Boudin SF - Best Kept Secret {at least to me}

At what age can a child hold up to an entire day of shopping?  Well, if you ask my daughter, her answer would be "four!".  My friend Devi and I had planned to drive down to San Francisco for our annual shopping trip but my babysitting fell through for the day, but that didn't stop us.  We were motivated mamas!  We altered our plans to instead head down to Corte Madera "The Village" instead.  That way if Paige decided to call it quits {because she dictates things of this matter}, we would be close to home as opposed to walking around San Francisco.

We headed down at around 10:00a.m.  We met Devi at Starbucks and began to shop.  Paige did really well, I was so impressed!  By noon we were HUNGRY!  It was between The Cheesecake Factory or Boudin's - which I had never been to.  When my niece, Ami and I went shopping on that one "Wicked Wednesday", she had mentioned that she enjoyed Boudin's, so Boudin won out and what a great choice!

Paige ate this entire bowl of mac and cheese.

Devi ordered the crab melt.  I didn't try it but she said it was good.

I ordered the chicken club.  I don't know if it's because I was super hungry or if this was indeed the best chicken club I've ever had.  I preceded to eat the entire thing!  And I want one right now at 10:30 a.m., looking at these photos.  The chicken was grilled to perfection, nice and juicy, the tomatoes tasted fresh, the avocados creamy and I like bacon on any sandwich {except for maybe PB&J} all on toasted sourdough....a brilliant combination.

So, let's just say Boudin's is now, my new favorite lunch place.  Oh and it's very kid friendly too and they serve beer and wine if you're into that.  If you ever find yourself in the bay area and come across Boudin's, it's a must try.

This was a nice touch....they came around with a basket of fresh baked sourdough, right out of the oven and a pat of butter to hand out to anyone who wanted one.  I was too full but brought one home for later.......that I forgot about and found in my shopping bag later that evening.  I hate to waste food but it was hard as a rock so I broke it up and threw it to the birds here on the ranch.

Paige really ended up scoring on our shopping day, Devi brought all of her daughter's hand-me-down Polly Pockets to give to Paige. 

Such a fun day!  Paige can hang with the 'big girls' any day!

Happy Friday! Cheers!

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My Partner in Crime on this Wicked Wednesday

Apparently the idea of 'Wicked Wednesday' is catching on.  I first got the idea from Bryce's school.  They celebrate Wicked Wednesday every Wednesday which allows the boys at school to play 'Star Wars' and it's also the day the mobile library van comes.....which allows the boys to check out their books for the week and that always include Star Wars.

A few days ago, my niece, Ami called me and asked what I was doing for Wicked Wednesday this week.  Although I had nothing planned, I told her to come on over in the morning and we would find something to do.  And we did.

First stop was JoAnn's to purchase fall decorating items for the house.  Next stop was here......

One of the knobs on the cabinet in the kitchen had broke, so I was in search of a replacement.  Of course they aren't carrying the same model so I had to buy two of a different  model for a matching set.



I love Anthropologie!  They have the most adorable things for the house.  But I was good and walked out of the store with only the two knobs and nothing else.

I was tempted by these ceramic measuring spoons though....

After walking around and browsing for a while, we worked up a hunger and headed over to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch.

Bread and butter is always immediately brought to the table. 

I LOVE this dark bread with butter.  SO good.  I allowed myself one piece.

Another treat for me was the raspberry lemonade I ordered.  I'm don't drink juice very often so this was super sweet for me, but I liked it.

Ami had some iced tea.

The menu at the Cheesecake Factory is HUGE.  Difficult to choose.  But I finally decided upon the Bar-B-Que Salmon.

We wanted to try their sweet potato fries so we ordered a side of them to share.

The few we ate were really delicious and they came with this spicy chili sauce.  We wanted to save room for the main entree {and dessert} otherwise we would have devoured the entire thing.

My salmon came with a mound of mashed potatoes and a stack of onion rings and some corn relish.  Everything was really great and I brought half of it home with the thought of incorporating it into my dinner plans somehow.

Ami's lunch included a bowl of baked potato soup {which I tried and loved}, a half sandwich and a salad.  Ami also brought a good portion of her meal home for dinner as well.  They serve a ton of food at this place!

