Well, it is back to the grind (and back to our normal, healthy eating habits and regular exercise) at our household today! We had a great time in Gualala and at my cousin’s wedding this past Satuday, as well as visiting my uncle yesterday, but it is nice to be back home. Though I’m not ready to face reality, it is nice to sleep in my own bed! I am a creature of routine, so it was nice to get back into it today. Are you a creature of routine? How do you get back on track after being on vacation?

Keenan had music class this morning, so we had to be up and out of the house quickly. Since we were all SO tired from staying up late and not sleeping well over the weekend, Keenan woke up at 8:50 a.m.!! It felt wonderful to be able to sleep in this morning because our bodies needed it! Since Keenan’s class was at 10:00 and it takes a good 20 minute drive, we ate a quick breakfast of toasted pancakes with peanut butter and honey. My lovely husband made me a latte to go, so I could drink it on the drive. After class, we went to the grocery store to stock up for the week (since we hardly had any food in our fridge).

After we got home, we had lunch: Our “usual” breakfast–since we hadn’t had yogurt in a while–with peaches, flax seed and Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal. Keenan was so wired (and tired) from  a lack of sleep over the weekend, he thought everything was funny! He kept saying, “That funny!”

After Keenan’s nap, we headed to CrossFit for a MUCH NEEDED workout! I was looking forward to a gruelling WOD, because I need to burn off all of the calories I consumed over the past 5 days! Today’s WOD was 7 rounds for time (12 minute time cap) of 10 kettlebell swings (35 lb for women) and 10 ring dips, rest 3 minutes and do as many burpees as you can in 90 seconds. It was short, but certainly sweet!

Well, onto a recap of our weekend (Part 1) and review of the Gelateria, Gelati Pazzo Marco, that we visited on Friday, while we were in Gualala:

I know I said this in Friday’s post, but WOW! I was so impressed with Gelati Pazzo Marco’s gelato, and owners (very friendly and accommodating)! The texture and creaminess of the gelato was exactly what I had while I lived in Italy! Most other gelato that I have tried in the States has a great flavor, but lacks the texture and creaminess that you find in Itay. Gelati Pazzo Marco is a micro-gelateria (making small batches of gelato) in Gualala, California. Marco Moramarco and Paolo Vierra moved to Gualala, leaving the corporate world in San Francisco to do something that they were passionate about, leading a slower pace of life, thus making gelato. Marco studied the art of gelato making in Bologna, Italy and worked in a gelataria, before starting Gelati Pazzo Marco. Most of their equipment is imported from Italy, and they make all of their gelato from SCRATCH, and use all natural, organic ingredients, unlike many other gelaterias in the states that use a pre-made base. Since they make their gelato from scratch, they are a USDA licensed milk handling facility, thus they can make anything with milk, including cheese (something that they are working on for the future). They purchase their milk from Walter Stornetta Ranch, a local dairy a few miles up the road from them; in fact, Marco and Paolo pick up the milk themselves in the stainless steel jugs below.

Gelati Pazzo Marco Gelateria: All of their gelato is made in this small building.

After they get the milk, they pasteurize it. Once it is pasteurized, they place it into a cooling machine to bring the temperature of the milk down to 39 degrees quickly, so they can mix in the other ingredients (sugar and any other flavoring, etc). Depending on what flavor they are making, they mix in the rest of the ingredients and let the gelato sit for 24 hours (so the flavors meld together) before pouring it into the freezing machine.

The jugs that they use to collect milk from the dairy.

A view of the machine that pasteurizes the milk (cylinder in the corner) and the chilling machine (rectangle to the right).

Once the gelato is in the freezing machine, it mixes in there until it’s ready.

Taking the gelato out of the freezing machine.

After it is done, they take the gelato out and store in the freezer for 24 hours before packaging it.

Paolo packaging the gelato!

We were very fortunate to taste about a half a dozen delicious flavors! We tried some of their sorbetto (non-dairy) flavors, such as plum-apple, peach and blood orange, which were amazing! We also sampled their regular gelato flavors of dark chocolate, coffee, hazelnut and mint stracciatella. All of the flavors we sampled were excellent…perfect texture, creaminess and richness. It is now three days later and I can still taste the different flavors in my mouth, in fact, my mouth is salivating just thinking about it, again! I wish we lived closer, because I would be a regular customer! Anyhow, I HIGHLY recommend trying some of Gelati Pazzo Marco’s gelato, if you are ever visiting the North Coast, or traveling through Gualala!! You can find their gelato at a couple of local stores, Trinks Cafe or at Surf Super Market (both serve cones or cups), or you can purchase a small container to go.

Tasting!

On Saturday, we headed to Healdsburg for my cousin’s wedding. Before we went to the hotel to get dressed, we stopped at a little cupcake shop for a little snack and a coffee (my husband and I desperately needed a little pick-me-up). We ended up getting three cupcakes, because they looked SO good! My cappuccino and my husband’s macchiato were probably some of the best (if not THE best) espresso we both have ever had! Anyhow, look for my review/write-up of the cupcake shop for my next post!

Once we got dressed we headed to the wedding, which was outside, in a small courtyard, next to Bear Republic Brewery. It was a lovely wedding and Keenan had so much fun dancing and playing with all of my little cousins! It was so cute to see the little boys take him under their wings and dance and play with him! Keenan enjoyed himself so much that he literally partied until he dropped (on my shoulder), around 10:00 p.m.! It was a wonderful evening and it was fun to see Keenan interact with everyone, especially dancing with Uncle E, Nonna and Avo! Poor thing, we didn’t get back to our hotel until 11:30 p.m., so Keenan was exhausted, to say the least! We had to be up fairly early to meet my uncle for church the next day, so we were all tired!

Having fun with Nonna and Avo at the wedding!

Playing with his cousins!

Dancing with Uncle E!

Such a tired boy!

Well, this is already getting to be a long post, so I’ll save the recap of the rest of our weekend for my next post! Have a great evening!

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