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Archive for Bay Area on a Budget

My friends in San Francisco are always discovering cool new places to eat. Places that may seem like a hole in the wall but serve excellent food.

I have not yet tried Florida Street Café but it is on my bucket list of restaurants to go to. The thing that is cool about Florida Street Café is it is a program of the Mission Language and Vocation School and the Latino Cuisine Culinary Academy. It helps support these training programs and increase employment opportunities in the restaurant industry through workforce development.

Celia went the other day and reported that the atmosphere is fun and the food is fantastic and affordable.  She took some photos. I just learned from the Florida Street Café Website they also provide catering services.

Florida Street Cafe
http://floridastreetcafe.com
710 Florida St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.648.5220

Feb
21

Shopping with a View in San Francisco

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As you may or may not know my neighbor Amy and I are pretty dedicated hikers. We go out every morning (6-7 days a week) with our dogs for a hike. However on super rainy days we do not go. This is problem because hiking is what we do for exercise. I decided instead of being a wimp on rainy days I’d go out and buy some rain gear so at least we could still get out when it is pouring rain, even if we didn’t go on the trails we could walk up and down the winding hilly streets of our neighborhood.

I wanted good quality rain gear but I didn’t want to spend the money I would have to if I went to REI. Instead, I went to the Sports Basement in San Francisco. The Sports Basement is an awesome place for getting great deals on quality brand name athletic clothing. A few years ago I bought a big puffy down Northface jacket from the Sports Basement. I called REI first to compare prices and it was $50 cheaper at the Sports Basement.

The Sports Basement in the Presidio is located in one of the most beautiful spots in San Francisco.  It’s right across the street from the Crissy Field Beach located below the Golden Gate Bridge. The views are breathtaking.  You can see the bridge, Alcatraz and the city skyline. We were lucky because when we got to the store it was not raining so we took a walk on the beach before doing our shopping. The boardwalk was full of happy people walking, jogging, rollerblading, biking and playing with their dogs.

It’s fun to shop at Sports Basement. It has a very casual friendly feel. There are couches throughout the store and they encourage you to hang out and chat. There is even a play area for kids. Lot’s of community stuff going on there. I found a great rain jacket and a pair of convertible pants I love! We’re back to walking or hiking everyday and it feels great!

Jan
03

Affordable Haircuts in Marin? Yes.

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Tere

*UPDATE* 11/23/10 this place is now called Salon Mirsa but it’s still the same great people.

I got a haircut in the Bay Area for $10! In today’s economy I’m always looking for a good deal. As you might have guessed I spend a big chunk of my income on going out to eat which leaves me to budget the rest of my finances. I’m very careful about how I spend my money and I don’t spend more than I have. In order to have enough money to enjoy all the wonderful restaurants I like to patronize I have to keep my budget in check.

A great way I found to save a little extra cash is on my haircuts. I like to support local independent business so going to that big chain haircut store to get a mediocre haircut doesn’t really fit with my plan. But going to a local independently owned salon and paying $70+ for a haircut doesn’t really fit with my budget. I was thrilled to discover Salon Carlos located in San Rafael in the Canal district. I can get a good quality haircut for only $10! Actually, Celia discovered this place when she worked at the Canal Alliance. It is located right next door. We both go to Salon Carlos regularly to get our hair cut. Celia even went there in November to get her hair dyed purple. Since she keeps her hair so short the purple has already grown out and she is back to her usual salt & pepper look.

Tere and Celia

Our favorite stylist is Tere; she always does a great job. However, on days when she is not there I’ve tried others and they are also very good. While waiting for Celia to get her hair cut I’ve watched Carlo’s cut hair, he’s great with the small children.

Salon Carlos

I also get to practice my Spanish while getting my hair cut; this is included with the $10. ;-)

If you are looking for a good, inexpensive hair cut and want to support your local business owners then I highly recommend Salon Carlos. You may want to call first to get an appointment because it is always full of people.

Salon Carlos is open Monday through Saturday from 10am – 8pm and Sunday from 9am -7pm. Drop Ins are welcome.

Happy Hair Cutting!

Salon Carlos Mirsa
87 Larkspur Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
415.453.1762
www.saloncarlos.com

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Nov
26

14 Fun Things to do in the Bay Area

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Fun things to do in the Bay Area this weekend. Are you trying to think of fun things to do with your family that is in town? Has your family already seen all the usual San Francisco tourist stops? Fisherman’s Wharf,  shopping on Pier 39,  the famous curvy Lombard Street and Ghirardelli Square? If so, here are some new ideas to entertain your out of town guests over the holiday season. Have fun!

