Incorrigible Dobbie

I made Lancer a pizza for dinner while I dined on ice-cream and cleaned out our two freezers. Seriously, peeps--my freezer is like my old pantry. It was loaded with 2 tons of old, icky, outdated crap that can't be consumed by humans or dogs alike. Why do I have pork chops from 2006? Maybe I'm responsible for the swine flu--it likely escaped when I opened my freezer door.

In any case, they're certainly coming along. I cleaned out all of the junk, and now I'm making room for all of my delicious soups and sauces I've been making all week.

Back to the pizza--I'm out in the garage when I hear the distinct clacking of dog nails on my counter. I run in to find Dobbie, up to his usual tricks.

Damage--one piece of thin crust BBQ pizza. Score one for Dogface!

Lucky for me, he knows his command "leave it!" We can use it to place food or another desired item in front of him, and command him to leave it alone. It's great--it's so hard for him, he can't look at it. He will look off into the distance with sad eyes. Then we yell "take it!" and said item is gone in an instant.

Why is my baby such a rotter? Oh well. He makes up for his culinary indiscretions by being so darn cute, polite, and snuggly. And for gladly wearing all of the holiday neckerchiefs I put on him.

My Secret Cookie Fan Club

People online in South Dakota know about my cookie parties?? AWESOME! This little gem showed up in my inbox tonight:

"Is it possible to connect with Kaari Jacobs from 2008 photos/stories and find out where she purchased the fun oval shaped pressed tin cookie trays? She gave each of her guests one to put their cookies in. I would love to find something like that.

Rosemary from Pierre, South Dakota"

Oh, Rosemary--you make me feel like the section in Us Weekly where people write in and say things like "I love Lady Gaga's black leather wristband--where can I find one like it?"

So, back to business. The answer is Wal-Mart from the previous year--1/2 off. I'm so thrifty.

Start planning that wining recipe now!

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

We decided to give Brangelina a run for their money at our "Hollywood couples" Halloween party this evening

I should never dye my hair brown.

And, according to me (and my extensive pop culture knowledge), I present you the best Halloween costume of the entire season: Ms. Lady Gaga.

I *loved* the spooky libations bar. They put so much time and effort into throwing such a killer soiree. Good work, ladies!

But the best part of the party was when we went to the wrong house first--we ate food, partied a bit, checked out costumes, said hello, looked for friends, and then had an awkward exchange with the hostess of the house. She went to take our picture, but lowered the camera and gave us a weird look instead. We looked at her, she looked at us, then we all realized we were at the wrong house. (I thought it was awfully scandalous to have a Katy Perry song playing--I kissed a girl and I LIKED IT!!).

Can I also pretend that I didn't ruin their impeccable spooky food spread by adding (and then leaving) a plastic container of mini-cupcakes?? I was too embarrassed to go back and get them. I'm sure some kid thought he hit pay dirt with those crappy mini cakes.

Happy Halloween--may you always attend the right party.

I Got People

And those people got me access to an exclusive screening "pre-premiere" of New Moon...on November 18th. That's right--the rest of the little people must wait until November 20th.

I'll be in the press section....with my people.

You should get people.

Lessons I Learned from Chipotle

Back in our newlywed days, a new Chipotle opened up in Foster City. I was excited--I love good Mexican food. They had this highly addictive creamy avocado and corn salsa that was sooo tasty. I would find excuses to go during the week--then it became a few few times a week--soon, it was every single day. I couldn't get enough. Lancer warned me not to eat there all of the time, that I would get sick of it and start hating it. I ignored his sage wisdom.

A few months later, the thought of Chipotle made me want to hork. It took me 5 years before I would eat it again, and I have to say it wasn't even all that great. Bleh.

My point--I think I'm starting to move into that scary territory with Fuel in SJ. They have these grilled pork rolls and mango beef salad that I think about all night and day.

I popped in tonight, and the guy says to me "grilled pork rolls with gluten free sauce and a Diet Coke?" Crap--moving into Chipotle territory, right?

Worse. The food is delivered, and the lady says "here you go, Kaari."

