Opus 2 (the second half of the 103 salons) / connecting the dots / finding a fitting place

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” ~ anais nin

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epilogue…. to begin at the end is something that comes naturally to me… whether you start with where you want to end, or end with where you began, it’s thinking in a particular direction, in reverse ~ it’s connecting the dots looking backwards, it’s making sense of your life in retrospect even though we must always trust in the future ~ “live forwards.” And another way of saying it ~in honor of Bob Marley’s birthday today ~ “in this great future you can’t forget your past…” ~ that delicate balance between that which has gone and that which will come ~ where we inhabit a continual present of now-ness in whatever I/Thou relationship we want to honor in the moment… But, it wasn’t until I read a thought piece by Karl Heiselman (from Apple retail marketing) recollecting the affect of a teacher at RISD ~ product designer/cultural anthropologist Sara Little Turnbull who asked students to do a homework assignment that involved “picturing in detail what you want your life to be like ten years in the future” ~ that I realized this is how I approach everything in life ~ making clothes, editing films, curating dinners, visualizing galas, designing exhibitions and ~ now, gathering salons. In many ways I begin with thinking about how I want people to feel ~ not just the observers, but the participants… “Starting with your morning,” Sara said “design a day in your life.” … This is how I always enter into a new world ~ just like Peter Sellars reminded me years ago ~ “imagine a world, create it and then live in it.” Or, in Karl’s words which ended his piece ~ “Begin at the end. Then, begin,” So I begin with this ~ an end that hasn’t yet happened (and hopefully will always be something intangible out there ~ an idea, a feeling, a sense of community.) As I write, salon #103 is being planned for NYC for She-Can, as well as a gathering for Boston Review Magazine ~… So we will begin with a plan-in-motion and then a midway point (between #1 in February 2012 and #103 in February 2018) which was my guiding goal made manifest as an edible installation at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in December of 2015 ~ a visual collage of what the art of gathering has been, and still is, all about…

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Yerba Buena Center for the Arts / “the art of gathering edible installation” ~ in collaboration with Alexandra Silverman, Binta Ayofemi, composer Christopher Willits, butoh dancer Deborah Butler, with a huge thanks to Katya Min, Jonathan Moscone and Leah Garc hik /Thursday December 17th, 2015 ~ 5-8pm

“Join YBCA for a winter celebration salon installation by anthropologist and artist Cari Borja. Borja invites us to explore the history of the art of gathering and the history of the salon. For centuries, the tradition of the salon has provided people with a physical and mental space to eat, interact, and connect through the act of gathering around a communal table. Borja examines the balance between all of the aspects that go into creating such a gathering, including the “metaphorical lightness of the gathering and the weight of responsibility we have to our community.” Borja, with the help of local winemakers, chefs and designers will bring together images, food, wine, a visual collage of films on and about the art of gathering around food, experimental sound scores, and members of the San Francisco Bay Area community.”

Chefs, winemakers, food writers, food friends and designer/artists who were also part of this installation ~ Adam Sobel, Alder Yarrow, Andrew Browne, TSE/The House/SF, Angelo Garro/OmnivoreSalt, Anthony Sueuga, Ashley McKinley, August Isidore Bernberg, Carole Borja, Careen Jackson/Copain Wines, Chad Arnold/Paul Marcus Wines, Daniel PattersonAlta, Deb Durant, Diva Pyari/Linea Carta, Ella Zafrir Ilan, Eric Rocher/Nuubia, Emily and Stephan Schindler/winemakers/Easkoot Cellars, Evan Goldstein, Eve Love, Ezra Chomak/Terroir,
The Grand Meringue, Hannah Hoffman/ Doughnut Dolly, Jessica Theroux, June Taylor June Taylor Jams, Keba Konte/Red Bay Coffee, Kristen and Ted Talley/Terra Firma Wines, Laura Werlin, Mara Kolesas/Good Fit Style, Matthew Rorick/Forlorn Hope, Michael Wallman, Paul Draper/Ridge Vineyards, Pax Mahle/Wind Gap/Agharta, Racheal Matthews, Rachel Konte/ OwlNWood, Rajat Par/Sandhi, Royal Borja Bernberg, Shelley Lindgren/A16 / SPQR, Stephen Yafa, Suzanne Drexhage/Bartavelle, Timothy Felkner/ORO, Tracey and Jared Brandt/ Donkey and Goat Winery

“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.” ~ Epicurus

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#103 / a moveable feast co-hosted with Peggy Northrop, Heather McMaster, Mary Ann Packo and Mary Jaeger in Brooklyn / an evening of global women’s empowerment with Barbara Bylenga of She-Can and a few scholars from Rwanda and Cambodia / Sunday, February 25th 2018 ~ details TBD

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#102 / a curiosity salon, co-hosted with Petra Michel in Orinda / November 4th 2017 ~ with mara kolesas, deb durant, lisa + kyle mueller, neris newton, shankar sastri + claire tomlin, steven beck, candice eggerss, kyle + eileen faulkner, christoph kirsch, jessie deeter + rob peterson, lina + nancy solomon , etienne fang + jason ring, lauren kerr, jennifer sorenson, paami + jason disston.