  1. Take ferry to San Francisco and walk around the ferry building and then go ice skating in the Embarcadero.
  2. Walk around Tiburon.
  3. Take a ferry to Angel Island and go for a hike.
  4. Go shopping on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley.
  5. Visit the Camera Obscura in San Francisco. (The giant camera)
  6. Walk around Chinatown, be adventurous and try some Dim Sum.
  7. Visit a farm in Petaluma! Learn about where your food comes from.
  8. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.
  9. Go to Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden, Botanical Gardens, Conservatory of Flowers and so much more.
  10. After Golden Gate Park you can walk around Haight Street and see the famous Haight/Ashbury neighborhood.
  11. Go for a Mountain Bike ride in Marin County
  12. Tuesday Night Comedy Night in Mill Valley with Mark Pitta.
  13. Take a drive to Stinson Beach and keep driving to find the secret town of Bolinas.
  14. Go wine tasting in Napa and then try some delicious vegetarian food.

Happy Holidays!

If you have any suggestions for fun and unique things I didn’t list here please leave a comment letting us know.

Nov
07

Tommy and Tacos

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Victoria TheaterLast night I saw The Who’s Tommy at The Victoria theater in San Francisco. The show was awesome! The quality of the singers, dancers and musicians was top notch. The boy who played 4 year old Tommy was adorable! (But I kept thinking isn’t it past his bedtime?) ;-) The sound engineers were incredible.

Tonight is the last night to see Tommy so if you are looking for something fun to do tonight I suggest going to see Tommy! They serve beer and wine at the venue. I had a Belgium White Beer and it was quite tasty.

After the play was over we hung out for a bit and I got to meet one of the actors (I met on Twitter), Alex Rodriquez who is an amazing dancer and singer with a beautiful smile. Alex has so much energy and passion on stage it just makes you smile while watching him. I asked Alex if he’d be interested in being interviewed on Sally Around The Bay and he said yes so we should be hearing from him in the upcoming weeks.  He told me his next project is Rent.

Los CoyotesThe theater is located in The Mission District. As we were walking back to our car (which by the way we were wishing was  a Mini Cooper because it would have been SO much easier to park) I decided I was hungry so we stopped at the first Taqueria we found open: Los Coyotes Taqueria. I ordered 2 fish tacos ($2.99 each) and think they may be the best fish tacos I’ve ever had in my life! Celia had a baby burrito. We liked how they offered different sizes of burritos. She said it was tasty. The tacos and the burrito hit the spot. If you like Mexican food then the Mission District in San Francisco is the place to go. There are endless Taquerias to try.

Picture of the Victoria Theater via Flickr User ehover
Picture of Los Coyotes Taqueria via Rodrigo R on Yelp

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Oct
31

Family Fun on Halloween

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Halloween family fun in the Bay Area.

Looking for something fun and original to do for Halloween?

Tara Firma Farms is hosting a super fun and original Halloween Extravaganza!

HalloweenExtravaganza09

Cute Pig

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Oct
24

Stickers Stickers Stickers!

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Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Factory Did you know you can visit a sticker factory in the Bay Area? I was delighted to discover Mrs. Grossman‘s on Twitter the other day. Seeing her name sent me spiraling down memory lane.

Those of us that were children in the 70s and 80s were of the generation when stickers become the craze! Did you have a sticker collection? Was the collection in an album? I did! My favorite stickers were Mrs. Grossman’s because hers were the best quality and there were so many choices. I remember saving up my money, going to the mall with my friend and buying the stickers one at a time off the roll, they were .5 – .10 cents each. Then my friend and I would go home add them to our sticker albums and be armed and ready to go to school to show off our new treasures and to do some serious trading.

Since I no longer own my sticker album :-( I did a Google search and found this blog about stickers.  This woman was a serious sticker collector!

After discovering Mrs. Grossman’s on Twitter I followed her and found out you can visit their factory for a tour and discovered the factory is right here in the Bay Area! Mrs. Grossman lives right here and her stickers are made here in the Bay Area! How cool is that?! I immediately arranged for a tour.

Andrea Grossman started her home-based design business in 1979 from her dining room table in Woodacre, CA. Today Mrs. Grossman’s is housed in an 110,000 square ft. corporate headquarters with it’s own printing plant. The company has designed more than 2,200 different stickers and sells their products throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. -www.mrsgrossmans.com

When I arrived for the tour I was greeted by a friendly woman who gave me some stickers and walked me in to the room with the rest of the tour (I was a few minutes late). I joined the group and sat and watched a video about the history of Mrs. Grossman’s. I learned Mrs. Grossman has a dog named Angus who is the customer service representative of Mrs. Grossman’s. The first sticker ever made for individual sale was the big red heart. Mrs. Grossman’s favorite words are “I love my job” and everyone that worked there seemed to really love their job.

