Month: June 2016

Been Away Much Too Long

I took a week away from everything to regroup. Well, actually to watch my good friend’s dogs while she went on vacation. I decided while placed out in the country, to take a break from all things writing, and online whatever we do day in and day out to pass the time. Before she left on her trip, she told me how badly she wanted to revamp her office space, and so I took it upon myself to give her the surprise of doing just that. The remainder of the time, I played with her beautiful doggies, made-from-scratch dinners, organized her book collection in alphabetical order, experienced Game of Thrones withdrawals, and simply vegged out, avoiding, as I stated earlier, everything online. You know what? Although it felt great to be away from it all,  living a much simpler life for a few days, I missed my blog and my writings so much that here I am  sharing with you some ideas for the 1) 4th of July celebrations,. 2)what is the one thing I …

Lifestyle: Don’t Let Life Pass You By

The night before my birthday I tend to stay up. Not because I want to, but it just happens. I suppose to somehow see where I was a year ago and where I am now, and where I plan or see my self being in the next year. At four in the morning I read an article online titled How To Ruin Your Life Without Even Noticing and read it through. I realized that the article was intended for a much younger crowd. Those just starting out their lives, about to embark on their careers, considering getting married, having kids and all things someone under the age of 40 is programmed  to do. The article talks about how we allow the things we do make us very unhappy, whether we aim to do so or it just happens. And although the article is meant for the under 40 really, I realized I can surely remind myself of some of the things I do to create unhappiness. Here are a few of my favorite observations: You …

Decor: Minimalist Prevails

I know the last thing on everyone’s mind is decor in the midst of the world falling apart or perhaps, revamping itself as its been done a million times before over the centuries. I  skim through the news every morning, then Facebook to see how everyone is going to react to the latest events in the world. The  most recent being  –  UK voting  to leave the EU and the aftermath. I normally don’t like to discuss these topics right off the bat with anyone, because I prefer to take it all in, evaluate the situation, read up on the background/history, cause and effect, and all things that resulted in the choices  one needed to make for the good or (in someone else’s eyes) for the bad of something not too many understand  looking in from the outside. I’ll step off my soap box now and shift gears to something not so serious, although the topic of minimalist decor, if you think about it, can seem as serious a discussion as say….politics. A bland choice to …

Lifestyle: To Eat Out or Not, Among Other Things

I came across this article about Americans eating out more than ever, which then led me to another article about millennial choosing to eat out rather than cook, to something called grocerant. This got me thinking about how we end up reading articles online. I mean I don’t know about you, but I tend to start somewhere, then click on a link embedded within the article and then see a side article and read that one, to another and another, soon obsessing about whatever I wasn’t even thinking about reading in the first place. So you get what I mean – right? Anyway, so this round, I went from the eating out part to the millennials to the idea of grocerants and ended up with the following: See how that happened? Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

A Scene From A Movie – Saturday Brunch

A very dear friend of mine made a surprise visit on Saturday. Meaning she drove into the city, and called me to ask if I wanted to meet her for lunch after her hair appointment. Naturally, I set aside my writing, and jumped into the shower, got dressed, and drove across town to the Marina to meet her. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous for a usually foggy near summer’s day in San Francisco, and when that happens to the city, everyone makes a conscious effort to be outdoors, hence the crazy traffic taking nearly an hour to get across town. I endured thanks to my Pandora station, and after twenty minutes of searching for parking, finally walked into the salon, where we were to meet, seconds before she finished settling her bill. She asked where I wanted to eat, and since I had just passed by a newly  remodeled or revamped restaurant on my way to the salon from where I parked my car, I suggested we give it a try.  Both of us laughing …

Food: Cauliflower Tacos…Need I Brag More

Cauliflower, something I’ve eaten in variation all my life,  has become a trend in recent years for those seeking health conscious diets.  And yes, I use cauliflower as a replacement for rice as a side dish, sandwich fill instead of the salami I used to devour at least once a week, and as a snack with yogurt dip. And now….as filing for tacos… summer or not, this is added to my menu. Check out the recipe here. And you know what is the best part. It’s so easy to make.

Random: I Love It When Learning Never Stops

Strange title for a blog entry you say? Well, this morning while commuting to my day job (haha-see the pun?) I was as usual going through the things I needed to focus on/get accomplished today. Like any other day, my brain is a rolodex filled with things, and I spend the thirty minutes commuting into work, shuffling  the deck in the order I want to work through those things. Unless of course something unexpected happens the night before, requiring me to drop that deck and tend to the whatever….case in most important point-a sick doggy. I reminded myself this morning, that I never stop learning something new every day, even if it’s an old thing, it is a new learned thing. The most influential learnings for me, come from my dog, my hubs, my extended family, and believe it or not from my co-workers.  Who without being aware, manage to teach me about the most interesting of things – about character, values, virtues,  and other matters that make up this  unstable  world of ours. Which …

Sunday Thoughts

I’ve been pretty quiet for the past week…I suppose because life’s obligations has consumed me enough to put aside some things in order to juggle the most important of things.  And then I realized one sleepless night that  RawSilk&Saffron is one of the most important aspects of my life, and it was time I shifted my focus from all of the negative and  determine how far I want to take my site. So I’ve begun discussions with various website hosting companies, and other designers to…update my site to welcome more visitors, and engage on a level, I am too excited about. I am also in the process of putting a solid team together of those interested in contributing to RawSilk&Saffron. Please reach out to me if you are interested. You see there is still so much to do and say here, and I am taking a few more days to finalize the direction I plan to go…so stay tuned if you are a dedicated reader of RS&S, or sign up, if you aren’t.   There …

Lifestyle: You Know What I Miss The Most?

A proper gathering of family and friends, outside of the holidays…that’s what I miss the most. Life has certainly taken a toll on most of my friends and family who seldom get-together at someone’s home for dinner, or cocktails and appetizers and a good old classic film or a board game. No two individuals I know can spare the time to make the time…if you know what I mean. Maybe, it’s an age thing. The older we get the less we make the effort…or we figure Facebook will just have to do…to stay in touch. I would love to  mail, the old-fashioned way, an invite to my family and friends and invite them over for a proper dinner and some good old conversation, and this is how I see it going down: Indoor/Outdoor Set Up:  *inspiration from here and here Pre-Dinner Wine and Cheese Pairing & Catching Up: Salad Exotic for Appetizer:   Main Dish – Coq au Vin & Perfectly seasoned asparagus  Dessert Cake – You had Me with Coconuts and Fresh Fruits: