Sensing Sunday: April 17, 2011

(San Francisco Giants: World Series 2010)

Hearing: The Mr. and I watched VH1's '40 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 90's' and, after a couple of glasses of wine, I seemed to remember every one of them with drunk girl gusto. I might have let out a few embarrassing 'Ooh this was my jam back in 1994 (pretty much through 1999)!' With this one I remember being very disturbed that whenever it came on in the car my mother would crank it up....

Seeing: Finally something other than the Giants play in Arizona for four hours today. I think I might have taken not one, but two catnaps during the game that went 12 innings with the Giants losing 6-5. With the two pitches that doubled over both a Giant and a Diamondback, I think it was more painful to play today than to watch. I can't wait until Cody Ross gets back into the game. I miss my 'baseball boyfriend' (don't worry the Mr. knows all about it)

Smelling: My shampoo and conditioner. Still in my pajamas but at least I managed a shower.

Tasting: Nothing, yet. I am hoping to test out a new cupcake recipe that I have been dreaming about all week. Dulce de Leche cupcakes...mmm....

Feeling: Like the weekend was way too short this week. I feel as if I didn't get anything accomplished. I have to remind myself that I wasn't a complete lump. I did our taxes (ugh, don't ask), took a little drive to look at some potential property (since the Mr. is letting me indulge in my daydreams this week), did some grocery shopping at Trader Joe's (I LOVE that place) and tackled some laundry. I didn't have to clean the house this weekend, the Mr. did it for me. What a swell guy!

Japantown

(Japantown, San Francisco)

A couple of weeks ago, I got the wild hair to make another trip to San Francisco. The weather had been terrible in the valley and I was just itching to get away. I called my brother and as luck would have it, he had a rare Sunday off. The Mr. and I got an early start and made our way into my favorite city.
I love being a tourist in this town. I love it because every trip you can be a different type of tourist. I have loitered around the Marina with the Pup and the Mr. pretending to be one of the hoity toity. I have taken shots with a drag queen in the Castro with G by my side. I have cruised around the dilapidated buildings and taken in the reverse view of the city on Treasure Island. I have been the only female on a deep sea fishing boat and caught the biggest salmon of the day on rough waters right outside the San Francisco Bay (My proudest moment that day? Making sure that I didn't lose my breakfast burrito in front of all the guys...that and my fish of course!). The list really does go on and on and on....
This trip we trekked over to Japantown.
I had forever been wanting to make my way to Soko Hardware. I had heard fantastic stories of teapots, chopsticks, rice cookers and all things Japanese. This was the main purpose of my wanting to go to Japantown. We arrived and the very first place we stopped at was Soko Hardware...only to be completely and utterly disappointed to find out that the place is closed on Sundays. Arg! I was almost set to turn around, get in the car, and drive all the way home. I stuck it out and we made our way to the Japan Center. It was early and many of the indoor shops were still closed. I couldn't control myself when we passed by Andersen's Bakery. I was starving! The Mr. wanted to keep exploring and wasn't quite ready for breakfast yet, but lucky for me my brother is cut from the same cloth and will always stop for something sweet with me. We decided to be thrifty and agreed to split a pastry and we each had a cup of coffee. We split the cream cheese and walnut brioche and it really hit the spot. We leisurely ate our snack and did some serious people watching. Everyone was in costume, everyone was a walking anime character. No, there wasn't a parade. No, there wasn't a festival. This was just their normal Sunday garb. More power to them. Only in San Francisco will you be able to find a place where, if you want to stroll around in costume and do some casual Sunday shopping...you can. As my brother and I sat, the Mr. continued to explore the shops around us. After we ate we joined him and headed to the second level. We passed a crepe counter and I wished I hadn't already had my breakfast. The Mr. decided that he wanted a crepe and ordered a savory one of ham and cheese. It looked great and the art of making the crepe was even more impressive to watch.
After we had exhausted Japantown, we decided to make our way to Chinatown.
The Mr. and I had been here on one of our last trips but as we walked through the gates I quickly realized that this trip was going to be different. We had walked right into the middle of the Chinese New Year celebrations. The streets were packed with people, vendors and a wash of bright colors. The brightest being of course red. It is the year of the rabbit and everywhere you look you can see it. It was amazing. I tried to call my dad to have him meet us there because I knew he was in town. I knew this because; number one, he told me he was going to be there with my stepmom, the nieces, and his pup Sam... and number two, he was driving right in front of us when we were making our way down Lombard to pick up my brother. What are the odds of that?? I was driving and the Mr. says 'Why is this old man driving so slow?' I took a closer look and replied 'That old man is my dad!' Small world.
I wasn't able to reach him, and after hitting up a couple of the shops (where I scored a teapot on clearance for only $1.99!), we decided that it was getting close to lunch. The Mr. had done some research and found what he thought would be the perfect place to get some oysters on the half shell. We started for the Waterbar on Embarcadero, right beneath the expanse of the Bay Bridge. Everything on the menu looked appealing and interesting. It was hard for me to settle on what I wanted. I ultimately decided on the grilled cheese with a black truffle spread and cauliflower soup. I knew I would be sampling some of the oysters that the Mr. would be ordering so I paired it with the drink special, a Moscow Mule. My brother ended up with a somewhat deconstructed cerviche and the Mr. had a spicy tuna sandwich with sweet potato crisps. Looking around the Waterbar, I had a sense of deja vu even though I had never been there before. Then it dawned on me why the place seemed so familiar...it was featured on the Real Housewives of Orange County when the housewives took a 'girl's trip' to San Francisco. It is the one where they had one of their many explosive arguments. Luckily the joint was way classier than it appeared on TV. Our last stop was the Ferry Building where I was able to make sure to get my obligatory macaron from Miette (ok, ok, my obligatory handful of macarons).
At this point we were all tired and getting a little cranky. We hopped on Muni to make it easier on us to get to the car. We dropped my brother off at his apartment in the woods and the Mr. and I were on our way home.
Another fantastic trip to my favorite city by the bay.

