good luck deluxe

There are no words to describe what a Cosi sandwich does to me. One bite and I am in paradise. The angels are singing, and bells are ringing!

When I lived in Washington, D.C., I was at Cosi so often the staff knew me by name!
You gotta love a place that serves spiced hot apple cider in the dead of winter.

You can even invest in Cosi and buy their stock. It would be worth every invested dollar. I mean, LOOK AT THEIR MENU!

I’ll tell you what Cosi’s secret is: that curiously good crackly flatbread. I did a Google search searching for their flatbread recipe to sleuth out what their undisclosed ingredients are, but alas, the coveted recipe has yet to be discovered.

Some have come close to the recipe, but with no cigar. I think what makes Cosi’s “crackly” flatbread so addictive is that they put crack in it to keep us coming back to them.

Disclaimer: I am KIDDING, of course! But since this is my blog, I took the liberty of making a funny.

Imagine being strung out on crackly flatbread and you have NO access to it whatsoever in the state of California except for freakin’ Temecula and Sacramento! So what’s a craving lady to do? Someone help me out here…I’m JONESING!

And don’t bother telling me to look on Cosi’s web site to see if I can order their flatbread. I already tried. Negative.

I can’t bake worth a ding-a-ling, so trying my hand at whipping up their bread from scratch ain’t gonna transpire anytime soon.

Ooh, I have a solution! Let’s start a petition to urge Cosi to hurry and open more locations throughout the U.S. like pronto…like yesterday.

I love everything about Cosi: their unique sandwiches, crispy pizzas, their signature salad with pears and pistachios…everything!

The day I sink my teeth into another one of their tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwiches or an order of s’mores is a day when I shall endeavor to tote my digital camera to the eatery to snap pictures of my grub.

If you have a Cosi near you, thank your lucky stars…and think of me.

On the bright side, at least we can buy a s’mores kit from Cosi to enjoy at home!

Given the recent fatal pet food recall, I think now is a good time for me to remind my readers of my previous post on cat care, as well as introduce you to other healthy pet food makers.

But before I get into it, let me first say that I would be pissed if my cat died as a result of this recent debacle. I feel for anyone who has lost a pet to this.

I am partial to cats, but be reassured that the sites listed below also carry products for your canine.

In addition to the pet products I have already named in my comprehensive post mentioned above, here are some others that you might like to try:

1. Nature’s Variety. Nature’s Variety even has a line of raw pet foods!

2. Steve’s Real Food

3. Only Natural Pet

4. Raw Advantage Pet Food

5. Sojourner Farms features a pretty cool concept, where you just add raw meat and purified water to the pet food mix which contains the right nutrients for your pet.

As I warned you BEFORE the pet food recall, feed your pets the food that is closest to what they would eat naturally!

Boycott crappy pet food manufacturers, and insist that only quality, NATURAL pet food be produced in the U.S. and abroad.

Anything less than natural is poison!

Who can resist desserts that are filled with goo? I know I can’t!

This is one blog entry that will have few words. The pictures speak for themselves.

Click on the pics to claim your lava cakes!

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!

This is my ode to MAC Lipglass. Oh, how I love you. Let me count the ways…

There is no other beauty product on earth that I adore more than MAC Lipglass.
It is a godsend.

Wearing Lipglass can make a chick go from homely to sex kitten in three seconds flat.

So what is it about Lipglass that I love so much? Truthfully, I think it’s the texture.
MAC Lipglass is tacky and sticky. I like this. It feels good on my lips, and looks like
patent leather. Nice!

Lipglass has shine for days. I can apply it at 9am, and by 6pm, it’s still shining. Wondrous stuff! No other lipgloss can compete.

As if that weren’t enough, most Lipglass colors have these teeny metallic sparklies in them that look totally electric on the lips. They shimmer and gleam in any lighting!

I am married to two Lipglass colors, so I guess I’m a bit of a cosmetic polygamist.
Oh Baby and Lychee Luxe are the ultimate Lipglass colors. There is not a woman alive who doesn’t look fab in either color!

Oh Baby is a sparkly, cinnamony, sheer color that works as a neutral tone. Lychee Luxe is a coral, pinkish color that is über-feminine and girly. These colors are just gorgeous!
Some of my girl readers are nodding their heads in agreement right now.

