back at work

Today is my first day back at work.

I'm excited to get back into the swing of things, but I'm sad.  Real sad.  This little munchkin is one lovely babe to spend time with.

We've had a busy past few weeks - there has been so much excitement that I haven't had a moment to tune you in. 

The highlights include...

Having Stefan's lovely mother stay with us to explore SF, help out, and hang with Samantha:

Taking Samantha on her first flight:

Dressing her up for Halloween:

Celebrating my fabulous sister's incredible nuptials:

And spending some time in Milwaukee with my parents:

It's been a pretty incredible finale to this pretty incredible maternity leave.  More details to come I hope although I'm in uncharted territory here with the whole working with a baby thing.  I make no promises.

xoxo

KK

2 months!

Little Samantha is two months old today!

It's my birthday today?

I can't believe this crazy, unreal day was two whole months ago!

Right after she was born, Stefan asked the head nurse 

in the nursery if he could take his shirt off to do skin-to-skin 

with our new little babe, to which she replied: 

"Absolutely not."

He kept his shirt on but couldn't put his new little girl down!

I know they say the days are long and the years are short, but my goodness have the days felt SHORT!  Didn't we just bring her home yesterday?  I packed Samantha's newborn clothes away the other day (she's in solid 0-3 month territory now) and was feeling all sorts of nostalgia (and I am totally NOT that kind of girl).  I know it's soooo cliche but time seems to just be evaporating.  

A look back at 1 month.

Some of Samantha's favorites at 2 months include...

Checking out her elephant mobile.

Absolutely fascinated.

Watching the Packers play.

Go pack go!

Hanging out in her Ferrari of baby chairs.

The Mamaroo.

Sleeping on dad.

In his special chair.

With her special octopus toy.

(Which my mom really, really loves :)

Over-the-knees superwoman position.

Thanks to baby-miracle-worker Randy!

Running errands with mom.

Dancing to some rocking German tunes.

And best of all: smiling!!! 

Our happy, little Princess Leia - we can't get enough.

xoxo

KK

oberhohl

You may remember that I spent of good chunk of last summer in Switzerland learning German.  My time there was well worth it and not just because I got lots of time with Stefan's family and got to do some traveling, but also because by the end of the month I could actually carry a conversation.

Walking the dog with Stefan's mom:

In Berlin with our good German friends Frank and Marlene:

But when I touched back down in the States, my German speaking became - well - non-existent.  I had the best of intentions, but whenever Stefan and I would practice, the conversation would ultimately deteriorate into English.  While I could talk about what I ate or said or did, I couldn't discuss anything of depth, and when you have limited time to conversate each evening, depth is of the essence.

So when Stefan's dad and Edith were here, I expected us to speak mostly English and/or for me to not participate all that much in the conversation.  But surprisingly to everyone (most of all to me!), my German came back fairly easily.  I quickly remembered key words and phrases and was able to partake in conversation (albeit basic and slooooow conversation) without issue.  (Particularly after a glass or two of wine.)

But while my high German was passable, Swiss German (an extremely heavy dialect of German not understandable to high German speakers and the actual language spoken by Stefan's family when they aren't accommodating me) was another beast altogether.  While they mostly spoke high German around me, Swiss German naturally entered the conversation given that it's their true native tongue.  

My ultimate end goal is this secret language.  We're raising Samantha to speak English, Swiss German and high German.  My biggest fear is that her and her dad will be able to talk in Swiss code without me understanding: i.e., "Samantha - your mother's cooking tastes like dog poo tonight, doesn't it?"  "Yes daddy - I could not agree more.  Let's order pizza when she goes to sleep at 8pm."
So naturally I tried to pick up on as much of this special language as possible.

Throughout the weekend, particularly on our hike on Sunday, I heard one particular Swiss German expression used over and over.

I listened carefully for it and noticed it being used in all sorts of different situations.  I was sure I had struck Swiss German gold!  If I could learn this key phrase, I could simply begin sprinkling it into my high German and before you knew it, I'd be a legit Swiss German Heidi-li. 

That night, as we sat down to takeout from the very best Thai spot (that happens to be right around the corner in our new hood)...

...I decided to ask about this golden phrase.

As soon as there was a lull in conversation, I went for it:

"Was ist 'oberhohl'?"

I eagerly awaited glowing compliments on how wonderful I was for learning such a key Swiss phrase.  "KK, du bist so intelligent!  Du bist so perfekt mit deine Schweizerdeutsche!" I expected them to tell me.

Instead I got dead silence.

And then uproarious laughter.

"What is it?" I begged, mortified by a clearly nicht so gut mistake.

More un-containable cackling.

"Is that not a word?" I pleaded.

"No - hahahahahhahaa - it's - hahahahahaha - a - hahaha - word," Stefan managed.

"Tell me!" I implored.