Def-initely Chipotle territory. But I can't stop myself. And I don't think I want to.

Going for Gold

We have been busy partying it up lately--see last post. Did I mention I also had to throw my church's Halloween party on Saturday night? I need a week of straight sleeping.

Last week we were in Utah for Dave and Bon-Bon's 50th wedding anniversary. 50 years! Crazy.

The lovebirds in 1959

And the lovebirds today! Many moves, kids, and hairstyles. Oh, the hairstyles. Bon-Bon had every single hairstyle that was ever popular. Bouffant, beehive, flip, flat, short, long, permed..you name it.

Bonnie is a party gal just like me--so we had dinner on Thursday, Anniversary party on Friday, and Halloween party on Saturday. It was a non-stop party.

Hangin' out with my kind

Madonna and an Arabian Princess...better known as Capree and Avery

Bonnie had spent months putting together a special album for all of the kids with all of their childhood pictures--it was an incredible feat, and a lot of fun to have. I may have to do some scanning.

Bonnie and David checking out the book we put together for them with letters and pictures from all of us.


While we were at dinner, Lancer told me about an Esquire article he had read that said people look better if they show more teeth when they smile. We gave it a try.

Regular smile

Showing more teeth. I think # 1 is the clear winner.

Happy Anniversary Bon-Bon and Dave--we love you! We hope you still love us after you see the above photo.

Nightmare on Golden State Street

My creepy (in a good way) friend April and I had so much fun at our joint birthday party back in April that we decided to co-host another party--our annual Halloween bash!

Have you ever tried to entertain 65 people? It takes a lot of decorating and work. Here are my homemade meatballs getting ready for the oven.

Here's the base for my tomato bisque

And poor Dobbie's worst nightmare...the halo is back on. He got an infected bite near his business, and had been licking it like crazy. I came home from an appointment and knew something was immediately up when Lance and Dogface were both gone. I hightailed it over to the vet, where a very surprised Lancer was weirded out to see me. Mamma's instincts don't just work with kids with 2 legs, ya know. Lance could *never* ever have an affair. I would know in 2 seconds--not that he would try, just sayin. I have good instincts--maybe I should be a PI!

And I was sooooo tired. I threatened to not do the village-I really wasn't going to. At midnight, the night before the party, I freaked out and pulled out a few pieces. Nothing like in the years past--like Diet Village.

April's creative and talented bro Brian helped us with the theme and invite--this year we went with "Nightmare on Golden State Street." AKA you're worst nightmare. Bring on the creative costumes!

It started out with another grody cake. It was an anatomically correct torso, which meant the heart was red jello and weeped when it was cut.

Our yard

The barfing pumpkin dip

Poltergeist kid, arachnaphobe, and a dead Alice.

Looksi who showed up in my mirror--Eddie!! He can't wait to see me on November 20th.

Ghastly duo...

Banana...accompanied by a hungry monkey.

Mom jeans and a teenage boyfriend.

Oh, poor Sharla. New Moon was canceled. This is a close second for my worst nightmare.

Party People

Man with a nasty bug...

Sarah, being her parents' worst nightmare. PS--this is the magical German Girl dress I wore right before Lancer proposed!

Unwelcome guest...

And then on to my costume. Check out the pants--I went as a crazed NKOTB fan....

...with a restraining order from Donnie. MY WORST NIGHTMARE. And, just for the record, these are NOT real pants.

Pete and Julie--I accidentally touched his worst nightmare--blech.

Spencer Pratt, donning a creepy blond beard, Googling himself. Sadly, Heidi was AWOL. I suspect when we see her next, she will have a new rack.

.
Electrocution victim. From the rumors, though, I hear she's prone to burning things down with dutch ovens. Believe what you will.

Lance as King Tut, cursed boy ruler who died at a young age. He's commanding his minions to build a pyramid for him.

The cursed and restrained couple...worst nightmares come true.

Jon and Kate...and Kate. Love the do, ladies.

2 Jons, 2 Kates. Nothing but trouble. Do the right thing and return the money, Jon.

Goblin and creepy clown

The Terminator and a mauled jogger

That's all folks! Can't wait for next year!

