Year: 2019

Fashion: Style Parisian and Mermaid Inspired Bodice

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I’ve been too focused on travel these past few weeks, but only because it is that season and I am having withdrawals. Since this year, everyone I normally visit has decided to visit me in San Francisco during the worst of seasons – FOG, and more FOG and cold and no visibility, just white with much sprinkles. 🙂 So fashion came to be the topic today because, I happen to love Parisian style, and Italian ones and the idea of creativity in terms of design.

Travel: Cornwall, England Did Not Disappoint

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I fell in-love with Cornwall in May 2018, after carefully spending a month before planning a trip there. The thing about Cornwall is that it is best experienced driving and since I have family living in England, this option was a simple matter of getting them to take me around in a car, the incentive, an all-expense paid week long holiday. You see, I am not yet confident in driving on the other side of the road in England – being an American and all. But after the six plus hours it took us to get to a destination which normally – or on American roads – take about two hours for a 200 mile drive, in this case from near London – Cornwall did not disappoint. Sadly, the destination is a place I know I need to discover again, in great detail – because normally the first trip anywhere is just touching up on the surface of things and only staying in touristy areas. Next time it will be beaches and more breaches…where the …

Food: Apricots and Chamomile Panna Cotta

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Two separate recipes I found here, reminding me of my childhood indeed. The sad thing is I hardly remember much of my past, until I see something online and BAM! It all comes back, like how to preserve apricots and chamomile Panna Cotta with cherries –  that’s all I’m saying. Do you watch the Hallmark channel? If so, have you seen Rome in Love ? Let me know what you think? Have you read the book? And what you think of books turned to movies? 

Decor: From Around The World

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Aren’t you a bit curious about decor trends from around the world? I am, and the idea of incorporating a few suggestions into our homes is actually something that’s happened for centuries in the most interesting of styles.  So this article stood out for me today, and I had to share some of my favorites:

Tuesday Five Things Which Have Me Thinking

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I’ve been working on a final edit for my third novel, which is long overdue to being released to the world. 🙂 But, in all fairness, I allowed life to get in the way of maintaining a schedule. Instead choosing to put on a shelf my novel, in order to free up time to handle the most pressing of issues that continued to sneak up and shuffle the norm. So that’s today’s thought. So, this morning, while thumbing through my phone at the doctor’s office waiting to see a specialist, I found myself pleasantly distracted by:

Food: Dinner Tonight – Salmon Delishesness

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A rushed weekend, spilling into today calls for this perfect dinner recipe – and perhaps a glass of wine or two. INGREDIENTS 4 (6-oz.) skin-on salmon fillets, pin bones removed, patted dry 2 Tbsp. plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grill Kosher salt 1 small lemon 1 small shallot, finely chopped 2 tsp. black sesame seeds 1 tsp. honey 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil Freshly ground black pepper 1 cup basil leaves, torn if large {more} {recipe and featured image source}   And just so you understand, I’d rather be doing this – somewhere in Europe…what visions of content  do you have at this very moment? 

Food: Lunch – Goat Cheese, Prosciutto and Peaches

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Do you ever read a recipe and immediately know the contents mixed together would be the most tastiest you’ve had?  I mean really, this recipe takes the ‘cake’ if you will for a lack of a better modern term to something tasty or delicious. Anyway, lunch at home with friends and you whip out one of these with a bottle of Prosecco or Pinot Grigio.  Maybe a platter of fruits on the side or raw veggies and let the discussions take shape. INGREDIENTS 6 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature 1 tablespoon heavy cream 2 teaspoons lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil flaky salt and black pepper 4 ripe but firm peaches, halved + pit removed 8 thin slices prosciutto extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling 1/4 cup honey 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves {more} On another note – there is a documentary on A&E through  X-finity on Demand right now about JFK Jr. untimely death and although events took place twenty years ago,  I remember them very well – but I never knew this side of the story. What irony…  

Lifestyle: What Your Body Is Telling You

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Breakfast is to be eaten in a relaxed state of being – suggests this plan I am trying out recently to ward off some health issues that have popped up recently.  But I wonder how that is possible when there are a million and one things in life that keep us from being less uptight or stressed even while consuming our meals. The funny story here is that  this morning, I parked my car in Golden Gate park after a doctor’s appointment to eat the so-suggested calm breakfast before the start to my hectic day – and attempted to listen to French music on my Pandora to help set the mood. But of course, my phone had no service, no matter how many times I turned it off and on, and then there were the street cleaning trucks grinding almost as they crawled by across the street blowing debris in any direction but suctioning inside their vacuum-truck.  Or am I off my rocker to think the trucks actually have vacuum-like suctions underneath.  So basically even …

Boutique Hotel Pick – Le Mas Des Poiriers – Avignon, France

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Even at this point in life, I dream of fairy tales, not so much about a prince sweeping my off my feet and ending up living a life of a princess, but more like, a place an adult woman could escape to, and be pampered for a week or more, with pool side refills on the finest of champagne and naps  on a plush wicker chaise longue in the gardens – that to me is the ideal of a fairy tale – 🙂

Food: Dinner Tonight – Chicken Salad

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The recipe is titled Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken salad with Goddess dressing – and being that I am a goddess 🙂 I had to see what the ingredients are all about. I do love Buffalo Ranch chicken salad to start with and order the option at any given U.S. restaurant if they are wise enough to offer it on their menu. So, the only difference is this recipe calls for the goddess dressing: INGREDIENTS 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cutlets, or tenders 1/2 cup buffalo sauce, homemade or store-bought 1 cup Panko bread crumbs 1 tablespoon each dried chives and dried parsley 2 teaspoons dried dill 1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste 1 pinch each kosher salt and black pepper SALAD 2 heads romaine lettuce, shredded 4 carrots, shredded 4 celery stalks, chopped 2 Persian cucumbers, chopped 4 radishes thinly, sliced 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or parsley, roughly chopped 1 avocado, sliced 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or feta cheese GODDESS DRESSING 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 cup fresh cilantro 1/2 cup fresh basil 1 jalapeño, halved and seeded juice from 1 lemon  {more}  On another topic, recently an event I planned a few …