The Vintage Sod: An Intro

Visitors and Palm Springs

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 09:46:32 +0100

This past week, I have had a visitor to San Francisco. Luke came over on the 14th for 10 days. When he arrived, Ithrew him straight into San Francisco life and showed him one of Zendesk’s favourite bars in the city.

Luke had been to San Francisco before, so he had done the whole tourist scene, so I tried to show him some areas that tourists don’t always see. We went to Doroles Park, which I frequent a lot and I took him to the famous Bi-Rite ice cream shop.

I absolutely had to show him the Castro, and as usual on a Saturday there were the resident naked men hanging around Twin Peaks bar. Luke had been in the city less than 24 hours and he had seen his first naked man.

The only tourist thing we did was to walk Golden Gate bridge, so we battled our way to Fisherman’s Wharf and had an In N Out. Once we had come out of our food comas we set off for our walk. I was surprised how far it was, but we did got there in the end and it was an awesome experience!

Luke has relatives in Palm Springs, so we flew on the Tuesday and spent a few days there. I really liked Palm Springs, it is completely different from San Francisco. The view of the mountains were amazing, they looked so perfect, especially in the heat haze. Although we were surrounded by mountains everything else was flat. There were no highrises at all. It was very weird.
The only downside to the trip was the heat. It was well over 100 everyday, so we couldn’t spend much time outside. I also left my Kindle on the plane on the way there, which really annoyed me. However, I was lucky that week because I got it back, yay!

Luke flew back to England on Sunday, so we went for some beers before he went. Once he had made his way back to the airport, me, Jake and a couple of friends decided to check out Folsom Street Fair, which is a BDSM/bondage fair so you can imagine there were some sights to see. These sights were mainly naked men. I’m glad I went, it wasn’t as full on as I thought it might of been. However, I don’t know if I would go again because once you had seen it, you’ve seen it.

All in all, I have had a pretty great couple of weeks which was topped off by the nicest and finest meal I have ever had. Me and Jake got all dressed up and went to a restaurant called Quince and had a four course meal with the most expensive bottle of wine I have ever tasted. It was awesome!

Lovely Buns: Zeitgeist

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:18:42 +0100

Zeitgeist: 14th and Duboce

Zeitgeist is a great dive bar on the edge of the Mission/Doroles area. At first glance it is a bikers bar that has been infested by hipsters, however on closer inspection it is frequented by every kind of person you wouldn’t expect to be there/ They have a huge amount of beers on tap and a massive back garden with rock music pumping out all day. You will find anyone and everyone imaginable drinking and hanging out there.
The menu at Zeitgeist is limited. They serve burgers, hotdogs and grilled cheese sandwiches, but my God, they do them well.
The burgers are pretty simple, they are basically mince beef shaped into patties with no frills or additional flavours, so you can just taste is the most important part: the meat. They are cooked to order and you pick them up straight out of their kitchen
The burgers are served on a sesame seed bun with lettuce, pickle, tomato, onion and homefries.

Pros:
The burger is thick and juicy
Simple, with no frills
Good value for money - the cost around $8
Not over cooked
Quick service

Cons:
It isn’t fine dining, but a casual snack to soak up the beers
Sometimes the burgers can be a bit bloody, which isn’t to my liking

Rating: 8/10

Lovely Buns: Giordino Bros

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:47:17 +0100

So, I am pretty sure this is becoming a general sandwich blog, because guess what? I LOVE sandwiches.

Me and the boyfriend were out picking up some Pub Golf clothes and decided to get some lunch. He pointed out a place called Giordino Bros on 16th and Valencia and explained they put french fries in your sandwich. IN YOUR SANDWICH? Well, we have all made a chip butty at some point in our lives, but to actually go to a place that encourages you to eat carbs stuffed with carbs must be worth going to.

We looked at the menu and they have plenty of choices of meat to go into your carb fest sandwich. We went with the sweet sausage with egg. The sandwich is served on white doorstop bread, with your choice of filling, slaw (not a mayonnaise one, but a tangy vinegar one), cheese and fries.

The waitress also realised we have an addiction to diet sodas, so brought out a carafe of diet coke to save herself some time. The place seemed friendly, with good waiting staff, although I think she was by herself. The food came out quickly and was fresh and hot.

Pros:
Great concept
Fresh, soft bread
The slaw was awesome
Good value

Cons:
Although the flavours were good, it wasn’t amazing. It was more like a meal to fill a hole.

Rating: 7/10

Lovely Buns: Farmer Brown

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 00:09:49 +0100

So, this is going to be a review of the restaurant as well as the burger, just because it pissed me off.

My boyfriend reserved a table a Farmer Brown in Downtown San Francisco last night. Ooh, I thought, a nice fancy dinner date. I arrived a little early as I always do and Jake met me just after. We were about nine minutes early and were informed by the front of house we would have to wait because ‘it is only 6.50’.

