If you think hair salons great....

You should try a chocolate salon!  This one was in San Francisco at beautiful Fort Mason right on the wharf.  Lance had given me tickets for Valentine's day this year.  

What is a chocolate salon you ask?  Well..... let me tell you.....

It is like a chocolate trade show.  Artisan chocolatiers from all over the country come and set up booths and sample their goods (and when I say goods, I mean goods).  This picture is about half way and we had early entry tickets so it wasn't crowded yet.


 There are works of chocolate "art" on display

and prizes to be won.  Avery won a box of recipes. 

If you know me, you know I like my chocolate (dark please) and I can eat more than the average gal.  Well, making my way up and down the booths and trying sample after sample I finally did it....I found my chocolate limit!  But man was it a fun thing to find.  I tried milk, dark, fruit, mint, tons of salted caramels (yum), cookies, and olive oils.....so much good stuff.  I bought take homes of my favorites and enjoyed those the days following (I recovered from my overdose fairly quickly).  They were Chatelaine Chocolate, Charles Chocolates, and Claires Squares.

Downtown SF is now a 25 minute drive from my house so that was excellent.  The weather was perfect and I enjoyed the entire experience with my husband and kids, who by the way impressed many a vendor with their refined pallets at such young ages.  We start training them early I told them. 

It was such a great experience for a chocolate lover like myself.  I'm definitely including this on my list of to-do's for next year!  Come join me! 

Superman turns 46!!!

I can't believe it myself!  My superman, Lance, had his 46th birthday this month.  He is on the downhill side of middle aged now.  Good thing he just keeps getting better with age!

He wanted a simple celebration.  A pizza for dinner and a night spent with his girls.  Oh and peanut butter-chocolate fondue with all the dippins!

That weekend, joined by his sister Amy, we took a trip to one of Lance's favorite "Diners, Drive inns and Dives" locations (this one.....definitely a dive) in Pescadero called Duarte's Tavern.  They are known for their asparagus creme soup and pies!  Yum! Afterwards we hit the beach, thankful we brought our jackets and enjoyed some seashell hunting and watching a family of seals play in the waves.  

Words can't express how grateful I am for Lance.  He really is a super man, super husband, and super father!

New Indulgence

If you know me, you know I am somewhat of a foodie!  I love checking out great restaurants, fun little bakeries and delicious artisan chocolate shops!  Really... I just like finding good food.  Well I found some! 

It's a place in Berkeley called Cinnaholic!  If you are in the area you MUST try!  It's a cinnamon roll store, but none like you've ever seen before.  You can choose from over 25 different frosting flavors and mix match with the same amount of toppings!  It's an amazing concept! 

Now...as excited as I am about this concept I have to confess... I went went the one called "Old Skool Vanilla".  It was a deliciously, plain cinnamon roll with vanilla frosting, but it did not disappoint!  It was super YUM!  But here's the combos everyone else ordered... Peanut butter frosting topped with almonds, vanilla frosting topped with cookie dough, and lime frosting topped with strawberries! No one left disappointed by their selection.


Go to their website and see what combo you would create!  You know you want one!

My Little Rembrandt

 Last Saturday we visited the Haggin Museum in Stockton because Sophie's art work is on display there right now.  Her art teacher liked her chalk piece so much, he entered it in a the 83rd Annual Robert T. McKee Student Art exhibit currently at the museum.
 It was pretty exciting to see!
The museum is really nice, so go check it out if you're in the area.  The student art exhibit is there until April 6th.