Last month, I posted my first review of a cannabidiol product. It was ViPova Tea, and part of my willingness to review it was the understanding that ViPova contains hemp-derived CBD only, and no discernible THC, which is the psychoactive component of marijuana. That’s important, because I do not have a medical marijuana card and
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I had a few extra hours to kill before a critique group meeting in San Rafael, so I thought why not spend it hiking? Turns out, there’s a really cool state park I’d never heard of on San Pablo Bay. Just take San Pedro Road from San Rafael, and you’ll get there—the road is a
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It’s the most fragrant time of the year! What better time to buy the chef in your life a little inspiration? Inspiration that overflows with sensory delight every month! Subscription gift boxes are huge for Christmas presents; think monthly wine and beer clubs, snack food sampler boxes, and even the Dollar Shave Club. They’re an
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Wine lover looking for a reason to feel great about drinking? Today is your lucky day! One Good Day is a not-for-profit with an impressive mission founded by an enterprising and giving man. In a nutshell, the organization exists to give low-income individuals diagnosed with terminal cancer micro-grants so they have the chance to partake in one
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I’ve been eyeing this little corner spot since it opened in the home of a former bakery about 2 months ago. I love banh mi, so I was excited to have somewhere serving it that I could easily walk to from home. Inside are just a counter, kitchen, two tables, and a painting, so it’s
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Earlier this fall, I was invited to check out Nightswapping, a new entry into the web-based travel lodging scene. You may have heard of a few names in that game: AirBnB? Couchsurfing? Nightswapping combines a bit of both and takes money almost completely out of the equation with a night-for-night exchange approach. They’ve just released
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For the second year in a row, I took part in the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance Riesling Launch, a live-tweeting event that invites wine writers and bloggers to check out the newest vintage (2014) of the region’s signature grape varietal together, virtually at least, with the wineries. I received sample bottles of three different rieslings,
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Ah, it feels good to write a restaurant review! I’ve been so focused on wine following the annual Wine Bloggers Conference that dining and dishing has been low on the blog priority pole. So I’m happy to be back with my thoughts on an Oakland foodie landmark: Bakesale Betty. I expected to blog about this
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My next Localwise blog post is up! On the menu this time? Different types of burgers to be found in the North Oakland area. Your teaser: North Oakland has as many different types of hamburgers as there are cravings for them. Any burger lover knows an upscale restaurant’s offering is a different creature than what
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A few weeks ago, I promised you a more intensive–dare I say sneakier?–sneak peek into Oakland’s the Hive development. Over at Localwise, I wrote a quick article summarizing all the retail businesses onsite, but I took a lot more pictures than the published ones, and they’re sure to entice you in.  And what better time is
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