If I had time to post, I would

But I don't, so this is what you get. Please forgive me. It's been party central here for the last 2 weeks, and I have two more back to back parties this weekend. What was I thinking?

This party girl is quickly turning into a party pooper from sheer exhaustion.

PS..will anyone really be disappointed and/or angry if Spooky Village doesn't appear by Friday? It's still in the shed and I need sleep.

What's a Little Breaking & Entering Among Friends?

Kristine came up with a fabulous idea a few months ago--a weekend at a beach house in Santa Cruz. Sign me up! The weather was a bit on the blustery side, and I was feeling a little on the lay around in pajamas side--good match. All in all, it was a great weekend that got off to a bit of a rocky start. I'm starting to wonder if I'm a GNO curse.

Here's Kristine going for the key in her pocket

Here's Kristine not getting in the door because the owners of our amazing house had accidentally deadbolted the door from the inside. The deadbolt has no key. After some serious negotiations with the owners, we got permission to break into the house.

The kind neighbor came over with a hammer and some rugs to help us bust into the garage.

I volunteered to break and enter, having been the only one in the group with experience in doing so. Don't ask. I posted this photo to shame Sharla, WHO SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO TAKE IT.

One leg in

Dropping down to the garage floor

We're in!!

A few necessary items--trashy magazines...

...and craptastic movies and the karaoke machine. I love me some Dirty Dancing!

We kicked off the evening with some tasty fondue. **Someone** may have caused me to giggle during their prayer by praying that we would have a "super fun weekend."

Cheese fondue and pizza fondue followed by chocolate fondue. We were stuffed.

Here's the beautiful morning on our deck--killer view!

Hanging out on the couches in our jammies...

...by the roaring fire!

Saturday night we had a taco bar with all the fixins.

No taco bar would be complete without my cheesy white trash dip. It's delish.

Here's our poor hack job on fixing the window. At least we tried.

Bye-bye gorgeous and spacious beach house!

And bye-bye to 4 lovely girls--thanks for a fun and relaxing weekend. Maybe next time I will get dressed and leave the house. But I truly enjoyed my time on the couch watching Mean Girls with you and eating copious amounts of food.

They Say It's Your Birthday...

Overheard in the bathroom today

Grandma: Wash your hands--you don't want to get swine flu!

Kid: I just did!

Grandma: No, you didn't wash them long enough. They said on the news you have to sing "happy birthday" while you wash them.

Kid-sticking hands under faucet: Happy Birthday! (Bonus points for the kid--technically, he did what G-Ma asked)

Grandma: No, you have to sing the whole song from start to finish. Stick your hands under the water and get more soap. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Ryan, happy birthday to you!

Kid/Ryan: It's my birthday??

Grandma: No.

Kid/Ryan-now crying: You just said it was my birthday! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Grandma: No, it's just to time the hand-washing. It's not your birthday! Your brithday isn't until next June.

Kid/Ryan: But you said it was!! WAHHHHHHH! I want presents!! WAHHHHHHHHHH.


That's what you get for listening to the evening news and their "super helpful" tips on swine-flu avoidance, folks.

P.S. Happy birthday Ryan! you know, in June. Sucks to be you!

Totally Cool or Cool as Ice?

Easy Rider and I are having a bit of a disagreement. Please cast your vote and let us know which one wins this round.

Lance seems to think this is a good looking jacket:

But, I think it looks a little Vanilla Ice. You feel me?

Red, black, and white just seems to 80's to me. Lancer says he trusts my taste, but I can't tell if I'm on the right track with this one.

Please weigh in. Word to your Mutha.

Pub Grub

Our fun, adorable and now OLD friend (just kiddin' girl!) Amber celebrated the big 3-0 and had friends up to HMB to celebrate in style.

Our first stop was Cameron's Pub and Grill. It's this crazy British-style pub full of collectibles. It's a trip.


What would a birthday be without a little karaoke?? Here's Lance covering "Just a Gigolo" by Diamond Dave. It was a crowd fave--video footage possibly to come.