“the cure for boredom is curiosity. there is no cure for curiosity.” ~ dorothy parker

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#101 / a moveable feast co-hosted with Colin Stanfield, Becka Viau, and Chef John Pritchard for the Prince Edward Island Film, Food and Idea Festival / Saturday, July 14th 2017 ~ with filmmakers, founding circle members, food and wine friends, and advisory council members including Jason Rogerson, Jason Arsenault, Lennie Macpherson, Jamie + Kyle Redford, Ariel Nasr, Renee Laprise, Louise Lalonde, Harmony Wagner, Mille Clarkes, Slater Jewell-Kemker, John Hopkins, Attiya Khan, Erin Heidenreich, Christy McGill, Jeff Orlowski, David Cornfield, Anna Pizarro, Heidi Zinn, Dave + Nicki Hyndman, Tod Augusta Scott, Hanna Hameline (Salty), Ali Saddat, Cheryl Wagner, Todd + Savannah MacLean and others… (a huge thank you to Brandon Hood and Suzanne Wilkie)

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” ~maya angelou

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#100 / a moveable feast co-hosted with Colin Stanfield, Becka Viau and Chef John Pritchard for the Prince Edward Island Film, Food and Idea Festival / Friday, July 15th 2017 ~ with filmmakers, founders circle members, and festival guests including janet + bruce bernberg, kyle + jamie redford, christy mcgill, tim jones + magdalena mahlstedt and others ….

“Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.” ~ jane goodall

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#99 / co-hosted with lisa mueller in orinda / Light in Transition Soiree / bringing together bay area storytellers ~ April 29 2016 ~ kyle mueller, lloyd bernberg, tana johnson, corey weinstein + steve lomprey, nina rowan + barbara shands, sarah carr + romeo uriarte, jessie deeter + rob peterson, shobha rao, julie + greg barton, katya min, meghan o’leary, mark petrakis, stacia butterfield

”In the space between chaos and shape there was another chance.”
~ jeanette winters

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#98 / a fundraiser for Beacon Day School, 8th grade trip / Catalina Environment Leadership Program / co-hosted by the cameron, chris, ellis, emily, kelsey, royal, sonia, and sydney… / March 17th 2017, Highlands Country Club, Oakland, CA ~ with suzanne abbey, donnell + lonrae thomas, angelina gonzalez, sean nowicki, a’ja dotson, derrick polk, eloise gerken, diva + john hudson, eli olson + brian leonard, rita + terry carr, denise + keith clark, stacie burch, willa seldon, nelson + kathy graburn, charity tooze, betty jo olson, terry sinclair, lori jo smith, casey shaughnessy, sylvia + jasmine shapiro, lee anne hudson, ruby lewis, carole clement, alvin clement, blake hudson, janice hawkins-riley, nelvin moss, nafissa lee, brandi howard, mary williams, martha burch, lynn gordon, timothy swords, maria gallo, michael kerry martin, cheryl + sadie baker, ann blessing, maren eschen

“life isn’t about finding yourself. life is about creating yourself.” ~ george bernard shaw

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#97 ~ a moveable feast for She-Can / creating HER-STORY / revolution 2.0 2017 honoring kristin nicholson / special thanks to paige loczi and libby palomeque ~ february 12th 2017 at LOCZIdesign Studio SF ~ barbara bylenga, kelsea vaughan, michelle watson, julie abrams, carol chang, madison shephard, reiner triltsch, mary jane luck, stacey egide, glenda corning, nancy murphy, jennifer king, margot golding, maya tussing, susan davenport, cheemin bo-linn, diane philips, ellice papp, eric flett, erin keeley, jennifer bernabei, kim ramirez, leeann bissell, marla knapp, melinda stephenson, michelle lepore, trisha stiles, bill gwire, sharon batamuriza

“without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” ~ gloria steinem

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#96 / a wrap party for cast and crew of frazer bradshaw’s the deep sky / co-hosted with corey weinstein / december 10th 2016 ~ steve lomprey, frazer bradshaw + susie wise, jason wolos + dawn rich, luise helm, sarah rose butler + john draper, kelechi nwadibia, amber rogers, cynthi stefenoni + natalie boothe, corryn deegan, alex zajicek, hugo fat, jason joseffer, amani dorn + josh fehrmann, kent sparling

“ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering
there is a crack, a crack in everything that’s how the light gets in…” ~ leonard cohen

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#95 / a moveable feast for Pacific Filmmakers’ Forum / co-hosted with alexandra lexton with eve love as sous chef, and jesse turner spinning records / october 22nd 2016 at 32Ten Studios, San Rafael ~ with tim partridge, jamie + kyle redford, phil + jules tippett, charles ferguson + emily searles pamela + john walker, mary-pat green, eric aragon, zoe elton, karen davis matthew lamerle + alison davis, janis plotkin, julie wright robin + chris robino david o. weissman, barry stone , sean + elisa house, vivian kleiman, anthony lucero, sheri shuster, september williams, ethan wiley, francesca prada frazer bradshaw + susie wise, sarah cahill + john sanborn, emmy scarlatta, gina liebrecht, walter murch, denise zmekhol, vero bollow, jesse + amanda moss, walter murch, catherine ryan + gary weimberg

“…the people who move through the streetsare all strangers.
At each encounter,they imagine a thousand thingsabout one another;
meetings which could take place between them, conversations, surprises, caresses, bites.
But no one greets anyone;eyes lock for a second,
then dart away, seeking other eyes, never stopping… something runs among them,
an exchange of glanceslike lines that connect one figure with another and draw arrows, stars, triangles,until all combinations are used up in a moment,
and other characters come on to the scene… ”~ italo calvino

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#94 / a moveable feast in epping, new hampshire / co-hosted by todd hathaway and katherine cooper / august 13th 2016 ~ with jerica and jasper mazzaferro, kiki venios, michael nadeau, mary rose sarja, heather fleming, tracy courtemanche

“ Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us – in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain..and an athlete…and a basket case…a princess…and a criminal…-Does that answer your question?” Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.”

