Tilden Park

Today was so sunny and warm. We are absolutely loving the weather out here. Today, we all went to Tilden Park and walked around a different area of the park. This park is HUGE so it's going to take us awhile to explore! Today, we parked at the Brazillian Room and walked from there. 

 Evie literally leapt out of the car to get into the grass. She was so happy!

Hello, Mr. Tilden

 We went on a legit hike today. We were on trails and had to climb around tree roots to get where we were going. 

 We took the Selby Trail to get over to Lake Anza. We found a great way to get to a secluded part of the lake so Evie could go in and swim around!

 Evie LOVED being in the water. This lake is definitely a swimmable lake so I'm wondering if maybe I will get her a life jacket, wade in there with her, and get her to swim around .She gets so scared when she can't touch the ground. Check her out.

We had an uphill hike back to the car. It was hot and we were sweating! It was good though. Of course, Evie was bounding up ahead of us. We are so happy she is back to normal after her leg surgery last year.

We had to take advantage of the green grass and trees in the park...

Evie and her Dad chillin in the grass

Soooo happy, wet, and tired. Wearing Evie out makes us so happy, you have no idea!

Oh hey, Chicken!

Something hilarious happened to us yesterday while I was out walking Evie. We were taking our normal neighborhood stroll and she was sniffing under a big bush. She suddenly moved quickly so I thought a cat must be under there or something. The next thing I see is this big chicken squawking and flying out from under the bush!!



Someones pet chicken must have gotten loose! We hear chickens squawking at a nearby house pretty often so we know they are around our area.We just stood there watching this chicken walk off. It was too funny!

Besides meeting a chicken yesterday, we also ran some errands and went to a friends birthday party in SF. I made these DELICIOUS raspberry bars to bring to the party. They were a huge hit. I had some ingredients left over so I also made two little ramekins full of the raspberry crumble, too.

SO GOOD. Here's the recipe -

Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 to 12 ounces good raspberry jam, such as Hero
2/3 cup good granola without dried fruit
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until combined. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla.

Sift the flour and salt together and, with the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter mixture, mixing until it almost comes together in a ball. Turn the dough out on a board. Lightly pat two-thirds of the dough evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan and about 1/4-inch up the sides. Spread with the jam, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Mix the granola into the remaining dough with your hands. Break the dough into small bits and distribute it on top of the jam, covering most of the surface. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Bake the bars for 45 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cool completely and cut into 9 or 12 bars. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar.

Friday Blahs

Today, I didn't feel that great. I was so tired and didn't feel well. I worked from home for awhile and then got in bed for a long nap. We were just talking at work about how when you go, go, go, your body finds a way to say, "Ok time for a break." I think that was today. Erik was off today and he had a busy day in his room, garden, etc.

For dinner, we ordered pizza from a local spot, "Bobby G's". We got the "NY Style" pizza but sadly, it wasn't very NYC like. Blah. I miss Papa's Pizza in CT!!

We watched a funny movie tonight --This is 40.



Some parts were funny and we were like oh haha, that is just like real life. Some parts were sort of sad though.

Well, here's hoping the rest of the weekend is better than today was!

Berkeley Bowl West & Pt Isabel

On Thursday after work, Evie and I ran some errands and went for a walk. We stopped at Berkeley Bowl West for dinner ingredients. They have the BEST produce prices .We are talking $1.89 for a carton of strawberries and $2 for a big thing of baby tomatoes. 

This BB location is much nicer than the original one that we went to a few weeks ago. It's so neat, clean, and has tons of parking. 

After BBW, we went up to Point Isabel. We went for a walk along the water and it was great. After such a stressful week, it was fun just running around with Evie. 

Evie met a puppy that was so cute and ready to play. She looked to be a cattle dog-type dog. She was running and jumping around. Evie had a blast. The owner told us their dog was deaf! 

After the park, we stopped at Costco and then went home for dinner. I can handle Costco on a Thursday night for sure. A weekend? No way. TGIF!

Zombie Thursday

As I mentioned, this has been a long week. I have felt like a total zombie on Thursdays the past few weeks. I feel I am getting the hang of my new account though so that's good. I still feel like Elle Woods BEFORE she realizes that the defendant is lying about getting a perm and taking a shower but it's starting to come together.

Go to 3:00 to see what I mean.........

Today, I had to go out to Pleasanton again but I came home afterwards. It is SO nice to sit here in peace and quiet with Evie next to me.

So happy we are staying in today and this weekend to relax!

Blue Agave Club

These past three days have been jam packed until 9pm every night. I woke up today feeling like a total zombie and had to drive out to Pleasanton again for a 9am meeting. Wah.


On Wednesday night, we had our Client in town from New Jersey so we went to dinner with her in Pleasanton. We went to the Blue Agave Club for Mexican and it was delicious! Check out all of this outdoor seating!