The birthday girl busting out a little Abba!

We did a "great" Bon Jovi song--no really, it was great. And by great I mean terrible--but we had fun and committed. There's nothing worse than people who half-heartedly sing and complain they aren't great singers over and over again. Most people suck--just get down and have fun!


Next, we raided the roll of quarters and hit up the game room--old school pinball, arcade faves, and a jukebox that took my money but never played my songs. I was too lazy to get my $2 back.


What would the night be without a little pub grub? I would kill for some fish and chips, but it's a no-go for me. I settled for some chili and a chocolate banana milkshake that I split with Lancer. Why have I not been drinking these for years?? It was so tasty.


Cameron's, like the rest of CA, has to adhere to a strict no-smoking law, which we all love. They circumvent it by having an outdoor double-decker smoking bus from London in the front yard. We couldn't resist checking that business out.



After Cameron's, we headed over some classier fare at The Ritz. We chatted by the fire, drank cocoa and tea, and watched the waves crash. We were hoping to do s'mores outside by the fire, but it was far too windy and far too cold. Inside was just fine with this little lass.

Happy Birthday Lady!

Twugs from D-Dub

Your eyes do not deceive you--that's truly **the** D-Dub giving me a shout-out on Twitter this evening. Virtually tucking me in and giving me a Twitter hug, better known as a Twug.

I saw that he was on so I launched a full tweet assault on the man, trying to goad him into responding to just one of my clever and crafty messages. Clearly, timing is everything because it finally worked!!

That only took 6 months, countless tweets, and the complete and utter annoyance of everyone following me on Twitter. I'm sure they think I will stop--but let's be honest--it only fueled the fire.

Next goal: getting him to follow me

Next-next goal: Conversing with him regularly, and making other fans jealous

Next-next-next goal: Meeting the man (and legend since 1988)

Next-next-next-next goal: Total world domination

I'm a gal with big plans. Watch me run like the wind.

God bless Twitter.

Easy Rider

Lance went and got all ninja on me. Not that kind of Ninja.

This kinda Ninja.

He's contemplating all of his cool riding maneuvers in the picture below.

It's a hot little number--I love riding on the back. It's soooo Bella and Jacob after he gets all beefy, buff, and legal. I'm totally going to speed in hopes that RPatz appears as a hot ghostly figure, chastising me for being reckless. Then it's off a cliff for me!

Now onto my jacket and helmet. Why is all the biker chick crap pink??

I hate pink, followed by purple, so my options are limited. {shudder} Apparently, I have to dress like Rizzo to ride on the motorcycle. Why is that?

May I also take a brief moment to assure you that my man is *not* having a midlife crisis. He used to be a semi-professional BMX rider back in the day, and he's had his motorcycle license since he was 16. Besides--midlife crises are reserved for men who are saddled with the following:

and

and, most importantly,


My man is cool as ice..he's way too cool to be melting down midlife.

PS--totally unrelated--did no one notice the dog in glasses on my page?? A dog...in glasses. In SF. With my own eyes. I love this place.

Oysters, Part 2

Our favorite SF girl and recent bride Jo-Jo just turned another year older. She wanted oysters and champagne for her birthday--I subbed in an ice-cold Diet Coke for the stronger stuff, but was more than happy to chow down on oysters for the second time in 2 weeks. I've totally come around on these little crustaceans. I like them raw, but really love them BBQ'd.

We headed down to The Marshall Store in Marhsall, Ca--it's near Stinson Beach. The drive is gorgeous--green and windy, with little pit stops in tiny towns. It reminds me of Iowa.

Joe and Jo

Eating oysters at the roadside table

In addition to the oysters, I got a crab salad followed by apple slices and some Mt. Tam cheese. I need to pick up another wedge of this creamy baby.

This place is seriously great. It's a tiny roadside restaurant that serves up oysters, clam chowder, and crab delights. It's popular with bikers and kayakers. We will definitely be going back.

Snuggi over half-shells

The crazy ladies. I love Jo-Jo's dress.

