One Busy Bee

Measurements today said I gained weight. Well damn. This isn't going so well. And I know why. Whiskey and diet. Last Sunday night, we had a foie gras private party. Our foie gras ice cream was the best offering. Just saying! I also had a lot of caviar and crostinis. Damn those carbs! But nice shoes, right? Shoes by Jessica Simpson and caviar from The Caviar Company . The next day was my day off with MBT and we love whiskey as seen on my Instagram pic that the new Fort Green Bar in Oakland re-posted during Oakland Restaurant Week 2017 .  We also stopped at Havana in Walnut Creek for another beverage before going to our cooking class at Sur La Table . A separate post will be on that fun event. The next evening, I had to attend my Cugino's birthday dinner and I picked up Beard Papa's Cream Puffs in San Mateo. They were pretty good! And not to mention the spread of meat, crab legs and birthday cake and wine. Oh goodness.

For anyone that works in the food and beverage industry we know that January and February tend to be a bit slow after the holidays. Restaurant associations market Restaurant Week in Oakland and San Francisco. Why they overlap, I'm not sure. Restaurant Week is an opportunity for restaurants to attract business with a special two or three course special menu for lunch and/or dinner starting at $10. This is also a great time to try a restaurant that customers otherwise wouldn't have tried given their usual average cost per person. Living in the East Bay and also dating someone also in the industry, we took advantage of our Monday off and searched for a spot to participate in Oakland Restaurant Week . After searching lunch menus online and avoiding the tempting $40 meals, we ended up at The Trappist with a $20 menu. It was a beer, a shepherd's pie and pickled veggies.  Though accessible via Bart, we were able to find parking the next street over. We happily found our w

Weigh in and taking before photos the day before is never fun but they were done and posted. What also happened was that the first day of this 12-week long challenge didn't start off so good.  Friends and I pre-gamed at DW  before a Luxardo cocktail competition at the Forgery down the street in San Francisco. I have only been there one other time before with a nice big group and it was nice to be invited to this industry event. I knew one of the competitors, Ryan. His entry was excellent and creative. 'Instafriends' & lovers of the advertising world, Julia & I. I just met her last month! See the temptation. And so demanding! Find Ryan and his delicious cocktails at The Treasury Luxardo cotton candy. Can't say I didn't have any. The night didn't stop at the Forgery. We ended up at Mr. Tipple's nearby for some lite apps, drinks and live jazz. The Rye All Day is still a fave of mine. Glad they've kept it on the menu. Th

Thanks to Twitter , I saw a post by Visit California that there are more than 4,000 wineries in California. I thoroughly enjoy wine tasting. It is always a great time with wonderful people. I thought I would start a log of wineries I have had the pleasure of visiting and link posts I have created based on those visits. Visiting where the wine is made takes tasting their wine to a whole other level. Please visit the other posts for more information! The list is in alphabetical order. Enjoy! Viansa in Sonoma, California - November 2016 CURRENT TALLY: 74 California Wineries Anaba Winery -  Sonoma International Film Festival 2017 Artesa Winery Big Basin Vineyard Black Stallion Winery - Napa 5-29-11 BoaVentura - Wine Log 2014 Cerruti Cellars Chateau Ste. Michelle Christopher Creek Cinnabar Vineyard Clif Family Winery Cline Cellars Clos Pegase Darioush Winery - Napa 5-29-11 David Bruce Domaine Carneros Domaine Chandon Dutton-Goldfield Ektimo Vineyards - Win

So sad to have to leave Venice after such a short amount of time. We were approaching the end of our trip and we had one city left: Milan. I have never been before and it's the fashion capital of the world. I was planning on doing some damage, for sure. We packed and headed down to get breakfast at the Ca' D'Oro Hotel . This place had chocolate croissants, bread, cheese and prosciutto. I was still feeling ill so I had to have some orange juice with my meal. Notice the Nutella packets? Yum! A porter was going to cost us quite a bit so we took our chances getting onto a water taxi. The device to pay didn't accept cards and I didn't have enough Euros. Sorry, Venice, I had no way to pay for our rides. And there was no one there to help us. I swear we weren't trying to be 'those tourists.' We were cautious getting onto the boat with our heavy luggage and found a spot close to the entrance. The sun was shining and I wished we could have stayed just on