portfolio picks

So since I've been sitting in meetings for two and a half straight days hearing investment advice from the best and the brightest, I figured I'd share my two cents on your portfolio based on the teachings around these parts:

OUT:

Greek anything

I know it's tempting with yields (and views) like those,

but the risk - it's just too much.

You see those cliffs?  They mean serious business.

IN:

Anything Scandinavian

Take advantage as the baby gets thrown out with

the rest of Europe and investors take flight.

Denmark looks pretty darn sunny to me.

OUT:

US Treasuries

A return-free risk

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IN:

Indonesian sovereigns

You don't hear many people hitting up

Lengkuas Island do you?  That's exactly right.

Get 'em before they're hot

(and while they're cheap).

OUT:

Art

'Cause that's a bubble that is just dying to burst

IN:

Water

The world population grew by 3x in the 20th century

Our consumption of water? 6x

Tap that via utilities, infrastructure, technology - you name it.

All of this coming at you for the bargain price of 0 bps. 

xoxo

KK

symbols of splendor

This post will be quick as I'm away on business at the lovely Fairmont Princess in Scottsdale.  Since I arrived Saturday night, I've been booked full with presentations, networking and decadent delicacies (the snacks at these things are always ridiculous: think spicy ahi tuna sliders, warm butterscotch cookies with ice cream, and a make-your-own-trail-mix bar), but that doesn't mean I haven't had time to appreciate the resort's charm.

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After being escorted to my room by one of the resort's many bell boys (who insisted they had a no-tips policy) and taking in the space and its stylings, I classified the resort into my "top-notch" hotel category.  As I did so, I pondered about what really differentiated it from one of the hideaways in my "fine for a night" classification.  My gut told me I was habitating in nice lodging, but what were the things that launched a hotel from lame to luxurious?

A white duvet = Fresh, crisp, and clean

You can't have a sumptuous sleep without it

Comfy, cozy reading area?

Check.

Room service served with a succulent =

Pampered by a plant

Delicious smelling goodies for my hair and bod?

Love it. 

(Especially when housekeeping gladly fulfills

your request for an extra 5 bottles of each.)

That little towel that somehow ends

up neatly organizing all of your toiletries

sometime between when you left in the morning

and come back at night.

Magical.

A mini bar without an electronic movement detector.

Okay fine, not all hot hotels come sans sensor,

but you've got to agree: those things are a pain.

What are the things that dictate decadence to you?

xoxo

KK

home-alone favs

Happy Friday!  As you know my other half is down in Peru/Bolivia/Mexico/Columbia until the 9th which means I'm on my own until I head to a work conference tomorrow. 

So this Friday, I'm sharing my fav home-alone habits:

Lounging:

How much do you want this alcove in your apartment?

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Crafting:

Valentine's Day present for Stefan?

Shhh, don't tell.

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Organizing:

Oh what I would do for one of these things.

The pan I want is ALWAYS in the way back

under all the others.

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Baking:

Cinnamon Brown Butter Breakfast Puffs

Salading:

simple arugula salad

with oranges, pomegranate seeds, and creamy blue cheese

Drinking:

Water with some better-than-the-spa,

easy, make-at-home ice cubes

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Going:

Foggy run under the Golden Gate

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Dreaming:

Of where Stefan might be

La Paz, Bolivia perhaps?

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Happy weekend!

xoxo

KK

seasonal devotion

So the other day when I picked up my current breakfast fav from my office's rocking cafeteria (eggs + avocado on toast), I stumbled upon this week's absolute BEST surprise.

Can you find it in this photo?

Maybe you need a closer look:

PERSIMMONS!!!!

As you know, I am positively obsessed with these little balls of joy, but they've been out of season since the calendar stuck 2012.  After three months of 2 persimmons a day, I've been in withdrawal mode for the past three and a half weeks.  I immediately snatched one up and took a big, huge, decadent bite finishing it off before the egg man even started on my eggs.  It was unreal.

As the man scrambled, I began to think about this unique obsession of mine.  It really was unfortunate that my absolute favorite food in the entire world only had a 3-month time window for eating.  Why couldn't I be obsessed with something I could get any time of year, which - in today's day and age - is just about anything?

But then I got to thinking: maybe it wasn't just the actual fruit that led to my love, maybe it was their impermanence, their scarcity, their ephemerality that kept me always coming back for more.  Maybe the fact that I couldn't have them all the time whenever I wanted was the thing that made them so delicious.   

Perhaps that's another reason why it makes sense to eat seasonally - not only are we saving the world from unnecessary carbon and dollars wasted in transporting produce all around the world, but we're also learning to appreciate those items when we do have access, not taking for gratitude their constantly available nature.

So in that spirit, I decided to look up what would count as "in season" here and then attempt to eat (mostly) that.  For fruits, my choices are limited: cherimojas, grapefruit, guavas, kumquats, mandarins, oranges, pears, and pomelos. 

A Cherimoja (I had no idea either)

I'll try one and report back

Fortunately, January is a bit more generous with its vegetables.  Avocados, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, and spinach were just my favorites of the many.  While challenging, I'm excited to give this little experiment a shot.

Do the same for your locale here.

BUT while persimmons aren't technically in season here, I didn't squander the opportunity that was presented before me.

Yep, that's right: all 17.

xoxo
KK

crepe crush

So since Stefan headed off to LatAm bright and early yesterday morning, last night I decided to grab a glass of wine with the fabulous Sarah Jenks of The Breathtaking Bride.  Always up to the date on coolest little niches the city has to offer, she suggested Two Sisters Bar and Books in Hayes Valley: a tiny little quaint and adorable hole-in-the-wall.

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As we sipped our happy hour wine ($5 a pop) and noshed on their creamy, spicy Camembert paired with the sisters' mom's homemade port strawberry jam, Sarah filled me on her latest project: The Breathtaking Bride Booty Camp.  In it, she teaches women (brides, wives, single ladies - you name it) how to have a rockingly awesome engagement/marriage/life full of fun, fun, and more fun while still losing weight and looking good.  Sarah's teachings are pure gold - seriously, the girl's the next Geneen Roth (with more style and sass).  Sign up for her words now while they're cheap cause I guarantee you'll be shelling out $9,999 for one of her seminars in a year or two.

 

Geneen, Sarah

Around 7:45pm,  post catch-up and cheese, I was ready to snuggle into bed and pass out (I DID wake at 5:15am to drive my man to the airport), but I needed a tad something more to hold me over until breakfast.  As I walked down Hayes to get to my car, I stumbled upon frjtz - a fabulous little Belgium bar known for their fantastic fries and choice crepes (made San Francisco style with Buckwheat flour as the base). 

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I hadn't had a crepe in years! And with buckwheat - how bad for the butt could it be?  I ordered myself their Vermeer - fresh off the griddle stuffed with sweet Strawberry jam. 

The second I took a bite, I immediately remembered my last taste of this delicious delicacy: I was 13, in my hanna anderson striped pajamas, sitting on the counter in my parents' kitchen, devouring the paper-like pancakes my dad had just flipped from his frying pan.  

My dad always used to make us breakfast on weekends.  Saturdays, we'd wake to the smell of bacon and come bolting down the stairs to see what he was working on for us that morning.  While he's a whiz when it comes to just about anything (eggs, souffles, popovers, muffins, financial portfolios), my favorite was always his crepes, which he crafted with just a tad bit of help from his friends over at Williams-Sonoma.

Unreal - I promise!

The thing I realized about crepes (while I munched through my buckwheat variety) is that they're actually the perfect little treat - so decadent and delicious, yet so thin and light.  You can eat one and feel like you've just had the most luxurious dessert imaginable, but also feel light enough to squeeze into your skinny jeans.  The crepe was a symbol of Sarah's teachings in a way - you CAN totally and completely enjoy yourself without overdoing it. 

Greetings my new fav friend. I'll be back for more very soon.

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xoxo

KK 

pink to grey

So while I hate to admit it, if you know me you know it's pretty darn true: I'm a pretty habitual person.  I have a set way of doing things - a tried and true method I like and that I know works for me (a Starbucks coffee before a run, a to-do list with pen and paper, a call to my mom on the way to work), so I'm often at a loss as to why I should risk trying something that might not be perfection for my personal predilection. 

But this mindset is not one for which I'm proud, so as one of my 2012 resolutions, I decided to work on shaking it up just a bit more.

Not too long ago, after a tough day at the office, I treated myself to a $20 mani-pedi.  As I b-lined it to my go-to Essie Ballet Slipper Pink, I caught myself and redirected opting for a dark, daring Power Clutch bottle instead. 

essie

I was nervous as they painted my talons grey debating about whether I should halt the process mid-procedure, but in the end, I played the whole thing out.  And now the color has really worn on me.  I might never go back. 

Immediately post procedure sans ring. 

I am still terrified to get the gorgeous thing dirty -

particularly during a quick (and cheap) mani. 

It's a mystery to me how all engaged/married women

adapt to this hunking thing on their hand.

Seriously - how do I wash dishes?

With my new fav accessory.

A winning combo if you ask me!

Then after 1.5 years of running the exact same route, I decided to start taking a new path every jog.  It's not always as good as my scenic and hilly Pacific-rimmed fav, BUT I've discovered all sorts of hidden San Francisco treasures tucked away where I might never have found them if it weren't for my new mission to mill about.

