still sunny in late october.

The best thing I did this week was get a library card. Score! It's amazing how easy it was considering my first attempt to get one back in the day in South Boston was an utter failure because I still had my WA license. It was just as bad as trying to get my MA license and all I wanted to do was check out some books! Anyway, I don't have a CA license yet, but they graciously accepted my residency after I showed my address on a comcast bill (the only thing that being a comcast customer is good for). I checked out a book I've read (Dry by Augusten Aurroughs) a book I was half way through when I left Boston (Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell) and a book that I've checked out and returned three times in the past (The Corrections). Time to get my read on.

The week had some major new discoveries that really made me excited to do more exploring here. I went to Hayes Valley to get some food on Wednesday - it's a really great neighborhood with lots of small shops, eateries and other fun stuff. The highlight of it though was an ice cream stand called Smitten. I urge you to check out the website because my explanation of why it is so cool would not do it justice. I had a kiddie cup of chocolate ice cream with candid jalapenos (delish). I also went to a wine bar that you would never know was there but it was so cozy and such a great atmosphere for wine drinking. My partner in crime was much more knowledgeable about wine drinking than I so I fumbled through the wine conversation inserting the word "tannins" at all the wrong times. The place is called Hotel Biron - I will definitely try to make it back there.

Maddy and I had a high school friend visit this week. He was in town to see the Standford v. University of Washington game (poor Huskies). We hit the town on Friday and found ourselves at a Mexican place called Tortilla Heights. I was definitely the butt of some jokes when I asked if where we were going was a neighborhood. In my defense a) there are so many neighborhoods here I can't keep them straight and b) I feel like half of them have the word "Heights" in name. Still, I know, dumb comment. We carried on to a few other places, one being a piano bar.

Saturday I tagged along with Maddy, her boyfriend and another friend to The Bridge School Benefit Concert held at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View (very close to where my mom grew up). It was such an amazing day - the weather was perfect, we got there early and snagged a prime lawn spot and spent seven hours listening to music. And the icing on the cake was the school that this concert supports, The Bridge School, teaches developmentally disabled students with an emphasis on building communication skills of all kinds. Definitely worth checking out. Of all the artists we saw, Norah Jones, Beck, and Mumford and Sons definitely stole the show. Norah. Wow.

Sunday has been a lazy day, but I made it to a park that I walk by a lot just to do some reading (thanks SF library). It was nice to just sit for a while and enjoy the weather. As you'll see below, I had a nice little view of the park. Please please please send me any books suggestions you have since I'm going to become a library junkie here soon. I also caught a late lunch and did some reading at a place called The Grove in Lower Pac Heights (see, another Heights). They have an awesome mayo-free tuna salad, one of the best I've ever had.

Looking forward to a quiet week and a possible visitor next weekend! Don't forget to send along book suggestions!

Toodles.