I ♥ Sacramento {Block o' Sweets}

1801 L Street, Suite 70

What?  You've never heard of the Block o' Sweets and surely with a name like that, if it existed you'd know about it? Ok, so it's not exactly an official name but, trust me, it exists. Specifically, it's the block on L Street that houses TreyBCakes, Ginger Elizabeth Chocolate and Yogurtagogo among other great businesses the names of which I don't know, probably becuase they don't sell sweets. Yes, I have a one track mind at times. Sue me.

I'll take the whole tray!

Trey B Cakes probably wins the distinction of being my favorite place on the block mostly because it's open late. Not that I'm out late every often or anything, but it's nice knowing that a place with treats just as good (maybe even better) as Rick's is also open until the wee hours of the morning (or midnight. I have three kids. That is the wee hours for me.).

I regularly get the LuLu Cupcake, the grownup version of a Hostess Cupcake. Husband likes the  gelato, which I have yet to try. He's not very good at sharing sometimes. 

1801 L Street, Suite 60

Seeing as Chocolate is its own food group at our house Ginger Elizabeth's probably should be my favorite, but as an excellent artisan chocolatier it has excellent artisan prices, which is to say not at all excellent.

Now don't let that discourage you from going and trying the Coconut Curry (my personal favorite) or the tamer Lavendar, just know that this is a special occasion kind of place. The macaroons are delicious as well. They are the traditional french kind, which make me feel all fancy like Marie Antoinette, but with less tragedy.

1801 L Street, Suite 9

 And lastly, we have Yogurtagogo, which is our kids favorite. Making their own frozen yogurt with toppings will always win out in kid world. And frequently in husband world. Whenever it's open it's his poison of choice.

It's good, but there isn't enough chocolate there for me.

Please don't blog this, mom. You are embarrassing me.

I ♥ Sacramento {Midway Antique Mall}

 I have been wanting to check out the Midway Antique Mall for quite sometime. Ever since Megan forwarded the link to Erin's post on Bows and Sparrows about them I have been scheming to get myself over there. A couple times Megan has said, "Come on, let's GO!" and I have turned her down becuase we didn't have any extra cash to spend on all the fun things that I knew I would want, but wouldn't be able to get.

On Mother's Day I knew it was the perfect day to go over there with the family becuase it's A) the one day a year I get to do exactly what I want all day long. and B) as such I would get to pick out goodies and my husband would happily spoil me. Win win. 

"Hands behind your backs, kids." Well, one listened, anyway.

 After church and lunch on Sunday we went over there with kids in tow. I mention the kids because some of you veteran antique mall goers might be cringing over the thought of a seven, five and two year old anywhere near an antique mall. I was, even though the kid to adult ratio was 1:1, about as good as it gets. My kids were angels. Maybe the stars were aligned, maybe Midway is really fun for kids or maybe it was the well placed mom-guilt I gave them the night before ("All I want for Mother's Day, kids, is for you to listen, be nice to each other and not whine all day. You can do that for Mommy, right kids?"). Whatever it was, it worked.
 

my kids have awesome taste in games

groovy miss kitty (only $50)

crochet hangers ($3ea)

The thing that struck me most about Midway was the impeccable condition all their pieces were in. Everything has been beautifully restored and most items look brand new, with a very small percentage (usually upholstery) looking only slightly worn. Record players, radios, telephones, clocks, watches all have been painstakingly restored and while they carry hefty price-tags a good friend who works there has mentioned that some peices may even come with warranties.

1940s Deco Glam room. Not my taste, but fun to see.

 Another thing I noticed was how kind and helpful everyone was. No one seemed put out by the number of children we had with us (we were quite conspicuously the only ones there with kids) or with how loud they were, which while they were not whiny, they are still kids and were noisy. In fact I noticed a couple of the workers tailing us because they liked chatting with our 2 year old, who is by far our chattiest kid.

I came away with a few sets of vintage buttons (thanks Granny!) and a "MOM" coffee mug (thanks husband!) but not the perfect mid-century end table I was hoping for. It wasn't for lack of trying, they just didn't have what I needed. Bummer, cuz I can't use the Mother's Day shopping spree card again till next year. 

Midway Antique Mall

5130 MADISON AVENUE * SACRAMENTO, CA   95841

  PHONE (916) 779-6252   

Hours M-F 10 am - 6 pm

Ok, free treats and TV might have had a role in the good behavior.