Alright time Nazi, we will wait nine minutes.

While waiting out our time punishment, I had a little look around. The restaurant was some sort of neo hipster place that was ironically being ironic or something. I didn’t quite understand. The place has an unfinished look to it, as if they ran out of money halfway through and everything was served in mason jars. Even the milk and sugar for coffee. At first I thought that was kinda cool, but after seeing the tiny mason jar milk jugs I just thought it was excessive and over the top. It’s as if they had sponsorship or won a lifetime supply.

While looking around, we noticed that had an actual DJ, which was surprising. One who looked like he had been pulled off a eyewear ad from the ‘70’s, but nevertheless it was cool.

It is now 7.10 and we are still sitting there positively wasting away, getting more annoyed by the minute. If I make reservations for 7pm I expect to be sitting at my table, with a menu in hand at 7pm, if not before.

Anyway, Miss 6.50 waves us over, she doesn’t bother wasting her time by actually coming to get us, and I do my best to give her a filthy look. I decide to be rude and not thank her when we are finally seated.

We order our meal and drinks. The menus are sheets of paper on a wooden clipboard. I take my sheets out to look properly and put them back once I have finished. The waitress decides I have done a shitty job and reshuffles the pages on my place setting before taking Jake’s order. That’s enough to make me want to stab her with my mediocre looking vintage fork.

We share a starter of BBQ baby back ribs which are deposited on our table without a word. The ribs were great. They were smoky and tangy with a swift kick of spice.

Shortly after our mains arrive. Again, the food was put on the table without a so much as ‘anything else I can get you?’ or ‘enjoy your meal’.
I had a burger (obviously) and Jake had fried chicken and mac and cheese. We ordered some candied yams as well (they were awesome!)

My burger was served with lettuce, tomatoes and onions on a toasted housemade rosemary and garlic bun with remoulade and fries. I have no idea what the remoulade was and I couldn’t really taste it either. My burger was good, although very crumbly. I don’t really think my burger should disintegrate back into mince as soon as my fork hits it. Anyway, it was flame grilled, seasoned well and juicy.

The sour taste left in our mouths by the poor service wasn’t really helped by the fact everything I said to my boyfriend was met with ‘WHAT?!’ since the dickhead next to us didn’t understand that no one gives a shit about some dumb work thing he is showing his friends on his out of date Apple Mac. I suppose he was shouting because Mr eyewear ad decided we were all deaf and turned up the volume of his ‘it’s so hipster, it’s not hipster’ music.

All in all the food was good and I enjoyed that part of the meal. It was everything else that ruined my date night. Their overall attitude fucking stank like a porta potty at a street fair and their holier than thou approach just made me want to smash the thousand mason jars that were on my table.

Pros:
The burger was well cooked and tasty
The lettuce etc was outside the bun, so I could put in what I wanted
The burger wasn’t too heavy

Cons:
The burger was too crumbly
The sauce didn’t add anything to the flavour
Everything else

Rating: 6/10

Lovely Buns: Ike’s Place

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:55:33 +0100

Ike’s Place is located on 16th and Church right in the Mission/Castro area, which is a 10 minute walk from our apartment, so it is just too easy. There aren’t many other cafes or restaurants near it and for a place so popular it isn’t in a ‘prime’ location, but there reputation is so great, I doubt they give a shit. It is a purely take out, with no seating as such and they literally just serve sandwiches.
Their range of sandwiches is immense. They cater for vegans, vegetarians and meats lovers alike and they even have a secret menu. The have three special sandwiches (Superman, Lex Luthor and Kryptonite) which are sandwiches on steroids. My boyfriend has sampled all three of these, albeit not at all at once.
Everyone you speak to loves Ike’s. It’s like the Nando’s of San Francisco. But don’t expect to rock up and get a sandwich. Oh no, you can expect to rock up and get a sandwich an hour later, it’s that popular.
Lucky for you, they take phone orders and they have an app, so get an order in early and get your lunch around 40 minutes later.
I have sampled a few of Ike’s sandwiches. I recently had one called The Pizzle. It comes on your choice of bread (I always have Dutch Crunch) with halal chicken, bacon, ranch and cheddar. This is one of their more tame sandwiches and even though it sounds as boring as hell it is like love in your mouth. I think it is their dirty sauce that makes it so addictive.

Pros:
Awesome bread
Freshly made to order
The dirty sauce is akin to crack

Cons:
Slightly expensive
Can sometimes be too saucy

Rating: 8/10

Pub Golf: San Francisco

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:48:05 +0100

This month, we decided to do Pub Golf with our friends. This was a completely alien concept to them and it took some convincing of our American counterparts to get involved. Pub Golf was going international.

