The holidays are here, and I’m sharing how I pulled off hosting not one, but two very different dinner parties. As someone with years of experience in food (cookbook author and photographer + food tech + food blogger), I’ve learned plenty of hosting tips and tricks to make the process fun, efficient, and stress-free.

October in San Francisco is on another level. From DIY robot costumes to visiting our favorite pumpkin patches, this month has been filled with autumn fun. We joined in the festivities at the Scaregrove Halloween carnival and ended it all with trick-or-treating in Noe Valley. And, of course, no Spooky Season would be complete without carving our first jack-o-lantern.

Join me for a joint birthday party with my husband, my very first driverless ride in a Waymo, and a delicious solo day in Japantown. Plus, I pick out a new daruma for this year’s goals and explore Fisherman’s Wharf with the fam. It’s a little bit of everything I love as I step into a new year.