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#93 / a moveable feast in tribecca / co-hosted with susan sakin and ronnie peters at 360Design / june 25th 2016 NYC ~ with kirsten + craig nevill-manning, lindsay + alexander more nisbett, ethan cornell, joshua marston + gaye taylor upchurch, cady sherman, chris walsh, panteha razavi, justin bolois, sam godin
sorrel ahlfeld + francesca esmay, helen during, colin stanfield, stefan stux + andrea schnabl, alva stux

“Everyone wants to become the perfect version of ourselves.” ~ neil burger, Limitless

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.” ~dalai lama

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#92 / International Authors Dinner / co-hosted by the Bay Area Book Festival / at the home of Rachelle and Stewart Owen, Berkeley / june 6th 2016 ~ with cherilyn parsons, rachelle & stewart owen, kate jessup, jean-philippe blondel, larry siems, joshua samuel brown, sara baume, jonas & hanna karlsson, jorgen brekke, mikkel sauvage brekke, shawna yang ryan, irene hsiao, sandip roy, dipti ghosh, karen galatz, mona eltahawy & robert rutledge, victoria shoemaker & richard friedman, anders & anette de la motte, suresh mirchand, drew mirchand, jung young moon, agnete friis, ed lin, belinda mekeon, kati hiekkapelto & matti oaukonen

“write what should not be forgotten.” ~ isabel allende

“To lose yourself: a voluptuous surrender, lost in your arms,
lost to the world, utterly immersed in what is present so that its surroundings fade away.
In Benjamin’s terms, to be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully present
is to be capable of being in uncertainty and mystery.” ~ rebecca solnit

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#91 / A MOVEABLE FEAST in Venice Beach / co-hosted with pamela esterson at the home of jodie evans / april 30th 2016 ~ with anthony sibthorpe & simone vitucci, brett simon & katie flynn, dorna khazeni
tracy tynan, karen tenkhoff, robert & claudia egger, dub cornett, ted jessup, elizabeth miller, mauricio katz, kiersten johnson, olivia geyelin, dana adam shapiro, brent bushnell & maggie grace, ella & ben freyinger, matt haber, natanya marks, michael karnow, joshua banta, tom & rebecca hunter, paul & priscilla ryan

“a garden to walk in and immensity to dream in ~ what more could he ask?a few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”~ victor hugo

“There isn’t a story to tell, because a relationship is a story
you construct together and take up residence in, a story as sheltering as a house.
You invent this story of how your destinies were made to entwine like porch vines,
you adjust to a big view in this direction and no view in that, the doorway that
you have to duck through and the window that is jammed, how who you think you are
becomes a factor of who you think he is and who he thinks you are,
a castle in the clouds made out of the moist air exhaled by dreamers.” ~ rebecca solnitt

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#90 / A MOVEABLE FEAST for the Bay Area Book Festival in San Francisco / co-hosted with Elizabeth and Otis Chandler / Literature in the Digital Age / sunday april 24th 2016 ~ cherilyn parsons, kate jessup, jen pahlka & timothy o’reilly, ann farmer, damon horowitz, david talbot, jennifer 8. lee, lisa quintana shobha rao & srinivas inguva, elizabeth yarborough & peter haigst

Fairy tales in childhood are stepping stones throughout life, leading the way through trouble and trial.
The value of fairy tales lies not in a brief literary escape from reality, but in the gift of hope that goodness truly is more powerfulthan evil and that even the darkest reality can lead to a Happily Ever After. Do not take that gift of hope lightly.

It has the power to conquer despair in the midst of sorrow,
to light the darkness in the valleys of life,
to whisper “One more time” in the face of failure.
Hope is what gives life to dreams, making the fairy tale the reality. —L.R. Knost

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#89 / A MOVEABLE FEAST for the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley / co-hosted with Linda Schacht Gage + John Gage / YOUR PERFECT READING LIST / sunday april 17th 2016 ~ w/ richard + carolyn beahrs, jane +mark ciabattari, bill + michelle fisher, allen matthews, ramona mays, cherilyn parsons, t.j. stiles, deb wandell

“A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called “leaves”) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time—proof that humans can work magic.” ~ Carl Sagan

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#88 / A MOVEABLE FEAST for the SF Marathon, co-hosted with eve love and peter nantell / saturday april 9th 2016 ~ with erin nantell, lauren laino, michael stanton, jenny maier, cindy myers, vijay patel, bryan tublin, erin hagan, kellock irvin, gaby witte, lindsay bailey, kyle kemp, kristina milova, jim asiano, amy finn, julie costanzo, tara dellolacono, mohan dutt, maggie visser, rene kim, diane bachelor, samantha merlin, olivier morin