We sat outside which was great because it was in the high 60's and nice to be outside. We started with chips and three different types of salsa which was so good.

For dinner, I had the:

Enjococado 100-Year Old Family Recipe! 
Boneless breast of chicken drenched in a sour cream-based 
sauce with roasted guajillo chiles, special herbs and garnished 
with almonds. Served with rice & fried black beans.


It was delicious!! Dinner was great but I didn't get home until around 9pm. I was so tired. Thankfully, Erik takes care of Evie when I'm away like that so I don't have to worry about her.

Ready to do NOTHING tonight!

Splash

I have a new favorite show....Splash. Have you seen it? It's like Dancing with the Stars but in Diving. I have to say, some of these divers are VERY good for being non-athletes and non-divers!

 My favorite is former Charles in Charge star, Nicole Eggert.

She is a Mom of two and was so nervous in the beginning of the show. She just keeps getting more and more confident and is doing so well. Check out her dive from last night!

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on the show, too. He was great. Did you know he is 7-2" and is considered the best basketball player of ALL time since he has the record for the highest number of points scored EVER.

It's a motivating & inspirational show!

Comal in the Sun

Tuesday was SO nice out. It was HOT in the morning--in the 70's. I walked Evie in a tshirt and was fine! After work, we went to her local fave park - Ohlone Park- to run and roll around. She is so funny the way runs around and dive bombs the grass to roll around. We were out for over an hour doing just that. We also went into the dog park for a quick walk through.

The funnies thing that happened was when she was sniffing the grass and a tiny little Chihuahua came up to Evie. He was so little and wanted to sniff her butt so he literally put his paws on her backside and put his face in her butt. hahah. She barely noticed!


On Tuesday night, our friend Andrea came over to see our place and we also went out to dinner in downtown Berkeley. We went to Comal, a mexican restaurant.


They have a great outdoor patio that we sat on for dinner.

We shared chips, salsa, guac, and I had the mushroom quesadillas for dinner. Everything was delish. It was great to see her and love that we see her more that we live over here. She is right down the road in Oakland - so close!

Good Tuesday!

Tribune Tavern

On Monday, we had a co-worker in town so we went to dinner with her at a new restaurant in Oakland called Tribune Tavern . It is right near our office so it was easy to get to.



Tribune Tavern is a new restaurant and is in the Oakland Tribune newspaper building. Here is a little history about the location
A century ago, the Oakland Tribune used the tower’s ground floor as its “local room” —where reporters from different departments worked side by side and shared tips on the news of the day. It was a gathering spot for the great minds of Oakland, and a place where headlines were made. The Tribune Tavern will carry on that tradition—as a place for people to mingle over happy hour drinks, lunch meetings, or dinner—with authentic, nourishing comfort food that’s affordable enough for everyone to enjoy, and a bar stocked with the best locally-made beer and wine.



The restaurant built some outdoor seating on the sidewalk of this restaurant. This part of Oakland really has some crazy characters hanging around. The restaurant has security outside to keep people from bothering the diners. However......

I was sitting facing the sidewalk and I see this guy hanging out near the trash can. He's smiling and looking around. As he comes away from the trash can, he comes towards us and I can tell he's going to be a doozy. This young, white guy has his jeans around his knees, tighty whitey underwear proudly showing and comes up to our table. He is stood there, SALUTED us, and mumbled something and then said, "At your service!" all while smiling.

We were dying laughing. He was so freaking funny and totally harmless but the security guard moved him along. Too funny.

For dinner, we shared a kale salad, arugula salad, grilled asparagus, and I had the local rock cod with butter beans and broccolini. Everything was very good! It's nice to have a good spot so close to work.

Baby Showers and Tilden Park

We had such a great Sunday today. First, we went to our friend Jenn & Andie's baby shower with our friend Andrea. They have an awesome house in the Oakland Hill's and a gorgeous deck & backyard. It was warm and sunny out and we just chilled out on the deck. They had a great spread of food and got a ton of gifts. We are so excited for Baby to come in May!!

After the shower, we came home and Evie & I drove up to Tilden Park. Tilden Park is like the Golden Gate Park of Berkeley. It is a HUGE. We had to drive up a super windy road to get to the park and in the process, passed the Lawerence Hall of Science, The Tilden Golf Course, a Botanical Garden and more. Once in Tilden Park, we found a lake, a merry go round, and a steam train. Cannot wait to check these all out!!

First up, we found Lake Anza. This is a real, live, swimming hole. It is a big lake with a beach and people were laying on the sand and swimming in the water. We were shocked to find this! haha. Evie jumped in the water in a private area to cool off. It was in the 80's today!

We wandered into the park and I quickly realized I had to pay attention to where we were going in order to get back to the car. I had NO cell service and if we got lost, we were going to be LOST. 

