another week, another seven pictures

Week 19 started the same way that week 18 ended: with an Elsa picture. Normally, I don't like to have two pictures of the same subject in a row, but this shot of Elsa and Carmen outside was just so much better than the one of CDs in a box that I would have used otherwise. Steve and I spent most of that Sunday going through music. Steve was ripping all of our CDs to his computer, and I was sorting through a bunch of old sheet music, much of it from college and grad school. All of this was the beginning of our efforts to organize our house, clear out the office, and turn it into a nursery. More on that in the coming weeks.

It was warm day, and I joined Dan, Carmen, and Elsa in the alley while Steve was starting dinner. They were playing with bubbles and airing out their house. (Carmen had just gotten a new sofa at the flea market and was waiting for the smell from its cleaning to dissipate.) Elsa had a good time watching Carmen blow bubbles—the pointing thing was new at the time—while Dan held her up.

127/366 bubbles

Monday was another warm day, and I was on a mission to find chocolate coconut water after hearing about it on Twitter. (I was slightly obsessed.) I looked at the company's website for some clue as to where to find it, but all it had listed were Safeway stores. So I walked to the nearest Safeway and was disappointed not to find it. I had to settle for some regular coconut water of a different brand instead. It was okay, but it wasn't what I wanted. At least I got another try at photographing the peppermint geraniums in the park that I passed on the way there. I had tried a couple weeks before with my 50mm lens, but the focus hadn't been right then. The 35mm did a much better job, as long as I remembered not to get closer than the minimum focusing distance.

128/366 peppermint geraniums

I had to go to a rehearsal on Tuesday evening, which prompted me to go buy some snacks to have on hand. This time, I only went as far as the corner store for Cheddar Bunnies. I ended up only eating a dark chocolate square during the rehearsal, but the outing provided me with my picture of the day. I've always liked the patterned tiles on the store's facade, and I finally got a picture of them that was halfway interesting.

129/366 open

With no ideas for Wednesday pictures, I suggested to Steve that we go out to dinner. A new wine bar and restaurant, St. Vincent, had opened that week in the old Heart wine bar space, and I was curious to see how it was. Heart had been great for a cheese plate or a sandwich, but we hadn't really had much that was good there in the way of hot food. (They had altered their menu to a "Mission Picnic" approach by the time we got around to trying it last year.) The new place, however, has a nice menu of small plates and entrees for dinner. Steve and I got a few dishes to share, as well as their housemade pretzel. Sadly, they didn't have any non-alcoholic drink options for me (yet), but their wine selection looked great. Steve stuck to beers this time and was quite happy with the ones he tried.

130/366 st. vincent pretzel

I waited until evening once again to take my picture for Thursday. I figured I'd shoot some of the produce that Steve was bringing home from the farmers market, but he found chives with flowers at the corner store. Although I remember chives growing near my house as a kid, the chives sold in stores around here rarely have the flowers on top.

131/366 edible bouquet

And more purple flowers for Friday. My search for chocolate coconut water continued that day, and this time I managed to find some at Bi-Rite Market. (It was indeed quite tasty: like chocolate milk, but not as thick.) Outside the store, there were some pretty lilacs for sale—another thing that grew near our house in MI when I was younger.

132/366 lilacs for sale

Last, a food picture. I guess I had to make up for not starting the week with one on Sunday. Steve made basil ice cream from the Bi-Rite Creamery book on Saturday. Actually, it was lemon basil ice cream, since he saw lemon basil at the farmers market near work and decided to try some. It was definitely more lemony than regular basil. The ice cream was tasty, but I think I might prefer regular basil next time.

133/366 (lemon) basil ice cream