Another Chapter...Kids Sports

pre swim nerves

heading to the race

Our seven year old has joined the swim team. 

We are in new territory, friends. We have officially entered the world of Kids Sporting Events, where parents live out their dreams through their children.

Ok, yeah, that's a bit pessimistic of me, but I have learned through my own and my three brother's sporting experiences that there is a segment of the parent population that gets a bit crazy when it comes to kids sports. And probably other things too.

Knowing this we prepped our boy quite a bit before his first swim meet. "Son, we are just here to have fun." "This is not about winning, it's about learning how to be a good team member and a good sport." "You are only in a race against yourself, don't worry about the other swimmers."

You get the idea.

lined up on the block and ready to go

Sure, there will be a time when winning, technique, improvement and beating personal bests will be more important and even encouraged, but not as a seven year old. Thankfully our coaching staff is really encouraging of the kids no matter their skill level.

Tyler is really enjoying his time on the swim team and is starting to make new friends (like the little dude next to him in the picture below) which really makes us happy. It was touch and go at the beginning of the day as it was FREEZING and Tyler has zero body fat, so the poor kid's teeth were chattering so much that he was getting a headache. It was pathetic and I thought for sure this whole swim team thing would be an epic fail.

we might need to work a bit on that entry dive...

Thankfully after we prayed together that his attitude would change and few well placed Lego bribes he pulled himself together and had a brilliant day. He finished last in all his swims and really wanted to give up during his 50 meter (two laps) swim, but he didn't which made us beyond proud. He was in tears when we pulled him out of the water, but the encouragement of his teammates, friends and family cheered him up quickly.

 

 

...and our freestyle stroke.

 

Later that night he was watching TV and the kid on show declared "I quit!" Tyler turned to me and said, "That's too bad. You shouldn't quit, I didn't quit and it was really hard to swim two laps."

I ♥ Sacramento {Krushburger - formerly Mini Burger Truck}

Given last weekend's (almost too) hugely successful SactoMoFo, I thought I should talk about one of the real bright spots of the day, Mini Burger Truck. Twitter was on fire for them and if you have ever had the pleasure of catching up to the truck, you know why
. 

I have been following Mini Burger Truck on twitter for awhile and literally following where they were, patiently waiting for them to tweet a location near me, so I could see what all the fuss is about. Finally, a few weeks back, they tweeted a location practically around the corner from me at the Broadway DMV, so I zipped out to the DMV offices on 50th and Broadway. 

I was on a major time crunch as my husband was home that morning, but would soon be on his way to an afternoon meeting. Seeing as 50th and Broadway was only a few blocks from our house I figured I'd be fiiiiine. Plenty of time.

Not. They were at the other DMV office on 24th and Broadway. Fail. Well, sort of. I still got our burgers, but I made the hubs late to his meeting. Oh the things I do for a good lunch.

I don't have better pics of the burgers since I had to basically grab them and run back to my car, where I was yelled at for parking illegally (or at least in a private lot), drive as fast as was (legally) possible to get home to my hubby, hand him his lunch so he could drive as fast as was (legally) possible to his meeting, while (unwisely) eating while he drove. They were good enough burgers that he wasn't mad at me for making him late, so that says something.

p.s. When you attempt this, be smarter than me and check their schedule. You could double check on twitter since the city's lame food truck rules prohibit staying on one place longer than 30 minutes, but the online schedule is pretty helpful.

p.p.s. Because I know you are dying to know we got one of each of their regular menu burgers and the monthly burger, which at that time was the Phat Pig. We also got a side of sweet potato tots. Oh. My. Yum.
 

I ♥ Sacramento {Ashlee Gadd of Where My Heart Resides}

I am pretty excited about this blogger feature, because Ashlee is so darn sweet. She has been writing her blog, Where My Heart Resides for about two years and has lived in Sacramento for 5. I found her lovely blog via Twitter, which is another good reason to get on board the social media bandwagon (several upcoming locals are twitter finds). Read on and be sure to pop into Ashlee's blog and say "Hi!" You can go ahead and tell her I sent ya ;)

What do you love best about Sacramento?  Hands down, the people. Sacramento is a community, and I am constantly reminded of that in my day-to-day interactions with friends and strangers alike. Sacramento rallies for a cause like nobody’s business, and I love the energy in this city.

