Chabot Space Place

We had a nice weekend...went to the temple, ran the usual errands (do I even need to say where?), church, watched Be Kind Rewind and went to the Chabot Space & Science Center. It's in Oakland and on Saturday, all the Smithsonian-related museums were free, so we went. Alex had been wanting to go since he's quite the astronomy lover. And, yay, we saved $30!

Of course, being a free day, it was extra crowded so we didn't get to see any shows (sold out). Thus, the coolest part of the museum were the big telescopes. We got to see a big star cluster through this one. The worker told us how many light years away it was, but I have no clue now.

We also took one of those email-yourself portraits. This is us in a spaceship!!!

Friends and Bolinas

Beth was in town last week! It was great to see her and spend time shopping and eating with her and Richard. One of our favorite places to eat is the Coast Cafe out in Bolinas. This is about 1.25 hrs from Emville, so it was quite a trek. We all were a little woozy by the time we arrived (the motion sickness pills can only do so much) but it's always worth it!

Amazingly enough, we're still smiling after 2.5 months of residency....
*Almost* everything there is phenomonal. The fresh, warm bread is the best we've ever had, along with their famous fish 'n chips. I had my personal favorite, the homemade veggie burger. This is the only time I can devour something with mushrooms.

Of course, their desserts are outstanding as well...apple pie and peach cardamom galette this time around! I almost took a photo, but was in too much of a hurry to chow down...sorry :)

The one thing I cannot recommend are their cookies. They are the hardest, most unappetizing things I've ever tasted. I got one on the way out, we tried it, spit it out and tossed it- ever had cardboard before?
Yay for visitors, we miss you guys!!

Whole Foods Tour!

The other night, I took a brief breakfast-related tour of Whole Foods, and look at all the goodies I received!
This is around $10 worth of free stuff! All you have to do to find out about these tours is either check out the calendar that is usually located near the front of the store, or if your particular store has a twitter page, become a follower. The Oakland location seems to have different tours once every 2 weeks or so and I can't wait to go to more. This time was kind of funny because I was the only one who showed up...oh well, I got an extra box of waffles out of it.
I'm quite the Whole Foods fan, but it can be pricy if you don't know how to shop there. Stick to their 365 brand (my favs are the peanut butter, frozen veggies, pizza and milk), use the coupons in the Real Deal booklet, shop their sales and buy from their bulk foods section. It ends up costing the same, or maybe even less than, Safeway. Just be careful at the ready-to-eat food area...it's all super tasty, but you pay for it!

Green Monster Love

The past few months, I have seen these smoothies on numerous blogs, and finally got around to trying it out myself. This is one of the best, and healthiest, concoctions ever! For my version, in a blender I add 2 cups fresh spinach, 1 frozen banana, 1 to 2 scoops chocolate or vanilla protein powder and 1 cup very cold water. Puree the heck out of it, pour in a glass, pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes and drink with a straw. There are so many variations you can make to this (nut butters, berries, etc), but trust me, it's delish, you can't go wrong!!
For more inspiration, check out Green Monster Movement.