The Grove has three locations in San Francisco, this is a review of the Fillmore location. The Grove is located on the famous location of the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco and it is a local hang out spot for brunch any day of the week.

The Grove has a selection of brunch and lunch items with in house made desserts and freshly squeezed orange juice. I have been there twice and both times it was packed and a challenge to find a seat but the food and atmosphere is well worth it. You wait in line place your order and are given a letter to bring to your table. I highly suggest snagging a seat outside if the weather is warm and do some people watching.

After asking friends I cannot seem to find a bad thing on the menu. I have tried the Apple Chicken Salad (which is huge), Heuvos Rancheos and a Chai Latte and it was all fresh and exactly what I want for a sunny weekday outing. If you want to jazz it up a little definitely take part of the bottomless Mimosas on Saturday from 10-3pm and Sunday 9-3pm.

Crown & Crumpet is located in Ghiradelli Square near the waterfront of San Francisco, amongst little boutique shops and wide eyed tourists. Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon is like walking into the Alice & Wonderland movie where little girls have their birthday parties and ladies are attending small intimate baby showers. This place is a perfect way to enjoy some girl chat over a pot of tea and an assortment of sandwiches, scones, warmed crumpet and petit fours.

The tiered snacks are always different each time you visit. During my visit this Saturday we were served basil & tomato rounds, traditional cream cheese and cucumber, egg salad and chive, and goat cheese sandwiches. The featured scone was fig & cardamon, and like aways the crumpets were warm and buttered. We were then treated to miniature spice cake, vanilla cupcakes, strawberry iced cake, and raspberry round cake. The food is fresh and has a comforting home cooked feel.Bring your appetite and an empty stomach, you will walk out surprisingly full.

One small complaint is that the past two times I have been there, there were out of at least 4 teas which I have been told are some of the best teas on the menu. When going in groups take advantage of sharing pots so you can all try different kinds of tea, your Trolley Dolley (server) will also suggest to start with two pots at a time and they will suggest different teas as you work through all the tiers of food. The Trolley Dollies are very nice and know their way around the tea tins.

Overall this being my first tea experience in San Francisco I loved it! I have already been twice in the last two weeks. If you find yourself there and the weather is warm, grab a seat on the patio and enjoy the view of the water.

As the year comes to a close I always take a look back to see all the things I have to be grateful for; health, loved ones and a career I love are the big ones that come to mind. But this got me thinking about the small things that I often lose sight of as the days pass by each month. I have read in several books and articles this year about different ways to bring happiness and clarity to your life and I found a reoccurring trend; be grateful for what you have, live in the moment and concentrate on the small things. So in response to this I started a tumblr that I post the three things I was grateful for that day. I have been doing this for about a month now and found it really brought me back to earth when things may have been spinning out of control, it really brought me some perspective.

This must be catching on with other because I came across an interesting mobile app that has been created by a fellow Torontoian, Ayla Newhouse, called 1Thing app. This app allows you to post up to 6 items that you are grateful for daily.

Their simple process is as follows;

1. REFLEX on the good things that exist in your day

2. SHARE your gratitude with the 1THING community (This is anonymous, see explanation in FAQ)

3. LEARN from your gratitude, so your life can be more awesome!

I have been using the mobile site on my phone for the past few days and I am really liking the ease of use and excited to see how the stats play out once I have my Gratitude journal filled with more data.

I am hoping to bring this into my daily routine (the scheduled daily reminder from the site makes this a reality) and would like to ask all of you to join me in the new year and take a moment to recognize what we have in our lives and enjoy the moment!

To learn more about 1Thing App check them out in the links below;

www.1thingapp.com

@ithingapp

Facebook

Articles:

Toronto Standard

Globe and Mail

So with 2012 soon approaching it has got me thinking about what I want for the new year and what I want to accomplish. I have decided to set out a list if goals for my 29th year in preparation of my 30th birthday in December 2012. I will update this list as things are accomplished and maybe even indulge you all in the details in a blog post.

