The San Francisco Treat: Day 3

On Sunday morning we crawled out of bed to get ready for a full day of wine tours.  We did another tourist adventure where we boarded a bus that took us to Napa Valley and then to Sonoma Valley.  In order to get to the Valley's we had to take the bus over the Golden Gate Bridge.  Not my idea of fun since I have a fear of bridges, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  We also can say we went over the bridge on the 75th Anniversary of the bridge.

An hour later we arrived at our first stop in Napa Valley, Madonna Estates Winery.  This was a smaller winery that doesn't sell to many stores. With that said I am now sad that I didn't buy myself a case of wine while there because it was a much better deal to buy there than online.  Oh well!
 

Welcome to Napa Valley!

Wine barrels at Madonna Estates.

The vineyards.

Andy and I in the vineyards.

I wanted a picture of me and the vineyards.

The scenery in Napa was also AMAZING! It was just so beautiful.  I could park it in Napa any day with a bottle of wine and just enjoy the scenery in peace and quiet.

Outside of Madonna Estates. 

By the Welcome to Napa sign.

After Madonna Estates we stopped at a market to have lunch, shop and of course more wine.  I bought a bottle of wine here at the market from a boutique winery and I packed it in my suitcase with my fingers crossed that the bottle wouldn't break.  Luckily, it made it safely to AZ.

Finishing our lunch (with wine of course) at the Market.

Photo op at the Market.

Unfortunately our next stop was Sutter Home winery.  I am not a fan of that wine, but it was on the tour list of stops so we stopped and I had my tastings, and was back on the bus quickly.

At Sutter Home.

Beautiful flowers on the property.

Our last stop was Sebastiani winery.  They had a lot of wines I liked.  I didn't buy any there because the ones I liked could be purchased in stores.  Tim purchased two bottles of wine from this winery for us to share on the bus ride back to San Fran.  Because we did not have enough to drink all day long.  :)

At Sebastiani Winery.

Since this day marked our one year anniversary since we got married we decided to go to dinner by our self.  We decided on sushi and went to a local sushi place that was recommended by Courtney.  We were very pleased at how awesome the sushi was and were happy with the recommendation.  Following sushi Andy and I went to the White Horse for a drink before we headed back to the hotel.  On the way to the hotel we passed a bakery so we stopped in to get desserts to go.  It's nice to be in a big city where everything is still open at 10pm to get whatever you want.  We took the dessert back to our room where we ate it.  Since the first anniversary is the paper anniversary I got Andy tickets to a Cubs game and he got me tickets to a show at the comedy club.  Obviously we both Googled ideas for first anniversary paper gifts as we both got each other tickets to something.  Funny!

I can't believe it's been one year since I married my best friend and the love of my life.  One year ago we were sweating our butts off saying our vows in hot and sweaty Mexico and one year later we are celebrating in Napa Valley wine tasting.  Crazy! 

The San Francisco Treat: Day 2

On Saturday morning we woke up early to catch the ferry to do the biggest tourist adventure ever...Alcatraz!  I normally don't like the tourist tours, aka tourist traps, but I have always wanted to see Alcatraz and this was the only way to do it.  Surprisingly it was a great tour and wasn't awful like most tourist traps are.  We took the 9am ferry over and it ended up being a gorgeous day.  I heard how the ferry can be quite cold and Alcatraz is pretty cold; however, we had a very warm Saturday for our tour.

Golden Gate Bridge from the ferry.

San Francisco from the ferry.

Alcatraz from the ferry.

Once we arrived on Alcatraz we were guided to an area where we could start the tour.  It was not a normal tour where you stay in a large group and listen to some boring tour guide as they walk you through the location.  This was different.  You got a headset and controller where you could take the tour yourself.  You can start and stop the controller as you please and listen as you walk through the prison.  It was actually AWESOME!  I learned a lot about Alcatraz, aka the Rock, and I am so glad we did the tour.

We have arrived on Alcatraz Island.

I thought this sign was interesting.  It was posted where the inmates get checked into the prison.

Jail cell.

Hallway of jail cells.

This was the yard where the inmates got one - two hours a week to be outside.

Andy in the hole.  The hole was so small that I would get claustrophobic.

Andy and I on the island.

this sign was outside before you entered.  The Indians were welcome to come and work.

