I know what some of you must be thinking. “Will these San Francisco posts ever end?” Please continue to indulge me… this is the second to last. And the post tomorrow, the last one, has an extra special treat at the end that I am SO excited about! Hang in there baby!

After Connor so graciously endured the day of shopping, spa time, and Jägermeister, Marissa and I decreed Sunday as “Connor Day.” The first order of business on “Connor Day” was breakfast. We chowed down at Park Chow, located in the Sunset District. The food was good but did not come close to what we had the morning before at Outerlands.

Yesterday, I posted photos of Marissa looking annoyed with me.  This day, apparently, Connor was – what a look!

Aww… sibling love!  After breakfast, we took a quick detour from “Connor Day”  (“quick” as what a girl would think of as quick… not so much what a boy would think of as quick) to a cute clothing boutique, where I bought Marissa a beautiful teal dress and nude pumps. And we were again on our way.

First stop, the awe-inspiring Inspiration Point Overlook in the Presidio. Back in the car for the very short drive to The Walt Disney Family Museum.

The 40,000-square-foot Museum, located in a historic brick building, once a barracks on the main post of San Francisco’s Presidio, opened on October 1, 2009. Co-founded by Walt’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller, and grandson, Walter E.D. Miller, the Museum is owned and operated by the non-profit Walt Disney Family Foundation.

In the lobby (the only area photos are permitted) you’ll find Walt Disney’s 26 individual Academy Awards, as well as the unique honorary award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which consists of one full-sized Oscar alongside seven miniature ones. It was presented to Disney in 1939 by 10-year-old child film star, Shirley Temple.

The rear of the museum features a glass wall offering a panoramic view of the nearby Golden Gate Bridge.  If you plan to go, schedule at least 2 to 3 hours, there is a lot to enjoy!  Next stop… Chinatown.

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This day was all about spoiling my kids. After our world-class breakfast at Outerlands, we drove downtown for a day of shopping and luxurious spa treatments.

Check out Marissa glaring at me in the rear-view mirror. I guess I was irritating her from the back seat. Hmm, a mother irritating a daughter, now that’s new!

Be sure and stick with me through this rather lengthy post. It was a big day so there is a lot to share, but you have to read the end and check out our spa time and our dinner choice… even if you just scroll down and skip the shopping parts. :-

First, we ducked into the Apple store because I wanted Connor to see the awesome theater-style classroom. I know, how much Apple can one person do in a long weekend?! Even our newest store in Scottsdale has nothing like this.

As we walked by we noticed they were demonstrating exactly how to use iMovie. We sat in on the class and learned so much that the rest of the weekend I was taking videos so that I can test my newfound knowledge. And guess what? I’m working on it, and there will be an iMovie on this very blog, very soon.

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Last Saturday started out so very yummy!  Only a few blocks from Marissa’s house is what is said to be one of the top 10 best places for brunch in the entire city. I hardily and happily agree! It is Outerlands, located in Outer Sunset at 4001 Judah Street. Although we could not make the brunch on Sunday, we did go there for breakfast on Saturday, and my oh my, if breakfast is this good, I can not imagine what brunch must be like!

Additionally, it is rustically beautiful inside. You must get there at least 30 minutes before they open and write your name on the list that hangs on a clipboard outside the door. We did, so we were fifth on the list.  By the time they opened, the list was three pages long and the outside sidewalk was packed. Marissa says it’s like that all time; morning, noon, and night.

The bread is what really sends this place into the stratosphere. If I could bake bread like this, I would have more friends than I’d know what to do with!

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For most people, Lombard Street would probably make the #1 spot on their list of  “The Top 5 Streets I love in San Francisco.”  For me, the top spot goes to the Great Highway. It forms the city’s western edge along the Pacific coast.  It was on our way home from our Apple, shopping, and VW repair adventure, just as we were about to get onto the Great Highway, that Connor and I decided to stop for lunch at Java Beach Cafe. And it was here that we spotted this San Francisco landmark.

Do you see it? There is the Java Beach Cafe on the far right. And a green-roofed building in the center (from here on out referred to as the “Evil Nursery”) and there on the left, above the dark SUV – yeah, that is the landmark.  Official Landmark as of 2006, no less, number 254 on THIS LIST.

He stands tall on the median strip, at the corner of Sloat and 45th Avenue. On the opposite side of the street from the Evil Nursery and the Cafe, is the entrance to the San Francisco Zoo.

I’m sure you can easily see what attracted me to him. The toque (chef’s hat). The chef’s coat. And that adorable blue polka dot bow tie! Too darn kitschy and cute!

This final photo is from Flickr and gives you the best view of the handsome fellow. So how on earth did this get to be a beloved landmark?  This first quote is from the Flickr photo site.

“The 700-pound, seven foot fiberglass dachshund head at the median strip on Sloat Boulevard at 45th Avenue has reason to smile. Thanks to Diana Scott and Joel Schechter of Ocean Beach Historical Society and other concerned citizens, the Doggie Diner head, nicknamed DD, is back on its pole after going through repairs and a paint job following a hard fall during an April 2001 storm.

Doggie Diner was a local hamburger and hot dog chain that opened in 1949. To the regret of many locals, the chain closed in 1986, but the legend lived on. Nostalgic San Francisco residents visit DD regularly and tell their children about the good old days at the burger joint, which was originally located at Sloat Boulevard at 46th Avenue.

Illustrator Harold Bachman designed the doggie head in the 1960’s and says he is still surprised that people are enamored with DD. He designed it simply because he thought it would help sell hamburgers. Although DD is officially known to be the last doggie standing, rumor has it that doggie siblings are spotted around the Bay Area from time to time.”

