Suzanne, Author at Adventures of Empty Nesters

When Life Brings You Lemons… It’s Knee Surgery For Me

December 12, 2016

Yep, knee surgery. All of that exercise I have been doing is catching up with me.

You have been there through all of our adventures, from the big move from Orange County, to the buying of the fixer upper and subsequent renovation, my dad’s illness and death, our temporary move to Seattle, all of the fun travel and food adventures and now I am sharing my injured knee adventure.

I have to admit, I have been wallowing in a little self-pity. I don’t like to sit still for long, hobble from place to place, I can’t exercise, walk the dog or more importantly TRAVEL, it is sure frustrating. HOW IS A TRAVEL BLOGGER SUPPOSED TO DO HER JOB WHEN SHE CAN’T TRAVEL?

BIG DILEMMA!

I cancelled my Christmas trip to New York (Craig still went) and I am pretty disappointed. UGH! I never took my health for granted and I was always grateful to be able to participate in all of the activities I desired, but everything has come to an abrupt screeching halt.

photowithroccoonoregontrip — Rocco and me on the Oregon Coast

In late November, while walking Rocco, my knee started to hurt and then got progressively worse. I found a great orthopedic physician, got the necessary MRI and found that I have torn my meniscus in my right knee. Who knows how it ultimately tore, but it did and now it needs fixing. I do understand that this is not the biggest injury in the world, and MANY of you have dealt with this type of injury. That my friend is exactly why I decided to write about it.

What’s in the News? My Saturday Round-up List

December 10, 2016

What’s in the news? Focusing on the happy part of the news here!

We are inching our way closer to Christmas. How does it feel? It feels good. I love the lights on the houses of our tree lined street, I love planning our gift list, I love “Best of” lists, I guess I love me a good list!

I collected a “list” of a few articles from the news this week that I found quite interesting. You won’t find politics on Adventures of Empty Nesters, I will leave that task for other people.

Where to Eat in Pasadena ~ The Best Restaurants and Bars

December 7, 2016

Are you coming to Pasadena anytime soon? Is your favorite college team in the Rose Bowl? Are you up to your knees in snow, icy wind and rain? Do you long for winter temps in the 70’s? What? Yes, the 70’s.

Yes, my friend it is so. The winters are mostly sunny and mild, with no humidity, the mountains are lovely and it is only a short drive to the gorgeous beaches of So Cal. However, we do have plenty of people living here, so just a visit, ok?

Seattle Cooking Class: How to make pizza at home (It’s pretty easy)

December 5, 2016

How to make pizza at home ~

Good news! I learned how to make pizza at home and it’s EASY! Well, not super easy, but certainly doable. I always thought that it would be a big mess and/or too hard to actually make delicious pizza in my own kitchen. I never understood how I could get my regular oven hot enough to cook a pizza effectively.

Here’s the answer to that question: Line a sheet pan with several unglazed tiles (about 1/2″ thick) place it on the bottom of your oven, then cook the pizza directly on top of them.

Weekend Reading :: What’s new in the news

December 3, 2016

You had me at “Flourless Chocolate Cake”… from the NY Times Flourless Chocolate Cake Finds an Ancestor in Italy

A little weekend reading ~

Seriously – haven’t we had enough negative vibes launched in every direction? I certainly have. We have so much more to focus on and to be happy about.

I love a good list with already curated interesting info – Don’t you? Someone else can do the legwork for me. Many bloggers do a weekly/weekend round up of interesting news from around the world. My friend Kim from Tour of No Regrets does a great job with that.

You can check out Kim’s latest “gathering good” ==> Here

A Perfect Afternoon in New York City: A Visit to Midtown

December 2, 2016

The always busy, Grand Central Station at Christmas — The always busy, Grand Central Terminal at Christmas

This is a follow up post from my yummy Wednesday post about Momofuku Sssam. I though it would be helpful to type up this itinerary for my friends and family who are traveling to New York in December!

If I could plan the perfect afternoon in New York City, what would it look like? The city is so massive that I could create a new itinerary for each day of the week, without repeating one activity, restaurant or destination.

