Author: keep up with k.tap

verde supper club – part two

you know those friends that just make your heart overflow because they see you, understand you and lift you up? that is exactly why my wednesday night happy hour turned dinner turned late night living room lounge session with dana made my entire week exponentially better. it only makes sense that someone who so effortlessly makes my heart full does the same with our tummies.

if you are new to my blog, do yourself a favor and take in all of the wonder that is verde supper club. the one i attended last summer was truly an experience but let me tell you – not just the cuisine but the venue (starr lake vineyards) of the second one i attended was TO DIE FOR.

view from our dinner table at starr lake vineyards

since my friend got sick shortly before my first supper club, i flew solo. luckily, dana surrounds herself with phenomenal people so the conversation at dinner was captivating. for this one, i was fortunate enough to have my friend melissa join me. with her being a fellow foodie and wine lover, i knew we would be in for an incredible evening from start to finish. as always, dana did not disappoint.

let’s dive into the menu!

verde supper club menu – as soon as we saw it, we knew we were in for a treat!
amuse bouche – melinda’s famous smoked salmon on an “everything but the bagel” focaccia crostini with whipped ricotta, fresh herbs and fried capers – served with bricoleur flying by the seat of our pants brut

as someone who eats smoked salmon a couple of days per week as part of my breakfast, this is something i knew i would love. the fried capers added great flavor and texture.

first course – shrimp aguachile with tomatillos, serrano chiles and kumquats – served with the beautiful beverage below

the la girl in me could not get over the shrimp aguachile. it tasted like summer, especially when paired with the vibrant aqua fresca. from start to finish, it was so fresh and flavor packed.

pineapple and mint agua fresca with vida mezcal

dana frequently has me venture outside of my comfort zone. while mezcal is not something i typically seek out, if this pineapple and mint agua fresca with vida mezcal was available by the gallon, i would be all over it.

second course – vichyssoise with seared scallops, smoked maitake mushrooms and truffle oil – served with ram’s gate sonoma coast chardonnay

my love for seafood truly felt catered to, especially with this being the third dish in a row with seafood. there was such variety in terms of the type of fish and more importantly, the preparation. many of us at the table were not people who would seek out a chardonnay and were pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed it, specifically when paired with the vichyssoise.

third course – “the untaco” homemade bacon fat tortilla, au poivre aioli, arugula, green apples, shaved fennel and sous vide pork roast – served with leo steen saini farms chenin blanc 2022

there is no circumstance where i would be saying no to a homemade tortilla, especially when it has bacon fat. this taco was so phenomenal that one of the guests (who ended up sending me a magnum bottle of pinot noir after losing a bet) walked into the kitchen to request another one. they were that good.

fourth course – homemade mediterranean spiced lamb sausage, sautéed peppers and onions and yogurt garlic sauce – served with bella lily hill estate zinfandel 2019

i am a sucker for lamb and this homemade sausage was not too gamey, even for the people at the table who do not typically consume lamb. it was smart of dana to not serve us carbs on this plate because we needed space for the next dish…

fifth course – rigatoni with braised short rib ragu – served with wilson snake patch petite sirah 2019

even after midnight in our hotel room, melissa said, “do you know what i would give for that braised short rib rigatoni? literally anything.” did i laugh? yes. was it to avoid crying because we did not have any? also, yes. the braised short rib was so tender. the rigatoni? just al dente enough to carry the weight of the short rib. the petite sirah? our side of the table couldn’t just have a single pour because it not only tasted wonderful with our pasta, it tasted wonderful all on its own.

dessert – lemon cheesecake ice cream with almond poppy seed crumble

if i was choosing a single dessert for the rest of my life, it would be ice cream. dana does me in every single time because she makes all of her ice cream from scratch. added bonus? it was not a dessert drowning in chocolate. i would gladly take fruit flavored ice cream (especially something like lemon) daily if possible. the almond poppy seed crumble is something i would have been happy to just eat by the handful.

i did not think it was possible but somehow, dana created an even more spectacular supper club menu than the one i had attended months before. who could say no to a traveling, intimate, multi-course dining experience with wine/beverage pairings? i will be back as many times as she will have me.

to find out when and where the next verde supper club is, follow them on instagram!

xoxo,

k.tap

thought of the week: impact > longevity

i hope summer has been treating each of you well. it is unfathomable that we are in mid august. if you are in california like me, you are likely ready for fall weather because this humidity has been total bullshit.

