends is a good routine. Its the waking up and functioning the next day part that is alluding us. Any tips?

And I forgot to add that this next nuptial will be celebrated on the beaches of Hawaii. Rough life, I know. Congrats to Danny & Laurie Beth, we can’t wait to be there with you!

It’s been an amazing, adventure filled four years…we traveled and partied and played from coast to coast and across the big blue pond, we made one family out of two, we learned the value of compromise and the importance of communicating, we bought a beautiful home…

we rescued three sweet dogs:

and now…the biggest adventure of all.

There is no one I would rather share this with.  Here’s to 40 more years of bliss.

I love you.

ckm

At Paisley Petunia, we love helping out our friends and community. And now, in turn, we ask your help…

A little background:

Through the magic of Facebook, I was so glad to reconnect with Quoc, an old friend from UCLA. Quoc is a talented photographer. He took these pictures of us. He took these photos of Hem Gems and of fellow blogger, Melissa’s family.

Last time, I told you about his cross country road trip and how he offered his photography skills in exchange for food/lodging/local tour guide. And now he’s at it again.

This time on the wings of Jet Blue’s All You Can Jet Program, he’s visiting New York (twice), Chicago, Boston, and Seattle next month. Contact him here to offer your couch in exchange for a photoshoot. You will not be disappointed.

If you can’t host, he’d love to know your favorite local places and what to do & eat & see in your city. A do-gooder at heart, Quoc is interested in volunteering in your local community during his visit. Please email him at manh.quoc {at} gmail.com with any opportunities and ideas.

Bon Voyage, Quoc! Can’t wait to see the photos from this next adventure…Promise you’ll keep us updated?

Big thanks to S + A who kept our four legged family happy and entertained while we were gone. Those dogs love you guys.

{off the coast of Bandon by the Sea}

{Nye Beach sunset view from our balcony}

{photo credit goes to well- me and my fancy new Tamron lens}

(Special congrats to my dear friend Elizabeth who got engaged this past Saturday)

If you can get to LA, you should go to this event:

Featuring some of my very favorite vendors:

The Flashdance

Smog Shoppe

Confetti System

100 Layer Cake

Annie McElwain Photography {a lovely, talented girl & fellow Bruin}

Read about all the vendors & happenings here.

I so wish I could go, but alas, I’ll be getting ready for yet another wedding that day xoxo