I'm Dreaming of a White Thanksgiving

Richard and I came back to a snow covered Seattle for Thanksgiving this year.  Although it meant we had to stay stranded in Bellevue for a couple days, it was nice to see a little snow to get into the holiday spirit.  This was for sure one of the first white Thanksgivings I can remember!  Here are a few pics from the holiday week…

Weekend fun-time

One of the cool things about moving somewhere new is the variety of new things you can do on the weekend.  When we lived in Washington, we always had something fun to do on the weekends weather it was going up to the pass, over to Eastern WA to spend a couple days in Chelan, up the San Juan Islands or maybe just going to Woodinville to wine taste.  There was never not anything to do!  When we were in the process of deciding if we should move to Northern California or not, we had to take this into consideration – what are we going to do?  Good thing we found there’s lots to do (found this list online, added some of my own):  

1. Check out the University of California at Santa Cruz to see the beautiful campus and the spectacular redwoods
2. See the sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco.
3. Visit the San José Institute of Contemporary Art.
4. Enjoy the beautiful homes and breathtaking coastline while driving from Pacific Grove through Del Monte ending in Carmel.
5. Go fishing off the Capitola Pier and enjoy the live jazz music on some weekends.
6. Visit the San José Rose Garden
7. Enjoy a beautiful summer day with no humidity... anywhere in the Bay Area.
8. Go to the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk.
9. See a special performance or contemporary art at Villa Montalvo in Monte Sereno.
10. Inspect the studios of emerging artists during open studios in San José or San Francisco.
11. Go to Carnaval in San Francisco
12. Buy a Ferrari at Ferrari of Los Gatos (well, maybe just look for now, Richard)
13. Have a slice of pizza at Frida's Pizza in San Francisco's Mission District.
14. Drive scenic Highway 1 from San Francisco to Santa Barbara.
15. Watch the Oakland Raiders play football at the Oakland Coliseum (this is an option, but not sure we’ll do this…even if they play the Hawks…heard it’s a rough crowd)
16. Go to the world's largest flea market in San José (tribute to Uncle John!)
17. See Chicano Art at Galeria de La Raza in San Francisco.
18. Take a Red and White boat tour of the San Francisco Bay.
19. See lowriders, Banda dancers, and much more, at the enormous San José Cinco de Mayo.
20. Walk on Valencia Street between 16th and 24th and see how cool people interact.
21. Take a cable car ride in San Francisco.
22. Enjoy international food and listen to music all weekend long during Tapestry and Talent in downtown San José.
23. Have a tasty hamburger or a crepe at the Crepevine in San Francisco's Sunset District.
24. Go bike riding or just enjoy the flowers at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
25. Take in Japanese Culture at the San José Obon festival.
26. See a painting by Frida Kahlo at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
27. Go horseback riding near Uvas Meadows in San José (I’m actually not a fan of horses, but this is an option)
28. Shop at Bloomingdale's near Stanford University.
29. Go to the traditional Thanksgiving Big Bone Game between Lincoln and San José High.
30. Have some of the best Vietnamese food in San Francisco at Tu Lan on (sleazy) 6th Street near Market. Park yourself next to the cooks (my favorite spot) and watch the cooks perform.
31. Tour the wine country in Napa and Sonoma!!
32. See art or picnic at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. The Sony Center is nearby.
33. Have some of the best pizza on earth at North Beach Pizza of San Francisco.
34. Enjoy the San José Jazz Festival at Cesar Chavez Plaza.
35. Shop in the Castro, Haight Ashbury, Mission, Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, Marina or any of the unique districts of San Francisco.
36. Have a sandwich or coffee at Robert's of Woodside.
37. Rent a houseboat on Shasta Lake. Get a tan or go fishing.
38. See the Forty-niners play football in SF (we’ll opt for this vs. Oakland)
39. Keep an eye out for whales near Davenport (and not get too close)
40. Have an ice cream at Ben and Jerry's on the corner of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco.
41. Shop at San Francisco's Goodwill or Sak's Fifth Avenue stores.
42. Fish, drink a soda and eat calamari at the Santa Cruz Pier.
43. Be cool and eat at the Spork Restaurant in San Francisco on Valencia Street near 21st.
44. Listen to music or dance in a club in San Francisco. Straight or Gay... this place is party central.
45. Go to San Juan Bautista and visit the Mission and shop for antiques in a rural setting.
46. Kick back (really kick back) and enjoy some coffee in Santa Cruz... one of my favorite spots is Cafe Pergolesi.
47. Camp, hike, bike ride, fish or whatever you like in Lake Tahoe. (Several hours from the Bay Area)
48. Have a BBQ at San José's Alum Rock Park. This is one of many parks to choose from in the San Francisco Bay Area.
49. Have a doughnut at Rollo's on 13th Street in San José.
50. Go fishing off the Pacifica Wharf.
51. Dance to Salsa music in the Mission District of San Francisco.
52. Visit the dramatic shoreline of Carmel.
53. Have breakfast at the Pork Store in the Haight Ashbury in San Francisco.
54. Shop and play in Capitola.
55. Go to annual Greek festival in San José.
56. You can't go wrong having a picnic along the secluded San Mateo Coast. Just when you thought the Bay Area was too busy, you find solitude at San Gregorio Beach.
57. Go to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San José.
58. See the sea otters and sea lions play at Cannery Row in Monterey.
59. Go to MACLA in San José and see a Chicano art exhibit or performance.
60. Visit the new Mexican-American Cultural Arts Center in San José and see a Chicano performance or art exhibit.
61. Take a charter boat-fishing trip out of Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Monterey, Half Moon Bay or Berkeley.
62. Shop or eat in San Francisco's Chinatown.
63. Visit the Green Gulch Zen Center near Mill Valley. Walk from there to the gardens to the beach where Alan Watts lived.
64. Have a Taco at Taco Bell (on the beach) in Pacifica.
65. See the giant redwoods and camp at Big Basin State Park.
66. Grab a cup of coffee at Java Beach and stroll the beach in San Francisco.
67. Visit upscale galleries in downtown Carmel or San Francisco.
68. Have a steak at Original Joes in downtown San José.
69. See a Stanford or California football game.
70. Take photos in secluded Bodega Bay.
71. Watch the Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco.
72. Pick a quiet spot in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and have a picnic or toss the Frisbee.
73. Go to the Rising Loaf for breakfast in Danville
74. Go shopping in Walnut Creek
75. Ski trip to Tahoe
76. Wine taste in Napa Valley - arrange transportation :)
77. Golf at one of the MANY NorCal golf courses
78. Shop and lunch in the Blackhawk shopping center in Danville
79. Figure out why there are so many yogurt and no teriyaki places in CA
80. Drive to Palm Desert and visit Grandma Emily
81. Have visitors to show them around
82. Take a dip in the pool
83. Ride the BART
84. Gamble in RENO!
85. Buy expensive alcohol for next to nothing at Costco
86. Visit Alcatraz Island
87. See the giant Redwoods in big basin Park
88. Dance at the Top of the Mark
89. Do a Crossfit workout at Diablo Crossfit
90. Visit cousin Dana in San Luis Obispo

