Day 3 & 4 of Blog Challenege

I missed day 3 :[  I was out of town, went up north along the California coastline and reception on my phone was going in and out.  It would've been impossible for me to blog from my phone. Woopsie! I'm combining it with today's entry :]

Yesterday I went up the Sonoma Coast with Leif & Seamus again. Went to Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall, CA again.  Picked up 2 dozen oysters for my parents: 1 dozen kumamotos and a dozen mediums. The mediums were for my mom to steam with black bean sauce (Chinese style). I am sad I didn't get to capture a photo of her oysters or even eat one. However, I am proud of myself for giving her shucking lessons. To be honest, it was my first time shucking oysters anyway and I did better than her HAHAHAHA. The dozen kumamotos were more for my dad. He is the only other person in my family that likes to eat raw foods (i.e. sashimi, oysters, etc).  My friend Leif & I also picked up oysters for ourselves.. I think we had about 3 dozen kumamotos. That might just be too many for us, woops. We also bought a pound of mussels and a pound of little manila clams. Brought those home for a late dinner and I steamed them up in a white wine sauce. SO DELICIOUS! I only wish we had some crusty bread to sop up all the sauce. I am thinking of reducing the white wine sauce today and tossing pasta into it ;) We also had some kumamoto oysters, some grilled cajun corn, grilled steaks, and island style smoked salmon we picked up on our trip. I wish I took some photos while I was cooking so I could in future do a "how to" cooking type of entry. I forgot, I'm sorry. Big thank you to my faux bro Leif for de-bearding the mussels, getting the grill going and shucking oysters while I did the other food prep and cooking.

my mussels & clams steamed in white wine sauce 

Oh I forgot to mention!! On the drive home we stopped in Sebastopol, CA. We saw a sign on the road that said "bbqed oysters, 1/2 mile" so we had to do it.

L - R: bbq sauce, garlic butter, mint chimichurri. 

oysters @ Casino in Sebastopol, CA

The mint chimichurri was my favorite. It didn't taste too much like a chimichurri to be honest. When I hear the word "chimichurri" my first thought it is "oOoo Argentina!" but it tasted more like a regular champagne mignette with fresh mint. Still, it was quite delicious.

Day 3: A Habit I Wish I Didn't Have

Well for fuck's sake.. This could go on forever and a day. Do I only pick ONE habit or can I just ramble on and on about various ones? Here is a MAJOR one I have that I really hate. I have this habit or tendency to be too giving to people I love. You may ask how is that a bad thing? Sometimes we love people who don't deserve us. Sometimes we love people who are not worthy of our emotions, effort, tears, time, our hearts. When in a relationship, I tend give my 110%. Of course some ex-boyfriends may beg to differ but that's only their perception, there are 2 sides to every story. Giving my 110% can be a fruitless endeavor because often times, it is not reciprocated. When it isn't reciprocated, I get burned. After that, I shut off my heart. This is something I am still learning to work on. Each and every single time I tell myself not to fall too deep, remember what happened last time? Take it slow and easy... We'll see where this all goes. 

Day 4: List 15 Songs That Represents Your Life's Soundtrack

1. Memories - David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi <-- MY THEME SONG OF 2010  
2. Bad Day - Daniel Powter .. whenever I have a bad day, I feel this way.
3. Ordinary People - John Legend
4. Luv Sick part 3 - Nujabes ft. Shing02 (R.I.P. Nujabes !! ) 
5. SF Anthem - San Quinn ft. Big Rich holdin' it down for the SFC, forever & always
6. Sexy Bitch - David Guetta ft. Akon because when I party, my life is this fuckin music video!
7. Amber - 311 i'm a fecking beach bum. ipod blasting with this song, shades on, light breeze on my face laying in the same. 
8. Do It - Nelly Nurtado <-- I hear this song in my head every time I see Mr. Susyness dressed up lookin' all fly with his swag on <333 *swoon*
9. Times Of Your Life - Joanna Wang
10. Help I'm Alive - Metric
11. Chasing Pavements - Adele
12. Slideshow - T.I. ft. John Legend
13. This Girl - Nikki Flores I listen to emo girly shit a lot. 
14. Because I'm A Girl - Kiss because we've all had our hearts broken and smashed to pieces
15. Is It You? - Cassie because really, every girl is looking for this. Let's be real. 

Dam. I struggled ALL MORNING with the entry for Day 4. That was tough. I don't think I am content with my soundtrack list but.. We'll see. They may or may not change however at this very second, this very moment, I am okay with it.

