Visiting Market Street

Gentle Friends, so sorry about the erratic Posts lately, but I tried to pre-schedule some of the pictures for Posts, before writing anything....  kinda dumb, but in my mind it seemed like a plan.  I thought I had put dates on the Posts further into the future so I could go back and write about the pictures - because what is a picture without and explanation..... but they popped up early so I deleted those Posts......... and here we are now........

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I took Wednesday off before Thanksgiving, to run errands and just take a break before the long Holiday weekend - because I knew the long weekend was not going to be much of a break. 

One thing I wanted to do was to head downtown and stop at Lupicia.....

Lupicia

.... my Christmas tea place - I had gotten a call from them that the Holiday teas were in ...... and so Rico and I made a fun day out of it - starting off with breakfast a Red Cafe down in the Mission and then it was off to the mall - Westfield San Francisco Center....  they had decorated for the Holidays.......  but we headed for Lupicia first......

.... and they had plenty of tea for me to ogle and buy.....

... the annual Christmas bag...... 

..... probably my favorite tea they make, with hints of chocolate and spice and silver bits.... it is so Christmas it hurts!!

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After Lupicia we walked around a bit and ended up under the great dome......

..... this is a tough picture to imagine but the snowflakes  are all moving and falling against the blue background it is just wonderful......  this area directly under the dome is now a fun restaurant and bar - the snow images morph and change to..... 

... a stained glass ceiling that sort of sparkles and shimmers - this really lovely space leads on to....

... and open area were Santa sits and visits with children, we were there much too early to see Santa -  he must have been off feeding his reindeer or polishing his sleigh.....

.....but his sitting area with the trees and chartreuse chair lend a very festive touch.....

 and behind this set up is.....

..... a large open decorated space, the hanging ornaments don't show as well in the picture as they do in real life, but they are really nice for large store decorations.

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From the Mall we headed for the Flower Market.  It is one of the things we have done every year.  We go get flowers for the the Thanksgiving table and for around the house.......... we also get ideas for Christmas decorations.  I'll post about that tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little SF Shopping and it's Candy Corn Day!!!

Gentle Friends you know what a sucker I can be for advertising - and - when it involves a film and something Delicious, then I need to try it out!!  Well, a week or so ago I read on the Internet somewhere that Ben and Jerry's - the folks that make that delicious ice cream, where releasing a limited time only flavour inspired by Ron Burgundy of "Anchorman" fame.  It is tied to the new film "Anchorman 2 : the Legend Continues" to be released on December 20th.  The new flavour is called "Scotchy Scotch Scotch" - it is a butterscotch ice cream laced with ribbons of butterscotch swirl and has little pieces of butterscotch candy.  It is only available at scoop shops - I knew the scoop shop in the Haight would have it so I made a be-line to get me some........

... located at the corner of Haight and Ashbury it is easy to find, but often difficult to find parking.....

... the label in the shop.....

..... the menu board....  I picked up a pint of hand packed Sctochy Scotch Scotch and got......

.... Rico a cup of Chocolate Therapy.... deep flavoured, rich and delicious!!

... by the time we got home the CT was gone and the SSS had softened up for a taste - and let me tell you, if you like butterscotch then this is the ice cream for you!!  I loved it, creamy and sweet with the burned sugar flavour that is so delicious!!!  I am sure this limited flavour won't be around long, so if you get the chance get yourself some, get some,you won't be disappointed!!!!

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Over the weekend I made a visit to a favorite tea retailer, Lupicia, located downtown in the big fancy Westfield Shopping Centre....

 - I forgot my camera and found this snap on line of the store - 

I was looking for some of their seasonal tea - specifically the new Christmas teas - I know it's not even Hallowe'en yet, but I love the Christmas teas they make!!!  Well,  they were still pushing the Fall seasonal tea, called, Sweet Autumn, from the web site it is described as ...."This fall-themed, caffeine-free rooibos blend embodies the sweet bounty of the season. Nestled within the chestnut flavored rooibos tea are pieces of Japanese sweet potato and pumpkin" -  I don't care for rooibos teas and being decaffinated didn't help any, this was not a winner in my book. 

 I explained what I was looking for and was told that the Christmas teas would be in the second week of November, and I left my name and email to be notified when they came in - the little lady working there was really nice - as they always are and so helpful - she gave me some samples and I even found an Masala additive to make black tea more spicy!!

.... here are all the samples I got and the Masala of cardamon and pepper..... I am really excited that they are once again going to have "White Christmas" tea.  I am running really low on my supply.......

...."White Christmas"  is a delicious black tea flavoured with white chocolate and apricot, the silver bits are crystallized sugars covered in edible silver,  that when they melt, leave little flecks of silver floating in the tea, no additional flavour, but so very pretty!!!  They are also bringing back another favorite Holiday tea, "Jingle Bells" - a tea I ran out of a long time ago,  I can't wait to see and taste what comes out this year!!!!

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I couldn't let today go by without mentioning that it is National "Candy Corn" Day!!!!  Not officially anywhere, but on this Hallowe'en Eve, lets celebrate the Corn!!!!!

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That's about it for today sports fans - thanks again for stopping by , do stop again!!!

Take care,

edgar