Archive for Bay Area People
Hey Girlfriend – Interview with Shasta Nelson
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A few weeks ago, thanks to Twitter, A Band of Wives and a hamburger joint, I met an amazing woman named Shasta Nelson.
Shasta Nelson, MDiv (@girlfrndcircles) is a relationship strategist, life coach, and founder of GirlFriendCircles.com, a womens friendship matching site in 35 cities across the U.S. She blogs weekly at Shasta’s Friendship Blog and for the Huffington Post.
In an effort to keep up with my Miss Representation pledge I’m going to be featuring local Bay Area women doing cool things. I’m starting with Shasta Nelson who agreed to be interviewed and share her favorite things to do around the Bay Area.
Please tell us a little bit about Girl Friend Circles. What exactly is it? Who is it for? GirlFriendCircles.com is a womens friendship matching site. We match women up in small groups in local cafes and wine bars to meet other women their age (from 21-65) who are interested in investing in new friendships. Often it’s because we’ve just moved or gone through some other major life change, but research shows every 7 years the average woman replaces half her friends so it’s a pretty normal need. We’re in 35 cities across the U.S. including Marin, San Francisco, and the East Bay!
What do you love most about the Bay Area?
The culture. It’s hard to describe but I love the open-mindedness, the diversity, and the overall sense of support that there is for all kinds of people, ideas, and ways of life.
Where is your favorite place to hike/bike?
Living in the City, I love heading to Lands End (there is the most beautiful labyrinth on the edge of the cliff!), walking along Crissy Field, and city hiking up all the hills on long evening walks!
Favorite place to eat? Best romantic date restaurant?
I love Saha’s (Arabic Fusion) for a special dinner out, Helmand’s Palace (Afghan) for their vegetarian special plate, B Star (Burmese Fusion) for their drinks and fun flavors, and Top of the Mark for romantic views and martinis.
Favorite place to meet up with girl friends for coffee/tea/Happy Hour?
I’d love any cafe that had my friends– I’m not picky at all! We sometimes meet at Cafe Divine in North Beach for their indoor/outdoor seating and easy menu, but our favorite places are just hanging out in each other’s living rooms. Being in a home feels more special than a restaurant these days!
If you had an out of town guest visiting for a day who wanted to see the Bay Area what would you show them?
I tend to think the most special experience of San Francisco is a day spent as much like a local as possible: breakfast at a neighborhood cafe, long walk along the water toward the bridge, lunch in some awesome ethnic restaurant, then cater to their need for tourism by seeing how many landmarks we can take their picture in front of (sea lions at the Pier, the Painted Sisters homes, Ferry Building), drive through Golden Gate Park on our way to watch the sunset at the beach and then end with an evening at Yoshi’s Jazz Club.
You can get to know Shasta a little better by visiting her YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ShasGFC
Girl Friend Circles is also on Facebook.
Everybody needs a wife or 2 or 3 and a burger
Posted by: | CommentsI’m talking about a wife as in someone who is there to support you, inspire you and be there for you in sickness and in health.
Women: Don’t you wish you had a wife? Well now you can and you don’t have to be gay to have one! 
(But if you are gay, that’s okay too.)
All you have to do is join the online group called A Band of Wives (ABOW) and you are instantly married to a supportive group of wonderful women. Seriously, it is that easy.
A Band of Wives was founded by the amazing Christine Bronstein.
I joined back in February when I discovered them via the Marin Magazine article about online communities that we were both featured in.
At first I didn’t know if this was the right group for me. I was a little intimidated by all the hip, beautiful and successful women. Then I attended a few of their events and realized they were also friendly, genuine, authentic and caring women. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover.
A few weeks ago, I discovered Bistro Burger in San Francisco. I loved their turkey burgers SO much, I went there 3 times that week. They had one of those fishbowls on the counter where you put your business card in for a chance to win a free lunch. I never put my business cards in those things but for some reason I decided to this time. The next day I got an email saying, “Congratulations you won a free lunch for 4 at Bistro Burger”. I was super happy but was wondering who I was going to invite. I didn’t have 3 friends in the financial district who would be available to lunch. This was about the same time I had the realization that my only real complaint about my job was that I really missed those coffee and lunch dates I used to have in Marin with my Twitter friends when I was self employed.
I remembered super-star wife Leila (@mizbohemia), the Director of Operations at A Band of Wives, lived in the city, so I invited her to join me for the free lunch. She agreed.
Then I got the idea to ask on Twitter who works/lives in downtown San Francisco and I got a response from someone who just happened to also be a member of ABOW! Shasta (@girlfrndcircles), owner of GirlFriendCircles.com and I invited her to join us for lunch. She said yes! We had room for one more at lunch so Shasta invited Jessica (@50womenproject), author the 50 Woman Project and she said Yes!
On Friday, we all met at Bistro Burger (in Trinity Alley) and were greeted by John who congratulated us and took our photo. I’m guessing the photo is going to show up on their Website under the Happy Winner section soon. Bistro Burger sells veggie, turkey, chicken and regular hamburgers along with salads so there is something for everyone. And they’re really, really good! You can order your burger without a bun if you’re doing the Sugar Divorce, like I am. They’re also on Twitter at: @BistroBurgerSF
It was a nice day so we sat outside. Our little lunch turned in to a 3 hour magical, brainstorming session. We ended our lunch full of ideas and inspirations for our own various projects. It’s amazing how the power of group intelligence can get you unstuck from a rut. That’s what A Band of Wives is all about; connecting women, and igniting the spark in all of us.
Thank you Twitter, Bistro Burger and A Band of Wives for connecting us!
Here are the 3 dynamic wives I had the pleasure of dining with:
Jessica Buchleitner, Shasta Nelson, Leila Radan
I told you they were all hip, beautiful and successful!
A Band of Wives and a few Wallflowers
Posted by: | CommentsOn Thursday night a large group of women descended upon Mill Valley. There were so many beautiful women arriving, the town couldn’t contain itself and erupted in excitement.
The reason for all the excitement was the A Band of Wives event happening at El Paseo restuarant.
“A Band of Wives is not about being married to men. It is a sisterhood of women who are supportive of other women and are looking to connect with likeminded women. We are helping women bring community back to their communities.”
As I was driving to the event the street literally was erupting in front of my eyes (and my car). I was a little nervous to drive by but ended up getting a great car wash (and photo) at no charge.
When I arrived to El Paseo I knew I was at the right place because I found the patio full of beautiful women.
Photo borrowed from A Band of Wives
I was happy to find familiar faces as soon as I walked in. My Tweeps were there! I said hello to my tweep friends, made my way to the bar, had a glass of complimentary bubbly, then did I little mingling. Ran in to the authors (Sue Warhaftig and Beverly Butler) of the book, Meant to Be that we are currently reading for the Twitter Book Club, chatted it up with them for a bit and then like a magnet was drawn back to the corner where my Tweeps were. Guess what they were doing? They were in a huddle looking down at their phones! I joined them. I SO wish I had a picture! However, I did get a picture of our toes. We were acting like a bunch of 7th grade girl wallflowers with the difference that we were having a blast tweeting it up while chatting with each other.
So… we aren’t that bad, we did actually talk to some non-tweeting wives. How could we not? They were all so friendly.
At one point during the evening Christine Bronstein, the founder, got up to speak and tell us about a sister wife who is going through a very difficult time. Here’s an excerpt* from the ABOW Facebook page with an example of how the wives actually do band together:
After the first El Paseo gathering I wrote “Oh what a night! There are simply no words to describe the high that comes with flittering, fluttering and floating amongst so many amazing wives who came from far and wide and mingled and laughed and ate and drank and were merry all around!”
This feeling, this merriment and excitement and support was still in full effect on this July night but tenfold as wives packed up the venue and enthusiastically reached out to each other in true ABOW spirit… but our gathering was also bittersweet as wives lived up to our ABOW name and indeed banded together for one of our own who needs help, wife Tika Hick.
Thank you Christine for the spur-of-the-moment fundraiser for Tika. If you don’t know the story, our wife Tika has been battling breast cancer with a new baby, is scheduled for a double mastectomy on July 20th and could really use our support in now tragically losing her husband (http://ow.ly/5G4Nn ). Please keep her in your prayers and if you want to help financially:
Attn: Matt Johnson
Bank of Marin
501 Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Suite 100
Greenbrae, CA 94904
Make payable to Hick/Potts Fund, Tika Hick or Bank of Marin and reference Tika*Written by the fabulous Leila Radan who is the Director of Operations for A Band of Wives.
Here is another post about Tika from a fellow wife/Tweep @LisaKiftTherapy who posted Tika’s story on her blog.
After lots of love, tears, laughter, socializing and tasty appetizers (the little cups of Mac-n-Cheese were to die for!) the geeks, I mean Tweeps decided to go out to dinner at Piazza D’Angelos. The 4 of us (@pobutler, @alembic, @tamholland and me) plus one innocent woman we planned to convert (a non-tweeting friend) headed over to Piazza D’Angelos where we sat down at a lovely table and promptly pulled out our phones to check in via FourSquare. We were more interested in our phones than in what the waiter had to say. I think we annoyed him a bit. When we finally got around to looking at the menu we discovered Piazza D’Angelos now has a gluten free menu! However, it seems the waiter isn’t fully sold on this menu yet… when Dolores and I ordered the gluten free gnocchi his response was do you want that one or the REAL one. We wanted the gluten free one and got it! I imagine being a waiter in Marin must be trying on the patience with all the quirkiness in diets that Marinites come up with.
Our plan worked, my friend Dolores converted and is now tweeting! She just had to try it after sitting there with us for awhile watching us tweet and chat about tweets. She grasped the concept of how Twitter works faster than anyone I’ve ever taught! She’s a natural. Follow her here: @mizstarryeyed She and I put our phones down long enough to take this picture.
A special thank you to Leila Radan for being SO active on the social networking sites keeping me informed about the upcoming A Band of Wives events. To Christine Bronstein for creating this wonderful group. Tolan Florence for welcoming us into El Paseo. To my Tweeps for sitting in restaurants with me tweeting. And all the wonderful women who showed up!
Renaissance Woman: Leslie Lakes
Posted by: | CommentsI love Marin County! It’s full of interesting and fun people! For instance, meet Leslie Lakes (formally Hendricks) who is new to Marin and was kind enough to share some of her favorite things about the Bay Area through the eyes of a newbie.
What do you love most about the Bay Area?
Having relocated to the Bay Area from the East Coast (Montclair, NJ), I’m incredibly appreciative of so many things that native Marinites take for granted: like the comparatively warm and moderate weather; the exquisite beauty of the surrounding natural terrain and landscapes; the fact that within a short radius of Mill Valley where I live, I can see and experience the ocean, mountains, marinas, bird sanctuaries, valleys, the magnificent structure of the Golden Gate Bridge; the culture of San Francisco, not to mention the looming and majestic Mount Tamalpais from our front door! I love the fresh, sweet smelling air, as well as the fog that rolls in early in the morning, and burns off in the afternoon. I love the fact that flowers bloom all year round; the characteristically health oriented culture, and that public buses have bike racks. How cool is that!
What is your favorite restaurant in the Bay Area?
While there’s a plethora of excellent and multi-ethnic restaurants in the bay area, for great Deli sandwiches, LOUIE’S DELI on Bridgeway in Sausalito can’t be beat! We also enjoy DISH in Mill Valley, but if I had to choose only ONE restaurant…it would be SARTAJ on Caledonia Street in Sausalito. SARTAJ is a small quaint, Indian ‘Mom and Pop’ operation where every dish is made with love and just the right amount of spices. Portions are ample and the prices are very reasonable. But, mostly because it’s where my husband and I courted before we got married. We even have our own special table for two by the window! (I love Sartaj!!! Their Chai tea is delicious!)
What is your favorite coffee or tea shop?
I love lattes and café au lait “to go” (always “extra hot”) either from PEET’S or STARBUCKS, but to actually sit down to enjoy coffee, I prefer to go to LA BOULANGE (Strawberry Village, Mill Valley) because it’s the closest thing to being in France (where I’m from) as they serve café au lait with lots of frothy hot milk foam, in a bowl.
Where is your favorite place to shop for clothing, books, kids stuff, etc?
For clothes: THE FAMILY THRIFT STORE (Miller Avenue, Mill Valley); GOODWILL (San Rafael); H&M (Terra Linda); MARSHALL’S (Novato) and ROSS stores (throughout).
For books: Without a doubt – BOOK PASSAGE in Corte Madera!
For children’s things: GOOD NITE MOON (where I work on a part-time basis) at the Corte Madera Town Center, and WEE THREADS (E. Blithedale Ave., Mill Valley)
Favorite place to hike or bike? Favorite park? or Favorite outdoor activity?
While my husband is a professional bike mechanic (MIKE’S BIKES) and quite passionate about cycling, I lean more toward getting places – on foot! I love to walk and often do for miles and miles. My most favorite outdoor activity is normally horse-back-riding, but in this current economy, walking is cheaper. I enjoy walking just about anywhere! For exercise, I often take the bike path from Mill Valley to Sausalito town center, and back again.
Can you tell me a little bit more about what you do? What kind of people do you work with? Who do you help?
I’ve often been called a “Renaissance Woman”. My main profession is that of licensed Massage Therapist with over 23 years experience in the field with a private practice in Mill Valley. I’m also a singer/songwriter of children’s fare; a visual artist, as well as voice-over artist.
I love people and animals, and am actively involved in the community and with major fund-raising efforts (i.e., KIDDO, Marin Symphony, The Marin Humane Society, etc.).
Thanks Leslie!
Gather for some good food!
Posted by: | CommentsI keep hearing wonderful things about this restaurant in Berkeley called Gather, but I have yet to try it. I asked my Twitter-friend-turned-real-friend, Cathy Curtis (who seems to be one of Gather’s biggest cheerleaders) to write a review for us. Here is what Cathy has to say about Gather. Now I really want to try it! ~Sally
Gather for some good food in Berkeley!
I realized I was becoming jaded about restaurant dining before Gather arrived on the scene in December of 2009. I wasn’t as excited about eating out as I used to be. But with Gather, I eagerly anticipate the meal and the experience, no matter how many times I dine there. Each time it’s like opening a delightful gift that you didn’t expect. From the happy smiles on fellow diner’s faces, it’s obvious that many feel the same way.
First of all, it’s the creative and inventive menu so artfully put together by the chef, Sean Baker. He has turned once neglected vegetables – like kale, parsnips, escarole and beets into dishes that you actually crave! Instead of over-burdening entrees and consequently our digestive systems with too much rich butter, the sauces and dressings are flavorful, added with a light hand, and are made with healthful ingredients such as nuts, mushrooms, nori and tahini.
Three of my favorite dishes are examples of this artful way of cooking. The kale salad is a mound of blanched kale, roasted winter root vegetables, thin strips of red onion, lemon juice, oil, toasted pine nuts and a generous portion of grated fiscalini cheese floating on the top like snow. The escarole salad includes escarole leaves, toasted nori, garlic lemon tahini dressing and breadcrumbs which add just the right amount of “crunch.” But it’s the vegan charcuterie that really shows off the cuisine that is uniquely Gather’s – a smorgasbord of seasonal vegetables diced and sliced and shaped into little islands of flavors – a burst of citrus, smoked maple, smoked parsnip or dill added to heighten the flavors.
Then there are the pizzas. The edges are puffy like clouds but when you take a bite there is that satisfying crunch. The rest of the pie is thin and layered with ingredients that complement and uplift each other. For example, the fuji apple pizza: fontinella cheese, pancetta, sliced apple, and rosemary all covered in a bounty of fresh arugula. Heaven!
This limited sampling of menu items I’ve described could satisfy me for a long time. But the menu holds so much more. You can eat vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and also enjoy meat, poultry and fish on any visit to Gather, each prepared with the same attention to detail and flavor. Try the Prather Ranch Burger with caramelized shallot-tomato sauce, the marinated Pt. Reyes mussels or the barbecued young chicken.
The staff at Gather are young, friendly and seem really happy about working there.
At times the service can be a little slow but that is most likely due to a back-up in the kitchen as the crush of orders for pizza or vegan charcuterie overwhelms the system from time to time. If you go there regularly, you start to recognize faces which just adds to the fun.
The décor is as refreshing as the food. Almost everything in the restaurant is made from something recycled like the bench surrounding the perimeter of the restaurant fashioned from pre-worn leather belts, the lighting made from sawed-off vodka bottles and the wall-art created from cardboard packaging materials. I wouldn’t call Gather a cozy restaurant. The ceilings are high and the layout is open. It’s not quiet and subdued. So you may not choose Gather for a romantic tete-a-tete. It’s much more of a restaurant to relax, enjoy, and well, gather.
Cathy Curtis is a fee-only independent financial advisor specializing in the finances of women, their families and their businesses. Her website is www.curtisfinancialplanning.com. She also leads a special interest group, Bay Gourmet, at the Commonwealth Club of California planning food and wine programs for the membership and the public. Check out the trip to Burgundy, France that Cathy will host in October of 2011. If you would like to contact Cathy she can be found on twitter @curtisfinancial and Linkedin. Or join in discussion on her Facebook page Women and Money.
Thanks Cathy!
I’m famous!
Posted by: | CommentsI’m famous! Well not exactly… but I was mentioned in the Marin Magazine this month! Marin Magazine is our local magazine highlighting all things happening north of the Golden Gate Bridge (in Marin County).
Marin: have you read your February issue of Marin Magazine yet? Our TweetUps were mentioned in it! By the way, you are all invited to the TweetUp on 2/17 at Pacific Catch to celebrate the article (even if you’re not on Twitter stop by to say hi and meet all my Marin Twitter friends!) More info here: TweetUp
Here’s a photo of the article courtesy of Peggy Butler.
I’ve always been a advocate for goal setting. A few years ago, one of the goals I wrote down was to be in the Marin Magazine. It feels nice to cross this one off my list!
Whole Foods, Safeway or Trader Joe’s
Posted by: | CommentsAround here Whole Foods has been nicknamed Whole Paycheck. After seeing this video by Shane and Chantal Valentine of The Baby Cuisine Cookbook. I think Whole Foods needs a new nickname.
Which do you think is cheaper for organic products? Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or Safeway. I was very surprised by the results.
Shane and Chantal Valentine are local Marin residents. You can follow them on Twitter @babycuisine. You can also follow Whole Foods on Twitter @WholeFoods.
*green bean image by Flickr user Chasqui
Basic Bus Etiquette
Posted by: | CommentsI have been riding the bus to and from work for awhile now and I’ve noticed a few things… some (not all) people have forgotten common courtesy on the bus!
Here is some basic bus etiquette:
- Leave the seat next to you open for other riders. (It’s kind of rude to put your briefcase, purse or pile of papers on the adjacent seat when the bus is full.) Also, if there are 2 seats in your row, sit next to the window so the seat next to you is available. If you really want to sit by yourself go toward the back of the bus, it’s more likely that the seat next to you will remain open.
- If the bus is full and an elderly person or someone with a cane or walker gets on the bus and you are sitting toward the front of the bus, get up and offer your seat to that person. (Duh!)
- When a lot of people are exiting the bus at the same stop, it works just like an airplane: row 1 exits first, row 2 exits second and so forth. If you are sitting at the back of the bus please don’t rush ahead of everyone bonking them with your briefcase just so you can get off first.
- Please don’t talk on your cell phone while on the bus. We really don’t want to hear about your sales plan, how your date was last night, what you are having for dinner tonight, or what a jerk you you think your boss is.
- Finally, it’s okay to say good morning and thank you to your bus driver. It’s also okay to say hello to the person sitting next to you.
I wanted to take this opportunity to give a shout out to Golden Gate Transit whose drivers are friendly and the buses are always on time, always clean and always a comfy temperature. Thank you!
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in San Francisco
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The Financial District of San Francisco is a weird place. There are two worlds co-existing there.
What do you visualize when you hear Financial District?
I don’t know about you, but when I think of a Financial District I visualize tall shiny buildings, sparkly sidewalks, men in expensive suits and ties and women in tasteful dress suits and high heels with attaché cases in their hands, quickly racing around the city trying to get from one place to the next, acting like the world is going to end. It’s a fast paced environment that is full of some of the top earners of the Bay Area, actually of the world. It’s also a spectacular place filled with beautiful tall buildings.
I’m now part of that world, minus the high heels. I don’t do high heels, especially on cement. I also don’t do tasteful dress suits, but I’m digressing. If I had it my way I’d be wearing jeans and flip flops to work everyday and bringing my dog with me. But… I don’t have it my way.
I take the bus to work every morning. I arrive to the Financial District between 7:00 – 7:30 AM everyday. Some mornings it is still dark when I arrive. There’s a side of the Financial District that not everyone knows about. The financial district is home to many homeless people.
Early in the morning, when I arrive, there are people sleeping in the doorways of the buildings. The only thing protecting them from the rain and cold temperatures are the cardboard boxes they’re laying under. This is always a wake up call for me…
I’ll be sitting on the bus grumbling to myself, saying things like, “it’s not fair, why do I have to get up so early”, “this sucks, I’d rather be working from home” and a bunch of other negative chatter that runs through my mind during the wee hours despite my best efforts to stay positive and focus on what I’m grateful for.
Often while the negative cassette tape is on full repeat in my head, I will turn and look out the bus window and catch a homeless person at their first stirrings of the morning. I’ll see a little stretch, or see someone sit up and rub their eyes, or see someone gathering all of their belongings. When I see this, the cassette tape in my head makes that horrible squeely noise that cassette tapes makes and starts spinning out of control and the tape is left laying in a big mess in my head. (I know I am dating myself here… I don’t even think my kids know what that noise is.)
by Indeed*
On the days when I arrive earlier, the streets often smell like urine. I’ve even accidentally stepped in vomit. While I was looking at my practical, yet stylish (not high heeled) business shoe with vomit on it, a homeless man quietly said sorry to me. I almost cried thinking how his situation is so much harder than mine. I said, “I hope you feel better” and went on my way.
Did you know that there are people who clean those streets every morning to keep them shiny and sparkly for the rest of us? Is it strange that we can afford to hire people to scrub our streets every day but we can’t afford to shelter the homeless people? We can afford to put up massive Christmas decorations, but we can’t afford to feed these people? and I include myself in the “WE”.
My office building located in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District is doing a food drive. We have a big barrel in the lobby collecting cans. I can’t even remember to bring the cans in.
I don’t have any answers. I just know it’s a mind-f@#$ going to work everyday in the financial district. I hate that in our so called “first world country” our streets are filled with people sleeping on them because our shelters are too full or too dangerous.
I wish I had something inspirational to end this post with but I don’t. I love San Francisco! I think it is one of the most magical and amazing cities in the world. San Francisco is filled with love and acceptance. I think it is important to sometimes think about the not so magical parts of San Francisco because maybe if we do we will come up with a solution.
Here are some resources for the homeless and hungry in San Francisco:
*Cassette tape image by Flickr user INDEED
Affordable haircut in Marin
Posted by: | CommentsFunny thing about this blog… the post that drives the most traffic to my blog is the one I wrote about “affordable haircuts in Marin”. I guess with everything being SO expensive here in Marin people are on the lookout for something affordable. The hair salon has changed names since I wrote the post about cheap haircuts in Marin, although it is still the same great people. Salon Carlos in San Rafael is now called Salon Mirsa. I went yesterday to get my usual $10 haircut.
I like to support local, independently owned businesses but I’m not one to spend big money on a haircut. I’ve also never been happy with haircuts from that big super chain haircut place.
I was happy to discover Salon Mirsa (thanks to Celia who introduced me to the place). Salon Mirsa is kind of unique for Marin County. It doesn’t exactly fit the Marin County stereotype. The main language spoken at Salon Mirsa is Spanish. That’s because Salon Mirsa is located in the heart of the Canal community of San Rafael where most of the residence are Hispanic. But don’t let the language get in your way! The stylists at Salon Mirsa are a very welcoming and friendly bunch. Just tell them you know Sally .
Salon Mirsa has top notch stylists. If you are on a budget and are looking for a great haircut for you or your kids try Salon Mirsa. Tip: all the stylist are great but I especially like Tere.
$10 for a haircut! I don’t think you’ll find a better deal in Marin County.
Pictured below (Mirsa, the owner – Tere, the stylist – Celia, the mountain biker who got her hair dyed blue).
If you are hungry after your haircut you can find some tasty Mexican food nearby at Picante on Bellam Blvd. Or you can do a little grocery shopping and get a cultural experience all at the same time.
