Someone is 3

It's amazing that someone is already 3! Well, she still sleeps with us... and I don't want to change that : )

We spent a HOT spring day in Sonoma wine tasting to celebrate this milestone and a little bit of fun at Train Town for the birthday girl!

 

 

 

Picnic lunch at the park with all kinds of MEAT. So yummy in my tummy.

 
After lunch, it was a little of shopping in downtown Sonoma and off to the next winery, Sebastiani, with some fountain splashing action to cool off.

Finally, we arrived at Train Town 30 mins before closing and explored the township. All abroad!

 

Sam Wo

When we heard that Sam Wo, a hundred year old San Francisco institution, might be shutting its doors for good, we stood in line right away! Unfortunately it was Ella's first and last time...

Although we got there pretty early, we still had to wait about 45 mins to get seated. We ended up sharing the table with this nice mother and daughter duo. The Mom have been a patron of Sam Wo's for 45 years and started taking her daughter there since she was Ella's age!

 

We ordered the usual tomato and beef chow mein and their famous BBQ park wrapped in rice noodle sheet.

It definitely brought back some memories of us eating there late at night after going drinking. Those days are gone for sure, and life goes on as so appropriately depicted by a color pencil drawing hanging in the restaurant's second floor dinning room.

Happy Birthday Ethel and Elsie

It's been a year already. My girls are all grown up and laying eggs of all sizes for our family. We love them hard boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, over easy, and raw for hot pots!

We'd really like to get a couple more to lay some blue eggs!

 

 

Vancouver

I only had 1/2 a day to spend in Vancouver on a recent trip across the border, but it was quite fruitful thanks to Yelp!

My fun started off with a late lunch at The Lion's Den Cafe.  I stumble upon it because it happened to be next to the fabric store I wanted to visit. The cafe serves Japarribean cuisine, which takes a little bit of imagination until you see the food. I had curry chicken and it was so spicy. I had to wash it down with my entire tall glass of tea to stomach it, but it was one of the best curry chickens I've had!

After lunch, I went over to Spool of Thread, the real reason for me to be around that area. They have a huge store, and an area in the back for the sewing lounge. Definitely could have had more bolts for the space they have, but it took me a while to pick out these 4 pieces. The selection is fantastic compared to what we have in SF. I think there might be a new business idea in my head... Can't wait to make matching Mommy and Ella dresses with the navy blue and heart fabric!! I especially loved the Far Far Away line.

After the fabric shopping I had to rush over to Main Street since everything closes so early in Vancouver. Most stores are done for the day at 5pm. How do they expect people with 9 to 5 jobs to shop? Anyhow, I did come across a few really cool retailers on Main Street. Front and Company, The Barefoot Contessa, Urban Source are just the few I had a chance to pop in. So many cute things, so little time, and not enough luggage space. I did get these super cute brass pieces from Urban Source though. Feeling creative!

For dinner, I enjoyed a tasting menu at an artist bar, Raw Canvas, in Yaletown. Had a nice Malbec Rose with delicious pate, blue cheese, fire roasted tomatoes, Sicilian olives, and almonds. The little bites were actually substantial enough to last me through the night. The bar had a back section dedicated to painting, which was pretty interesting to watch! Imagine a bunch of happy people with a wine glass in 1 hand and a paint brush in the other creating art. The bartender told me that the owners were actually considering opening another bar in SF. Can't wait! It'd do really well here.

It was such a nice little getaway for myself and I'll have to go back with the Family soon.

Spring is here!

Ultimate Shopping

We stopped by the Bass Pro Shop in Manteca on our way home from Modesto this past weekend. We were blown away completely by the place. It was an outdoor wonderland!

The entrance was a huge Redwood replica and the entire place was filled with taxidermy and various wildlife scenes. It was like a natural history museum!



The most impressive was this waterfall aquarium in the back of the store.



We also found some pretty humorous products. Here are a few of them.








Ella was also introduced to photography and snapped away at everything in the store.

Welcome cousin Ezra!

Good job Auntie Michee! Thanks for a new playmate : )

Big Boy debuted at 8lbs 13 oz and 21 inches. How did you do it??