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself. 
Day 02- A picture of something you cannot live without. 
Day 03- A habit that you wish you didn’t have. 
Day 04- List 15 songs that represent your life’s soundtrack.
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to. 
Day 06- A hobby you have. 
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you. 
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why. 
Day 09- Something/someone you’re proud of. 
Day 10- A story about a past relationship. 
Day 11- A picture of something you dislike. 
Day 12- A picture of your room & don’t cheat by cleaning it. Share a secret. 
Day 13- Write a letter telling someone something you could never tell them. 
Day 14- A picture of something you ate and 10 confessions. 
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle & share the first 10 songs that play. 
Day 16- Something you could live without. 
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why. 
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have. 
Day 19- Nicknames you have & how or why you have them. 
Day 20- If you had 3 wishes, what would they be. 
Day 21- Share a picture from your day. 
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else. 
Day 23- What is something you crave. 
Day 24- Share a story about your past that you are ashamed of. 
Day 25- What I would find in your bag. 
Day 26- Places you want to visit before you die. 
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge? 
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then? 
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned. 
Day 30- A picture of you today & 20 goals you want to accomplish. 

26 more days to go. I promise to keep it raw. Keep it real. Honest. 

xoxo

Chowder Quest 2010

Hello everyone! I know i'm very very behind on blogging. I haven't done one single entry this whole entire month - I am so sorry! I still haven't announced my contest/giveaway yet either. I am working on putting my thoughts/photos together on that. Sit tight for another month..

I've been so busy and at the same time - not so busy. Traveling was definitely up there. I haven't been to Los Angeles in about 3 weeks now, i'm missing it real bad. I did however, wind up in Vegas w/ my partner in crime Melissa. There was lots of table top dancing, roasting in the sun and BOOZE. We went primarily to see our friends from London. So crazy that we met them only 8 months ago in Vegas... Only to return to Vegas to see them again because one of them is getting married. Congratulations Amar!! The next time I see you, you'll be a married man :] Oh yeah, the next time I see them will be ... in October. That's right, i'm headed to London in the fall! So very excited because I haven't left the country in a few years.

Anywho. Let me catch up on a few things!

********* IF YOU'RE HERE BECAUSE YOU ARE GOOGLING THE CA XPPINKX POW WOW TRYING TO FIND DIRT: MOVE THE FECK ON. YOU AREN'T GOING TO FIND ANY DIRT HERE. Yes, i'm talking about YOU, person from Deer Park, Texas. (multiple times Googling to my page in the last 2 days..really??)
P.S. Yes, I did leave early to attend EDC. You know what else? I left cash with another blogger and I left behind MORE than enough to cover my share and then some. 

To continue where I left off, I had a bomb time at the Pow Wow. Iyah, i'm stealing your group pic, thanks! To get a better recap of that night and see the blogs of the other ladies, please clicky on the link to Iyah's blog (she also has more photos): Pow Wow 

...all the beautiful pink ladies...

w/ the infamous xppinkxx in the middle, where else?

OOHHH. I also forgot to bring up the fact that... I had a mini Bay Area Blogger meetup in mid-July somewhere.
We had lunch at Santouka inside Mitsuwa..Hit up a Face Shop, went to Valley Fair and finally had dinner at Pepper Lunch
They're sooooo going to kill me for posting these photos but I don't care, they can't smack me over the internet! hahahhahaa

Ping & Serena.. I turned Serena into a fiend! She had Santouka 3x that week.

Sophia's 1st time at Santouka

L-R: Jen, Sophia, Ronnie (finally!), Serena, me, Ping

Pepper Lunch USA is so damn good & I introduced these girls to it

Serenaaaa womaaaaaaaaaaaaaan

So i've been having this CRAZY craving for clam chowder. It just hit me like a brick wall a few weeks ago. I didn't get any for 2 weeks! Finally, last friday I tried the infamous Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco. I was underwhelmed and extremely disappointed. $7.50 for a watered down pint of clam chowder that had rubbery clams.. It also tasted like Campbell's clam chowder. What a big letdown. That friday night I hit up Woodhouse on Church in the famous Castro district. The clam chowder was better, but still not that great. On top of that, I had ordered 1/2 a dozen Hood Canal oysters. They weren't shucked very well so my friend Leif ended up with mouthfuls of shell. Mine however, were okay but it just goes to show they were not consistent. So then, it was decided.. We would go on a quest... not just for clam chowder, but for oysters as well. Joining us was my dear friend Aurana. 