“For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day:to raise my own level. I’m no great runner, by any means. I’m at an ordinary – or perhaps more like mediocre – level. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.” ~ haruki murakami

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#87 / a moveable feast for Let Girls Lead in SF / co-hosted w/nancy deyo & the Leadership Council / saturday october 17th 2015 ~ emily teitsworth, julie abrams, paola gianturco, amanda arch, elisa arevalo, annette brinton, maureen broderick, susan caine, leslie cariani, elizabeth cholawski, nikole collins-puri, lily fetterer, haley gallant, lorena gomez-barris, sheryl grant, ayse ildeniz, heather jerrehian, staci koch, betsy mckinney, hillary mickell, jodi morris, rhonda ramlo, moire rasmussen, jacqueline wales, kathleen watson, paula west, rachel williams

“education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
~ nelson mandela

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#86 /a moveable feast in oakland, co-hosted with co-hosted with Etienne Fang + Jason Ring / November 7th 2015 ~ with guests Lloyd Bernberg, Lauren Lee, Matthew Lloyd, Becky Hui Chan, Hansen Chan, Lisa Beckie, Brett Snyder, Musa Tariq, Liz Keen, Adam Starr, Keba + Rachel Konte, Amy Finn, Michelle Lewis Allen, Jared Aller, Elizabeth Glenwinkel, Michael Johnson, Ethan Wiseman, Shin Sao, Sarah Rosenbach, Andrew Rosenbach, Chris Silverman, Jen Dow, Mike Osborne, Juanita Osborne, David Coulter + Kei Koyama

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between their work and their play; their labor and their leisure; their mind and their body; their education and their recreation. They hardly know which is which. They simply pursue their vision of excellence through whatever they are doing, and leave others to determine whether they are working or playing. To themselves, they always appear to be doing both.” ~ Francoise Rene Auguste Chateaubriand

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#85 / a moveable feast in berkeley, co-hosted with Daphne Miller

saturday october 24th 2015 ~ with philip stark, lloyd bernberg, bob + tina valgenti, sonya tonry, chris tonry, ken albala, jackie slade, travis mcflynn, binta ayofemi

“turino is a city which entices a writer towards vigor,

linearity, style. it encourages logic and

through logic it opens the way towards madness.

~ italo calvino

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#84 / A MOVEABLE FEAST for Let Girls Lead in SF / saturday january 23rd 2016 / co-hosted with Nancy Deyo and the Leadership Council ~ with Denise Dunning, Julie Abrams, Jodi Morris, Kathleen Watson, Sheryl Grant, Michelle Swenson, Eileen Snee, Leslie Cariani, Sheila Tolle, Jean Reilly, Katie Keating, Karin Turin, Loretta Stagnitto, Terry Copeland, Robbie Casares, Terry Copeland, Emily Scott Pottruck, Heather Jerrehian, Lynn Forbes, Geetha Vallabhaneni, Nicole Acutt, Mary Moslander, Josie Ramos, Nancy Poon Lue, Suzanna Poon, Eric Petitt

“It’s a philosophy of life. A practice. If you do this, something will change; what will change is that you will change, your life will change, and if you can change you, you can perhaps change the world.” ~vivienne westwood

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#83 / a moveable feast ~ food inspiration salon dinner / co-hosted with the clorox company, at j. rusten furniture studio in SF / monday august 17th 2015 ~ with etienne fang, eve love, daphne miller, philip stark, rachel zemser, jayne reichert karen rogers, angelo garro, ashel eldridge, karman ng, camille voizard, caroline martin, clarissa koga, chris merhige, chris nielsen, edith neta, joanna oldaker, michelle claudnic, nicole dunn, sarah ortman marc halperin, tj williams

“Chance and chance alone has a message for us.
Everything that occurs out of necessity,
everything expected, repeated day in and day out, is mute.
Only chance can speak to us.
We read its message much as gypsies read the images
made by coffee grounds at the bottom of a cup.”
~ milan kundera

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#82 / a moveable feast in NYC (# ) / co-hosted with susan sakin and ronnie peters / sunday, the ides of march 2015 ~ with charles ferguson and emily, christine muhlke and oliver strand, tamara jenkins and jim taylor, sorrel ahlfeld and francesca esmay, james croak and tomoe ito, john krokidas, nicky kassell, pascaline lepeltier, jane sutherland, henry hargreaves

“But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists,
after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered,
taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring,
more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful,
remain poised a long time, like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping,
amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unflinchingly,
in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence,
the vast structure of recollection.”
~ marcel proust

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#81 / a moveable feast in oakland, co-hosted with Alexandra Foote, for Hall Newbegin / july 12th 2014 ~ with lloyd bernberg, sean thackrey, richard hylton, emily holt, kim holt, stellah de ville, brian mitchell and bill mayer.

