Ghiradelli Square and Kara's Cupcakes, San Francisco

Bug loves San Francisco. So much so that when she describes what heaven will be like she says "it will be even better than San Francisco". Now that's sayin' something.

Ghiradelli Square was one of Bug's favorite places in San Francisco. There's places to eat, stores to browse, and best of all, live music to dance to and get all the crazies out before bedtime.

All that energy was probably sugar-induced. Ghiradelli Square is home to Kara's Cupcakes! I had been there before , and had sampled several cupped cuties (in order to write a serious review of course) and had fallen in utter scrumptious love. I knew it was only fair to baptize Bug by buttercream too.

In this photo, she's feeling the same giddiness and irregular heartbeat I did when faced with all the delicious choices.

How to choose?!

Choose wisely, Bug.

Vanilla Sweet Cream.

A wise choice indeed!

I bet they have these in heaven.

Frog Hollow Farm, San Francisco: A Before And After Review

In September of 2009, Jay and I spent a couple days in San Francisco.  Jay was at a conference during the day, so I went exploring by myself.  A traveler I am most certainly not.  Big cities give me great cautionary pause.  But I didn't want my silly fears to hinder my time, so I was determined I'd ride the F-Line to the Ferry Building.  Here's an excerpt from my travel journal: "Jeff off to conference.  Went to hotel and got ibuprofen and sunglasses (all-important).  To Powell & Market-bought one-day pass for $11.  Then walked!  Too scared!  Then got brave and hopped on streetcar at 1st St to Ferry Building.  Yay me!"

It was at the Ferry Building that I found Frog Hollow Farm.

My journal reads "sandwiches, pastries, sweet & savory..."

"...but the fresh, organic fruit is the star."

At that time, they had pears.  Miles and miles of pears.  Knowing I was about to meet Jay for lunch at Sellers Markets, I knew I couldn't go all crazy, so I decided to try a Taylor Gold, sliced up, and arranged quite regally on a pleasantly square plate by the fantastic staff.

I remember it being delectable, and my journal entry confimrs that, describing it as "creamy, juicy, not like a regular grainy supermarket pear". 

Before leaving, I checked out the organic chutneys and conserves. 

The 'before' all sounds pretty terrific doesn't it?  Let's see...fantastic food, check.  Fresh organic fruit, check.  Beautiful conserves, check.  What could make this place better?

Oh, yeah, that's right!  A little Bug!

The second week in April '10 we spent some time in San Francisco again.  Jeff was at another conference, and this time, Bug got to come with us!  What a difference a child makes!  It was such fun showing her all the things I had discovered and watching her face as she took it all in.

After exploring the Ferry Building for a while, Jay met up with us for some lunch, and where else would we go but Frog Hollow?

Bug loved lunch at Frog Hollow Farm.  And while there were no pears this time, we devoured lots of other deliciousness. 

Jeff had a chicory salad with grapefruit and avocado in a citrus vinaigrette.  It was out of this world! 

I had the avocado toast.  Chewy, thick slices of crusty onion bread, toasted and rubbed with garlic, then topped with perfectly fresh avocado slices and freshly ground black pepper.  OH!  My mouth is watering over this memory!

Bug had a fruit salad and then finished off my avocado toast.  The only way she pried it out of my still-living fingers was by being so cute and offspring-like.

We shared some empanadas--one carnitas and one ham and cheese. Mmmm. Chewy. Flaky. Meaty.  Cheesy.

Using the same tactics as mentioned above, Bug managed to get the last bite of the ham and cheese empanada.

We drank from cups made from plants.  I love this city.

So the verdict?  'Before' visit: wonderful, fun, interesting.  'After' visit?  Take the 'before' visit and multiply it by 10.  Everything tastes better with a little Bug. 

Cafe Madeleine – San Francisco

Cafe Madeleine is located on O’Farrell and is as cozy as you might hope your morning coffee destination to be.

There’s an incredible display case of pastries, over which I agonized and salivated.

Deliciousness abounds in this cafe

as does the comforting aroma of coffee.

The mocha comes topped with a spectacular chocolate whipped cream made fresh daily.

Jeff got the French Roast and I needed a toasted bagel to start the day.

I’m one to get overly excited about food, even a common, everyday bagel.

I couldn’t wait to crunch into my toasty breakfast.

Yum!

But the excitement was only getting started! See what I mean:

The Cassis.

Feast your eyes on this beauty. Layers of spongecake and passion fruit mousse topped with a layer of berry mousse, black currant glaze, and fresh fruit.

It was a heavenly treat.

So early in the morning. What a way to start the day.

Cable Cars – San Fransisco

So. If you’re going to ride the cable cars in San Francisco at night, you should be properly attired. Meaning, dressed warmly.

A certain someone’s husband forgot a certain neccessity. So we suited up at Macy’s. And I, of course, documented the activity.

Yep. It fits.

It was a beautiful, misty evening.

But I, unfortunately, had a headache.

The sights, the lights,

the cold breeze, and the thrill

of vintage transportation didn’t make my headache go away.

But it sure was fun.

The next day, I hopped back on the cable car

to ride to the Cable Car Museum.

I still don’t fully understand how it all works.

But that’s why some of us are engineers and some of us are bloggers.

Golden Gate Bridge

This is about as much as we saw of it.

Nothing like spending the morning eating cupcakes and being without kids for the first time in three years to get an old married couple acting drunk and disorderly.

Not that I would change one iota of my life. But you know…

For just 2 mornings, to sleep in til 8 am…

To not have a mental note of each child’s bowel movement or lack thereof and be wondering if it was due to the bananas and cheese and applesauce in one meal and the fact that I forgot to pick up prunes on the last trip to the market and why won’t she just drink more water for heaven’s sake…

To go out to dinner and not take an extra bag for bibs, sippy cups, wet wipes, teethers, bottles, and extra-large, biodegradable toilet seat covers for a conscientious 3 year old and how in the name of love are we going to fit the double stroller in there…

Well, it’s enough to warrant drunken and disorderly conduct.

Sometimes it’s liberating to post stupid pictures of myself.

To laugh in the face of my crows feet and stop hiding behind pictures of my joeys.

I’m 32 (for a few more weeks). My face is aging like nobody’s business. I’m a mom to 3. I look like it. I act like it. And I’ve got the mini van to prove it.

But right now I’m having a really great time at the hidden Golden Gate Bridge.

Oh look, the fog cleared.

Jay thought we could take a photo of the informational kiosk’s photo and pretend that was our own photo. Except this photo looks all retro and so not like any photo we could take. So that fog-busting photo scheme was quickly canned. I can’t stop saying photo.

A nice couple offered to take our picture. And then they told us to lay off the booze so early in the day.

Then we started home. And spent most of the trip talking about the kids and how much we love them and missed them. I couldn’t wait to get back to the bowel movement mental notes. Really. The responsibility of it all keeps me grounded and centered and content.

There’s nothing sweeter in the world than being parent.