Cartoon Art Museum, Bar Tartine, Dolores Park

Real Talk

Here we are, first Tuesday of the month: free museum day! Today a friend and I checked out the Cartoon Art Museum. I was not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised! Displays from different time period of various cartoons, books, and comic strips line the walls in the smaller sized, three section museum. My favorites were all of the cartoon art we know and love directed by Chuck Jones: Bugs Bunny, The Coyote and the Road Runner, the little alien helmet guy, etc... They even had an original script from one of the episodes which must have been Elmer Fudd's because all of his lines were marked. All ages stopped to watch cartoon episodes,  they just don't make them like they used to!

After stopping at the MoMA around the corner, which had slightly changed since my last visit, I enjoyed an extremely lazy afternoon before dinner.

         

      

A friend and I grabbed seats at the bar of a restaurant called Bar Tartine. Such a cool vibe from the overall atmosphere and staff. I have to mention our bar tender/server because she was absolutely adorable; black hair,  cat eye framed glasses with gold on the wings,  bright red lipstick and tights with Snow White's skin and hipster style. I mention this out of jealousy because I really don't have a style and she rocks hers. Anyways, the kitchen is open into the restaurant, So we could watch as they nearly prepared dish after dish.

Their menu is short and uses as much local and in season product as possible. We ordered four items to share: the halibut, pea and goat cheese dip, smoked potatoes, and blood sausage.  The halibut dish was so so,  the others were great. Blood sausage came nice and spicy;  I'd go back just to snack on the potatoes.

What better way to work of dinner than to take a walk to the top of Dolores Park for a foggy but beautiful city view, followed by playing on an "adult" playground. Swings, slides, the works :)

Sorry for a second late posting. Having too much fun to keep up!

Awesome...

Easter egg coloring, California Academy of Sciences

Such a different Easter than last year. A year ago, I had moved to to the city just days before,  didn't know anyone,  and passed the day with a group of wonderful women in their 30/40s that I'd randomly met at a bar. Today, I had to work.

I was not about to let work stand in my way of enjoying this day. I brought in three dozen eggs and all the necessary supplies to make an egg coloring station at work. Kids that came through got to decorate their hard boiled egg with stickers and rubber bands to make fun patterns before letting them soak in one or several the colors. Definitely a success!  Especially since I got to design about 10.

After work, a friend and I checked out the California Academy of Sciences, located in Golden Gate Park across the way from the de Young Museum. Unbelievable. I wish we'd had more than two hours to explore. (They close at 5 on Sundays and due to work we didn't get there in until 3 or so). They have interesting exhibits about endangered and extinct animals,  human development from apes, and even an earthquake section where you can experience what one feels like and learn how to act in the event of a disaster. The best two sections, hands down, are the aquarium and the rainforest.

I could have spent the entire two hours in the aquarium alone. From Jelly fish to seahorses to giant fish I forget the names of, it was amazing and seemingly endless. And then we find the rainforest exhibit. Walk from the forest floor to the canopy as butterflies and birds flutter around you. Just be sure make sure a little butterfly doesn't sneak out the door with you!

There was so much more to explore but not enough time. I will definitely be back! Ended the night with an amazing lamb dinner and glass of wine. Yup - solid day.

      

De Young Museum

Back in San Francisco! 

It was a little hard to leave the house today - with all the laundry and sleep I needed to catch up on from the trip (and from days prior!), but the first Tuesday of every month, museums around the city have free admission, and I have been meaning to check out the De Young Museum for quite some time. So, I headed to Golden Gate Park. I first check out the observatory tower, overlooking the park and the city beyond, before moving on to the exhibits.

View from the observatory - looking at the California Academy of Sciences
and the park that the Wedding Planner final wedding was to be held in!

I loved it.  The museum's current main attraction is "The Girl With The Pearl Earring," which unfortunately was not free (makes sense, but I didn't have time to do both anyways). Even without see that famous work of art, the De Young is a worthwhile stop. Such a nice building! I'm not a fan of the way it looks on the outside, but the inside gives a different vibe. Normally all museums feel the same, but each room in the De Young felt differently. They currently have "Objects of Belief from the Vatican" on display on the second floor, and the warm woods compliment the ancient tiki-like, wood pieces of art perfectly. Another moving sections was photography from Iraq - not of American soldiers - but of the lives of the people before the US came and during the first few years after we arrived. I highly recommend checking it out. The rest of the artwork ranged from paintings and sculptures, to glasswork and furniture. Truly, anyone could find a room they enjoy and spend hours looking over the pieces. See my favorite painting from today, below. 

        

My favorite painting. "The Sonata" 1889 by Irving Ramsey Wiles