Knit beanies, Northface slickers, jeans, fashionable rainboots and Jack Purcells were the uniform of the day on a very rainy Sunday in downtown San Francisco. So where are all the twenty-somethings going for the best food I have had in quite a while? Sweet Maple.
The month of December is a perfect time of year to share a few itinerary ideas for visiting one of my favorite places, Pasadena, California. The Rose Bowl, The Tournament of Roses New Year’s Day Parade and perfect weather, draw thousands of people to the city every December. When you watch the parade on television you can clearly see the majestic San Gabriel Mountains that are just north of the city and so beautiful. Blue skies and bright sunshine are especially enticing to those that are experiencing a harsh winter.
Our recent anniversary trip to the enchanting island of Maui was filled with new adventures. Hoping to expand our Hawaiian foodie education, we really wanted to immerse ourselves into the amazing local Maui food scene. In my recent post about Maui, I shared how in addition to staying in luxury hotels, we love to eat great food and …
The island of Maui is one of those spectacular travel destinations that whatever you choose to do or see, it will never disappoint you! Sit back, relax and do nothing or fill your day with activities, you will be happy! Everywhere you look is breathtakingly beautiful, the weather is near perfect year round, the local tropical …
Isn’t it exhilarating when you stumble upon something fabulous that you didn’t know exist? My friend Jen sent me a link and video a couple of years ago about this unique dinner in a field on a farm. Fast forward to our busy, crazy life and we just did not pursue this opportunity… shame on us. But a couple of months ago another foodie and longtime friend Denise, asked me if I was attending an Outstanding in the Field dinner in Temecula, which was only about 90 minutes from my house. No! I wasn’t! Of course it was sold out, so I got busy looking at their upcoming schedule to finally find a date and location we could attend!
Combining our love for delicious, inspiring dishes and adventure, attending an incredible outdoor feast with Outstanding in the Field, would be the perfect food adventure for us! These innovative entrepreneurs of this new dinner idea knew that other people shared their love for authentic, fresh-picked, organic farm fresh food too. How much fun would it be to actually eat this food right there in the fields of the farms? Finding such an interesting, new foodie concept is like receiving an unexpected present! We were so thrilled to attend.
A working community farm nestled in the middle of Hollywood? Yes, it really does exist. This charming site is called Wattles Farm and it has been a community garden since 1975. We found it so surprising that such a wonderful oasis of farmland was smack in the middle of Hollywood of all places!
The land on which the community garden is now located was once part of the grounds of an elegant forty-nine acre estate. “Jualita,” as it was then known, was the winter home of Gurdon Wattles, a businessman and banker from Omaha, Nebraska.
The current garden still contains the original citrus and avocado groves that were planted for the mansion in 1907. Through an initiative of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s community gardening program, the lower 4.2 acres were transformed into this wonderful, organic, community garden.
All of Seattle wore a costume to work on Friday, October 30th and my daughter was no exception. She dressed as “Sheena the punk rocker” and had no time to change before the cooking class.
Me: Hi, nice to meet you cooking classmate, this is my daughter Alex, and whispered (she’s wearing a costume).
This is Seattle after all, “Sheena” fits in quite well. People in the class were not quite sure how to approach Sheena, however they were very nice and when I shared with them that this was her costume, they seemed a little relieved.
Just under the wire on October 30th we attended an Oktoberfest Cooking Class at The Hot Stove Society in downtown Seattle. Hot Stove Society is a year round cooking school operated by Tom Douglas Restaurants. They offer curriculum that offers a wide range of classes from light hearted and sociable, to ones that are more challenging. My daughter Alex (Sheena) and I drank beer, ate homemade pretzels, sampled delicious bratwurst, Weiner Schnitzel (yum) and Classic Raclette. Who doesn’t love melting cheese?
Outside Lands reigns supreme in my new world of music festivals. A three day, thoroughly engaging, eclectic, excessively HUGE, outstanding music festival for all ages. Who knew that two people in their mid-fifties could mix and mingle successfully with the hipsters, hippies and young music lovers in their 20’s and 30’s? Designed to showcase over 100 bands and offer headliners like Elton John, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, Sam Smith and even Billy Idol. I expected to like it, but I honestly loved every morsel.
A brilliant plan… I think. Inviting our adult children to join us on a vacation in Napa Valley and San Francisco takes quite a bit of planning. Four schedules to contend with and four strong opinions,(as well as enthusiasm) were all considered and a plan was created. The truth is that the kids and Craig truly …
There is never a shortage of amazing food markets in New York City. Picking a favorite is like choosing which of your friends you like best..impossible! Just like with the number of friends, the more markets the better! When we travel, one of our favorite activities (besides eating) is to visit local and specialty markets in …
Do you have a vegetable garden? To witness the joy my father receives from creating and tending to his vegetable garden warms my heart. He spends time creating traps and concocting methods to out smart the varmints in the yard. The damn squirrels ate the cucumbers and the bunnies are nasty too. Dad and his wife …
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