Angus at Mrs. Grossman's

Mr’s Grossman is celebrating her 30th anniversary in the sticker business this year. The first sticker was made in 1979 and sold in a little store in Sausalito (right here in Marin County) called Pine Street Papery. I just checked and they are still selling Mrs. Grossman’s stickers! Their Website says they carry every single Mrs. Grossman’s sticker made. I think I might be stopping by there for a future blog post. ;-)

Mrs. Grossman’s recycles their waste paper and were certified green in 2009. She has also donated millions of stickers to childrens hospitals throughout the years. She allows employees to bring their dogs to work. The factory is located on a beautiful piece of land overlooking the water and hills. I almost asked for a job while I was there. :-)

Mrs. Grossman’s son Jason who is now the president of Mrs. Grossman’s. He  launched Pargaon Labels (a division of Mrs. Grossman’s) in 1988, it is one of the most successful wine and food label printing businesses in the County. It was also Jason who began the tour idea. The sticker factory tour attracts more than 30,000 visitors a year. If you live in the Bay Area or are visiting and have small children this is a super fun thing to do. Actually, you don’t even have to have small children, if you are a kid at heart or just want a walk down memory lane I highly recommend going for a sticker factory tour at Mrs. Grossman’s.

Paragon Label

On Friday Nov 6 Mrs. Grossman’s heart stickers will star in “How It’s Made” on the Science Channel!

After the tour I met with Barbara Morino, the PR gal at Mrs. Grossman’s. She was delightful and shared many storiesabout Mrs. Grossman’s stickers saying, “Mrs. Grossman’s is like the Tiffany’s of the sticker”. I even found out that Princess Diana bought stickers for William in the 80s. Even the Gosselin kids love Mrs. Grossman’s stickers (you know Jon and Kate’s kids).

Grossman's stickers

As you can see, I’m very excited about my visit to the sticker factory. I could go on and on about how fabulous my experience is but this is something I think you should try for yourself. The tour is free, your kids (and you) will come home with some cool stickers, you will get to see all sorts of neat machines that do amazing things and you will meet lots of happy people who love their job.

I’m off to go play with my new stickers.

I learned that stickers aren’t just for kids and are not just for collection. You can make some very sophisticated things with stickers (cards, gift bags, etc). You can decorate office supplies, drinking glasses and so much more.

sticker art

I took so many pictures I uploaded them to Flickr so you can see all of them. Mrs. Grossman’s has a wall of fame showing all the stickers ever made from 1979 until now. You can see photos of the wall of fame here.

sticker wall of fame

Mrs. Grossman’s is located in Petaluma. Check their Website for tour dates and times.

You can also follow Mrs. Grossman’s on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

I’d love to hear about your memories of stickers. I’ve noticed that almost everyone woman I told about my visit to the sticker factory got nostalgic and shared some great stories with me. Do you want some Mrs. Grossman’s stickers? Post a comment below about  a memory you have about stickers and I will send you some Mrs. Grossman’s stickers. To get the stickers you must post the comment before 10/31/09 and email me your mailing address (please write stickers in the subject). Be sure to tweet about your sticker comment too!

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Golden Gate Bridge

Oct
01

Visit a Farm in the Bay Area

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Pig at Tara Firma Farm in PetalumaI got to visit a farm! A real live family owned farm right here in the Bay Area. I also got to meet a real live farmer. Her name is Tara Smith. I want to be like Tara when I grow up. She is amazing and so incredibly inspirational. Tara started her farm less than a year ago. Before being a farmer she was working in Long Term Health Care Insurance. Two years ago she read the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and was inspired to become a farmer. She and her husband had been talking and talking about where their food comes from, what is the right way to eat, etc when one day her son said, “why don’t you just get your own farm?” Something clicked for her at that moment and that is exactly what she did.

Tara’s farm is located in Petaluma. It was a dairy farm until the mid 1950s (which means it had never been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers so the soil is rich with nutrients and perfect for planting).

I met Tara because of Twitter! Another Twitter friend Peggy (who I met at our Mill Valley TweetUp back in June) always talks about all the yummy food she is eating from Tara Firma Farms and I got curious.

Peggy went with me on the farm visit. When we arrived at Tara’s farm we were immediately greeted by Tara. She invited us in her home, showed us around her home a bit and then began the farm tour. We started with the baby chickens.

Farm in Petaluma
Tara explained to me that her chickens come in the mail in a box. Before last week I might have been surprised to hear that her chickens came in a box but I had recently read about that in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.) where Barbara Kingsolver describes her trip to the post office to pick up baby chicks. For anyone that is shocked by the thought of baby chicks being delivered in a box this excerpt may help explains things better.

