HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm sure you guys haven't heard that phrase a millions times already, but I'm not about to be the one person on the Earth who doesn't acknowledge a holiday that is totally centered around candy....

Oddly enough, none of us crazy college students really went all-out this year.  I think it has something to do with "being responsible" and "studying for midterms"... whatever that means.

This doesn't mean I had a boring weekend, though -- don't worry! My halloweekend was filled with friends and fabulous food, thanks to a night out in San Francisco :)

So, after my half-marathon fail, I went to work and pretended to look busy for a few hours until my friend, and part-time slave from Friday night, Lee, came to pick me up!  We headed into the city for some dinner and shopping :) sounds like my kind of Halloween.

I was yelping around and I stumbled across a restaurant dedicated solely to BAKED POTATOES!!

Obviously, I begged Lee to go there for dinner. 



They're an Americanized version of the UK specialty: Jacket Potatoes.  Which is essentially a loaded baked potato that acts as an entree because it's so massive and delicious!  Hot Spud turned out to be a made-to-order baked potato joint with a nice salad selection, as well.

I went with the Veggie Potato which included melty cheese, mushrooms, onions, peas, black olives, jalapenos, and steamed brocolli.  I got to choose my own sauces so I went for half beurre blanc sauce (white wine and capers) and half spicy chicken wing sauce :)

We also got a Fiesta Salad to split -- chopped romaine, tomatoes, tortilla shreds, black beans, olives, and a cilantro-lime dressing.

Lee decided to be manly and go for the steak potato.... which was amazing.  Of course, I snuck a bite!

We left feeling oddly satisfied.  Oh, baked potatoes, how I love you. Seriously, I need to start incorporating more taters into my life... maybe in the form of steak-cut french fries?

Anyways, I discovered something incredibly that night: Lee may have a sweet tooth that either rivals mine... or surpasses it!!!? What the...

SO after dinner, he suggested we do a mini-dessert tour of San Franciso.  As in, we walk around a stop at all the places that have incredible desserts and sample them :) It was totally like hanging out with my Sister -- sorry Lee.

Our first stop was Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

where we picked up a frozen cheesecake dipped in chocolate. and a double chocolate peanut caramel apple on a stick! that's Halloween-ish right?

We ended up nibbling on the two items, but packing away the caramel apple and tossing a few bites of the cheesecake, so we'd have room for other adventures!

These included:
- Mrs. Fields cookies: chocolate chip walnut, white chocolate chip macadamia nut (my fave), and butter sugar with m&ms.  We, once again, nibbled and saved the rest for later.
- A stop for some dreyer's frozen yogurt - not too impressive, hence the lack of a picture.

Then, we came upon heaven-on-Earth.  Chocolate Heaven to be exact!
CHECK OUT WHAT I FOUND:

Yes, that is a mint chocolate kit kat!!
It was soo good!  They also had a vanilla kit kat and an orange kit kat... but let's be honest, mint will always win my heart over.

Finally, after some strolling and some shopping - new jeans!! - we stopped at a diner and picked up two treats that we planned to take with us to the top of Indian Rock, so we could watch the lights twinkle from the East Bay :) The Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge at night are spectacular.

Excuse the horrible picture...
Creme Brulee Cheesecake and Carrot Cake.

I literally hiked to the top of this cliff in Ralph Lauren boots just so I could get a piece of that cake!! and by piece I mean I ate the majority... Carrot cake is my cryptonite

Lee and I kept joking about how this would have made the perfect date -- of course, anything that involves 5 types of dessert within a two hour period would be classified as a "perfect date" in my book :)

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Unfortunately, the rest of my Halloweekend was kind of lack-luster, due to some application duties and some exams to cram for :(  However, I did get in a good run to stretch out my legs a bit.

I ran an easy 9.3 miles -- surprisingly my legs could handle it.
Plus, I needed to blow off some steam because somebody ate all my leftover cookies and pumpkin bread last night :(  Yeah, it was a big deal.

I came home to have a repeat-salad -- thanks to the addition of Trader Joe's Masala Veggie Burgers, I've been craving these salad beasts recently!

chopped romaine topped with sauteed broccoli, mushrooms, veggie masala burger, soy crumbles and fat-free feta cheese.

Alright, alright, you caught me.
I might have taken a five-minute study break (ehhh closer to five hours...) to get a little goofy with my ladies.

I mean, if you had to guess what we were.... your first thoughts would be Spongebob super fans, right?

It's a long story, don't worry.... there's an explanataion for our ridiculousness.

Anyways, my schedule at work just got changed, so I'm not writing this post from the front desk at the gym :(  at 8 am!  Not that I mind, but this is usually my run + abs and back day... darn.

I'll catch you guys later and fill you in on my delicious dinner from last night!

Happy halloweeen!!