Favorite local haunts: Ooooh, so many to choose from! Café Bernardo, Temple Coffee on 10^th, L Wine Lounge, Yogurt-a-go-go, The Crest Theatre, Mix for dancing, and Marilyn’s on K for live music.
The best shopping in town is: Sacramento has the BEST thrift stores. The Goodwill on Watt Ave is amazing, and I love Thrift Town. Also adore Crimson and Clover, YSJ Vintage, and Face It.

When out of towners come I'm always sure to take them to: Depends on the crowd….any of my local haunts for sure, maybe Dive Bar to check out the mermaids, McKinley park for a picnic, movie at the Crest, a Rivercats game…

One thing I wish Sacramento had: An outdoor entertainment venue!

Ashley has kindly shared with us three of her favorite posts, Frozen, an essay on missed opportunity, Britt n Joe, a lovely photoshoot with her newly engaged friends and the sweetly hopeful, Finding Joy in the Future.Please take a few moments to say hi to Ashlee! 

 

Jumpin back in!

Helloooo!

My goodness that was an unintentionally long break folks! Last week was my kids Spring Break and I had big plans for us. BIG PLANS. We were going to go hiking in Calaveras and to visit out of town friends and down to the river for a picnic and to every single ice cream parlor in town. It was going to be epic. Instead I laid on the couch sicker than sick with the worst cold ever (which was probably bird flu or something) and watched Disney channel with my kids all day.

Wait. What? You're saying that's all fine and good, but a whiny sick girl can still post a blog update? True story. However, one thing they don't tell you in Mom Training is that when you are sick and the kids are not there will be a level of boredom and whining emanating from every pore of your offspring's bodies. So in frustration at my darling children I slammed shut my laptop and managed to do it just hard enough to fry my hard-drive.

God bless my husband for being totally cool about it, though on Easter Sunday when Pastor Craig announced his new sermon series on anger, Aaron laughed and nudged me. Point taken. I will be taking diligent notes for the next few Sundays.

The laptop is still fried for now, but we dragged out the trusty desktop and I will have some great local blogger features for you! I am pretty excited about them! I will have my first later today and another one tomorrow. I might save my last one for next week, but we shall see. Either way, I'm jumpin in!

I ♥ Sacramento {Pancake Circus}

If you know me well you know our family's love for Pancake Circus and if you read this blog with any regularity you have possibly been wondering when I was going to mention Pancake Circus. Or maybe you haven’t, because it’s more likely that you really don’t think of me or my family’s penchant towards a kitschy diner that borders on frightening (unless, of course, you love clowns) very often, or, like, ever. Either way I think I deserve a pat on the back for waiting this long to talk about Pancake Circus.
We freakishly love this place and have been coming for years. I’ll be honest and say that it isn’t the best pancake you ever had, or the best value, but that really isn’t the point. We started coming here not long after our first child was born, all our kids have sat in the little highchairs that clip onto the tables and giggled over the cartoon bears and lions over the lunch counter. The owner now greets us and the kids with a huge smile and an inquiry about school for the kids, work for the husband, life for me.

The waitresses, comically crusty at times, have all been there forever, know their regulars by name and even can list of the names of the grandkids. If you don’t go there regularly they serve you with quick matter-of-factness; you can count on being seated, fed and paid up in 45 minutes on a weekday. Expect long waits on weekends and holidays, an hour or more at times, but we have come to enjoy sarcastic banter with other hungry folk while we wait. I’m thinking that the Circus attracts a certain kind of customer because I am struggling to think of an instance where we haven’t had a witty exchange with the people waiting next to us. My husband enjoys himself a sarcastic witty joke with a stranger. Perhaps that is what he really likes about this place, people laugh at his jokes. The man loves an audience.

Breakfast deals begin around $7 and generally feature sausage/bacon/eggs and 2-4 pancakes.  My favorite has always been the buckwheat pancakes with berry syrup. We (Aaron and I) usually get a Circus Special and share it.  The kids are pleased as punch with dollar pancakes and hot chocolate. I didn’t start taking pics of Charlotte until after she ate all her whipped cream, but it was close to as tall as her head. No wonder they love it there!
Dangit. I haven’t had breakfast yet, now I’m hungry!

