My Weekend

Mike and I headed up north this last weekend to help celebrate my Dad's birthday and what a wonderful weekend it was!

On Friday Mike and I had the day to ourselves so we bummed around Lodi, ran a few pre-birthday party errands and picked up some perfectly ripe fruit from a local stand near our house. Later that night, we headed to Sacramento to met up with my very best friend, Holly, for dinner.

On Saturday, we headed over to San Francisco with my parents and had a grand ol' time. There is something about San Francisco that I cannot get enough of. I love the weather, the feel, the sites, everything! In this trip, we started off with breakfast at the Cliffhouse and headed over to the Legion of Honor to view their new exhibit. (P.S. the Legion of Honor grounds remind me of Versailles. Very European)

Then we were off to Hayes Valley to stop into the cutie-patoottiest (it's a word) candy/cake shop in the world, Miette, for some pistachio macarons, lavender shortbread, salted caramels and other amazing confections. I would live in this store if I could...that is how much I love this place.

While we were in the neighboring park eating a few of our baked treasures, we saw this ice cream shop that had very odd flavors. One of those flavors happened to be 60% dark chocolate with candied jalapeno peppers...so we knew my dad was hooked. I'm so glad we took this detour and tried Smitten Ice Cream because I think it is the best I've ever had. Especially their Brown Sugar ice cream with cinnamon shortbread crumbles. TO. DIE. FOR.

For our late lunch/early dinner, we headed over to Boudin for their famous Clam Chowder Bread Bowls and a loaf of sourdough.

Can you tell our San Francisco trips revolve around what we eat? Ha ha ha!!

Who cares? It was all so Yummy!

San Francisco never ceases to amaze me and I've slowly planted that love into Mike's head now too! (But I think his love stems from the amazing food we get to enjoy there) Out of everywhere we've been, it is still one of our favorite places.

Now don't get me wrong...I do enjoy our Southern California "10-minute drive to the beach" benefits. But I'm a San Francisco girl by heart. It would make sense though since it is in my genes.

I can still hear my Gram singing Tony Bennett's, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"

...and I know exactly how she felt.

xoxo

The Jig is Up...

For Mike's graduation vacation, we are going to Cancun!

I'm super excited for the vacation, but really bummed out that Mike figured it out. I was keeping this surprise for 2 months!

And that is hard for me since I hate surprises.

But in the end, I guess it doesn't matter when Mike figured it out. The important thing is we are going together.

He was pretty shocked too since I had him thinking we were going to Texas or Idaho for a week.

Yeah...that's right. I can be sneaky when I need to be.

We have 2 more weeks people! 2 MORE WEEKS!

Where is the World is Jess & Mike Pless...

Does anyone else remember the show 'Where in the World is Carmen San Diego'?

It use to be one of my favorite shows when I was a kid.

I've been singing the show's theme song all week this week since I've just booked Mike's Secret Vacation for his Graduation Celebration.

Except my version is tweaked just a little bit...

Mike is probably getting sick of my singing, but I am just so excited!

Mike has been working so hard and he will finally be graduating next month. So, as a little present, he and I are going on a vacation for a week and he has no clue where we are going.

And just in case he reads this blog - highly doubtful though - I'm keeping my lips zipped about the vacation location.

I'm so excited I could almost just pee my pants! No more homework, no more senior project, tests, etc. and I get more time with my hubby!

Plus I get to share in the vacation celebrations.

I am actually surprised I haven't spilled the beans yet...

Whoo Hoo!

On the 16th Day of Christmas

On the 16th Day of Christmas, my true love and I are giddy about our:

10 Anderson San Francisco Traditions!

We are heading to Northern California on Sunday for an Anderson Christmas Vacation and we cannot wait for our annual San Francisco trip.

I love San Fran! It is a gorgeous city with so much amazing history.

Our traditions include:

1. The Japanese Tea Gardens
2. Ghirardelli Square
3. Paddle Boats in S.F. Park
4. Scoma's (delicious!!)
5. Union Square
6. Bike Rides in the park
7. Farmers Market Place
8. Food Tours
9. The Cliffhouse
10. The Botanical Gardens
    

I cannot wait! And this year, we are trying something new...a Segway tour!

I'm doing my happy dance right now...