Kelly B.'s Profile

If I were the vengeful type, I would wish that Luanne at this Public Storage would arrive with a new refrigerator, dishwasher and stove in a rented u-haul trailer at 4:47pm and be told that she wouldn't rent us a storage unit, because it was 8 minutes before closing and her bosses didn't like her to work "off the clock".  If I were the vengeful type, I would wish that she had struggled these appliances on the trailer, were tired and hungry and had her frail in-laws in the back seat.  

But I am not the vengeful type.  I simply say that Luanne (or was it Luanna) managed to destroy the kind feeling that both my husband and I had toward Public Storage, amassed during some storing at the Pinole Public Storage Facility on Appian Way.  Those people rocked!  They went out of their way to work with us and see that we were happy.  I say go in peace, Luanne, like we did.  We went half a block, found a storage place that stayed open a half hour later and were more than happy to give our money to store our stuff.

A road trip!  
Niece Campbell and I went to the Getty, then checked into this quintessentially boutique hotel.

The bell man, Ari was friendly and helpful when we checked in.  Our room was delightfully decorated with many great details.  There was a flat screen t.v., huge pillows, plush robes and the sweetest bathroom (small, but very nice).

We came back late from the theater and realized that there was only one choice: valet parking (yikes, $30).  Ok, we sucked that up.  Only other downside was the cool hotel bar closes at midnight.  Our friend, Martin, met us after the theater, but the bar was closed.  We were able to make cocktails with the contents of the honor bar... but the pool bar would have been nice....

Oh well, attention to detail is what sets this lovely hotel apart.  We called down for a couple of extra pillows and they promptly brought up four:  two down and two foam.  We asked for ice and up came a bathtub of ice for our cocktails.  The honor bar had a nice selection of choice.  The bathroom had really cool shampoo and conditioner and hand soap/lotion... smelled great!  There were all the needed items:  cotton balls, q tips, kleenex, hair dryer, iron and ironing board.

We had a great time at this hotel and the checkout was breezy and friendly.  I would recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to have a cool, retro experience and feel totally pampered at the same time!

I've been going to this Grocery Outlet for a couple of months and initially I just wasn't all that impressed.  It was messy and somewhat disorganized, much like the Grocery Outlet in my neck of the San Pablo/Richmond woods, BUT the last time I was there, I was SHOCKED.  Everything was well-stocked and neatly in order.  The floors were gleaming!  This grocery outlet had taken on a shine and luster of a staff that really cared about it's store.  I was immediately transported the the QFI stores of my youth.

I was distressed by the need to immediately use the restroom, so I asked an employee and was directed to the back by a cheerful man.  The bathroom was one of the cleanest I have ever seen in restaurant or store.... ever!  Wow!  The backroom displayed the same care and attention to detail that I saw in the front of the house.

Sure, the product is still off-sale end-run overstocks or under-appreciated food products at excellent prices, but this Grocery Outlet has really, really cleaned up it's act.  I actually look forward to going to this store again.  (yes, of course, as with any truly cheap place to shop, there will be it's fair share of mini-dramas).

Check it out!

You may have heard me be a little disparaging about "factory" food, but at our latest party (Happy Birthday, Acacia!), this Cheesecake factory turned out a very decent respast.

It does indeed have something for everyone.  I had a avacado-filled eggroll (how do they DO that?!) that was marvelous, along with a corn fritter.  My entree was the most beautiful barbeque chicken salad.  It was nicely dressed (equally throughout the entire salad) and beautifully presented.  It was waaaaay to big to eat in one sitting, they cheerfully boxed it up for me.

I ordered the raspberry white-chocolate cheesecake, so that I could take something home to Dr. R..  It was very sweet and very good.  I had a bite of the red-velvet cheesecake (ok, two bites), purely for research purposes.  That was very, very good also.

Service was very solicitous.  Sodas were refilled promptly, our entrees all came at the same time and were exactly as ordered.  I was very impressed by the legion of wait-staff.  They took very good care of our group of eleven people.

The restaurant itself was very crowded, very loud, but in a cheerful way.  There was a large group of people waiting when I arrived, but my party had already been seated.  

It was a great party (thanks Michael Sue and Bob)... and I might have to change my tune about factory food!

