2021 in the Rear View Mirror
At the beginning of 2022, we started having conversations about this past year: We asked each other questions about what we have done, what we have learned, and what we have enjoyed. Around this same time, I watched Alice Waters Masterclass, and realized much of what we enjoyed most was connected to this idea of “Slow Food”, and in turn, the idea of “Slow Living”.
People around us wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to learn that many of our fond memories revolved around food & wine in some way. We spent at least one weekend a month dedicated to adventuring through California (and often along the coast).
This past year, we’ve made many new dishes at home, and have collected several cookbooks. We’ve also had the pleasure of learning to travel as vegetarians, and have found great food most everywhere we’ve gone. Our favorite meals were:
Greens in Fort Mason SF: This was a trip we made to celebrate our birthdays (since we’re only a few days apart). We’ve never been blown away by a salad, but the Pea Tendril Salad was nothing less than MIND-BLOWING. Along with the pea tendril greens, the salad included roasted beets, pickled shallots, mint, olives, feta cheese, roasted walnuts, sherry vinegar, and hot olive oil. We also ordered the Summer Squash Pupusas, and it came with the most delicious pickled romanesco (escabeche pickles).
“M Restaurant” on Catalina Island was absolutely magical. We lucked out and got prime seating at the front of the restaurant, overlooking the main walkway & water. We ordered the Burrata appetizer, and it was one of the most satisfying appetizers we had all year. We shared a bowl of Arrabiata pasta & sipped red wine (that we don’t remember the name of)! The meal was so enjoyable we returned again during our stay. Oddly enough, we fell in love with the Wedgewood knives the restaurant had. We loved the way the knives stood on their edge, so we went on a hunt to find a flatware set inspired by that trip, and eventually purchased Zwilling’s Bellasera set.
On a trip back up the coast from Santa Cruz, we stopped in Halfmoon bay at Fattoria e Mare, where we enjoyed their “Squash Ronde de Nice” & “Bianca” pizza with black mission figs, caramelized onions, and aged balsamic. The squash was served chilled and filled with the cold salad mix inside! The presentation was impressive! We’ve had plenty of pizzas over the course of the last year, and arguably the fig pizza was one of our favorites. Carlos even added some of the arugula from the salad we ordered to the pizza, and he says it made it even better!
One of the most unique experiences was lunch on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Even though the food wasn’t as great as some of the other dining experiences we had throughout the year, the experience itself was unforgettable. Plus, how could a train trip that starts with sparkling wine not be incredible?
“Tofu Curry with Mustard Greens” from Bryant Terry’s book Afro-Vegan – was voted as being our favorite meal we cooked all year. Especially over saffron rice!
Wine was such a huge part of our year. We learned so much about varietals, wine-making, wineries, and our personal preferences! Our favorite winery so far is Viansa Sonoma. Viansa is located on the top of a hill overlooking the estate vineyards and wetland preserve. We loved it so much we became a part of Viansa’s wine club, and try to visit whenever we’re in the area.
Earlier in 2021, we began planning for our future home together. Currently, we share a single bedroom in a shared family home, and later this year we plan on moving into our own place.
It’s been a fun process of discovering each others preferences and styles. We compiled a spreadsheet of the things we will need, and have checked off several things from the list throughout the year. During this process, we really began to enjoy seeking out things second-hand, which has led to frequenting antique shops. This was likely inspired by our shared enjoyment of XO MaCenna’s YouTube series on the cottage home she’s building in Texas. Carlos isn’t typically fond of following “influencers” on social media platforms, but we both took a liking to MaCenna’s videos, and before we knew it, we were both learning we liked things we never thought we would!
One of the unexpected antique finds of the year was a set of two Fire King deviled egg plates we used for Christmas & Christmas Eve. We hope they will become a staple for holidays & gatherings to come! Fortunately, we live in the SF bay area, and can go to the Old Niles Antique shops as a fun weekend adventure! During the new year weekend, we were up in the state capitol (Sacramento) and spent a day purusing the 57th Street Antique Mall, where we found a set of beautiful Lenox Rosalyn Dinner plates – amongst other treasures. Our winning find for the year may be a Drexel dresser we found on Craigslist.
Last year, we almost always brought along our polaroid cameras, and managed to take over 400 photos! Between the two of us, we definitely share an appreciation of many of the amazing things life has to offer. Last year, we indulged in our interests in nature, art, music, history, food, culture, and nostalgia!
During our travels we developed some “travel traditions” where we’d seek out local bookstores, coffee shops, botanical gardens, nurseries, and of course food & wine! Everywhere we’ve traveled, we try to pick up a bag of whole bean coffee. Plants were also at the epicenter of our travels, even when there weren’t any “official gardens” to visit, we’d always try to “stop and smell the roses”. When we went to Eureka, we came across Pierson’s Garden Shop. Even though it’s quite far from home, we hope to procure some plants from there for our own place!
If we were to sum up the moments we enjoyed the most throughout the year, it was always the moments where we could be present in what we were doing. It was all of the wonderful conversations we shared, the interesting things we learned together, and the beautiful parts of life that can’t be described outside of the moment.
In 2022, we want to spend more time outside, continue to have meaningful conversations, seek out learning experiences, slow down and enjoy the small moments, and live our lives with more intentionality.
Cheers to a year of new memories.