“For people could close their eyes to greatness, to horrors, to beauty, and their ears to melodies or deceiving words. But they couldn’t escape scent. For scent was a brother of breath. Together with breath it entered human beings, who couldn’t defend themselves against it, not if they wanted to live. And scent entered into their very core, went directly to their hearts, and decided for good and all between affection and contempt, disgust and lust, love and hate. He who ruled scent ruled the hearts of men.” ~ patrick suskind

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#80 / a moveable feast in oakland, co-hosted with Alexandra Foote, for Lloyd’s birthday / february 14th 2014 ~ w/ eve love, daphne miller, suzanne drexhage, chad arnold + susanne kauer, jeri driskill, jennifer jones, jake wall, paul costigan

“one always dies too soon or too late. and yet, life is there, finished: the line is drawn, and it must all be added up. you are nothing other than your life.” ~ jean-paul sartre

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#79 / a moveable feast in Oakland (#2), co-hosted with Alexandra Foote, for Christine Muhlke and Oliver Strand / oct 19th 2013 ~ with daniel, lloyd, tim, mandy + foster, mark, sean, kirsty, monica + chris, daphne + ross

a flock of birds (cornish game, hen, quail, chicken)
roasted squash with brown butter and sel gris
roasted potatoes, yogurt with herb pesto, meyer lemon, green olive oil
turnip greens/dino kale, curly kale
black salad
cheeses, fruits
humphry slocombe ice cream ~ various

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#78 / my very first moveable feast, co-hosted with Andrew Mariani at Scribe Winery in Sonoma / August 19th 2012 ~ with Lloyd Bernberg, Royal and August, Alexandra Foote + Daniel Patterson, Louise and Julian, Chad Arnold + Susanne Kauer, Christopher Willits + Ludi Colett, Michelle Stock + Stu Maschwitz, Jennifer Jones, Joey Xanders, Chrissy Loader, Carla Swanson, Hector Corral, Lorenzo Scarpone, Leif Hedendal, Emily and Stephan Schindler, Stephen Singer + Patricia Buse

a snippet from the FB “memory” : “in the end all collaborations are love stories.” ~ twyla tharp…It all began with an encounter with Andrew at Bar Jules for Joe Boyd’s 70th (I was Pam’s date)… a portrait from the Scribe sunset salon dinner… a family rocket-launching outting turned into an intimate sunset wine dinner with Leif Hedendal cooking amazing dishes of lamb and Scribe veggies, and Daniel Patterson plating 24 dishes of an exquisite silken white chocolate, raspberry, flowering anise hyssop, which was a riff on his COI dish I had in his SF restaurant last thursday with Alexandra… Stephan and Emily Schindler of Winemonger brought Wenzel Furmint reserve 2006, Hogl Gruner Veltliner Schon Smaragd 2008, Easkoot Cileno Valley Pinot Noir 2011 and Jagini Blaufrankisch 2007; Chad Arnold brought a magnum of 1991 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, 1996 Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Blanco, and a magnum of 2001 Pecina Rioja Reserva; Stephen Singer brought his Baker Lane Pinot Noir and a magnum of his Rose Syrah; Andrew had a selection of his Scribe wines; Lorenzo Scarpone shared with us Ruggeri Giustino B (prosecco), Scarpone Tribute (a montepuliciano d’abruzzo) , Virgona Salina Bianco, and Squbin Friulano (pinot grigio) …and Michelle Stock made the most yummy and memorable chocolate chip cookies (with salt!!!) and a raspberry cake that i devoured with my hands.. yummmmm……“enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait, the grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.” ~henry ford

“Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.” ~ albert schweitzer

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” ~ anais nin

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#77 / the last supper, co-hosted with lloyd bernberg and eve love / saturday june 20th 2015 ~ with laura nader, rob bailey, dayna goldfine + dan geller, michelle stock + stu maschwitz, matt dick, cristina mueller + ethan nosowsky, joyce goldstein, shelley lindgren, loni hancock + tom bates, mark whelan, sara o’malley + richard hylton, pamela + john walker, jordan kurland, kate jessup, liz gazzano + marcos gandara, angelo garro, isabella polenghi, carol + john field

“the baker’s wife hungered for romance ~ which she found in her husband’s capacity to forgive. his hunger was the devotion of an artist to his profession. day dreams, traditions, even prejudices ~ all tempered with charity ~ are our daily bread. “ ~ john erskine on marcel pagnol’s “the baker’s wife” (1938)

“To lose yourself: a voluptuous surrender, lost in your arms, lost to the world,
utterly immersed in what is present so that its surroundings fade away.
In Benjamin’s terms, to be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully present is to be capable of being
in uncertainty and mystery…” ~ rebecca solnit

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#76 / co-hosted with the Women’s Funding Network Committee / in honor of the 30th Anniversary of the Women’s Funding Network / Friday June 19th 2015 ~ with julie abrams, cynthia nimmo, liz hilton, julie norris, jeanette zalder, jennifer chapin, torie sandvig, tina choi, kassy batcheller, mitali pattnaik, aimie vargas, cheemin bo-lin, porter gale, jann e. dudley, shawn byers, aida alvarez, ellice j. papp, jaleh daie, lisa roberts, ramona mays, andrea carlise, jill wetzler, michele hanson, cheryl finley neal, elizabeth castro abrams, latanya hilton

“life isn’t about finding yourself. life is about creating yourself.”
~ george bernard shaw

