Today was a long, lovely day, and I'm ready for bed (even though I should stay up all night and write...but maybe I'll do that tomorrow night). I got up fairly early and spent the morning chained to my laptop, which was quite productive once I got started. The writing process continues to intrigue and mystify me, but at least it's working now, so hopefully I'll produce a book worth publishing in the next month (doable, but I've got a lot of slogging to do before the end).
Anyway, a smoothie and a couple of coffees kept me going until noon, when I ate a sandwich and then showered/put on a dress/made up my face so that I could pursue my afternoon/evening activities. I had made this plan a month ago, back when I thought I was turning my book in to my editor last week instead of this coming week, and so while I was a little loath to socialize this afternoon from a timing perspective, I was super eager for the plan itself. I met Joann (of spinster honeymoon fame) and the original Jen Lui at the de Young, where we had tickets for the Oscar de la Renta exhibit. I hadn't been to the de Young since Jen got married there, and when they told me to meet them in the garden where she had gotten married, I had a brief moment of disorientation because I had been quite tipsy when I had arrived to her wedding (due to ill-advised champagne consumption while watching a football game) and so wasn't sure if I remembered where the garden was. But I found them, and we talked for a little bit before going in to the exhibit.
I thought it was all quite lovely - de la Renta's collections had many more wearable (or theoretically wearable) pieces than I've seen at some of the other fashion exhibits I've been to (namely Alexander McQueen, which was perhaps more stunning but also mostly crazytown). Of course, I might not have worn the pants that had fur hanging off the cuffs in a way that almost looked like a string of small rodents (or maybe that's exactly what I would wear, provided I became a postapocalyptic warlord, which is kind of my backup career choice). But I really enjoyed the exhibit, and I'm glad we caught it.
Then, we wandered around several other areas of the museum, including a great photography exhibit and a bunch of interesting stuff from Oceania (New Guinea, etc.), which made me think a little bit about the ethics of collecting stuff. All in all, it was a nice way to spend an afternoon, and since I recently bought a membership, I really should go there (and the Legion of Honor) more often, if only to people watch and scribble in my notebook in a more beautiful setting.
After we were done, we adjourned to Laurel Village (a neighborhood I never go to) for dinner at Spruce. We started with a drink at the bar, and I downed my tequila and strawberry cocktail in record time because it was quite refreshing. Then we had an amazing dinner - we split a kale caesar salad and some foie gras, and both were excellent. I had a pork loin for my entree, and I thought it was excellent - the pork was perfect, and it was served with a sweet potato puree and some random assortment of vegetables, all of which worked quite well together. We also split a deconstructed s'more and some chocolate mousse, and it was all quite delicious.
The verdict was that we would all go back if the opportunity presented itself. As it turns out, Spruce is owned by the same restaurant group that used to had Des Amis, and so I hugged one of the waiters who used to be at Des Amis (and whom I ran into too late in the meal, since we might have gotten comped some wine if Spruce had known about or acknowledged my former VIP status). Unfortunately, it's too far away from my house (and also too stuffy/expensive) to become my Des Amis replacement, but it was an excellent Saturday night outing - and gave us plenty of time to gossip and catch up and discuss a wide variety of topics.
We were done by eight, and Jen and Joann dropped me off on their way out of the city, which was perfect. Then, I did a little bit of work, but mostly fell down a wikipedia black hole - and now I think it would be better to sleep and start fresh tomorrow. Wish me luck with that - goodnight!
Anyway, a smoothie and a couple of coffees kept me going until noon, when I ate a sandwich and then showered/put on a dress/made up my face so that I could pursue my afternoon/evening activities. I had made this plan a month ago, back when I thought I was turning my book in to my editor last week instead of this coming week, and so while I was a little loath to socialize this afternoon from a timing perspective, I was super eager for the plan itself. I met Joann (of spinster honeymoon fame) and the original Jen Lui at the de Young, where we had tickets for the Oscar de la Renta exhibit. I hadn't been to the de Young since Jen got married there, and when they told me to meet them in the garden where she had gotten married, I had a brief moment of disorientation because I had been quite tipsy when I had arrived to her wedding (due to ill-advised champagne consumption while watching a football game) and so wasn't sure if I remembered where the garden was. But I found them, and we talked for a little bit before going in to the exhibit.
I thought it was all quite lovely - de la Renta's collections had many more wearable (or theoretically wearable) pieces than I've seen at some of the other fashion exhibits I've been to (namely Alexander McQueen, which was perhaps more stunning but also mostly crazytown). Of course, I might not have worn the pants that had fur hanging off the cuffs in a way that almost looked like a string of small rodents (or maybe that's exactly what I would wear, provided I became a postapocalyptic warlord, which is kind of my backup career choice). But I really enjoyed the exhibit, and I'm glad we caught it.
Then, we wandered around several other areas of the museum, including a great photography exhibit and a bunch of interesting stuff from Oceania (New Guinea, etc.), which made me think a little bit about the ethics of collecting stuff. All in all, it was a nice way to spend an afternoon, and since I recently bought a membership, I really should go there (and the Legion of Honor) more often, if only to people watch and scribble in my notebook in a more beautiful setting.
After we were done, we adjourned to Laurel Village (a neighborhood I never go to) for dinner at Spruce. We started with a drink at the bar, and I downed my tequila and strawberry cocktail in record time because it was quite refreshing. Then we had an amazing dinner - we split a kale caesar salad and some foie gras, and both were excellent. I had a pork loin for my entree, and I thought it was excellent - the pork was perfect, and it was served with a sweet potato puree and some random assortment of vegetables, all of which worked quite well together. We also split a deconstructed s'more and some chocolate mousse, and it was all quite delicious.
The verdict was that we would all go back if the opportunity presented itself. As it turns out, Spruce is owned by the same restaurant group that used to had Des Amis, and so I hugged one of the waiters who used to be at Des Amis (and whom I ran into too late in the meal, since we might have gotten comped some wine if Spruce had known about or acknowledged my former VIP status). Unfortunately, it's too far away from my house (and also too stuffy/expensive) to become my Des Amis replacement, but it was an excellent Saturday night outing - and gave us plenty of time to gossip and catch up and discuss a wide variety of topics.
We were done by eight, and Jen and Joann dropped me off on their way out of the city, which was perfect. Then, I did a little bit of work, but mostly fell down a wikipedia black hole - and now I think it would be better to sleep and start fresh tomorrow. Wish me luck with that - goodnight!
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