Some upside down trees

A totally lovely San Francisco Fire Department

Just what I like to see: keeping our city safe IN STYLE

A very odd but enchanting Asian-style balcony

A hilltop park with unreal morning views of the city

 
I even opted to shake it up with my accessories switching out my 9-year-old RL glasses and purchasing a new pair of specs from the fantabulous Lookmatic (seriously coolest lenses EVER at 88 buckaroos a pop - Rx and free shipping BOTH ways included).

I didn't say all my experiments ended excellently.

These little (sorry - BIG) guys got promptly sent back.

I'll admit it: I look like a fool.

Overall, the exploring has been liberating, but even better: eye opening.  It's amazing how often when we do something all the time exactly the same way, we're no longer present when we do it.  Sure, our body is there going through the motions (getting our fingers and toes pampered, jogging down a trail, gazing through our glasses) but our mind - our mind is some place totally different.  Changing it up here and again on even the simplest of rituals brings me back to the moment - totally present and aware, able to savor every last second of the act in all its glory. 

Perhaps I'll try some sparkly gold leopard print at my next nail appointment.

xoxo
KK

why i love being the girl

As I mentioned last week, I've been feeling a bit down of late.  Plus with the downpour that got dumped here on Friday, I really needed a little pick-me-up.  Given that we'd had a busy week, Stefan and I had planned on having a low-key night at home cooking and watching a movie.  But around noon on Friday I got the following email from my soon-to-be hubby:

Subject: Tonight...

…made us a reservation at a restaurant. I know we said we will cook, but I think it is good to get out of the house. On exploration into other neighborhoods…completely out of our comfort… Dinner is at 8.30pm. We will leave at home at 6.00pm to go and grab a drink on the way.

Love you tons!!!!

Reason #1 I love being the girl:
Sometimes it's just SO nice to have someone else be in charge of the planning (and surprising).  I know it's probably politically incorrect of me to say, BUT I like that orchestrating date nights has traditionally been the job of the guy.

That night, we bundled up in our rainy-weather best and headed out around 6pm for our pre-dinner-drink spot.  Stefan drove not telling me a word.  At 6:14pm he handed me his iPhone to hold onto while he navigated through the traffic and rain.  At exactly 6:15pm an appointment reminder popped up. 

Bar

(Secret)

6:30-8:15pm

Oh how I love surprises!

It wasn't too long before we stumbled into Mission Cheese - an unbelievably adorable little cheese shop/wine bar on Valencia in - you guessed it - the Mission.  In addition to rocking a lovely list of wines and beers by the glass, the spot is home to over 75 American-made cheeses from across our great nation broken up into categories such as:

Fresh & Clean

Like Butter

Smooth & Earthy

Sweet & Nutty

Cheddar

Blue

Stinky & Delicious

They also featured cheese flights highlighting a particular region's best showings.

The "monger's choice" allows you to opt for any of the fabulous options from their retail cheese list.

As you already know from this blog, Stefan is dangerously obsessed with cheese.  Note his over-excitement as he makes our selections for the monger's choice board:

Reason #2 I love being the girl:
Sometimes it's nice to have someone else do the ordering. 
Especially when there are 75+ options from which to choose.

When our plate arrived (complete with perfectly thin sliced baguette, dried figs, apricots, & cherries, mini pickles and a DIFFERENT CHEESE KNIFE FOR EACH SELECTION), we could not have been more pleased.

We dug in rating each in order of preference.  After LOTS of sampling and debate, the Bayley Hazen Blue ranked top for me while the Bent River Like Butter (far right/top) took home Stefan's heart.

While I've really grown to love to a fine cheese thanks to Stefan's teachings, I can't down it like I can persimmons. But the Krieg in me (that's my dad's side of the family) really hates to leave a paid-for plate unfinished. 

Reason #3 I love being the girl:
The guy is often the one tasked with finishing a shared plate.  Leaving me not-too-full but also not-at-all guilty. 

Post our beyond fabulous cheese and wine affair, Stefan led me down the block to my next surprise: Dosa - a stylishly hip Southern Indian hot spot.  We shared the Kerala Chicken, Coconut Rice, and the Winter Greens salad before declaring ourselves completely and utterly satisfied. 

As we got up to go, we noticed that the rain had gone from hard to hurricane-like while we had savored Dosa's spiciness.  Given that parking in the Mission is tougher than finding a date for our wedding, our car was a full fifteen minute walk away. 

Reason #4 I love being the girl:
The guy goes to get the car in the rain.

Sadly, my man leaves me first thing manana for a two and a half week work trip in LatAm.  Tonight we're doing a date night at one of his fav downtown spots before I head to German class.
Yep, that's right.  I'm getting back up on that horse again.  More on that to come.

xoxo
KK