 We saw TONS of picnic areas, trails, and places to roam around. 

 We came home and Evie promptly got a bath. After all of that, we both laid on the couch together. I am so thankful that Evie is such a cuddle bug. She absolutely loves to cuddle with you on the couch and love on you.

We then made dinner - more grilling out! We hung outside while we cooked BBQ chicken and corn on the cob. Deeeelish!

In other news, my house project is the bathroom and it is definitely coming along. I got the cutest shower curtain that even Erik approves of....it's brown with cream colored dots.

My project this weekend was staining a wood shelf for the bathroom. This shelf has been hanging around for awhile and rather than give to Goodwill, I decided to make some changes to it and keep it. We now have some extra hooks in the bathroom and a place to put your watch before taking a shower!

We had a great weekend. A good balance of getting stuff done and having fun. Sometimes the weekends tip too far in one of those directions and then you feel that that you either didn't have enough or had too much fun This was a perfectly balanced weekend for us though. 

Here's to a less stressful, balanced week.........

Biking Saturday

Saturday was a day of getting stuff done AND having fun which always means a good day. We got some little odds and ends completed including hanging some picture frames, hanging up a pots & pans holder in the kitchen, did all of the laundry, changed the sheets, brought Evie to the park, and cleaned out the closet. Whew.

After all of that was done, we hopped on our bikes and went down to 4th Street for lunch. We went to Cafe M for lunch and sat outside. It was a great little place!


We then stopped at a little book store and then headed home. We live only 1.5 miles away from 4th St so it was an easy ride but I haven't been on my bike in a looooonnnnng time! We came home and hopped on the couch to rest with Evie.

For dinner, we walked up to Jupiter pizza.


We don't think the pizza here is that great but they have a great beer selection. Plus, we are able to walk in and get a table right away which is always nice.

After pizza, we stopped by the $1 ice cream cone place for a cone and then walked home.


We love, love, love living just 10 min from downtown. We can easily walk or bike to a ton of other places. The weather has been so awesome here, too. 70's and sunny. No fog.

Randoms of the Week

Here are just a few random photos from the week...

Evie pulled her bandana out of her toy box so I put it on her. Just call her Aunt Evie-Mima. hahaha. She didn't seem to mind but was happy when I removed it. 

Check out this crazy fruit I saw at Safeway. It's called "Buddha's Hand". Creeeepy

This is my Grandparents wedding photo and our wedding photo. They have been married 60 years. Unbelievable. The looks on their faces just so easily show how in love they are with one another. It's a wonderful photo. Can you believe that next month, we will have been married ONE year!?

We found this tape in a box that Erik still needed to upack. Lord knows what is on it. More importantly, how will we ever find out unless we track down a tape player!? haha. 

Friday 4th Street Stroll

When I got home from work on Friday, I immediately leashed up Evie and we went on a long walk. We did a 3 mile out and back to 4th St. 4th Street is a fun street near the water full of shops and restaurants. We actually did training with her back in 2008 in this area. 

We found this little alley with graffiti on the wall which looked cool

We stumbled upon this Wine.com store. There is also a North Face outlet in Berkeley that we have to check out soon!

We got home and chilled out with Erik. We made dinner in and watched more Californication. Good way to end a VERY busy week. 

Evie and Her Friends

On Thursday, our friend Kira asked us if we wanted to go to Cesar Chavez Park with her dogs Penny and Harley. Evie and Harley have met before so we knew they would be great together. Harley is a few years old but Penny is only 8 mos. Since Evie loooooves puppies, we figured she would be good with Penny, too .They all got along great!!

Evie, Penny, Harley

It was a beautiful, warm day so it was an awesome time at the park. Evie was SO funny because she wanted to lead the group. She said hello to the two dogs and then literally stayed out in front the entire walk. 

We walked the 1 mile loop around the park and then played in the grass. When we took this photo of the dogs, Harley came up to Evie at first and was licking her face. She totally let him, too!

When we went to leave, we dropped Kira, Harley, and Penny off at their car first. When Kira opened the door to let the dogs in, Evie jumped in too!! Penny started biting Evie's ear and guess what....she let her! 

We think that Evie was totally like, I'm the big sister guys. I'll show you what to do here. hahahha

Great time with her doggie pals!

Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday

I saw this photo on Pinterest and cracked up laughing. When the world is crazy and you are stressed out, just look at this dog on the horse and have a laugh!! Been awhile since I stopped and did a Top 5 but I think we need it. 

1. Grateful that although she was at the Marathon watching yesterday, Kimmy was not involved in the bombing. How sick/scary is this whole thing? You know what is the worst part, these events are starting to not be super shocking anymore. :-(

2. I am on a new team at work and feel totally lost. It really sucks feeling this way!! I know this is just for right now and won't last forever though. The fact that I know that has to be in the future makes it seem a little better. 

