Berkeley, CA

New Year's Eve, we decided on a trip up to wine country, Napa and Sonoma. But on our way, I was hell bent on having breakfast at Bette's Diner in Berkeley.

Any recommendation coming from Val has my attention!

There was quite a wait, always worth it, but coming in from frigid Alberta, we were quite happy with sitting outside in the "balmy" weather.

My eyes went right to the Banana Souffle Pancake. Yours?

The hub ordered his fave, corned beef hash.

The kid, his regular, pancakes with a side of sausage.

And then mine arrived. Ok, wipe your mouth.

Again.

And a side of grilled potatoes. Wipe again.

Of course, I had to have the recipe, so I bought the Handbook, but you can find the recipe HERE.

As if Bette's wasn't heavenly enough, just about next door was Castle in the Air. I have always wanted to go into this shop since discovering Ulla's blog many years ago.

Unfortunately, Ulla wasn't there, but the store was amazing just the same. I could have spent hours in this little space if the men hadn't been with me. (smile--kinda like the time I took the kid into Liberty of London and he wouldn't let me shop! Grrrrr.)

Yes, I found some goodies and brought them home.

There were other shops on the block and it was a lot of fun looking through them. So creative. I need to live here!

xo
ro

Ringing in the New

While in Sonoma, I found some wonderful textiles at The Corner Store. It was a delightful place to do a little shopping. Even the hub found some wonderful wines from Highway 12 Winery and had some shipped back. These table cloths are made by Lisa Corti. I have been having a hard time finding any of my April Cornell cloths around so I was quite pleased when I saw these wonderful Indian block prints as soon as I walked in the store. Little did I know, Lisa's textiles are also very hard to find in the United States. Leave it to me. I am so enamored with the colors, I redid my blog! I didn't even know, but I'm sure this was my inspiration yesterday.

Of course, I had to have these sweet pillow cases for the zen bedroom at Riverside.

I sat and sorted my papers that have been stacking up and watched the snow flurries yesterday. It has been so pretty. The birds have been gorging themselves. And I have been keeping them fed.

Poor little things. I don't think they're accustomed to this cold either. They have been using all of my bird houses I have on the porches. I don't know how they survive. But they do.

I have more Northern Cali to post on. I think I finally put my finger on why I put off doing so for so long. Perhaps once I post, I feel that's it. The time spent doing whatever is over. Poof. Gone. Just a memory. As long as I don't post, it's still fresh. I was so happy to meet up with Vallen in San Francisco, and I want to share it all with you but once I do, it's over. I have yet to post about Thanksgiving--again, not ready to let that go either.

Anyhow, I will get to these posts. Promise.

xo
ro

San Francisco Baby

We made it fine into San Francisco. Yea! It was nice to just have a denim jacket on rather than the whole array of layers you needed in Canada! As I had already mentioned, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been after the bombing attempt on Christmas day. Canadian/US Customs was pretty organized considering all kinds of new security measures.

We checked into the W and if you turned your room numbers over, you had a fortune and lucky numbers! How cool is that! Only at The W! This was the boys' room.

I loved the Asian flair.

And the foot massager!

Not to mention the beautiful quilt throws.

And the view.

After settling in for a bit, we asked the concierge where to have dinner close by. They told us to go to the Town Hall restaurant, a short walk away. It was absolutely PERFECT!

First we had drinks.

My favorite was the Dorothy Parker, minus the sugar rim. Mmmmm.

Between the four of us, we all "shared" the BBQ Shrimp, Veal Meatballs, Buttermilk Biscuits with Country Ham and Fried Oysters to begin. Yep. Gluttons! Our main courses were Pork Tenderloin with Crispy Belly, Nantucket Bay Scallops and a NY Strip Steak. We were all in heaven.

And for dessert, we had Pot de Creme with a butterscotch topping and a chocolate bombe. Ooooooof! Gonna have to tell my brother Jim about this little addition on top!

Coffee was well needed by this point!

I loved the way the bill was brought out tucked in a book.

I can't tell you how many times we all rubbed Buddha's belly.

He changed colors and was way too cool.

And this was our view as I fell asleep in San Francisco!
I LOVE San Fran!

xo
ro

Let's Try Scones Instead

. . . of the strudel. After taking another look at the "Easy" strudel recipe, I kept leafing through the Cook's Baking Illustrated cookbook until something a tad easier hit me! Blueberry/Lemon Cream Scones.

Ok, perhaps I'm really not baking "challenged." Let's say I'm baking jinxed! Granted, this Cuisinart was a wedding gift twenty odd years ago and I knew it had some pieces broken on it; but I have always made it work before. Geeeesh. When I finally did get the extraordinary safety catch rigged, I suppose I didn't have the lid all the way on and flour went everywhere! tehe. I had to giggle.

And then the spatula fell apart at a crucial moment and I had to go in looking for the rubber part. Giggle, again.

But I was able to shape the loaf in a cake pan and then transfer it over to a floured spot. Miracle!

They came out of the oven looking pretty darn good, if I do say so myself! Homemade looking? Definitely!

And so after dinner, the hub, kid and I had Christmas Scones.

And I have to say, these are one of the best things I have ever baked in my life! Truthfully. (Maybe I'm just hungry.)

And you'll be proud to hear, I am officially retiring the old Cuisinart and will begin looking for a new one out there in cyberland.

My food for thought: I don't know how I'm going to lose weight this way.

xo
ro

Khristos Rodyvsya!

Happy Ukrainian Christmas!

Not being of Ukrainian descent, I waffle from year to year as to how we celebrate. Some years, it's as simple as little toys laid out for the boys. Since the teenager isn't home any longer, I didn't even do that this year. Bad married-into-Ukrainian family mother. Oh well. Whatchya gonna do.

I am, however, thinking about trying my hand at a little baking today. (Oh my, you say.) I'll keep ya posted on that. Three p.m. and I best get cooking if I'm going to. (My Christmas present to myself.)

I think the robins are migrating a little early this year. I have been putting fresh water out for them as the ground and ponds are all frozen over. It has been terribly cold here.

Except today when we got a little dusting of snow. It warmed up a tad. Why is that?

Yesterday, I received my Christmas box from my brother Jim. We're bad that way. I have yet to mail brother Johnny's gift to him! Heathens!

For the kid.

Aso included in the box was my mom's ring which my sister-in-law had repaired. If you remember, this summer I had to cut it off her finger as her arthritis had her little fingers swollen so badly. Now I have a piece of her with me all of the time. Awwww.

Bella has been curled up, keeping warm.

Too cute.

Yes, there is a nose in there somewhere hidden under the paw.

Well, if I'm going to do this, I best be getting to it. I'm thinking about making an apple strudel. Yum. Just what I need while I'm trying to begin dieting again. Joy, joy to you all.

xo
ro