Haircuts!

Truthfully, one of the things I was most bummed about leaving in Sarasota was my hairdresser, DeeAnn.  We had been together for 2 full years upon my departure and she and my hair had a very close relationship.  Unfortunately, however, hair grows, and my hair was desperately calling out for a cuttin'!

I did a lot of research (Yelp.com is a fantastic tool when you don't have any personal recommendations/warnings to go off of), found a salon (and found Shane one too because he was also in need of some styling!), and found some bravery to trust my precious hair with a new stylist and voilà!

I give you, the haircuts:

Do we look good or what???

So long, Sarasota!

Tonight is our very last night in our condo and, for all intents and purposes, today was our last real day (since tomorrow will be spent coordinating the move and then driving to Tampa).  We spent the day tying up loose ends and preparing for the movers to come tomorrow, and also spent the afternoon at the beach.  We're both really sad to say goodbye to Siesta Key (voted Best Beach in America 2011 by Dr. Beach, and also highly rated by the Travel Channel) -- it's been really cool to live where other people vacation, but that's also true of San Francisco so we're really no worse off.  We'll definitely come back to vacation in a few years and we have nothing but glowing things to say about this city.  Until we meet again, Sarasota...

Siesta Key

Our route from Florida to California, as illustrated by Shane



We definitely didn't take this of ourselves with the self-timer camera setting...




Beware of Craigslist

Another task on our infinite to-do list is to find someone who will clean our house after the movers take our stuff (come hell or high water, we're getting that deposit back!).  We would do it ourselves, but all of our cleaning stuff is boxed! Anyways, I came across two craigslist posts of interest:

cleaning by male in the buff!

nude cleaning girl


Who are these people?!


Countdown to the big move: 2 days!

Things I've accomplished today

1. Mail forwarding
   - Our mail will be forwarded beginning this Saturday, October 29th.  If you'd like our forwarding address, please email :-)
2. Dropped the price on our craigslisted couch, and craigslisted a second couch that we forgot we were getting rid of
   - Seriously, what is wrong with us that we have two excess couches?!
3. More sorting through things/getting rid of things
   - Cleaning out junk drawers, etc.
4. Farewell dinner with Lauren O
   - Got a little teary-eyed leaving the parking lot, but hopefully she'll come visit :-)
5.  Farewell dinner with Square1 Burgers
   - Very important. Obviously.
6. Faxed in our signed lease
   - This just got REAL

Countdown to the big move: 5 days!

Star Thai Tuesday

Star Thai Tuesday is a grand old tradition that began years ago during our employments at a company not-to-be-named.  At said company, working 10+hours in a day was rewarded by free dinner delivered from a list of various local options.  The Star: Thai and Sushi Restaurant was one such option, among other greats including Tandoor (a close second for best Indian in Sarasota) and Baja Iguana (RIP).  Anyways, the duty of choosing the evening's restauarant rotated among the department and every Tuesday, without fail, Taylor chose Star Thai.  The rest is history...

Pictured above:
Shane's plate -- gyoza, chicken teriyaki with veggies, white rice, and a vodka with lemonade
Taylor's plate -- gyoza, miso soup, white rice, spicy tuna roll (sushi), and a dirty martini

I'm sure many of you wonder how we could eat the same meal (yes, the EXACT same meal) once a week, every week, without getting sick of it.  The answer, my friends, is gyoza.
Gyoza (gee-OH-zah): A Japanese crescent-shaped dumpling filled with a minced stuffing and steamed, boiled or fried; the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese "pot sticker."
There is no way to describe the deliciousness of the Star Thai gyoza.  You just have to taste for yourself, but it WILL change your life. So be prepared.

You might also wonder why literally everything we get from Star Thai is Japanese and not Thai, but just go with it...

And so ends our last Star Thai Tuesday (held this week on Monday due to scheduling challenges), and so begins our San Franciscan hunt for the best gyoza!

Countdown to the big move: 7 days!

What I'll miss most... A guest post by Archie Harter

1. Walkin'

2. Smellin'

3. Explorin'

  I can't believe we're movin' in 8 days!