File this under naughty things to make once in a great while. I was craving coffee cake — you know, the kind that has as much crumbly topping as actual cake?

Well, it took me a while to figure out that most recipes for such a cake are called ‘crumb cake.’ But I finally found a recipe for exactly what I wanted.

It called for rhubarb, which would be delicious. But I didn’t have any, and I wanted it plain anyway. So I made it plain, and it was incredibly good. Like, I-need-to-be-alone-with-my-fork good.

It’s nice warm out of the oven or cold out of the fridge. Make it next time you’re hosting a brunch. Or maybe just for yourself. Just because.

Full recipe here.

Northern California has a pretty thriving snail population. The other day I woke up on a rainy morning and there were snails on pretty much every surface of the front porch.

I am totally fascinated by them. I suppose I could probably gather them up and have them for dinner, but that just seems wrong.

It’s bad enough when you’re walking somewhere and you hear that unfortunate crunch under your shoe.

In other news, I bought a stuffed squirrel for the dogs and Reggie carries it everywhere like it is her new best friend.

“Step away from my squirrel.” 

I also put our sun jar out in the backyard for a little extra light, and I love how it glows back there.

And most importantly, Mike just got back from visiting our new little neice Grace. Apparently she likes the blanket I made for her.

Those cheeks!

Now that I don’t sell recycled crafts and vintage anymore, my old Etsy shop has just been sitting empty for months. So I decided to turn it into my pattern shop. Thankfully Etsy finally decided to start letting people change their shop names, so it’s now caracorey.etsy.com.

I also finally got together a pattern for rope rugs. I put it on Ravelry too. And while I was at it, I finally put some of my projects into official patterns there. Organizational success!

I realized that if I am going to do this crafty thing for a living I better own my job as a knitting/crochet designer. It feels weird to be mostly putting journalism behind me. But that’s what I’m doing. And guess what? Almost 20 patterns sold since yesterday. Not too shabby.

1. Golden Gate Bridge. Why? Because it just is San Francisco. If you’re lucky enough to see it on a clear day with sailboats all around, it is truly spectacular. As someone who lives here, I can tell you that it is as cool now as it was the day I got here. I would recommend seeing it from the Crissy Field area, or driving across to see it from Marin County.

2. The Ferry Building. Not just for the farmers market, which happens Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but for the assembly of bay area foodie culture. Some of the best restaurants, food shops, and bakeries, are housed here. You can get coffee, breakfast, and a few gifts to take back with you. Plus, a clean bathroom!

3. North Beach. This may warrant more than one slot, but it is my favorite neighborhood in San Francisco, and you can walk there from the Ferry Building/Fisherman’s Wharf area. Tour Coit Tower for a view of the city, explore the Italian restaurants and beat culture on Columbus Street, check out the Zoetrope building, shop on Grant Street, then follow it into Chinatown. You can go to Lombard and see the crooked street, too.

4. Dim Sum in Chinatown. You really should eat Chinese food while you’re in San Francisco, and dim sum gives you a chance to try as many different things as you can fit in your belly. Here are some places you might want to try.

5. The Mission. This neighborhood is best known for Mexican food, especially burritos, but we like to go here for two reasons: Tartine bakery for morning buns and huge lattes, and Bi-Rite Creamery for the best salted caramel ice cream you’ll ever have. If there’s a line, wait in it. These are not to be missed!

6. Chez Panisse. Moving on to the east bay, you don’t want to miss your chance to eat at this legendary restaurant. If you can’t get reservations or can’t afford to go for a fancy dinner, opt for lunch at the cafe instead. It’s still a really special experience. And while you’re there you can check out the rest of the gourmet ghetto.

7. Bette’s Oceanview Diner. Bette’s is that place we take everyone who visits because it’s so consistently good. You do have to get there pretty early to get a table, but it’s so worth it. And you can always check out the 4th street shopping district while you wait. At Bette’s, the coffee is strong, and the food is creative, filling, and so, so good. Go for sourdough pancakes on Mondays.

8. Shopping in Rockridge. Berkeley is kind of scattered in terms of shopping districts, but if you start on College Ave. just south of downtown, you can follow it all the way to Rockridge in Oakland and find some great shopping and restaurants along the way. Rockridge is that neighborhood where you would definitely live if you could afford it.

9. Little Star Pizza. Of all our go-to restaurants, Little Star is probably our favorite. It’s actually deep-dish pizza, but with kind of a bay area twist (cornmeal crust, not too gigantic, house-made this and that). I think it’s fantastic, some of the best pizza out there.

10. Bakesale Betty. Let this be your excuse to come to the Temescal neighborhood (aka hipster paradise) in Oakland. Bakesale Betty is known for the tastiest chicken sandwiches, which you eat outside on vintage ironing boards.

The chives are also full of flowers. I love the little purple pom poms.

I ended up buying a new mint plant and have already used it for mint juleps. I can’t believe I killed a mint plant. How is that possible?

I finally figured out that the orange flowers you see everywhere are California poppies, and they’re the state flower.

All the blooming flowers are making my allergies return.

In Iowa, I used to have allergies severe enough that I had to take 3 medications. After a year and a half sneeze-free, I’m definitely feeling it now.

