Walker Stalker Con

Once again, Walker Stalker Con was in town, so being that we are Walking Dead fans, we knew we were going to see them again!

Naturally, we all have our favorite characters (past & present), but for this season (call me crazy), I totally cannot dislike Jeffrey D. Morgan's character, "Negan." I think I liked him too much on Grey's Anatomy and The Good Wife to see him as this evil bad guy!

When I saw he was on the lineup at Walker Stalker Con, I knew that if I was going to pay for any picture with a celebrity, it would be HIM!

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. My sis in-law actually surprised me by buying me a voucher to take a picture with him, but we waited in the wrong area and missed him!!! I was bummed inside, but they said we could take a picture with the cast from Boondock Saints. And you know who is a part of that? Norman Reedus who plays "Daryl!"

So here we all are! I literally rushed to stand by him in the pic! My daughter was thrilled because he hugged her!! You can say I was a little star struck!

And here's a little grid of some of the other actors we were able to talk to! They are all so down to earth!!

Fantastic Voyage

One of our favorite concert venues is Yoshi's in Oakland. When I saw that Lakeside was performing, I knew I had to get tickets!!

The House Of Prime Rib

My brother in-law and his buddy were in town for the Giants game, and by a very rare chance, they were able to make last minute reservations at The House of Prime Rib! My brother in-law has never been there, so we were all excited to see his reaction!! We love this place!!

 

 

Last Day of Spring Break

On the last day of our kids spring break, we decided to take the kids to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the city, and then to Mount Davidson for a little sightseeing! 

My husband and I went there a few months ago, and it's just gorgeous! The trail is easy, it's green everywhere, and on a clear day, you can see the bay bridge! 

There was a scene from Dirty Harry filmed at this cross.

 

Of course, we had to take a picture in front of it! 

So green!!

 

That view!

 

My boys ready to shoot more footage!

More selies!

 

Another one...

And one more!

Old Friends Getting Together In Memory of A Friend!

A few weeks ago, we got the heartbreaking news that a friend from back in the day had passed away. We all lost touch with this person many years ago, and we all wish we knew he was sick because I know we would have found a way to get in touch with him. So, we all decided to get together in memory of him. It was amazing to catch up with all these people I haven't seen in years. Of course, we see each other on Facebook, but not the same as interacting in "real life." The blessing was that his sister was there to meet all of us, and hear all these great stories we had with her brother!! 

The token group picture!!!

We went back to our friends house for dessert, coffee, & karaoke!

I was super stoked to see my long time friend!!!!!!!!!!!

My sis, Lisa (her house) and me!
 

Weren't We Just Here?

 Here we go/went again!

Back at the city this past weekend, and it was a really great getaway! This time we were celebrating my husbands birthday in advance!

Since we go so often, we try to change it up. I look on Yelp and try to find restaurants that we've never been to before, and we like to add in a new activity. This time, we decided to see a comedy act, and I'm so glad we did. The guy was hilarious!! Totally worth it!

For our early dinner, we ate a E Tutto Qua. It won an award for the best pasta in San Francisco! Everything was delicious and homemade, from the bread to the dessert! My husband said this is now our "go to" place! Not only that, the service was amazing!!!

 

We started off with their Roman style pizza! This was their Pizza Classica. Prosciutto, arugula, fresh mozzarella, and tomoato sauce.

 

My husband had their signature dish, Paccheri Golosi. Large tube past with prosciutto, porcini mushrooms, and truffle oil in a cream sauce.

 

I had their Fettucine al Salmone. Flat house-made noodles with asparagus and smoked salmon in a cream sauce. Sooo good!

 

For dessert, I had to try the Souffle al Cioccolato. 

My husband had the Panna Cotta

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel with minutes to spare before our walk to the comedy club. It felt good to walk after that meal!!

 

For breakfast, we headed over to Little Skillet. Love.That.Place!!!

And, lastly, another token picture!

Sis Back In Town

Whenever my sister and her family are visiting, time just goes too fast. They have to split their time with our family here, and with her in-laws in SoCal. So, the time we do have with them is even more sentimental.

Bay With Bae

My husband and I just can't have enough "baycations." I'm thankful and blessed that we still do enjoy each others company, and purposely plan these times together.

Again, our "go to" place seems to be San Francisco. Considering he's there everyday, he never gets tired of it. Either do I, honestly. I used to go there a lot with our parents when we were kids, so that probably has something to do with it, too.

We normally don't do the touristy thing, but once in a while I like to check out some of the more popular places to visit.

Since the weather was gorgeous, I wanted to go to the Ferry Building. It's right on the Embarcadero and they have shops and little restaurants you can eat at. You can't beat the view, either. You have the Bay Bridge right there, and also a Farmers Market if you get there early enough.

Since we were going to have a big dinner, we decided to have a light lunch and share a sandwich from Boudin. So good!! The turkey cranberry is the best!

 

After we were done eating, we walked across the street to the Ferry Building. 

The Bay Bridge

I had to try the empandas from here! They were so delicious!

The view from our room. 

We freshened up and headed out to an Italian Restaurant that we were trying out for the first time.

Risotto ai Frutti di Mare

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

Never skip dessert!

Cannoli


Lemon Sorbet

Another Date Night

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were on our way to the city (again) for an awards ceremony. We were so late! The traffic that night was crazy, and of course, there was no parking close to the hotel. So, what did we do? We decided to just skip it and head to dinner somewhere else. My husband has his favorite Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco, so that's where we went! I'm glad we did because what I ordered was delicious!!

All dressed up and ready to go!

This was the bomb! Shaken beef (filet mignon) served with garlic noodle.

Korean style short ribs. Yum!

Lunch With Mama

My mom loves it when she gets to spend time with her grandkids. She especially loves going out to eat with them! Since my other kids had plans already, I took her to lunch with the two youngest. She wanted Red Lobster, so that's where we took her. Back in the day (years ago), my husband and I used to eat here all the time when we were dating. And after all these years, I still order the same thing. Crab Alfredo!

Mom and I!

I'm not sure when they started adding fried veggies with the fried calamari?

Mom shrimp platter. Shrimp alfredo, garlic shrimp, and friend shrimp. My son ordered the same thing.  

My daughter ordered the same thing as me. She didn't care for it though.

The "babies" of the family.

Our Annual Valentine's Getaway

It seems like a tradition now, that my husband and I always go on a "baycation" every Valentine's Day! And for some reason, we are always drawn to the city! I think it's the night lights, the sounds, the food, and feeling far, but still close to home! But, not only that, you can go anywhere in the city and not have to be dressed up..lol! Not that I don't like to, but it's way more fun to eat in comfy clothes!!

We wanted to try an Italian restaurant we have never been to before, so we decided to check out Trattoria Contandina. Not a huge place, either. If we took our kids, we would take up a third of the restaurant, lol. The service was excellent, the food was delicious, and we will definitely be back!

This was us after we played tourist in the city! We headed to dinner after this.

The bread was so good. Or, we could have been starving!

This dish is what their restaurant is known for. I can see why! Delicious! 

Carlesimo | rigatoncelli | pancetta | porcini | peas | sun-dried tomatoes | spicy tomato cream

This was just as tasty!

Ravioli con Fungi | Far West Fungi porcini ravioli | mushrooms | marsala | cream

We never skip dessert. Champagne Lemon Cheesecake. DIVINE!

Spumoni Layered Ice Cream Cake