Japantown

(Andersen's Bakery)

Chinatown

The Waterbar

...this was the last of the picture that day because, of cousre, this is the point where the battery died. 

Picture This: Day 28

(Monsters under the Bed, Mike Cressy)

Day 28:
A picture of something you are afraid of. 
This is a hard one. I am debating on posting with complete and total naked honesty that may make me more vulnerable than I ever wish to be (which is scary enough in itself), or....maybe I should admit to something surprising and silly. Do I take the easy route or the hard one?? Hmm.....
Easy route wins out...sorry.
When I was little, it wasn't so much the dark that I was afraid of, or imaginary monsters hiding under my bed, I was afraid that someone was going to come through my window in the middle of the night and take me away. I grew up when 'Code Adam' was implemented in every shopping center and when Polly Klaus was taken from her very own bedroom, during a slumber party. Neither of those poor children survived. It was a scary thing growing up.
I had a line of defense though...I thought it was a very legitimate defense at the time. The plan that I had worked out in my head was this. As long as my feet were carefully tucked under my blankets, and I stayed very, very still at any noise I heard, then a would-be kidnapper would never see me and I would be safe.
Excellent plan...right?
I thought so highly of this plan that years later when I spent my first weeks (by myself) in my first apartment (BY MYSELF!) in San Francisco, I put this plan back into action.
I had never lived in an apartment before. I never realized the walls were SO paper thin. Waking up one Saturday morning, I heard (what I thought to have been at the time) footsteps in my front room. I was scared OUT OF MY MIND! Survivor mode kicked in. Immediately I covered my feet and laid as still as I possibly could....for 2 hours!! Finally, when I thought it was safe to get up, I carefully crept out of bed and carried on with the rest of my day.
Come to find out, this was typical apartment living.
I still cover my feet, even though I now have the Pup and the Mr. to protect me.

