thosecoolkims – Page 15

Road Trippin’, Day 4 – SF and Petaluma

A little late, but Day 4 consisted of a few more hours of just Ed + Carrie time in San Francisco before we headed back to Petaluma. Of course, we had to get an amazing breakfast, and we sure found it at Town’s End! Ed had a fantastic eggs benedict, and I tried my 1st Swedish Oatmeal Pancake with pears + almonds. The pancake was ok, but it was nothing stacked up against the cobb scramble I had on the side. Just like it sounds — it had avocado, green onions, tomatoes, and applewood smoked turkey. So yum.

After checking out of our hotel, we made one last stop at the Ferry Building. I geeked out over all the adorable deliciousness at Miette, and picked up some caramels and cookies to thank my sis-in-law for watching Ruby! Oh man, that Lavender shortbread…

We took our time and took in a little more of that awesome city. I think I love it more each time I visit. One day, if only we could live in one of those unmistakable SF apartments with the big windows that seem to hang out over the sidewalks …

Once we headed back to Petaluma, Shannon and Mani had the great idea of taking us to the Lagunitas Brewing Company. Ed was so happy! It was a great afternoon in the sun with our family!

Petaluma is such a great little town and we had a blast with Mani and Shannon! Can’t wait for more good times with them soon!

Shannon took some really great pics while we were away:

Road Trippin’, Day 3 – San Francisco!

Thanks to Auntie Shannon, Ed + I got to spend some alone time in the city. We were thrilled to get back to San Francisco, and we were determined to fit as many of our favorite things here in less than 24 hours!

Here are the highlights:

#1: Garry Winogrand photography exhibit @SFMOMA
We love SFMOMA and we were just in time to catch this huge Garry Winogrand exhibit while we were here. He has been one of my favorite photographers ever, and if you’ve been to our home, you’ve definitely seen this print before. I’m so glad we had a chance to catch this show.

#2: A snack at the Ferry Building
We skipped lunch just so we could go to the Ferry Building and “sample” some of our favorites. We decided on splitting the salame sandwich at Boccalone and sharing a Gingerbread Cupcake from Miette.

#3: Drinks at The Tonga Room
The Tonga Room is the most magical Tiki Bar in the world. The drinks are stiff, the ambiance is amazing, and they actually make it rain inside. Seriously, it’s the best place ever. We sipped on a Mai Tai and a Pipeline and soaked in all the glorious kitchiness.

#4: Late dinner at B Star
Trying to commit to a restaurant for dinner in San Francisco with all of the options available is tougher than trying to figure out what to do on New Year’s Eve. We decided to stay true to our love of all things asian fusion, and try out B Star, which says to be a mix of Thai/Chinese/Burmese/Indian/Japanese with a California twist. Yeah, its a mouthful, but it delivered! The food was outstanding – so bold and flavorful and like nothing we’ve ever eaten before. It was the kind of experience we always love having in this city!

p.s. We got an awesome groupon and are staying at the Hotel Griffon. It rules! It’s right across the street from the Ferry Building (seriously, we can see it out the window) and we get free parking. Total score.

Family Road Trip, Day 2 – Petaluma

It’s a miracle – we are actually relaxing on our vacation. If there was ever a place to relax, it’s Shannon and Mani’s place in Petaluma. Not only is Petaluma a charming little town, but Shannon and Mani’s place is so comforting that we kinda haven’t needed to leave. Shannon is an amazing cook, Ruby loves their dog, Kiwi, and there are fun things to play with like ukelele’s from Hawaii and tiny tea sets!

Ruby is a huge fan of her Auntie Shannon and we’re enjoying watching the love fest:

Our 1st Family Road Trip: Day 1, Visiting Davis, CA

We have been itching and yearning for a road trip since before Ruby was even born, and we knew one destination we’d definitely plan on would be Northern California. There is some serious Kim family history in Davis, Ed’s sister Shannon lives in Petaluma, and Ed + I both love San Francisco — so there were many reasons to make the trip. Now that Ruby is a little older (and much happier in the car), we decided to go for it. We are proud to report that Ruby did very well the whole way — that’s our cool Kim in training! :)

The destination for Day One was Davis. Aside from the fact that Davis is where Ed’s aunt + uncle lived for many years and where he would come as a kid to visit often, all three of his grandparents are buried here. Before we were married, Ed’s mom planned a special trip for me to go up to Davis to visit these gravesites and be introduced to his Halmoni and his “Sacramento Grandpa and Grandma”. Now that Ruby is here, Ed has been anxious to take her up and do the same. It was a very special visit, and very moving for all of us.