Pub Golf is a yearly tradition in Farnham. It is a disgusting messy night involving nine pubs, nine different drinks and horrible charity shop argyle. My boyfriends friends have been doing this for 10 years and it has become second nature, almost a talent.

We planned it about a month in advance and bigged it up massively on nights out. With every passing week, our friends seemed to get more and more concerned about what was expected of them. We didn’t reveal the route or the drinks until the night of Pub Golf.

Everyone met up at Doroles Park and there was a tense atmosphere hanging over the group as we got ready to tee off.
Everyone dressed up and looked fabulous in their thrift store checks and visors. We explained the rules and off we went.

The first couple of pubs went off without a hitch and everyone became more relaxed and competitive. The drinks were flowing and we were making excellent time around the course. All was well until about the 6th hole. That’s where things get a little jumbled. Saying that, everyone got well into the swing of things and got royally fucked up. I was surprised at the stamina of the group, I expected people to drop like flies. Everyone made it to the 9th hole, with a few late comers.
The 9th hole was the blurriest. I shared my drink with Jake, because let’s face it, I was never in it to win it.
We had a drink off between Eric K and Amy Ng. There was a small dispute, because Amy had done a half pint at one of the earlier holes. But Jake smoothed it out and it was decided a shot of vodka would determine the winner. Amy Ng came up trumps and was declared winner of Pub Golf. It was a good victory and a first. She is the first girl to win Pub Golf. So a big congratulations.

Sadly, we were quite well behaved. No one called the bouncers a ‘fat c**t’, or kept getting kicked out of the Slug and Lettuce for continually open the fire exit doors. It appears the Americans are slightly more refined than us English folk.

Let’s hope for more debauchery next year.

Lovely Buns: Manchester

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 17:55:58 +0100

This is a Lovely Buns post from my brother.

Almost Famous Burger in Manchester

It may be a family thing. As soon as I get a menu my eyes automatically scan to find the burgers. As children of a butcher, I feel this may have something to do with it, in addition to my inability to eat a meal without meat. However, I feel my overwhelming desire to get down and dirty with a burger every time I eat out comes from my student days. You see as a student I didn’t have much money and the burger was nearly always the cheapest option, couple that with the questionable places I used to eat and you’d also assume that the burger was also the safest option. Seriously, you have to try really hard to fuck up a burger!

Even if a burger is bad, it’s still a decent enough meal; but when a burger is good…sweet mother have mercy, because I will destroy that son of a bitch, as if it had my mother in a headlock.

Which brings me to Almost Famous Burger. Located in Manchester’s premier hipster hangout, the Northern Quarter; AFB is so ironically hipsterish that it’s ascended to some kind of new meta-irony of counter mainstream hipster culture. It operates on a ‘hush-hush-wink-wink’ type of marketing and as such has no entrance or signage to speak off. Instead you navigate your way to the top floor loft conversion through some dodgy looking crack house staircase. Once you’ve picked the right door, you’re greeted with a mix of retro 50’s décor mixed with #winning Charlie Sheen quotes. The cocktails (including house special Bitch Juice) are served in jam jars by staff (who I assume are also freelance Social Media Consultants) so fucking smug that I thought I would be turned away because the comic book t-shirt I was wearing wasn’t being worn ironically. I hated it.

This, including their possibly ironic ‘No Twats’ policy, can be withstood solely for the outstanding food. It’s trailer trash American diner grease, done very well. My wife, some friends and I went there the week before last and had probably the best burger I’ve had in my seven years in Manchester.

I opted not to go for the Insane Bolt special and instead went for the Smokey and the Bandit Burger, although I can’t remember the full name, it likely had some more swearing and Charlie Sheen references than that.

It was two very juicy burgers cooked medium rare, topped with candied bacon, Baconaise, caramelised onions, BBQ sauce and American cheese, on a semi brioche bun. There may or may have been more in the burger, but it didn’t really last long enough for me to enquire further. The burgers which I believe were handmade on site were fantastic and the mix of the crisp, salty bacon and sweet bun meant it was neither too salty nor sweet. The whole thing was greasy and dirty, but somehow surprisingly light.

Soph went for the Triple Nom burger. Ridiculous name aside, it gave me super food envy. Two burgers under a mound of slow cooked BBQ rib meat, cheese, slaw and secret sauce on the same semi brioche bun.

Together we also went halfsies on a portion of Bacon Bacon Fries. An awesome mix of thin cut potato and sweet potato fries, heavily seasoned with baconaise and super crisp streaky bacon.

Pros
Excellently cooked
Fresh ingredients
Unusual burger toppings and ingredients
Amazing side dishes (although the Crack Wings were disappointingly weak, although well cooked)

Cons
It’s a hipster fuckhole – it took everything that is wrong with the Northern Quarter and jizzed it into some loft conversion – but the food and cocktails are absolutely fantastic, so it doesn’t really matter that much.