Picture This: Day 24

Day 24:
A picture of something you wish you could change.
I am so over the central valley. I was born and raised here and when I was younger I tried to leave. At 19 I moved away to Orange County, California. I spent an amazing year there being selfish while I immersed myself in the Theater Arts program at Fullerton College. I loved, loved loved it. Then the gravitational pull of my hometown dragged me back. Fast forward five years. I made my way to San Francisco, California. Again, I spent an AMAZING year there rooming with my kid brother for his first year at SF State. Ran out of money and again was sucked back to the Bermuda Triangle in the arm pit of California. A month after I moved back, I met the Mr. and the rest is history. Now that I am a settled married lady, I get restless that we stay here in the valley. The job market has dried up and our options seem limited. In my dream of dreams I would move back to San Francisco in a heartbeat (its seems almost obvious by most of my posts) but that isn't an option that the Mr. wants to consider. At this point I wouldn't mind starting anew almost anywhere. Wherever the wind takes us, as long as we're together is fine by me.

Run, Fat Girl, Run

Well, actually, this is the first year that I haven't felt like a fatty. The scale still tells me that I am but I am telling the scale to suck it this year. Oh yeah, and while I am at it the mirror can suck it as well.
The only resolution I made this year was to commit to the things I say I am going to do. I figured that I would end up watching my mouth and making sure that I didn't absentmindedly open it to say things that begin with "I think I am going to..." I have already shot myself in the foot and its not even 2 weeks into the year. I have committed myself to a half marathon.
I haven't fully committed myself  because I haven't yet registered, but I have said it out loud and, for this year, that is commitment enough. Drats.
My plan is to register for The San Francisco Marathon. It takes place on July 31, 2011. The tough choice I have to make is do I run the first half or the second half? The first half takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge and then a bus takes you to the finish line. The second half lets you actually cross the finish line. Decisions, decisions. I am pretty sure I will be doing the first half. I like the idea of running with the hopefuls instead of crawling with the haggard. I have a friend (Camo) that will be running it for the American Cancer Society and in my office, my coworkers (including my boss) and I have almost convinced ourselves to do it. Its not like I will be out there alone. Its not like I can SAY I ran it when really I might have been in the Marina at Judy's having their fantastic french toast. I am stuck to it now and more than likely there will be witnesses.
I am considering the Bay to Breakers as a fun little run to take some of the pressure off the big one in July. I have said I had wanted to do this every year for the past 3 or 4 years and this year marks its 100th anniversary. This year I am seriously considering it but I refuse to commit to anything.
Camo sent me a schedule that she planned to work off of (because she is a newbie runner like myself). Tomorrow I start Thursday of week one and will repeat week one next week before moving on to the rest of the schedule. I should get to bed because I have promised myself that I will wake up early and head to the gym before work....wish me luck.

A Conversation Between Siblings

In honor of my brother who celebrated his 29th birthday this week (the saddest of all the birthdays):

Found in my text log from October 28, 2010 (same day as game 2 in the World Series):

Sister: That game was retarded! Wicked retarded!

Brother: I was in class. We were updating the score on the chalkboard. Would've been fun to watch.

Sister: It just got kinda embarrassing in the 8th for the Rangers. I think I liked yesterday's better when Uribe scored that triple. That was awesome!

Brother: Yeah. I see what you mean. Still maybe now the Giants might finally start getting some respect. Sportscasters have been talking about how SF got this far on a series of flukes.

Sister: I know. I have a friend that tried to listen to some of the games on the radio instead because she couldn't stand listening to Joe Buck (I think it was Joe Buck)

Brother: Yeah. There is a lot of people in SF who watch the game on mute but listen to the local sports announcers on the radio.

Sister: Ha...oh BTW I have about 70 pages left of The Girl Who Played with Fire, I would have been done with it by now if it wasn't for the stinkin' World Series.
I like it better than the first one.

Brother: The last one is only in hardcover. Just so you know.

Sister: I know :( I might have to splurge (or borrow). I think Andrea read the series so maybe she has a copy to lend.

