Take to the streets!

Sorry for flaking on posting lately. I totally missed out on telling you about National Cocktail Week last week - I hope you had a couple anyway!

But today I'm going to do a two for one since I found 2 interesting things to do this weekend, but of course, they're on the same day!



First, head down to the Mission on Sunday morning to see the Carnival parade. My friend is performing in one of the dance troupes, so I'm excited to see her! (BTW, that's not her in the pic, she said her costume is a little more "covered." I don't blame her!) Here are her suggestions:

1. The parade starts at 24th and Bryant at about 10am (we are #20 out of 80 groups or so and the name of our group is 'Caribe Sabroson' - we are the Mission Cultural Center's contingent)
2. It winds over to Mission (not Bryant!) and down Mission until we hit 17th
3. It then turns right (East) on 17th Street
4. It then turns left (North) on South Van Ness (which is essentially the end for watchers... it does go down to 15th, but that is not a true watching area).

I recommend finding a spot somewhere on Mission, between 24th and 18th (the corner at 17th will be weird and you may not see us well) After you hoot and holla for us, you can head over to hear the Carnaval bands, check out the food booths, vendors, and main stage (more live performances- samba, etc) that are all along Harrison street, essentially parallel to Mission, from 24th to 17th.




And next, once you're all fed and happy with tacos and salsa music, head over to Hayes valley for Capsule - a design festival full of local artisans. I'm a sucker for these things, but they usually have great stuff. I've decided not to buy jewelry from stores anymore - only artisans, and I always get compliments! They'll be set up until 6, so that should give you plenty of shopping time. And then you're right there among all those great restaurants for dinner!

Looking forward to a good day on Sunday!

For Old Time's Sake

Here's a fun way to pass the time - find an old picture of yourself and re-create it today. Check out the ones people have done already on Old Me/Young Me, part of the Colorwars blog. I'm sure the family will get a kick out of it - might even make a good mom's day gift. In this case a couple of pictures are worth all the words...

A toast to Mom

The common theme I've seen in the listings I've gotten this week was taking your mom wine tasting for Mother's Day. So, here you have it. A list of all the drinking wine with mom activities I came across. There's one in different parts of the bay area, so I'm sure the other wineries, tasting rooms, and wine bars in the area would welcome your mom as well. We took my mom wine tasting in Livermore for her b-day last year, and she had a great time, so I think this idea is "mom tested, kid approved."

Battaion Cellars - Blacksmith Square - Downtown Livermore
Mothers Day Weekend Champagne Celebration at Battaion Cellars!
May 10, 2008 (Sat) - May 11, 2008 (Sun)
There will be live music in our fabulous courtyard on Sat May10th to jump start the weekend! We will have EXTRA SPECIAL (Cold Stone is one) treats that pair fabulously with all of our bubblies. Treat that special mom with an afternoon of sun, fun and delicious Battaion champagne!
(note from the blogger: my sis lives in Livermore, and says this place is fun!)

The Jug Shop Wine Bar - San Francisco
May 11, 2008 (Sun)
Were you a difficult child? Then what better way to share the warm fuzzies with Mom than to treat her to a fabulous tasting of one of Central Otago's most beloved wineries? And as our way of giving props to great mothers everywhere, moms taste free when accompanied by offspring of legal drinking age who purchase a ticket!

Hall St. Helena Winery
Celebrate with Mom at Hall Winery
May 11, 2008 (Sun)
For every paid tasting, we are offering all Moms a complimentary chair massage, a glass of our newly released 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, and a family portrait to commemorate the day.

BR Cohn - Glen Ellen (Sonoma)
Mothers Day Wine and Roses
Sunday, May 11
Bring Mom to B.R. Cohn Winery and we will treat her to a complementary wine tasting and a long stem rose.

Read on an empty stomach

I'm sparing you a photo on this one. I just ate lunch and then read this site, and oof - not good. But for a foodie like me, still relatively interesting. It's a website of the world's 6 most un-appetizing foods. From sheep heads to bugs to baby mice wine, I'm not sure what's really the worst. I don't think I ever want to be on Survivor either...

Check it out if you can stomach it: Cracked.com: The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World

Make up your mind, already!

It's tough - this election business. The candidates blur the lines between each other's standpoints, in some cases so much that it's hard to know what the difference really is. Well, I found the shirts to express your frustration (or ambivalence).

Headline Shirts has an Obama shirt with Hillary's face, and a Hillary shirt wtih Obama. Pretty funny if you ask me.

What's up Doc?

Did you go through the Doc Marten's phase? I did. I loved my Docs. I felt so cool when I wore them with my baggy jeans and flannel. Just like they did in Seattle. But I wasn't even a Pearl Jam fan. More a Morrissey/Cure fan myself. But I wore those Docs to every concert I went to in high school, I think.

Now, I didn't draw on my Docs. I liked them nice and black. A little patina to show they'd been around, but no white out anarchy symbols or duct tape or anything. But technology has changed and Doc Martens is able to print all sorts of crazy stuff on their shoes now! And they're having a contest to let you design your own, and possibly win, and have your design chosen to be made. I made my design (see above) and as you can tell, I was a bit inspired by the other day's post about that artist. But I'm super into Navy this season, so I decided the Doc had to go prep and go Navy. But the stripes are there to keep them fun.

So either vote for my design or submit your own, or both!