If you have eaten an awesome burger or chicken sandwich recently, why don’t you write a post about it. Message it to me and become a Lovely Buns star!

Lovely Buns: Oola

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:50:52 +0100

Creek Stone Farms all natural hamburger: Oola - 860 Folsom Street

It was a typical Friday night: I had gone to my boyfriend’s office for happy hour and afterwards it was decided we were going to head to a bar. We went to this awesome place called Tradition which really reminded me of a classy English bar. Anyway, after a fair amount of drinking we needed food.
Someone suggested Oola, which was a bit of a walk. But, apparently they had the best burgers. So off we went.
We sat down and looked over the menu. They had a big selection, but I was only interested in one thing. We also ordered some starters to share: Mac and cheese and some ribs. (Note: the ribs were fantastic!)
The burger was cooked to your liking and served in a brioche bun with butter lettuce, grilled red onion tomato and fries.

Pros:
Nice and fresh
Cooked to your preference (although I asked for medium-well and it came medium)
Burger was not too heavy
The bun was soft and toasted and not too sweet
The fries were really tasty

Cons:
The burger was slightly greasy, not what I would expect from an up market restaurant
It wasn’t the best burger ever.

I did enjoy the burger, it just wasn’t fantastic. There was something missing that I can’t put my finger on. It definitely wasn’t as good a the Mission Beach Cafe burger!

Rating: 7/10

Getting Settled.

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 21:49:00 +0100

It has been a while since my last blog, I always forget to update it, oops!

Not much has been happening since I have been back. I have been plodding along with my volunteering, which has been great. I am getting more confident with it. Especially with handling the bunnies because I am a little bit scared I am going to get bitten. I am not over that fear, but I am dealing with it!. I want to work with cats as well, so I have a mix of animals. Hopefully I can cross train at the Animal Care and Control. All in all, everything is going smoothly on that front.

I had the ultimate American experience the other day. I went to a gun range and shot an actual gun! It was a bit of a weird experience. Me and Jake went with Jake’s coworker and his au pair. Jake and Adrian had shot before, but me and Pierre hadn’t. It was very easy for us to hire guns, even though only half of our group had experience.

We hired a small revolver and a 9mm glock (?). I prefered the revolver because the glock was too powerful for me. I only shot that one once. I was a little bit scared of it!

Afterwards, we did the only other thing we could do on our day of being American: we went to In n Out burger. It was a very good day!

We are trying to bring a bit of Englishness to our friends by arranging Pub Golf in the city. Jake’s friends in the UK have played Pub Golf for years and we thought we would see how the Americans like it. We are teeing off this weekend, so we will see how it goes!

We are trying to get our apartment up to scratch. It isn’t a massive apartment, so we are limited on what furniture we can have, otherwise it will get too crowded in here. But, it turns out Jake is quite the handyman. He has changed the light switches and our main dining room lights for more modern ones and done some wood work! We also braved Ikea this weekend and picked up the last piece of furniture we are going to get. So, the apartment is pretty much where we want it to be right now. This makes me happy.

It’s a short one this time, since we haven’t done a huge amount this month, just drinking, eating and chilling out really!

Lovely Buns: Crepevine

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 09:47:59 +0100

Cardinal Chicken Sandwich: Crepevine - 15th and Church

The first time I went to Crepevine, I wasn’t impressed, but me and the boyfriend decided to give it another try and we decided we had ordered the wrong thing the first time round. They have an extensive menu, including sandwiches, crepes, brunch items and pancakes.
The Cardinal sandwich is fresh grilled chicken breast with brie, arugula, and garlic aioli on a french baguette. It is served with fries and a massive side salad.

Pros:
Freshly cooked and served warm
Not shy with the portions
The bread was nice a soft, not too crunchy like some french bread
Not too greasy and messy

Cons:
Although the aioli was lovely, I feel like it needed a sweet condiment because of the brie. As a result the brie was a bit overpowering and slightly sickly towards the end of the sandwich.

Rating: 6/10

Lovely Buns: Mission Beach Cafe

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:45:01 +0100

Burger: Mission Beach Cafe - 14th and Guerrero

Mission Beach Cafe has a good reputation and the brunch line at a weekend is substantial. My boyfriend took me here mid-week for a nice dinner. I looked at the menu and a few things caught my eye, one of them being the burger. I was torn because I didn’t feel like I should be having a burger on a romantic meal out. But, I gave in and ordered it regardless!
The burger was cooked to my preference (medium-well) and was served with garlic aioli, tomatoes, arugula and cheese (I can’t remember what type) and some very tasty fries.

Pros:
The burger wasn’t too heavy or thick
Seasoned really well
The accompanying items weren’t overpowering in flavour and perfect quantities
The bun was good, toasted and not too sweet (I find American burger buns sweetened?)

Cons:
None!

