SWAN OYSTER DEPOT!!! OMGEEEE!!!

So this place just celebrated it’s 100th anniversary last year. It is a small diner where you eat at a counter and there is typically a line to get it. It’s located in the Nob Hill area of San Francisco on Polk Street. It’s wise to call in your order and take out. They’ll have it ready and you can just bypass the line. When I called the staff person there was very helpful. Being in San Francisco, I knew I wanted clam chowder. When I asked for other recommendations, he suggested a crab salad and I ordered bread and butter for an additional dollar. That was a dollar well spent! The sourdough bread is also very good even as leftovers. The crab salad ended up being the best thing I are during my 10 days in The Bay Area!

20131011-180741.jpg
Check out all that fresh juicy crab meat!!

20131011-180826.jpg
A bowl of clam chowder.

20131011-180920.jpg
The entire meal with sourdough bread! I’m dreaming of the next time I can come back and eat this salad!

Lucasfilm, Ltd.

If you are a fan of Star Wars then you should visit Lucasfilm, Ltd. There are no formal tours but great photo opportunities in the front if the building and in the lobby. To enter you must pass a guard who is very friendly and helpful. Also, the property is huge with a lot of paths and views of the bay.

20131011-125811.jpg
Yoda fountain just outside the lobby.

20131011-175311.jpg

20131011-175335.jpg

20131011-175348.jpg

20131011-175408.jpg

20131011-175420.jpg

20131011-175430.jpg

20131011-175447.jpg

20131011-175457.jpg

Visit to Winchester Mansion

The Winchester Mansion was a pleasant surprise. Whenever I saw it on television, it was always portrayed as a bizarre house that was built by a disturbed woman. However, the story of this woman that went with the tour revealed to me that she had many hardships, but other than that, she was a well educated, benevolent, spiritually ascended, progressive, open-minded woman. For a woman living in the late 1800’s she was way ahead of her time. The placement of rooms, doors and cabinets may have been strange, but, it was efficient in the way it used energy and conserved water. She cared for her workers that cared for her paying them twice the going rate and taking care of their medical needs. She took no one for granted no matter what their ethnicity, everyone was equal.

20131010-153149.jpg

20131010-153205.jpg

20131010-153220.jpg

20131010-153252.jpg

20131010-153320.jpg
Visitors are allowed to take photos of the exterior of the mansion and the garden.

More San Francisco Fun!!

Taking our kids to San Francisco, so far, has turned out to be a GREAT idea. We started off with lunch at the Farmers’ Market. There was a lot of great produce. The kids had all beef hot dogs, and I had a pork sandwich with a marmalade and parsley! It was sooooooo good!

20131007-214511.jpg

20131007-214525.jpg

20131007-214540.jpg

20131007-214558.jpg

20131007-214619.jpg

20131007-214633.jpg

20131007-214650.jpg

20131007-214715.jpg

20131007-214727.jpg

20131007-214807.jpg

20131007-214825.jpg

20131007-214836.jpg

20131007-214854.jpg

20131007-214905.jpg

20131007-214927.jpg

20131007-214936.jpg

20131007-214948.jpg

20131007-214959.jpg
We finished with dinner at Epic Roasthouse with a nice view of The Bay Bridge, cocktails, a delicious meal, and dessert!

20131007-215211.jpg

20131007-215226.jpg

20131007-215238.jpg

20131007-215250.jpg

20131007-215301.jpg

20131007-215312.jpg

20131007-215322.jpg
The perfect day in San Francisco!!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The weather was perfect today! The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a great place to take the family. We spent a good 4 1/2 hours looking around.

20131004-204455.jpg

20131004-204518.jpg

20131004-204539.jpg
There are also lots of interactive activities for the kids including lots of touch pools with hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, sea stars, and sea urchins.

20131004-204750.jpg

20131004-204817.jpg

20131004-204828.jpg
There are also lots of amazing artwork made from recycled plastic objects and lots of literature to encourage protecting the ocean and it’s inhabitants!

20131004-205328.jpg
What everyday objects can you see?

AROUND TOWN

Finished work early to go to Chinatown and Ward. Here’s what’s going on!

20131002-170846.jpg

20131002-170900.jpg

20131002-170918.jpg

20131002-170931.jpg
If you’ve never been to the shops recently in Chinatown check out some of my favorite shops like Owen & Co. for local and imported gifts, art, clothing and accessories. It’s like a mini Anthropologie. Also, Fighting Eel always has the best knits in town! LOVE LOVE LOVE the new pineapple print! In Ward at the TJ Maxx building go see OUTFIT featuring talented local designers including my friends from the ultra hip I AM. Shop. It’s fashion month in Honolulu!!!

DAY 10: DONE

Okay so I’ve completed the last day of my transformation. So now what? I’ve lost 5lbs. I lost 4 inches in my waist, 2 inches off each thigh and 1inch of each arm! I’ll continue to use Purium products because of it’s high in nutrients. I have tons of energy and it’s all so YUMMY! I no longer need coffee, I sleep well and my eyes pop open at 5am sharp!!!