Inventory: Fall 2017

Making: lists...books to read, things I need at Safeway, Christmas gifts to purchase, and general life to-do items.

Cooking: way more than usual lately - I think a roundup of recent recipe wins is long overdue.

Drinking: Kusmi Tea's almond green tea, which I picked up for the first time in Paris in 2015 and have restocked several times since then. 

Reading: "Salvage the Bones" by Jesmyn Ward (definitely going in the "Loved" category for November!).

Wanting: a pair of Rifle Paper Co's gorgeous embroidered Keds. 

Looking: forward to eight whole days at home for Thanksgiving - already counting down! 

Playing: Dots & Co/ Two Dots on my phone in between appointments lately - prettiest interface and a low-key distraction.

Listening: to the sound of actual real-life rain on our roof - it sounds uncannily like a snare drum, to the point where I woke up (super early) ready to chew out neighbors for thinking it was okay to play snare drum at the crack of dawn. 

Wishing: my roommates would wake up/get home from the gym so we can go out to breakfast (Stacks is calling my name...) 

Enjoying: the way my bed is at its coziest when I'm lingering in it after I've been awake for a bit...so decadent. 

Waiting: to figure out what we're doing today, hooray hooray!

Liking: so many of my recent book selections - it's been a superlative month of reading so far. 

Wondering: where on earth we're going to put all the wine in our apartment...we're seriously running out of space. 

Hoping: for all sorts of things, isn't everybody?

Marveling: that it actually RAINS in CALIFORNIA! My first California rain!

Needing: olive oil, triple-A batteries, dish detergent, and flour.

Smelling: lingering traces of last night's Jo Malone's Red Roses perfume, which I wear and get multiple compliments on legit daily.

Wearing: currently, my nightshirt...but later, Notre Dame gear to cheer on the Irish...beat Deacons!

Following: the news, of late, duh, who isn't?

Noticing: how nice freshly-washed and changed sheets feel. 

Knowing: way too much about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement speculation...and totally rooting for another royal wedding soon!

Thinking: about new ski gear before our post-Christmas Tahoe trip...

Bookmarking: chicken marinades, trench coats, and training resources on segregation of duties for work.

Giggling: at the screenshotted Snapchats from our recent roomie nights watching Disney movies.  

Feeling: insanely sore from yesterday's yoga/Pilates class...hi, triceps!

Ryan Reuvs Takes a Nap(a)

Continuing on my catch-up of recent life events...toward the end of September, I was graced with a quick visit from three of my very favorites, the darling Reuvers family! 

Zach travels like a crazy person for work, and on his most recent trip to the Bay Area, he brought Colleen and Baby Ryan with him for a long weekend! Naturally, I was called in to serve as Napa Valley Tour Guide and Wine Tasting Expert du Jour, a position which I was all too glad to fill. After we met up in Oakland at their hotel, and I had properly cooed over precious baby Ry for approximately THE ENTIRE drive to Napa, we made it to stop 1: Trinitas Cellars at the Meritage Resort!

Why Trinitas? 

They were one of the makers of the 2016 Notre Dame Family Wines, and the day of our visit was the last day they'd be selling theirs! We naturally HAD to make a stop...and pick up plenty of it...but first, a vineyard hike to start our morning off strong. After our great guide, Matt, poured us some sauvignon blanc for the walk, we set off...

...into an absolutely picture-perfect fall day. Who says California doesn't get fall colors?! Look at those vines!

Baby Ryan, moderately angered at his inability to enjoy the sauvignon blanc with us, stuck with a bottle of the house white while we moved on to chardonnay (HAHAHAHA I have such a puerile sense of humor - oops!). 

Trinitas was one of the cooler tours I've ever done - the hike leads almost straight up through their steeply-terraced vineyards, with picture-perfect views of the south end of the valley. We were at liberty to step off the trail, examine the vines, and, at Matt's encouragement, to taste grapes straight off the vine...one of my favorite Napa experiences. 

For me, though, the biggest delight was watching these two as parents - trekking through the vineyard with a bottle in one hand and a glass in the other, Coll carrying Ryan straight up like nobody's business, and Ry guy being an absolutely perfect angel-baby the entire time. They are THE cutest family, no joke. 

From Trinitas, we moved on to Chandon for a quick glass of bubbly - Zach also tried their reserve Pinot and was pretty pleased! Ryan, meanwhile, was the indisputable star of the tasting room...