Ruby did a great job with the flowers, and then drew a special picture for each great-grandparent.

We took our time there and Ed told Ruby + I some special stories about each of his grandparents. It was a beautiful day and the 1st of many trips to come (A few more pics here). We’re off to Petaluma first thing in the morning!

Birthday in Vegas!

For my birthday this year, we bucked our Palm Springs tradition and headed to Vegas. We found a groupon we just couldn’t refuse and decided to jump on it. We stayed downtown a few years ago, and loved the old-school vibe, so we were looking forward to going back. Admittedly, this post makes it sound like we did nothing but eat, but what can we say — there’s a lot happening with food in Vegas!

As we drove into town, we headed straight for eat., which is a new breakfast and lunch joint in downtown Las Vegas. It’s a low key place with a super cool vibe, and features fresh, seasonal comfort food. I had the most delicious asparagus + arugula salad, while Ed had an incredible shrimp and grits dish.

After lunch we got settled in to our room at the Golden Nugget, and cruised around Fremont Street awhile. Then we headed out towards The Strip to fulfill a longtime dream of mine: We saw an Elvis impersonator live in Las Vegas! We went to Trent Carlini’s “The King” at the Las Vegas Hotel. I wish I could say the show was better, but at least now I can say I’ve been. The King did oblige me with a pic after the show, but too bad we were in Vegas about a week too early – we could’ve seen CeeLo Green in Loberace, a Liberace tribute show. Dang!

After The King it was late night dinner time! We were headed to José Andrés’ place, China Poblano at The Cosmopolitan. WHOA. The Cosmopolitan is absolutely amazing. A super hip vibe, great design throughout and so much style in everything there! It feels young and expensive all at the same time. We were in awe. China Poblano was an amazing marriage of Mexican + Chinese food. At one point during the meal, I had a lobster taco and a steamed BBQ Pork bun on my plate at the same time. It was so good!

Also in the Cosmopolitan was an amazing Chandelier Bar (click this link for pics that do it much better justice than any of my dumb pics) and Holstein’s where the menu looked super fun — Korean BBQ Hot Dog and Boozy S’mores milkshake, anyone?

The next day, after enjoying a morning where we could actually sleep in, we decided to explore and find a few places in Vegas outside of the usual tourist stuff. We got a great recommendation for a good coffee shop downtown called The Beat Coffeehouse. The vibe is very Seattle – music, vinyl, strong coffee and low-brow art galleries. We dug it and enjoyed the coffee ’cause we’re not afraid to admit we’re too old for morning booze. We skipped the buffet to save room for lunch!

We played a few slots at The D’s “Vintage Vegas” slot room, where you can actually pull the lever on the slot machines and real money spits out (instead of vouchers)! After working up an appetite, we left Downtown and The Strip for Vegas’ Chinatown and enjoyed some super tasty ramen. They say there’s a ramen revolution happening in Vegas, and it’s legit! His + Hers ramen bowls at Monta Ramen:

Also on our food tour of Vegas, we had dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s BURGR on the Strip at Planet Hollywood. Gordon doesn’t mess around — Ed says his burger was one of the top 5 burgers he’s ever had. I can’t argue, mine was incredible as well. Bonus points for his ridiculous mug on the inside of each menu:

After being extremely full, we headed back to our downtown home base for some real fun. I never tire of all the old school glitz of the neon signage downtown. It’s gorgeous.

Things got epic when we spent some time late night at the El Cortez — seriously old school, somewhat seedy and SUPER cheap! Ed and I even played the Blackjack tables and won, thanks to a very friendly and patient Ukranian dealer named Elena and Ed’s former co-worker Jim, who happened to be in Vegas too and met up with us. We hung at the El Cortez until after 2am, and then ended up at The D for an AUTHENTIC American Coney, a real piece of Detroit in Las Vegas! (Don’t worry, we haven’t turned, we still love Lafayette more than American!)

Last stop before heading out was Beijing No. 9 – a stunningly beautiful noodle house in Caesar’s Palace. I’m a sucker for the white + red!

We had a great time, but we sure were ready to get home to our little Bean. It’s always fun to have time together, but we sure missed that little daughter of ours!