When we walked in, before we were seated, we spied this red velvet cheesecake.  And this is why this Wednesday is Wicked!  We shared a piece but brought half of it home because this portion was also HUGE.

Layers of red velvet cake, cheesecake topped with frosting and white chocolate curls......very wicked!
Just trying to do my part to support the dairy industry in any way I can......cheesecake, whipped cream, butter, you get the idea.

How was your Wednesday Wicked??

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The Food at Firestone Grill and Farmer's Market of San Luis Obispo

If you're thinking of visiting San Luis Obispo sometime in the future, including a Thursday night within the visit might be a fun idea.  Let me show you why.

We arrived in SLO last Thursday evening and after checking into our hotel, we headed downtown for a quick dinner.

Firestone Grill is a very casual indoor-outdoor restaurant.  Definitely kid-friendly.  You order at the counter inside and wait for your number to be called when your food is ready.

Inside, there's a sports bar type feel to the dining room.  TVs all around, a bar in the center {it is a college town after all} with a loud, fun atmosphere.  We chose to eat outside in the patio area instead.

Paige wanted a hot dog.  This is the adult version {we forgot to order the kid's size} but she ate almost the entire thing.

 A few french fries to go along with it.

I think Bryce's favorite food is a hamburger.  He orders it at every restaurant we go to.

I ordered this veggie burger and it was really good.  It came with all the fixing's including sprouts, which I really enjoyed.

Dominic, Dominic, Dominic.....the Monster Burger for him.....now I know where Bryce gets it!

After dinner we walked down the street to the SLO Thursday night Farmer's Market.  This is a HUGE Farmer's Market that's the length of more than a few blocks.  We needed the walk and the kids, of course wanted a little dessert. 

Typical Farmer's Market fair was found.

Bryce spotted these right away and chose one for his treat.

Chocolate covered marshmallow.

Paige wanted a cookie.  She found the biggest one she could at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory booth.  I had a bite or two of it, and it was super sweet. Half of it was covered in white chocolate.  We didn't let her eat the entire thing {in case you're wondering}.

After every one's appetite was satisfied, we headed back to Embassy Suites for the night to try and put these two sugar high kids to bed.  We don't deprive our kids of sugar all of the time, but boy, when they eat some, we sure notice the difference!

Another fun night in SLO! 

Happy Sunday!
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Finnegan's

Friday night we had the pleasure of another 'Parent's Night Out' hosted by the gym I belong to.  So, while the kids were playing at the gym, Dominic and I made a quick trip to CostCo {I had already been there earlier in the day, but needed a few more things for our family reunion that was happening the next day} and then we decided to eat at Finnegan's Marin.  Finnegan's is in downtown Novato and is a great pub with a fun atmosphere and good food.

The place was packed but we managed to find a seat at the bar {good timing} to sit and wait for our table.  I sipped a cosmo and Dominic had one Coors Light.

Look how kid friendly Finegan's is....kids eat free on Sundays after 5!!

While waiting for our table, we watched the S.F. Giants game.

About 20 minutes later, the Hostess found us and sat us at our booth.  After scanning the menu, I decided upon the Half Chicken & Brussels Sprout-Bacon Hash.  I love roasted brussel sprouts.  I normally don't order chicken when at a restaurant because we have it at home quite often, but I think the combo of brussel sprouts and bacon got me!

A glass of BV Cab for me and water for Dominic.

My salad was a combo of mixed greens, crumbled blue cheese, pecans, onions and cherry tomatoes, which was delicious.

Dominic had a ceaser salad.

And he ordered the grilled salmon served with roasted red potatoes and grilled artichoke halves for his entree.

Look how beautiful my chicken and brussel sprout dish looked.

It tasted just as good as it looked.  My plate was piled high with food.  I could only eat half even though I wanted to devour the entire thing.  Dominic finished it off for me.

So good!  I will definitely order this dish again.

I did save room for dessert and ordered the Warm Irish Berry Bread Pudding.

And a decaf.

This was also really good but could only finish part of it and Dominic couldn't even try a bite, he was so stuffed from dinner.

What a fun date night!  I'm craving those brussel sprouts again!

Happy Sunday!

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