I love when parents capture their kids’ silly moments on video and share them with us.
This short video has been floating around the Internet, and I feel obliged to share it with my readers, for those who haven’t yet seen it.
She is absolutely PRECIOUS!
If you think you’re gonna come on here whining and moaning about this child using profanity, you better take a sip and listen to it again - she says “ASK.”
Watch it twice to get the full effect. It’s funnier each time you see it. If that were my child, I would have videotaped it, too!
After all, every toddler has to defend her family against scary monsters, right?
My LoveBug and I had a cozy, relishable dinner at Ford’s Filling Station last night, which is owned by Harrison Ford’s son, Benjamin Ford.
Thank God LoveBug didn’t tell me the name of the establishment in advance, or I would’ve dug in my spiked heels and flat-out refused. Ford’s Filling Station?!
As an Executive Chef from Italy, my LoveBug takes pride in being beyond the foodie realm. He doesn’t just know or love food, he becomes one with it. Unified.
I have met my match in a man who is even more passionate about gourmet food than I!
The gods must be listening…or reading my blog!
Since LoveBug is so wildly ardent about his food, I let him do the ordering…anything but meat. The difference between dating a barbaric Alpha Male type of guy and a more sweet, sensory-keen, sensual man is like night and day. Every lady needs one in her life.
I realized last night that I can never go back to dating men whose idea of a great dinner is whatever American restaurant chain happens to have their lights on during the drive home from the office.
Ford’s Filling Station is casual elegance. It reminds me very much of the trattorias I used to frequent when I lived in Italy. Ford’s is bustling with chatty, communal patrons.
Last night, I was so exhausted after work that I didn’t have the mental wherewithal to fuss about and be a Diva over a restaurant menu. As long as it was quality food, I was putting fork to mouth. So truth be told, I can only detail what I ate in laywoman’s terms, having only glanced at the menu.
My primary focus was the wine and spirits list!
The wine list at Ford’s was extensive and definitely made an impact. Good wine is not optional there…it’s all they serve! I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw my beloved Veuve Clicquot sharing paper space with all the other beverage starlets.
But since it was only Thursday, and not yet cause for an all-out celebration, I had a glass of uncomplicated Pinot Grigio. Truthfully, I was more impressed with the aesthetics of my wine glass than the contents of it. That’s not to say the Pinot wasn’t remarkable, because it certainly was.
Note to self: Call Ford’s and get the name of their wine glass supplier.
On to the sustenance…
For starters, we shared a gorgeous wild greens salad that was tossed in a basic vinaigrette and served with a side of gooey burrata. The consistency of burrata grosses me out (wet Play-Doh, anyone?), so I offered up no resistance when LoveBug snagged it off my plate.
Then we shared this long, thin-crusted pizza-ish thing that was topped with a
white bean paste of some sort, huge shrimp, fresh herbs, lemons, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Slurp!
LoveBug had some sort of sea bass that he was so into, he fell silent for 20 minutes.
I had the brook trout with chopped hazelnuts and cream and a side of broccoli rabe.
It was such an odd combo, but a happy marriage nonetheless. Super sexy food!
I was surprised to see so many fish and seafood preparations on the menu at Ford’s.
Our humble French server was a joy. The managers made their rounds throughout the restaurant to check on the tables, and even refilled our water glasses. The glass is never half-empty at Ford’s!
Other restaurants and waitstaff — TAKE NOTES!
Ford’s Filling Station
9531 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 202-1470
What I am about to tell you is case in point why I am leery about following other people’s recommendations. It is exactly why I try things for myself and come to my own conclusions.
Very few people share my specific taste in things, and I usually end up beyond disappointed when taking someone else’s advice to try a product.
I do realize that this begs the question - don’t I have some nerve running a
product recommendation-oriented blog while saying I don’t pay any mind to other people’s “must try,” “Holy Grail” products?
Nerve is my middle name.
Oftentimes, if something is all the rage and everyone is jumping on a product bandwagon, that is my cue that I won’t like it…even celebrity endorsements and recommendations.
I was in the mood to do Starbucks today, and instead of my usual Breve Latte or
Caramel Frapp, I did a little online sleuthing and even asked a couple of folks who were standing nearby what specialty beverages they prefer at Starbucks.
I got a resounding, “Their Peppermint Mocha is a must. It’s incredible!”