So I thought I would just start numbering these lists of itineraries 1- 5 to see what I can come up with. I like to walk, but I also like to walk with a purpose and not just aimlessly while continually asking; “What do you want to do now?” I would rather have a game plan, but it doesn’t have to be too rigid, just smart. There needs to be room for change, adjustments and most likely, tired feet.

A Crazy Great Meal in NYC : Momofuku Ssam

February 28, 2020November 29, 2016

Today, I am in a New York state of mind – Our son is leaving for NY on Thursday, my friend Leisa is joining her mom, sister and niece for a girls trip on the 4th, my friend Meg is leaving Friday and Craig and I are leaving on Dec 11th. New York is so fabulous this time of year that many special trips are planned for the Big Apple in December! While in New York City a trip to Momofuku Ssam will impress and delight you.

Oh Momofuku!

Even if you don’t know what it means, Momofuku is delicious in any language. The Momofuku restaurant group was created by David Chang in 2004 with its first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar. As a multiple James Beard award winner, Chef Chang and his team have gained world-wide recognition for their innovative take on cuisine, while supporting local, sustainable and responsible farmers and food purveyors.

Most foodies will tell you they have heard of Momofuku, although they may not “have had a chance to go”. But it will be on their list and Momofuku Ssam should be on yours too! Actually ALL of his restaurants should be on your list!

Squeeze it in each day – Take Time to Be Kind

November 28, 2016

There is never a day when to be kind should be a chore. We need to take a breath, slow it down and be kind to everyone.

Gratitude comes in all shapes and sizes, through wishes grand and miniscule. To share a story, to listen to a friend, to writing a thank you note for a kind act or gift, being grateful does not have to be complicated.

This holiday season I feel lots of different emotions. I am sad and happy and grateful. I miss my Dad who passed away in January. I worry for the stormy, negative conversation that is happening here in our beloved country.

I am happy to see longtime friends, my extended family and cherish my time with my grown kids who will both travel here this month.

Maybe ultimately, it will take one person, one grateful day at a time to help mend this fence between people.

Delightfully Uncommon Gift Ideas from Uncommon Goods

January 18, 2018November 23, 2016

Unique Gift Ideas ~

The holidays are around the corner and if you are like me, you want to find just the right gift for everyone on your list!

The inspiring story of Uncommon Goods ~

The folks at Uncommon Goods wrote to me to introduce themselves and I am super happy that they did!

” In 1999, our founder Dave Bolotsky visited a Smithsonian Museum craft show in Washington D.C. and was captivated by the variety of unique handmade goods and the talented people behind them. He saw there was a significant public demand for beautiful design.”

“We attempt to minimize our environmental impact, working with our artists to use sustainable or recycled materials whenever possible, choosing environmentally friendlier packing materials, and printing our catalog on Forest Stewardship Council [FSC] certified and recycled paper.”

Uncommon Goods focuses on the artists and their stories and supports the creative community. I am super impressed with the message they send and their great big heart. What I loved most about the site is the unique gift items that they have listed. Although it may sound repetitive, these gifts are not typical, they are creative and different, not “common” at all.

A Baseball Adventure: An Insider’s Tour of Dodger Stadium

November 21, 2016

On a rare rainy Sunday in Los Angeles, Craig and I took an insider’s tour of Dodger Stadium. It was an exciting event organized by the UCLA Bruin Alumni and the timing was perfect. We were all licking our wounds from Saturday’s butt-kicking by USC.

It is never a happy day when my Bruins lose a football game to our cross town rivals, but the Trojans certainly and expectedly, outplayed our team. That’s enough of football, so let us switch over to America’s favorite sport, baseball.

Recently, I have written about the Dodgers and our meeting with our beloved Vin Scully, but today we were privileged to receive a fabulous behind the scenes tour of Dodger Stadium. The tour guides enthusiastically showed us all over the stadium, the dugout, the field, the bull pen, the Clubhouse (no photos please) the weight room, the media room, Vin Scully’s Press Box, a luxury suite and we finished by eating a Dodger Dog from the Top Deck. Simply amazing. Two hours of Dodger statistics, trophies and memorabilia was most certainly a little bit of heaven on earth for Craig and I.