“tell me and i forget, teach me and i may remember, involve me and i learn.” ~ benjamin franklin

~~~~~

#75 / the last salon wine dinner, co-hosted with andrew browne / Friday June 12th 2015 ~ with lloyd bernberg, ezra chomak, alex davis, adam casto, seth kunin + magan eng, dr. j. bernard “jerry” seps, colleen williams seps, cathy corison, vanessa robledo, ben cane + sarah date, steve edmunds + cornelia st. john, laine harrington + andrew wolfe, mara kolesas, michael cruse, andrea blum, cecilia capanna, sharon eisenhauer, nolan browne

“Life is so brief that we should not glance either too far backwards or forwards…therefore study how to fix our happiness in our glass and in our plate.” – grimod de la reyniere

~~~~~

#74 / International Author’s Dinner co-hosted with cherilyn parsons / Bay Area Book Festival / Monday June 8th 2015 ~ with carmen boullosa, philip mclaren, alan + christine jackson, fabiano alborghetti, thomas enger + christina belle, yrsa siguroardottir, sjon sigurdsson, lars fredrik svendsen, jonas hassen khemiri, antti + anu tuomainen, riikka pulkkinen + erkki hermanni perala, asne seierstad, thierry maugenest, gilles delcourt, mac macclelland + chris colin, gary kamiya, ethan nosowsky, linda rugg, stephen sparks + molly parent, otis + elizabeth chandler

“It is literature which for me opened the mysterious and decisive doors of imagination and understanding.
To see the way others see. To think the way others think. And above all, to feel.” ~ Salman Rushdie

~~~~~

#73 ~ for Negroni Week, co-hosted with Campari, with mixologists greg lindgren and jon gasparini / Saturday June 6th 2015 ~ with lloyd bernberg, eve love, ryan nobles, olga semoukhina, victor reyes + katrina santa anna, michele turnure-salleo, diane + scott tavenner, ali partovi + melissa baldauf, daniel patterson +alexandra foote, andrew jiminez, kitty margolis + alfonso montuori, mark jensen, matt dick, mandy aftel & foster curry, tiffany shlain, phil & jules tippett, william werner + sarah logan, marcia gagliardi

‘One should always be drunk. That’s all that matters… But with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you chose. But get drunk.’ ~ charles baudelaire

“from the idea to the dress, my work is my life’s reason.” ~ christian dior

~~~~~

#72 / co-hosted by cari borja and barbara bylenga, for Open A Door / Friday May 29th 2015 ~ with julie abrams, patricie uwase, bonnette ishimwe, kristin nicholson, julie roberts, fran halperin, jennifer childers, kaye foster-cheek, lesa porche, kim pugh, katrina dickson, cynthia jones, lisa coca, aliya junjua, amy ko, ellen snee, betsy schmitt, marilyn modejar, louise trudeau, elizabeth abrams, isabel valdes, jeanette zalder

“I believe if there’s any kind of God
it wouldn’t be in any of us, not you or me, but just this little space in between.
If there’s any kind of magic in this world
it must be in the attempt of understanding someone,
sharing something.
I know, it’s almost impossible to succeed but who cares really?
The answer must be in the attempt.”
~ Celine, Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (1995)

~~~~~

#71 / a gathering for the oakland book festival / co-hosted with kira brunner don and timothy don / May 28th 2015 ~ lewis lapham, laura nader, vikram chandra + melanie abrams, matthew zapruder + sarah karlinsky, david rose, kelly burdick, karima cammell + duncan brown, dianne + ben fong-torres, ben davis, rebekah otto + raphi gottesman, vanessa inn, alex stavrakas, laszlo jakab orsos, mark danner, grant faulkner + heather mackey, rick prelinger, alex cruse, william + lucy hamilton

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” ~ anais nin

Money is like fire, an element as little troubled by moralising as earth, air, and water. Men can employ it as a tool or they can dance around it as if it were the incarnation of a god … It acquires its meaning from the uses to which it is put. ~ lewis lapham

~~~~~

#70 / a dinner for paula ledesma / co-hosted with Vital Voices / May 12th 2015 ~ liam dall, julie abrams, paula ledesma, gabrielle toledano, bonnie dahan + stephen yafa, jodi keskella, jake wall, mara kolesas + daniel stolzenberg, david mayeri, deb durant, suzanne ashton, kelly larkan, marcia quinones, laura fejerman, steven goldin, candice taylor, katrina kehl, stefani willis, amy blaustein + sam flax, juan abel elias

Every minute of every hour of every day you are making the world,
just as you are making yourself, and you might as well do it
with generosity and kindness and style. ~ rebecca solnit

~~~~~

#69 / co-hosted with Maureen Broderick for WorldWideWomen / May 9th 2015 ~ julie abrams, isabelle finney, kaitlin quistgaard, bonnie dahan, mary stutts, nicole soluri, tamara strauss, amy schioldager, joan barnes, peggy northrop, jennifer king, michele alberda, charity tooze, kirsten wolberg, noni allwood, anna kaufman, lauriann delay, jennifer lee, joyce maynard, vanessa robledo, melissa mcvicker, suzanne brogger, ari sahagun, suzanne ashton

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies . . .
Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go
when you die . . . It doesn’t matter what you do,
so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away.” ~ ray bradbury

~~~~~

#68 / co-hosted with lisa parks / made in a free world / May 8th 2015 ~ danelle + justin dillon, eve love, mark bittman, marisa + alexis de belloy, marc + anita abramowitz, michael bauer, linda + john gage, daphne miller, julie abrams, micha peled & monica smith, kerri conan, jeremy fiance, philip stark, dale djerassi, emilie gioia, travis mcflynn, laura nader, barb bylenga

