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Happy 2015! Welcome to the first Slice of Life post of the new year.

In case you didn’t notice, I’ve changed “Crust & Crumbs” – formerly Whatever Friday – to “Slice of Life.” A few weeks ago my husband and  I were chatting about these posts and he said, “They’re like a slice of your life!”

D’oh. Why didn’t that naturally occur to me years ago? Hello, my tagline is baking…with a slice of life. I am smart, I swear. 😉

Did you have a good holiday? We’ve been super busy…not working. And it’s been fabulous.

Crazy for Crust 2015 Reader Survey

Before I get into oversharing my life, I have a huge favor to ask. I’m conducting my first ever READER SURVEY! Would you consider answering a few questions for me?

Click here to complete the reader survey.

Thank you so much!

Jordan got more than she asked for from Santa, and was so happy about it!

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Santa was super nice to me too. He heard me begging for a pair of Tieks and he delivered!

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I want to preface this with the statement that I do not work for or with Tieks (although I’d love to…hello over there!!) I wanted to try them for the longest time because I have tried every single flat and have never liked any of them. They hurt my feet, make me sweat, I walk out of them, etc. I’ve NEVER found a pair I like except an old ugly pair of fake Toms.

Tieks? LOVE THEM. They’re worth the money. I plan to get at least one (or seven) more pairs. Seriously, they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. No sweating – I even wore them without footie socks! No foot pain, no heel pain, no blisters, and they didn’t aggravate my toe arthritis. Five stars to Tieks. Thank you Santa. 🙂

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Jordan got me this Starbucks ornament. I promptly ordered a drink.

Every year after the holiday we go to San Francisco for a few nights. Usually we drop Jordan off at my mom and dad’s and go to the city for some alone time. This year we took Jordan to see Elf: The Musical and we stayed in a high rise hotel (her first).

She was smitten.

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We also took her to see Neiman Marcus. The look on her face when she saw how much a real pair of Christian Louboutin shoes cost was priceless.

We went to dinner at our favorite San Francisco restaurant, Pazzia. Mel and I discovered it last year (exactly one year before, in fact). Jordan loved their pizza. If you happen to be in or visiting San Francisco, you must go. It’s in SOMA, on 3rd. It’s a tiny little Italian place that’s family run and it’s some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had.

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Then we did drop Jordan off at grandma’s…and we went to Half Moon Bay. Have you ever been? My husband lived there before we met, and we used to go hiking there every weekend when we were first married.

This is the spot I fell in love with hiking…and him…almost 15 years ago! {Montara Mountain, BTW}

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If you ever visit Half Moon Bay there are two restaurants you must try. First, the take-out counter at Barbara’s Fish Trap. The chowder is amazing.

Not pictured: the fried shrimp and chips we scarfed after hiking 3.5 miles.

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The second place? The Garden Deli Cafe at the San Benito House. We didn’t eat there this trip, but we normally do. They bake their bread fresh (it’s the best I’ve ever had) and they make huge sandwiches. The line is always out the door, but it’s worth the wait.

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Okay, I lied. Three places. Moonside Bakery is always our last stop, where I shell out the contents of my wallet for one of everything. That middle one is a shortbread cookie covered in Nutella and hazelnuts and chocolate.

Expect a copycat. #OMG

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The Half Moon Bay Lodge is a nice (affordable) hotel just a few minutes from down town. The rooms are big, it’s quiet, and they have golf course views. Perfect for drinking wine.

{I want that house in the background. Any of them. Anyone have a million bucks I can borrow? #notajoke}

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Half Moon Bay is one of my favorite places. This was the morning view on our walk along the water.

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You know that saying I left my heart in San Francisco? Yeah, that. And Half Moon Bay. (And Burlingame, where I grew up.)

Then, when we got home, the best day ever happened: Ashton was in town.

You know Ashton? My BFF from Something Swanky? The gal who was my first blog friend? I love her guts. She was visiting family and carved out a whole day for me. One day wasn’t enough!!

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{That’s Hayley on the left and Ashton on the right.}

You know you’re good friends when you can pick right up where you left off the last time you saw each other (or chatted on FB chat). That’s why I love all my blog friends. We get each other. 🙂

I’ve been reading a lot lately. Here are some of my picks for 2015 MUST reads:

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. I love him from travel channel. He’s crass and blunt and chain drinks. His book is really good, about the dirty underbelly of the restaurant industry. (If you don’t like dirty words, this one isn’t for you.)

The Shell Collector by Hugh Howey. Quick read, a little confusing since there’s not much backstory, but it’s a good read. Kind of a chick flick but with some guy flair.

The Atlantis Gene Trilogy by A.G. Riddle. I didn’t know what to expect. It sounded cool, and since I’m a Kindle Unlimited member, I figured I’d try it. I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the trilogy (and how much I was drawn into it – I couldn’t put it down!) I don’t normally like science fiction type stories, but this was really good.

Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde. She never disappoints. She’s kind of like Jodi Piccoult in that way – heart gripping novels that you can’t put down. She hasn’t disappointed me so far!

And last, before I let you go enjoy this first Saturday of the year, I want to talk about 2015 recipes.

What do you want me to make?

More breakfast? More healthier recipes? A savory here and there? More pie? Tell me what you want!

And? Go fill out my reader survey. THANK YOU! 🙂

Last Updated on August 18, 2022



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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20 Comments

  1. LOVE your new name for these posts!! Mel is so smart. It takes someone who doesn’t live, breathe, and eat blog stuff to come up with the titles that make the most sense. 😉 And, umm, you’ll probably be able to figure out which response was mine in the Reader Survey. I nearly wanted to take it twice, I had so much fun answering the questions! Now I need to make one for my blog too… And SO much fun seeing you last week!!! <3

  2. Love the new series name! And I am absolutely going to have to try Tieks! I’ve been resisting! 

  3. Beautiful photos of Half Moon Bay! Your SF vacation looks amazing. I hope you’re serious about the copycat recipe of that chocolate-covered Nutella cookie! I would make that.

  4. Sounds like you had such a fun time over the holidays, Dorothy! I love that Starbucks ornament, too cute! I just filled out your survey and can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store for you!