Sunday morning we waited for the San Francisco Marathon to end (so we could cross the Golden Gate Bridge). It was foggy (as usual) but I did snap a photo so I could show my friend in London. He had this misconception that it is always sunny in California. (Sorry honey, that's Southern California)

breakfast for Aurana and I? cupcakes & coffee

red velvet & butterscotch cupcakes from American Cupcake

Seamus was bad. He stomped on the box and ruined the butterscotch cupcake >=[ therefore, I made him my footrest on the way up to Marshall, CA for oysters

Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall, CA

This spot is amazing. Great view (crappy weather, sorry), fresh oysters, bbq pits...Of course you need to reserve the tables in advance though! Leif, Aurana and I were only stopping through so we just swooped up a dozen kumamotos (my favorite!) and shucked 'em in the trunk of the car. 

ok I lied, Leif shucked them. Aurana & I don't know how.

♥ delicious ♥

Aurana & I having kumamotos with Seamus

Seamus is such a camera whore - and I love it.

Drove in to town (Tomales).. Aurana and I kicked it in front of the general store. I mean really, how many of you can say you kick it in front of the general store? Jay & Silent Bob got NOTHIN' on us

These fruit pies remind me of my grandfather. We used to buy them together when I was very young. 

If you never knew, I was raised by my grandparents up until my teens.

My grandparents and I used to take walks collecting cans along the way to recycle them (so Chinese). Once we had accumulated a large volume of cans, we'd take them to a recycling center. With the money we got, my grandparents would let me purchase either thing: a bag of Granny Goose chips or 2 fruit pies. I usually opted for the lemon fruit pies because then my grandpa would pick the 2nd pie and we'd eat them on the way home. If my grandma took me to the recycling center, i'd get the Granny Goose chips because she liked the sour cream & onion ones. I'm tearing up writing these childhood memories like a freaking sentimental sap because i'm ovulating *boohoo* Okay on with the chowder quest i'll stfu now.

After leaving the general store, we were back on the road. We had a final destination, but agreed to making multiple stops along the way.

1st clam chowder stop: Valley Ford Market

it was $4 for a cup of their clam chowder

very bacon-y but too oily. much too oily and the broth was thin and weak. 

Leif had gotten that for us while I headed across the road to a better place

much better. the chowder was also a fresh pot, score! it was $6.50 for that bowl

left: Sonoma Coast Fish Bank right: Valley Ford Market

Sorry VFM, SCFB kicked your ass.

next stop: Island Style Deli, Bodega Bay

I was rather disappointed with their clam chowder. It did have a lot of potato (which I love) but it just tasted like a vegetable chowder. I also felt there was waaaaaaaay too much herb going on in there, it left a very strong thyme taste in my mouth.

I believe this to go cup was about $4? I could be wrong

dry smoked salmon was very good though. the flavor was just aromatic and made me want to cream myself

look at that beautiful color!

Seamus is spoiled and got some too

The final destination and winner of Chowder Quest 2010 so far

Spud Point Crab Co, Bodega Bay

my crab cocktail 1/4lb fresh crab meat w/ lemon and homemade cocktail sauce $9.95

ugghh this was the best clam chowder so far and I want more of it RIGHT NOW hence the "ugghhh" because i'm a couple of hours away from this spot

it was perfect ♥ 

great seafood taste, ample amount of fresh clams, chock full of potatoes, the chowder was thick (the way I like it) and it didn't have too much herb in there.. my mouth is watering for more

It was perfect with oyster crackers too, thanks for repeatedly putting them in for me to chomp Leif! We basically killed it.

On the chowder scale, we rated Spud Point 8-9 (if I remember correctly. Leif?)

stopped for malted milkshakes on the way home. the guy hooked me up and didn't skimp on the malt

Why yes Mr. Seamus, you may have some too. NOT

bye bye Bodega baby

ktfo

guess who else is ktfo? my twin *shhh*

grrr feed me! he got crabby because it was his dinner time but we got stuck in Petaluma traffic

I knocked out somewhere along the way stuck in Petaluma traffic..but my "twin" was wide awake.
photo taken by: Leif.

The quest will continue on, but for now Spud Point is the winner. 

I'll write more later... I think.

DISCLAIMER: SEAMUS IS NOT MY DOG. He belongs to my friend Leif. Well, he might as well be my dog though seeing as how he loves me way more than he loves his owner =P