Year: 2016

Food: Cake And More Cake

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In light of my faithful or most loyal friend’s birthday today – he is 12 or 84 as in dog years :(.  I’ll take 12 since I can’t bear the thought of life without him aging, in my opinion too fast. Anyway, as I swallow the boulder now lodged in my throat for the sentimental thoughts going through my head, I want to share with you two cake recipes I see myself baking, and taking to an old traditional tea party  penciled in on my calendar sometime for late fall or a simple human birthday celebration.      

Lifestyle: For The Love Of Art, French Facade Art That Is…

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As I said before I always end my European vacation in France. Sometimes somewhere in the French Riviera or up north to my most beloved Paris. While in either location,  I’ve often pointed out to my hubs the facade of buildings covered and under renovation, admiring the efforts the French make in keeping the neighborhood aesthetically pleasing no matter all the work involved in their renovation projects or even not so much behind the facade. This sort of art – facade painting –   I adore and certainly felt the need to share. See the before and after pics here. 

Food: Fresh Fruit Delight

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I eat summer fruits in abundance, and although I enjoy every bite of the fresh ones, I sometimes crave the cooked version. To me cooked tastes better than the ripened ones. Just yesterday I bought fresh peaches from Trader Joe, and sliced up two for a snack while I watched a film I planned to review. My face soured at the thought of them being so flavorless. So I told the hubs I planned to cook the rest of them and he gave me the side eye. Wait until he comes home tonight and sees me indulging in this bit of fresh fruit cooked to perfection plus pecans (my favorite), and oh the Crème fraîche, which the recipe recommends, and of course I won’t argue about as an advocate for healthy eating ;). But if you insist, you can replace the creme for plain yogurt of course. I simply won’t be doing that in this case (I have a weakness for Crème fraîche) and know this particular dessert would taste best that way. Here is the recipe, …

Travel: London Eats While On Vacation or Anytime

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A good friend of mine moved to the UK a few months ago, and ever since I’ve been trying to recruit her to become a guest writer on this very site of mine that I love so much. She’s thinking – she’s told me, and after 3 months I realize I am not going to hold my breath. Now although she lives a few hours outside of London, she frequents one of my favorite metropolitan cities quite often – on weekends – and with my recommendations has been testing out the following eateries (which I cannot wait to try when I visit her). In the meantime I am taking her word for the fact that what I think would be worth a try, she is liking every bite of it (nudge nudge). So, just in case you happen to be visiting this fair city, in a country on the brink of making some of the most drastic changes since the EU was  originally formed decades or a century ago depending on how you look at …

Food: Embracing Gelato

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I am sure many of you will chuckle when I say, every person that’s ever been to Italy has certainly stopped at a Gelato stand or a shop or boutique gelato bar and downed a few scoops of gelato – my favorite, in case you ask, being pistachio, or espresso. So, since I’m researching at this moment about all things Italy, this article popped up, explaining why it is that I LOVE 🙂 Gelato.  Here’s the important points, the rest of the article you can read here: “First, traditional gelato has way less butterfat. About 4 to 8 percent of gelato is butterfat, compared to 14 percent for ice cream in the United States. That means gelato freezes less solidly than ice cream (and it’s actually served about 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream), so it melts in your mouth faster.” “Second, gelato has a much higher density. To make ice cream, producers mix cream, milk, sugar — and then add air, which increases volume, and water, which increases weight. But all that …

Travel: Learning from The Ancient World

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I do love history, especially since the information learned helps cope with today’s troubling-troublesome-troubled world.  The most important lessons are those detailing that no matter how advanced civilization is, humanity acts the same when faced with issues that threaten its very existence.  Sad but true. And that’s all I am going to say about this topic. Except if you happen to be one who appreciates history as much as I do, then by all means this travel article is for you.

Travel: Past the London Eye There Is This Place…

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Past the London Eye there is this place, or rather, there are these places worth a trip, especially if you’ve been to London  and the areas more than once, sightseeing the same – the likes of the Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and even the wax museum of sorts. The discovery begin right… {The source of all photos and article here}  

Fashion: Travel Wear

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Normally I wear pants while I travel just to be ready for any adventure while exploring a city or a town on foot. Such as climbing hillsides, stairs, sitting in a park, and all things requiring one to be careful about exposing too much if not dressed appropriately. For this year’s trip I am planning the days since we are going with two friends who have never been to Europe. So I have an idea in advance how I want to dress on particular days. Here are a few  comfy ones I’ve ordered, and hope they are true to size: