Because knowledge is power!

So, wahoo!  1 year officially!  We celebrated our wedding anniversary on the 21st, and the 29th marks the 1 year for officially arriving in our new hometown of San Mateo, CA.  I re-realize the fact that we're Californians, or at least living in CA, now.  From time to time I say, "Woah.  I'm in CA.  And I live here.  Wild."  (I think there's some sort of weird, secret process to officially be labeled a true "Californian."  Someone told Kevin that when we finally complain about the weather, we'll be tried and true NorCals.  That has yet to happen.)  It does feel more like home now and not just like we're on an extended visit.  On our recent trip back east I realized how quickly I've acclimated to the lack of extreme temperatures and mind-boggling humidity.  And mosquitoes.  We apparently don't have those in the Bay Area and I am LOVING IT!  For a 1 year marker, I thought it might be nice to do a little tally of the things I've learned about our new city, and our new married life, in the past 365 days or so. 

1.  Produce:  I've never been a big fruit/veggie eater, being more of a fan of carbs and sweets, for which my somewhat curvy silhouette can serve as evidence.  Now, however, after living in the land of strawberries and avocados, I am inhaling fresh berries every morning for breakfast and we put lime, cilantro, and avocados on just about damn near everything.  It's ridiculous.  We actually researched what it would take to grow an avocado and/or lime tree.  Answer - more space than our apartment patio can provide at this time.  We had many a failed attempt at making fresh guacamole back in B'more.  Now we have it down to a science and on more nights than I'd care to admit, a big bowl of it with salty tortilla chips has been a pretty excellent dinner, with a side of margarita.  The produce store by our place has these big bottles of lime juice and I swear we go through at least 1 a week, if not more.  Same story with cilantro, but I'll elaborate on that in another post. Antici . . . . . pation!

That big bottle of lime juice will last maybe 1 week.  And yes, those are figs and prickly pears for us to try.  Look at me - all adventurous with the produce now. 

2.  Scarves and jackets:  I know this won't garner any pity from those of you living pretty much anywhere other than here, but it is shockingly chilly out here during the summer!  Seriously!  When we first got here we walked to downtown SM for drinks and I didn't have a coat with me.  This happened:

All dressed and ready for a July day in San Francisco.

Kevin: You should grab a coat.
Me:....?.... What for?  It's lovely out right now.  Plus it's like July.  Who needs a coat in July?
Kevin:  I know, but it'll be cold when we come back home. 
Me:  Cold?  Cold enough for a jacket?  Nah, I'll be fine.  It's not that far to walk anyway.
(Later that evening)
Me:  BRRRRRRR!  It's so chilly!  And holy crap that breeze is downright cold!  Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh I'm freezing!
Kevin: This is what I was saying when we left - it's really cold on summer nights.  Do you want my coat?

I don't remember if I was cold enough to take his coat, or if I refused on principle of being "fine" without one.  Either way, we power-walked back home.  We were just in San Francisco a few days ago and it was again coat weather.  Chilly!  Windy!  Everyone walking around in jackets, scarves, and even some actual winter hats.  So it's not just San Franciscans being all weird and quirky - like they do - to wear what would normally be winter clothing in the dead of summer.  It's a necessity.  And the bank of fog was so think you couldn't see the tops of the buildings as we drove in and it just seems to run along the streets and down the extremely steep hills.  It's a very weird place out here, but I do love it. 

3.  Pet-friendly:  If you know me for more than 5 minutes, you'll know that I have a dog named Zeke who is pretty ridiculously awesome.  I'd bring him everywhere with me, but usually it's not just his laziness (and unfortunate dog aggression) that force me to leave him at home - most public spaces in the majority of the country are off limits to anything with four legs that isn't a service animal.  Not so in CA.  People bring their dogs to the mall.  Like walk them around on leashes and come shopping in the stores and everything else with their dogs.  And we're not just talking the little purse-pooches that look like toys, but medium to large sized dogs just hanging out at the mall.  Shopping.  It's one of the oddest things I've seen and still amazes me.  Most people seem very responsible about the whole thing - it only takes one careless owner to spoil it for everyone - but whenever I see a retriever or pointer or doodle-pug-schnauzer thing coming in to the store I have a moment of pure amazement that people bring their dogs EVERYWHERE. 

Then

Now

4.  Purse size:  My mom has always carried a huge purse.  I used to joke (actually, I still do) that it could pass as carry-on luggage.  I would always ask, "What do you actually have in there?"  She would always lose her keys in it, bringing about a moment of public, in-store panic as she threw other bags and whatnot at me and proceeded to dive into her purse, head first, in order to comb through every pocket inside out.  Eventually, the keys were always found, buried somewhere amongst the wallet, tissues, hard candy, phone, pager, (when those were still a thing) other wallet, or breath mints.  I've personally always preferred a smaller handbag, or just shoving credit cards, ID, and phone into my pockets and going bag-free.  It's so liberating.  In my normal sized purse I carry a small wallet, phone, lip gloss, keys, pen, and maybe a few spare hair ties.  That's it.  That's all I've ever needed.  However, I've noticed a certain growing trend in my purse contents, stemming from my new marital status.  It started with adding a packet of tissues.  Then a little to-go thing of Pepto and Tums.  Listerine strips and/or gum and another set of glasses/sunglasses are now in there, too.  I really should keep a few band-aids in there, just for good measure.  Now, my once slim and sleek purse it getting bulgy, but it came with getting myself an amazing hubby.  It's a good trade.  And yes, I know that eventual children will increase not only bag size, but number of bags and sheer amount of crap needed at all times to unprecedented levels.  I'll cross that bridge when we get there.  Later. 

5.  Personal quirks:  I think any newly married couple will have a few random quirks or traits that they notice about the other.  Kevin and I knew most going in - and yes, there are many on both sides - but there are a few that are our "favorites."  Don't worry - I did the same number for each of us to be fair. 
*Closing things:  Kevin doesn't close cabinets.  You'd think a poltergeist is living in our place from all the cabinet doors left open all the time.  I can trace where he's been in the apartment by what doors are still open, as I go around shutting each one in turn.  It's hilarious because I don't know what there is about the act of closing the cabinet that just eludes him.  I think he just gets distracted and forgets.

Yes, I staged this, but NO JOKE this happens on a regular basis.

 
*Tissues:  Try as he might, Kevin just can't consistently make the trash can when he goes to throw away his tissues.  I believe his low percentage of free-throws would rival that of Shaq.  Hilarious as it might sound, any future basketball skills of any future offspring will come from me.  Just let that sink in.  Basketball skills and me.  You're laughing, right?  You should be. 
*Jumping:  At 5'2" my vertical is somewhat lacking.  Our apartment has a decent amount of shelving, some of which is way above my very best, tip-toe, super stretching fingertip reach.  As a solution, I've taken to climbing on the counter, using the long grilling tongs to grab lighter objects, or just jumping and hoping to hit and knock whatever item I need off the shelf.  All of this despite the "just my size" step stool folded neatly between the fridge and counter.  That just takes too much time and it's far less amusing.  Kevin claims my stellar jumping skills were the cause of his kitchen cabinet becoming askew back in B'more.  I say it was just a fluke coincidence.  We may never know who was right...
*Flavor combos:  While we both enjoy cooking, Kevin is often times the more adventurous in terms of odd flavor combos.  I, on the other hand, can't quite deal with certain things going together.  Making chili - Cheddar = awesome!  Making baked ziti - Cheddar = you must be crazy.
Kevin - What cheese do you want to use in the ziti?
Me - Mozzerella, provolone, ricotta... any one - or all - of those would be great.
Kevin - We have some cheddar, too.  Want me to toss some of that in?
Me - Um.... no.
Kevin - Why not?
Me - Because it doesn't go.  It's the wrong flavor combo.  We have all Italian going on with the tomato sauce and seasonings and cheddar would be weird.
Kevin - But you like cheddar on chili and that's also tomato-y.  Right?
Me - Yes....but it's different.  Just trust me.

One time, he made the ziti and added cheddar.  He thought it was great.  I, predictably, thought it was weird.  He might not understand my reluctance to pair certain foods, but it makes sense in my head.  And, there have definitely been times when I have been proven wrong and Kevin's seemingly crazy combinations have turned out to be lovely.  Despite this, I will still hold that cheddar and ziti do not mix. 

Well, that's just a few of the knowledge gems I've gained over the past year.  I'm sure there are other, more poignant nuggets of wisdom as well, but these have definitely been some of the most prominent ones thus far.  Til next time!