My Favorite Afternoon in Maui ~ It included goats & vodka!

December 29, 2015November 23, 2015

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 …

Empty Nest Renovation Update, Marriage & Midlife

March 24, 2020November 19, 2015

I just wanted to give you an update to the downsize and Empty Nest Renovation adventure! We so appreciate all of your support and good vibes sent our way! We are just about halfway through…if you stick with the 6 months estimate for the renovation. We moved to Seattle, still travel a great deal, …

A Memorable Farm to Table Meal by Outstanding in the Field

November 9, 2015November 9, 2015

Outstanding in the Field

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.

Our dinner location

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.

The Spectacular Presidential Suite ~Hyatt Regency Maui

March 24, 2020November 6, 2015

Presidential Suite at the Hyatt Regency Maui — The colorful living room with lots of comfortable seating!

We seem to be on a roll for upgrades… Thank you to Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa for the extra special attention during our anniversary vacation in Maui. The enchanting island of Maui is our personal favorite of the Hawaiian Islands and staying at a luxury resort is part of the overall experience, however, staying in the Presidential Suite for the night is taking luxury to a new stratosphere!

Golden sunset — A golden sunset from our balcony.

An Oktoberfest Cooking Class with Sheena the Punk Rocker

December 29, 2015November 1, 2015

Halloween Note:

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.

WEINERS! BIER! SCHNITZEL! An Oktoberfest Cooking Class!

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?

Happy Thoughts About Long-Term Marriages

March 24, 2020October 28, 2015

Allow me to declare that any and all anniversaries should be celebrated! Any time a married couple begins another year together it’s fantastic. Long-term marriages are an important milestone and I wouldn’t be me unless I said we also need to find adventure in life too!

Aren’t we all looking for hope? Hope for a great life for our families, for ourselves and for our friends. On social media I see where “likes” of happy things way outnumber the negative. I actually just scroll past the negative. You and I both know that negativity is floating about, I just don’t need to focus on it, but that’s just me.

hugging in the cornfields — In the cornfields in the Pacific Northwest, a couple of years ago

The Beauty of October in Seattle

October 26, 2015

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I know that I am not alone when I express how dazzled I am by the beauty of October. The miracle of autumn takes your breath away, doesn’t it? Who isn’t enchanted by the spectacular changing leaves bursting with color, carving plump pumpkins and enjoying the apple cinnamon scent of hot cider. The college football schedule keeps us very busy this time of year and we plan family suppers like delicious chili and belly warming soups. Sunday pasta dinners with homemade marinara sauce are a tradition for us as well.

Jacques Pépin’s 80th Birthday Bash With Tom Douglas

October 19, 2015October 19, 2015

Jacques Pépin is a culinary icon, a husband, a father, a grandpa, a best friend and just an all-around wonderful man with a sexy French accent. As long as I have loved the food world, I have loved Jacques Pépin. I started my culinary journey, thirty years ago, as a newly married woman, soaking up every …

Gone to Maui …

October 12, 2015

We have up and gone to Maui! For our 31st wedding anniversary we are checking out the brand new Hyatt Residence Club in Kaanapali, Maui. Someone has to do it. We promise to think of you as we drink a Mai Tai or two watching the magnificent Maui sunset. I will be back in a …

Four things I’ve learned from living in Seattle for one month.

October 9, 2015

It has been almost exactly 30 days since we started our #6monthsinSeattle adventure.

We drove for three days and nights from California to Washington and the drive was (mostly) fun.

I have already learned lots of great things about the city as well as myself from living in Seattle just in one short month!

1. I can live with much less “stuff”.

We started this whole downsize to a smaller house adventure and I knew that we would need to purge our belongings because the new house is half the size of the old one. We ended up storing about two thirds of our personal possessions in storage and kept one third to be used in the new house.

While we were renovating the house and had to move out, we then hatched the brilliant plan to move to Seattle, to be near our daughter after nine years of living apart, in an urban high rise… in a teeny tiny apartment.

We then had to pare down our belongings even more because of the lack of room and closet space in our apartment. Evidently, I can live without a great deal of what I already own.

In one month, I have not longed for or whined for any of my other clothes, dishes, glasses, books, etc that are packed away and inaccessible.