Beautiful Saturday…

Today was a normal Saturday, but an indication of just how wonderful normal can be. A classic Indian Summer day in San Francisco, with cool temperatures to begin and end the day, and warm sun in between.

I tend to start my days before Jeff on the weekends. I enjoy a quiet weekend ritual of rising early, driving up to the store to pick up stuff to make breakfast, and stalking a few photographs in between. This morning, I was stalking the sunrise…which is conveniently late this time of year.

One of the new delights at breakfast is crafting an espresso drink from our new espresso station. This little device is a wonder to watch, but the perfect cappuccino is an art that I’m still perfecting.

In the midst of our errands, Jeff and I happened upon a hidden gem of a cafe in SF’s Laurel Heights neighborhood. We ate at Rigolo, which emulates a cozy French boulangerie. I had a truly amazing B.F.T–bacon, frisee, and tomato–with a tangy tomato aioli spread. Served warm…yum. Jeff had a hearty, open-faced pulled pork sandwich with parmesan fries. We will go back to this one, I can assure you.

As the late afternoon wore on, we spent some time gardening. The low autumn sun sets off the colors in our succulent garden quite nicely.

This feeling of comfort and warmth lead right on to dinner. For the second time, I made a really fine pasta puttanesca–a hearty Italian dish, chock full of fresh flavors. Its also very easy to make. You should try this one–I got the recipe from Food Network. (FYI, I added in some grilled chicken breasts.)

We closed the day by doing something totally out of character. We went to a movie!!!! I know, I know. I swore against theatres 🙂 But Jeff had been reading about a fascinating movie called ‘The Queen’, which examines the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during the early days of his term and the days surrounding the death of Princess Diana. We both really enjoyed this film, and its respectful, yet humorous glimpse behind the scenes of royal tradition.

A truly beautiful day.