Here is a hidden gem of a store that is a good example of why we should patronize small businesses.  Schaffer Jewelers has been between Hometown Buffet and Lucky's for as long as I can remember.  Usually I just pass by, perusing the windows.  Several years ago, I found out that they are very reliable for replacing the battery of my mickey!

Two years ago, I had a little money from somewhere and I wanted the diamond from one ring set in a new setting with two diamond baguettes... not sure I'm spelling it right here, but anyway, with the manager, together, we looked up the setting, bought the two side diamonds , sent it all in to some magic location and in a week, I walked out slightly more "iced" than usual.  They actually called to let me know that the ring was in a little early.

I have been admiring my ring and enjoying it for some time now, but all is not peaceful in my jewelry land.  My beloved mickey mouse watch has had a watchband distress.  Since Aida had fixed this for me before, I was confident that she could it again.  Since my band contains zuni pieces from a trip to Moab years and year ago, getting a new expandable band is difficult.  Here's where Aida comes in, getting out her big magnifying glasses and jewelers tools.  She works pure magic, total price?  $5.95    They even buffed up the diamond ring for me.

Some of their prices may seem initially high, but you are buying a relationship with your jewelry pieces.  Aida can fix most minor items (like batteries) while you wait, bigger issues can be sent out and repaired... or diamonds added!!

All in all, they are a gem of a jeweler (did I just hear you GROAN?!), in my book!!!

I wanted to take Mom and Dad Karimi to the redwoods and Labor Day Weekend seemed like a good time.  After getting a late start, we made our way North through Vallejo and then up through through Sebastopol to Occidental.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Union Hotel and were seated in the main dining room, after being given a choice of there or the patio.  It was a bright, sunny, breezy day, but the cool, darkness of the main dining room was soothing to Dr. R's headache.

Our waitress was Noella.  She was a chipper, friendly and upbeat.  That is so nice to be waited on by such a sweet young lady.  She made our dining experience pleasant.

The bread and butter were a welcome addition to our table.  We ordered three entrees and an extra soup/salad.  We really could have been happy with two entrees and two soup/salads, because we carried home almost a full pizza.  After several pieces of bread dipped in the olive oil , the minestrone soup came (mmmmmnnn... so good!) along with a very delicious salad.  The vinagrette dressing was extra good.

The antipasta was slices of salami, sticks of a mild cheese and kidney beans.  Then the entrees arrived.  We had ordered a garden pizza, spaghetti and meatballs and the last order of their white wine chicken caccitori.  I had been disappointed not to see that chicken on the (new) menu, so I was glad to hear that it was a "special".

I didn't have any pizza, but the spaghetti with meatballs was great.  The meatballs were huge and tasty, smothered in marinara sauce.  The chicken was well-cooked and just as delicious as I remember.  

All in all, this was a delicious treat.  It was nice to have the warm, delicious bread (made from pizza dough) and the friendly service.  The only reason this wasn't a five star was a timing issue, there seemed to big gaps between the courses.  I felt this was more an issue of the kitchen rather than the wait staff.

Another great time.  I love the family aspect of this place.  This restaurant has maintained a continuity of service that one has come to expect from it, and has also managed to move with the time.  Lunch for four (three entrees, one soup/salad, two sodas) came to 85.00 before tip.

A friend of mine came into town and I took her to Berkeley to show her the sights (the bridge was closed).  I love this spot, because it has seats at the big glass window.  I haven't been here since this was The Cafe Intermezzo, so I wasn't sure if this place had changed.  

We ordered a combination, a chicken salad half-sandwich and a bowl of vegetarian chili and a marinated eggplant half-sanwich and a tossed green salad with poppy seed dressing.

I could tell no difference between the food of Cafe Mattina and the food of Cafe Intermezzo.  The honey wheat bread of the sandwiches was so very good... you could taste the honey, the grain of the bread.  The best sandwich was definitely the marinated eggplant!  The chili had about five different beans and was tasty, but not spectacular.  The salad was HUGE with ubiquitous sprouts.  There were carrot slices and lots of greens.  The poppy seed dressing wasn't too sweet and it pooled at the bottom of the bowl.  

Portions are huge, maybe even gargantuan.  My friend was facing a long ride back to the city via BART due to the bridge closure, so that I got to keep the leftovers.  It provided the four of us at home with a good little amount for dinner that evening.