Pancake Circus

2101 Broadway

Sacramento, 95818

Hours: 6a-3p

p.s. they apparently now have t-shirts. Yes, I will be rocking one of those soon. 

 

I ♥ Sacramento {2nd Sunday Antique Faire}

9am: Wake up! Remember it’s 2nd Sunday and the Antique Fair at W/X is on!. You have no cash, but you can’t get any now because you are already running late for church. You haven’t even gotten out of bed yet.

9:30 am: Remember that your husband has a meeting all afternoon and can’t go with you to the W/X so it is just you and the three littles.

9:35 am: Consider not going. It’s hard with the littles.

9:37 am: Of course you are going to go, you always go, littles or not.

9:38 am: Begin thinking of potential bribes. $1 to spend on whatever they want has worked in the past, ok, let’s go with that.

10:00 am: Quit thinking about the Antique Faire and start dressing kids! You’re late!

12 pm: Church is over, time to high tail it our to the W/X. Kids are complaining they are hungry, but you decide to save time and get food at the Faire. Exit freeway and remember you still have no cash. Head off to do that while the kids whine and complain about how hungry they are and why are we stopping? and WHAT you have to get MONEY?! GEEZ, MOM!

12:02 pm: Ask yourself why you do this alone every stinking month and then tell the kids to be quiet or they won’t eat  you’ll only be a second and you’ll be right back, you just have to run to the ATM.

12:10 pm: You’re parked. You’re out of the car. You’re IN.

12:11 pm: Three little voices loudly sweetly remind you they are hungry. So you get pizza. What kid dosen’t like pizza?

12:20 pm: Your kids didn’t love the pizza. Lemon garlic olive oil and sausage artisan pizza didn’t quite appeal to the preschool palette, so you ate yours and theirs. It was delicious. Now they are sharing a giant kettle corn, making this a meal all of you might regret later.

12:30 pm: Kids have eaten, but have started to fight over the kettle corn.

12:35 pm: Your oldest starts complaining loudly and saying things like* “Ugh! My BACK hurts!” “We have been walking FOR SO LONG!” (15 minutes) “This is the WORST DAY EVER!”

12:40 pm: you contemplate getting new children. Oh look! There is a table full! (Not at all creepy….)

12:45 pm: You spend the bribery dollar. Takes 10 minutes to decide on a few McDonalds toys you already have at home (and were probably purchased at last months faire). Now a new form of bribery needs to be determined.

1 pm: You test out some furniture. It’s agreed that you should buy the whole set. You’re extremely proud of her taste.

1:20 pm: Everyone has finally reached their limit of shopping/whining/walking, are now broke and treats are in order.

1:30 pm: Banana Splits. YES.

Can’t wait to do it all again next month.

 

Sacramento Antique Faire

Every 2nd Sunday 

21st Street
(Between W and X Streets - Under the freeway)

Admission is $3.00.

Children 16 and under are free

Parking is free

2011 Faire Dates:

• April 10
• May 8
• June 12
• July 10
• August 7
• September 11
• October 9
• November 13
• December 11

*Yes, my boy says some combination of these remarks EVERY single time we go.

I ♥ Sacramento {Getty Owl Foundation}

Sweet Getty and her mom, Kate

Whatever your opinion is of Sacramento there is one thing that I think everyone should agree on – Sacramentans care about each other and the world. Sure we have lots of problems, what city doesn't?  Yet we try very hard to make sure our homeless population is cared for through numerous charities and church ministries, hours after the disasters in Haiti and Japan local bloggers and residents were already organizing relief fundraisers, and when we hear about little ones in our community suffering, we pitch in to help however we can.

Sacramento blogger Stacey Ball is no different and has started the Getty Foundation in honor of her friend’s sweet baby girl, Getty, who was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) when she was four months old.

The Getty Foundation website describes SMA as “an inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Infants, like Getty, with SMA Type 1 (SMA1), the most severe type of SMA, are born with very little muscle tone and weak muscles. They develop feeding and breathing problems as the weakness gets worse over time. The weakness eventually becomes severe.

There is no cure or treatment for SMA. The lifespan with SMA1 is seldom longer than 2 – 3 years.”