Off I went to try my luck at this…
Maybe it was just the particular Starbucks I went to, but this drink was DIS-GUST-ING! Foul. Wretched.
It tasted like peppermint water. It was all thin and watery with a vague hint of artificial peppermint and a ring of bitter mocha residue that was defiantly clumped at the bottom of my cup…never to mix in with the likes of peppermint water.
To add insult to injury, my drink had the gall to be lukewarm!
This set the tone for my entire day.
I drank the daggone thing because I wasn’t going to allow my entire day to be gobbled up by Starbucks AND my four hard-earned dollars, to boot!
Then I realized, Starbucks is really hit or miss for me across the board. It’s a crapshoot. Sometimes the baristas get it right and serve you a hot drink per the chain’s specifications, other times they don’t.
Woe to the individual who is anywhere near me on days when a Starbucks
drink maestro neglects to put foam on my Breve Latte, or only fills my cup halfway.
I have zero patience for Starbucks’ inconsistency. I don’t care which celebrity is featured on the cover of a tabloid wearing sunglasses and drinking it.
The next time I see a dark sunglasses-wearing celebrity toting a Starbucks drink as an attention-getting ploy, I will silently snicker to myself. Yeah, you’re really cool…so chic!
But all is not lost, friends… There’s always Urth Caffe…for those of us in Los Angeles,
at least. Or in a pinch, Dunkin’ Donuts might suffice. I hear they make a mean
cup o’ basic joe.
Either that, or invest in an impressive home espresso machine.
Ever since I began experimenting with Dominican hair products ten years ago, I knew I wanted to be as close to the Dominican Republic as possible. I have yet to visit the DR, but believe me when I say it is next on my travel list.
I can, however, point you in the direction of some of the best that the Dominican Republic has to offer: an online cooking forum, a great Dominican cookbook, a fun Dominican Republic chat board…and a luxury villa!
I am a long-time member of Dominican Cooking, a wonderful online forum whose main focus is members sharing delectable Dominican recipes with each other.
It is that forum where I learned how to make authentic sofrito, Dominican stews,
fish in coconut sauce, Dominican tortilla (egg casserole), tostones, cassava dishes, Caribbean rice casseroles, Dominican salads and veggies, and more.
How clever of the founders of Dominican Cooking to expand on their site and also create their own comprehensive Dominican cookbook!
Click this pic to order your copy securely from Amazon:
For those of you who learn best by association, visit DR1, an excellent message board where you can chat to your heart’s delight with others about all things Dominican.
As for luxury boarding…
Villa Costa Norte is a magnificent Caribbean luxury vacation villa rental located on the pristine northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Recently renovated and redecorated, this oceanfront Dominican Republic villa vacation rental is offered as the perfect spot for Dominican Republic family reunions, paradise island weddings, elegant Dominican Republic parties, Dominican Republic corporate vacation retreats, and even Dominican Republic romantic getaways.
Nestled along a sea cliff overlooking one of the most beautiful bays, each one of its luxury Dominican Republic villa bedroom suites offers a wide, breathtaking view of the ocean.
Villa Costa Norte provides a perfect Caribbean rental villa with six (6) huge bedroom suites with king and queen size beds; one suite is perfect for the kids with 2 bunk beds! Plus, each of the luxury villa bedrooms has its own private balcony, ceiling fan, full ensuite bathroom and elegant tropical designs. Take your meals overlooking the ocean, get a spectacular massage on your private balcony or just sit in a hammock read and snoozing the day away.
The one-of-a-kind private villa pool was specifically designed for relaxation and total enjoyment. Lounge in the pool while our dedicated villa staff serves you drinks poolside or pampers you with a wonderful oceanview massage.
Awesome!
Hey, if you live in the Dominican Republic or know it well and would like to be my
tour guide, just say the word.
Have you ever had caramel cake? Caramel is always a good thing. Combine it with cake, and I am THERE!
I wonder how good caramel cake would be slightly warmed, to melt the caramel and make it gooey…and then top it with a scoop of premium vanilla ice cream!
Recalling a lost southern tradition, rich caramel stars in this magnificent seven-layer cake. The moist golden yellow cake is iced with time-honored caramel frosting and oozes southern charm.
It is also available iced with a rich chocolate ganache made with fine Valrhona and Scharffen Berger chocolate and happily serves 10.