(I'll need to add 10 more sometime to make it an even 100)

Here are some photos of our Saturday in Sonoma last weekend...

Such a great quote!

"Missing someone isn't about how long it’s been since you've seen them or the amount of time since the last time you talked. Its about the moment when you're doing something and you suddenly wish they were right there with you." - unknown









 

 











 





































Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween weekend this year was fun filled and pretty eventful.  Richard and I started off by paying a visit to my mom's 4th grade classroom to drop in on their Halloween party towards the end of the day.  We decorated a mummy cupcake, passed out some treats we brought (candy and Silly Bands - did you know Silly Bands brought in $200m in sales so far in 2010?), visited with some of the room parents and watched a Pirate (room dad) demonstrate a number of tricks with dry ice.  It was so fun to see all the kids dressed up, my favorite costume had to be Lady Banana (cross between a banana and Lady Gaga).  Oh to be a 4th grader again!  That evening we had pizza and wine night with my parents, one of our favorite things to do on a Friday evening.  I recommend the pizza dough from Whole Foods vs. Trader Joe's, it's so much better, rolls out very thin and even.  We opened a bottle of wine from the Sonoma Wine Shop and watched the movie UP!  I can't believe I had not seen that movie before, it was so cute and yes, I cried ;)

Saturday was spent running around finding the final touches on Rich's Justin Bieber custume, the final outcome was quite the site to see!  I was the cat from Shrek (Puss in Boots) but I'm not sure how obvious it was, probably would have helped if my hat was black and I was wearing a full cat suit.  Ideas for next year!  We went to a fun Halloween party in Queen Anne with our friends and it was great to hang out with many of them that we won't see for a while due to the move.

On Halloween (Sunday) we watched a couple games as the Washington football nightmare continued.  The scary scores of the weekend totaled 116-3 WSU/UW/Seahawks...yikes.  After meeting up with Richard's mom and aunt for HH @ PF Changs in Bellevue we decided to pick up a couple things at the mall...bad idea.  Turns out Bellevue Square opens up for Trick-or-Treaters to frequent each store.  Needless to say the place was mobbed but we got in and got out!  Note to future Bellevue Square trick or treaters:  Cashe does not participate, note the sign below. 

Sunday dinner entailed a total of 5 rings at the door, maybe mall trick or treating is the wave of the future and to account for the low numbers of kidos.  I don't know how trick or treating at the mall can possibly compare to walking up driveways with glowing jack-o-lanterns, the crispy leaves beneath your feet when walking around the neighborhood, the chance that one house might give away king sized chocolate bars, the smell of the October night, the stars and moon above setting the perfect scene for an all hallows eve or getting a little nervous every time you ring a doorbell.  Maybe those are just my childhood memories and things have changed since then.  Either way there's something special about Halloween, I cherish the found memories and look forward to the Halloweens to come as friends/family enter different stages of life and start creating new traditions.  BOO!!

XO,

Jacqui