A Little Swag While Attending a Swanky San Francisco Party Solo

I do a lot of things solo with absolutely no problem; go to the movies alone, eat dinner at fancy restaurants by myself, take tours of attractions, etc. But, there was something about attending the super swanky Vegas Uncork'd preview event in San Francisco that made me nervous. Not only would I be going to this foodie bash solo, but also [...]

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Attending a Crab Feed at a Brewery in California

As I have said before, no one should actually eat all-you-can-eat, but that did not stop me at my very first Crab Feed at a brewery in Northern California. I finally had to wave the white flag, or rather paper napkin. Twice. A local theater in my hometown of Petaluma put on a weekday Crab Feed benefit. And the [...]

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Attending a Colorful Native American Pow Wow

Though many believe that my husband is a 'nice Italian boy', he is actually a sweet Native American man. And each year the tribe he belongs to holds their annual Pow Wow in Oregon, just an hour and a half from downtown Portland. The perfect opportunity to visit one of the coolest towns in the United [...]

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Tasting an Entire Town in 5 Hours

How much can you eat in five hours? Apparently, I can sample 26 dishes, including 7 desserts, representing 5 countries. All that without an upsetting gurgle in my stomach. Success. I was graciously asked to do a food sampling at local eateries that were participating in the Taste of Petaluma, a foodie lovers progressive eating event [...]

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9 Things I Learned at Phoenix Comicon Convention

Let me start with admitting that I know close to nothing about comic books, zombies or science fiction. I really couldn't tell you the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars, and the last comic book I read was Archie in 1982. "Then why would you go to Comicon, a comic book convention?" you inquire. "Hello. I'm Annette, the [...]

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8 Reasons I Got Buzzed at a California Wine Festival

I am an avid wine drinker that has a tolerance level of about a glass and a half. More than that and I start to slur my diarrhea of the mouth. Not a feeling I strive for. So, I knew that spending the day in San Francisco surrounded by dozens of coveted, jammy Zins was [...]

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16 Reasons I Got Fat at the Flavor! Napa Valley Event

It's a good day. I was invited to take the night off work to sip 100 different wines (I did NOT try them all), taste bite-size delicacies from more than two dozen well renowned restaurants (I DID try them all) and have a chance to brush elbows with my celebrity chef crush, Tyler Florence. All in the beautiful Napa Valley.  Yep. I [...]

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Booze and a BBQ Competition at Seghesio Winery in California

A special invite to Seghesio's 8th Annual BBQ competition was a welcomed excuse to play hooky from work, get buzzed mid-afternoon and not have to explain the shameful amounts of sauce dripping down my fingertips. At one point, I literally was looking down at the barbecue rib remnants on my upper arm. How'd that get there? For the past [...]

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a Sunset Magazine Foodie Celebration

Okay, I will admit that we have only been subscribing to Sunset Magazine for a mere two months and yet I am already in love. Usually it takes much longer than that, just ask my husband. But, each issue is jam packed with amazing adventures that I want to have, delectable recipes that I need to cook and [...]

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