anyway, i have really missed blogging on a weekly basis. i was chatting with my twin a couple of months ago about how it didn’t feel right to allocate time each week to post when i had as much going on in my life both personally and professionally. in june, i told her that i had a feeling august would be the most stable month of my year thus far and fortunately, that was spot on. it only seemed right to start with a thought of the week.

i consider myself to be rich in my relationships. my grandfather often says that i have this “special something” passed along from my grammy to my mom and uncle and now, to me. the four of us tend to form genuine connections with people no matter the environment – we could be at work, school, the grocery store, a music festival, you name it. over the years, i have been fortunate enough to pick up members of what i’d call my “chosen family” along the way. some i have been fortunate enough to have since i was a baby (like my godsister) and others, i have connected with in the last year (like my colleague turned friend, wilson) since being back at scu. while longevity in relationships is something i deeply appreciate, especially because there are certain things a person is able to have a deeper understanding of because of watching you live/work through a particular experience, the older i’ve gotten, the more i’ve realized how frequently we will give certain behaviors a pass due to longevity while discounting other relationships due to brevity.

there are people who have only been in my life for a handful of years who i truly have reciprocal relationships with – that is more than i can say for some whom i share a bloodline with. i am now in a space where i am hyper aware of the way a relationship adds, or in some cases, subtracts from my life. i am asking myself what was learned? am i better for having the relationship? does the relationship have balance? is the relationship authentic? these questions have truly helped me determine what and who is worth pouring into. this quote summed it up perfectly:

“i have stopped measuring the success of any relationship based on its longevity. instead, i look at its impact. the way the relationship has shaped, changed, inspired, or wounded me speaks to what the relationship really was.” -sara kuburic

what have you been measuring – the longevity or the impact?

xoxo,

k. tap

on fridays, we wear fringe

every year, i purchase my coachella tickets in june for the following april (before the lineup even is released). shortly thereafter, we book a house. no later than january, i am searching high and low for outfit options. this year, that did not happen and i was PANICKED.

early last week, it occurred to me that i had done zero shopping whatsoever and that coachella was less than two weeks away. every year, at least one of my outfits has been from asos. i quickly went to their site to see if there was anything that caught my eye and immediately fell in love with this little fringe number!

coachella vip – weekend one – day one

i never say no to a little black and knew as soon as i tried it on that i would be wearing it long after coachella. it was initially $50 which i would have been happy to pay, especially because a dress is an entire outfit. imagine my surprise when it was on sale for just $30?! getting it was a no brainer.

one of the things i love most about asos is their inclusive sizing. whether you wear a 00 or a 28, need short pants or an extra long pair, need maternity wear or a wedding dress in an extended size, they have it all.

if you go to coachella, where is your favorite place to get outfits from? do you go for aesthetics, comfort or both?

xoxo,

k. tap

thought of the week: your hard work should be celebrated

historically, i have been pretty fortunate to have amazing supervisors at my places of employment. this year is no different. working with her has helped me grow both as a person and a clinician.

when i am facilitating therapy groups, typically i start with “rose, bud, thorn” – a rose is a high point of the week, a bud is something they are looking forward to in the upcoming week and a thorn is something that was unpleasant during that week. while this is still a great way to start therapy, something my supervisor has us do during every check in is a “high, low, did well” – high and low are comparable to rose and thorn however a “did well” is something you accomplished/are feeling proud of. this got me thinking…

how often do we stop to give ourselves credit for our accomplishments?

if i’m being honest – i don’t do this often enough in my own life. do my clients acknowledge their own accomplishments outside of sessions with me? have we been taught that this is arrogant instead of being affirmative? when i came across this quote, it nearly leaped off the page.

