Eclair Bakery in Arroyo Grande, CA

We took a drive south through the Edna Valley and made our way to The Eclair Bakery in the village of Arroyo Grande about 10 minutes south of San Luis Obispo. With Fall in the air I am really on the bakery hunt..... for the old fashion ones...the ones that remind me of The Cream Puff Bakery in my hometown of Los Gatos, California. We used to go there alot in the Fall because across the street was a Sprouse-Ritz. It was one of those big old drug stores with the wooden floors and all the Halloween candy. In the Fall they had stacks and stacks of the Halloween costumes you used to get in the box. We made my mother take us in that store almost daily. By the time Halloween rolled around we each had about 10 different costumes. My mom would call the neighbors the week before Halloween and ask if Kary and Mark could come trick or treating. We loved it so much we never could get enough. I still can't get enough.

and the Eclair really reminds me of The Cream Puff....could it be the name? They had some nice looking raspberry tarts....

this cute little sign was by the cash register....

this is the outside...as you can see it is very old fashion....

and they had lots of eclairs...

look at that...cherry strudel...wouldn't that be nice with a cup of tea?

simple white cupcakes....

the pie offerings for the day....

they had a nice collection of old cake stands. I LOVE vintage cake stands and have a large collection of them myself.... well, I like anything that is old and has to do with cooking and baking....

old cake decorating boxes.....

cute box of old birthday candles....

some of their vintage cooking untensils....love that egg beater..remember those?

a box of cake and sandwhich cutters...for bridge, luncheons and party occassions...who spelled sandwhich wrong..them or me?

and as you left out the door another nice collection of glass cake stands. we had a nice time and made our way back home skipping the Highway 101 and taking the Old Biddle Road instead....just old fashion.

In Search of a Pumpkin

My cousin John is here in San Luis Obispo visiting from San Francisco and we decided to make a day of pumpkin hunting. We did find a pumpkin pie at The Avila Barn. But what we really wanted was a pumpkin.

They had some nice looking end of the season tomatoes and squash. But frankly, I am burnt out on 'em.

We made our way up See Canyon to Gopher Glen and this was the days offerings of apples. I got a bag of Bellflower...one of my favorites ... they smell like apple blossoms in Spring....and a bag of Red and Gold. We tasted the cider..it was really good...but I am waiting to buy that for Halloween night.

We headed down Los Osos Valley Road to Mary's Pumpkin Patch. The sign on the road said OPEN. So we went down the driveway.....

Little Louie the tiny donkey was there......and we petted him.

huh? the pumpkin racks are empty......where is everybody?

we headed out back past the witches trail to the old barn....

and it was there that we struck gold...kinda...we saw the pumpkins but they were behind a locked gate...and no one in sight....quiet, cool and windy...but no Mary. nobody.

we walked the witches trail and this was our view...a field of corn and the mountains looking towards Morro Bay.

another view as we came to the end of witches trail....the yellow and orange in the fields are marigold flowers grown for their seeds....again, the mountains looking towards Morro Bay North

we made a circle and came back to Mary's. That's the Farmhouse where she lives....but no Mary.

Slick the cat was there in the barn...already on the job...seems like he was the only one around.

looked like no pumpkins for us today so we loaded up and headed to Carlocks Bakery in Los Osos to see what they had for Fall...

as we walked into Carlocks this poster caught my eye. I wondered if that would be fun? Probably not for me...you see..i have this really weird thing about guacamole..i have to make it myself and eat it on the spot...i never order it out. how long ago was it made? how old is it? i just can't do it. But i guess i could have a margarita....

Carlocks didn't dissapoint...they had haystacks and Fall leaf cookies....

and just look at those donuts...how often do you see that anymore?

that cute little sign as we walked in the door...

and the BIG SCORE of the day...a donut from Carlocks. That's my cousin John. We see each other about 4 times a year...and when we get together there isn't one moment of silence....we talk on and on......we might not have found a pumpkin that day...but we did find some donuts..and we had a REALLY good time.

Saturday Looking For Fall

Good thing Gourmet went out of business...cause I'm not in the mood for fancy food.I want farmy and old fashioned right about now. It is windy and cool out here this late august afternoon...it's back to school and gopher glen is selling apple cider . i got my first seek-no-further apple off my tree last night. well, it fell off and i can hear my brown corn rustling in the wind. summer has slipped away. good-bye my friend.

tomorrow night we are "pretending" we are tailgating. i think football is on.

haven't opened it yet...but how could i pass it by.....

just look at that bag of candy corn. usually the bag isn't very cute... but this was darling. i don't think i am going to be able to open it.

pumpkin spice cupcake kit...bought it cause the tin was cute....

bought this cause the tin was cute too...it is filled with those really thin gingersnap cookies...the ones that i tip toe downstairs for in the middle of the night. i hope i don't regret this purchase
...it a big tin of cookies

look at that..i mean...come on...how could you NOT get this...i get one every year...

candles...the one i really like is the cupcake one..why did i just get one..you really need more than one...

this is my kitchen window...the screen and lighting makes it look bad...the sun is too bright right now as it is just starting to sink over san luis mountain...but i had to show you anyway....

i just can't help myself in the window clinger department...at least it's windy and cool today...if it was hot...these would be melting...tomorrow is the last sunday in august...farewell summer...it's been nice.

Hay Day Country Market Cookbook

I REALLY felt Fall today and felt like baking some cookies...so I got out one of my favorite cookbooks...HAY DAY COUNTRY MARKET COOKBOOK.

I baked their Crispy Oatmeal and Raisin cookies. They have cinnamon in them. The kitchen smelled so good and spicey.

I cheated a little and added in some dried cranberries and walnuts.

Can you see him there in the background? There is Teddy. Mommy's little helper ! Happy last weekend of August....

Kindness

I don't even know why I started blogging. And when you mention blogging to "non-bloggers" you are usually met with a blank stare. But I have to tell you...I have been amazed by all of the KINDNESS that is in this blogworld. Today was another LUCKY DAY for me. Look what a pleasant surprise I received in the mail. Rachel from Mozart's Girl sent me this sweet little book from the other side of the world. All of you know about Buddy and now Teddy.

Rachel took the time to find this little book, wrap it up, write a treasured note, go to the post office, stand in line, mail this off...all for a person she has never even seen. But even though we have never met in person..we have a bond...a friendship..we understand each other...I feel this way about all of you...you have brought unexpected happiness and love into my world. And it means the world to me. Thank you Rachel....my heart is filled with gratitude and love. Another treasured friend I have been lucky enough to meet....in blogland.

Chicken Pie

I made this for Sunday night's supper...

I just made a white sauce..added some chicken I had cooked and cut into tiny pieces, some cubed boiled new potatoes and a few mixed vegetables...made a crust, rolled it out and topped off the pie....

I have a set of these circle cutters I just love...this was the smallest one to make an air vent...

We aren't baking a CHICKEN PIE in the oven tonight...i have the radio on and he just said we reached 110 degrees...did I hear that right? 110 degrees. I remember 105 here in San Luis Obispo in the Summer of 2007...the year we moved here...but 110. Come on. That is just TOO HOT !!!! It has been a really cool summer up until now. I guess my luck ran out. I gave Teddy a cool bath...he loved it. Oh, we're bbqing tonight. After the sun sinks down. And are we all watching the FULL MOON tonight together..and thinking of each other all over this world...I am thinking of you.....

Any Ideas Out There?

I got these baby artichokes at Farmer's Market yesterday. How could I pass them up? Other than frying them in a batter...I can't think of what to do with them.... Can You?