My First Cake

I have never baked a cake before. My mom is the baker. I prefer desserts that don't require as much measuring. Crisps, cookies, brownies. Just add a little more oatmeal or butter or flower until the consistency is about right. And then either take it out early so it's nice and gooey or leave it in until it's golden brown. Less room for failure, I suppose.

Jessica and I were born 363 days apart, and both of our birthdays are coming up mid-week next week. With busy weekends approaching, we didn't know if we'd get a chance to get together. So we planned to bake ourselves a pre-birthday cake and exchange presents early. We followed Deb's best birthday cake recipe and were advised to use the fattiest buttermilk we could find, or else add another stick of butter. It turned out surprisingly well. Like, perfect. And then on day two it got a little dry. And because there was no party, five days later I still have a lot of cake to eat. But overall it was a success and we had so much fun staying up till 1 a.m. baking ourselves a birthday cake. And hopefully we can continue the tradition next year, and in the meantime brainstorm ideas on recipes and bunting and cake plates and candles.

Edit: Frosting recipe in comments :)

Disappointment

I had two photo shoots fall through on Sunday, and it's a new lesson for me. Working as a photographer there will be setbacks. Kids get sick. It will rain. I just have to persevere.

So Jeff and I went and test drove a Mazda 3 and then took a walk. Pretty good day. And I spent most of Friday and Saturday with friends. I have really amazing friends. More on that soon. Over all, feeling lucky to be where we are right now.

Climbing Hills

My friend Jeannine and I went for a hike in the Berkeley hills, up behind the Claremont Hotel, and I came home with a bouquet of wildflowers. It felt so good to be surrounded by nature. Especially when the hillside is littered with Scotch Broom, wild Lupine, Indian Paintbrush, Forget-Me-Nots, and sweet pea. Mr. Curious was all over them, making me realize that this is his first spring, and he's never smelled wildflowers before. How exciting.

The daffodils were grown by Marina. I'm pretty sure the woman brings me most of the flowers she grows, along with those she forages. What a peach. Favorite things right now: flowers in my home, curious little kitties, hiking mountains. In the next couple weeks I have a few photo shoots with humans, which I'm really looking forward to. Not that anyone ever tires of looking at flowers and kitties.

Can't Get Enough

I can't get enough of Berkeley in the spring. Flowering trees really do something for me. It rained in the middle of the week, and after that everything felt fresh and new. The other day I was without a vehicle and had to walk in the rain. It was so beautiful that I felt really lucky for the opportunity. Californians use the rain as an excuse to stay indoors. But the world looks so different when everything is covered in water droplets and the light is diffused through a grey sky. I wish I had my camera. (I took the rose photo with my iPhone.) It puts things in perspective. Yesterday was bright and blue, clear and warm. We had nothing big planned for this weekend, so we got to do some furniture shopping, some fridge stocking, some lounging in front of basketball games on the TV, impromptu lunch dates and hanging out with the kitties. Domestic bliss.

Wine Tasting at Nickel & Nickel | Napa County, CA

Great friends. Perfect light. Old barns and old trees. Beautiful equipment. Fresh air. Green grass and sunny daffodils. Window shopping. New hat. Cold beers.

We spent 29 hours out of town and it was incredible. Nickel and Nickel is stunning and we learned a lot about winemaking. But I sill prefer beer. And it's particularly nice to have one in a bar with twinkle lights and seating, where you can carry on a conversation and put your feet up. Thank you Josh and Katie for sharing it with us. Here's to many more weekends.

Wish Tree | Berkeley, CA

"I'd like to have blueberries." -Ella "I'd like to have strawberries." -Rosa

"I wish for my dream job!"

"I want to see the penguins." -Anika

"Rain"

"My wish is for my community to come together in peace and help those less fortunate ♥"

"I wish I was Caleb's girlfriend." -Gabi ♥

This weekend we are driving up to Napa County with some friends to go wine tasting at Nickel and Nickel. So excited to experience some more firsts with my husband and to see more of California in the spring. It is going to be lovely. What are you up to? Have a good weekend!

Spring.

And after one rain they are gone.

I was inspired to go out in my pajamas one morning and catch the sun when it was still low. I'm glad I did. I love spring. I love longer days. I love flowering trees and warmer weather. Today I walked past a "wish tree" with the six-year-old I spend afternoons with. She asked me what my wish was. I couldn't come up with one on the spot. I guess that's a sign that I'm in a good place right now. I'm going to go shoot it tomorrow.

I've done a lot of research in the last few days on starting my photography business and I feel motivated and empowered. It's coming together faster than I imagined. I'm excited. It's going to be great. If you live in the Bay Area and like my work email me: thenakedrose at gmail. I charge no session fee, there's no minimum order and prints start at $10. Hi-res digital files start at $15. You buy what you love.

♥

Company, Kitty, Flowers and Bows

I love having people over because it motivates me to clean house and buy flowers. I haven't seen Sam and Christian since their wedding and it was so much fun reconnecting. It's great spending time with people we know we're going to be friends with for the rest of our lives. We made eggplant lasagna and Waldorf salad, Häagen-Dazs froyo with blueberries and chocolate syrup for dessert. And they brought bags of bagels which lasted for days. Looking forward to camping trips this summer, spending time with them on the Yuba river and in the mountains of Nevada County.

When I was in Hawaii, Jeffery accidentally knocked my Le Creuset utensil crock off the counter. They discontinued that model, so I was on the hunt for something new. Last month my friend Nicole took me to the Oakland White Elephant Sale, the most beautifully curated flee market I have ever seen. I found this one for $5, hand painted in Italy and it's my new favorite thing. Besides that little black kitty. He's pretty great too.

A Night in Marin

I love how the colors of Tomales Bay are mirrored in the bark of of the eucalyptus trees surrounding it.

We spent a really nice weekend in Marin, where Marina was house sitting a beautiful ranch home on the top of a hill. Despite waking at three in the morning to a smoke-filled house from a forgotten chicken carcass simmering on the stove, we had a really nice time. And everything turned out ok. A few hours later we got to enjoy the sunrise and had a nice breakfast of french toast and leftover roasted fingerlings sauteed with onions and apples.

And we drove home via Tomales Bay, which my poor deprived husband had never seen before. California, you're so beautiful, especially in the spring.

Sunday Stroll

We took a walk in Tilden Park on Sunday. The color and light and contrast of hard and soft were inspiring. I love being outside with him, climbing hills and hopping puddles. My ever-so-reluctant model.