Speaking of flowers, the place where I had my craft fair last weekend has the most amazing outdoor courtyard full of blooms.

It is such a cool setting for a show. Definitely my favorite.

This was my setup. I bought the umbrella on sale at Target the day before, and it was a total lifesaver.

I didn’t sell much (it was way too hot), but I definitely had a good time. The wall behind me had this tiny door that opened to a tiny window to the street.

The most amazing part is that this place is someone’s house! The people who live there are architects who remodeled a dingy apartment building into the coolest living space. Definitely magazine photoshoot worthy.

Me and Reggie just hung out and knit for a while.

I whipped through the second Hunger Games book. I actually thought it was pretty good.

Mike and I enjoyed spring rolls at our favorite Vietnamese place, Nong Thon.

I also finally broke down and bought some dried billy buttons to put around the house. They just belong in that little vase.

When the sun finally came out, my outdoor flowers were so happy. The gerbera daisy fully opened, revealing a bright orange flower.

The rest of the daisies in the ammo box and pretty irises opened, too.

Sadly, something ate my mint. But I did decide to move both the tomato plant and the orange tree into the sunniest spot in our front yard garden. They both really seem to like the extra light.

Sadie has been doing this thing where she plops down in a sunny spot next to the house and refuses to come inside. Such a diva.

The best thing that happened this week, though, was an impromptu barbecue we had in our tiny backyard. We invited our next door neighbors, so I thought it would just be four of us. But it ended up being nine people and three dogs!

Party people.

This is Monkey. He lives next door.

Mike made lamb burgers with caramelized onions and feta cheese.

I mixed up a little vinaigrette for heirloom cherry tomatoes.

I also made strawberry shortcake for dessert. I’m still using the same perfect recipe.

We strung up the lights from our wedding throughout the yard, and that really transformed the space into a great spot for entertaining. Now we definitely want to get more furniture and a firepit so we can do this again.

Fun times!

I had a Rodenbach grand cru, which I can never remember the name of, and a tasty pastrami sandwich. Mike tried the sausages with potato salad and red cabbage. My favorite part, though, was the sampling of pickled green beans. Usually when people make their own pickles I find them kind of meh, but these were phenomenal.

Actually, the best part of going there was discovering the neighborhood of Old Oakland.

It is just the cutest shopping and restaurant district. I can’t believe we didn’t even know it was there. And I can’t wait to go back and try some of the other restaurants there.

So I was excited to hear that the next film, 56 Up, is coming out in May. At the time I watched them, only some of the DVDs were available on Neflix instant, but now it looks like they all are. So you should definitely watch them if you haven’t. You will be hooked!

First off, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. It felt just like summer, and I guess since summers are cool and cloudy here, spring really is our summer. I mean, I wore a tank top and flip flops all day. Unheard of!

So we headed to the market, but we just could not find a place to park. The place was teeming with tourists out enjoying the beautiful day, and we were getting so frustrated trying to find a metered spot that we just gave up and parked in a garage. Which turned out to be the totally right thing to do because it actually costs $4.50 an hour to park on the street and $7 to park in the garage all day.

Then we went to the market. But instead of waiting in the long line for Blue Bottle, we changed plans and decided to get breakfast at Il Cane Rosso (another wishlist item). Which was win #2 because there was almost no line, and the breakfast was amazing! The fried egg sandwich looks humble but it tastes so good.

And my soft scramble on Acme Bread was simple and perfect.

The goat fest was pretty pathetic, just a couple of booths, but right next to that was a stand with Humphrey Slocombe ice cream! Of course we had to try it, so we got the secret breakfast flavor, which has bourbon and Cornflakes. It doesn’t sound like it would work, but it does work. It’s not Bi-Rite good, but it’s pretty tasty.

After that we walked around north beach and checked out some of the adorable shops. I had to use a lot of restraint not to buy a bunch of stuff at Therapy. Once we’d worked up enough of an appetite we headed to Tony’s.

Incredibly, there was no line, and the hostess said what they had available was two seats at the pizza counter. We were like sure, why not?

Not Tony, but this guy was nice, too. 

Turns out the pizza counter is right in front of the wood-fired oven, where Tony himself is making pizzas and answering any questions you might have. It was too cool. Mike loves making pizza, so he got to ask about various things. I wanted to know where the honey they use comes from. The bee hives on the roof, of course!

Last time we were there I wanted to try the fries, which someone down the bar had ordered. So we got those, and they were some of the best I’ve ever had. They toss the hot fries in honey and pancetta, then sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. You wouldn’t dream of putting ketchup on these.

We also went for a classic margherita pizza out of the wood-fired oven. It was just like the one I had in Naples.

For comparison’s sake, this is the pizza Erin and I had in Naples.

I also liked the way they presented the bread at the beginning of the meal. You get three dipping options and three little pots of toppings to go with slices of focaccia that come in a San Marzano tomato can. Pretty clever packaging.

After that lunch we were pretty much floating on a cloud. We headed over to Alamo Square Park and just laid out on a blanket. About 4,000 other people had the same idea.

This couple was too cute.

It was great, though, and it just felt like the whole day was meant to be.