Brother: Check the library also.

Sister: 2 months till Archer...just sayin'...

Brother: Word.

Sister: All right peace out y'all...

Brother: Peace out y'all. *Donnie types extra loud getting weird looks from people on the bus*
(Side note: My brother and I force each other to say this at the end of every phone conversation. It is especially fun for the other when one is in a public place or with other people. Then we force that person to say it louder than usual)


Sister: *Jenny rolls eye in complete disbelief*

Brother: Whatever. I am hilarious. Bye.

Sister: Uh...in a daiquiri holding, unicorn lovin' kinda way (which you should totally be for Halloween)...bye.

Brother: Or in a Steve McQueen roadhalling Osama Bin Laden across an active volcano kind of way.

Sister: Oh one more thing, did you see the article about the World Series on the Onion? Hilarious.
Uh...isn't there still some gay subtext with McQueen? But I like the volcano part...totally not gay at all.

Brother: 2 things. I haven't seen the Onion thing yet and nothing about McQueen or fans of McQueen is gay. A mean look from him could make both Chuck Norris and the Old Spice guy go sisssies in their pants out of fear.

Sister: But the volcano...anything you want to retract from that?

Brother: There is nothing gay about geological processes.

Sister: Whatever. If I have to have this argument with you then I am just wasting my breath. Apparently you are not ready to be honest with yourself yet. Its ok, mom and I will still love you. It might take a while for dad but he will come around. He already told me that he is ok with adopted grandchildren. Its ok if DHW4 (my brother is a third, he has already promised my father that his first son will be a fourth) is Chinese, or black even. Dad's cool with that (the adoption part is totally true BTW. Dad and I had a conversation about it when he was pressuring me to make him a grandpa....long story)

At this point in the conversation my brother called me on the phone to hear the adoption story.

Happy Birthday Kid Brother!