Click on the cake picture to savor this cake with me.
Note: Concerned about sugar and carbs, or are you or someone you know diabetic? You’ve got to try Insulow. Click here to read my review of this awesome carb and sugar-reducing product that WORKS. Insulow is how I can eat all of these delicious sweets without guilt. I have taken Insulow for years and love it!
I had considered starting a fund on this blog for all of you to contribute to the purchase of my dream car…the Bentley Continental GTC.
However, my tact and decorum got the better of me, and I decided instead to just blog about it, work smarter at my day job, and save my hard-earned shekels.
How long would it take anyway to gather upwards of $150,000-200,000 of PayPal donations? How many people would it take? It would probably take ten lifetimes to accumulate that much wealth by blogging!
Given the fact that Bentleys are meticulously hand-crafted and weigh a couple of tons, I see a valid reason for them to cost double and triple what a Mercedes costs.
Here are the GTC’s specifics, per the Bentley Motors site…
On the interior:
“Traditional features like the bulls-eye air vents and the organ stop controls are exquisitely framed by wood veneers. Premium grade leather hide is also employed to soft surfaces, including the trim around the sporting gear selector and hand-stitched steering wheel. Knurled brightware controls and a choice of premium wood veneers exemplify the craftsman’s touch.
On its veneers:
In the two weeks that it takes to prepare the wood for the interior, the veneers are given five coats of lacquer and three days of curing time before being wax polished by hand. Bentley uses no bleaching; the rich colour of the wood veneers is entirely natural.
Bentley is the only coachbuilder to use mirror patterns when applying wood veneers, placing four successive leaves end to end to make a symmetrical pattern across the fascia, a process known as book matching.
Each leaf of veneer can be traced back to the tree it came from. Each tree felled for veneer is replaced with another, and great care is taken never to use endangered wood species.
Regarding the GTC’s leather hides:
To avoid any variation in texture between the different hides, they are selected and cut at the same time. Even something as slight as an insect bite will cause a hide to be rejected. Which is why our hides are selected from Northern Europe, renowned for their remarkable scarcity of imperfections.
Steering wheels are double-stitched by hand using one continuous piece of thread, taking approximately five hours to cover one steering wheel.”
Hey - I’m sold, I’m sold! Say no more…just tell me where to sign!
Guys, next to diamonds, chocolate-dipped strawberries are the ULTIMATE token of affection for your girl.
Ladies, can you think of anything tastier?
Since I am NOT a lover of cherries and chocolate, you wouldn’t think that I’d go gaga over chocolate-coated strawberries. But I am crazy about them. They make me go loopy!
I am so excited about publishing this post on my blog that my fingers are moving faster than my mind, and I have to keep backspacing to fix my typos!
So without further adieu, here are some of the gems that
Shari’s Berries offers…
From the Wedding Collection, Wedding Berries:
And while I’m at it, Tuxedo Berries:
A lovely assortment of Fancy Berries:
And a silver plated tray of Fancy Berries:
The company even features yogurt-covered berries and a sugar-free variety!
Shari’s Berries are the Lexuses and Bentleys of the berry confection world.
Just let me know when you’re ready to jot down my address to rush me a stash!
I readily confess that I am not a pretzel lover. At all. I never get pretzel cravings, and I have yet to actually buy a bag of them. Pretzels are kind of, well…bland. Blah.
Nothing special. Even the new seasoned varieties leave much to be desired in my book.
Well, desire no more. Introducing Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Stuffed Pretzels,which features oodles of stuffed pretzel varieties to choose from. They even use high-protein unbleached wheat flour!
Kim & Scott’s has a flavor for everyone…for the pizza lover, the breakfast person
(Stuffed Twisted Omelette), the cheesecake lover, the fruit fanatic, and everyone in between! They even have a flavor for a spicy jalapeño freak like me.
Here is Kim & Scott’s 12 Months of Pretzels lineup:
January - Stuffed Mixed Berry & Cream Cheese
February - Stuffed Grilled Cheese Pretzel™
March - Stuffed Chocolate Fudge Crumb
April - Stuffed Savory Herb & Cream Cheese
May - Stuffed Pizza Pretzel™
June - Stuffed Apple Cinnamon
July - Sourdough Asiago
August - Stuffed Cinnamon Roll
September - Stuffed Spinach Feta
October - Pumpkin Cheesecake
November - Cranberry Crumb
December - Cheddar Jalapeño
You know me… I’m not one to withhold this kind of pertinent information from my readers!