Even when I’m down in the doldrums, the second I start applying my Lipglass, I feel back in the swing of things. Life is good!

Who would ever think a cosmetic item could cause such an emotional reaction in a girl?

I can’t express enough what a difference having a showerhead that filters out chlorine and other nasties has made in the look and feel of my hair and skin…even my lungs!

It’s such a simple concept, but oh so beneficial. Filtered showerheads rock!

My skin used to be so sensitive after I would take a shower, and my hair felt gummy and gross. I couldn’t figure out why. It only happened once I moved to Los Angeles.

Three words: poor water quality.

You know that burning sensation you feel in your lungs post-shower? Believe me when I say chlorine vapor is the culprit. Isn’t that disgusting?

Bathing kids and pets in chlorine-filled H2O is one of the worst things you can do to them. I would never bathe a newborn baby in heavily-chlorinated water.

Folks, I hate to be the bearer of bad news…but that white, ashy crust on your skin may not be dry skin. And likewise, that film on your hair may be the result of chlorine buildup.

You can pile on the conditioners and lotions, but if you’re covered in chlorine, they simply won’t penetrate.

I am certain that the chlorine in my shower water is what was making my face all acne-prone and itchy, and made my hair so gnarly and matted.

Once I installed a filtered showerhead, my hair and skin absorbed conditioners and lotions like a dream. My skin is no longer dry, and it is virtually flawless. My hair is so soft now!

I could tell an enormous difference even after the first shower with my new showerhead. I use less soap and less shampoo and conditioner this way because they actually reach my skin and hair. A little product goes a long way, which is much more economical!

If you have zits, itchy skin, dry and cracked feet, ashy elbows, brittle hair, and burning lungs, you now know the potential evil. Do something about it!

Some of you may tire of my insistence on this Fish on Friday theme, but for those of you who are hardcore carnivores, I am here to gently remind you that eating fish once a week is a nice, healthy change of pace.

I have a good original recipe for pan-seared tilapia. However, I never jotted down the recipe…and for the life of me, I can’t seem to duplicate it. Dont’cha hate when that happens?

So I have the recipe, just not handy at the moment.

I recently landed on an appealing site called A La Zing that showcases all sorts of goodies. A La Zing features tilapia that is well-seasoned with a lemon pepper rub. Their tilapia seems like it might taste similar to mine. So you are in luck!

But what looks even better are the mini pumpkin creme pies that are featured on the
A La Zing site.

Let’s eat our healthy fish so we can inhale those creme tarts without guilt!

I’ll wager that before you tuned into my blog you had no idea that I would be chatting about eggs today. I invented the word “unpredictable,” folks.

Eggs…on a luxury-oriented site? Oh yes, my friend. These are luxurious eggs to which I’m referring.

Eggland’s Best organic eggs are incredible. I love them! They are mucho, molto tasty.

All this is coming from someone who swore off eggs since childhood because my aunt once told me that an egg, being that it is unfertilized, is essentially a chicken’s period. I could not bring myself to eat eggs of any kind after that. And you could forget about me eating runny eggs! Hey, thanks for the memories, Auntie.

After I read some literature on Eggland’s Best, I was convinced that these eggs were outside the realm of being anything other than a chicken’s most noble offerings.

This is what Eggland’s Best has to say about its premium product:

“Because the diet of Eggland’s Best hens is superior, Eggland’s Best hens lay nutritionally superior eggs. Eggland’s Best eggs come from hens fed a patented, all-natural, all-vegetarian diet.

It contains no animal fat, no animal by-products, and no recycled or processed food, and Eggland’s Best never uses hormones, antibiotics, or steroids of any kind. The feed contains only healthy grains, canola oil, and an all-natural supplement of rice bran, kelp, alfalfa meal, and Vitamin E.

Producing a high-quality real egg is and has always been the top priority at Eggland’s Best. All Eggland’s Best varieties are produced to superior quality standards and are examined on-site by a USDA inspector. Eggland’s Best conducts more than 30,000 laboratory tests each year, on the feed and on the eggs, to ensure that our eggs have lower levels of cholesterol and saturated fat and higher levels of Vitamin E, iodine, and Omega 3.”