"It means 'unbelievably stupid' like 'the stupidest of stupid'.  Where did you learn that?  Did my brother teach you that?" Stefan continued as his dad and Edith continued to appear to be dying from their never-ending laughter.

"You all have been saying it all day long." I offered sheepishly.

They all looked at each other.

"Us?  We have been saying this word??" Stefan's dad asked as he looked at his wife and son.  They all wondered who had been the one to toss around this not-very-nice expression for my Swiss-German virgin ears to hear.

Eventually, they all calmed down from their laughter, we finished our dinner, and Edith and Urs headed back to their hotel.

Later that night as Stefan was changing Samantha's diaper, I heard him say my not-so-golden phrase.
"THERE!  That's it.  Did you just call our daughter the stupidest of stupid??" I asked him appalled.

"Lueg emol!  Not oberhohl." He replied as he began laughing again and went to text his dad and Edith the debunked mystery of my new word.  "It means 'have a look here' or 'look at that'!"

Oh.

Well lueg emol, I guess I may be a tad bit oberhohl myself. :)

xoxo

KK

persimmons, husk cherries + cornmeal toast

On Saturday, we made a trip to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market.  We used to frequent this hot spot regularly, but with the move and work schedules and Samantha, it had been ages since we'd pay it a visit.  While I'd like to say my motivation in going there was completely altruistic (wanting to show our guests a San Francisco staple), it was actually quite selfish: with persimmon season starting any day now, I was hoping I might be able to nab some of these prized jewels.

Fortunately, I was in luck.

While the market didn't have the plethora of varieties I was hoping for, there was one stand that was rocking some coveted first-of-the-season Hachiyas.  I obviously couldn't leave without some.  

In addition to the persimmons and some super sweet summer peaches, we got another farmer's market favorite of mine: Juju Bes.

While Nonno and I have similar tastes in most things (strawberry jam by the spoonful, mushrooms with just about anything, and arriving early to all things), he was NOT a fan of these little treats.

We I did lots of sampling of all things.  Our very polite Swiss guests opted to mostly just look rather take advantage of the free food.  

I, on the other hand, nabbed every giveaway I could get my hands on, which equated to about 2.5 times a normal person's lunch.

Free samples?

Yes please!

We also stumbled upon a fruit I had never seen before:

husk or ground cherries

Thinking this would be the first and last time I saw these weird-looking snacks, I obviously opted to sample.  They did not disappoint.

Later that night we took Edith and Urs out to Michelin-starred restaurant Sons & Daughters as a 60th birthday present to Stefan's dad.  We did the restaurant's seven-course dinner with wine pairings, and lo and behold, not one but two courses featured these exact same mystery fruits!  We had a heirloom tomato soup with basil creme and ground cherries to start and then candied versions of the special fruit as an extra finale post final course.

In addition to our 7 courses, we got three amazing bread courses: a mini caraway rye loaf, handmade pretzel rolls, and - my personal favorite - cornmeal toast:

We had such a wonderful time wining and dining and chatting, before we knew it, it was midnight!  Always the sign of a fabulous evening.

Tune back in tomorrow for how we worked off our very decadent Saturday night!

xoxo

KK

some special swiss guests

We were lucky enough to have Stefan's dad and stepmom in town this past weekend.  Since anytime we spend a day with them in Switzerland, we get a perfectly-planned-out itinerary of top-notch activities (case in point), we tried to give them an equally-jam-packed set of days while they were here.

We started the weekend off with a Thursday evening dinner of steaks, salad and wine at our place.  Nonno (grandfather in Italian) was all about holding little Samantha every second he could.

So much so that he refused to take a break to quench his thirst.  Luckily, his sweet wife Edith stepped in to help him.

Edith also took over while Nonno headed out to grill with Stefan - Samantha was in heaven!

On Friday, we did a trip up to Healdsburg.  After a stroll around the adorable town square, we started with coffee at the SHED - a market, cafe and community gathering spot focused on local farming and seasonally prepared foods.

While we sipped on our fancy cappucinos al fresco...

...Nonno gave Samantha a tour of the shop.

She had her eye on some expensive, locally hand-crafted frying pans, but we had to put our foot down.

We then headed to Bella Wine Caves for a picnic lunch and some wine tasting.  (Obviously.)

Again, Nonno and Samantha were inseparable - exploring the grounds together while the rest of the crew wined and dined. 

Nonno finally took a break to enjoy his prosciutto sandwich while Samantha chilled on our picnic blanket.  She was feeling pretty liberated to be in short sleeves after always being bundled up in our chilly San Francisco climate!

Next up was Rafanelli - one of our favorite off-the-beaten-path spots that we hadn't been to in ages.  

This family-owned, Zin-and-Cab powerhouse is by appointment only, 

limits how many bottles you can buy (or else they'd be out in a day), and

has a wineclub waiting list of 1000s.  