Realistically, in an outfit like that, how could he not be the cutest person there? Since I'm a club member, I got our standard comped two glasses...but because it was Ryan's first wine-tasting, our tasting host actually comped us everything we drank, plus a couple of their last few bottles of American Summer!! I need to bring Baby Ry with me EVERY time I go to Napa, geez. 

We headed back to Oakland to catch the Notre Dame Miami Ohio game...one that we had originally talked about all going to the Bend for with my family of Redhawk/Irish fans, so it was extra-fun to watch it with these two! 

Mr. Ryan was ready to party - not only did he intently watch at least five minutes of the game, but he seemed ready to celebrate a win in true Reuvs fashion: 

Instead, though, after all that bottle service, this little cuddlebug promptly passed out. And I was clearly not at all into it...

Loved getting a whole day with my favorite little family in one of my favorite places! Can't wait to see them again soon!

Gettin' jazzy with it!

Proof, friends, that I truly won the parental lottery: It's early September, and I have decided I want to go to the Monterey Jazz Festival, in a BIG way. My Aaron Burr-crush Leslie Odom Jr. is headlining the Saturday main stage, and I am a jazz fiend. Sadly, Roommate David, who loves jazz more than anyone I know, is on call that weekend and can't go. So I text my parents, expecting them to laugh...and instead: 

Before I knew it, we had called each other half a dozen times, and my parents had not only booked flights but also bought us tickets...all before my lunch break. And that, friends, is how I found myself in mid-September driving us down to oh-so-charming Monterey, for a weekend of some of the best jazz performance I've ever experienced!

Held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, the Jazz Fest is anything but bougie - and that just adds to the experience. Locals mingle with tourists and weekend warriors as snatches of music drift through the air - a high school jazz band in one building, an open-air soul-funk group in an amphitheater, snippets of the greats coming from the history presentations. I was in heaven. 

We made our way over to the Yamaha tent and had a blast discussing instruments...they even let me demo a flute, the first time I've touched one since senior year of college! For those concerned, I definitely still know all the Notre Dame fight songs...#nerd.

Parched after my masterful performance (HA!), we hit up one of the beer gardens, where I started with a Brother Thelonius. 100% of the sales from this jazz-themed beer went straight to supporting jazz education in California - the entire festival benefits several different jazz organizations and has provided major funding since its inception 61 years ago!

We spent the day bouncing around from building to building, seeing as many different artists as possible. Highlights: the California High School All-Star Jazz Band, Monsieur Periné's Latin/Afro/Caribbean/French melange of magic, Bruno Mars-esque Con Brio and their high-energy dance party in the amphitheater, and The Suffers, full of soul and so charismatic.

We took a quick dinner break and headed to the pier for fantastic seafood at the Old Fisherman's Grotto - being seated right by the windows and watching the sea lions frolic in the bay was a beautiful, amusing setting for a meal!

As soon as we had finished with our dinners, it was immediately back to the mainstage for the evening's highlights - the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra teaming up with the Gerald Clayton Trio to premiere the festival's annual commissioned work. This year's piece was a nine-part "jazz symphony," if you will, following the trajectory of America over the last year or so. It was all-encompassing - atonal and grating alternating with incredibly lush and harmonious, overlaid with the spoken word and resolving in an absolute maelstrom of sound. I about died and went to heaven, and loved it all the more for sitting next to my father while a father-son duo made magic onstage.

And of course, the main event (for us, anyway) - Leslie Odom Jr, who made my month when he opened his set with a stripped-down, jazzed-up version of his iconic "Wait For It" from "Hamilton." From there on out, we enjoyed a rollercoaster through the best of jazz and classic Broadway - selections from "Rent," "Spring Awakening," and "Hamilton" interspersed flawlessly with original, pared-down jazz pieces that showcased his small ensemble to perfection. He even cracked jokes and riffed on his recent Nationwide Insurance commercial - the man is, in my opinion, a flawless human being and I can't wait to see him AGAIN in a few weeks at my beloved Orchestra Hall over Thanksgiving!

We took it so, so easy on Sunday - a leisurely brunch at First Awakenings, an old sardine factory, then a slow, gorgeous drive up the coast and over the mountains back to Redwood City. We provisioned ourselves, Schweg-style, for the afternoon...