The price point was good... under 17.00 for both lunches and two Calistoga waters.  The best part of this place, besides the food is the people watching. It's nice to know that despite the name change, the food has not changed.  Although I didn't have one of their coffee mocchas which used to be spectacular, maybe next time!

My family likes to celebrate at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  They have big tables, plenty of room, pretty good service and food that just about everyone can find something to eat.  The vegetarians go for the Mizithra cheese spaghetti, the carnivores go for meatballs and tomato sauce.  The food very middle-of-the-road in terms of quality, but the bread is freshly baked and how can you argue with spumoni ice cream at the end of the meal?

Yesterday, we were celebrating my youngest niece and the party was set for twelve.  We had the best waitress that we have ever had at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  Her name was Neena and she had a great attitude, gettiing our orders perfectly and suggesting things like a fresh to-go loaf to go with our leftovers.  She was a real treasure.  

Thanks to my brother-in-law, Bob for footing the bill and our niece, Acacia for giving us an excellent reason to celebrate.  OH!  Thanks also for Michael Sue and Acacia giving me a ride back up to the weekend house!

I saw this big sign painted on the side of a warehouse:  Sitcom  Outlet: Open Saturdays only.  

You KNOW how much I love outlet stores (me and the le Crueset outlet are arranging a direct deposit thing)!  I just had to check it out.

Funny thing, since adding two new people to our family, we've been looking for chairs.  We had three chairs from my dining set that I bought during my Sebastopol year, a green upholstered chair that my folks rescued from Carolyn L across the street from the old house in South San Francisco, and a folding chair that no one wants to sit on that Dr. R. drags into the kitchen to reach the Courvoisier because he knows that stands my hair on end.  We've looked for chairs at couple of different places, but haven't found anything we liked for the price we wanted to pay.

Just so you know, Sitcom's warehouse is in a highly industrial area on the not-Alameda side of High Street, a block from 880.  It's a little creepy area, but nothing you can't do in broad daylight.  We walked into the staging area and they had a fairly decent amount of furniture.  We found three possible chair sets.  We picked one that was dark brown and leather.  Here's the amazing thing, they were 80 bucks apiece for these solid, beautiful chairs. We saw chairs 1/2 as good as these for over 150 dollars each at the Smith and Hawkin Outlet up in Vacaville!

They helped us fit these four chairs in the back of the Jeep along with another chair that came in a box.  This was no small task, because the Jeep had to hold Dr. R., me, Mama Joon, and Baba AND the five chairs.  It did, just barely.

Just to recap, Sitcom is a modern furniture store that usually sells over the internet and to retail outlets.  Once a week (Saturday), it opens its warehouse and sells floor models and discontinued items.  The styles are fresh and modern as well as some classic and well-made.  Some vases and accessories as well.  I know I will be back for a coffeetable soon!

Ooos... they take Credit Cards only.  I don't think there is delivery.

This is one of my "regular" stops along the freeway of life.  When I was needing odds and ends for the loveshack (our studio in the South Bay), I would stop here every week with a list.

Now that I am on the "output" end of the line, boxing up boxes and boxes of stuff to donate... I go here waaay less.  However, with my new Persian mom and Baba here from Iran, I found that I just did not have enough big spoons for us to enjoy dinner... so I bopped into this Goodwill and sifted through their silverware.  I found 8 big spoons of various makes and sizes, but hey, this is just for everyday meals.  They didn't have a price, but the cute guy at the counter charged me 25 cents apiece for them.  I considered that a bargain.

If you know me, then you know that I am a jello mold collector.  I know that is strange, but my kitchen has copper jello/gelatin molds on the wall and I found two this week while I was searching for big spoons.  Also among my treasures were some cheese knives/spades, which I scored for 25 cents each.

I was a happy camper when I left the Goodwill.  On the whole, this one is a little disorganized, but hey, it's a Goodwill.  If I want organized, I'll go to Crate and Barrel... but hey the price is right!

If I were jonesing for something to read, this Goodwill has a good collection of books that include quality paperbacks for around 1.99.  I admit, I bought a Barbara Delinski book that I haven't read for 99 cents.  A bargain for a book that I was crushing on (but didn't take) at the grocery store only six months ago... am I the only person who buys novels at the grocery store?

Ok, now you've bought your goodies, one of the best things about this Goodwill is that is next to a really good Salvadorian restaurant!  You've saved some money, go blow it on papusas!