Ooh La La: San Francisco French American Chamber of Commerce, La Soiree

I had been anticipating La Soiree for about two months. I was excited when I got my ticket in the mail. I was excited to buy something new and fancy to wear to the event. The night before I was like a kid at Christmas waiting for Santa.
I had to work all day prior to leaving for the event that started at 6:00PM. I was lucky enough to get off work an hour early and thank goodness. It was one of the worst days at work that I had had up to that point. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I left and headed strait to my friend Cocodoodle's house (not her real but one that she has had ever since seeing Coco Before Chanel together about a year ago, maybe longer. I am bad with the passing of time). After a few minutes of trying to convince her fine food obsessed sister to hop in the car with us, we were on our way.
We reached Livermore by 6:00PM and I thought, 'Great, we are making pretty good time. We will be sipping French wine and eating pate in another hour or so. At the very latest another two hours or so.'
Famous last words.
It was one of the first heavy rains of the season. While I might be a decent driver in the rain, those around me on the 580 were not. We finally reached my brother's apartment around 7:30PM. A little later than I had hoped but still early enough that we might still have a decent time. I had Cocodoodle call for a cab when we were about 15 minutes away from his place. Our plan was to leave my car there and take a taxi to La Soiree so we wouldn't have to worry about how we would get the car back to the apartment and everyone could be a little more irresponsible and no one would have to worry about being sober driver, we would let Yellow Cab handle that. We got through to Yellow Cab and an automated service let us know that our taxi would be there in 15 minutes. We gave them my brother's address, planted ourselves under umbrellas in front of his apartment in our fancy clothes and waited...and waited. After 20 minutes I called the service again. This time I reached an actual human. His only words for our taxi not being there, 'Oh, its on its way.' Click. No apology, no indication that we would be on our way anytime soon....nothing. While stranded in front of my brother's apartment we witnessed a family of raccoons sleuth and sneak from one apartment to the next across the street from us. It was strange to watch and the creep factor rose when they became aware of us across the street and all four looked up at us and froze all at once. Ten seconds later they were on their way again. After 35 minutes of waiting for the stinkin' cab, my brother's roommate walked out of the apartment.
'Hi, I am Don's sister, do you remember me?'
'Oh yeah...uh...hi...' (hesitantly)
'I just didn't want you to think that we were some creepy stalker girls standing in front of your apartment. We are supposed to meet my brother at the Metreon and we are just waiting for our cab'
'How long have you been waiting? You will never get one out here'
'35 minutes, they promised to be here in 15.'
'Do you guys want a ride? It is kinda on the way the where I am going'
'Sure'
I wasn't about to be polite and modest...who knows when the cab was going to get there?
On the way we compared stories about how unintentionally funny my brother is. She asked me why my brother will laugh loudly, alone, while watching TV. I had to admit that it was a family thing, both my mother and myself do it. It takes awhile for those that know us to understand and accept it.
We had FINALLY arrived. We took the elevator to the fourth floor, past the neo-goth teenagers, past the concession stands. We found my brother on the balcony (with one of the most amazing views of downtown San Francisco, by the way), in the rain, about 2 sheets in. His best friend may have already been at 3 sheets. Cocodoodle and I had to catch up quick.
I wanted to get some food in me first. The first table I went to had a chicken liver pate that sounds like dog food but tasted amazing. Not as amazing as the spinach terrine that was next to it. That dish was da bomb! I filled my glass with an unknown red (decent but not great) and took a walk around the place. The balcony was gorgeous but other than that the venue kinda stunk for the event. The way it was laid out, people ended up bottle-necked around some of the more popular tables, preventing others from getting by. It made mad- dashes for wine almost impossible. Next was a white, and another red. We were starting to get loosened up (ok, I was starting to get loosened up, Cocodoodle kept asking me 'Do I seem drunk? I am already drunk') We hit on another glass of red that I was sure was my favorite, Pinot Noir. What I wouldn't give to have been more attentive because that glass was fantastic! The best of the night.
Finally good and lubricated, I took in the fabulous of it all. Beautiful people speaking French everywhere (Note to self: Put that birthday gift of audio French to work and learn the language already). A strange Shakespearean nymph looking creature, on stilts! Marie Antoinette face painting unicorns on grown men when intoxicated. The men, not Marie Antoinette...
I wish we would have arrived earlier. I wish the venue would have had a better flow. I wish there would have been more desserts (although I was told that there were lots more there before we got there, drats). Other than that, this is definitely something I would do again. I am already making plans for next year.
Oh, I almost forgot the best part. At the end of the night we got our groove on to the DJ that had the strangest mashups but, after all the wine, seemed to be works of art. I also got to see that my brother could add another terrific genetic trait, that again skipped me, to the list. On top of getting the height, fast metabolism and piano player fingers, he gets to add 'sweet dance moves'. I never knew the kid could dance. When I dance I look like I am seizing and swatting at flies at the same time.
Completely unfair!

Fleet Week 2010: The Pup's First Trip to San Francisco

I swear that I do more than escape to San Francisco.
I was confronted with a very tough decision this weekend. Do I go to the Riverbank Wine and Cheese Exposition, or do I go to San Francisco Fleet Week? "Why can't I do both?" I said, and that's what I did (or at this point, plan to do). I don't know why I never really thought to take the pup with me before, considering that SF is such a dog friendly city, but I decided that today was the day to make her official debut. The pup, the Mr. and I headed out early. Well...early enough. We had a late night with friends the night before dining on huge steamed oysters, hamburgers, sausage and drinking good, cheap beer. There was too much food, including pasta salad, an amazing sun dried tomato dip that I must have the recipe for, and a delicious Chinese Chicken salad. It was so good that I was sure I didn't like that sort of thing but have now changed my mind. We ate well and sat on the edge of our seats as the SF Giants let the Braves take the win last night in the 11th inning. The night would have ended earlier for us if the Mr. and his best friend hadn't egged each other on to rally on Mario Kart for the next hour or so. At that point felt I had to step in to put a stop to it. My tactic didn't work too well  because I found myself, with Wii-mote in hand, screaming at Toad to stop falling off the edges and putting me in last place for a couple more games.
I don't know how we managed to get out of bed but we did and were in SF by 11:00am. We stopped to visit my brother at Books, Inc. so that he could give his dog-niece a doggy treat (pathetic I know, don't judge me.) and then the Mr. and I walked on until we reached Barney's. I have been here before and knew the Mr. would love it. We took a seat outside so that the pup wouldn't go nuts (she has a little separation anxiety problem). The burgers are ridiculously large but hard to stop eating. I was hoping that if I ordered the BLT that the meal might be a little more modest. I was wrong. I had to leave the restaurant with half of my sandwich because the first half was more than enough for me. The Mr. had the Chipotle Burger. He loves spicy things and is usually unimpressed when a restaurant insists that a dish is spicy because for him, it usually isn't and he is disappointed. He wasn't disappointed this time. He said the burger had quite a kick.