Rating - 10/10. It was awesome!

A New Addition: Lovely Buns

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:52:56 +0100

I have realised that whenever I go out to eat, 9 times out of 10 I will have either a chicken sandwich or a burger. I don’t think of myself as being one of those people that never has anything new. I love trying new stuff, but I just love burgers and chicken sandwiches that little bit more.

I find myself looking at a menu and instantly scanning it for one of those two items. And if I do having something different, I get major food jealously if someone else has a burger or sandwich.

So, with that in mind I am going to write about the chicken sandwiches and burgers I almost constantly have. This task is made oh so easy by being in America, where they love these as much as I do.

In this new section, which I will title ‘Lovely Buns’ I will tell you about my experience with the best of San Francisco’s beloved burgers/chicken sandwiches.

Roast Chicken Sandwich: Through Bread and Pastry - 15th and Church

Through Bread and Pastry is a french cafe run by an actual french woman. They have a selection of fresh baked breads, pastries and indulgent cakes. They have a small but good sandwich selection and the chicken sandwich is one of my favourites by far. It consists of diced chicken, raisins and pine nuts combined with what I assume is homemade mayonnaise served on a cheese topped white bread.

Pros:
Served warm and uncomplicated (just with salad leaves)
Good value for money
Very filling
Homemade

Cons:
A bit greasy, you will need a few tissues.

Rating: 8/10

San Francisco-London-Italy-London-San Francisco

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:45:49 +0100

So, it has been a while since I posted and so much has happened! First things first: Italy.

One of my boyfriends friends got married in Tuscany, so we flew from San Francisco to London and then to Pisa the next day. Wow, it was a long couple of days but it was totally worth it.

Sidenote: my boyfriend planned all of this trip, not me who is the super organised one!

We got to Italy on the Saturday and picked up our rental car only to find it didn’t have a satnav as promised. Nightmare. We didn’t have directions, only the address and the worst map I have ever seen. However, even though we are children of the satnav generation, we finally got there, huzzah!

We settled ourselves into the villa, which we were sharing with about nine others. This place was massive and the views over the olive groves and the tuscan hills were fantastic. We kicked off the holiday with a BBQ with the rest of the guests down at the main house.

The wedding was on the Sunday and sadly it rained for most of the day, but no worries as everything was moved inside and umbrellas were provided. Everything was lovely and it was a fantastic day (the food was the best in my opinion!). At the end of the night, after lots of drunken dancing, someone suggested going swimming. This seemed a great idea until we realised how cold it was!

The rest of the week flew by. We went to Pisa, Florence and me and Jake decided to brave the two hour drive to Sienna, which was worth it. Although, we did annoy a very angry Italian driver as we were leaving, it was his fault though!

We left on the Saturday and flew back to London. It was an incredible week filled with lovely BBQ’s and beautiful surroundings and gelato. I’ve got to thank my wonderful boyfriend for organising this awesome holiday and the bride and groom for inviting us to share their special day!

I stayed in England for three weeks after that to catch up with everyone. Me and my family went up north near Newcastle for a week to chill out and watch all of the Harry Potter films as we always do on holiday.

With the holidays and catching up, I spent the entire month eating!

I flew back to San Francisco on the 16th June and resumed my volunteering work. I have finally been set up with a dog to walk through PAWS, soI will be walking Zeppelin twice a week. I have also experienced my first rabbit bite down at the Animal Care and Control. Those rabbits have sharp teeth, she didn’t even break the skin but it still hurt like hell.

I experienced my first gay pride and volunteered at a beverage booth which was really fun and I also got to meet a fellow Englishwoman who I believe will become to drinking partner in crime. I experienced my first 4th of July celebrations with a BBQ down the local park and a view of all of the fireworks at Bernel Heights, which was a fantastic experience.

All in all, I have been having a great time since I have been back and loving living here with my boyfriend!

Time Flies...

Thu, 10 May 2012 02:08:41 +0100

So, yet again I have been lazy with posting recently, but here I am now telling you about the last few weeks volunteering.

I am going to list the places/organisations I am currently volunteering at:

The Food Pantry

MHR Church – Jim (the hoarder)

Pets Unlimited – Dog walking

The Animal Care and Control

PAWS (haven’t started full time yet as I am coming home for a few weeks)

So, to begin with I will tell you about the food pantry. I hate it and I think I am going to stop doing it once I come back from the UK. It is hard to explain why I don’t like it so much, but it is mainly because of the ‘floor manager’. I just don’t get on with her, she’s a little bit rude and demanding and just not pleasant to work with – she also has no idea who I am and gets me confused with another girl that volunteers a different day, even though I have been doing this for 9 weeks. Overall, I get no enjoyment from it, it isn’t rewarding at all and there isn’t a fun element to it either. Also the organisation of the actual food packing is awful, which means we also over run by about 30 minutes (which isn’t a big deal) but as a result we all get shouted at to ‘hurry, hurry, hurry’ and told off for someone else’s poor management. It feels like I am at school again. So yeah, not loving that at the moment.

