California Recap, Part II

Saturday, December 4, 2010

I started Saturday morning with a glorious run! While I didn’t feel all that great due to lack of sleep and not eating the best, there was no complaining coming from my mouth because I couldn’t get over how wonderful it was to run in the mild temperatures!! Once again, I completed 7 miles in 60 minutes, just as the sun was coming up–my favorite time to run! πŸ™‚

Saturday morning took us to downtown Sacramento to a little cafe for breakfast.

Did you know Sacramento is “the city of trees?” I had no idea, but there were a hundreds of trees lining the streets downtown. It was really pretty!

We ate at Cafe Bernardo.

I wanted something light and refreshing, so I ordered a bowl of yogurt with seasonal fruit. I was pretty disappointed when the “seasonal” fruit ended up being: apples, bananas, and dried cranberries. Seriously?!?!

Oh well, it was still delicious!

I also ordered a side of toast and jam. I love raspberry jam!

Craig had the huevos rancheros. It is his thing to get whenever we go to a place that offers them. Apparently these were good but not the best he’s had.

Me + Craig

That afternoon, we hit up the mall for some shopping. I was really excited to go to a mall that offered a lot of stores we don’t have in Anchorage: Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Bath and Body Works, and H&M just to name a few.

During the course of our shopping trip to the mall, we purchased a few personal items as well as a couple of Christmas gifts.

For lunch, we discovered Pluto’s. Neither of us had heard of it, but the food on people’s plates looked good and the prices were reasonable.

The salad bar.

You pick what kind of lettuce and dressing you want plus 7 different toppings!!

My salad contained spinach + garbanzo beans + tomatoes + pear + walnuts + blue cheese + croutons. (I can’t remember what the 7th item was!?!?)

It was mighty good! A little heavy on the dressing though.

Craig ordered a portabella mushroom sandwich with onion rings.

We split both entrees and really liked both of them!



After seeing the frozen yogurt stand in the mall earlier, I knew this was what was going to be on the menu for dessert!

I’ve been reading about frozen yogurt places on so many blogs that I was incredibly excited to finally try some! (We don’t have any place like this in Anchorage.)

I had a ton of different toppings.

pumpkin + cookies ‘n’ cream + vanilla frozen yogurt

brownie bites + caramel sauce + coconut + Snicker pieces + blackberries + raspberries + mangos + blueberries

Craig loves gummy bears in his frozen yogurt!

Attack of the bears.

Our day included a lot of food!

That evening, we headed to Fat’s Asia Bistro for dinner.

Fat’s reminded me of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

I finally got to use my umbrella I bought a year ago!

Me and my mother-in-law.


The inside was very chic and modern.

I got started with some hot green tea because I was freezing cold!! (go figure!)

A boat-load of food was ordered, and we ate family-style. I like being able to sample a little bit of everything!


I was stuffed and only found room for a couple bites of this amazing banana cream pie. I wish I would have had more room because this was probably the best banana cream pie I’ve ever had!


Craig and me standing next to the warm fire! We were going for a potential Christmas-card picture, but the lighting is pretty dim.

Well, this is going to have to be a 3-part recap of our, so I’ll be recapping the final day when I get a chance!

Hi, I'm Michelle

I love running around the lakes of Minnesota, running after my two boys, and racing anything from the 5K to the marathon. I have been blogging here since 2010 when I ran my first marathon. I finally secured my sub-3 hour marathon after trying for 8 years.

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14 Comments

  1. 12.8.10

    All that food looks great! It looks like you guys had lots to do and see while in CA! I am totally addicted to Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn, they are probably my 2 favorite places to shop ever!

  2. 12.8.10
    Craig Baxter said:

    I am still full from saturday night.

  3. 12.8.10
    Sarah said:

    i love california! looks like you two had a fun time, even though the reason for the trip wasn’t so fun….

  4. 12.8.10
    Jenn Radtke said:

    Yep, there was no exaggeration of the meal at Fat’s. I’m surprised you ate at all last Sunday!

  5. 12.8.10
    squigglefloey said:

    Wow! What a lovely trip. I wanted to comment that my 18 yr old brother also loves gummy bears in his frozen yogurt. I thought it was such a funny combo. Silly boys! πŸ˜›

    • 12.8.10
      Michelle said:

      Ha! Ha! That’s awesome! My husband has loved gummy bears in his ice cream since he was a kid!

  6. 12.9.10
    Rosie said:

    I have that same white tank top, or one that looks very similar! πŸ™‚

    • 12.9.10
      Michelle said:

      Nice! Mine’s from Gap.

      • 12.9.10
        Rosie said:

        Mine is from the Gap Outlet, must be the same thing!

  7. 12.9.10
    craig said:

    i ate frozen yogurt twice in juneau this week, it was missing the most important topping. you.

    • 12.9.10
      Michelle said:

      Awww!! You’re so sweet; I wish I could have been there with you!

  8. 12.18.10
    Megan (Running Foodie) said:

    I’m just catching up on old posts – B and I met in Sacramento! We both went to UC Davis and met in graduate school while we lived in Sac. You ate at a lot of our favorite restaurants!! Hope you had a good time πŸ™‚