Thankfully, we have put in our time on the waitlist and are in the wineclub allowing us to score a coveted 2pm tasting with their very busy in-harvest staff.

As we sipped on their divine wines, they gave our special Swiss guests and us a private tour of the place.

Again, Nonno opted to hold Samantha rather than a glass of the region's fine nectar.  

Rafanelli is one of the few places in wine country that still does things the old-fashioned way: 

Rather than use machines, they do all their grape-squashing by hand!

Another incredible thing about Rafanelli is that while they have some of the best wines in the Valley and could raise their prices tenfold, they opt to keep them almost completely flat year to year.

While their bottles are not quite as inexpensive as they were back in 1984...

...you can get some of the best wines imaginable for under $50, which - if you know Sonoma - is an incredibly good deal.  

While we didn't take any bottles with us this time around (we still have a few cases at home in need of some special occasions), we had a fabulous time sampling their vintages and exploring their gorgeous grounds.  Samantha especially!

More details from the weekend to come!

xoxo

KK

a baby BBQ

The other oh-so-exciting event of the past few months was an adorable baby shower my sister, best friend and mom hosted for Stefan and I at our new place.  

While I was excited to celebrate this soon-to-be babe, I wasn't into the whole traditional ladies-sitting-around-talking type of baby shower so I asked if we could make the event co-ed (Stefan did play a rather large role in this whole thing...) and super casual.  

They opted to throw a BBQ-themed, red-and-white soiree that was absolutely perfect and right up our alley.

There were lots of delicious beverages - copious amounts of wine and beer for most everyone and sparkling lemonade for the pregnant ladies among us.

They decked the place out with lots of personalized, red-and-white touches...

...and orchestrated some fun, little games for guests, including a guess-the-due-date-and-weight contest.  We always love some good competition. :)

With an August 5th due date, the jury was tipping towards a late delivery (and a big baby!).

Stefan and the guys grilled up assorted sausages (pork, chicken, vegan, you name it) and my fabulous friend Claudine - chef extraordinaire and founder of Stiletto & Spice - did all the salads and sides.  It was a top-notch menu that made this soon-to-be mama very pleased.  We were all too busy chowing down to get any shots, but let me tell you: it was as beautiful as it was delicious.

Some shots of me with the fabulous party-hosting crew:

The bump was clocking in at around 28 weeks, or for those of you who don't talk pregnancy-speak: 7ish months.  

Overall, it was a total slam-dunk of a party that made this baby girl feel very loved!

xoxo

KK

a win in wetzikon

While I spent most of the month of August going to German classes and doing German homework and taking German exams, the real test came when I spent an afternoon, evening and night with Stefan's dad and his wife.

Talking only German.

We started with a light summer lunch of gazpacho, prosciutto with melon, and mountain cheese with fresh apricots.
(Demonstration of kitchen cutlery and foodstuffs vocabulary - check!)

We then went for a long walk along a nearby lake, stopping by the oldest tree in the village.

Did you know that the church is the highest building in every Swiss village

(Demonstration of basic chit-chat phrases and past tense to tell all about what I've been up to month-to-date - check!)
We then made our way up to an adorable little family farm that is open to visitors to explore.

a hand-painted sign gives you the lay of the land

like any good farm, this one included an adorable little shop 

with all-organic, homegrown or homemade products 

that I obviously had to check out

the Swiss love to buy local and will pay double the price 

for a product grown in their home country

the shop's labels were simple, clean, efficient perfection

just with the family's name (Jucker) and Hof for farm

even the toilets in this place were gorgeous

After a quick tour of the animals,
(Demonstration of farm animal and equipment vocabulary - check!)

and then a leisurely coffee overlooking the lake, 
we headed to our evening activity: the Chilpi! 

(Wetzikon's equivalent to a state fair.)

Switzerland's XXL Pommes (French Fries) - see upper left corner

equates to an American size small and costs five times the price

Since Urs is mayor of the town, it seemed as though the crowds parted for us - everyone knew him and Edith and wanted to say hello.  Wherever we walked, someone wanted to hear how they were doing or treat us to a beer.
(Demonstration of get-to-know-you questions and phrases - check!)

After quite a bit of socializing, Edith and I headed up in the Ferris wheel to get a look at the idyllic surroundings.

(Demonstration of city vocabulary as I asked where the Krankenhaus/Hospital, Schule/School und Kirche/Church were - check!)

We enjoyed some bratwursts and cervelats (traditional Swiss sausages) before retiring home early. (I did have class the next morning.)

And at the end of evening, after we had all finished a pot of tea, Stefan's father said the sweetest three words I could have imagined:

"Ich habe verloren."
"I have lost."

As you might guess, I slept quite well that night. :)

xoxo

KK