29th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off & Festival

Steve and I had never made it to the annual chowder festival before. We always seemed to be out of town when it was held. But this year, we were in town and available. The weather was a bit gloomy, but the wind sure made the sailboat racers happy.



We walked from our house to the Boardwalk and found the first ticket booth for the event. The line was down the block. Volunteers were shouting that there were other booths farther down the Boardwalk, but nobody budged. Steve and I wandered down the next ticket booth and found it deserted. A little ironic that people weren’t willing to talk a few hundred more feet when they would spend the rest of the day walking up and down the Boardwalk anyway.

Steve and I each purchased “tasting kits.” They came with a small bowl, spoon, napkin, 5 tickets and a slip of blue paper with “People’s Choice” printed on it. There were around 70 entrants in the cook-off and their booths lined the Boardwalk end-to-end. You select a booth whose chowder you want to try, give them a ticket and your bowl and they give you a sample of their entry.


Sharing, Steve and I were able to try 10 different chowders. Some of those around us seemed to have strategies to only try the best and most popular, but Steve and I stopped somewhat arbitrarily at booths that caught our eye. My favorite chowder turned out to be one I only tried because the cook was yelling “you’re tried the rest, now try… another one!” and it amused me. So, I presented them with my “People’s Choice” paper. At the end of the day, the entrant who collect the most of those slips get the People’s Choice prize (cash and airline tickets).


It was an absolute zoo. Obviously, this is a very popular event and we certainly had perfect chowder weather today.


We probably won’t feel the need to fight the crowds to do it again, but we had a good (and tasty) time.

The Old Place

The rental Steve and I lived in just previous to our current place was a wonderful little house. Really the only problem was the size; we just didn’t fit.

We left when an opportunity presented itself (we were not actively looking to move at the time). I had overheard talk that our landlords were having problems paying the mortgage (even while we were living there paying rent), so I was nervous about the stability of the place and was glad to have the opportunity to leave.

I passed by the old place earlier this week and noticed a For Sale sign outside. Avid house oglers, Steve and I looked it up online and confirmed it was indeed our old place and that our former landlords are selling it at a $20,000 loss (really not too bad in this housing market).

We really loved that place. I was actually sad to leave (unlike our previous mountain home… good riddance!) and we had a lot of good memories there. Now, if we only had $550,000 to blow on a cute little house… oh well. Someday we’ll have a place of our own.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today I turned 27. Since it’s tax season and I was tired after work, Steve and I have had a quiet evening with some presents and birthday cupcakes.


We mostly celebrated over the weekend. Last Saturday, I awoke to the fabulous treat of Bacon Maple Bars.


I was so excited to start eating, I forgot to take a picture until I was halfway through. We discovered this absurd donut variation in Portland, Oregon at Voodoo Donuts. I'm sure it’s horrendous for you. But it’s delicious.

From there, we went to our local Petroglyph store (where you paint pre-made ceramic items). I had always wanted to try it, but didn’t want to do it alone and felt a little guilty dragging Steve out to do it. But, for my birthday, he humored me. I spent about five hours designing and painting (with Steve providing artistic consultation and moral support) a ceramic lizard. I know I’m not much of an artist, but it’s the process that was really enjoyable for me.




Last Friday, a gigantic box arrived at our door.


It turned out to be my birthday gift from my parents: chaise lounge cushions for the clearance wooden chaises we had purchased months earlier from Ikea. Steve spent Sunday morning assembling the chaises.


But he also took a little time to enjoy them.


I had a wonderful weekend celebrating my birthday. As you get older, I've noticed that birthdays become less emphasized and I feel very spoiled that Steve still does his best to make a big deal out of mine.

Valentine’s Day

Steve and I long ago stopped giving each other gifts for Valentine’s Day. We figured that if all goes well, we will be together for way too long to continually come up with original ideas. We’re restricted gifts to birthdays and Christmas, and we’ve been pleased with the arrangement.

However, we do have the tradition of Steve reserving a table for us at a nicer restaurant than our typical fare. Often it’s a surprise, but this year we discovered the restaurant together on “Check Please! Bay Area” on our local PBS station. Steve made reservations and off we went.

Alexander’s Steakhouse in Cupertino was by far the nicest (and most expensive!) restaurant we have ever visited. It was fabulous, decadent food. Along with wonderful appetizers and desserts, Steve and I had the Filet Minon and Prime Rib, respectively. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the sweet touches; they sent us home with small boxed desserts to go (in addition to the desserts we had at the restaurant), a long-stemmed rose for the lady (a.k.a. me, in case you weren’t sure) and a very fancy vanilla strawberry (with a hint of rose) rendition of cotton candy. I finished ours back at home.


We forgot our camera, so we took a picture of us all dressed up after we returned home.


I got to wear my new vintage wool dress and some family jewelry my mom gave me for last Christmas, which I was thrilled with.

We had a wonderful time. Though I’m painfully aware of what a Hallmark holiday Valentine’s Day is, I really enjoy the excuse to splurge on an insanely fancy dinner with excellent company.