Oh yeah, the sweet potato fries...um...pretty much the best thing ever and the reason I return to Barney's time after time. 

Guys from Cal Berkeley decorating the neighborhood for Fleet Week. Go Bears!

 After lunch we made our way down to the water. We walked along the 'St. Fancy Yacht Club' (St. Francis Yacht Club) and strolled through the Marina Green. We walked passed displays from the Marine's and of course the Navy. Walking amongst all of the service men and woman dressed in uniform made me feel patriotic and very proud of my country. These are men and woman, as well as the rest of our military branches, who are risking their lives for the freedoms of our nation. This is something that I couldn't step up to do. No matter what your belief is about the war that we are fighting, these men and woman are the true heroes of our country. Not the celebrities or athletes that we see in front of us everyday and definitely not the pseudo-celebrities on reality television grasping at their last 15 minutes of fame. 

The best part of the day was taking the pup to Chrissy Field and finding a spot to watch the Blue Angel's Air Show. We walked to the end of the beach and let her loose to frolic with the other dogs on the beach. It was the first time that she had ever been to the ocean and I thought that she would be fearful (see THIS earlier post) but she wasn't. She charged every wave until she was tuckered out. We caught only the first part of the air show before deciding to get an early start out of the city. What we saw was terrific. I loved watching the synchronized planes leave a trail of red white and blue behind them as they passed. There were jets that, when you heard the rumble of their engines, you looked up and they were already passed you flying faster than the speed of sound. It was insane! We loved it. 

Please excuse to excessive amount of photos of my pup playing on the beach...yes, I am THAT kind of dog-momma. 

Its not the best picture but this guy was gettin' it. He made me feel very lazy for sitting on my duff watching him cruise by. 

I am a pretty sad 'action' photographer so this was pretty much the only photo I was able to get of the air show :(

One last fun note. Below was the most random, but quintessential San Francisco, photo op of the day...

Peace and Love Man! 

