My favorite Starbucks drink

I took a quick walk with my collegue during lunch today. It was such a warm day. Yep, one of those lazy Sunday afternoon feel. We went to Starbucks and I got an Iced Caramel Macchiato. It's my favorite iced coffee drink at Starbucks. In case you don't know, this drink is a creamy mix of vanilla and milk (whole milk please!) over ice, combined with espresso and topped with caramel sauce. It's a whopping 190 calories for a Tall, but it is SOOOO good, especially on a hot day like today. I love it when I suck up the caramel chunks. The sweetness of the caramel has just the right to balance the bitterness of the espresso. Yum!!

Bringing back old memories

Today is such a warm gorgeous day! Although we technically lost 1 hour of sleep but waking up to a beautiful, clear, sunny morning in the Sunset district is such a treat. We stayed in bed to watch our normal Sunday home improvement shows (i.e. PBS's "This Old House") before heading off to the newly renovated Westlake mall in Daly City.


You know how you always remember the good ol' days? Well, today, I remembered how great it was back in the college days, to eat at Strings Italian Cafe. They had one in Davis, in the Marketplace, near my apartment building. On special occasions, a bunch of us would go there for dinner and it would be the best meal ever. The entree comes with a soup or salad and fresh-baked bread. I love their bread the most, because it comes out like thin-crusted pizza, in a round pan, less the toppings of course. We all loved the food there. When you're in college, these restaurants are considered top-notch. The best thing out there. Of course, back then we've never heard of Chez Panisse, French Laundry, or Michael Mina, etc.

So, my husband and I went to Strings for lunch today. We were the first ones there, at um, 12:30. That was depressing. I ordered an Eggplant Parmesan which came with a side of Penne Alfredo (switched out to Penne Pesto). My husband ordered their "Award Winning Combo" which included Lasagna Pastry, Tortellini Alla Panna and Stuffed Mushrooms. The bread was still good although it is a bit thicker than I remembered them to be. The food wasn't as good as I remembered it to be, but it was still worth the trip out there to bring some old memories back.

Cartveyors

I love the fact that there are now escalators for shopping carts (branded name is called Cartveyors). It beats having to wait for the elevators to come, only to find them all full. I first saw them at the Target store in Berkeley and was very intrigued by them. Today I saw them again at Home Depot in Daly City.

The history behind it is that in the past, large retailers have traditionally located their businesses in large, single story buildings in the suburbs. The building requires 12 to 14 acres of land to provide enough space for the average 120,000 square foot store and sufficient parking. But now, many larger retailers are moving back into urban areas where property is more dense and expensive. Obviously space is precious so the retailers are forced to build multi-level stores. Because of this, there is a need to move both people and carts to multiple floors. Hence, the CARTVEYOR was invented!