However, I have had my fourth meeting with Jim and things are going great at the moment. I feel like we have made a lot of progress getting his stuff organised and now his bedroom and his hallway are organised and tidy! I have also been helping him buy a new laptop, which we are going to order next week and I have been researching internet options (with a lot of help from Jake). I feel like our relationship is getting better as well, Jim has become more chatty and we are becoming friends. Next week will be my last session before I come home, so we are going for lunch and having some ice cream (from a place called Bi-Rite, it is amazing!) before we go back to his and sort out his wardrobe. I like working with Jim, he is a nice guy and fun to be around and he is so appreciative of the little help I give him each week. Let’s just hope he keeps up the good work – he is doing a carnival at the end of May, so god knows what the aftermath is going to be like. I told him to throw it in one of the spaces we haven’t cleared and we will deal with it when I get back!

I also love my work at Pets Unlimited. The dogs there are all so sweet and it is really nice getting out with a few of them to go for a walk. After we go for a walk I try to spend some time in their run with them playing or having a cuddle. Last week my last dog didn’t want to play. He was too involved with a chewy bone. So I asked one of the staff what else I could do and she took me down to ‘Dogland’. This is where all the new arrivals stay for two weeks while the vets run tests to make sure they are healthy. They had a litter of 4 puppies down there and I got to play with a couple of them. It was amazing! I stayed well past my shift end time because the pups were just too cute!

I started at the AAC a couple of weeks ago and have only done one unsupervised shift. It went really well. I work with the small animals, the rabbits and guinea pigs. You set up two runs and put a rabbit in each. The aim is to get as many out as possible for as long as you can. The minimum shift is two hours, but many stay longer to make sure all the bunnies have a run around. While you get the bunnies out you can also get the guinea pigs out for a cuddle. I have a favourite there. He is called Tennessee and he reminds me so much of Dave (my favourite guinea pig at home) and I would love to adopt him because he is awesome! I did get told off by my Mum for mentioning Tennessee earlier in the presence of Dave (Mum gets him out to show me him on Skype!)

Lastly, I am doing some volunteer stuff for PAWS. I think I may have mentioned before they do in home care for pets whose owners are disabled/seniors. I haven’t been paired up with a person and pet yet because I am going home for a while. But in the mean time I have done a pet food bank and I am volunteering at an event on Friday called Petchitecture, where people build elaborate pets homes and auction them off. I am also helping out the night before making up goody bags. I am excited about Petchitecture, everyone says it is a great event to be at. All the guests bring their dogs and they run around having fun.

So that is it on the volunteering front. I think I will miss it while I am gone, but I am very excited about going home and seeing everyone. Also, Jake and I are going to Tuscany for a wedding and we are staying the week, which I am mega excited about. I just need to make sure all my maxi dresses are washed and ready to go. I hope the weather is better in Tuscany than it is in England at the moment otherwise I am going to be a bit cold!

Volunteering: What I Have Been Doing

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:27:54 +0100

This week I have started doing some more volunteer work.

I said last week I was starting dog walking for an animal shelter called Pets Unlimited. Well that didn’t go quite to plan. When I got to the shelter, Pat (who coordinates volunteers) told me that they would have to cancel. She had tried to get in contact with me, but for some reason I never got the call (stupid old school Nokia phone). The shelter has ‘Staff only’ dogs, which need more intensive training and something had happened with one of these dogs. Pat was being a bit vague, but the gist of the situation was that the dog had had a turn in its behaviour, most likely hurting a member of staff. As a result they had to have an emergency meeting concerning the dog. So the member of staff helping me with my first shift wasn’t available. I was slightly disappointed, but they couldn’t apologise enough.

But, I did go back this week and got to do my first supervised shift. I walked three dogs: Gumbo, Higgs and Rupee. All of them were small dogs, mostly mixes of some sort. I walked Gumbo and Higgs with Ashley, the staff member. I walked Rupee by myself and thought I got on pretty well. The shelter uses a lot of positive reinforcement to correct any behaviour issues with the dogs, so that means plying the dog with treats.

However, Rupee is allergic so I couldn’t give her any treats, which was a bit of an issue when we met a much larger dog that I wanted to distract her from. The dogs in the shelter range in their pro social behaviour with other dogs, but mostly the meetings are tense because the dogs aren’t always aware of the social boundaries etc.

All in all I enjoyed the dog walking and was very surprised to see how happy the dogs were. I had this preconception the dogs would be miserable and are just waiting to be taken to a better place. Although being in a shelter isn’t ideal for the dogs, it seems like a positive environment for them for the time being.

In other news, I also started meetings with the man who is a hoarder. I went round his apartment on Tuesday to tackle his ever growing mountain of things. It really was incredible how much stuff he has. He frequently took part in festivals and carnivals and has his own dance studio, hence all the costumes and feathers etc. He was telling me he doesn’t do the carnival scene as much, but has so much sentimental attachment to the costumes because he spent so much time making them that he doesn’t want to throw them out. This makes it hard to try and organise him and his stuff because there is no room in his apartment. We did manage to clear some space and you can see the floor in one of the rooms now. It is a pretty big task, but hopefully I will be able to make progress with him.

I have my training to Paws this weekend. I think I will be getting started on the food banks, which happen on a weekend. I am coming home in May for about a month, so after that I will be going to people’s homes to help them look after their pets in home with them.

That’s about it from me this week!

San Francisco: One Month

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:58:12 +0100

I have been in San Francisco a month now and time sure does fly!

I haven’t just been a lady of leisure as some people may think; I have been trying to keep myself busy.

I did the whole tourist scene last year, so I didn’t want to keep going over old ground and make excuses for not doing something with my time (although I have had some afternoons in the park). So, I have been looking into volunteering and have a few things on the horizon.

I started at a food pantry in Chinatown about a week after I got here. It’s not the most rewarding of volunteering, but it gives me something to do twice a week and I get a couple of bags of food for my troubles. I will be dropping my days to just one, as I will start dog walking this week.

I have applied to the Animal Care and Control Centre to work with small animals, such as guinea pigs, rabbits and hamsters etc. I applied to a place called PAWS, which help seniors/disabled people look after their pets in home, but I am waiting to complete some training before I start either of these.

I am also working with a group that supports people with HIV and AIDS. In some cases it is a companionship thing, but the person I will be working with is a serial hoarder and it’s my job to try and get him to declutter. I think it is going to be a very difficult job from looking at his apartment, but we will see how I get on with that.

The volunteering has taken slightly longer than I hoped, due to waiting on training days etc. But, I guess when working with animals all bases need to be covered.

San Francisco has quite a large volunteer community, so most places, although need more volunteers, aren’t absolutely desperate and can afford to keep you hanging.

I am looking forward to working with animals, because I am really missing my pets at home. However, I can see this being a problem, because I will want to take them all home. I have already met a cat that I am in love with called Twitch.

But I can’t become the crazy cat lady, well not yet anyway.

St Patrick's Day in San Francisco

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:42:21 +0000

So, yesterday was my first St Patrick’s Day in America and I absolutely hated it with a passion.

Why?

American’s (I am very much making a huge generalisation in this whole body of writing, just to warn you.)

I don’t hate St Patrick’s Day normally, I am all up for celebrating heritage and getting stupid drunk whilst doing so. Although I do get slightly annoyed the other patron saints don’t get the same treatment, but that’s an internal problem and not up for discussion here.

So, if you are Irish, then fabulous – celebrate you Irishness in all its glory!

But, if you aren’t Irish then why are you so avidly celebrating? Yes, I am talking to you American’s. Please don’t wear all the green clothes you possess and talk in a really bad Irish accent and use it as an excuse to get blind drunk during the day and harass people on public transport.

And that is why I hated St Patrick’s Day in San Francisco.

The boyfriend and I went to the cinema mid-afternoon yesterday (we saw 21 Jump Street, very funny!). We got off the Muni (it is like the Underground) and they had shut down the main road to have a freaking parade! A parade for a heritage that most the attendee’s don’t even have.

Anyway, as I said, the film was hilarious and put me in a great mood, which quickly diminished once we were outside the cinema.

We both found it fairly amusing the amount of drunk people around during the day. However, that quickly wore off during the journey home on the Muni. There was a massive group at one of the stops, all dressed in green with fake ginger beards etc. They crammed their whole group in the carriage, and then continued to push each other around, causing a knock on effect and squishing the seated passengers.

My annoyance at the whole shebang about St Patricks Day was really at its peak by then. It had been building up all week as I saw more and more decorations being put up in bars and shops around the City. I realise I cannot express my annoyance at American’s celebrating so over the top without sounding like a party pooper, but I just don’t get it. I know many American’s have Irish ancestors and blah blah blah and we celebrate it in England as well.

But, in England we don’t go overboard, it is just used as an excuse to get very drunk, which we would have done anyway because it is a Saturday night. Maybe I think it is more acceptable to celebrate it in England because we are geographically closer to them?

Whatever way I look at it, America made me hate St Patrick’s Day so much I had to blog a meaningless rant about it.

Photo

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:44:09 +0000

1940's Party: The Results

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:22:48 +0000

Hello,

I am back in San Francisco now and I have been here a couple of weeks and just getting myself settled in again. I promised to update with what happened at Sophie’s birthday party, but have been a bit busy with the move to San Francisco.