Following Alcatraz we walked down to the Ferry Building for lunch.  This place had a lot of unique food and was more like an indoor Farmer's Market.  Very neat place, but definitely a cluster of people.  Once we ate Andy and I wanted to leave ASAP as we could not stand the overly crowded building.  I bet this place would be better on a non-holiday and not a weekend as there was a ton of cute local shops that would have been neat to check out.

Following the ferry building it was time for a much needed drink.  We found a wine bar that had tables outside on the sidewalk, so we parked it and enjoyed a few hours of the beautiful weather with plenty of wine to drink.

Us outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

After the wine bar we headed back to our hotel for a quick change for dinner.  Prior to dinner we headed to Top of the Mark for drinks before dinner.  This bar was at the top of a hotel overlooking San Fran.  It was quite the sight to see.  It was awesome!  I would recommend getting drinks here if you ever visit.

View from Top of the Mark.

Another view.

This view is neat with the old church.

Following Top of the Mark we went to a steak house for dinner.  This wasn't far from Top of the Mark so we walked.  Ok, walking anywhere in San Fran is quite the workout as the streets are so hilly.  By hilly, I mean straight up and down.  I definitely got a workout during the long weekend walking the streets of San Fran.

The walk to dinner.

Following dinner we went out to a couple Irish Pubs (Irish Pubs were everywhere) with Courtney and Steven who live in San Fran so they took us to where the locals go. 

Pub #1: I am with Courtney and Steven - the engaged couple.

All of us at the second pub.

It was a good time, but we had to head back to the hotel around midnight since it was going to be an early morning.

The San Francisco Treat: Day 1

Last Friday (May 25th) we flew off to San Francisco for a long weekend.  We landed in Oakland around 11:30am and took the BART (their train) into Union Square in San Francisco where our hotel was.  Let me just note that Oakland is a shit hole!!!  Yup, dirty gross and probably unsafe if the sun is not out.  We arrived safely at the cute boutique hotel, Villa Florence, around 1pm.  It was a really cute hotel with an awesome location in downtown San Fran.  It was perfect!  Once we checked in and dropped off our bags we headed to the Burger Bar on top of Macy's for lunch.  Once our belly's were full we headed to an Irish Pub, Lefty O'Doul's, for drinks.  We hung out at this cute local Irish Pub for a few hours and had plenty of drinks.

Following the pub we changed and headed out to Tommy Toys for dinner.  This was an upscale Chinese restaurant just on the outside of Chinatown.  I didn't know Chinese food could be upscale, but it certainly was.  My food was fabulous and I would love to eat there again.  We all jumped on the trolley outside of the hotel and took it to Chinatown a little early in order to walk through and see the area before heading to dinner. 

Andy on the trolley!

Taking the trolley to Chinatown!

The only picture I took of Chinatown!  Lame!  But, you can see the Chinese lanterns hanging in the streets.

Chinatown was definitely neat to see and I bet you could get some very authentic yummy food there.  I also saw plenty of unusual food for sale at the many shops that lined the street.  


Following dinner we headed to another cute pub called The White Horse.  This was close to our hotel and was recommended by a friend.  We had a couple drinks there before we headed back to the hotel for the night. 

At the White Horse bar.

Charity, Relaxing and Soft Food

This weekend was filled with a charity event, relaxing and plenty of soft food.

Saturday
Our friend Kristin (Tom and Karen's daughter) is involved with the Scottsdale 20/30 Club.  This club puts on charity events throughout the year and on Saturday night they held their annual Viva Las Vegas event in downtown Scottsdale.  Andy went to this event last year while I was in WI for my bridal shower, but we both got to go this year.  We purchased our tickets last week and went with Tom, Karen, Mike and AJ.  They had a silent auction, live band, food tastings and of course an open bar.  All proceeds from the evening went to a charity. 

Andy and I at the event.

Karen and I at the event.

Sunday
This was a great day of getting things done and just relaxing. One thing I was unable to do was get up early and run the mountain due to the open bar from the night before.  Oh well, I still go a workout in, but instead I had to do a boring DVD.  I also got in the pool for the first time this year.  It was a tad on the cold side, but once I got in it wasn't so bad.  After lounging around and working out I walked into Andy taking a nap as well.  It wasn't just Andy though as he was joined by Izzy and Captain.  I couldn't resist taking a picture and including it in the blog.  I know I am going to pay for this.