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ margaret mead

~~~~~

#67 / co-hosted with deb durant / May 2nd 2015 ~ with matt winkelstein, joan ellis & patrick hooker, jess parker & peter, jared & corinne holstein, suzanne drexhage, tara demoulin, david key, petra michel, emillio mesa, racheal matthews & santiago mason, julien veyrac + nique farrar, blair + bill rogers, ruzwana bashir + ben rattray, kate + phil bystrowski, heidi leibes

“I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn’t impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.” ~ anais nin

~~~~~

#66 / with collaborators timothy felkner, randy mariani and adam pechal, eve love and laura wherlin / april 25th 2015 ~ with alice waters, fritz streiff, ruth eckland, jake wall, nathan & bre johnson, jessie deeter, christopher willits & jennie chien, charlie & barbara winton, stuart locklear, kevin donnelly, ramona naddaff, jessica marshall, jessica theroux, tom stone, rachel & elaine brown, stuart locklear, melina uncapher & kevin weiner

“to achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” ~ leonard bernstein

“this is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive.” ~ alice waters

~~~~~

#65 / a celebration of storytelling / march 22nd 2015 ~ with michael ondaatje, tom luddy & monique montgomery, eve love, alice waters, davia nelson, julie huntsinger, lucy gray & david thomson, alexander payne, joyce carol oates & charlie gross, sylvia brownrigg, kira brunner don & timothy don, eric karpeles, david wilson & hannah barr-dichiara, anne & michael ray

“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves. I wish for all this to be marked on by body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography – to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, communal books. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience.” ~ michael ondaatje

~~~~~

#64 / co-hosted with maureen broderick for WorldWideWomen / March 21st 2015 ~ isabelle finney, julie abrams, kaitlin quistgaard, bridget thompson, emily thompson, christina bui, marianne baldrica, kay dryden, cissie swig, jodie evans, susan griffin, sarah rosenbach, mary stutts, julie gordon white, lisa parks, denise brousseau, cynthia nimmo, michele swenson
tami white, cindy solomon, claire greensfelder, azalina eusope, norma listman, mouette loustalot

“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” ~ eleanor roosevelt

~~~~

#63 / wine dinner, co-hosted with Anthony Sueuga / march 7th 2015 ~ with lloyd bernberg, alexander payne, martine saunier, anthony & daniella sueuga, mark bittman, richard hylton & sara o’malley, raphael knapp & jennifer stuckert-knapp, david gissen & rachel schreiber , michael butler & elisa isaacson, craig & kelly haarmeyer, eric vandermolen, ian becker, paul costigan, gordon whitten, joe bilman, chris brocway, vinny bucchino, josh silverman, ross pike and jerome waag

“But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unflinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.” ~ marcel proust

~~~~~

#62 /with co-collaborators Eve Love, Martin Bournhonesque, Michael Cecconi and Kiki Braverman / february 21st 2015 ~ brad miller, hall newbegin, katharine young, mary orlin, bonnie dahan & stephen yafa, maia hirschbein & mike sesko, samin nosrat, phyllis grant, jeanine & guy saperstein, kiki braverman, michael cecconi & margi young, sarah lacey, elaine brown & rachel brown, nick o’neill & ashley munns, elizabeth spiridikas & preston olson, aaron & malinda wehner

“it may be that when we no longer know which way to go that we have come
to our real journey. the mind that is not baffled is not employed.
the impeded stream is the one that sings.” ~ wendell berry

~~~~~

#61 / co-hosted with Maureen Broderick for WorldWideWomen / February 7th 2015 ~ stefanie phipps, laura nader, joey xanders, jennifer jones, vivian dryer, maggie weiss, kate farnady, kaitlin quistgaard, amy finn, julie costanzo, julia curtis, melody haller, jessie deeter, marissa lamagna, pam walker, jeanne allen, norma listman, karen beth wilson, tania ketenjian

“i do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.”
~ mary wollstonecraft

“each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” ~ anais nin

~~~~~

#60 / co-hosted with julia curtis, claire greensfelder and alyssa newman / February 2nd 2015 ~ with guests nancy skinner, rosalie barnes, tom price, david hochschild, tom starrs, arild fetveit, susan griffin, camille seaman.

“as human beings, we are vulnerable to confusing the unprecedented with the improbable. In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you and climate change is one of those exceptions.” ~ al gore

~~~~~

#59 / co-hosted with Lisa Parks (co-cooked with eve love, with a special toast of milan kundera’s “chance + chance alone has a message for us…” and the idea quoted by john gage in 1984 “the network is the computer”) / January 30th 2015 / with eve love, jerome waag, linda schacht & john gage, mark danner, ray tang, lisa kleiner chanoff & matt chanoff, tricia & miles perkins, pete & nancy gage, deirdre english, gina leibrecht & frank truncate,, suzanne & italo calpestri, ramona naddaff, maria & jeff ralph, risa nye, angela wellman, ashara ekundayo, shannon service.

“pull a thread here and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world.” ~ nadeem aslam

