I have made no secret of my love of the month of November. It is by far our best month in the Bay Area, and there are so many things to enjoy. But I must admit, there are times when it’s already 11/30 and I don’t feel like I got as much out of November as I could have. So this year, I’m being intentional about enjoying this wonderful month.
It’s the final two weeks of the exhibit on the Tudors at the Legion of Honor. Not sure why we didn’t get there sooner, but it was a busy summer! But here’s your final notice that this wonderful exhibit will be departing San Francisco on September 24th. So hightail it into San Francisco to check it out.
Part of being an empty-nester is being able to spend more time with your spouse. And for Dear Husband, that seems to involve seeing a Sondheim production whenever possible 🙂 This time, we ventured into San Francisco. And he lured me in with the promise of lunch in North Beach.
When you ask someone what the best Bay Area grocery stores are, you will invariably hear about Berkeley Bowl. And they aren’t wrong- the produce at Berkeley Bowl is really extraordinary. I have never seen so many types of apples, potatoes, carrots. But a close second is a bit more unknown- Monterey Market in Berkeley.
It has been raining A LOT in the Bay Area. But Dear Husband and I refused to let that stop us from hiking and having lunch in Oakland to celebrate the anniversary of our meeting. So we set out for the Skyline Trail in Oakland and started the 5 mile round trip hike.
Update in March 2023: I noticed that the 2023 home and garden tour is scheduled for May 6, 2023. I highly recommend getting on the mailing list and blocking your calendar! I am still thinking, almost a year later, about how wonderful some of the houses featured were. One tip: skip the boxed lunch and make reservations elsewhere for lunch after the tour 🙂
Sophie and I had a fun mother-daughter day spending the morning touring five fantastic homes and gardens. It truly was California living at its best! I wanted to share some of the themes I saw across the five residences, in case you’ll be renovating soon.
It’s great fun to try new places around the Bay Area. Restaurants have had a tough time of it over the past few years. And so many places have gone out of business- perhaps forever? So when I find a cool place to try, I try to organize an outing asap. We need to do our best to keep experiences like lunch at Heroic Italian in business!
I love going out for lunch these days. It’s a perfect way to break up a weekend of chores, and restaurants are usually not too busy. You can get there early, and relax with a leisurely lunch. We did exactly that recently at the Swan Market in Oakland. It’s a food hall with a number of delicious options to choose from. I guarantee that everyone will find something to love.
Dear Husband, Sophie and I recently ventured out to Dublin to try some fantastic dim sum at Koi Palace. Koi Palace has a few locations across the Bay Area, and although Dublin is a bit of a drive, we thoroughly enjoyed trying something new.
I really love a long, leisurely lunch. It doesn’t happen often, and when it does, it’s usually on vacation. But I’ve been trying to add family lunches to our routine, and we recently headed to Doppio Zero in Concord for pizza. It was really terrific and I highly recommend it to anyone in the area.