The 'Allllll Baaaadddd' Sunday

Sorry again for the delay between posts. Events have been happening but I have been horrible about writing them up. At this 'new' job (not so new anymore), I sit in front of a computer all day. By the time I get home I do a quick check of my emails and designated social networking site and then I try to stay away from it. This last weekend was quite eventful in fact.
First up, my good friend had her baby girl 2 weeks early on Friday morning. Both baby and mama are happy and healthy. She is too cute for words and I find myself 'cyber-stalking' her pictures online (but not in the creepy or pervy way). Congratulations T on your little OG!
I camped out in my kitchen for 2 nights working on sweet treats for the bake sale that I mentioned before. For the Saturday delivery I made, what I call, Dirty Southern Red Velvet Cupcakes and Grasshopper High Hat Cupcakes. I have almost perfected my red velvet cupcake recipe and topped it with a whipped cream cheese icing that turned out lighter than most cream cheese icings I have used before. I garnished these with homemade, chopped pralines. I mentioned these in the last post and was excited that they worked out to be the perfect topping to a cupcake favorite. The Grasshopper High Hat was a devil's food cupcake and buttercream lightly flavored with peppermint piled as high as I could get it. After setting these puppies in the freezer for a bit, I dipped them upside down in a chocolate opera glaze. I was trying to get them to taste like a peppermint patty but ended up tasting more like a Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie (which, in my opinion, was a better turnout). For Sunday I stuck to our traditional 'Monster Cookies'. This is a recipe that was handed down from the Mr.'s grandmother and I make them every year as gifts at Christmas. We also included these in our wedding favors as his childhood cookie (mine was chocolate chip and walnut that my mother used to call 'Frog Leg Cookies' to try to keep us kids from eating them. The 'frog legs' were the walnuts.) The recipe is meant to make an obscene amount of cookies and I had dough left over. I finally got around to baking the rest of them and now they are in my house looking for a home.
After dropping the cookies off at the bake sale on Sunday, I stopped to visit with my grandmother. The visit was pleasant. I left and was in a little bit of a hurry to get out of town to SF to make it to my french macaron class (taught by the same instructor at Baking Arts where I learned the opera glaze used on the High Hats) that I had been anticipating forever. I realized I forgot my phone at home and made my way there to pick it up before getting out of town. On my way there I got into a little fender bender. Everyone was alright but after the police report was taken and all was said and done I was running really late. I made it into the city 30 minutes late and could not find parking ANYWHERE! I finally gave up, called my instructor and hoped that he would call me back so that I could reschedule the class. I met up with my brother at the 'Secret Starbucks' in the Presidio. Walking out of the Starbucks we saw, hand to God, a three legged dog!! My evening was starting to look up slightly. We had some fantastic seared ahi sandwiches at Pacific Catch and we had dessert at the Grove Cafe. The Grove Cafe was adorable, when we walked in it felt as if we were in a ski lodge in the middle of the mountains. It was the perfect setting for my cheesecake and hot apple cider. I dropped my brother off and started for home.
The reason I couldn't find parking anywhere when trying to get to my class was because it was the last division game for the SF Giants (Go Giants!). I have nothing but love for the Giants, but the Giants fans in the city that evening...well...that is a completely different story. These guys had no clue how to drive in the big city. It took me 2 and a half hours to get from my brother's apartment to the other side of the bay bridge. I was beyond irritated. Oh it was alllll baaaddd.
The next day I ended up getting sick, but that is for another blog post later...

Just Can't Get Enough

I escaped to San Francisco again this weekend and it wasn't even my idea.

Friday night my dad invited the Mr. and I to a Linguica Dinner at the local Elk's Lodge. For those that don't know I am an Elk, my dad is an Elk and my grandfather was an Elk...its kinda our thing. I wish I was a better Elk than I am. I am already late with my dues for this year and I have not volunteered for one event. Oktoberfest is coming up, maybe I will volunteer to help out then....Sorry, rambling...
We all had a little too much fun at the lodge that night and ended up shutting the place down. The next morning I woke with a start because I thought my cupcake order was due Saturday morning. Come to find out it was for the next day. Now I am awake, dressed and bored. The Mr. was awake as well and he casually said to me 'You wanna do something today'
Me: 'Kinda...what were you thinking?'
Mr.: 'I dunno, fishing or something...'
Me: 'Eh, I don't really want to go fishing...'
Mr.: 'How about San Fran...?
Me: '...you don't have to tell me twice!'
I was up, on the computer checking out day trip ideas before he could even finish his sentence.
I have a book titled 'San Francisco, As You Like It' by Bonnie Wach. I love this book because it maps out wonderful day guides specific to the type of person that is visiting the city and what their interests are. Of course I want to take every single guides but I thought it was a perfect reference for someone like my husband because lots of times he is very anti-San Francisco (I have no idea what is wrong with him either). Of all days I could not find my copy so we ended up winging it. First stop was my brother's just to say a quick 'Hello' and then off to Union Square. On the way there we decided to first go to the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building and then to Chinatown. I parked in a garage in Union Square and we walked down to the market. Last time we were there we spent way too much money. This time we took a different approach. We spent a little money just sampling things. We each had an oyster for $1.50 a piece at the San Francisco Fish Company. The Mr. also had a clam for the same price. The oyster was amazing and so fresh. The Mr. said that he thought so as well and actually enjoyed the clam more.  Next stop was the Cowgirl Creamery. I can't begin to describe the smells wafting out of that place. It was incredible. I could have stood in line there all day.   We were going to buy a little sample of cheese (he wanted a Sharp Cheddar while I was eyeballing the Smoked Gouda) but the line was a little too long for us so we moved one. We passed Sharffen Berger Chocolate (which I have already tried and know how good it is) and Far West Fungi. We stopped at Boccalone and made the most expensive purchase that we made all day there. The Mr. bought a salami gift pack for $25. Miette was there as well and I can't pass that place up without buying at least two macarons. This time it was the Chocolate Lavender and the Chocolate Hazelnut. I think the hazelnut was my favorite this time...mmm....