Love you girls. Here's to more delish food next year! Happy Bday baby!

Space Dobbie

What do you get when you combine America's favorite dog....

...and space-age technology??

Why, you get a Lil' Satellite Head!!! Poor Dogface. He got an infected callus on his elbow, and had to have surgery. Since he's unreliable and eats everything he can get his fat little paws on, they had to give him the ol' doggie halo.



See how happy he is?? NOT. Now I know where they get the term puppy-dog eyes. I feel bad for Baby. His halo is so wide, and our halls so narrow--he crashes into walls, chairs, and us. I took him for a walk the other night, and he bonked into trees, signs, and cars. It was a sad sight.

Here's wishing Dogface a speedy recovery--may his next halo-filled days be filled with belly rubs and nummy bones to get him through the weekend.

I Do Not Have Swine Flu, THANKYOUVERYMUCH

My shoulders, neck, and upper back have been giving me fits for the past few days. I have tried stretching, heating, icing, rolling, rubbing...to no avail. I decided that I needed professional intervention, and headed to my local no-frills/cheapie massage therapy studio.

It started out just fine--the right pressure, lots of deep tissue work, fake ocean waves being piped into the room. After about 45 minutes of being face down, however, my nose started getting plugged up. I tried to re-adjust my face, but it wasn't helping, so I started breathing through my mouth. This made my breathing shallow, so I tried my nose again, but was straining for air--lots 'o' sniffing.

No worries, though! Just as my rebellious sinuses started acting up, my therapist told me he was going to wash his hands--when he returned, I should be on my back. I flipped over, and was breathing easy. Too bad I can't say the same for my massager guy.

Upon his return, he started working on my neck. The pressure felt right, but something was off. I quickly realized he had rubber gloves on!! I knew in my heart of hearts that when I popped an eye open I would see a face mask--yep, I was right. Rubber gloves always go with a protective face mask. It's the combo I see @ SFO whenever I fly.


I wanted to shout that I didn't have swine flu, and that my "breathing problems" were due to extreme pressure on back/squished face, but I doubt he would have believed me. The best part was when he tried to run his hands through my hair and get to my neck, but the gloves got stuck in my curls.

Thank goodness I didn't book a facial with him.

Rotten Manners

The Highlight of my Week

Beets are the new Black

I had one of the busiest weeks of my life. Let's recap. **Items not necessarily in order. It's Friday, I'm tired.**

Got a text from The Uncle, who was in town with his band, Los Straitjackets. Checked out the show at Slim's, and had a tasty dinner in SF.

Took a day off, and did our semi-annual girl's trip to Napa. Started out at Boonfly where I had a yummy heirloom tomato salad and a breadless BLT. I instructed them on the proper way to just slather the mayo right onto the bacon. Mmm.

Continued our weird jewelry pool. Every time we hang out, we immediately take off our rings, set them on the table, and take turns wearing one another's baubles throughout the meal. This puzzles our spouses and/or outsiders.

Did a little outlet shopping (scored some shoes and a cute wool cap!) and then hit up Bouchon Bakery. Jo-Jo and I pigged out on chocolate and caramel covered Rice Krispie bars topped with sea salt.

On the way back from the bakery, we saw a sign in a window touting $1 oysters. We felt the need to drop in.

I got a delish french onion soup topped with Gruyere.

Our oysters!

We shared a beet salad. I'm totally coming around on beets--this one had a citrus vinaigrette, oranges, and feta. It was so good. Beets are the new black.

Hauled it back up to SF to see Sugar Ray, one of my favorite all time bands. They have such great energy, and Mark is a great entertainer. I won't comment on how hot he is, b/c I think I'm only allowed to have one music crush, and Mark ain't it, yo. But I'm sure all of you will find these pictures entertaining.

The girlies @ Sugar Ray. Have I ever mentioned the special place this band has in my heart? No really. Everytime I am contemplating a big decision, and I hear Sugar Ray on the radio, my deicsion always turns out great. Heard them when I met Lance, when we got engaged, and on the way to get married. Coincidence? I think not.