This blog entry is enough to incite war between militant vegans, vegetarians and I. Hey, bring it on!
But seriously, since I am a peace lover, and strive to bypass potential drama, let’s take a moment to review my Disclaimer before I get someone’s panties in a bunch over this post:
I fully understand that true vegans do not consume any animal flesh whatsoever, nor do they wear animal products such as leather. Understood. I have been both vegan and a strict vegetarian for extended periods of time and I didn’t fancy either. I also know that lacto-ovo (dairy and egg-consuming) vegetarianism is frowned upon by vegetarian fanatics. I am neither referring, nor relating myself to, either group. So chill.
Every summer for as long as I can remember, I just stop eating meat (chicken, lamb and beef). It’s never really this big conscious enlightenment thing, it just sort of happens organically, so to speak. I simply lose a taste for it when the weather heats up.
Oh sure, I’ll eat organic eggs, a touch of organic dairy, wild-caught fish and shellfish, but not meat.
And every summer, I automatically slim down as a result of this. The whites of my eyes become whiter, too. My sense of smell is also oddly enhanced.
It is my unscientific theory that I have a bad reaction to the growth hormones in standard U.S. meat. I mean, a BAD reaction. I puff, I swell…OH LOOK - here comes the Michelin Man!
I don’t digest red meat and chicken well AT ALL. Never have. But when you grew up eating soul and comfort food (jerk chicken, anyone?), meat just becomes what you do…even if you don’t do it well.
Maybe that’s why I’m so big on my Fish on Friday theme. For me, fish is a flakier, much lighter protein for my body to digest. I have no after-effects of eating it occasionally.
My last hurrah with meat was my virtually orgasmic meal at a popular Ethiopian restaurant two weeks ago. I haven’t touched meat since then, and I won’t until end of summer…or maybe never.
Look, I’m not saying I don’t like the taste of a medium-rare steak. Liking the taste and digesting it are two different planets. One has nothing to do with the other.
Even free-range meat consumed in conjunction with a digestive enzyme supplement takes ten centuries to digest in my gut. However, it’s at least a healthier alternative.
On so many levels, I feel better by abstaining from dense animal protein, and I highly recommend giving it a try for a week or two to see what a difference you feel, if you happen to be curious.
Just make sure you’re taking a good whole food-based multivitamin that contains plenty of B-12, iron, and zinc, and your nutritional bases will be adequately covered.
Keep in mind that I am NOT of the ilk that will police what you eat and get into ridiculous semantic battles in discussion to feel holier-than-thou due to my chosen dietary preference.
Some folks are as evil as the day is long, but will crown themselves righteous because they haven’t eaten food with eyes in 12 years. Please don’t lump me in with that bunch. In truth, I couldn’t care less what you eat. I’m simply sharing what I do.
I actually created this long-winded post to announce my latest discovery: a cool blog called The Rosy Pescetarian. That blog contains some truly divine vegetarian and pescetarian recipes and pics.
As for me tonight - sushi buffet and salad bar - make way for Mama!
A glorious thing happened to me today: I had my first Kettle Brand barbeque-flavored, “krinkle cut” crunchy kettle-cooked potato chip. Try saying that ten times!
MAN! These chips are so good they should be illegal. Perfect PMS food!
Blogging about Cosi sandwiches yesterday got me to thinking about what I like to eat with those sammiches. Crunchy potato chips are always in order! But not just any bold chip trying to pass as being kettle-cooked: only Kettle Brand.
I have enjoyed other chip flavors by Kettle Foods, but none grabbed my attention like my experience today with their intense barbeque variety. Those things are dangerous!
Every chip is evenly-blanketed in a spicy, honey BBQ seasoning…with a distinctive honey taste! I’m talking FLAVOR FOR DAYS!
I only trusted myself with a small bag today, but oh the damage I could have done with a large bag! I could inhale a jumbo bag of these Kettle chips in one sitting…easily.
The fact that Kettle Brand uses only pure ingredients and NO trans-fats in its product puts my concerned mind at ease.
It’s all about the rugged texture, the kicky flavor…and the subsequent serotonin rush!