They don’t even taste like eggs! Not when you compare them to those grainy, chewy things called eggs that we had eaten for years before the big organic food and nutrition renaissance.

Eggland’s Best eggs are wonderful however they are prepared. The color of these eggs when scrambled is remarkable; they’re a fresh, light-yellow hue. The delicate texture is great, too. And the flavor? Can’t be beat! They taste so pure…like how an egg is supposed to taste.

Do give Eggland’s Best eggs a nibble, if you haven’t yet tasted them. You will notice the difference immediately. Pinky swear!

I absolutely love this Lazy Susan pedestal table featured on the Horchow site.

I have a serious thing for Horchow.

It’s probably because I grew up in an ornate house surrounded by Horchow everything. Whatever Horchow made, my mother had to have it. UPS was literally at our door every other day.

Gee, now we see where my penchant for pretty things comes from.

This Lazy Susan ensemble is the perfect platform for casual entertaining. I can so envision having fondue and tapas parties at this comfy table set.

Did someone say pass the tapenade? Sure, let me swivel this table ’round your way right quick. Isn’t this the neatest furniture concept ever?! What’s more, the table’s seating is ultra-cozy and booth-like. I am lovin’ it!

A close second is Horchow’s Avignon table; which, to my knowledge, doesn’t have the cool swivel feature…but is beautiful nonetheless:

Horchow’s dining furniture just might entice your guests to overstay their welcome.
So be sure to invite only the coolest crowd!

Wow - I’m popular! You like me…you really like me!

I am happy to report that Paul Johnson, whose blog is A Luxury Travel Blog, added my blog to his list of favorite luxury blogs on his L-List.

So it’s official: I am a bona fide luxury blogger!

If you are a luxury blogger, join in on the excitement and follow Paul’s instructions on how to spread the word!

Here is a list of luxury-oriented blogs my readers will love:

A Luxury Travel Blog
B Glam
blavish
Blog-Tique
Deluxe Blog.it
eLuxury
Foodaholic
GourmetStation
High Chic
Janus Thinking
Just Luxe
Living the Luxe Life
Lussorian
Luxist
Luxury Web
Luxury Home Digest
Luxury Housing Trends
Luxury Portfolio
Luxury Reviewer
Luxus.fr
Restaurant Girl
Social Diva
Sybarites
Tango Diva
The Delicious Life
The Informed Traveler
The Lobby
Vagablond
Vinography
Wine Goddess

Enjoy!

I don’t know when my addiction to carbonated beverages began. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that my bottles were spiked with Pepsi and Sprite as a baby.

I always knew carbonation was bad for me, but I never realized just how bad it is until I stopped consuming it altogether.

Suddenly, my waistline is cinched and more slender. I don’t look or feel puffy anymore. I’m not gassy. Not that perfect me ever had issues with gas, I’m just saying…

I could only wonder, what in the world does carbonation do to the human body to make it expand and swell like I had experienced? It must be pretty potent stuff to cause me to loosen my belt buckle a notch after partaking in it.

I always heard that most sodas are acidic. I had no idea that Coca-Cola has a pH level of 3 on the pH scale. A lemon has a pH value somewhere in the range of a 2! That is really scary, and makes me want to develop amnesia as to how much Coke I have sucked down over the years.

Add the phosphorus and calcium-leaching factor to your soda, and you have a sure-fire recipe for rotting teeth, acid reflux, calcium loss, and bone weakness.

I’m not referring to the occasional soda drinker. That is NOT the person in question here. I’m talking about those of us with an addiction to sodas that we just can’t seem to shake.

You know who you are. You drank more than five cans of Coke yesterday. Or maybe you switched to Diet Pepsi because you thought it was a healthy substitute.

I am proud to say that, save for the occasional glass of champagne (of which I will never completely abstain), I am now an avid water drinker. My food tastes better! I’m slimmer!

My best advice on the topic is to ease up on the sodas, tapering off gradually. I never thought I could do it, but I have.

This may sound trite, but if I could do it - anyone can. Here’s to your health!