Had a Gossip Girl party to celebrate the return of our favorite show featuring headbands and pearls. It's all about the Bass, baby.

Partying like they're heading off to rehab soon...

You can't see it, but my hounds tooth jacket has real fur around the collar. It was tres appropriate for the occasion.

Saw some gorgeous clouds on my way back up to SF (again!!)

Co-hosted a baby shower for Vickie. Yes, I just did her bridal shower like 5 weeks ago. Allright, more than that...but it still seems fresh in my mind.

Hot Mama.

The famed diaper cake. I have only seen one of these on a SATC episode. It was funny to see one in real life.

Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate--thanks Cathy!

It was a brunch, so we kept it simple and light. We served:

*Holiday Breakfast
*Brooke's salad (SO GOOD!!)
*Fruit platter
*Mini-croissants with Irish butter and homemade jam
*Sparkling lemonade
*The gorgeous cupcakes seen earlier

Kidnapped our friend Hayley, which is sort of our little thing that we do. Hint-hint, ladies. If you're around 8 months prego, friends with us, and your husband asks with a hint of disdain why you are in your pajamas at 7pm, you should go and change into a cute outfit ASAP to avoid this:

She cleans up nicely, yes?

Had tasty kabobs and an entire plate of deviled eggs from The Dutch Goose with The Asian. Seriously--these things need to be on a Food Network special about eggs. I'm writing the letter now; look for it next Easter!

Phew. Nighty-night. I need a weekend just to recuperate from last week. And a serious workout.

Happy Friday!!

http://thinkingofrob.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/new-moon-trailer/

I'm From Iowa

And that kind of makes me a corn expert. For instance--I know the following is easily the greatest thing ever done with corn--EVER!


Yep--that's a cornfield in Utah that created 2 competitive mazes in their fields--one with a pic of the swoon-worthy RPatz, and one with a pic of that annoying kid from the craptastic kids movie Shark Boy. Corn maze visitors can choose from the Team Edward field, or the Team Jacob field. I have a feeling the Team Edward field will have a significant amount of wear and tear, and Team Jacob will be perfectly preserved. (Team Edward 4 EVA!)

I wish I lived in Utah, or that I would be visiting in October. OH WAIT! I am!! Lance's parents have been hitched for 50 years (yes, that's correct--not a typo---50 years. Amazing!!) and we're going out for the "family party." I feel like Rpatz and I are family, so this will be in the plans. I'm sure I can round up a willing niece needing a cool chaperon from, oh, California to drive to wherever this thing is. Where is Syracuse, UT by the way? PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOLDEN EYES, BE NEAR OGDEN!

For all of you crazy locals, you can read more about the maze here.

If You're Bored then You're Boring

I don't like boring things--I really don't like boring people. In fact, this year's Halloween party theme is "your worst nightmare" and I may go as a boring person. Or mixed fruit (eww!!!)



We here at Team Jacobs have a "family fun list" similar to my own personal fun list. This keeps us from A. being lame B. getting bored and C. never knowing what to do when we have some free time.

On the way up to SF for the day, we brought along our Frommers guide for Northern California. It has great insight into each city, and gives great suggestions for day trips, extended trips, walking trails, food, sights, etc. We went through the whole book and created our Team Jacobs Family Fun List. This was a tradition we started on this trip. We definitely did a lot of the things on that list--concerts, Napa, trip to Utah, Point Reyes, Camp Lehi. We definitely missed cooking classes, learning to kayak, beach camping, and Yosemite. These same things appeared on the new updated list.

