About Us

They say good things come to those who wait, and I will certainly attest to that fact. For those of you who know both of us, I think you'll agree that we're pretty perfect for one another. For those of you who don't, a quick summary:

We met on a volleyball team that was assembled by our mutual friend Dan in Spring 2002. We were both dating other people, but hit it off from the beginning (Eric even attended first SmartsCo release party). We sort of lost track of each other for a few years, and then in spring of 2005, we both found ourselves newly single and ran into each other again at one of Dan's parties. We found we had a lot in common and started finding more and more excuses to spend time together -- more volleyball, going on a brewery tour, wine tasting, dinners, etc. And then, one evening after a few glasses of courage (wine), we decided we wanted to be more than friends. And it's been fantastic ever since. Everything is just easy and natural and we have so much in common. Here are just a few of passions that we share:

• California. We're both natives: Eric grew up mainly in Southern California (his folks are in Costa Mesa now), and Julie’s roots are in the Bay Area (Moraga)
• Food and wine. Eric is a fantastic chef – Julie’s happy to serve as sous chef and to select the wine.
• Skiing. Eric is a fantastic skier and skied freestyle competitively in Colorado when he lived there in Jr. High. Julie started skiing in her late- 20s, but has loved it ever since. While Julie can’t really keep up on the crazy runs Eric zips down, they are able to enjoy their chairlift time together.
• Professional interests. Both Eric and Julie are survivors of unfulfilling careers in software (Eric was a programmer and Julie was in management consulting and product management). He's now pursuing his passion and has a new career in the food industry at the delicious natural meat company, Niman Ranch, while she’s trying to write about food, wine and other of life’s greatest pleasures at the company she co-founded, SmartsCo. While our new careers seem to be much less lucrative (to date – hopefully not forever) than our old ones, we are both much, much happier.
• Music. We're both former high school musicians - Eric on the trumpet and Julie on the flute (and dabbled with piano). (NB – Anyone who loves music enough to subject themselves to the ridicule and social ostracism that's comes with being in band, is okay in my book). We both love going to opera, plays and enjoying the cultural activities San Francisco has to offer.
• Reading. We’re both proud non-subscribers to cable TV and are avid readers. One of our favorite pastimes is sitting home on a Sunday afternoon surrounded by the Sunday NY Times, The New Yorker and other books and magazines and sharing what we've learned with one another.
• And many more common interests from sailing to cheesy movies to learning sign language, and much more. The list is endless.

But the most important thing we have in common is our shared family values, spiritual beliefs, and life goals. We're confident we have a bright future together.