Super Cute!  Izzy, Andy and Captain taking a nap on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I also continued on the soft food diet as I ended the weekend with chicken and dumplings.  I did make this one other time about 6 years ago, but was not a huge fan of it because it reminded me of soup...everything put together in a pot.  As you readers know I am not a fan of soup; however, I may be slowly converting...maybe!  This time around I found it to be very tasty!  The bonus is that I finally got to use the dutch oven we received from our wedding.

Soft Food Diet

Unfortunately I am on a soft food diet for two weeks.  I know it's only two weeks (or at least I hope so), but if you know me well, then you know I have issues with soft food.  I don't like to eat anything mooshy or overly soft.  It's a struggle for me, but I have to do it for a bit so this girl is going to buck up and eat soft food.

I have dealt with my TMJ for 17 years; however, now the pain in my jaw is pretty bad, the headaches are daily and I have been able to notice the jaw swelling in photos.  It was time to deal with it.  I have heard about this TMJ specialist in the valley so I decided to look into him.  He has all sorts of options for treating TMJ so I liked that about him.  I liked that it wasn't a "one solution fits all" approach.  After reviewing all the options on his website I knew the only thing I would refuse to do is to get braces.  Been there done that when I was 13 and I have no plans to go back to that time in my life.  I was glad to hear he did not recommend that option for me because I was in no mood to have an argument with a dentist about why I am refusing the braces.  Instead I am on a three month plan that includes the following things:

1. Soft food diet for the first two weeks to give my jaw a break.
2. Splint for the night when I sleep so I won't clench my teeth.
3. Splint for the day time.
4. Four different prescriptions for one month to controll my stress and decrease the inflamation in the jaw joints so my jaw can start to heal.

Last night was the first time I ever ordered soup for a meal.  This girl does not like soup as everything is combined together and pretty much mush.  If you know me really well you know I think the best invention ever is the plates with the dividers, so soup is not up my alley.  I was shocked though at how good it tasted. 

The night splint looks pretty HOT!  Good thing I snagged a husband before I got this splint to wear to bed.  I am sure Andy is looking forward to it.  I have always worn a nightguard to bed to protect my teeth from grinding, but this is a whole other ball of wax.  This contraption is pretty gigantic and I get mine in two weeks.  I am sure Andy is thrilled!

The day splint is supposed to be for three months and then I should only have to wear it as needed if my TMJ flares up.  It's clear and not noticeable, but apparently I could have a hard time talking until I get used to it.  That will be AWESOME during the week at work.  He did say I could take it out for meetings and other work activities that I have to talk a lot, but it's a must to wear when I am driving, working out or at my desk.  Apparently those three activities put a lot of stress on TMJ.

Lastly, the prescriptions.  Not a big fan of prescriptions.  I hate prescriptions and tend to opt out of any and all precriptions I get from the doctor.  This time I decided to cooperate and get all four prescriptions filled and take as instructed.  I figured I am paying a butt load for this treatment so I need to follow all orders for it to work properly.  Also, for those that know me, it's pretty hard to follow any orders. 

Ugh...it's going to be a long three months!

Gala's, Shopping & Babies

I entered this weekend thinking I had nothing going on and it would be a pretty laid back weekend...nothing new.  I was soon mistaken.

Friday
Andy had plans for a guy night in the M&I suite at the Dbacks game, so I thought my night would be filled with shopping, take out and a bottle of wine.  I was wrong.  On Friday around 4:30, I received a call from my friend Jessica who invited me to attend a Chamber Gala...a work function.  Last minute she found out the firm had an extra ticket and was asked to invite someone. So, on a short notice (1.5 hours in advance) she thought of me.  Actually, her words were "You have been blogging about how you and Andy don't have much going on so I thought you might be available."  Of course I am available.  By the time I got home from work I had 30 minutes to get ready for a Gala.  Jessica picked me up and we headed to Scottsdale where we saw a live bull, orchestra and cloggers.  Yes, all three at the one event.  We left the event and headed to a country bar (not usually my thing) where we shared more cocktails.  I got home "late" for me.  I am glad Jessica thought of me and assumed I had nothing going on because I had a great time and good girl time too.