Team Jacobs Family Fun List for 2009/2010

Mendocino 2 day trip
Learning to kayak
Segway tour of SF
Wine and art festivals
Historical SF walking tours
Boating with Dogface
Canoeing
Carmel with Dogface
Yosemite/High Sierras with camper vans and friends. Hikes to falls.
Alcatraz
Sacramento--outdoorsy stuff
River rafting with friends
Dude ranch with friends
Napa Valley/hot air balloon ride in Napa
Tour of historic SF restaurants (Slanted Door, Zadin, Foreign Cinema, Golden Boy Pizza to name a few)
Roaring Camp Railroad--dinner train through Felton
Trolley tour of SF
Checking out car/motorcycle racing
Concerts
Karaoke
Haight with a stop in at Cha-Cha-Cha's
Castro--see flick at Castro theeatre
Golden Gate Park
SF Columbarium
Cat Club for 80's night
Ruby Skye
Overnighters in SF
Muir Woods
Filoli house and garden tour
Rollerblading on Embarcadero
Fort Mason Walk
Marin Headlands walk
Russian Hill walk, shopping on Hyde Street
Tahoe
Farmer's Markets
SLO weekend
49ers/Giants game
Cooking Classes
Grand Canyon
Pismo Beach Rental
Socal Beach rental
Beach camping
Death Valley resort
Joshua Tree
Gilroy Garlic Festival
HMB Pumpkin Festival
Amtrak train ride
Vocation vacation

And that's all we wrote. Any additional suggestions?

Epic Food Fail

I always laugh when people think I'm a great chef or baker, and that this comes naturally and easily to me. It doesn't. I can follow a recipe, but a gourmet chef that *does not* make. Case in point--my highly anticipated GF pineapple upside down cake.

I cooked it for the allotted time. Looked done, smelled done. But then I cut into it, and the entire thing collapsed in the center....

...and all of the sweet inards flowed out like a horrible cake volcano.

So I cut off a corner, added some ice-cream, and sat down to share my cake bomb with the world.

The end.

Weekend of Food Where I Didn't Cook Once..AKA Labor Day!

This was a exceptionally tasty weekend. Lancer came home on Friday night to find me curled up in bed reading a trashy novel. He told me that his co-workers were having a going away party for our fabulous Swedish friends, Patrick and Sus. They bought Dobbie the little stuffed pig he ate the face off of--we assured them this was a good thing. He only destroys that which he loves. We went to Sino at Santana Row--good food and great company.

Saturday we hung out and then had dinner with our friends from the Stanford Ward in Palo Alto. I'm ashamed to say that I have no pictures of said friends--but I *did* manage to capture images of the tasty spread. I guess when you have been friends with people for over a decade, you don't have to take pictures of them anymore.

The amazing guacamole--Alie, recipe please!

The ribs by April and Scott

The artisan bread by Chris and Becky

The scene

Smore by Kaari--2 marshmallows and a smear of peanut butter on a chocolate bar. Just the right amount of burn.

On Sunday we went up to SF for a delicious chicken dinner with corn soup, corn pudding, heirloom tomatoes & artisan cheeses, and a hot fruit dessert. It was divine, but I forgot the flashcard for my camera @ home. No pictures. Boo. You can read all about my famous corn pudding here. My friend, Asian Girl, would eat this night and day.

On Monday, we headed up to SF to hang in the city and take the ferry over to Jack London Square. The weather was perfection, Jack London Square less so. Bo-ring. We blew our hour by talking to a guy in a boat rental store about sea kayaking, which is our next adventure together. We're going to go back for an 8 hour, $99 class that prepares you for life in a kayak on the open sea. Let us know if you want to join us!


The Bay Bridge (one of the main bridges in SF besides GG) was closed for the weekend so they can add a new span. The original one was damaged in the big quake of 1989...and they are just getting around to it now. Way to go bankrupt state!

A great shot of Coit Tower

We ate at Taylor's Automatic Refresher--again. We're so unoriginal--but their food is always a hit, and I find myself craving their shakes and sweet potato fries. Plus, I love the sign.


We got our lunch to go, and ate on the ferry. It was much better than the junky boat offerings, which included beer, gum, and Doritos.


Inside the Ferry Building--check out the color on these heirloom tomatoes. I had tomatoes and fromage blanc from the Cowgirl Creamery for dinner. It was a fine meal.


Once back, we got some great shots of the city, and then headed home for a night of relaxing and brownie eating.
I love Labor Day. I had 4 great dinners over 4 long days. That's my kind of weekend. It's almost like I planned it that way--wink-wink.