Shira, Etc.

Went to the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last weekend! And what a fabulous weekend it was!! Jen, Suzanne and I hit up the Ferry building for the Farmer’s Market and investigated Michael Recchiuti’s mouth-watering booth. He has some very interestingly flavored truffles (not all of which I enjoyed). We sampled a variety, including burnt caramel, lavender vanilla, rose caramel, star anise and pink peppercorn, and ginger heart. (Burnt caramel was my fave). After crepes on the boardwalk, we headed over to The Renoir for a little R&R before a big night out on the town.
We dined on thin crust pizza at a little tavern in the Marina District and met up with the SF crew for some drinks and dancing (followed by more drinks and dancing at the exclusive Club 789.
The next morning, we hit the streets and headed over to the Moscone Center for our first International Industry Event! So many samples!
Remind me to tell you about Naan & Curry….

I came across an INTERESTING article yesterday in Psychology Today. A new study was done that shows that people who take Creatine (regularly for at least 6 weeks) actually perform better on tests than people who do not take the supplement. It does not, however increase your IQ, just helps you perform better on exams. Creatine is a natural substance that you can find in meat (but you’d have to eat 4 lbs. every day to get the amount they provide in one pill). Apparently there are some benefits in those “dietary supplements”afterall.

St. Helena is not exactly a booming metropolis, however, the modern woman makes the most out of every situation. This partly explains why we go to Ana’s Cantina just about every Friday night. Ana’s is the local dive bar, whose only real claim to fame is the hottest Thursday night Karaoke in the Napa Valley. On the weekends they hire out mediocre rock bands to play songs that nobody’s ever heard before. But if you drink enough Tequila, it makes the place a good deal more interesting. Here’s a photo taken on the way home from one of our recent excursions to the Cantina.
For you Hotshot lovers out there, the latest update to said photo gallery is the documentation of my Aunt Joan’s wedding. Thanks to Joe for sending me hot photo editing and illustrating programs!!! Thank you!! Watch for hot new illustrations (I realize that the lobsters aren’t the most professional looking images, but I’m getting back into the groove…)

October and November are officially Months of Pumpkin Celebration!

We’re heading to SF for Halloween! Apparently, the Spook Night celebration in the Castro District is THE place to be, so we’re going to check it out. There’s a parade to kick off the night’s events, lots of music, some costume contests, etc. It’s as close as SF gets to Mardi gras. There’s even a Tantric Underground Dance Stage, which intruiges me… it seems like the Risque-factor for that particular event could be pretty high. I guess we’ll have to see how daring we are! What are you all dressing up as?!?!