Well, well, well. Did you know that a couple weekends ago I went to a totally sweet and magical land called San Francisco? The adventures didn't take place solely within the city limits: I ventured out of the city to Oakland and Santa Cruz as well, and well, I would love to share some of the sweetest moments from my travels with you, because if they made me smile, surely they'll make you smile too.
Ready? Set? Let's go:
- First off: finding my artwork at Fireworks in Seatac on my way out! Way to start the journey feeling like a big deal.
- First stop after arriving in San Francisco? Oakland! I ventured over to visit CakeSpy customers (and buddies!) Jane and Rick, owners of Good Chemistry Baking, which specializes in baked goods which are devoid of gluten, but full of delicious.
- First item tried: chocolate cookie
- And a cupcake
- ...aaaand, a Lemon bar
- The reaction of Anya, who does follow a gluten-free diet, to said baked goods.
- Happiness: Dorie Greenspan was reading at Omnivore Books while I was there!
- BTW, I would like to mention that while this place (Hometown Donuts) may seem like it has it all--liquor, beer, Chinese food, and (though not visible in this pic) psychic readings--the fact is, when I walked in, they did not have any donuts.
- A sweet walk with coffee and an SF-themed Cuppie postcard.
- Dessert at Magnolia: chocolate chess pie a la mode. Ohhh yeeeah.
- The baked good case at Reverie, where we went for breakfast the next morning.
- OMG! NY Style crumb cake, at a hippie health food store on Haight Street!
- A visit to the always lovely Miette Patisserie.
- Sadly, Paulette was not open when we visited, but we did get to peek in the window.
- OMG! We drove by the Its-It Headquarters!
- Whale City Bakery!
- Chocolate covered potato chip, anyone? From Marinis on the Beach, Santa Cruz.
- ...no, clearly the choice is chocolate covered bacon! Also from Marinis. You can tell that Phil is taking his duties as Cake Gumshoe very seriously.
- A delicious cookie, from Cafe Delmarette.
- This cupcake, also from Cafe Delmarette.
- What is it? Not a cannoli. From Hoffman's, Santa Cruz.
- A Russian Teacake from Original Sin Desserts, Santa Cruz.
- Spied in Santa Cruz: my artwork, at Bookshop Santa Cruz!
- A chocolate mint cookie from Pacific Cookie Co, with vibrant green chips.
- Pies made from beads, outside of a bead store.
- Discovering The Penny Ice Creamery, Santa Cruz.
- Bonbons from Penny Ice Creamery
- Philip got the fennel ice cream.
- Yam (!) ice cream, enjoyed by my incredibly good looking sister, Bridget
- Another Russian Teacake from The Buttery
- This cake, from The Buttery
- Finding my totally sweet buddy Erin in Santa Cruz! (Yes, she's really, really tall. AND I'm really short)
- Delicious beverages at 515, Santa Cruz.
- The "Goodfellow" from Kelly's French Bakery
- This little tart (Olallieberry?) from Kelly's French Bakery
- Anjalena roll, Kelly's French Bakery
- Pinching deer from a distance in Santa Cruz
- From Gayle's Bakery in Capitola: the Christopher Bun.
- From Gayle's in Capitola: Potato Chip Cookies
- This sign brought me joy.
- Finally, I met my Maker.
- Cool street art!
- California Suncakes! Made for hippies, but enjoyed by CakeSpy.
- At the Ferry building, savory macarons (with mushrooms!)
- Discovering the California Coffee Cake Company.
- Um...getting to visit the Twitter offices!
- Cuppie came too.
This sign, which I suspect was put in place when they saw me coming.
Bathroom Cake Graffiti!- General observation: the houses in San Francisco kind of resemble petits fours. Yay!
For more pictures of pastry adventures past and present in San Francisco, visit my Flickr page!