…and from [Tim Timberlake, 07/16/2001]

“The Doggie Diner opposite the San Francisco Zoo on Sloat Avenue has been a favorite eating and Dog Head viewing place for years (since the 1960’s). Recently this last remaining Dog Head has been under threat. The nursery next door bought the site and wanted to remove the Dog Head. Dog Head lovers from all over protested and the Dog Head was saved. Mother Nature then took action and toppled the Dog Head on its fiberglass nose during a windstorm.

The City of San Francisco went to work using other salvaged (saved) Dog Heads, owned by a fellow in Emeryville, as patterns. The Sloat Avenue Dog Head has been restored and placed back on his pedestal across from the zoo and next to the evil nursery.”

You can check out THIS, or THIS, or THIS to learn even more. And there you go, more than you ever wanted or needed to know about The Doggie Diner head. Oh, and by the way, the sandwiches at Java Beach Cafe were excellent.

After lunch, we took the Great Highway back to Marissa’s house and I fixed the toilet and did a few other things around the house. Then we hopped back in the car and drove back to San Mateo to pick her up from work.

How cute is she??!!

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… in San Francisco. That’s how I always feel when I board the plane and leave my girl behind. It helps to have dates on the calendar marking when I’ll see her again… Labor Day weekend and Thanksgiving, but it still leaves a tiny little hole each time.

Then again, what a joy it is to be able to go to such a great city to visit her. So much better than if she lived in Podunk, Nowhere Special, USA! Plus there is the fact that she is adorable and sent Connor and I an itinerary, ahead of time, filled with fun things she had lined up for us to do. Love her!!!

We arrived at 7:30 PM on Thursday night. When we landed, I sent Marissa a text at work saying, “the eagle has landed,” and she pulled up just as we were walking out the doors from baggage claim, what timing! It helps that Connor and I travel extra-lite and had no baggage to claim, we shared one carry-on. As you’ve seen from my refrigerator, I am a super-duper packer!

We drove toward Marissa’s home and stopped at San Tung Chinese Restaurant, 1031 Irving Street, located in the Inner Sunset neighborhood. We went specifically for their famous dry fried chicken wings. Wow, they did not disappoint!

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For our Meatless Monday classes this summer, one of the favorites has been this salad. An adaptation of the iconic Stetson Chopped Salad from Cowboy Ciao, which has been open on Stetson Drive in Old Town Scottsdale for 15 years.

Traditionally the salad has a row of chopped smoked salmon. We have left it out to make it a vegetarian dish.  If you would like to make it the Cowboy Ciao way, (which is exactly what I would do!!) add in 4 ounces of diced smoked salmon as the last row of the salad.

The photo above is the salad at Cowboy Ciao. It is an individual serving, brought to the table with the dressing on two spoons, ready for you to toss in as you like.

This recipe makes enough for 8 and is also brought to the table to have the dressing added at the last minute and then served family-style.

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Today’s quick, easy, fun, and delicious recipe comes from my fun adventure friend, Sheila.  You remember Sheila – she and I went on that wild and crazy trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Flea Market, back in March. Yes, that Sheila!

The two of us were at Sweet Salvage on Thursday evening (if you are keeping track, it is true, I went twice in one day) and then out to dinner at the new NoRTH Arcadia on 40th Street. Shelia was telling me about a menu she had recently made for a group of women she gets together with monthly – and when she mentioned this cannoli take-off, I begged for the recipe. I didn’t really have to beg, she graciously agreed to send it to me. She doesn’t remember where she found it but assured me that it tasted just like real cannoli. Wow, was she ever right – You will love it!  Thank you, sweet Sheila!

Note: Next time I will add a little orange zest to the ricotta mixture. I’ve already edited the recipe below to reflect that addition.

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Last night our dear friends and neighbors, Scott and Amy Kilpatrick, invited us to go to dinner with them at the soft-opening “friends and family” event at SOL Mexican Cocina. SOL is located in the Scottsdale Quarter and makes its public debut tomorrow, Tuesday, March 20 at 4:30 PM.  (Hey Amy, Don’t be mad at me for posting this snapshot, I know you weren’t expecting it, I was just trying to get a photo of the interior before we left 🙂 Even though I think that you and Scott look cute, as usual! xoxo)

Scott and Amy have a strong connection to SOL’s Operating Partner, Rich Howland.  Scott and Rich are the original founders of RA Sushi and have been friends since attending kindergarten, right here in Scottsdale.

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It’s been raining for the last few days, so the weather is perfect for a steaming bowl of soup. But you already know how much I love soup, so really it doesn’t need to be raining to be the perfect day for me!

As I was working on the computer yesterday, I took a break to check in on  Facebook, and right there on my wall, I saw this post from Chelsea’s Kitchen (yes, the same Chelsea’s Kitchen that serves THIS amazing Brussels Sprout Salad).

“Chelsea’s Kitchen is the perfect place on a rainy day to get some good ‘ole comfort food. Try our potato fennel soup with crispy shallots and parsley!  It’s amazing!”

Mind you, I had no intention of driving the 9 miles, in the rain, to eat a bowl of soup and lunch all by myself.  But… I did have a fennel bulb, potatoes, and shallots in my own kitchen.  Although I don’t know if this soup is anything like the one served at CK… I can assure you, it too is amazing!

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As I mentioned yesterday, the Phoenix New Times was going to put up a little article on their food blog, Chow Bella, about my dream food day. It was supposed to go up today, but instead, it was posted early yesterday morning. I love how it turned out and I’d love it even more if you would go to THIS LINK and check it out and also check the little “like” button there or leave a comment.  Just in case you’re not up for all that… here it is below. :-0

Oh, and hopefully you’ll notice that I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk! Several of my favorite things are already shared here with you in my previous posts… from the Brussels Sprout Salad to the Bacon BonBons and the De Lujo Margarita. I’m always thinking about you people!

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