21 Habits of Happy People
Without facebook, how in the world would we ever catch up on reading random new agey affirmation articles? I really enjoyed this one, it’s a good reminder for all of us: 21 Habits of Happy People Happy Thursday!
Tag: Happiness
Salmon Fishin’
Last weekend gave me the amazing opportunity to go salmon fishing on my buddy’s boat. That’s been a major one on my list! Here’s the lovely vessel, Overtime, fitting because its owner has spent 500 hours on her in the last year. He can load …
Another Vintage Picnic at Daisy’s
Sometimes I wish I could buy a magazine company just so my friend, Daisy, could organize all the shoots, spreads, creative content and distribution of it. She just makes everything pretty.
To kickoff an especially great weekend, she hosted a gal party at the pond down the road from her house. I laughed and bonded in great company, with sunshine, music, food, and an invigorating swim across the pond to make me feel like an Olympian (with a floating noodle assist).
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| A preparty shot from Daisy |
It really doesn’t matter how pretty the place is, how classy the drinks or how artfully prepared the food is. Despite matching linens and handmade decor sewed fresh for the occasion, I know that at Daisy’s place, I will always feel welcome and special.
Meyer lemon finished campagne from Della Fattoria with local cheeses.
Fresh cherries, apricots and raspberries with St. Germain cocktails.
And that was only the beginning of the weekend …
Arts of the Islamic World
Okay, how much do you know about Islamic art? Because I know nothing. So to continue with neato things from the Met, here are some snapshots from the tour of Arts in the Islamic World. Notice the importance of symmetry, arches, and the use of …
The Purpose Fairy
I read a couple articles from this blog last week and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things a lot, especially improving my mindset and my world around me. This list was going around Facebook the other …
Birthday Weekend Picnic Baskets
What a weekend! One of my bestie’s had a joint birthday/anniversary party, which turned into an impromptu weekend camping trip. Need inspiration for easy entertaining at your next big turnout?
The culinary highlight was individual picnic baskets, to cut down on dishes. (She thinks of everything!)
Also included were (French Laundry) lemon tarts, fresh fruit, asparagus flatbread, and smoked salmon tartar on cucumber.
Each basket contained: an abalone po’boy sandwich, personally foraged by Daisy’s husband, Trout; a mason jar filled with potato salad (the classy Alice Waters one, not the mayonnaisy kind); a homemade chocolate chip cookie and wrapped caramel; and my special caesar salad (recipe to be revealed soon).
Now that it’s summer, I recommend food that can be served cold. It’s way easier to assemble and you have a little more leeway in serving time. Get an assembly line going for something like sandwiches, and the sides should be one-dish wonders like pasta salad, cous cous, or greens. Make it easier on yourself and invite friends to bring something, or at the very least, wine and apps.
What kind of parties will you be throwing this summer?
Getting Back!
I’ve been in a good mood this week. The days are longer, the world is warming up, and last but not least, my elbow is finally showing some signs of normalcy! Last night I went to yoga for the first time since my fall in …
Signs of Spring
The daffodils are here, making it officially spring in Bodega! Here’s to longer days and more sunshine.
Life is Like a Shop of Chocolates
If I hadn’t spent some wasted time today drooling over pictures of pastry in Google images, I never would have stumbled upon photos of my old staging spot in France!
Okay, a little more background. Just after culinary school, I went to Europe for 6 months where I worked as a trainee for La Varenne. I applied for the scholarship through Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, which led to being whisked away to lovely Burgundy for two months of recipe testing and kitchen assistance with five other lovely ladies. In exchange, we were granted the opportunity to stage for a month with a real French chef, and voila! Instant fairytale.
It was like a dream. And I didn’t want to wake up, so I stayed an extra month before a backpacking extravaganza.
That was back in 2005. Was that really seven years ago? I’ve done a terrible job of staying in touch (mostly due to my poor written French skills), and after some basic updates over the years, the last I heard was the shop had been quiet in 2008 when I referred a friend there to do a short stint in the kitchen. As of today, I wasn’t even sure the shop was still open!
Until I found photos from Adventures in Toulouse (top and bottom), who even linked to the chocolaterie’s web site (middle two pics). They have a web site now! I love the internet for eventually closing in on all communication gaps in the world. I’m still in shock, although I shouldn’t be, since everyone has a website or facebook page now.
The memories are coming back in full force. I can almost taste the lemon tarts.
The irony being that I have been writing a book about this shop for seven years and am now kicking it into gear to get it to press. Wow, I think that’s the first time I’ve announced the project. This was a real kick in the behind for me to get back in touch and move forward.
And all I needed was an American in France to remind me of that.
Address the Present Moment
My fabulous aunt introduced me to the blog by Flux Capacitor a couple months ago. I check in when I need sensitive insight and feel starved for rich writing. The other day I stumbled upon this beautiful post from her and I think you should, too. …