So cheers to an amazing 2012, the year of new things and new experiences. My first year in San Francisco!

1. Watch the sunset

2. Take a new class

3. Visit a new country

4. Learn the difference between different types of wines

5. Have a blog people actually read

6. Live in a new Country for a year! ( Hello San Francisco)

7. Learn how to “Juice”

8. Ski in the United States (Tahoe here I come!)

9. Scrapbook my photos from Europe in some form

10. Win a blog award

11. Go to Vegas with my High school Girlfriends

12. Get paid to write a blog post

13. Visit LA and see the Hollywood sign

14. Hike up a mountain

15. Visit Disneyland in California

16. Pay off all credit card debt

17. Visit the Twitter office

18. Do a flash mob

19. Get RC to ski or snowboard

20. Complete L1 Rosetta Stone language course

21. Complete a marketing course

22. Go on a sailboat

23. Visit Wine Country/Vineyard

24. Visit 3 new USA states

25. Eat at 5 Food Network restaurants

26. Visit the Walk Disney Museum in San Francisco

27. Sign up for the Walk Disney 1/2 Marathon for Jan 2013

28. Go on the “Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” tour at Walt Disney Land

29. Learn how to Knit

30. Try a new extreme sport

Wow, so time has been whizzing by and I am slowing getting my roots here in San Francisco. I think the hardest part of believing that I now live in San Francisco is that I still have some long term trips home on the horizon. Since my last written update I had flown back to Toronto on November 9th, to produce an awards gala for work. During my stay in Toronto I was handed my official Notice of Action for my H1B working visa and it was then when I knew I was in for the long haul, well at least until October 10th, 2014!  I was now in the SF moving mode and had a list of tasks I needed to accomplish upon my return on November 18th.

I hit the ground running when I flew back to San Francisco and had 7 apartment viewings ready and booked for Saturday. I was lucky enough to see an apartment in a building of my co-workers before it was even listed. I walked in fully prepared with documentation in hand and a “I am a great and responsible tenant” smile on my face. After seeing an apartment I liked, and apartment I loved and two apartments I couldn’t not wait to get very far away from I was ready to make a commitment. I just couldn’t believe within 24 hours of landing that I was going to have a place in San Francisco of my very own! I officially picked up my keys last night and will be moving in when I fly back on Jan 3rd, 2012.

I am happy to be close to a the few people I know in the city and  happy to call Pacific Heights my home thanks to my friend and co worker, RM.

Here are a few highlights I have to look forward to;

- Fillmore St Jazz Festival in July

- Becoming a regular at this fantastic paper store, Paper Source

- Brunch at The Grove

- Take in a movie and drinks (at the same time!!) at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas

Now that finding an apartment was out of the way within 24 hours of landing in back San Francisco I was onto other task for the next  following days. Here is a summary below;

- Found an apartment in the area I love (already discussed to length above)!

- Explored my new found home, walked Fillmore St and took it all in.

- Ate chili in a sourdough bowl at Fisherman’s Wharf, nothing better than an edible bowl!

- Survived a very scary ride on the Polk 19 bus (twice) on the way to the social security office to apply for my SSN on Monday, short story the security guards do not have any appreciation for a nice bottle of chardonnay…

- Opened a US bank account, hoping a credit card will be in the near future. One can hope….

- Started to gear up for my first ever Black Friday experience, more to follow in a future post

Well that is it for now…

KPATS

So I am going to make this a monthly post, it will feature pictures from the last month; just a few of my favorites Enjoy! Sorry this one is a little late in the month, better late then never!

So during my stay here in San Francisco I have had the pleasure of meeting some new people (some great and some… not so great). Also, I have felt true hospitality from my peers at work and people I have just met online through social media. It is all very warm and fuzzy, I love it!

So here is my welcoming committee so far…

- Everyone at the Achievers office at Rocketspace, you all have been so sweet!!

