conservatory of flowers

visiting the conservatory of flowers in golden gate park was certainly a sleeper hit on our recent trip to san francisco. although not on our original agenda, husband and i were thrilled for the respite, beauty and history it offered after a somewhat long, chilly walk throughout the city.

the conservatory of flowers was built over a century ago and is the oldest wood and glass conservatory in north america. pretty impressive stuff. we highly recommend making a pit stop here if you find yourself in the area. just don't expect your hair to look the same upon exit...quite steamy up in there. we visited on a tuesday and were welcomed with free admission. please and thank you. 

here is some of the beauty that awaits you upon your arrival....

soy and wasabi kale chips

with health slipping through the cracks after a crazy month of moving and traveling, husband and i have been itching for a delicious snack to get us back on track.  this kale chip recipe does more than the trick. only problem is, they don't last long. you should probably just go right ahead and get crazy, double this recipe.

>> soy and wasabi baked kale chips <<

ingredients

1 large bunch of organic kale

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1- 1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi paste (depending on your heat preference)

2 1/2 teaspoons  lite/low sodium soy sauce

sesame seeds

instructions

preheat oven to 350 degrees. thoroughly rinse and dry kale leaves. remove leaves from stems. tear kale into chip sized pieces. in a large mixing bowl combine olive oil, sesame oil, wasabi paste, and soy sauce. whisk until combined. add kale to the bowl and massage soy mixture into the kale until thoroughly combined (yep, use your hands!!). lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread one layer of kale on the cookie sheet. sprinkle the kale with sesame seeds. bake kale for about 8-10 minutes depending on the heat level of your oven. take chips out of oven once edges have darkened.

happy and healthy snacking!

back from cali and back to reality

husband and i really took this whole break thing to another level. we truly did break away from our normal day to day and didn't touch school stuff (or blogging material) until yesterday. spring break we did... and it was glorious. 

having a vacation planned prior to our home purchase really was a blessing in disguise. husband convinced me that if we hadn't gone to california, we would have spent our entire break working on the house. as much as I would like to put a drop in that bucket, we needed to get away and relax already. thankfully, husband and i did manage to get a little r and r in.

we traveled to california for a short visit in monterey with some dear friends and managed to get in a short jaunt to san francisco on the way out. we ate too much, drank too much, and walked too much. as it should be, i guess. husband and i thoroughly enjoyed the monterey area....with carmel, big sur and a brief run-in with a redwood as highlights.

this vacation marked a first trip to san francisco for the both of us. we stayed in a marvelous b and b (highly recommend the chateau tivoli...super reasonably priced to boot!!) for a couple of nights and managed to hit up many of the sights and neighborhoods recommended by many. our only regret was not having more time there to explore.

here are a few of our favorite shots from the monterey area.