For parents of newly diagnosed children this news is shocking and completely devastating to say the least. When little Getty’s parents got the news Stacey knew she needed to help however she could and the idea for The Getty Foundation began to take shape. Please visit the Getty Owl website for more information on Getty and the Storm family’s journey with SMA.

The Getty Owl Foundation was established in February of 2011 with the goal of raising money to assist families who are newly diagnosed as well as fund research for a cure for SMA.  Getty is not personally benefitted from funds raised for The Getty Foundation, though there is a place to donate for Getty specifically on the Foundation website. Both the Sacramento crafting community and blogging community at large has come together for Getty in a very beautiful way.

Getty just celebrated her first birthday on March 25th (yay Getty!) with a special giveaway filled birthday party held virtually on the foundation blog.

Coming soon is  the release of the "Lullabies for Getty-Sweetwater Child" album available to download on iTunes. I have heard a few songs from this album and it is truly not one to be missed. Absolutely beautiful! You can get a little listen yourself on the Getty Blog.

If you are interested in joining us in helping The Getty Foundation please consider participating in any of these upcoming events:

June 11th: 2nd Annual GETty Crafty at Fremont Park from 10am to 3pm.

August 13th: SMA Awareness Night and SMA Art Auction: meeting at the capital and walking through the streets of 2nd Saturday to support awareness.  There will also be an art exhibit by children and parents with SMA, live music and crafts at various locations in Midtown.

September 19th: 2nd Annual Getty Owl Golf Tournament at Granite Bay Golf Club

December 4th: Team Getty runners will be participating in the California International Marathon.  There are 80 runners currently with more signing up every day.

February 26, 2012: First Annual Getty Owl Run: Quarter Mile Kids Race/5K/10K with post race family festival.

If you would like more information on any of these events please email Stacey at hoot@gettyowl.org.

I ♥ Sacramento {California Auto Museum}

This picture will be embarrassing these kids for years to come. 

California Auto Museum

2200 Front Street Sacramento, CA 95818-1106
Ph: (916) 442-6802
info@CalAutoMuseum.org

7 days a week - 10a – 6p
Third Thursdays open until 9p
Admission is FREE for members
$8 Adults
$7 Vintage (65 and older)
$4 Students (with current student ID)
Children 4 and Under free
Call for group rates, Reduced for AAA members

I have lived in Sacramento for umpteen years and only went to the California Auto Museum for the first time last week. This is a fact that I find particularly noteworthy for several reasons. First, growing up my parents took us to museums all the time. Every time we traveled we trotted to all the local museums. Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum? Been there. Creepy Spirit of Monterey Wax Museum? Done that. (Twice! Once as a kid and once on my honeymoon. Yup, dragged the man there two days into our marriage. We’re still married, so that’s something.) World of Coca-Cola “Museum”? Bought the t-shirt.

Second, I have three brothers. How could any self respecting parent of boys not take them to a museum devoted to cars?  Ok, that was probably stereotypically lame, not all boys love cars, but it brings me nicely to my third and final point. 

My dad and brothers loved vintage cars! We spent many a weekend at vintage car shows! How did we not go to the auto museum? Of course, now one of my brothers is going to comment saying they had memberships or something and just never took me because I was a self absorbed teenage girl, whatever, guys. What. Ever. Ha! Who am I kidding, my brothers don’t read my blog.

Anyway, The auto museum was a total win for our 7 year old. As soon as we walked in and he saw the kelly green Lamborghini he was saying “Mom. MOM, MOM. You are soooo awesome! Thank you for bringing me here!” Charlotte (the 2 year old) was tailing him saying “Awesome! Awesome!” in her little helium sounding voice.  Lily is generally too cool for everyone, but she was pretty excited herself. Go mom!

The experience was even more fun because we were escorted most of the time by a very knowledgeable docent (whose name I forget, bad me). He was a super nice retired CHP officer and was patient with our kids who might possibly have had a hard time keeping their paws off an Italian race car or two.

This beast was entirely “home”made out of Caddy parts! It ended up at the museum when it broke down not to far away from Sacramento. The owner decided to donate it and built a whole new one! Our docent said that it was a huge hit at last year’s State Fair. I’m hoping they bring it out again this year because I want to see that puppy up close.

I took probably 100 pictures on our visit; I’ll show some restraint and stop posting so that you have something to enjoy when you go to the California Auto Museum.

Because you are gonna go, riiiight?