3. We're going to a friends baby shower on Sunday which should be fun to celebrate them!

4. Tacos tonight. Cannot wait. Haven't had tacos in so long. 

5. This weather doesn't suck!

Productive Sunday

Sunday started with getting up early but getting on the couch to read for a little while. Evie will wake up with me and lay on the couch. It's a great way to start Sunday.

My project for the day was putting together a cabinet unit for the bathroom. Our bathroom is a little weird and seriously has NO storage. We finally decided on a stand up cabinet to act as a linen closet. It took awhile but I'm so glad it's up. I may or may not have thrown the screwdriver when I couldn't get the door hinges on multiple times. Erik saved the day and came in to help me though.

After the cabinet was put together, we took Evie out for a walk. We went back to Ohlone Park for her to run around. She seemed hot and a little tired though. On Saturdays, she is bursting with energy and Sundays she is more calm. She did get comfortable on the deck though by laying in the sun. Erik was toodling around in his garden and HIS room so she was going from where I was, to him, to outside. That alone will exhaust her.

My favorite thing that we did on Sunday was walk downtown for ice cream. There is a place there that sells ice cream for $1 per scoop. Yes, please! We got two scoops each it was the best $5 we spent all weekend!!

The weather was so nice that we had shorts & t-shirts on. When we walked downtown with our ice cream, I said to Erik, "I don't think we ever were able to do this in SF." We RARELY wore shorts and t-shirts in SF because the fog would always roll in at some point in the day.

We had a yummy dinner of turkey burgers Erik made and finished out the weekend by wrapping up Season 4 of Californication. Good weekend!!!

Networking Event

Within the past two weeks, I have attended two networking events that were both very inspiring. One was held through the Safeway Womens' Network and one was through the Network of Executive Women.  This was my first event through Safeway and second through NEW. My company is a national sponsor of NEW so we all usually attend the bi-annual events.

The Safeway event was interesting because there were two great women leading the event and then a panel discussion. There is this one woman, Larree Renda, who works at Safeway has quite a story. She began her career by working at a Safeway store when she was in her teens. She is now an EVP at Safeway corp. How is that for working your way up the ladder? Diane Dietz was also there and led the panel discussion. She was just voted Marketer of the Year and is the CMO/EVP at Safeway. She is a Mom with two young kids and holds this huge position at the company.

There was a panel made up of two women from Safeway and one from Kraft. The focus of the event was "Pay It Forward." The discussion was all around how do you pay it forward to help others move ahead in their career? How have others paid it forward for you? The key message I took away was that we all need to help one another get ahead. One of the panelist positioned it as "pull others up with you as you are moving ahead."

I met some great people at the networking event after the panel and was able to meet the Panelist from Kraft and was able to see my old boss which was nice!!

This definitely tied in with the new Lean In book by Sheryl Sandberg - which I'm currently reading.






























I actually met a woman at the event whose sister was the editor for this book, ironically.There are so many fans and ciritics of this book - both men and women. I'm just getting into the book so I can't give my opinion of it, yet. I'm sure it will give us all a lot to think about.

Bike. Eat. Rest.

 Today was another gorgeous day so we started it by doing some chores around the house and then taking Evie to Ohlone Park to run. We were able to show Erik this park since he hadn't seen it yet, so that was fun. It was hot out and Evie just ran and ran. She kept stopping to roll around and rest, too. Too funny.

After the park, we hopped on our bikes and biked up to North Berkeley, just a few blocks away. We went to this cute little are on Hopkins Street where there were some cute shops and restaurants.

We locked up our bikes & didn't worry about them getting stolen which is a nice change from San Francisco!

 First, we went to Gioia pizza for a slice of pizza. Quick walk up spot where we grabbed a slice and sat outside to eat it.

 

It was a busy spot and a line quickly formed!

After pizza, we stopped into the Monterey Fish Market. Remember that Chef from Paulding & Co in Oakland? Well, she said this is a fish store that she goes to and highly recommends!

 We also made a stop at the Monterey Market. This place was very Falletti's like, full of fresh produce. It was PACKED. We picked up a few small things for dinner and moved on quickly.

 We made a final stop at the Berkeley Horticulture Nursery then headed home. We promptly parked our bikes and joined Evie for a nap. Running around and biking around town will make you tired!!

For dinner, we decided to use the grill again (Erik used it) to grill fish we bought and some chicken. 

 

Check our our makeshift table we made. We brought our beach chairs out and had dinner outside. It was so nice to sit outside, grill dinner, and just chill. Have I mentioned we LOVE where we live now?! :-)

 Erik manning the grill

 Ready to eat!

 Of course, Miss May joined us/begged for food. 

These are the happiest moments. When the three of us are just together and chilling together.