Saturday
Once I got out of bed from being exhausted from the night before (maybe it was from too many drinks from the night before), I headed to the nail salon to get my toes done.  Then this girl went shopping at Nordstrom Rack where I was receiving text updates on my friends, Amber and Brian, giving birth to their second baby.  Andy and I decided to do nothing on Saturday night because this old couple is unable to go out two nights in a row.

Sunday
We got the joy of visiting the Campbell's and most importantly, baby Briggs Campbell.  We first picked up a gift for baby Briggs, and of course a gift for little Miss Stella so she doesn't feel left out.  We headed down to "Tucson" and visited for about an hour.  Let me tell you, baby Briggs is ADORABLE!  I did hold him too!  Yup, I held a newborn baby who was approximately a day old.  The second time I ever held a newborn, but also probably the third time ever holding a baby.  I am not going to lie, I was SUPER nervous.  I was probably the stiffest person ever to hold a baby.  It definitely did not feel natural at all.  He also was farting the whole time I was holding him.  It was kind of funny.  He is super cute and congrats to the Campbell family.

Welcome to May!

I realized that our one year anniversary is coming up.  How exciting.  We never celebrated an anniversary before since we really never had one.  We could never agree on when we actually started dating, but we do know it's sometime in the October/November time frame.  We will be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary in San Francisco on a family vacation.  When I say family I am not talking about the animals, but instead it will be us, Andy's dad, Shelley, Courtney and her fiance (they live in San Fran), Mackenzie, Ryan and Lisa. 

In thinking back on this past year nothing has really changed from being in a relationship to being married.  I guess our Facebook status was updated, oh, and I gained weight.  They say after the wedding you gain weight, just like the freshman 15.  I never experienced the freshman 15 before as I have been lucky to be blessed with the skinny genes.  Ok, so my skinny genes have depleted once I turned 30 and then definitely after we got married.  Hey, it's not easy being married to Mr. Skinny Man who can eat whatever he wants and not gain a pound.  It's not completely his fault since I have never been one to eat horribly, but I had to learn portion control.  My 20's were definitely more friendly to me when it came to portion size, but not so much in my 30's so this was something I never had to deal with.  I could eat whatever I wanted and in large sizes and it never mattered. 

With that said I have decided to do something about this weight gain.  I don't know how much I weigh or how much I have gained since I do not own a scale, which that is on purpose.  I like to go on how I feel in my clothes.  That is what I base it on and if I can look in the mirror and be happy.  So, my goal is not a number it is based on feeling.  I have been doing this for about a month now and I am finally starting to feel a little better.  Not 100%, but better.  The first thing I had to do is work on portion size. The old me would eat a small breakfast, small lunch and then a GIANT dinner.  I subscribe to the Cooking Light magazine and they provided some tips on portion control.  First, I had to improve my breakfast and not skimp on that, a small mid-morning snack, light lunch, mid-afternoon snack and then dinner.  I have been putting my dinner on a salad plate instead of a dinner plate as this keeps me from over eating.  Also, this magazine has some great dinner ideas.  The first one I tried was a Pork Tenderloin over Couscous with Pistachio-Lemon Vinaigrette.  I was kind of worried at first on how this would taste, but it turned out fantastic and was only 489 calories.  I put this on a side plate to control my portion size and I wasn't even hungry after dinner.  This was the first week of changing everything around about a month ago.

If you want the recipe let me know and I will copy it from the Cooking Light magazine.

I also found this turkey meatball over angel hair pasta with pesto sauce.  This was on Pinterest though and it turned out amazing!  I was worried that Andy wouldn't eat it because of the turkey meatballs, but he actually liked it and used the leftover meatballs the next day for sandwiches.  I don't know the calorie content, but figured it can't bee too bad considering what I put in the meatballs.  Next time I should use wheat pasta, but Andy really does not like wheat pasta.  I figured turkey meat balls was pushing it.

 Next on my list to try from Cooking Light is fish tacos with a mango salsa and grilled salmon with brown butter couscous served with yellow squash and zucchini.

So, I have changed up my eating habits and workout 4 - 5 times a week, so I am now on the road to start feeling better about myself.  My clothes are starting to fit better and I actually enjoyed shopping this past weekend.