“Poultry hatchlings don’t need to eat or drink for the first 48 hours of life, as they are born with a margin of safety called the yolk sac – the yolk of the egg absorbed into the chicks belly just before hatching. This adaptation comes in handy for birds like chickens and turkeys that have to get up and walk right way, following mom around to look from something edible… Some animal-rights groups have tried to make an issue of it, but mail-order chicks from reputable hatcheries have virtually a 100% survival rate.”

Chickens at Petaluma Farm

Tara’s farm is not certified organic yet because she is not sure she wants to do that. Each group of animals and all of the produce need individual sets of paperwork, filled out weekly.  Given that the farm is open to the public she feels that her customers can come to see for themselves and will trust that the plants are animals are grown/raised organically, sustainably and humanely.

Tara then brought me to the garden part of the farm. She explained to me that they are practicing bio intensive farming. This sounds like a very complicated practice but in the end saves a TON of water, creates 4 times more produce in the same space and they are able to farm without using any pesticides/fertilizers. She has been learning about bio intensive farming from an expert named Elijah who came from Kenya to work on her farm.

Elijah at farm in Petaluma
Another cool thing she learned from Elijah was how to get beetles off of her Kale plants without using any pesticides. Her Kale plants had suddenly gotten a bunch of beetles that were happily feasting on her Kale. Elijah paid close attention and noticed that the beetles were not touching the spinach plants right next to the Kale so he cut a bunch of Spinach, liquefied it and put it in a spray bottle and sprayed all the Kale plants with Spinach. Guess what? The beetles went away! How cool is that?!

Tara Firma Farms
Bay Area Farm
After the garden tour we moved on to the full grown chickens. She introduced me to the chickens that were going to be used for food and then to the laying chickens. I also got to see her turkeys and one black duck. Notice the happy hens laying eggs coming in and out of their hen house.

Happy Chickens at Petaluma Farm
Laying Hens at Tara Firma Farm
I asked Tara how on earth did she figure out how to be a farmer so fast? Did she have past experience? Was she raised on a farm? No she was not raised on a farm. She had about 6 months past experience on a farm when she was in college but it was nothing like this. She learned by reading Joel Salitan’s books!

The night I came home from the farm I invited Amy (my neighbor, the professional cook) to come over and cook the pork I bought. We ended up having a small dinner party, two other friends joined us when they heard we had farm fresh pork and Amy was cooking. I asked everyone to look at my photos from the farm visit before eating. I think it is a good thing to know where your food comes from.

We had great dinner conversations about sustainable eating and my visit to the farm. I personally only ate a few nibbles of the pork off the leftover bone because I wanted to try it but to be honest I have a really hard time eating pork. Not sure if it is because I used to babysit my friend’s pot belly pig or what but eating pork is not easy for me. There is a voice inside of me that I can’t ignore that keeps telling me to be a vegetarian and especially don’t eat pork. I am not a vegetarian (yet…. again… I used to be… long story) however I think I will be again or at least be a 90/10 vegetarian (90% vegetarian). Right now I’d say I’m 80/20. However, after my visit to the farm today and reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.) I’m learning that eating locally is what is most important.

Have you ever thought about eating food that is grown or raised within 100 miles of your home? I have and it is not easy to do. I’m thinking about giving myself that challenge.

Thank you to Tara for sharing all your knowledge with me.

Thank you to Peggy for introducing me to Tara and for going to the farm with me.

To see all my pictures from the farm visit, check out my album on Flickr.

Tara encourages visitors to come by the farm. Bring your children or grab a buddy and contact Tara to schedule a visit. I learned so much from her!

Tara Firma Farms
3796 I Street
Petaluma, CA 94952
707.765.1202
www.tarafirmafarms.com

Sep
16

Happy Hour in Mill Valley

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Happy Hour! I’m always looking for great Happy Hours around the Bay. Although I rarely actually get out for Happy Hour it’s a nice fantasy of mine. Today, my friend Amy texted and said… “Who wants to go to Happy Hour at Frantoio?” I wrote back and said “me!”. Amy drove me in her convertible VW bug. Happy Hour at Frantoio is from 4:30 – 6:30. We arrived around 5:00PM and I think there was one other person at the bar. Amy and I ordered Pinot Grigio at $5 a glass and they brought us a sample plate of appetizers. Frontoio Happy HourIt was the perfect day for Happy Hour, it was warm and sunny out. The white wine was great and the appetizers were tasty. By about 5:30 the place started filling up with the after work crowd.

I’m thinking that I should make Happy Hour more of a priority in my life. I’m feeling nice and relaxed now.

If you are coming from the city (San Francisco) Frantoio’s is a great location. It’s right off the Hwy 101 at the Hwy 1 Stinson Beach exit (next to the Holiday Inn Express).

I’ve dined at Frantoio in the past and have had wonderful meals and great service. The make really delicious olive oil.

Frantoio is located right off the 101
152 Shorline Hwy
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415.289.5777
www.frantoio.com