We don’t have many photos from our trip to Alaska because we forgot our camera in Anchorage on the very last day of the trip. Thankfully, we somehow have this photo of me catching my very first fish. Everyone else caught beautiful salmon that we were able to cook and eat on the shore. I caught a poisonous rock fish which had to be released; only for the exact same thing to happen to me the next time I went fishing, when we were in Turkey. Still, getting to throw a fish in the air and watch a Bald Eagle swoop in from seemingly nowhere, and catch it before it could hit the water was very cool. Not as cool as my Scooby-Doo life-jacket, but pretty close.There are a handful of things I remember from this incredible trip, which include taking a helicopter tour over icebergs to go dog sledding. But these are the most salient ones:
Being in bikinis in the salt water pool on the cruise ship in Glacier Bay, thinking, it should really be colder (we went during summer.)
The self-serve soft-serve ice cream machine adjacent to the chlorine pool.
The cake show I crashed… and accidentally cut into a display cake at. Why on earth did my parents let me go alone to such a thing?
Mom got the golden charm of an outhouse.
It never got dark.
The two British little girls, presumably sisters, complaining to their dad that they wanted “two crumpets with their tea, daddy. Two crumpets.” Sage and I thought that was hilarious.
And the stomach flu I caught on the day we were leaving. I threw up once exiting the hotel room, once exiting the hotel elevator, once exiting the rental car, and once right at the entrance to the airport in seemingly perfectly timed events.
I hope never to forget the basking marmots, snake-fighting chipmunks, or the taste of dehydrated food after a long day on the trail.
There was a very funny moment on this trip when I was standing near the edge of a look out and a couple that just stepped off a tour bus asked to take a picture of me. We still laugh now and then wondering about their family photo album and the picture of me, the little blonde American girl, among them.
I lived in Stinson Beach, CA for one magical year in my twenties. Oddly enough, the commute may have been my favorite part about it.
The albino crocodile at The Academy of Science in San Francisco, one of my favorite museums there, always reminds me of a funny story from my dad’s childhood. My grandfather, a large and impressive, well educated and traveled, otherwise stoic man, was afraid of spiders. Knowing this my aunt Debbie, found a toy spider at a museum gift shop, waited for her dad to be engrossed with what he was looking at, a crocodile, to drop it suddenly onto his shoulder. Apparently, he made quite the scream. Muir Woods with Baby Bean!Ocean Beach with my little Buddha Baby.A magical lunch at the Post Ranch Inn. We even saw some whales spouting!Taken at the Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch. Ran into that year’s winner of the largest pumpkin celebrating at the Ritz Carlton later that day with some Stanford friends. Gave them quite a thrill driving the E55 AMG that night. Alila Ventana Big Sur. Excellent spa, sauna, and company. We ran into Richard Diamond, author of Gun, Germs, and Steel, who was their for falconry! However we did not “request proposal” as advertised on their website. Nicola’s engagement party at her dad’s winery in Sonoma, Ram’s Gate. Nicola’s private wedding ceremony in Kentfield. Enjoying a Blue Apron meal and a Crabbie’s Ginger Beer with Gentry when we were living in San Francisco at the same time. One of our favorite father-daughter lunch spots in the city, The Rotunda at Neiman Marcus. There’s no better way to start a meal than with a thimble of chicken consommé and a brioche popover with strawberry butter. They serve some of the only lobster bisque worth eating besides my father’s and that served at the Homestead Inn in Greenwich, CT. Our other favorite lunch spots included: Yank Sing, Café de la Presse, and a restaurant at the Westfield Mall on Market Street that sadly closed but used to do the best wild boar scissor-cut noodles called My China.
This is a French nursery rhyme my mother taught me about peeing on ladybugs… curious.
J’fais pipi sur le gazon, Pour arroser les coccinelles. J’fais pipi sur le gazon, Pour arroser les papillons. Pipi, gazon, papillons, coccinelles Pipi, gazon, coccinelles, papillons.
Which translates to…
I pee on the lawn, To water the ladybugs. I pee on the grass, To water the butterflies. Pee, grass, butterflies, ladybugs Pee, grass, ladybugs, butterflies.
Belvedere, CA: circa 1998. My mom used to let me dress myself. Iconic.“My Togepi learned metronome!”Marin Montessori with Miss RoshiniProof that I used to have blue eyes.Summers in Newport Beach, CA.
Yamashiro in the Hollywood Hills. Incredible views. First time I went with Sage, Jason, and Carter, there was a David Bowie cover band that was surprisingly good. Barton G. is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. My family is very insistent that the presentation is more impressive than the quality of the food, but personally I love the food there. The lobster pop-tarts and lobster macaroni and cheese are phenomenal. The bucket of bones is delicious. I have found it to always be very consistent, and now that The Bazaar at the SLS in Beverly Hills by Jose Andreas is closed, it’s one of the most unique high end culinary experiences available. Here I am trying to get the liquid nitrogen from the “Holy Smokes Popcorn,” to come out of my nostrils. Also featured, the Deviled Eggs, and one of the many cotton candy cocktails I enjoyed. Barton G. is one of two restaurants where I will usually have more than one cocktail, the other being Nobu. At Nobu I order a Lychee Sake-tini with Stoli Elite vodka, Nobu house sake, lychee juice and garnish. After a few of these, and lots of giggling, I take what my family calls my “Nobu Nap.” This is a photo from one of the handful of cooking classes that I took at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica. This particular class was called “Southern Brunch” and these are all the herbs and spices that went into the fresh sausage patties we made for biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were labor intense but so delicious. The sausage was actually not that hard to make, and so worthwhile. Jason and I also took a Babka, Brioche, and Challah Bread class, and a Steak and Whiskey dinner. We made this creme anglaise that was to die for.
This was taken by Quinci when we were in Palm Springs for Stagecoach Music Festival. Sage and Jake had just broken up, but the tickets and hotel were pre-paid so Quinci and I got to go VIP and stay at Sparrow Lodge for free. We had the best time, despite our relative indifference towards country music.
Alternatively, when I attended Coachella VIP with Louise, my UC Berkley friend that Abe introduced me, Louise and I stayed at an airbnb with some of her friends, and I was very excited about the music. Major Lazer was incredible, but Disclosure was a big disappointment.
The famous Marinated ‘Ferran Adrià’ Olives dish at The Bazaar restaurant at the SLS in Beverly Hills, the night we saw the all gold Bugatti Veyron. Other favorites: Cotton Candy Foie Gras, Philly Cheesesteak, Bagels & Lox Cone, “Beefsteak” Tomato Tartare, Not Your Everyday Caprese, Brussel Sprout Petals, Smoke & Ice Oysters. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. Not to mention the rabbit paella they had for mother’s day brunch one year that was the best paella I’ve ever had.
Balthazar is a long standing family favorite that we always manage to squeeze in every trip to NYC. The steak tartare, steak frites, and moules frites are my favorite, but dad lives for the steak au poivre… if only I liked pepper.A tender moment with Madi Bean during High Tea at The Plaza Hotel.Same trip, different sister. These outfits got us in to Le Bain without having to wait in line or pay the cover. All three sisters on our way to The Met.
My graduation cake from my favorite bakery in LA, Big Sugar Bakeshop.Rachel in a classic moment of modesty. Kara and I at a Laker’s Game. Her parents hooked us up.Above my desk at my first apartment. Can you tell what neurotransmitter it is?
Sophie's External Brain 