16 in 16
We rang in the New Year with our bffs from the city. We kept it low key and had homemade clam chowder, popovers, and brownies with the delicious bourbon salted caramel sauce I posted about last week. Then, after dinner the real fun began.
Concept
Inspired by friends that did something similar in 2015, we created our list for something we’re calling 16 in 16. The idea was to come up with 16 things to do during the year. They ranged from outdoor adventures to famous restaurants to new experiences. Neither couple thinks they’ll settle down on the West Coast and have very strong ties/spent our whole lives in the South East. Part of the reason this idea sounded like so much fun was because it gives us a chance to hold ourselves accountable for doing a lot of those things that we always talk about. Those things that we promised ourselves we would do when we moved out here on this grand adventure, but have watched fall through the cracks and get buried in the crevasses of everyday life. It’s so easy to be short-sighted. To know you’re tired and crave rest and relaxation and familiarity at the end of a work week instead of new adventures and putting yourself out there in a way that (for me) can feel exhausting. But, then you get a little further out and look back and regret that you didn’t make more of the time spent in this special, but fleeting place. I don’t want that to happen and that’s why this list is so special.
Creation
We all came prepared with 8 ideas because we figured there would be some overlap. From those 32 we whittled it down to a list of 16. There weren’t any rules on what items could make it on the list. They could be big or small, expensive or free, local or not. But, for the most part they were things we had never done before OR we had done but thought it was really awesome and knew the others hadn’t yet.
Xan created a chart for each of us to write our ideas on. Armed with different colored stickers we first went through each list and voted on one item. This was to ensure that everyone had at least one item from their list of8 that made it on the final 16 in 16. Though that didn’t end up being a problem at all. To lock-in the remaining 12 spots went in order placing stickers next to the items we wanted. You couldn’t sticker something more than once. And after an item received 3 stickers it made it to the list. It was a draft of sorts and was a lot of fun.
The List
So, here are the things that made it. They can be done whenever and in whatever order. We’ve already checked-off two of them and made reservations for a third.
1. Warriors game
2. Eat hot pot
3. Tree Bones Resort in Big Sur
4. Golden Gate Fields ($1 beers and hotdogs!)
5. Giants Game
6. Trip to Portland, Oregon
7. Drinks at The Alembic DONE!
8. Exploratorium After Dark (Thursdays 6:00-10:00)
9. Eat at Cha Cha Cha DONE!
10. Go to a comedy show
11. Charter a sail boat
13. Eat at Chez Panisse
14. Go to Hardly Strictly bluegrass festival
15. See a concert at The Fillmore
16. Eat at Statebird Provisions
Alternates:
2. Pizza at Una
Here's the list Xan made - it turned out really well. We're keeping it hung on the wall in one of our closets because it's too cool to get rid of just yet.
All the stars are divvied up and ready to go!
Writing our lists. We all kept them on our phones - that's why we're all looking at them. We don't just ignore each other and stare at our phones all the time!
Xan and I made dinner and dessert and our guests were in charge of drinks. They killed it! They made several recipes from the Shake book and all of them were delicious. We actually own the book as well and have for a while, but for some reason have never made anything from it. I can tell you that if you own it too you should make some right now - they're great! Here are a couple shots of The 'Nog in the making (from page 39).