...and, as Dave was still on call, and as Dave is one of my parents' favorite people ever, we had a fantastic dinner al fresco at home. Dad's perfect filet mignon, twice-baked potatoes, crusty fresh-baked sourdough bread, and an Italian salad - plus, of course, plenty of champagne! 

I headed back to my parents' hotel with them and watched the Emmys before calling it a night. They flew home early Monday morning, and I immediately reset the Schwegfam countdown clock...exactly 30 days to our New York trip! 

In short - I fell madly in love with the Monterey Jazz Festival, and am beyond jazzed that my parents shared the experience with me. Already looking forward to a repeat trip next year!

101 in 1001: a catch-up

Guys, holy crap, I'm a lame delinquent loser who apparently never writes anymore and definitely never has any fun. (One of those statements is true.) I've been slowly but steadily checking off my 101 in 1001 list over the course of the last several months, and it's been a grab bag of incredibly fun, amusing, and just plain productive experiences to have! 

Up first: #84, See a comedy or improv show! 

Dave, Laura and I are all obsessed with Iliza Shlesinger, who won "Last Comic Standing" in 2008 and has produced several Netflix specials since then. We marathoned through all three of them within the first couple months we lived together, and some of her jokes have become so integrated into our day-to-day interactions with each other that I find myself checking in with outsiders, asking "Wait - have you seen Iliza?" Inevitably, the answer is no, which makes me think I must have really un-funny friends (or, more likely, friends who DON'T just watch Netflix comedy specials for fun on a random Tuesday...). 

Dave found out she was coming to San Francisco in December, and once we discovered that those tickets were sold out, I immediately jumped on her shows in San Jose at the end of September. We grabbed dinner in downtown San Jose before the show, took a quick tequila shot, and headed over. 

Friends, it was such a win of an evening. I honest-to-goodness laughed so hard I actually cried at a few of the sketches, which are incredibly relatable and universal. Her skewering of Millennial female stereotypes, the all-encompassing physicality of her performances, and her voices and - best of all - random noises ...it all set the stage for an evening of complete giddiness. I can't wait for her book to come out (next week, already pre-ordered, nbd) and for her next Netflix special.

Also on the list: #42, Subscribe to a podcast. I've written in the past about my love for Minnesota girl Nora McInerny Purmort, who lost her husband to a brain tumor and has turned tragedy into empowering triumph with her Still Kickin' foundation, Hot Young Widows Club outreach group, and gorgeous memoir, "It's Okay To Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too)." She's taken her empire-building one step further in her American Public Media podcast "Terrible, Thanks For Asking," which delves into how the human spirit experiences, works through and survives tragedy. I, for one, am totally riveted. 

The honesty behind the podcasts,and the way they don't gloss over and shy away from the negatives, is really refreshing in this world where everyone is always "so busy!" "so happy!" "so grateful!" "so #blessed!" - I derive a lot of value from the gorgeous storytelling and the reminder that there are people in the world who are fighting terrible battles with grit and humor and frustration and anger every day. Check it out if you need a reality check - and let me know if you do!

An item I've had on my housekeeping list for way too long: #47, Join the bone marrow registry. This one couldn't have been easier to check off - I did a quick survey and provided some information on Bethematch.org, and a kit was mailed to my apartment. After a simple, painless cheek swab, I popped the kit in the mail and called it a day. 

This is legitimately one of the easiest ways to do some good in the world that I have ever found. It takes all of twenty seconds to do the actual swabbing, it's free, and there's no guarantee that you'll be called upon to be an actual donor. Even so, though, putting the possibility out there is a great thing to do - get your kit today!!

On the admittedly shallow end of the scale, I derived SO MUCH SATISFACTION from calling "#63: Figure out how to fold fitted sheets" complete. Fitted sheets have long been the bane of my anal-retentive, perfectionist existence - I can't stand floppy, imprecise piles of sheets in my closet, and with space at an all-time premium in my non-walk-in here in Cali, I prioritized this. How'd I do it? I watched this video no less than ten times, cursing and sweating a little bit as I battled with my own sheets, and then - suddenly, miraculously - it clicked. Look at that sweet folded pile, below! Proud of me, and you should be too. 

And wrapping up this round-up, #56: Try to grow an herb garden. When my mom was in town helping me move, we blacked out a little bit in the Palo Alto Anthropologie and Co's gorgeous Terrain outdoor department, and before I knew it, I had dropped like $75 on plants and herbs and gardening kits. OOPS #basicfail. 

