Olive Bread

I love the farmer's market in San Francisco and am sad when I can't make the Saturday Alemany market.  This morning, I purchased 2 bags full of finds but my favorite is this olive bread which I am not sharing ( my hubby doesn't like olives, yeah for me!)...it is sooooo good. I hope it makes it through the end of the day.  You will see I sampled before this picture was taken and there is only 1 loop left as I had to have some more after this picture was taken.

Buy a recycled Leather Handbag made in Potrero Hill

Just came across this article in 7X 7 about a company based in our neighborhood, Potrero Hill, in SF.  They make handbags from recycled leather products including all those old leather jackets from the 80's & 90's.  Their bags look awesome as we all know that leather really gets better with time. reMade USA

Happy 1 Year Anniversary Smokey

On July 5 we reached a milestone...we adopted Smokey or rather he allowed us to be a part of his life 1 year ago. It has been quite the year but honestly we don't know how we ever lived without him. He gives us never ending love, lots of tail wags, laughs and is ever so inquisitive about life. On our recent vacation, Smokey embraced and relished each car ride, hotel stay, chair lift ride, walk and swim with enthusiasm and a 'let's do it' attitude. We could all take lessons from Smokey. Happy Anniversary Smokey and yes, you can sleep in our bed anytime.

I also wanted to put a message out to all those people considering buying or adopting a dog in light of the recent over crowding in animal shelters.  I calculated our "necessary" expenses over the past year which includes vet visits, food, training and immunizations...we have spent about $2,500 which DOES NOT include the extras we like to provide to our #1 poochie which includes weekly squeaky balls, chewies, baths at Pawtrero (weekly), pretty leashes, treats, etc.  So to all of you who are considering adopting a pet and making them a member of your family, they are expensive so adopt wisely and if you can't afford it wait until you can. 

Beretta

Last night I(Kelly) ate at Beretta with the girls which is in the same spot that Supper Club used to be in. We were seated downstairs which holds about 40 people if having a group event. Beretta does not take reservations so I arrived at 7:00 and it took about 15 minutes to get a table so not too bad. When we first arrived there was only 1 other table downstairs so we could hear each other speak which was a stark contrast to the main level which was packed by 7pm and very loud. Once downstairs filled up it was also very loud and they had music blaring in the background adding even more noise, so not the best place for a conversation. The food was good and very typical SF bistro food featuring pizza, risotto and a main meat dish. It was good not great. You can find similar food at many SF restaurants. While I liked the hip atmosphere, the noise kind of killed the experience and not sure I would go back. It does have a nice bar for grabbing food and people watching and I think if in the neighborhood or you are looking for late night food(open until 1am) it is a good choice, but I wouldn't drive across town just to eat at Beretta.

Portable Espresso-Hot gift idea

I guess I have gift giving on my mind...I saw this on Daily Candy this morning and thought that this might be the coolest thing ever (or at least this week).

Portable Espresso Maker. It is only available for pre-order so will await the reviews once it is available but I bet this will be a hot gift item throughout 2009. It is available through the MyPressi website

Birthday Gift Idea for Jose

Jose-stop reading.

Jose is the most difficult person on the planet to buy a gift for as he has everything (except a shiny new house!). We fell in love with Favia wines at the Outstanding in the Field dinner last June at McEvoy Olive Oil Ranch and they just released their 2006 vintage for sale and it struck me as a good gift suggestion for Mr. Jose. We met the winemakers who are lovely people trying to produce great wines and grow grapes in an eco-fashion...I know Jose (and family) would love a gift of any of the red wines www.faviawines.com

Kashi coupon Alert

Good coupons available on the Kashi website today including $1.50 off 2 boxes of cereal. Jose loves Kashi cereal so this is worth printing and taking to the store.