Monday, April 28, 2008

Love at First Bite- Cupcakery!

Ok, this blog is subtitled "discovering the deliciousness," and the election stuff is just not so delicious anymore, and while Paloma herself is near-edible, I thought I should dip back into the gustatory pleasures. So I bring you:

Love At First Bite! A Cupcakery and Bakery in Berkeley. Why? Well, the other night I was watching the Food Channel (that and HGTV are pretty much the only tv I can watch). And Mark Sommers (whom I will always think of as the host of that Nickelodeon kids' game show) was at Sprinkles in LA, which is a lovely little cupcakery. (The chef owners are from the Bay Area.)

And I thought, "I know that bliss!" And I do. Love At First Bite is a fantastic place for a treat. It's not like other bakeries that feature glass cases of cookies, croissants, etc. They have their artistic, delicious cupcakes under glass cake domes, and all you have to do is point to whatever looks most tempting.

I have fallen to the seductive power of red velvet many times, but the creamy vanilla and perfect cookies and cream cupcakes worked their magic, as well. And if they happen to have their banana pudding, forget it. You can't leave without a box of it.

These aren't your run of the mill cupcakes. The ingredients are fabulous, and you can taste it. It really shows up in the texture of the cupcake, which beautifully holds nuanced flavors of vanilla and lemon as well as bolder flavors like chocolate and cream cheese. Depending on the cupcake, the texture might be fluffy or dense, but either way it's totally satisfying.

And relatively inexpensive! At $2.50-$3.00 a pop you can take home a few kinds, and it's a lot less than a whole cake. And anyway, I'm a tapas-type eater anyway (grazer), so a bite of heaven is perfect.

I'm a cupcake convert!

Friday, April 25, 2008

exiting the 1st tri....

HOORAY!

I think I'm finally leaving that yucky, constant nausea phase and entering the always-hungry phase. Which is tricky in itself, because if I don't eat at the right time, I slide back toward nausea or at least feeling less than fab. And my fluid intake is cah-LEARLY insufficient since dry skin like this I have never felt, even with pg #1.

Maybe it means I have to get more delicious drinks and decadent skin creams? I think probably. ;) At least, a trip out of The Suburbs and to elephant pharmacy for some paraben-free creams and lotions would be fun.

Last weekend we were deep in the redwoods of Humboldt, visiting my dear friend Roxanne, who has a friend Rosa who makes the most divine aromatherapy oils, lotions and soaps I have ever smelled. Much better than mass market department store stuff, and of course much more difficult to get your hands on. She only makes small batches, she only sources from super high quality essential oil makers, and of course she is out of stock right now. I love supporting small businesses like this because the quality is so incredible (really- JLo can keep her $1000 a jar La Mer cream, because this is nicer).

Funny sidebar- the saleswoman at the La Mer counter was trying to sell Derek and me the cream by impressing us with the fact that the creator is/was a rocket scientist. Derek and I couldn't stop laughing later about how he's totally in the wrong business, and needs to turn his physics lab into a skin care lab. We'd sure as hell be making a lot more money-- especially if we were ballsy enough to charge $1000 a jar for a product that isn't even labeled organic. We could call it "Atomic" and have a life size poster of him in a lab coat at every counter! And the kids' college funds would be saved.

Until it happens, I'm going to wait for the next batch Rosa's amazing lotion. And figure out what to eat next...

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Amy Tiemann hits the nail on the head... again

One of my favorite blogs, MojoMom, is written by a smart young mom of two in North Carolina. Amy Tiemann is fast becoming a media go-to when it comes to issues of motherhood and politics. And when it comes to feminism and politics, if you want a nuanced and thoughtful analysis, Amy's got it. Check out her latest article printed in Womens eNewswire. It's about the Obama-Clinton split among women. She's really one of the only analysts who offers something more than spiteful disdain for the other side.

Amy sees a generational divide where Second Wavers all too often sit in their own conferences, among their peers. They're smart-- they *have* to notice the lack of anyone under 40. Perhaps they're too comfortable in their own power arrangements. They're not ready to pass on the torch. Perhaps the different ways of thinking that they encouraged in their daughters is too challenging for them (and believe me, if you think that's an insulting statement, you haven't read what Robin Morgan has to say about young feminists supporting Obama-- truly ugly, and frankly immature stuff).

So how can we start to overcome this? Because we're certainly not getting any leadership on this soon, it's up to us, citizens! We need to talk with each other and realize everyone's not in the same boat, but we're all caught in the same riptide (of discrimination, of eight years of staggeringly bad governance, of cringe-inducing mainstream media). We need to help each other by continuing the conversation where our leaders have left off.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Tilden Park is our fave!

We were at Tilden Park twice in the last two weeks-- once for the steam trains, once for a wedding at the gorgeous Brazilian Room. It was Paloma's second wedding already! She mingled, had her nap, and then was so sweet dancing with Dada and me on the dance floor.

The first two are from our ride on the steam train (it's kind of a miniature train that runs through the redwoods); the second two are from the wedding.


Paloma in Dada's lap, on the train just with the depot behind.

In Mama's lap, doing this new sticky-outy tongue thing. It's very kitten-ish and cute.


Just off the lovely patio where the wedding took place. This is Paloma and her daddy running down a hill. It was such a Little House on the Prairie moment! Absolutely gorgeous.

Dancing with Mama. That's an handmade hairclip-- it's a dove (la paloma!) from the MimiSaysHi store at etsy.com.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

podiobooks!

SF Chron just did an article on podiobooks, and I felt like my world was suddenly opened. Free audiobooks! Downloadable to my iPod, and maybe worth listening to! I saw my exercise life take a turn for the better right then and there.

Sidebar-- Also, I found a studio here in suburbia that may not be completely devoid of technique! Why yes, I did get a little cynical about the quality of dance teaching at most studios. If you've ever taken class from a really excellent dance teacher (Savage used to be mine), you know what I mean. It's like, you get your butt kicked by a teacher channeling Debbie Allen in "Fame," feel yourself fly to Miles Davis, and then end up at some crapass studio where your teacher's never heard of Martha Graham, doesn't fix your demi-plie, and thinks shaking your butt to some random Top 40 thumper is a real class. I mean, it's definitely worth it if you're just looking to have fun, but not if you want to get really strong as a dancer.
End Sidebar.

Ok, so, Podiobooks! People on the Chron comments section couldn't seem to say enough good things about the quality of storytelling. For free! I'm really excited to see what I can find there. I don't mind the neophyte status of most of the authors. I've been mired for so long in political books by experts and classics that I am ready for a light break.

And I am on goodreads- woo hoo! Yes, it has been awhile since I've read for fun, and I am SO ready for it.