Hanging out with Evonne Wong in San Francisco

Let me begin at the beginning. On a Tuesday I twisted my ankle, then fell directly on it. *Youch* I missed the SF NACE event that night becuase I couldn't walk on it. The Knot event was the next night and to attend I had to be on crutches. Yeah, I was really styling that night in jeans and my sneakers. If you've never used crutches I can tell you they are hellacious on your upper arms for the first few days. You have no idea how weak your arms are until you try to lug your whole self around on them.

Why would I go to SF on crutches? Well for starters Michelle Barrionuevo-Mazzini of MB Wedding Design and Events had put together The Knot event that evening. The second reason was because Evonne Wong was visiting again from Hawaii. I picked her up after she got out of the Orpheum Theatre to see Wicked. In order to make sure I found parking close to the San Francisco Design Center where I could then easily hobble back to the car at the end of the night we got there early. So there we were with time to kill. I knew Pâtisserie Philippe was just a couple of blocks away so we headed over.

Evonne had "Pate Sucre with Pastry Cream and Fresh Raspberries"

For my foodies... I know It's been awhile... Have you all been waiting for some extreme close up dessert photos? Just looking at these photos is making my mouth water. *Drool* These amazing pastries were at Pâtisserie Philippe located in SOMA on 8th Street in San Francisco right off the circle.

My dessert, Pear Frangipane, was to die for.

Here's a close up: Poached pear baked in sugar crust and frangipane with a very thin layer of raspberry preserve. The crust was SO AMAZING! If a picture says a thousand words then obviously you already know there's only one word left me for to say about this particular Pâtisserie: GO!

After our sweet treats we headed over to the San Francisco Design Center to hear a presentation by The Knot.com. I love these industry events when you get to meet new people and see old friends.

The SFDC might look familiar because it's where the Promises and Pearls showcase was held last year.

It's always fun when Evonne comes to town. Even though she lives in Hawaii thanks to Facebook she seems to already know EVERYONE! Here she is with Suzanne Wong from Cards Deluxe.

And with Duncan Reyes. When I happened upon them they were speaking to each other in Pidgin English.

Kathy Goodman from Well Rehearsed came by to say hello and gave me one of her super cute and yummy cupcake pops!

This was the first time Jubilee met Evonne. We had so much fun chatting at the knot event that later Jubilee joined us for dinner.

And here is Caroline Winata of Tinywater Photography with Evonne. I'm not sure what Evonne was drinking that night but whatever it was it must have been healthy. Well a little healthy :) Those are fresh blueberries floating in her glass. Blueberries are a superfood literally packed full of antioxidants. Steven Pratt M.D. calls them brainberries because they're full of phytonutrients so they're also supposed to be really good for our brains.

A very great idea was that guests were encouraged to bring food to the event to be donated to the food bank. It really warmed my heart to see the bin overflowing with offerings. I wish we did this more often as an industry, contributed to our communities.

LOL after we left The Knot party Evonne and I headed over to Home at the intersection of Market and 14th in the Castro for a late dinner. To make the evening even more fun Jubilee Lau and Jean Marks
joined us. LOL Here they both are photographing their dinners for their blogs :P

Both Jubilee and I had the duck spring rolls. I have to say that if I go back for dinner I'll be more tempted to order a side of Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes.

I ordered the Brussels sprouts but Jubilee ate more of them then I did. LOL. I didn't mind though. I was glad she liked them so much. In fact here's my kick ass (Firefly knock off) brussels sprout recipe that I highly recommend.

Sometime between Brussels sprouts and dessert Armando popped by and hung out with us for a bit cracking us up and then totally surprised us by treating us to dinner and dessert! Thanks again Armando!

Jubilee ordered this dessert but I only took a bite because I'd ordered a bourbon soaked banana bread pudding to-go to eat for breakfast the next day :P