As you may remember, I was in a dilemma about what to wear to the party. I couldn’t find any dresses I liked etc, so I copped out and decided to wear the officer’s uniform I found on eBay.

I was a little disappointed with the outfit, it was cheap material and a sloppy fit, but I only paid 20 pound for it, so I couldn’t really complain. I had some adjustments made to it via a woman I worked with in exchange for me teaching her to use her ebook!

I had a lot of trouble getting the seamed tights though. Most of them were fairly expensive from Amazon etc and I didn’t want to pay that much because I knew I would ladder them that night, so instead I got some with hearts up the back instead.

Overall I wasn’t looking forward to wearing the outfit, but I thought oh well it will be fun regardless.

Two family friends, Sean and Woody (brothers) were going to the party as well. We set off early on the Saturday morning and made it up to Manchester by noon. It was a pretty rushed day – Jamie and Sophie were getting the house ready for 13 guests and the dog was running around excited. So to be helpful, Michelle (Sophie’s friend) and I got going with the sandwiches for the party and the boys went to get some booze and lunch.

In the afternoon we went to the hall to decorate for the evening, but we were really pushed for time, so we left Jamie and Sean to do the last minute bits and we went back home to get ready.

Sophie had found a mobile hairdresser to do our hair, but she had never done vintage style hair before. I wasn’t really sure how I wanted my hair, but I wanted it curled and up and it needed to accommodate my little hat. The hairdresser did my hair perfectly and I loved it! She had curled and pinned it all to one side, pinned up my fringe and did a small victory roll on one side.

After my hair was done, I had 15 minutes to get ready! I actually quite liked the overall look of the outfit with the hair, so wasn’t as disappointed as I thought I would be!

Anyway, we got to the venue and kicked the party off. We had a buffet and lots of yummy cakes and a sweet stand. On the stage there was a projector playing war related clips, which my brother had put together. Once all the party goers were present, we had a swing dance lesson, which was really fun. I partnered with Woody, who is a lot taller than me. This proved a bit difficult, but we did a bit of freestyling to make up for our poor dancing!

We had started a marathon game of flip cup, which we were using the punch to play with. By the end of the night the booze was running low, so our final cocktail of the game consisted of red wine, gin and coca cola – yuck!

We had taxi’s booked at 12.15 and had to clean the hall up that night. It got to 12 and we still hadn’t started, so we all joined forces and the place was spotless by 12.15, it was incredible how quickly we got it all cleared!

It was an amazing night and I loved being dressed in 1940’s gear. Everybody got in the spirit and dressed up.

I have included some pictures – I think Sean’s outfit was my favourite. He dressed up as an ARP warden.

Jamie and Sophie

Me and Woody

Sean and Snoopy

VE Victory Party: What To Wear

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:17:09 +0000

Hey Guys,

I haven’t posted in a long while - my last post being August time, when I spent the day with Vintagenie in Reading.

I have mentioned many times before where I live in the UK has no vintage community, which makes it hard to fuel my vintage love. So, I have very much been slacking with my writing and buying.

However, I will be going back to San Francisco in March, so my vintage ramblings will most likely start again, but, I will be on an even tighter budget than before because I will be staying for longer.

My writing has been slacking because I haven’t been second hand shopping recently and my vintage buying has stopped due to circumstance. I am working in the town centre, so if I want something new for the wardrobe, I will pop into Primark. So in that sense, I have subconsciously worked vintage out of my every day wear.

Regardless of what I am buying, I was prompted to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) due to my sister-in-laws upcoming birthday. She has decided on a VE Day celebration theme, with an authentic 1940’s dress code. So, I have been planning what to wear a month in advance, naturally.

I spoke to my Nan, who was around 15 at the end of the Second World War. She told us she used to wear dirndl skirts, paired with a peasant blouse pulled off the shoulder (which her Dad used to tell her to pull up again before she went out). I have been looking for one, as I have a blouse that would go perfectly with it, but they seem harder to come by than I would have thought.

They seem to be German in origin and apparently still feature heavily at the annual Oktoberfests that occur all around Germany. I decided to change tactics as I wasn’t going to get one of these skirts without a vintage German pattern on them. I doubt that would go down well at a VE themed party.

I have only done some light browsing online of vintage sites, but it appears most vintage items start around the 50’s and any clothes I’ve found from the 40’s are either very expensive or not to my taste.

I am tempted to cop out and get a soldier uniform and have my hair styled in victory rolls as we are having a vintage type hairdresser come to the house before the party.

At the end of the day, as long as I look 1940ish, I suppose it doesn’t really matter. But I take my dressing up very seriously!

As I said before, I will be heading back to the States very soon, so my writing will pick up considerably more, although I’m thinking of branching out from vintage onto new writing topics!

I will keep you informed of my outfit choice and post many photos of the party!