my city by the bay {day 2}

-DAY 2-

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH

"The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gay

The glory that was Rome is of another day

I've been terribly alone 

and forgotten in Manhattan

I'm going home to my city by the bay..."

"I left my heart in San Francisco..."

"High up on a hill, it calls to me

To be where little cable cars 

climb halfway to the stars..."

{chase was not a fan. freaked him out. scared his little sweet heart. poor chap.}

"The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care

My love waits there in San Francisco

Above the blue and windy sea

When I come home to you, San Francisco

Your golden sun will shine for me."

-"I Left My Heart In San Francsico" by Tony Bennett-

...

and shine it certainly did.

i spent my childhood 

taking trips to pier 39.

other than going to FAO Schwartz at Christmas time 

and watching the puppies in the Macy's Christmas windows,

Pier 39 was my favorite trip into the city.

eating churros and sourdough bread bowls full of piping hot clam chowder.

i remember it was always foggy,

but i don't remember it being cold.

my dad and sandie assured me it was not always foggy,

but when it was,

it was cold.

i was made for the fog.

my BONES were made for the fog:)

my dad rode a bunny on the carousel with max.

she was over the moon elated over the entire thing.

dad was too.

it was SO SO cute.

sean got roped into the twisty pot with brennan.

they came off of that carousel wobbly and tinted green.

so glad no one puked:)

sandie and i were so glad we got to stay with chase on the side.

chase made "arf arf" sounds,

and brennan and max discussed which sea lions were fighting,

who was falling off of their platforms,

and why were there no sea lions on the platforms up front?

i told them i wouldn't want to be that close to people staring at me either.

it was most exciting when they would swim right down in front of us.

thank goodness we practiced our sea lion sounds in the car ride to california.

always be prepared!

scout's motto.

we were prepared.

that's for sure.

then brennan worked up ideas about how someone could escape Alcatraz.

it involved flagging down fishing boats to hitchhike a ride.

and then waving at people on the pier as the boat brought him back to shore.

clever boy.

{see the bat he's holding? we bought him a giant's mini baseball bat. 

he slept with it for two nights straight.}

max ran away screaming from the street performers.

and i hid the candy they gave my kids.

it magically got lost in the depths of my purse.

while we distracted them with the best hot fudge sundae on the entire planet.

i may or may not have thrown the candy away in the hotel garbage canisters out front. 

MAY have.

i have rules about street candy.

none that i planned to make ahead of time,

just one that i made right then a there to myself.

and it involved MAYbe throwing the candy away.

that's all i'm saying.

i paid a dollar in tips for it.

i can't do what i want with it.

there now, glad we got that all cleared up.

you remember that it's good,

and you think you know how good it was the last time you had it,

but then you have it,

and it's like you've never had chocolate in your entire life until this very minute right now.

here.

at ghiradelli square.

yep, that's exactly what it's like.

brennan tried to sword me off with his spoon.

i would not be deterred.

sharing is caring!

that's what i told him.

at night we were catered to by the Sens Restaurant staff,

with the port of san francisco behind us,

and the cheering of the giant's baseball game from the stadium somewhere close to us.

i ate the most delicious crab cakes of my life,

which is saying something b/c i can't say i've ever like a crab cake until that night.

i let my kids have as much soda as they wanted,

which meant i was taking people to the potty the entire night.

in my heels.

and i don't ever wear heels.

i lost count after my 5th trip.

let's just say it was a good thing i brought an extra pair 

of my little pony underwear for max in my purse.

winning:)

i also learned that high heels were not made for an entire night in the city.

they are made for exits out of the hotel,

and the cocktail party before dinner,

but definitely not for the entire night.

i had to learn this the hard way.

the really hard way.

like we couldn't catch a cab home to save our lives,

and it was 10:36pm,

and all of the cabs in the entire city were at the giant's game that had just let out,

and my dad finally guilted a cabby to take all 7 of us home.

in

one

cab.

and i swore i would never leave the hotel in heels without my flats in my purse ever again.

lesson learned.

lesson.

learned.

stacked summer

my mother in law served us "stackers" a few weeks ago.
her favorite summer meal.
one that she has always made for her family.
well in nine years of knowing her i couldn't believe i had never been introduced!
bless her for this lovely:)
it is now my favorite go to meal.
think taco salad, minus the meat.
i give you...
STACKERS.

STEP 1:
cook a pot of rice. {1-2 cups rice with 1-2 cups water}
cook package of spaghetti sauce
{i just bought it at the store--add water and tomato sauce},
but any bottled spaghetti sauce would work as well.
chop up lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, and any other veggies you like.
crush a can of olives with your fingers.
shred cheese.

STEP 2:
lay out the lettuce.
next the rice.

STEP 3:
top with cheese {gets all melty on the hot rice, YUM}.

STEP 4:
top with veggies.

STEP 5:
top with spaghetti sauce.
{i know it sounds weird, but it's so good and light}

STEP 6:
garnish with sour cream and fritos.

TA-DA!
reasons why i love this meal:
1. i prepared it in UNDER 30 minutes, and if you don't count the rice cooking then it was only 15 min.
2. cleaned it up in 10 minutes {cutting board, knife, pot, plates, silverware--awesome}
3. meatless {i love meat, but i love a good meatless night once a week}
4. sour cream and fritos--YUM
5. shredded cheese--YUM
6. light and easy=perfect for summer
7. my kids love it AND they can stack it themselves {mucho FUN-O}

YOU'RE WELCOME

:):):)

................

the sunset made our street glow pink the other night.

right after it had rained all day.

i stood outside on the humid summer night.

no cars driving around.

just quiet.

with birds chirping in the trees.

pinks, yellows, purples, blues, and oranges in the sky.

there was beauty all around.

i have a rotting pumpkin on my doorstep {vacation hangover}

while i was in the shower,
brennan had christmas early.
then max found the floss.
i knew she smelled minty.
then brennan found the rest of the floss and finished it off while i was putting max to bed.
and while i was rolling the floss back up
(don't ask me why i didn't just throw it out. i don't even know the answer to that),
he found the last of the tissue paper and well,
it wasn't really that bad.
heaven bless good friends that bring a double dose of medication for migraines to your door:)
have mercy.
i loathe the day after vacation ends.

it's funny.

when the chaos ensues one thing after another.

it just starts to get funny.

slap happy funny.

really,

i'm being serious.