We made it out of the market without spending all that much money and still feel that we got the full effect. I was starving and begged the Mr. to take me to lunch (although it was already around 3:00 at this point). We took the cable car up California to Grant to get to Chinatown. Many tourists don't realize that at California and Embarcadero the cable car that runs at that stop rarely draws the same crowd as the one at the  Powell stop at the base of Union Square. I hadn't ridden a cable car since I was about six years old and for $5 we spared ourselves a couple of blocks of walking uphill and enjoyed a San Francisco must-do at the same time.

We wandered around Chinatown for a bit before deciding to stop to eat at Yee's Restaurant. Walking into that restaurant was like walking into another world. Plates and plates of food was laid out on several tables when you first walk in and the smells were unbelievable. We were able to get a seat in the back and decided to split three plates. We had the Roast Pig, Broccoli with Oyster Sauce and Yee's Pan Fried Noodles. We ate like kings, had more than enough food left over to take home and were pleasantly surprised when our bill only came to be $24.00 for the both of us. We walked up to Broadway and I wished that I had enough room in my stomach for a little dessert because in Little Italy that is where you go to get amazing desserts. Unfortunately there was no room left. We walked back into Chinatown and stopped in a pet store that had a huge selection of fish. I told the Mr. that 'Who needs to spend $40 at the aquarium when we can go the Chinatown aquarium for free?'. We slowly made our way back to Union Square stopping along the way to look into all the fresh fish markets that dotted Stockton, the best ones being near Stockton and Pacific. The Mr. found a place to buy a few pork buns on Stockton as well.

After grabbing a quick coffee to get me through drive home, we made it back to our car. I was fully prepared to pay $40 for our fare but I must have read the sign wrong when we parked because our fare was only $14.00. We were back on the freeway in no time. Crossing the bridge and heading home I could see the sun start to set and a wisp of fog start to roll in and hover over the bay in my rear view mirror. I just can't get enough.

I forgot to mention this because it seemed so fleeting. While the Mr. was popped into a fish mart on Stockton I waited outside. All of a sudden I heard 'God Bless America' coming from half a block away. At the corner was a police escort directing traffic. When the song was over, the band quickly dispersed. Some left in convertibles directed by the police while others scattered on foot, headed in the opposite direction of other band mates. It really was the strangest thing.
Last thought I promise...
Below are pics of this weeks cupcake order. I used my cinnamon recipe and my chocolate recipe with a new chocolate frosting recipe that I liked much more than the one I posted previously. It was for a baby shower that a friend of mine hosted.

Very Chocolate Frosting
2 oz (1/2 stick) of butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
3 Tablespoon hot milk or water (I used coffee left over from this morning)
Whip butter until lightly fluffy. Mix together powdered sugar and cocoa power. Mix in half the sugar and cocoa into butter. Add the other liquids (milk, water, or coffee in my case) Mix in remaining sugar and cocoa until desired consistency is reached.