-  An Irish man on the 38 Geary bus who had $80 left on his per diem that we was so nice to offer to us if we had drinks with him!

- A man who starts his morning with a tarzan scream then decided to bark like a dog right as my co worker and I walked by… great way to start the day!

- Don’t forget the two earthquakes! and then a third on the same night I had vertigo… my bed was a rockin’

- A small episode of Vertigo which kept me in bed for a full 24 hours… and introduced me to the US medical system.

And last but not least, the Disco Cab guy… For those who love the Cash Cab, this might be reminiscent! Watch the video!

That’s it so far, thanks to all who have extended a warm hand during my transition here to San Francisco! Couldn’t do it without you!   Hope I can return the favor someday.

Okay this is much much over due and needs to be done… It has been 18 days since I have flown to San Francisco. I have been making notes of all the wonderful things I have experienced here in SF in between working events and a flight to Fort Worth, Texas

So bare with me while I try to recall all the details by topic….

Restaurants I have visited.

- Unwind in Cow Hollow

- Pacific Puffs in Cow Hollw

- Olivos Restaurant (little hole in the wall Mexican, but so good!) in Lower Nob Hill

- Sudauchi in Pacific Heights (they have mochi ice cream, my new favorite dessert since Las Vegas Social House!)

and yes this was just in the first 7 days…. this place is going to make me fat!! I have a ever growing list of restaurants that I want to visit and I think there will be many full restaurant reviews coming soon.

So between eating and stuffing my face, I also experienced my first three earthquakes! Yes three, not just one! There was one at work on ober 20th, which occurred about two hours after our company wide Earthquake awareness meeting… Crazy!

First earth quake was a 4.0 at 2:40pm and then another 3.9 at 8:41pm, came from Berkley felt both; one on the second level of the office and the second in the sushi restaurant. It was quite a day. See the proof here

During my stay here in San Francisco I will be living in corporate apartments until I get settled into my own little piece of San Francisco.  So when I arrived in SF on the first week I found myself in a quaint (very oddly decorated – hats on the wall) apartment which I shared with my coworker LM. It is located in the north region of the Western Addition located at Post and Gough, very close to Van Ness. We were only in this place until we flew out to Texas on Oct 28th. I have now moved into a new place, put that story is for another post

Later for now! Hoping to be posting at least once a week so look forward to some more updates soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Post St,San Francisco,United States

So it is (sort of) official, I have made my way to the west coast and found myself wandering the streets of San Francisco. I have been relocated here because of work and I am more than excited to take on this new adventure. With this new adventure I thought this would be the right time to start up a new blog and document my travels and everything else that happens when you pick up your life and move to the other side of the continent!

So with keeping in tradition of all my other relocation blogs I am going to kick off my blog with a post I call “Observations”. It is in this post that I list all the observations I have made about SF so far (I have been here for a little over 24 hrs now) I have done this same post in Hungary and Germany.

Okay so here it goes…

- everyone here owns at least 5 scarves… you cannot survive this up and down weather without one!

- no one truly knows where and how you go about buying a transit pass, some Walgreens sell weekly passes, others sell monthly and some Walgreens don’t sell any transit passes….

- it is near impossible to catch a cab in this city. Learn to walk.

- chain restaurants are not near as popular here, there is an abundance of gourmet food selections to satisfy any foodies desires (come back to the blog to read my many future restaurant reviews)

- rent here is out of this world… and I thought Toronto was expensive. Expect to pay $500 more a month on rent

- the people here really do seem a lot more relaxed… I feel they look at me and think I am wound tight, I can’t help it I am from the east coast.

- the BevMo! will sell you everything from liquor, wine beer, glasses, bar mix, peanuts and candy and it is all on sale!

- there are a high number of homeless people in the city, much more than I am used to

I think that is all I have for now, I am sure as the weeks go by I will have many more!