First Day of Spring -

It's Friday and it is also the first day of spring!! So I thought it was a perfect day to share these beautiful photos of the ocean that I took last weekend from a beach and a certain bench in Del Mar, CA -

The ocean is so amazing to me and delivers such a sense of peace and a big dose of humility, all rolled up in one perfect, crashing wave. The sound of the surf is truly what brings me the most peace and sense of gratitude.

Enjoy the peace that comes from these photos and enjoy the first weekend of spring 2009!






Also, if you happen to be in Carlsbad, CA anytime soon...you MUST stop by Jimbo's Market on Calle Barcelona and treat yourself to some truly delicious and wonderful gluten-free baked goods...like raspberry and blueberry scones, chocolate/vanilla cupcakes and a divine piece of strawberry cheesecake that I'm still savoring bite by bite...the baker at that Jimbo's location, Sarah, is classically trained and very knowledgeable on gluten-free baking and the process of non-gluten contamination in the kitchen .

A View of San Francisco, Gluten-free ~

It's Monday again....how did that happen?! Time flies, as did my last weekend trip to my hometown of San Francisco. What a wonderful location on the map. The great thing is you can grow up in that city, spend most of your formidable adult years there, yet still go back for a visit and have the ability to play tourist - rediscovering favorite haunts, and stumbling upon new ones.

I guess like most any metropolitan city, this can be the case, but in spite of all the travels I have made on this big, beautiful globe, I can honestly say that coming back "home" to San Francisco always fills my heart with pure joy and a sense of peace.

Isn't that nice?!

You know what else is nice...eating so well and so easily gluten-free in this city. Not as easy as say, Italy or New York...but pretty close. You can dine at open markets at the Ferry Building or at almost any SF restaurant safely, though I do have my list of tried and true that I tend to stick to that have been mentioned before.

Here's my photo essay from my gluten-free weekend in San Francisco ~


The SF Ferry Building tower on the Embarcadero ~


Amazing produce at the Farmer's Market~



The ever-famous Buena Vista Bar ~ Home of the SF Irish Coffee (not GF)






A view of Iluna Basque in North Beach ~

Beautiful, Organic Produce ~

Photo of the week ~

Don't you just want to be this little purple lettuce/cabbage guy all nestled in with his Fennel buddies?

Courtesy of the fantastic San Francisco Ferry Building Farmer's Market that takes place every Saturday.