“it is okay to be proud of yourself & your accomplishments. it’s okay to smile when you look at what you’ve achieved. your hard work should be celebrated. you’ve earned this.” #fleurdelisspeaks

in march, i am proud of being consistent with personal training, seeing many of my clients become stronger versions of themselves, prioritizing sleep and being more intentional with communicating regularly with my dad.

what are you proud of from the last month? how are you celebrating?

xoxo,

k. tap

33.

it is hard to know where to begin. so maybe we start with a photo of the finished product?

photo evidence of what it looks like when i relinquish control and let my friends show up for me – theo, i adore you.

thirty fucking three. saying 33 out loud as my age and not just pippen’s number (felecia and i just finished rewatching the last dance docuseries a couple of weeks ago) is wild. however, after how touch and go 31 was for me, i promised myself i wouldn’t just celebrate milestone birthdays. each year is worth celebrating. each day is truly a gift. theo knows this is my mindset. that’s part of why he called me out in january. well, it is more like he called me in.

theo knows i am a planner by nature. neither of us could remember the last birthday i celebrated without looping in the appropriate parties with less than 90 days notice. so imagine theo’s surprise when it was sunday, january 15th, and he had not received an invitation to anything. february 13th was just around the corner. instead of beating me up, he asked me about each area of my life. we talked about it all – family, friends, work, wellness, love life, etc. what we realized is that each area of my life seemed off balance – so much so that with the free moments i did have, i simply did not have the capacity to plan my birthday, track rsvps and show up enthusiastically. theo got quiet and said he had something to ask me. his next words were:

“kristin. i am going to propose an idea. your natural response/gut reaction will be to say no but i urge you to ‘say yes’ anyway.” i waited to what seemed like an eternity and then he said, “i want you to let me plan and host your birthday this year.”

y’all. i was FLOORED. you know the last time someone else planned a full fledged birthday party for me was? 1999. i was turning nine and mark + felecia rented out skate depot for me and all of my little fourth grade friends. every year since then, i have taken lead on this. i’ve had some great celebrations whether i kept it local in la, turned up in vegas, went wine tasting or a boozy brunch, the thing that each year had in common was spending time with people i love. even though i nearly had a stroke at the thought of letting someone else plan my birthday, i asked myself what i would tell my clients and i knew the answer: let the people who love you show up for you – there is power in relinquishing control.

i did exactly that. the rest? well, it was magic.

my mom, misu and i showed up to one of my favorite restaurants in the bay – meso mediterranean. when i arrived, not only was our private room beautifully decorated, so many people i loved from different chapters of my life were all in one space. there was no longer a need to wonder what someone they had heard many stories about was like in the flesh because they got to soak up that energy in real time.

friendships with start dates ranging from 2008 to 2016 and the thing they all have in common? being beautiful badasses.

with each table i approached, my heart bursted all over again. the love in the room was equal parts overwhelming and intoxicating.

you know when you meet someone and they instantly feel like family? that’s how it was with these two.

realizing that people had traveled up from la and down from sf/oakland/sacramento was so heartwarming.

when your old coworkers function more like sisters

theo had arranged a slideshow. it was amazing to see photos dating back from 2007 and was truly a testament to how we’ve watched each other grow up. we looked like babies because we were! being back at scu where it all began was such a full circle moment. being able to celebrate with people i met at scu whether it be in undergrad or in grad school while in reslife was incredible.

the og scu reslife crew – i married the two on the right this past fall!

seeing old and new friends laugh, toast with my mom and entertain misu while i was with each guest was the best.

my mom and many of my friends who are like her adopted children/nieces/nephews

and just when i thought i couldn’t be more grateful, theo directed our attention to the screen below. there was video after video of loved ones who couldn’t be there to celebrate but were there in spirit. many of the messages moved me to tears. oftentimes, people don’t get their flowers while they can still smell them. i was fortunate enough to get plenty (both literally and figuratively) this past weekend.

theo and evan are also the most attractive couple in the world. don’t @ me.

evan (theo’s partner) not only helped theo host but took photos of me with each of my guests and gifted me the most thoughtful card and gorgeous bouquet with sunflowers. they are on my nightstand as we speak.

while i was hesitant to be vulnerable and relinquish control, i am so glad i did. there are not enough words in the english language to thank you, theo. just know i love you so much and appreciate you yesterday, today and always.

i’d kiss you a thousand times over if i could

the icing on the cake? the party not ending until nearly 11pm and being able to laugh like this with my grad school bestie.

therapists can have fun, too!

misu being in bottle service was a life goal. it has now been fulfilled!

misu as security
misu soaking up the club vibes

kicking off 33 has highlighted the importance of practicing what i preach, remembering to pour into people who pour into me and always being grateful.

happy birthday kristin!

it truly was a happy birthday. i am looking forward to my 33rd trip around the sun.

xoxo,

k. tap