Shopping Day in (East) Bay

Yesterday we decided to drive over to the Bay Area. I thought it would be fun to shop in some places we don't have access to at home.
Our itinerary:

East Bay Restaurant Supply in Oakland - bought a pizza peel (used in post above), two half sheet pans and a tapered rolling pin. Won't necessarily go back, but was fun to check out the industrial-sized ovens, Hobart mixers, and immersion blenders which look like torture devices. Wonder if the newer Sacramento store has more selection for home cooks?


East Bay Nursery in Berkeley - didn't buy but found a lot of great stuff. Will need to go back. They had a large selection of trees and shrubs in multiple sizes.

Lunch at Saul's Deli (we split a delicious pastrami sandwich) in Berkeley. I rarely eat pastrami, but this was so delicious and lean too. I wish we'd taken a photo. Fortunately, I was able to find one from someone's blog - Bay Area Bites.

House Rabbit Society headquarters in Richmond - A nice lady gave us a tour, and we were introduced to about 20 rabbits. The highlight was one who was brought yesterday with her four adorable baby bunnies who'd just opened their eyes. The pair above are sweethearts. I have no idea why they've been here so long.

Annie's Annuals in Richmond - I want to buy the plant pictured above and plant next spring!

Guy is resting in the display garden.
I had read about this place in Sunset mag and elsewhere. It did not disappoint. I will need to come back here also. It was much larger than East Bay Nursery, but the majority of their items are four-inch annuals and perennials. I didn't see any shrubs or trees, and only saw a few plants in larger containers.

When you look at a particular type of plant, there is a photo of the flower in bloom, and detailed information about the plant's preferences. There's not just one poppy or salvia, more like 12! I found it so helpful to have that type of detailed information. They also focus on native and rare plants. I got their catalog and am looking forward to drooling over it tonight. Mom would love this place!

IKEA in Emeryville - We came here back in March for an hour before Micaela's wedding, and as Guy reminded me, before we bought our home! That wasn't nearly enough time. We were there nearly three hours yesterday, but we came out with some great ideas and photos and bought a few things for the household - a glass salad bowl I can use for layered desserts and salades composes, light bulbs, two glasses, dishtowels, and the magnetic knife rack (above) I've yearned for since I saw on the barge in Paris last year. The only problem is that we don't have much wall space below the cabinets and above the backsplash, so some creativity will be in order. I WILL make it work!!

The day was so much fun, and Guy was patient while I wandered around the nurseries. But I will go back in spring once we have our planting layout designed. Fun fun fun!