We potted cilantro, basil and mint, and parked them on my sunny little windowsill to see what happened. Call me a bad blogger, but below are the only two photos I took after the (messy) potting process: 

So how'd it go? Well, my cilantro flourished, and I used it twice on Taco Nights with the roomies! My basil came in profusely, but was kind of undersized and a little bit bitter...I threw it in pesto to use it all up. As for the mint? Total fail. I never saw even one seed sprout. What a disappointment - I guess all my fantasies of mojitos and juleps were meant to come to naught. Oh well! 

With the holidays approaching, I'm planning on checking off a few more fun items and seeing what I can get done...check out the rest of my 101 in 1001 here! 

Bookworm: October 2017

"She's the main character in her story, just like I'm the main character in mine." - Marisa de los Santos

Loved: 

House of God, Samuel Shem: I read this at Dave's behest, as he said this more perfectly encapsulated his experience as a medical intern and resident than any other piece of writing. The book is iconic among those circles, and with reason - reading it left me shaken, in a truly significant way. Its pull-no-punches style and near-callous description of how the medical profession erodes humanity hit me in very weird places. A must-read, at least in my opinion, for anyone who is/cares about a doctor/nurse/medical professional. 

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, Genevieve Valentine: A Jazz Age riff on the iconic "Twelve Dancing Princesses" fairy tale, this drew me in with its intensely imagery-driven writing. I've always been a sucker for Prohibition-era fiction, and everyone knows that fairy tales have a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf.

The Precious One, Marisa de los Santos: I have loved Marisa de los Santos for the better part of a decade now, and her latest novel didn't disappoint. She has a gorgeous way with words that creates a richly-textured, incredibly evocative reading experience, and this tale of estranged family, lost loves, and navigating colliding worlds kept me riveted from the first page til I closed the cover.

The Alice Network, Kate Quinn: I followed the Reese Witherspoon Book Club on Instagram a few months ago and have, without exception, really loved her picks - she's an enormous bookworm, which just makes me like her even better! Also on the list of things I love: the World Wars, and this novel's parallel stories of espionage and revenge touch both of them - could it get any better?

Enjoyed: 

Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham: Huge "Gilmore Girls" devotee here...I really enjoyed Lauren Graham (Lorelai)'s behind-the-scenes account of filming the original series and the reboot, as well as peeks at her rise to fame and the relationships she's built along the way. This was honestly the first audiobook I genuinely, actually enjoyed from start to finish. 

Emma: A Modern Retelling, Alexander McCall Smith: Jane Austen is and always will be my girl, and as I grow up I'm realizing that I may be a lot more Emma Woodhouse than Elizabeth Bennet, oh the horror. McCall Smith relocates Emma and her motley crew to modern England, replacing buggies with Mini Coopers and governesses with ESL teachers. It was a charming, light, happy reminder of the original novel I loved. 

Saints For All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan: On paper, I should have liked this better - I'm blaming the fact that I read it on a series of cross-country flights from NYC to San Francisco. The story of two Irish immigrant sisters in Boston, and the fallout of one major mistake in both their lives, is told ranging from the 1950s to 2009, with plenty of other narrative voices chiming in along the way. I liked it, but preferred other offerings from Sullivan. 

Tolerated: 

Julie and Julia, Julie Powell: Another audiobook narrated by the author, and I have to say I think that ruined it for me. Powell's memoir is negative and cranky enough to begin with, but narrated in her grumpy monotone? It took so much of the fun out of the experience. Just watch the movie - or, even better, go out for French food instead!

The Last Queen, C.W. Gortner: I must have had this book for years - it had a Notre Dame Bookstore sticker in the cover - but I don't think I ever actually read it. Telling the tale of Queen Juana of Spain, a contemporary of Henry VIII, it was simultaneously smutty and dry...a poor attempt at channeling Philippa Gregory, and frankly nobody should try to channel Philippa Gregory in the first place. 

Vintage: A Novel, David Baker: Eh. This had its moments of charm, but overall the gastronomic, vinophilic mystery of a lost war vintage and a struggling, alcoholic writer left me lukewarm. And hungry. 

Re-reads: 

A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson: Every so often, I need Eva Ibbotson's beautifully written, just-the-right-amount-of-complicated, love-wins-out-over-all romances in my life, and last week was one such time. This is probably my favorite of her novels - I first read it at the age of about fourteen - and this is easily my dozenth reading. I think it's one of those novels whose familiarity just makes me fonder of it, in the end.