~~~~~

#58 / Fashion/Film/Food (co-cooked with eve love and a special toast to b. ruby rich) / for a cover feature for the SF Chronicle by Tony Bravo / January 17th 2015 ~ with guests lloyd bernberg, royal borja bernberg, august isidore bernberg, eve love, b. ruby rich, noah cowan, tony bravo, jennifer jones, emily holt, cal peternell & kathleen henderson, jake wall, nate johnson, dayna goldfine & dan geller, tania ketenjian, shelley & greg lindgren, jennifer devere brody, ceri smith, alexandra foote & daniel patterson, eric wolfinger, chris wiggum & ilana rothman, heike liss, adam sobel.

to start ~~
greg’s cocktails
watermelon radishes, pate, cheese
cal’s toasts

and then ~~
radishes
caesar
chicories w/tuna
citrus, red onion, arugula, fennel & goat cheese

harry’s bar risotto w/ porcini, morels, chanterelles, black trumpet, lobster mushrooms

finally ~~
shelley’s coconut layered cake and chocolate deliciousness
my candied citrus peels, inspired by june taylor

“do, or do not. there is no “try.” ~ yoda

“it is not our abilities that show what we truly are…it is our choices.” ~ dumbledore

~~~~~

#57 / Kaiser Elementary Auction Dinner ~ co-hosted with Jennise Mendoza / January 10th 2015 ~ with guests alysia and pat mcdonough, angela romero, barbara bishr, lisa cartolano, stacey sundarrajan, siobhan van winkel, michael walkman, bonnie allen, maya elena scott-chung + chino lee scott-chung, andrea jason + anjolie enz, stephen + bailey duffy, janice + frank paredes, rachel neumann + jason deantonis.

“children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” ~ margaret mead

“live as if you were to die tomorrow. learn as if you were to live forever.” ~ mahatma gandhi

~~~~~

#56 / co-hosted with Julia Curtis / January 3rd 2015 ~ with guests joey xanders, rosalie faye barnes, alyssa newman, mara brazer, jessie deeter + rob peterson, shoey sindel + david newdorf, jeffrey + jason friedman, deb fink + david streitfeld, morgan schmidt-feng, beth grossman + storrs hoen, arild fetveit, greg meyer + viktoria kamenshine, devan + karen reiff, oblio jenkins.

“There is still one of which you never speak.’
Marco Polo bowed his head. ‘Venice,’ the Khan said. Marco smiled.
‘What else do you believe I have been talking to you about?’The emperor did not turn a hair. ‘And yet I have never heard you mention that name.’ And Polo said: ‘Every time I describe a city I am saying something about Venice.” ~ italo calvino, invisible cities

~~~~~

#55 / “Family” Dinner / December 23rd 2014 ~ with guests lloyd, janet & bruce bernberg, carole borja, royal & august, laura nader, ivo daniele & jen torbohn, claudia & james williams, racheal matthews, katherine summer o’neal, ashley & eric mckinley, candace, christine & paul knobel, gretchen & anna kell, eve love, jake wall.

“for last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words
await another voice.” ~ t.s. eliot, four quartets

~~~~~

#54 / co-hosted with Toyota Innovation Hub / November 15th 2014 ~ with guests sarah rosenbach, seiichi tsunoda
david witt, giulia mazza, sho hiruta, sabrina merlo, jay ward, christian alzmann, jen pahlka, greg bradshaw, yosuke ueno, makoto konishi, andrew maclachlan, kazuya uchiyama, daiki isogai, kazuhiro shimura, tatsuya iwai, mayu yamaguchi, feng zhou, kazuhiro sato, kwang ha kim, kentaro matsumoto, yuji fujiwara.

“give ‘em what they never knew they wanted…” ~ diana vreeland

~~~~~

#53 / co-hosted with Suzanne Drexhage /November 8th 2014 ~ with guests lloyd bernberg,
isabel duffy & dickon pinner, lisa brown & daniel handler, laura nader, ayelet waldman, maggie weiss, amy & david finn
hidemi ena & paul fallon,, natalie zimmerman & michael wilson, michaela d’artois, michael & jill wild, shelley & greg lindgren.

“the best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and the wonderful.” ~m.l. mencken

~~~~~

#52 / an homage to Cal Peternell’s 12 Recipes and Deb Durant’s 50/50 LightOctober 25th 2014 / Oct 25th 2014 ~ with eve love, deb durant, gil stancourt, alexandra foote, jennifer jones, jason buening, arils fetveit, colleen queen, lily achatz, clarissa nicosia, racheal matthews, jake wall, amy finn, ged robinson, rebecca beardsley, greg bradshaw & christy bradshaw, monica reskala & chris weiss, britt dionne, bruce rinehart, eve marie blazo, nia povroznik.

“for I have always been a seeker, a dreamer, and a ponderer on seeking and dreaming.” ~ h.p. lovecraft

~~~~~

#51 / wine dinner, co-hosted with Chad Arnold / October 11th 2015 ~ w/ lloyd bernberg, susanne kauer, jen sherman & OT Jones, arild fetveit, bridget & nate davies, anthony sueuga, john khayami, tucker madey, suzanne drexhage, mark middlebrook, emily shepard, brian greenwood & susan kellogg-smith, rachel goldman, matt gerloff, nadia dmytiw, wolfgang weber.